BLOODLINES that BIND
How many generations have been impacted by this rivalry. Boston sports do hold their grudges deeply, whether it's versus a Yankee or a Laker. 12 times over the span of 50 years these two teams have met in the NBA finals. Scattered within the context of that 50 years is a lifetime full of stories. This one story is from Chapter 12.
I watched on in grimness as the Celtics bottomed out the Atlantic Division. I saw them make a move for KEVIN GARNETT and get rebuffed, only to swing a 2nd choice deal to land RAY ALLEN (which then changed KG's mind again and the Big 3 were Reborn). In 2008 I was at the Victory Parade with my G-Team, so soon after a record-shattering 39 point murder of KOBE BRYANT's Lakers. After a lost 2009 campaign, riddled with growing pains (typical of newer teams but down right devastating to older players) we watched the LAKERS return to the pedestal of NBA Champions like the pro wrestling heel who can only steal the title when the baby face isn't looking.
Finally 2010 brings the real cream of the crop back to the top, for that big-time blow off series. The one to define history. And as the series progresses past the two game mark, all I've done is bear witness. And I don't mean Cleveland. Since the series began I've been reminded of:
* Paul Pierce and Ron Artest locking and scrambling like a pair of Jiu-Jitsu fighters in the opening 30 seconds of Game One. Reminds me of Kevin McHale's flying clothesline to Kurt Rambis to really set off the series in Chapter 8. Good old fashioned hard-nosed brutality is what we demand of our most fiercest warriors.
* Pao Gasol reinventing himself as a modern day Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with a touch of Wilt Chamberlain mixed in (14 rebounds a game). Andrew Bynum is the alternate universe Bill Walton, wearing the black jersey of the opposite team.
* Rajon Rondo channeling the great warrior spirits of Hakeem Olajuwon (with his little off-hand fake move that he pulled off in Game Two, reminiscent of Olajuwon's' most famous fake-out of David Robinson) AND Oscar Robertson (triple double, bay-BEE!!!)
* The aforementioned Bill Walton AND Kareem Abdul Jabbar holding court to honor the recently deceased John Wooden. Chills.
* Nate Robinson = Gerald Henderson.
* KOBE BRYANT almost sticking it to his enemies REGGIE MILLER-style when he hit a deep 3 pointer with a second left to end the first half. Then immediately stole the inbounds pass and almost got another shot off to earn them a quick first-half ending flurry.
* And of course, Jesus Shuttleworth himself breaking NBA Finals history with an unbelievable 8-11 3-point display (7-7 to start the game!) Spike Lee couldn't have written a better finish.
* The football/soccer hooligan playing styles of Glen Davis and Nate Robinson, never on display more as you watch Nate Robinson aggressively cutting and bouncing past is opponent like a running back amongst the Redwoods. Glen Davis' undersized yet cataclysmic block of Andrew Bynum in Game 2 raised his stock higher than Lawrence Taylor in the End Zone. That it was ruled a foul was inconsequential, the message was sent. Speaking of bad calls...
I hate to end the bit on a sour note, but how can you not notice the officiating??? Game 2 especially was clearly a Celtics gimmie. The phantom 4th foul on KOBE BRYANT that halted his momentum and took him out of the game just as he started cooking on all Greatest Player Ever cylinders. That he finished so poorly from the field in Game 2 is a reflection of the referees attempts to thwart his momentum and take him out of the groove and out of the game.
The blatant and terrible misappropriation of instant replay. Do you see now why other sports don't want it? During a key possession late in Game Two, as Pau Gasol and KG wrestled for an errant rebound, the ball went out of bounds. One ref called it Green, the other Yellow. Game halts and Instant Replay breaks out. This is GREAT. There's no disputing this is an AWESOME feature and should be absolutely mandatory in all sports. Even the announcers are crowing about the feature, as replays offer no dispute as to who the ball went off of. Kevin Garnett deflected the ball out of bounds, viewable by about a dozen different camera angles. AND THE REFS CALLED IT FOR THE CELTICS. They gave the Celtics BACK the ball, robbed the Lakers of a key possession, disrupted their flow and let the Celtics creep back into the game and steal it in the end. Dangerous Danny Davis style, if anybody gets THAT old school Brockton reference. Unbelievable. And I'm the biggest Celtics mark in the world, and even I could clearly see the refs gift wrapping this game for the Celtics.
But the Celtics won!!! And RAY ALLEN broke the record and there's NO disputing that! More history in the making, and I'll see you again around the 4-5 bend. Let's go Celtics.
Beat LA (again).
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