Jun

18

Slam Dunk Central Columnist Kyle Stack Analysis Of NBA Finals Game Six

Posted by Kyle Stack under NBA PLAYOFFS, SDC COMMENTARY 

The Celtics deserve this championship. They played 26 out of a possible 28 games to win the 17Th title in franchise history, and they almost always looked like the better team, even when they were losing. Lakers fans can point to their own comeback in Game 2, when the Lakers pared a 24-point lead to two, but the Celtics had enough resolve to ward off a Lakers lead and secure the win.

It’s fitting that the Boston Three Party ? or whatever else you want to call Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen ? had big games in the title clincher. Their formation last summer after the Allen and Garnett trades gave this franchise a new ray of hope. They can definitely repeat next year since all three are in their early 30s. Although Ray Allen is more clearly defined as a one-dimensional player (though he did show excellent energy defensively against Kobe in Games 1 and 2), Garnett and Pierce haven’t shown a noticeable slip in their games. Of course, it will be interesting to see how severe Pierce’s knee injury is.

Speaking of injuries, I wonder if Kobe’s right pinkie is the reason for his poor shooting. Is he just too fatigued after expending so much energy helping guide the Lakers to the Finals? Is the Celtics defense that great? I don’t want to take too much away from the Celtics defense, because it was truly remarkable. I just find it odd that in an MVP-caliber season, a season and playoffs in which he played the best basketball since Jordan’s prime, Kobe Bryant never had an MVP-caliber game. His propensity to disappear for great lengths of games was confounding.

I don’t have much more to say, because I haven’t ever been this disappointed over a series. The Lakers looked more confused, like the stage of the Finals was more pressure-packed and intense than they imagined.

The Celtics aren’t an all-time great team, but they had a fantastic defense and two, maybe three, Hall of Fame players who bonded as teammates. As Phil Jackson would say, the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack. No quote more appropriately describes the 2007-08 Boston Celtics.


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