Celtics-Lakers
I'm a very big basketball fan. And since the 1970s, I've been following the Boston Celtics. Now, since about 1990, that hasn't been a very rewarding task, because the Celtics have not been very good. But, unless you've been living in a hole the past two months, you know that Boston defeated the Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals. I watched some of the games, but because of work conflicts (and the fact that the games start very late) I didn't see them all.
So, through the magic of DVDs, I recorded the games for future viewing.
It was a good idea. I just finished watching Game Six, and I'll probably watch the DVDs again, it was so much fun.
This wouldn't be a very good blog without some insight, so I'll give you some.
1. The Celtics won this series by playing the most active defense I've seen in years. What that means is that the players didn't give up when they were caught in a defensive switch; they found an opponent and made sure they blocked him away from the backboards and they contested every pass, even perimeter passes.
What this does, of course, is make it difficult to run an offense in 24 seconds. With this kind of physical defense, teams take 8-10 seconds just setting up their offense. That gives them 15 seconds or so to shoot. It's often not enough time. I realize there were a lot of people criticizing Laker star Kobe Bryant for shooting too much, but his team was struggling to get something going. Their bailout option was Kobe.
2. Boston's substitutes played with a lot of confidence. this isn't always easy to instill. Second-string players sometimes have difficulty absorbing the mentality that they need to be aggressive on defense and offense, not just one or the other. I attribute this to Boston coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers' coaching.
3. Paul Pierce is The Truth. Several years ago, Shaquille O'Neal gave Pierce that nickname, and this season, he lived up to it. Pierce played solid defense throughout the playoffs and hit a host of huge shots, particularly in the last three rounds. I myself have had doubts about this guy from time to time, but this playoff performance cemented his status as an elite player.
Okay, no more basketball for a while. Next time, a local column.