Well, I'll be
It's hard to believe, but the Kobe vs. LeBron pro hoops final isn't coming to pass. The creaky old Boston Celtics, including ex-Blazer Rasheed Wallace, took out the Cleveland squad 4 games to 2. HIs LeBronness wound up being booed by his home fans as he made another hasty exit. He'll likely be playing for another team next year, and his coach may be selling cars.
Meanwhile, the winners of the other three blowout series have had a long time to sleep in in advance of their conference finals. It will be the Lakers against the Suns, and the Magic against the Celtics -- Lakers and Magic with home-court advantage. As we recover from the realization that the league isn't getting its scripted final matchup, there's no doubt that a Lakers-Celtics matchup is far preferable from a money standpoint to a Suns-Magic contest. And so for those fans who need to think the fix is in, there'll still be plenty to speculate about while cussing the referees.
| Posted at 10:57 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (5)
If you did not watch the Celts/Cavs, you missed some of the best basketball of the playoffs . The younger guys -- Rondo, Davis, Perkins -- stepped up; the triumvirate that won two years ago drew upon them for renewed energy: they are not "creaky" despite a season plagued with injuries.
The ESPN scribe referenced earlier in this forum regarding an infection brought to the Celts by 'Sheed may have done great service to the team. 'Sheed sometimes played clumsily, inflicting ugly fouls; but more often he showed himself to be working for the common good -- and hitting a critical trey. Perhaps he read the ESPN piece.
It is true the Cs were not successful against the Magic during the season (1-3) and it is also true that the Magic sent them home in the semi's last year. But this year's Celts has a wider distribution of talent. Tony Allen, for example, has been remarkable off the bench. Paul Pierce can play a lot of roles well -- his defense on LeBron, for instance; he does not need to be the one upon whom every win depends. Doc Rivers knows his players and they seem to trust him to use them for the best results. It should be an entertaining series.
Posted by Gardiner Menefree | May 15, 2010 1:35 PM
Probably going to be some argument to this but I've never been all that impressed with LeBron. To me, he has never really lived up to all the hype. You can argue all you want but (to me) he's never been all that and a bag of chips. In my opinion, Jordan would have left him standing there, starring in absolute awe. Yes, he's a good player, but ...
Posted by native oregonian | May 15, 2010 5:51 PM
The Magic have played eight games in four weeks--none of them recently. It will be interesting to see how long it takes them to knock the rust off of their game.
I suspect that the NBA head office will be thrilled with the Lakers and Celts. It's traditional. In the last 43 years (since 1957), the Lakers have appeared in the NBA finals 25 times (winning 10). The Celtics have been there 20 times (winning 17).
Posted by rural resident | May 15, 2010 6:53 PM
rural resident, The Magic could have used a Liquid Wrench™ rubdown for most of Game 1. That they came within two near the close may be encouraging to the Disneyworld homies, but the team now knows what it is to play a squad with an array of weapons, of which tight, intelligent defense is primary.
If they start hitting the treys for which they are notorious, the outcome may be other than it was today. The Cs could have made the game a laugher early on, but they were not especially sharp. Look for some edifying contests in this series.
(It should be noted that 'Sheed contributed on both offense and defense.)
Posted by Gardiner Menefree | May 16, 2010 6:42 PM
Both teams played hard.
Posted by Gil Johnson | May 16, 2010 10:00 PM