As the weather begins to warm, the NHL and NBA Finals are in full effect, MLB is off and running, and NFL and NCAA Football are holding training camps for their upcoming seasons. This is one of the best times of the year for a sports fan like myself. There isn't much about June that I do not enjoy. Southern California's blue skies and sunshine.
And in 2008, the Los Angeles Lakers are in the NBA Finals. After running through the Western Conference playoffs with a 12-3 record, the Lakers now await the Boston Celtics. While Boston did not have such an easy time through the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Celtics did beat the top competition in the East, shutting Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers down before defeating the Detroit Pistons in the conference finals.
This is a matchup that, at the beginning of the season, was not expected. Boston was expected to be here. The Lakers, on the other hand, did not even know whether or not Kobe Bryant would be wearing purple and gold when the season's first month ended after an offseason that found Bryant expressing his anger in public.
The Celtics began the season on a tear after acquiring Kevin Garnett from Minnesota and Ray Allen from Seattle in the offseason. Boston encountered a few bumps along the way to the East's best record, finishing 66-16.
Los Angeles, on the other hand, started the season sluggish, never really establishing themselves in the West until after the first month of the season. After center Andrew Bynum went down with an injured left knee in January, the Lakers were scrambling for answers. Kwame Brown was inconsistent and best. Ronny Turiaf, although a backup, did an excellent job filling in when needed. Chris Mihm has never regained his form after a series of injuries to his lower extremedies. Free agent signing DJ Mbenga filled in, but it took him time to adjust to his surroundings.
Pau Gasol, who the Lakers picked up February 1 in a trade that many are still scratching their heads about, has done a spectacular job as a center. While Gasol's stats may make him out to be those of a center, his natural position is respectively power forward.
After the Lakers acquired Gasol, they tore through the West on their way to the top of the standings, edging out San Antonio and New Orleans for top seed and home court advantage.
But to me, the thing that is most shocking is not the trades the Celtics and Lakers made to acquire these superstars, but that these two teams are playing, once again, for the NBA title. It has been 21 years since these teams last met in the Finals.
The 1987 NBA Finals were a matchup for the ages, with seven hall of famers playing on the court at one time.
Now, in 2008, while fans will not see quite as many potential hall of famers on the court as they did in 1987, they will be in for a great series, which will renew a rivalry that is best played at the end of the season: in the finals.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
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