|
AS of this writing, the Boston Celtics have a 3-2
edge in their best-of-7 series against the Detroit Pistons with a
chance to end it this morning (Saturday 8:30 a.m. Manila time) at
The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. The Los Angeles Lakers,
meanwhile, have wrapped up their series versus last season’s
champions San Antonio Spurs and are just waiting for their Finals
opponent.
A win by the Boston Celtics will
result in a much-anticipated Lakers-Celtics clash-rekindling the
hottest rivalry in the whole of basketball. This rivalry has spanned
nearly 50 years back to the time when Celtics legends Bill Russell
and Sam Jones swept the Elgin Baylor-led Minneapolis Lakers in the
1959 NBA Finals. Since then, these two storied franchises met in the
NBA Finals 9 more times with Boston beating the Lakers 7-out-of-9
times. The last time these two teams squared off was twenty years
ago in the 1987 NBA Finals during the Larry Bird/Magic Johnson era.
The Lakers, of course, won that series.
Since then, both teams went on
their separate ways, so to speak, with the Lakers winning more
championships including a three-peat from 2000 to 2002. The Celtics,
meanwhile, continued its slide to mediocrity, at times, even
failure. The only bright spot during the next two decades was when
the Celtics reached the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to
the New Jersey Nets in 2002.
If a Lakers-Celtics Finals
happens, the millions of fans of both teams spanning many
generations will finally get to see a classic match-up in every
sense of the word. This series would be rich in history, bitter
rivalry, intense match-ups, and of course, great basketball.
Already, the anticipated match-up
is drawing comparisons to the rivalry back in the 1980’s when the
Celtics Big Three (Bird, McHale and Parish) were pitted versus the
Lakers’ “Showtime” team featuring Magic Johnson, James Worthy
and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Celtics’ current Big Three are Kevin
Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce-three veterans who are in the
hunt for their first championship ever. Kobe Bryant, meanwhile, is
trying to silence his critics and take his place as one of the
greatest players ever. For the past few years, Bryant has been
disparaged by pundits and fans alike for being too self-centered.
The fact that the Lakers struggled in previous seasons did not help
either.
Both teams are highly motivated
to win a championship given the stakes involved. Of course, aside
from the bragging rights and glory, a win by any team would be a
fitting tribute for all those greats before them who made basketball
history. Indeed, a Boston-Los Angeles Finals would be a dream
series.
Please e-mail your comments
and suggestions to raffyrledesma@yahoo.com
SIDELINES. Despite their
long-standing rivalry, the Lakers won their first championship
series with the Celtics only in the 1985 NBA Finals.
|
