Heavyweight Bout – Celtics and Lakers – Round 12

“An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise” – Red Auerbach

While the rest of NBA nation looks toward July 1st and the free agent class of 2010, the two most storied franchises in league history will just be doing what they do best: battling for a championship in June.

For the Celtics and the Lakers there is no time like the present. These teams have split the last two NBA championships and neither is content. The Lakers are led by their sharpshooting dream assassin Kobe Bryant, coached by psychological warfare expert Phil Jackson, and are the defending league champs. The Celtics have three future Hall of Famers, all of whom are slightly past their prime, and are led by the breakout star of this year’s playoffs, Rajon Rondo. Combating injuries and age, both squads have gutted it out through this year’s playoffs in order to set up a winner-take-all showdown in a rematch of the 2008 finals, a rematch that has been a long time coming.

The Celtics defeated the Lakers in ’08 and thoroughly embarrassed them in the deciding game in Boston. The Celtics were celebrating long before the game was over and made no effort to hide the fact that they were thrilled to be thrashing their west coast rivals. The Lakers play in that series, especially in that sixth game, led many to question whether Kobe could ever get it done without Shaq, or if Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom were really championship level players.

Kobe was humbled. The Lakers were bitter. Phil Jackson was pissed. Sasha Vulacic vowed to never wear Green again. Luke Walton was high, probably. Jack Nicholson was high, definitely. In short, LA wanted revenge.

It looked like the Lakers were going to have their chance last year, but a crucial injury to Kevin Garnett’s knee prevented that from coming to fruition. Instead the Lakers played the paper tiger that is the Orlando Magic for the title, dispatching Dwight Howard and his boys in 5 games. The Lakers had their title and the monkey was off their collective backs, but they still had not gotten payback for the 2008 Beantown beat-down.

As bitter as the Lakers were after 2008, the Celtics were equally as bitter after 2009. Playing without their emotional leader and the heart of their defense, Kevin Garnett, Boston was knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the Magic after holding a 3-2 lead in the series. Due to their age, injuries and lack of depth, the Celtics’ inability to compete at an elite level in 2009 was viewed by many as a trend that was going to continue. For their part, the Celtics were angry about this perceived lack of respect and felt as if they never had a legitimate chance to defend their title. This year both clubs will get their wish:

The Big Three featuring Rondo vs. Kobe & the Zen Master All-Stars, Round Two.

For the Lakers it’s about redemption. For the Celtics it’s about respect.

Key Matchups

Point Guard: Rajon Rondo v. Derek Fisher

This is probably the biggest mismatch out of any of the positional battles. Rondo is younger, faster and is playing with the confidence of a superstar finally coming into his own. Derek Fisher is feisty and still a very tough player, especially mentally, but he is not going to have the legs to keep up with the youngster. He is also not going to be able to get away with breaking Rondo’s nose like he did Steve Nash’s; Boston is not a soft team and they won’t stand for it. The Lakers will probably have to send different defensive arrangements to contain Rondo, and the Celtics will have to be looking for the mismatches those adjustments create. D-Fish cannot take him one on one.

Advantage – Celtics

Shooting Guard: Ray Allen v. Kobe Bryant

These two have a history together. Before being traded to Boston, Allen was a longtime member of the now defunct Seattle Supersonics. The Sonics and Lakers would play each other quite regularly and Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant had more than enough time to get to know each other. Bryant typically has gotten the better end of this matchup and, given the way he’s been playing lately, that will most likely remain the case. Kobe is the best individual player in the series and also the most cold-blooded. He has the edge on Ray on both ends of the floor and is playing like a man on a mission. Allen is going to have to rely on his teammates’ help and not let Kobe’s scoring deflate his own offensive production, which the Celtics will surely need.

Advantage – Lakers

Small Forward: Paul Pierce v. Ron Artest

Will the real Ron Artest please stand up? This is Ron’s first year with the Lakers and it has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride. However, it has been his play, not his mental state, which has been up and down. Artest has the capacity to be a great scorer and is usually a great defensive player, but he has mental lapses and is very emotional. He’s exactly the kind of player Paul Pierce has been exploiting up to this point. The Celtics captain is having a vintage season and has done a good job of keeping his own volatile emotional state in check up to this point. He’s one of the best pure scorers in the game and has vastly improved his three point shooting. Pierce, an LA native, can also still get after it defensively and loves the spotlight. This is Ron Artest’s first NBA Finals and there is no doubt Paul is going to let him know about it. It will be interesting to see how the combustible Artest deals with it.

Advantage – Celtics

Power Forward: Kevin Garnett v. Pau Gasol

Two years ago this would have been a no brainer. When these guys faced off in 2008 KG was a force and was playing like a man possessed, while Gasol was just trying to get out of the way. Now things are different. Garnett has had major knee surgery and Pau has had the experience of being a major contributor on an NBA Finals winning team, shedding his “soft” label in the process. It remains to be seen whether the label will stay gone. In the past two rounds, Garnett has fed Antawn Jamison and Rashard Lewis their respective lunches. With his knee healthy, Kevin has been tenacious on defense and been making his patented jumper with regularity. Gasol is certainly a cut above either of those players and is also much bigger, but he still hasn’t shown whether he has truly shaken the ghosts of 2008. Garnett is insane in a good way and it is hard to imagine him letting himself be dominated or even out-played by a European, and in his eyes inferior, player.

Advantage – Gasol of 2008,  Celtics Gasol of 2009,  Lakers Gasol of 2010, ?

Center: Kendrick Perkins v. Andrew Bynum

This is probably the positional battle with the least amount of sizzle. Both of these players are extremely important to their teams but neither one has really been on the floor enough to make much of an impact. Perkins is in constant foul trouble and is one technical away from being suspended for a game. Bynum has been having knee problems and will need offseason surgery before he is back to full strength. If both players were fully healthy, Bynum would have the edge because of his superior offensive talent, but as it is there really isn’t too much that differentiates the two. Both are solid defenders and good defensive rebounders and whoever is able to stay on floor longest probably has the advantage. Perk needs to watch his temper.

Advantage – Draw

Bench: Rasheed Wallace, Glen Davis, etc v. Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown, etc

This may be the most important matchup in the series. Injuries, fouls and suspensions are all big parts of NBA basketball and sometimes reserve players are called upon for major minutes. A prime example of this is Lamar Odom, who was forced to start for much of the regular season because of injury and was a very serviceable fill-in. Another example of this is Rasheed Wallace, except in the other direction. Sheed was called upon to play important minutes during the regular season and rarely answered the bell. He has been markedly better in the playoffs, and it will be essential for him to continue that in the Finals. Besides Odom, Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar are both going to have to step up because of the shakiness of Derek Fisher and their quicker legs. Nate Robinson has been showing signs of life for Boston and would be a great trump card if he can maintain some consistency.  Glen Davis needs to continue to keep playing under control and not try to do too much.  Since they have Lamar Odom, the Lakers boast the biggest gun off the bench but the Celtics probably have more firepower overall. Which group steps up?

Advantage – Draw

Coach: Doc Rivers v. Phil Jackson

Doc Rivers has proven himself to be one the best coaches in the NBA. Traditionally known as an X’s and O’s guy, this year he had the tough task of presiding over a team that was struggling with a changing of the guard. The Celtics had no choice but to turn over the reigns of the team to Rajon Rondo and some of the veteran players had a lot of problems with it. Rivers kept the peace and got his team peaking at just the right time. On the other hand, Phil Jackson has ten championship rings and there is just no way to argue with that kind of hardware. Jackson is a master manipulator and will no doubt find a way to use the rumors about him bolting to Chicago with Lebron to his benefit. The same rumor is also swirling about Doc but he’s just not Zen enough to capitalize.

Advantage – Lakers

Prediction – Celtics in 6

The Lakers have the best player in the series but so did the Heat, Cavaliers and Magic. The Celtics play as a team and have proven that they can have success even while letting the other team’s star player go for 30. Boston is great at blackening the eyes of the “faces of the NBA” because they stick together and play extremely well on the road. They are confident (almost to a fault) and feel that when they are on their game, there isn’t a team in the league, including the Lakers, who can beat them. Their swagger has exposed the soft underbelly of a number of All-Star players – Jermaine O’Neal, Mo Williams, Vince Carter – during this year’s playoff run. Gasol and Odom look like prime candidates for the same treatment.

(By the way is there a more overrated “superstar” than Vince Carter? “Vinsanity” is the poster boy for what’s wrong with the NBA’s hype machine. Sure he’s got some talent, but Vince is far more recognized for his commercials, his shoes, and his dunks on SportsCenter. He’s all smoke and no fire and the C’s exposed him. Beware Lebron. Don’t let this be you.)

History is also not in the Lakers favor. Although the teams have previously faced off in the Finals a record 11 times, the Lakers have only won twice. That means that more than half of the Celtics’ 17 championships have come at the expense of the purple and gold. As strong as the hardwood history in LA is, Boston’s is even stronger. The veterans on the Celtics know that they have a chance to entrench themselves in the lore of the NBA’s most fabled city and they also know they may not get another shot. They also are aware of what it will take to beat Lakers team that is centered around Kobe, because they did it two years ago. It’s been said that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. If the Celtics play their game, they won’t need any.

Magic pull off historic feat in Game 7 win over Celtics

Buoyed by hot three-point shooting and a strong push to start the fourth quarter, the Orlando Magic turned out the lights on the defending NBA champions in the playoffs by pulling off a feat never accomplished before against the Boston Celtics.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and set a playoff career-high with 12 assists, as the Magic beat the Celtics, 101-82, in the deciding Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Orlando, which dropped the fourth and fifth games of this series in disheartening fashion, rallied to force a decisive contest with an 83-75 triumph on Thursday. On Sunday, the Magic brought down the anvil, sending the Celtics to their first-ever series loss when taking a 3-2 edge in a best-of- seven set. Boston had been 32-0 in previous series when holding such a lead.

“When you look at a team that’s 32-0 when leading a series 3-2 and come in and win by 19 points that’s a big win,” said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy. “I can’t say I’ve ever had one that I’ve been happier about.”

The Magic, who converted 13-of-21 shots from beyond the arc, will play the top-seeded Cavaliers in the East finals, starting Wednesday in Cleveland. The Cavs, led by league MVP LeBron James, haven’t lost yet in the playoffs following sweeps over Detroit and Atlanta. The Cavs, who have won all eight of those games by double-digits, have been off since finishing off the Hawks on May 11, but now face a team they lost to twice in three meetings during the regular season.

Dwight Howard contributed 12 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks for the Magic, who surged by netting the opening 11 points of the last quarter and gained their first trip to the East finals since 1996, when they were swept by the eventual champion Chicago Bulls.

Rashard Lewis scored 19, Mickael Pietrus 17 and Rafer Alston 15 for the Magic.

Ray Allen topped the Celtics with 23 points, while Paul Pierce netted 16 in defeat.

This was also the second straight series the Celtics were pushed to seven games, as they got by Chicago in a gritty first-round series.

Boston had the Magic on the ropes after taking two close games. Glen Davis hit a buzzer-beating jumper to give the Celtics a 95-94 win in Game 4, and Boston rallied from a 14-point deficit in the final period to shock the Magic, 92-88, in Game 5.

When the Magic got up by double digits in the fourth this time, Van Gundy was worried about deja vu.

“Through a good part of the second half it looked very similar to Game 5, where we were with the lead and everything else,” he said. “We looked like we had learned from it, and we continued to play. I thought our defense was very good, and we continued to play, made some shots. (Turkoglu) was outstanding down the stretch.”

The Celtics were able to get this far without the services of their emotional leader, as Kevin Garnett’s knee injury kept him out the entire postseason. Also, forward Leon Powe was out the entire Orlando series after tearing the ACL in his left knee during the Chicago series.

“Clearly tonight we didn’t play well,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “I thought we had the right spirit. We missed layups, missed free throws, but I told them…this is one of my favorite groups of how they fought. There were a lot of reasons for them to give up with the Kevin and Leon thing, and they never did.”

Ahead by five after three quarters, the Magic began the last period on an 11-0 run. Pietrus started it with a three-pointer, and Courtney Lee and Turkoglu converted a three-point play apiece during the flurry. Turkoglu finished it with a runner off the glass, and he sank the ensuing free throw after being fouled by Pierce with 9:59 remaining.

Howard picked up his fifth foul with 8:04 left, but the Magic stayed ahead by double digits the rest of the way. Allen’s three-pointer had Boston within 90-78 with over four minutes left, but Turkoglu sank his fourth three-pointer of the night to stem the tide and begin a burying 11-0 run.

Orlando was ahead seven points at the half, although it seemed as if the Magic would be ahead by more, considering they shot 7-of-10 from beyond the arc over the first 24 minutes. The downfall was 11 turnovers, leading to 13 Boston points. Also, Allen had 13 points by the break, including nine in the second quarter.

The Magic used a 12-2 run in the first quarter to grab a 13-point advantage. Howard slammed, then blocked a shot from Pierce, leading to a Turkoglu three to cap the spurt for a 22-9 lead.

Pietrus sank a three-ball in the closing seconds of the first for a 27-17 margin, and the Magic surged to a 14-point cushion in the second. A pair of free throws from Lewis moved the Magic to a 37-23 lead, but Boston responded with a 10-2 spurt, culminated by an Allen layup.

Allen then nailed a three-pointer with nearly 1 1/2 minutes left for a 42-38 difference, but Alston drained a long-distance shot, providing the seven-point spread at the intermission.

J.J. Redick and Turkoglu hit consecutive three-pointers to provide the visitors with a 60-50 lead with nearly 4 1/2 minutes left in the third before Boston closed the gap in the latter stages. Rajon Rondo made two free throws then beat the buzzer by sinking a jumper for a 66-61 margin moving to the fourth.

Game Notes

The Magic won the season series against the Cavaliers, capturing two of the three meetings…Turkoglu ended 4-of-5 from beyond the arc…Rondo ended with 10 points, six rebounds and 10 assists…Davis scored 13 for Boston, which shot 39.2 percent from the field…Orlando ended at 51.4 percent from the floor and won despite having just three offensive rebounds…This was the third Game 7 in Orlando’s history. The Magic beat Indiana in 1995 but lost to Detroit in 2003…It was the 26th Game 7 in the Celtics’ history. They are 20-6 all-time in such games…Pierce finished 4-of-13 shooting…Kendrick Perkins had 15 rebounds for the Celtics.

Peace Steph – have fun in Beantown

The New York Knicks and Stephon Marbury agreed to go their separate ways almost three months after the point guard was told to stay away from the National Basketball Association team.
Financial terms of the buyout that ended Marbury’s five- year tenure weren’t disclosed in a joint statement released by the team. Marbury, who hadn’t played this season, was scheduled to be paid $21.9 million.
“A comprehensive agreement was made this afternoon between the New York Knicks and Stephon Marbury,” the statement said. “The Knicks have requested waivers on Stephon.”

From Bloomberg