Well, I feel kinda stupid. So should the majority of sports pundits out there who, like me, picked the L.A. Lakers to defeat the Boston Celtics for the NBA Championship. After watching these finals (where the Celtics defeated the Lakers 4-2, and it wasn't really even that close), I don't see how anyone could have seriously picked the Lakers to win. They were weak mentally and played no defense whatsoever. It is a feel good story for three of the league's longest suffering stars. Paul Pierce toiled in Boston for a decade, Ray Allen was wasting his time in lowly Seattle and Kevin Garnett, long regarded one of the best in the game, had the thankless job of leading the Timberwolves. Last year when Boston traded for Allen and Garnett, uniting them with Pierce, many people immediately declared that they would win it all. I thought that talk was a little premature...but I guess it wasn't. The real key as to why this latest attempt to bring together aging stars for a run at a championship worked where so many similar attempts before have failed is that these stars were willing to subordinate their own glory for the sake of the team. This would not have worked without the personalities of Pierce, Allen and Garnett.
The Celtics killed the Lakers. It wasn't ever really in doubt. I guess defense still does win championships. It also became obvious that the Lakers are soft as a marshmellow in the middle without Bynum in there.
Anyway, congrats to the Celtics and to Garnett, Pierce and Allen in particular.
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I had the SPurs and the Celtics going to the Finals, but had Boston winning it. I never understood why everyone was picking the Lakers in this series. Basicaly, if you can figure out a way to make Kobe become more selfish, it is a very easy game.
Boston's run was really interesting. There were only two possible explanations for how they played against Atlanta and Cleveland: Either they had over-performed during the regular season, or the expectations for their postseason were so high that they were -- not choking, but just playing too tight.
Well, we have our answer. They were the best team in the league this year by a bit. Next year should be fun. The league just keeps getting more balanced...
Oh, and I'm not sure I would call Garnett and Pierce "aging." Allen, yes. But Garnett and Pierce are just veterans. Another two years, and they might be "aging," which in sports means "moving past their prime." But not now. Certainly not Pierce.
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