It’s been n
early three days, and I’m still in shock over Thursday’s NBA Finals matchup between the Celtics and Lakers. Down by 24 points against an extremely talented Los Angeles team, the Celtics pulled off a comeback of epic proportions, on the road nonetheless.
It’s been a very ironic past couple weeks for me. I’ve lived on the east coast throughout my entire life, but on June 3rd I relocated west to San Diego. The Celtics have always been my favorite NBA team, but it appears that I chose the absolute worst time to exit the Boston area. When I booked my flight in April, I had no idea that I’d be leaving during the franchise’s quest for their 17th championship ring.
Further complicating matters, I’m now only a few hours away from the enemy.
Since I reside in Southern California, I’m lucky enough to spend the majority of the 2008 NBA Finals surrounded by douche bag Laker fans. It’s widely assumed in this city that no one that lives here is originally from San Diego, but we’re still close enough to Los Angeles that there are a high abundance of people that root for the Lakers. Plus, with the recent success of Boston sports, the amount of people that resent these teams is increasing substantially.
I watched the game at “PB Bar and Grill” in Pacific Beach, a coastal neighborhood of San Diego. Surprisingly, there are a few bars in the area known to favor Boston teams. PB Bar and Grill was not one of them.
Anyways, here are a few of my thoughts:
The first half of this game was a terrible experience. Boston was getting killed and the Laker fans surely assured that me and the other five or six Celtics fans at the bar knew it. I was forced to witness cheers whenever Los Angeles made an exciting play, along with laughing and high-fives after every Boston turnover. I also received numerous text messages from my friend Tyler, a die-hard Lakers fan. Of course I had the last laugh, but this was all very annoying at the time.
I’m not sure whether Boston organized an amazing rally or the Lakers just historically collapsed. It was probably a combination of both. Regardless, it reminded me of a matchup in the Madden video game series. I’ll have an enormous lead after the first two quarters and everything will be going in my favor. My offense can’t be stopped, the opposing team can’t gain a yard against my defense, and I’m padding my stats in the turnover department. All of a sudden, the second half commences, and I can’t score a point. Computer bullshit completely takes over the game – Joey Harrington is 16-17, 250 yards and four touchdowns, and I can’t tackle to save my life. Garbage cornerbacks are picking off my QB left and right, and every time one of my players is wrapped up, he chucks the ball in the air like he’s holding onto a grenade. Usually my team still manages to win, but it's much too close for comfort.
Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals closely resembled my "Madden" experience not only because the rally was improbable, but also due to the fact that it wasn't simply Boston's stars that stepped it up. The role players also played a significant role in leading the charge. Just like I didn't anticipate Von Hutchins intercepting my QB three times, no one expected Eddie House to play 25 minutes and score 11 points. James Posey is primarily known for his defense, but he scored 18 points points in this game!
While the reserves were very productive, they only played significant minutes because of injuries to the starters. Therefore, as bad as it sounds, I think that injuries have benefitted the Celtics in this series. The Pierce injury in the first game shifted the momentum in Boston’s favor, and after that point, they never looked back. During their come-from-behind win in game 4, Rondo hurt his ankle and Perkins injured his shoulder. With Perk out, the Celtics were forced to play small, using KG at center and James Posey at power forward. Since Pau Gasol hasn’t established himself in the post yet in the series, and Lamar Odom usually plays out on the wing, this is a lineup that Boston can successfully utilize. It worked out great defensively and was a key factor in trimming the Los Angeles lead.
In addition, with Rondo favoring his ankle, Eddie House played a ton of minutes. Adding House to the lineup allowed the Celtics offense to flourish. Generally speaking, Rajon Rondo frequently damages backboards with his jumpshot. His jumper is awful – rather than falling in the basket, it’s much more likely to injure someone on the court. Knowing that Rondo’s shooting is suspect, Kobe Bryant, who is usually the lucky player assigned to Rajon, can play six feet off him and constantly double team whoever else has the ball.
Outside shooting is really the only skill Eddie House brings to the table, so when he is in the game, the Lakers can’t afford to leave him open. Even when House is cold, he’s still more of an offensive threat than Rondo. Too bad Doc Rivers didn’t figure this out earlier in the playoffs.
At the end of the game, I was almost positive that the Celtics were going to lose a heartbreaker. Completing this rally can’t be possible – If successfully executed, it would be the biggest comeback in NBA finals history. Even after Boston finally tied the game, I assumed that overcoming the lead had taken everything out of them, and the team would be running on fumes for the remainder of the 4th quarter. Kobe would inevitably hit some clutch shots and the Los Angeles crowd would carry the Lakers to victory.
Fortunately I was wrong.
Although both teams in this series blew seemingly insurmountable 20+ point leads at home, the Celtics were able to pull off the upset at the Staples Center, while Los Angeles came up just short in Boston. The reason the Celtics never completely collapsed is because their fans wouldn’t let them. The crowd at the Garden in game 2 never sat down and didn’t stop cheering, even when it appeared that their team could easily lose a contest that shouldn’t have been within reach in the first place. The fans kept the momentum in Boston’s favor and never lost faith. As a result, instead of flying across the country with the series tied 1-1, the Celtics retained home court advantage and were two wins away from their 17th NBA championship.
- Scottie
early three days, and I’m still in shock over Thursday’s NBA Finals matchup between the Celtics and Lakers. Down by 24 points against an extremely talented Los Angeles team, the Celtics pulled off a comeback of epic proportions, on the road nonetheless.It’s been a very ironic past couple weeks for me. I’ve lived on the east coast throughout my entire life, but on June 3rd I relocated west to San Diego. The Celtics have always been my favorite NBA team, but it appears that I chose the absolute worst time to exit the Boston area. When I booked my flight in April, I had no idea that I’d be leaving during the franchise’s quest for their 17th championship ring.
Further complicating matters, I’m now only a few hours away from the enemy.
Since I reside in Southern California, I’m lucky enough to spend the majority of the 2008 NBA Finals surrounded by douche bag Laker fans. It’s widely assumed in this city that no one that lives here is originally from San Diego, but we’re still close enough to Los Angeles that there are a high abundance of people that root for the Lakers. Plus, with the recent success of Boston sports, the amount of people that resent these teams is increasing substantially.
I watched the game at “PB Bar and Grill” in Pacific Beach, a coastal neighborhood of San Diego. Surprisingly, there are a few bars in the area known to favor Boston teams. PB Bar and Grill was not one of them.
Anyways, here are a few of my thoughts:
The first half of this game was a terrible experience. Boston was getting killed and the Laker fans surely assured that me and the other five or six Celtics fans at the bar knew it. I was forced to witness cheers whenever Los Angeles made an exciting play, along with laughing and high-fives after every Boston turnover. I also received numerous text messages from my friend Tyler, a die-hard Lakers fan. Of course I had the last laugh, but this was all very annoying at the time.
I’m not sure whether Boston organized an amazing rally or the Lakers just historically collapsed. It was probably a combination of both. Regardless, it reminded me of a matchup in the Madden video game series. I’ll have an enormous lead after the first two quarters and everything will be going in my favor. My offense can’t be stopped, the opposing team can’t gain a yard against my defense, and I’m padding my stats in the turnover department. All of a sudden, the second half commences, and I can’t score a point. Computer bullshit completely takes over the game – Joey Harrington is 16-17, 250 yards and four touchdowns, and I can’t tackle to save my life. Garbage cornerbacks are picking off my QB left and right, and every time one of my players is wrapped up, he chucks the ball in the air like he’s holding onto a grenade. Usually my team still manages to win, but it's much too close for comfort.
Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals closely resembled my "Madden" experience not only because the rally was improbable, but also due to the fact that it wasn't simply Boston's stars that stepped it up. The role players also played a significant role in leading the charge. Just like I didn't anticipate Von Hutchins intercepting my QB three times, no one expected Eddie House to play 25 minutes and score 11 points. James Posey is primarily known for his defense, but he scored 18 points points in this game!
While the reserves were very productive, they only played significant minutes because of injuries to the starters. Therefore, as bad as it sounds, I think that injuries have benefitted the Celtics in this series. The Pierce injury in the first game shifted the momentum in Boston’s favor, and after that point, they never looked back. During their come-from-behind win in game 4, Rondo hurt his ankle and Perkins injured his shoulder. With Perk out, the Celtics were forced to play small, using KG at center and James Posey at power forward. Since Pau Gasol hasn’t established himself in the post yet in the series, and Lamar Odom usually plays out on the wing, this is a lineup that Boston can successfully utilize. It worked out great defensively and was a key factor in trimming the Los Angeles lead.
In addition, with Rondo favoring his ankle, Eddie House played a ton of minutes. Adding House to the lineup allowed the Celtics offense to flourish. Generally speaking, Rajon Rondo frequently damages backboards with his jumpshot. His jumper is awful – rather than falling in the basket, it’s much more likely to injure someone on the court. Knowing that Rondo’s shooting is suspect, Kobe Bryant, who is usually the lucky player assigned to Rajon, can play six feet off him and constantly double team whoever else has the ball.
Outside shooting is really the only skill Eddie House brings to the table, so when he is in the game, the Lakers can’t afford to leave him open. Even when House is cold, he’s still more of an offensive threat than Rondo. Too bad Doc Rivers didn’t figure this out earlier in the playoffs.
At the end of the game, I was almost positive that the Celtics were going to lose a heartbreaker. Completing this rally can’t be possible – If successfully executed, it would be the biggest comeback in NBA finals history. Even after Boston finally tied the game, I assumed that overcoming the lead had taken everything out of them, and the team would be running on fumes for the remainder of the 4th quarter. Kobe would inevitably hit some clutch shots and the Los Angeles crowd would carry the Lakers to victory.
Fortunately I was wrong.
Although both teams in this series blew seemingly insurmountable 20+ point leads at home, the Celtics were able to pull off the upset at the Staples Center, while Los Angeles came up just short in Boston. The reason the Celtics never completely collapsed is because their fans wouldn’t let them. The crowd at the Garden in game 2 never sat down and didn’t stop cheering, even when it appeared that their team could easily lose a contest that shouldn’t have been within reach in the first place. The fans kept the momentum in Boston’s favor and never lost faith. As a result, instead of flying across the country with the series tied 1-1, the Celtics retained home court advantage and were two wins away from their 17th NBA championship.
- Scottie
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