Basketball Fiend

Posts Tagged ‘2010 NBA Finals’

The Celtics held off a late surge from Kobe Bryant and Co. to beat the Lakers 92-86 in Game 5 Sunday. L.A. now faces the unenviable task of winning two games in a row against the Celtics, albeit at home. Otherwise they relinquish their 2009 crown and lose to a hated rival two times in three years — not a good look when you’re trying to put together a “greatest of all-time” resume. Yeah, Kobe. I’m looking at you.

Boston won by playing great team defense and hitting open looks — as a team they shot an incredible 56.2 percent from the field, which is insane when you consider a) this is the NBA Finals and b) they hadn’t shot over 45 percent in any of the previous games. They got stops when they needed to and knocked down their free throws (what few they got) when it mattered. It was as complete a performance as we’ve seen since Game 1, when the Lakers absolutely tore the Celts apart.

In terms of individual performances, Paul Pierce broke out of his Finals slump with 27 points. Kevin Garnett had his most complete game of the series, scoring 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds and five steals. And Rajon Rondo contributed his usual usual: 18 points, 8 assists, 9-of-12 shooting from the field.

However, the play of the night belonged to His Black Mambaness, Kobe Bryant.

Kobe scored 38 points on the night (19 in the third quarter alone), including the following one-handed alley-oop. At this point I was convinced he wasn’t going to miss a shot until MJ unretires a third time. That’s how on fire he was. (Video courtesy of NBA.com)

Kobe eventually cooled down and ceded the ball to Pau Gasol for a few possessions — until that point I didn’t think Gasol even existed anymore. I thought he had disappeared like that girl who tried to sail around the world. (I can say that now, right? She’s been found and everything? Okay, cool.) That didn’t go well. Gasol flopped around and fumbled the ball away like it was 2008, finishing with just 12 points on a very un-All-Star-like 5-of-12 shooting.

To insult to injury, Gasol also got blocked. And he got blocked hard. Like I want to erase you, your kids and everything everybody ever knew about your life hard (a.ka. the Enemy of the State block).

Kudos to Tony Allen for the best weak side assault we’ve seen since King James got eliminated.

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Hello friends. Basketball Fiend here. Welcome to the NBA Finals.

It’s Lakers-Celtics again this year, which means there’s excitement in the air. Excitement from Lakers fans (revenge!), Celtics fans (we didn’t expect to be here!) and ABC (we don’t have to suffer crappy Suns-Magic ratings!).

I’m excited too. Lakers-Celtics is the matchup I was hoping for. Not only are they the two most talented teams in the league (sorry, Orlando), they’re also part of the most vitriolic feud in basketball. Which means they inherently bring the best out of each other. Which translates to a hard-fought series at worst; an all-time classic series at best. There are no losers here — unless the Lakers win; then we’re all losers (comical Phil Jackson XI hats aside).

When it comes to Lakers-Celtics, the rivalry is always the biggest and best storyline. The animosity between these two franchises (hell, these two cities) transcends everything else — kind of like how the great directors (Spielberg, Scorsese, Tarantino, etc.) always take top billing of whatever movie they’re doing. Other factors (Kobe, Phil, Doc, Rondo, Pau, the Big Three) are important. They’re just never as important as the rivalry itself.

This happens for good reason. L.A. and Boston are meeting for an NBA-record 12th time in the Finals — the Celtics have bragging rights with a 9-2 Finals advantage, creating a rare inferiority complex for fans in L.A. They’re not used to being on the losing end of anything.

Some say the rivalry angle is “played out,” but those people are crazy. NBA fans outside of Phoenix, Orlando and Cleveland couldn’t have hoped for a better Finals matchup. Lakers-Celtics is as dramatic as it gets, especially considering the amount of talented players and combustible personalities involved. From Cousy and Russell battling West and Baylor in the 1960s to Bird and Magic’s famous duels in the 80s to Kobe and Pau going head to head with the Big Three in 2008, you’d be hard pressed to find a rivalry with a richer history.

With that said, talking about the rivalry gets tedious after a while so let’s explore some of the other storylines in play.

1. Kobe Approaching Jordan Status

Two years ago, I didn’t think I’d be discussing this topic. I considered it an impossibility. Kobe as good as Jordan? No way. Kobe’s selfish. Kobe can’t win without a bigger superstar leading the way. Kobe can’t elevate the play of his teammates. Obviously I was wrong.

The Lakers’ championship win last season was emphatic and convincing — as was their romp through the playoffs leading up to this matchup with the Celtics — and Kobe has been a big part of that. He averaged 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists throughout the playoffs in ‘09 and has posted similar numbers in the postseason this year — with better shooting percentages to boot.

More than anything, though, last season’s championship proved he is a true alpha dog and the kind of player who can raise the quality of play of those around him — which was one of Jordan’s best qualities.

If the Lakers can overtake the Celtics in the Finals, it’ll be Kobe’s fifth championship, putting him just one title behind MJ.

Jordan still has a number of bragging rights over Kobe — his playoff numbers are better, he has won more Finals MVP awards (six to Kobe’s one) and he never lost a championship series (something Kobe has done twice) — but the gap is closing.

Regardless of what happens in the Finals, the Lakers will be title contenders for at least two more seasons — all of their principle players are under contract until 2012 — perhaps more, putting Kobe in a position to pass Jordan in terms of rings.

That alone wouldn’t be enough to etch Kobe’s name higher than Jordan’s in the Pantheon of Basketball Greats, but it would certainly make for an argument worth having. (Quick tangent: I would absolutely hate it if this happened. Jordan has been considered the greatest of all-time since I was 13 years old and, like many basketball bloggers, I grew up idolizing him. I don’t want to see him dethroned. On top of that, I’m a Kings fan, making Kobe the equivalent of the Smoke Monster to me. Needless to say, I’ll be rooting vehemently for the Celtics in this series.)

From a legacy standpoint, it’s important to Kobe to beat the Celtics. And when Kobe’s motivated, there are few who can stop him. Are the Celtics up to the task?

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