The Boston Celtics brought an end to the 2007-2008 NBA season last night by achieving their 17
th championship, and crushing the L.A. Lakers in the process.
I have to say that I wanted this to happen all year.
I said to several people throughout the season that the only way I wouldn’t be pulling for the Celtics to win it all was if they had to face the Spurs at the end.
Even if they had faced the Spurs, I would have been happy with either team winning the title.
Really, it wasn’t
Boston and it wasn’t the Celtics that I was rooting for.
I wanted to see Kevin Garnett become a champion.
I wanted to see Ray Allen become a champion.
I wanted to see Paul Pierce become a champion.
Those guys, especially Garnett, always seemed to have a quiet struggle within themselves between knowing that they could do it and sensing that they would never get the chance.
I’m very happy that they got the chance and made the most of it.
I hadn’t started the blog yet when all of the trades went down, so I have no proof for what I’m going to write next. When Boston traded for Ray Allen, I didn’t really get it. I know I wasn’t the only person to think it was a bad move. As much of a scorer Allen has been in his career, I felt that he was an old guy with lingering injuries that wasn’t going to put the Celtics in any different situation than they were already in. When they got KG, I was impressed. I was excited for Garnett, Pierce, Allen, and the Celtics franchise. I thought they had a really good shot at the title. When they signed James Posey, I was almost certain that they would win it. That might sound crazy, and I’ve heard things about Posey that indicate he’s not always well thought of, but I see him differently. I became familiar with Posey when he played for the Miami Heat two years ago when they took the title. I’ve written in earlier posts about seeing that Heat team scrape their way to the top of the heap, and James Posey’s three-point shooting was a big part of Miami’s story that year. I knew when the Celtics got Posey, they were a major threat. Pat Riley knew it too and was quoted saying so. Jeff Van Gundy said the same thing last night, and I pointed at the screen and shouted “that’s right!” My girlfriend looked at me like I was a crazy person.
So congratulations to the Celtics, to the city of Boston, to Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Posey, House, Rondo, Davis, Powe, Brown, and the rest of the team. Congratulations to the fans of the Celtics and to everyone who enjoyed the story of the season as it played out.
This blog was something that I have wanted to get going for a while now, and I have high hopes for it next season. My posting was really sporadic, and I’m not ever going to get anyone other than family and friends to read it if I don’t make it more active. Next year is going to be a break-out year for me and for NBA on the Brain. Thanks for reading, and keep your eye on this space. As news comes out over the summer, I’ll get some more posts up. I can’t write much about the draft because I am willfully ignorant of college basketball. I don’t know a thing about any of the guys in the draft pool except a few of their names. But trades will happen, coaching moves may still occur, and there will be things to talk about. That being said, it’s way too early to begin talking about next season, but I do have some gut feelings that I’m going to put out there now. We’ll see how the moves of the summer affect my opinions by opening night of 08-09.
Prediction 1: Celtics don’t repeat. These guys knew this year that this was their best chance to win a title. It was now or never. That drove them to the title, but next year won’t have the same sense of urgency, and those old guys are going to be one more year closer to retirement.
Prediction 2: Portland is going to tear it up. I’ve been telling people that Portland is going to be crushing dreams next year. I think with Oden, Roy, Aldridge, Webster, Fernandez, and to a degree, Frye and Przybilla, they’ve got a pretty insane team. I think they could probably use another seasoned vet on the roster for guidance, but I can’t wait to watch them play.
Prediction 3: San Antonio will scare me. I think they need to do some serious work this summer. I didn’t like the look of the team at all this year. Too much reliance on older players that just didn’t have the juice anymore. The Spurs are going to either struggle in the early part of the season with bringing new components into the fold, and then breaking into a streak of mind-numbing dominance after the all-star break, OR they’re going to look sloppy and old all year and possibly even miss the play-offs. The Western Conference is not getting any worse and the other teams are looking at the Spurs like the sick animal in the pack.
Prediction 4: These teams will be better next season: Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New York, Portland. These teams will be worse: Boston, Denver, Detroit, Phoenix, San Antonio.
I’m already looking forward to it. Talk to you soon.
You forgot to mention the Lakers as a team to watch in the 08/09 year. Unlike the Trailblazers, Suns, Mavericks or any team in the east not named the Celtics, this group finally gets it. They understand that basketball is to be played with sense of urgency and I feel next year wheather Bynum is back or not, they will play as a unit instead of KOBE and crew. I know Kobe can will a team to a victory but he also understands the game as few others do and will trust his teammates to fill more than a supporting role.
ReplyDeleteAlso worth noting is the Rockets. I do not believe they will regain there championship form of the past but the nucleus of Ming, Mcgrady and Artest is very formidable. They are as they always have been a injury away, but they have a very talented ball club with the right type of ROLE players to be successful.
Hey, Thor. Thanks for the comment! I didn't forget the Lakers. I chose not to mention them for several reasons. I agree that the kids around Kobe may have finally figured out that they're BASKETBALL PLAYERS, and I agree that Kobe has reached a point of comfort with the guys who are playing with him. I hope Bynum does come back strong - I've liked him ever since I saw Shaq try to punk him once. I think he could be quite a force, and Shaq must think so too.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, there's only one way for the Lakers to be better next year than they were this year, and that is to win it all. Right now, I'm not convinced that they can do it. They were a much better team this season than they were the season before, but the wild, wild west is too volatile right now for me to believe that they're going to follow the same path. I also think that people underestimated the Lakers last year until the big trade, then they were surprised at how strong L.A. had become in such a short time. Teams will be better prepared to face them this season.
The Lakers are going to be good. The super-fan in me would love to see Kobe come back from China feeling invincible, and put up career numbers. I would love it. But the team, I think, is more likely to go down than go up.
The Rockets hadn't gotten Artest when I wrote that last entry, nor do I think they had gotten Adelman. Adelman + Artest = good. They also picked up a guy that I think has been underrated and under-appreciated for the past few years: Brent Barry. I like Scola. I like Alston. I like Yao. Problem number one is Yao's feet. Problem number two is Yao's spirit, now that the pinnacle of his life's work has come and gone without success. Problem three is T-Mac's attitude. McGrady is the anti-Kobe. Whatever it is inside of Bryant that makes him dig down and find the extra push to go further, T-Mac has the opposite of that. He'll never be a champion because he doesn't have the heart.
By the way, come by here as often as you like and comment away. I want to give you a head's up though. In about a month, something big is going to start on this page. Something different that I don't believe anyone is doing or anyone has done. It won't be what anyone is expecting and it won't be something that everyone likes, but I think it's going to be interesting. I hope you'll check it out.