Quick poll: Is there anyone out there (Kornheiser? Plaschke? Bueller?) who still thinks that LA is the better team or that Kobe (Quit it!) is the best or dare I say most valuable player in the NBA. I think not, and in my opinion, no rational person could possibly make that claim, not even Benny (I’m joking of course, albeit at your expense Ben. Forgive me, but I couldn’t resist. And as an aside, here is J.D. Drew’s stat line for June: .441 Avg., .547 OBP, 1.631 OPS, 9 HR, 21 RBI, 22 Runs, and you thought that the Red Sox were going to have trouble scoring runs without Big Papi!). In my mind, Kobe was the third best player on the floor during the Finals, and that’s being generous.
In fact, after reading that sentence back to myself (I almost booted), I’m amending that statement to say that the Mamba was the fourth best player in the gym, no better. Now you’re probably saying, “But Dave, Mark Jackson said that ‘Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player on the planet’ 73 times in the first quarter alone, it must be true.” Don’t get me wrong, Kobe Bryant’s basketball ability is otherworldly, and he is a phenomenal player, but he got outplayed by Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce in this series, particularly in game six, but even I kinda felt that coming.
For the series, Kobe averaged a shade less than 26 points a game, to go along with 5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and almost 2.7 steals per game. While this line is solid by most standards, it’s pretty pedestrian for a player like Kobe. Add into that the fact that Kobe shot only 40% for the series (53-131) and a dismal 32% on 9 of 28 from behind the three-point line, as well as nearly four turnovers per game and (hopefully) I don’t sound completely crazy when I say that the Mamba was not as good as any of Boston’s trio of stars (more on how the “Big 3” label still doesn’t fit later).
And if you watched the games closely enough to see beyond the stat lines, Kobe’s struggles are even more glaring and his failure even more obvious. For the entire series, Kobe seemed to be in “me” mode (as opposed to the rest of his career?), looking for his own shot and forcing the action against the Celtics’ airtight team defense (not that I can particularly blame Kobe for not passing, his supposedly reliable and talented teammates played terribly for most of the series). Because of this, Kobe was forced into a lot of long, contested jump shots, most of which clanged off of the rim. Though the Mamba has proven that he can score from anywhere on the floor, not even he could beat the league’s best defensive team one against five.
I’d say more about his poisonous attitude and public looks of disgust directed at his teammates, but again, they (especially Pau Gasol) played so poorly that I can hardly blame Kobe for being disappointed by their performance. That being said, Kobe’s “new persona” was exposed as a sham, and the Mamba showed his true colors as a selfish basketball player who still hasn’t fully grasped how to lead a team and compel them to play at the highest level possible.
Hold it right there. That last paragraph is really telling and illustrates perfectly the disparity between Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett. Though KG’s stats for the series weren’t necessarily stellar (18 PPG on 43% shooting, 13 rebounds, and approximately 10,000 uses of the word “fuck” per game), his effect on his teammates is remarkable. Unlike Kobe, Kevin Garnett wills his teammates to play at his level and always shows faith in his teammates on the floor. KG communicates, he passes (maybe too much, but I don’t think that after his aggressive game six anyone anywhere can talk shit to him), and his contagious attitude urges on his teammates.
The Celtics dominated the Lakers in this series with their defense with Garnett as the anchor. To put KG’s effort into relatable terms for some of my non-basketball fan readers, the Big Ticket was like Oregonians on I-5, always a step ahead to run sick block that prevents you from getting where you need to go and frustrating the hell out of you (in other words, suffocating). Pau Gasol and (shockingly) Lamar Odom were largely non-factors in this series, and they were put in their place (outside the paint) by the long arms and active defense of Kevin Garnett. Mind you this Lakers team shredded San Antonio in the Conference Finals, which makes Garnett’s effort all the more impressive. For all of those reasons and several others, KG was far and away more valuable than Kobe, and when you consider how much KG dominated on defense and on the glass, impacted this series positively far more than Kobe Bryant ever did in this year’s Finals.
And although Garnett didn’t dominate for the whole series, he came up huge in game two (hitting clutch free-throws) as well as in the game six clincher, putting up an efficient 26 points (10-18 shooting), grabbing 14 rebounds, nabbing three steals and dishing out four assists without any turnovers. The Big Ticket was the catalyst for the Celtics during game six, putting the Lakers away with his incredible three-point play against Lamar Odom that set off the incredible butt whooping that was looming on the horizon. Garnett sparked the Celtics’ NBA record turnaround during the regular season, and he capped it off with some of his best basketball of the entire season in the game six clincher in Boston on Tuesday.
As for Pierce, he was more efficient from the field than Kobe, averaging slightly fewer points (22 per game) than Bryant, but did so only taking 2/3 as many shots as the Mamba and converting his attempts at a better rate. Pierce also averaged 6 assists per game during the Finals, including ten during the close out game. The Truth really showed his playmaking ability in this series, as well as his willingness to share the ball and sacrifice his individual numbers to win games for his team.
Although he did a lot of passing in the Finals, Paul Pierce also hit more than his fair share of big shots during the series. Starting in game one, when Pierce made a miraculous recovery and returned to score 15 points in the third quarter, Pierce continued his playoff rampage and proved to be the Celtics’ best and most clutch player time and again. Aside from his game one heroics, Pierce poured in 38 points and was the reason that the Celtics were even in that game. The Truth has always been a warrior (despite whatever whinny remark Phil Jackson offers to the contrary), and he proved during this series and throughout the Playoffs that he deserves to have his number up there with Bird, Cousy, Russell and McHale when his career is over.
And then, there was Paul Pierce’s gutty defense, which for me, was perhaps the best part of his game in this series. Paul Pierce stepped up and shouldered the load, taking on Kobe Bryant and pushing him as far out of his comfort zone as he’s been since Tayshaun Prince locked Kobe down in the 2004 Finals. Pierce was aggressive, inspired, physical and mentally ready to take on Bryant, and he did so as part of a tremendous team effort to limit the league’s most potent scorer. To me, that fact alone was as good a reason as any for Pierce to receive the Finals MVP trophy.
Lastly, and by no means least for Boston is Ray Allen. Yes, it’s the same Ray Allen that
most sportswriters proclaimed was finished and no better than Wally Szczerbiak (yes, Simmons, I am talking about you here). To put it mildly, Ray Allen was scalding hot during the Finals. Shuttlesworth Allen averaged 20 points per contest on 50% shooting and a mind boggling 52.4% from behind the arc, including 7 of 9 (tying an NBA Finals record) in game six, each one thunderously hammering another nail into the Lakers’ coffin. I’m honestly shocked that he didn’t burn right through the floor mid game (maybe he was too hot for the Lakers to even put a hand anywhere near his face while he was shooting).
Were it not for the fact that Paul Pierce carried the Celtics against Cleveland and Detroit and made his heroic comeback in game one of the Finals (plus, Pierce is still the captain), Ray Allen could have and probably should have been the one hoisting the NBA Finals MVP trophy on Tuesday night. Head to head against Kobe, Allen rose to the occasion in games one and two, and kept Kobe out of the paint and off the line in a terrific display of athleticism and competitive spirit. Allen was a huge factor in the Celtics’ game four comeback victory, as Ray hit big shots, took care of the ball, grabbed rebounds all game long and then abusing Sasha Vujacic off the dribble and scoring on a nifty reverse lay-up that iced the game and punctuated the greatest comeback in the history of the NBA Finals.
Looking at the ways in which the Celtics’ stars affected the game and the series as a whole, and there is just no comparison between Kobe Bryant and the new “Big Three” (the two sides are about as comparable as Kobe and MJ, in both cases, the Mamba is not even close).
Speaking of the term “Big 3,” I figure that now is as good a time as any to make my best case for the retirement of that particular term to describe this Celtics team. First of all, I think that Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have earned the right to be mentioned alongside the likes of Bird, Parrish and McHale, they need their own nickname to represent the unique place that they have in the long and storied history of the Celtics franchise. Also, I think that “Big 3” undervalues the contributions and efforts of the other Celtics like Rajon Rondo, Eddie House, James Posey, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe, Tony Allen, Glen Davis, PJ Brown and the alien from the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull… er, I mean Sam Cassell (don’t forget Scal and Scott Pollard!). Each and every one of those guys, especially Scalabrine, made contributions to the team and were vital parts of this championship run. The Celtics are all about teamwork, sacrifice and selflessness, and it won them a title. Highlighting just the three all stars as the contributors goes against every key characteristic of the Celtics’ identity.
In truly dramatic fashion, the Celtics played their most dominating game of the season during the last contest. The game was decided before halftime, and the Western Conference Champions simply quit (nice coaching, Phil!) on this series. The Lakers looked more scared and lost than an Oregonian driving in a snowstorm (let it go man, they can’t help it) and seemed resigned to their fate by midway through the second quarter. The Lakers showed no resolve or fight, and they never got anywhere even remotely close (save perhaps the fourth quarter of game two) to mustering the same kind of spirit that the Celtics showed in any of the games of this series.
Perhaps if Phil Jackson wasn’t wasting all of his time and breath criticizing the officiating or Paul Pierce’s injured knee, he could have devoted a bit more effort into coaching his team to beat the Celtics. Phil Jackson, somebody I referred to as “the greatest living professional basketball coach,” had no answer for Doc Rivers, a Finals rookie. Hell, even Mike Brown and Mike Woodson were able to take the Celtics to seven! Jackson’s experience was supposed to be the ultimate edge in this series (even I was incredibly afraid of the Zen Master’s mystique), but instead Phil’s flaws were exposed. In fairness, I am willing to recognize just how hard it is to win a championship without Michael Jordan or Shaquille O’Neal in their athletic primes. What’s he supposed to do, coach his players and teach them to adjust to the other team? That sounds hard (sarcastic enough for you?).
The bottom line is that the Celtics absolutely dominated and have once and forever silenced every naysayer, critic and hater (Ray, Blaine and Max too) or any fan who ever doubted their resolve (Matt Stauffer). The Celtics didn’t just win, and there is no way that LA got hosed or was wronged, they simply got dominated (like when Asian Dave goes all in against a cat). This Celtic team, if they stay hungry and devoted to their philosophy, could and should contend for the title every year for the next three or so years.
I’ll admit that the homer in me has me convinced of that, but I think it’s reasonable just the same. Rondo should continue to develop and improve, as should Perkins, Powe and Davis. If the Celtics can keep James Posey and continue to learn to play as a group in high-pressure situations, I don’t think that there is a team out there who can contend with them, end of story. Realistically, the Celtics probably won’t recapture this kind of greatness, but they certainly have the ability to do so. It’s hard to say how removing such a huge burden will change this team, and I’m honestly not sure at this point which way the Celtics will go.
On the one hand, removing the burden of winning a championship also removes a lot of the motivation and desire that fueled this season’s spectacular run. Other teams will certainly get better and contend harder against Boston next year, and there is no guarantee that the Celtics will remain healthy enough to make a serious run at a championship next year. Lastly, the empirical evidence ($10 word) gathered from the history of the Association shows just how difficult it is to complete the long and arduous journey to the Promised Land several years in a row.
On the other hand, however, lifting such a load from the Celtics’ shoulders could allow the Celtics enough space and freedom to grow as a group. They’ve learned to win together and have a year’s worth of valuable experience to build on and several areas to improve upon for the coming years. If the Celtics can relax and really focus on growing as a group, the sky is the limit.
Throughout the year, I’ve borne witness to the potential greatness of this particular Celtic team, and game six was the best example of that potential unleashed on the biggest possible stage. It feels so great to have been able to witness the triumph of team basketball and defense over the single man theatrics of Los Angeles, and much like Garnett, I feel like I’m on top of the world right now.
Keywords: Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics, Brian Scalabrine, Doc Rivers, Eddie House, Glen Davis, J.D. Drew, James Posey, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Larry Bird, Leon Powe, Los Angeles Lakers, Michael Jordan, Mike Brown, Mike Woodson, Pau Gasol, Paul Pierce, Phil Jackson, PJ Brown, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Robert Parrish, Sam Cassell, Sasha Vujacic, Scott Pollard, Tony Allen, Wally Szczerbiak
