Even as we speak, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have to be asking themselves, 'how did I get here?' Last year at this time they watched from the couch in three different cities as the Spurs won their fourth title in nine years while, between them, they had zero finals appearances. Somehow, someway they found themselves in the same area code by the end of August and 10 months later had finally reached the pinnacle of professional basketball after a 131-92 drubbing of the Los Angeles Lakers.
As wrong as it is, all of the great ones need a championship to validate their careers. Speaking with Michelle Tafoya minutes after the victory had become official an exasperated Garnett said repeatedly, "What can you say now? I'm certified." What he meant was his place in basketball history is secure and all of his detractors have nothing left to say. The same now goes for Pierce and Allen who, before this season, were known as the selfish player who played no defense and the Lord of the Jumper, respectively. Both flashed their whole package in the finals and for all Garnett was in the clincher (with that monster 26-point, 12-rebound, 3-block performance I had forecasted yesterday) it was the two guards who made a majority of the plays down the stretch for the C's. Pierce took home the MVP, but it very easily could have (and in my opinion should have) gone to Allen who set an NBA finals record with 22 three-pointers made in the series.
I hate admitting when I am wrong, but boy was I totally off base with regards to these Celtics. And not just in the Eastern semi's when I said LeBron would take over Game 7 in Boston or in the finals which I predicted the Lakers to win in 6, but from the very beginning. If you go back to my NBA predictions you'll see that I picked the Toronto Raptors to win the Atlantic Division and Boston finishing as the five seed. What?! Well maybe I'm not as certified for this as I once thought.
Boston was the best team in the NBA from November 1-June 17 because they had three unselfish superstars yearning for their first championship, an extremely underrated coach in Doc Rivers that stressed defense, and a collection of role players who went above and beyond what I felt they were capable of. One of the reasons I was so skeptical about the C's was because of everyone surrounding the "Big 3." Rajon Rondo came into the season as a young point guard who couldn't shoot and grew into the perfect fit for the team. He capped off his sophmore campaign with a 21-point, 8-assist and 6-steal performance, one so fine that Phil Jackson said afterwords was the difference in the ballgame. Kendrick Perkins is one of the better post defenders and rebounders in the NBA and didn't need to score so he too was a perfect fit. But the biggest shock was the play of James Posey, Eddie House and P.J. Brown, especially in the Finals. All three played great defense, got to loose balls, hit timely shots and are just as much a reason the Celtics are champions today as the "Big 3." The beauty of their title run, in case you hadn't already noticed, is that it was a total team effort. In a league that promotes individual stars, the 2007-08 Boston Celtics showed what can be accomplished when players work together and stars sacrifice their games for the betterment of the team.
One last thought from last night. If anyone still thinks athletes don't care about the sports they play, go back and watch Garnett's reaction after the game. He was running around the floor at TD Banknorth Garden screaming, crying, smiling, kissing the leprechaun and hugging everyone- including NBA legend Bill Russell- that was in plain view. He and Pierce both were still out of breath as they spoke to the media roughly 30 minutes after the win. If that didn't inspire ringless superstars sitting where these two were at this time last year then maybe nothing will. Money is great, but you get the impression from these players that the grind of it all isn't worth it without the winning.
Another NBA season in the books, one that will go down as one of the best in league history. I hate when it's over, but after going through a few scenarios that could see more superstars landing in different cities similar to the way Allen and Garnett did last summer, next season could end up being even better. Hopefully next June we'll be discussing Houston Rockets tandem Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming or Allen Iverson, wherever he may be, asking themselves "how did I get here?" But don't be surprised if the conversation centers around a Celtics repeat.
DTM
(Many of you may be wondering why Kobe Bryant's name didn't pop up once in this ramble. I felt that he and the Lakers weren't deserving of the space after losing by 40 and allowing 131 points in an elimination game in the NBA Finals. Note to Kobe: Jordan would have never allowed that, but it's okay because you'll never be Jordan.)
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