The Final 48 Minutes

The NBA Finals has reached seven games 17 times, including today’s clincher. This will be the fifth time that Boston and Los Angeles will meet in a Game 7 decider. 

The four meetings of these classic rivals had the Celtics winning all of them.

Ouch! 

The last time the two teams met in a deciding Game 7 was in 1984 at the Boston Garden, the Celtics winning 111-102 over magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Larry Bird was averaging 27 points and 14 rebounds in the series, becoming the Finals MVP aside from also being named as the regular season MVP.

I fear today’s game for history’s sake. 41 years ago, at the Great Western Forum (yes, it’s LA’s homecourt), the aging Bill Russell, as player-coach and the Celtics, defeated the Lakers in seven games, 108-106. Russell will collect his 11th title in his 13th season. Boston was the first-ever road team to win a Game 7 in a championship series.

Los Angeles was heavily favored then, with Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. Boston has the sweet-shooting John Havlicek, Sam Jones and Don Nelson to help Russell. Despite losing the championship, West was chosen as the Finals MVP for averaging 38 points in the series. This was the first time that a Finals MVP award was given.

Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce have reached the prime of their playing careers and this game is their only chance to get another NBA championship. Forget about the other day’s Game 6. This is a winner-take-all thing and Boston’s Big Three will adjust. The whole Boston crew will fight until the last whistle has been blown.

They will try to win two consecutive titles over the Lakers where Larry Bird and company failed to do in the early 80’s. Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, will try to match Magic Johnson’s 5 titles and just maybe catch up on Michael Jordan’s six rings. This will be Kobe’s career-first Finals Game 7 and he is a definite MVP if LA succeeds. All things considered and anyone can say whatever but the fact remains that Kobe is the NBA’s best.   This statement however, doesn’t say that I’m already one of his fanatics.

If LA wants the title this bad, they should put up a more solid defense, deny Boston’s shooters, clamp down on Kevin Garnett and control the boards. Yes, KG has slowed down but a 6-11 is a 6-11. The starters, a.k.a. Derek Fisher, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum should score ten points or more.   There must be significant contributions from the bench. Then, to state the obvious, Kobe should score 40 points or more.

For Boston to win the championship, they must make those easy shots they missed the last time. Thirty-three percent shooting don’t win games. Turnovers killed them and their 38-52 rebounding disadvantage told the story. With Kendrick Perkins out, they should expect more from their reserves. Perkins averages only 6 or 7 points and the same number of rebounds per game in the series but his presence in the middle is a big plus for defensive purposes.  

This is the NBA’s grand finale. Basketball’s greatest rivalry unfolding. Boston is shooting for their 18th championship banner, LA for their 16th. Every minute and every moment counts. All 48 of it.

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The FIFA World Cup has been full of surprises and nothing surprises the football world than Switzerland beating the reigning European champions Spain. It was the first time in more than 50 meetings that the Swiss won over the all-star Spaniards, and what a way to win. It’s like the Lakers being butt-kicked by the New Jersey Nets.

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