Pure Domination

The Celtics went from winning only 24 games, during the ‘06-‘07 season, to 66 wins and the NBA championship in the ‘07-‘08 season. Last night Boston whipped a pretty hapless Laker team 131-92 which was the 2nd largest margin of victory (39 points) in a finals game in NBA history (#1 was in ’98 when the Bulls beat the Jazz 96-54). The game was really over at half time as the Lakers didn’t seem to be that interested in putting up much of a fight. So as LA just laid down seemingly accepting their fate, Boston just poured on their dominance with 3 pointers, blocking shots, getting offensive rebounds, hustling, etc. Boston played the whole game like they were behind by 10 points and not ahead by 23, as they were at half time.

When the Finals started, I thought it was going to be a good series because the Lakers had been so dominant in the Western Conference playoffs and Boston had been pretty iffy in the Eastern Conference playoffs. I thought that Kobe’s drive and determination would virtually will the rest of his team to win the championship. However, just like last year, we saw that a stifling defense can shut down superstar talent (the Spurs swept LeBron and his Cavs last year). Kobe never really put together a solid game. He had quarters of games that he played brilliantly but not a full game. The Celtics held Kobe to 40% shooting in the Finals so I give them the credit for that. Boston was the best defensive team in the regular season and they were the best in the playoffs which is a big reason they can add a 17th championship trophy to their collection.

Aside from Kobe’s inconsistency in the Finals, where was the rest of the Laker team? The Lakers two other big guns, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, were virtual no shows. Gasol had one good game, in the six played, but for the most part was horrible…flat out horrible. It was his first time to the NBA Finals so I don’t know if the pressure got to him or what. The Laker bench also didn’t produce the way I thought it would. Key bench players like Fisher, Radmonovic and Vujacic didn’t step up when Boston limited Kobe’s production. In fact, those guys reminded me of the Mavericks because they all seemed very content in parking themselves out around the 3 point arc and firing jump shots from there.

Another thing entered my mind as I was watching the Lakers get humiliated. If the Lakers are the best that the Western Conference has, was the West overrated this year? All year people, myself included, raved about how good the Western Conference was and how tight the race was for the playoffs when in the east it was really only a two horse race between Boston and Detroit. Even the Western Conference playoffs weren’t as good as advertised because the home team won, most of the time by a huge margin, the majority of the time. So maybe we all ought to tap the brakes a bit on extolling the greatness of the West. I know I will.

As I’ve said, I’m tired of the Boston sports scene being top dog but if they’re the best, then there’s not much you can say about it. And there is no doubt Boston was the best team in the NBA this season.