With Bostons win over the Detroit Pistons last night, the finals is all set and ready to roll starting next Thursday. The finals matches up two long time rivals, and the two most prolific franchises in all of the NBA. The Lakers will be going to their NBA record 29th finals (14-14), while the Boston Celtics (who will make there 20th trip to the NBA finals) have been more successful in the finals with an NBA record of 16-3.
These two teams meeting in the NBA finals is a commissioners dream, two of the most historic franchises in sports, is something that seemed impossible at this time last year. The Lakers were swept in the first round by the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers have gone through a rollercoaster in the past year, that was started with a video taped Kobe talking to fans and dissing teamate Andrew Bynum. The Kobe trade talks would continue well into November, that is until Andrew Bynum immerged as a powerhouse. The team played great D, looked unstoppable on offense, and had the look of a champion. That is until Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury, that ended up being a season ending injury. At this point, all looked lost for the Lakers and they were more likely to miss the playoffs then be a contender. Then Mitch Kupchak, with a lot of help from Jerry West, stole Pau for a couple picks, Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittendons, and the rights to Pau Gasol's brother. Pau fit immediately into the teams triangle offense, and contributed immensely on defense. The Lakers would play strong the rest of the season and end up with the best record in the most competitive conference in league history. This will be the Lakers first finals appearance since the 2004 playoffs(where they were embarrased by the Detroit Pistons).
The Celtics rise to championship status is a little bit different, but just as doubtful. Last season they finished with the 2nd worst record in the NBA, at 24-58. Expecting to get a top two pick in the lottery and a chance at either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, the Celtics got the raw end of the stick and got the 5th selection. This was the worst case scenario for the Celtics who had a 19.8% chance at recieving the 1st pick.
However, on June 28, the day of the 2007 NBA Draft, the Celtics traded the 5th pick along with Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for All-Star 3-point specialist Ray Allen and the 35th overall selection prior to the event, and with the 5th pick selected forward Jeff Green for Seattle. In the second round of the Draft, the Celtics selected guard Gabe Pruitt with the 32nd pick, which was their own, and forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis with the 35th pick, previously obtained from Seattle.
Then came the most important move for the Celtics, the aqquisition of Kevin Garnett. On July 31, the Celtics traded for 10-time All-Star and 2004 MVP Kevin Garnett in the single largest trade for one player in NBA history. He was acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Boston's 2009 first-round draft pick (top three protected), the return of Minnesota's conditional first-round draft pick previously obtained in the 2006 Ricky Davis-Wally Szczerbiak trade and cash considerations. By adding Garnett to All-Stars Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, the trade brought a new era of relevancy to the long struggling franchise, but it also left the roster short-handed.
These offseason moves panned out for the Celtics rolling to the best record in the NBA and securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
That brings us to now, where we are less than a week away of the Lake show-Celts . The only way this could of been better for the NBA and commissioner David Stern, is if it was the Knicks and the Lakers. He will savor every moment of the finals, and conspiracy theorists will say it was all a set up. But I believe this has the chance of being the best finals since the Bulls-Jazz series, so I suggest you get your popcorn ready because this is going to be awesome.
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