The Lakers winning is a Hollywood ending to a fairy tale season. 'Nuff said!

I am not sure when the league needed the celtics recently..but hey, if that makes the celtics fans happy...we will be happy to meet you in the finals often.

MARGE HEARN: CHICK IS BEST INSPIRATION FOR LAKERS
by Curtis Zupke for the OCRegister

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/chick-team-hearn-

2058501-lakers-ocr

“Orange County Register: What would Chick think of this team?”

“Marge Hearn: I would think that he would love this team because they're all young and they all have so many possibilities. He would like how they're working together. He would love what Kobe said, that they eat together, they live (with) each other. That grows and makes for a team. He would like this team a lot.”

“OCR: What do you think of this team? Does it remind you of any team in the past?”

“MH: I can't remember way back, but I've seen them all, of course. And I've seen all the championships. I have seen as many games as he's announced. He was very fond of Kobe. When Kobe first came in he was being criticized for shooting too much or all different things. I remember him saying, 'Why don't the fans let that young kid grow up? Because he is going to be good.' And he is. But he had a hard time getting there.”

This will be the first LA title that Chick didn’t call. Thank God we still have Stu.

Tom

In my humble opinion:

Here are my thoughts on the matchups in these Finals, along with the team I think has the respective advantage, and a point score (Lakers:Celtics) assigned to that advantage in parenthesis. The scores are completely arbitrary.

PG - Fisher vs. Rondo - LAKERS (3:2)
SG - Bryant vs. Allen - LAKERS (4:1)
SF - Radmanovic vs. Pierce - CELTICS (0:5)
PF - Odom vs. Garnett - CELTICS (1:4)
C - Gasol vs. Perkins - LAKERS (5:0)
Bench - LAKERS (3:2)
Coach - LAKERS (4:1)
Home court - CELTICS (2:3)

Total score - LAKERS (22:18)

I think the Lakers will prevail in 5 games, primarily because I think they are playing better basketball right now, but also partly because of the 2-3-2 format for the series. I believe the Lakers will split the two games in Boston and then proceed to take games three, four, and five at Staples.

At least, this is what I hope will happen. :P

is it just me or did paul pierce ask to be traded before the season?

if the Lakers aren't America's choice... well, dang, i believe the world should overrule America then. the Lakers have the most fans in the world compared to any other NBA team.

blessedone441

The Lakers had a morning practice earlier today, which good old Bill Belichick was kind enough to "secretly" tape for us.

Thanks Bill, but LA plays in the weak Western Conference, where even crappy teams like Golden State & Denver can win 50 games...while giving up a ridiculous 108 points per game!

The Lakers must come out and strike fast and often winning games 1-2 and close them out in LA! It's possible to pull this off even if the league wants a longer series. It's possible! Go Lakers!

Team America Lakers. F Yeah!

If the Finals matchup were Spurs-Celtics, the ratings would be slightly above average.

If the Finals matchup were Lakers-Pistons, the ratings would be well above average.

All the NBA really needs is the Lakers - America's Team.

I cant help but agree, even though I' a laker fan and I try to stay objectional and i just think thaqt the lakers are the better team, they came out of a tougher conference and beat better quality apponents. not to mention the champs.

"Love me or hate me, it's one or the other. Always has been. Hate my game, my swagger. Hate my fadeaway, my hunger. Hate that I'm a veteran. A champion.[An MVP] Hate that. Hate it with all your heart. And hate that I'm loved, for the exact same thing" - Kobe Bryant

Gary Dzen: Boston Globe

"Paul Pierce has never abandoned his home team and has never asked for a trade."
----------------------------------------
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/

05/31/pistons.celtics.game.6/?eref=sircrc

An exerp from this article regarding Paul Pierce a year ago and his 'never asking for a trade':

'One year ago today he was the injured star of the second-worst team in the league. He would tell me that he had been on the verge of demanding a trade out of Boston. "But you wouldn't have any control over where they might send you,'' I said.

"My career was at an alltime low,'' he said. "So I figured, how much worse could it get?'' '

That certainly does sound like he wanted out of Beantown. He just got lucky at the proberbial slot machine of the NBA with his last spin.

I'll take a player that's honest any day over one that very well might have just tanked this season if his jackpot hadn't come in, although it is nice when that so-called 'honest' player will admit to his being wrong.

GO LAKERS!

Besides, people like New Enlgand sooooooo much more then So. Cal. becuase New England is just a better place.

Posted by: HartfordC'sfan
--------------------------------------------------
REALLY???
Where are your facts?

This New Englander will argue with you.
I'll give New England the edge in Historical Americana and gas prices.

I'm not sure if this (a Magic Johnson and Larry Bird teleconference interview from insidehoops.com) has been posted, but it's a great read:

http://tinyurl.com/4n3gmx

I could not care less how the rest of the country feels about the Lakers. However, I think you missed a key reason people should be rooting for the Lakers. They play a beautiful brand of basketball. Pretty much all of them can pass, half of them can bury the three. It is just fun to watch. They also seem to be a bunch of "intelligent idiots" too. How can you not like that?

BOSTON’S DISTORTED VIEW OF THE SPORTS WORLD…

Have you noticed Boston fans are under the delusion that theirs is the city of champions? They think that 7 Red Sox World Series titles are somehow greater than 26 Yankee titles. They think that 3 Patriots Super Bowl rings are somehow greater than the 49er’s 5 rings. Just as they think that their no NBA titles since 1984 somehow beats the Lakers 5 titles.
Just as they think that their team of fantasy league all-stars will somehow win this series.
Just as they think that their window to win another championship lasts beyond this year.

LOL. LAKERS WIN 15TH NBA CHAMPIONSHIP. PHIL WINS 10TH RING.
BYNUM ENDS PARITY IN THE NBA IN 2009. LAKERS RULE NEXT 10 YEARS.

Tom

[Repost]

Doc Rivers's Bio-Chrono Reading

(Yes, it can be used offensively.)

Physically - He is about confidence versus fear. Therefore, if you want to breakdown Doc Rivers's physical strength and ability to react, undermine his confidence. Be unpredictable in ways that is difficult for him to react to. Confuse him.

Emotionally - He is about expression versus emotional collapse. Therefore, if you want to undermine Doc Rivers emotions, first undermine him physically (his emotional process is physically orientated). Second, don't be overly emotional and expressive. Play and coach with a stern silent expression like terminators because being overly emtional (like KG's Zulu Berzerker) will just stimulate him emotionally. When you take a lead, just be completely focused. Don't overly celebrate. Be Machines.

Mentally: He is about understanding versus misunderstanding. So, if you want to undermine Doc Rivers mentally undermine his emotions (his process is emotionally influenced.) His type like details and clear information, so purposefully be vague and unclear. Communicate things that can be taken in multiple ways without giving any information as to which way it should be taken. Miscommunicate to him purposefully.

Spritually/Creatively: He is about faith versus lack of faith. So, if you want to undermine Doc Rivers creativity and his ability to adapt, undermine his mind (his process is mentally influenced.) If he states a direction or belief, offer contradictory information or experience. Present him with paradox. Confuse him. Mock his belief and then provide him with experience that contradicts his belief in a variety of ways.

In summary, Doc Rivers is a house of cards. Undermine his physical focus and it undermines his emotional focus which undermines his mental focus which undermines his creative decision making.

Phil Jackson should present himself as a confusing, emotionally void, enigma who communicates in vague generalities and paradoxes. He should occasionally commit to actions that make no sense (or appear to make no sense) but have positive outcomes for his intentions. The players should not be overly expressive, but machine-like in focus and communication. And win early. Don't let his confidence and faith build up. Undermine them.

Follow my suggestions and Doc Rivers will panic, and then shut down feeling utterly overwhelmed.

Yep. Doc Rivers will fall like a house of cards.

Bet on it.

GO LAKERS!

Rizzo,

For Red's Love Child to say that WC is weak haha! very funny, he must be listening to his late foster father talking to him in his dreams. How many in WC teams are above .500 10 teams vs. EC with only 6 teams that crossed that mark. Supposedly, a team that is not at par to be in the playoffs who have only 37 wins and 45 losses brought the legendary Boston Celtics to 7 games, that's Atlanta Hawks. All leprechauns are welcome to this blog but be ready with your data.

I grew up hearing Celtics as the symbol of NBA team, at that time no player living on earth is better than Bill Russell. That was before, which was 50 years ago. I don't see any Bill Russell-like on this Celtics team today, whether it's KG or Perkins - they can't dominate their opponents. This a hodge podge of franchise stars assembled in one team called Celtics.

[Repost]

Ray Allen's [Remarkably Short] Bio-Chrono Analysis:

Like Paul Pierce make him uncomfortable physically. Turn up the heat at Staples Center should work nicely. Or make sure he doesn't get any sleep the night before the game through repeated accidental fire alarms at his hotel.

Ray Allen is incredibly emotional. Play emotional games with him and he'll get undone. Essentially it is important to communicate to him that he's nothing special and that he's just like any other shooter. Get him angry, but make sure you get him REALLY angry. A little angry will just make him better. REALLY angry will cause him to lose all control and focus.

If you screw with him a bit, confusing mindgames and such, he'll also start to play very selfishly and not utilize the strength of his team. This is great when his game is all out of sorts and he overcome with anger.

It's important to make Ray Allen FEEL that he's not important and then he'll try to prove he's important, but in a way that is self-defeating.

So, there you go. I might write more later, but let it be clear: Ray Allen is (internally) a very emotional person. And that is his Achilles Heel.

GO LAKERS!

I love the Lakers.

God bless everyone who has struggled and rooted with us on this blog over the years.

You guys are great.

Let's get it done.

It starts Thursday.

GO LAKERS!

Being on the trading block is different than demanding a trade. Pierce's situation was closer to AI's than Kobe's.

The answer is that the nation is fascinated by Lakers v Celtics and not either team by itself. Kobe has fans everywhere - thus the MVP chant tour he's made across the nation these past couple of years - but that is due to his transcendance of the city and not the city itself.

The casual fan doesn't care who wins. They only want to know what happens.

Hi Family.

I have been out since last Friday with: Epiglottitis and Bronchiectasis. I know, the counter people on Rite Aid couldn't even read it.

Nice one BK...

Rick Friedman--

While I whole heartedly agree with you on the Lakers, you just made me throw up a little onto my pizza with the idol (small I) reference.

IMHO, there is absolutely no redeeming quality with that show. That show alone is enough to make me not watch that network.

Mmmmmm........Pepperoni, Green Peppers and ......."OTHER". Oh well..........LOL!

GO LAKERS!

BK,

Great work as always. Two more:

1. Kobe gets the ring without Shaq - huge
2. PJ gets #10 passing Red by beating his old team

Love it....many alternate endings for the movie....

Kobe and Ariza will guard Paul Pierce mostly though Ariza. Radmanovic will start but play few minutes. Ariza will finish the games with Vujacic.

To close the games:

1.Lamar on Perkins (might switch with Gasol on and off)
2.Gasol on Garnett (might switch with Lamar on and off)
3.Kobe on Pierce (Kobe will sit early and Ariza will play big minutes against Pierce to tire him out and Kobe will play more when Pierce is on the bench. Ariza on Pierce to tire him out. Kobe should play big minutes with the bench mob in the second quarter when their defensive players are siting down. Phil should experiment for one game taking Kobe out with about 3 minutes left in the first quarter. He won't do this though.
4.Vujacic on Allen
5.Fisher Farmar on Rondo

troy,
"The almost all white Boston Celtics"

AS much as I dislike the Celtics, that's not very accurate. Off the top of my head, they had a black coach in KC Jones, Cedric Maxwell, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, ML Carr.
Red Auerbach could be a jerk, but he was also in the forefront in the 50's and 60's with bringing more blacks into the league.

A sports writer once wondered why Kobe Bryant sold more jerseys in China than Yao Ming. So he asked a Chinese basketball fan and the fan's answer was because Kobe Bryant is an exciting player to watch and Yao isn't.

The Lakers are both America's team and the world's favorite NBA team. KB24 is the most popular player in the U.S.A. and on the planet.

I have watched many NBA games in different cities around the country and what's always amazing is how many Laker jerseys you will find in the audience, in whatever city you're in (well maybe not in Portland, but they're the exception lol) How many times did we hear the MVP chant in any NBA city this year?

Everybody loves a winner and the Lakers are the winners. The Celtics were the winners in the 60s but the NBA was a minor league back then.

Basketball fans anywhere like to watch exciting basketball and the Lakers are the team that play the beautiful game. Showtime and Magic in the 80s. Now, the passing game of the triangle and Kobe's ability to do whatever he wants. The old pre-Shaq Suns were also exciting to watch but they weren't winners and were too one dimensional.

Defensive teams are boring. How many people watched any of the Spurs championship finals? Lowest TV ratings.

The only people rooting for the Celtics are Bostonians and a few dour New Englanders, and people who hate the Lakers because they are losers in life and just hate winners in any aspect of life. The people who didn't get picked for pick-up games. lol

Garnett's intensity is a drawback. He is so amped that his nerves are shot by the 4th quarter. It's like watching a person with obsessive compulsive disorder. By comparison, Kobe is not only cool but a cold Black Mamba by the 4th quarter.

I admire what the Celtics have accomplished this year and I am happy that they are back to present the perfect foil to the Lakers. Ali and Frazier. Bird and Magic. Each needed the other to elevate their game to its highest level. Thank you Celtics!

To Tom....

Why are you compating Boston Teams to every city under the sun to prove somehow that the Lakers and LA are better. You compare the Sox to the Yankee's, the Patriots to the 49ers, and the Celtics of the last 10-15 years to the Lakers. Talk about selective analyis!!

Last I checked:

Celtics have won more world titles than your LA Lakers.

Patriots have won more Superbowls than your ...Oh yes I forgot you don't have a football team because your fans leave at halftime.

Red Sox have won more World Series in this century and the last century than your Dodgers.

Also....

Celtics are 8-2 against your Lakers in teh finals all time.

Celtics are 16-2 in the finals all time.

Celtics this year have a better record and beat you twice....Gasol or not.

Celtics got this far and they are still figuring out how to play together.

You are all very scared and yet you don't admit it. Ghosts of Bill Russell, Red Auerbach, John Havliceck.....SCARY.

Bye Bye Lakers......your time is up....enjoy the run and see you later.

Wallstreet article on the Lakers...

It's easy to love a team. But to truly appreciate sports, you also have to hate.

I learned this lesson growing up in Los Angeles during the mid-1980s. Thanks to my dad's partial package of season tickets and the wonders of cable TV, I spent countless hours watching Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and the rest of the L.A. Lakers of the "Showtime" era. At one point in elementary school, I owned five different Lakers T-shirts, a pair of Converse high tops featuring the Lakers' logo and had memorized the team media guide. (I was likely one of the few 10-year-olds aware that A.C. Green, the team's Jheri-curled power forward, didn't believe in pre-marital sex.)

Just as importantly, I detested the Boston Celtics. Before I had mastered fractions I knew all about the Lakers' unbearable tradition of losing to the Celtics. In 1984, as a second-grader, I cried after Boston beat L.A. in a grueling, seven-game championship series. The next year, I was at the Forum, the Lakers' faux-Roman arena, when Celtics guard Dennis Johnson nailed a jumper as time expired to win Game 4 of the NBA Finals. (A few days later, when the Lakers won the '85 championship in Boston, my brother and I nearly crushed my Dad – and our parents' bed – in celebration.) But the next year brought a double-whammy: I was in the stands as Ralph Sampson, the spindly 7-foot-4 center of the Houston Rockets, eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs with a miraculous, volleyball-style shot at the buzzer, and then watched the Celtics dismantle Houston for the title. It was a brutal summer.

During that era, I didn't just dislike the Celtics. My venom had layers. I couldn't stand Boston's plodding, physical style of play, which often stifled the Lakers' fast-break attack. I was annoyed that Tommy Heinsohn -- a former Celtic! -- was the color commentator for NBA games on CBS. And I despised -- deeply, truly, passionately -- every player on their roster: Kevin McHale and his Frankenstein shoulders; Greg Kite, a 6-foot-11 bruiser whose only apparent skill was fouling Kareem as hard as possible; and naturally Larry Bird, who was just so frustratingly good.

I loathed team president Red Auerbach and his victory cigars, but the Celtic who really made my blood boil was Danny Ainge. A whiny, wildly annoying shooting guard with a choirboy face, he constantly complained to the refs -- and had a penchant for making clutch three-pointers. He personified the Celtics' evil hoops empire. Meanwhile, I loved every possible thing about the Lakers. I imitated Magic's no-look passes during recess pick-up games and pulled my socks up high like Michael Cooper, the Lakers' toothpick-skinny sixth man. When my friend Mark and I played one-on-one, we would narrate the action like Chick Hearn, the Lakers' legendary announcer: A shot that barely missed was described as a "Heart-brrreak" and our rule was always "no harm, no foul." On a whim, my brother and I would hum the cheesy, late-Disco theme song that introduced Laker TV broadcasts. (And yes, I recently dug it up on YouTube.)

The games at the Forum were even sweeter. Outsiders like to mock L.A. fans for their tardiness and blasé attitude, but we sat among true zealots -- older fans who got there early, yelled at the refs and donned headphones to listen to Mr. Hearn call the action. The regulars in our row included a pair of paunchy women, usually in matching bright-yellow Laker jackets, who rarely smiled but always brought their own big bags of cheese popcorn. Directly behind us sat a large African-American man and his Asian wife, both of whom often came decked out in all-purple Laker gear. He loved to yell "Sweet Baby James!" every time Mr. Worthy slammed home a dunk. After particularly exciting plays, he just extended his big hand and implored me to give him five.

All of my sports-fan impulses -- love for the Lakers and hatred of the Celtics -- came to a head on June 14, 1987. It was no ordinary Sunday. The Lakers were playing the Celtics at the Forum in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. A win would clinch the championship for the Lakers, and it was our turn in the ticket rotation. My parents were out of town -- a trip my dad still regrets -- so my brother, a ninth-grader and not yet 15, called a cab to take us to the game. We entered the arena at least 30 minutes before tip-off, early enough to see Mr. Bird go through his extensive pre-game drills. What followed was the classic routine for playoff games at the Forum: The Lakers emerging from the locker room as Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." blared over the speakers; Jeffrey Osborne singing the national anthem; and the Lakers reserves leading the crowd in a slow, rhythmic clap before the introduction of the team's starting five.

My memories of the game are a little fuzzier. I do recall feeling very nervous and screaming repeatedly for the Lakers to "wake up." (The Celtics were winning by five at halftime.) But the second half was pure joy. At some point in the third quarter, Mr. Worthy dove for a loose ball near the sideline and tapped it to Magic for a breakaway dunk, which ignited a big run by the Lakers. I remember the fourth quarter as a parade of fast breaks by the Lakers followed by desperate Boston timeouts -- and ecstatic high-fives with my brother. With the game -- and championship -- in hand, Coach Pat Riley began taking out the Lakers' starters. The last one out was Mr. Abdul-Jabbar, the 40-year-old center who had scored 32 points. When he came to the sidelines, Mr. Worthy lifted him off the ground and the crowd roared.

After the final buzzer, my brother and I made our way down to the court and joined the celebration on the hardwood, where fans were holding up signs that said "Purple Reign" and "Party at Kareem's!" It's been 21 years since that Sunday, and L.A. is finally playing Boston again in the Finals. I'm still a passionate Lakers fan -- that is, unless I'm writing a news story about them – but I don't hate the Celtics anymore. After '87, I transferred the ill will to the Detroit Pistons, the Chicago Bulls, the Utah Jazz and all the other teams that vanquished the Lakers over the years. Times have changed: Chick Hearn died six years ago, Mr. Auerbach passed away in 2006, and the Forum is now owned by a church. I like the three best players on this year's Celtics roster -- Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen -- and I even saw Mr. Pierce play in high school.

There is still one villain from the good old days: Mr. Ainge, who's now Boston's general manager and executive director of basketball operations. I'm ready to hate him all over again.

What do:

Bill Russell
Sam Jones
KC Jones
Paul Silas
Jo Jo White
Dennis Johnson
Robert Parish
Cedrick Maxwell

have in common?

THEY'RE VERY OLD UGLY AND DECREPIT....

I love MH. Keeping everything as real as possible.
And I will always miss Chick Hearn. Very very Good people.
They both exemplify what we should strive for in our own selves. Live life to the fullest! Laker nation will love them

f o r e v e r

Say what,

To mention Dancing Barry, you must be an old fan maybe your concept of the Lakers that they are still playing at Fabulous Forum. Hey, nothing wrong with that, I just think Bostonians are out of touch on what is going on here in the West. You have no clue on things that happened lately so your parameters are the 80's or Shaq era. Had you mentioned Kwame & Smush era, then we know u're up to date with us. Seriously, try to evaluate the Lakers on the revolutionary change at the start of April this year, that's when they started winning against big guns in the West like: the Hornets, the Spurs, the Mavericks and others, that's the major transformation of this team. There is sudden surge of confidence that they could win it all. Indeed, they won at clean slate. The last time they lost at Staples was two months ago. Believe me, nobody in this blog embraced this team to win it all at the beginning of the season except for the employees of the F/O, however after Drew and Gasol transition, we all became believers that this team will reach more heights that we have not yet imagined. Forget the past season when Celtic beat the Lakers twice and move on to the narrow window that I described to you. It was a Laker phenomenon that brought us now to the Finals.

ei butler the eeediot . thanks for posting another of your nonsensical opinions.... your beloved gnash has never seen the finals light , so has your former mediocre coach duh antoni he left your mediocre team for more money , what has the regular season match up really means in the playoffs your toothless suns beat the spurs 3-1 ,yet in the playoffs you were roundly soundly and easily kicked out by the spurs 4-1.... before you post another inane item here, please check your brain if its half functional...

The best team wins. With Kobe & Phil on the Lakers side, it's hard to realistically imagine that the Lakers will lose this, especially if they win game 1.
Both teams are epic, but Boston didn't have to go through the defending champs. This will be a battle, but it just might be the Lakers time. KG is great, but Kobe is the best. LO & Pau w/Fisher & a scary good bench, as well as great passing, is going to unnerve the Celtics.
I can't predict the winner really, but I just can't see the Celtics beating this Lakers team that seems to be so in synch. They thought the last 3 series were tough, this is going to be REAL basketball now.

Boston guy is a homer.

BK is obviously the more intelligent and well spoken blogger.

No prejudice there!!! ;-)

GO LAKERS!!!!!!!!!

rick suaree

Celtics 8-2 gives them the mental edge??

I don't get it.

After controlling the early history NBA years, the Lakers finally took control of the series in the '80's and won the last two.

The Lakers would have won more from the Celtics, but as ALL Celtics fans know. The Celts disappeared off the Finals scene for 21 years.

While the Lakers continued to compete for titles, the Celtics were stuck in the bottom of the NBA's worst.

So how could the Lakers improve the record when the Celts were not a willing participate? They weren't even their.

What history shows is that the Celts have not been mentally tuff the last 21 years.

Edwin Gueco/tom/nik kannan,jon k, BLOG!,
about Vlad Man....

While he has played "OK" on D, I wont really give him credit for "locking down" melo or ginobli or whoever we faced.

I give him credit for the most part following the game plan and playing off of these guys. He's 6'10 so he doesnt need to play air-tight D, just give space and challenge shots.

that combined with the help D of Pau and Odom make the difference as you are shooting over about 6 6'10 hands when you drive on Vladdy.

BUT, if you leave Vladdy on a island then pretty much any offensive player with change of direction skills will eat our lil space cadet.

Sorry to say but true.

ON SASHA v. Pierce... We've got to understand Sasha is the great irritant. Sasha can get either Pierce or Allen ready to fight. So i say he takes turns annoying the hell outta both!

It's weird how much elitist hatred gets spewed by the Boston fans about how well their sports teams are doing now. You would think that after basically being irrelevant in sports for almost two decades, they'd be a little more humble about it. Guess not.

I suppose they could turn around and point to the myopic Laker fans who are predicting a sweep or to the Laker trolls going over to their websites and "teaching them lessons" but it's a shame that none of them actually would like to come here and debate what will actually determine who wins the series.

Korey, I agree with your observation that you can't leave Vladdy alone, perhaps that's the reason why PJ used him as the starter and Sasha as the closer. However, what Vladdy can do on offense, Walton and Ariza would have hard time to duplicate. During the Spurs series, Vladdy kept the Lakers competitive because of his rainbow shots which are money shots (outside of Kobe's) while Pau. LO and Kobe are at the low post ready for follow ups. Sasha is too small for PP, I say Ariza and Walton and Kobe will take the 4thQ. Vladdy has to train with a football team this off season to be a better defender next year. What's great with this team, there are still room for improvement at the peak of their youth.

I take Butler's comments as a blessing. If there is anything comforting about his posts it's that they are conssistently laughable and consistently wrong!! He's 0-4 this playoffs and 0-3 vs. the Lakers, and of course right as rain, he predicts a Pierce/Allen/KG thrashing, (not to mention the great coach Mike "Don't Ownany" Rings reference). I like our odds on this one guys!! Butler has just probably sealed the fate of the Celtics. Tell Steve Snatch and Amare Studymore I said "hello."

I'm sorry. But, Boston is often called the most racist city in America. I don't know if there is an empirical way to prove that, or not. There have been some egregious displays of blatant racism evident recently around the country. But, even if Boston is not the most racist, it is still within that discussion.

Some of it, of course, isn't really racism per se. Some of it is due to the old money dynamic which is alive and well in Mass. Boston is the hub of that, and almost all old money in this country is white. Just the way it is. So that can sometimes come off as racist, when it is in reality classist or elitist.

Does America really embrace this city like that?

I am Black and my Father's half of my family is from Boston, so the racism aspect I can attest to from first-hand experience. There is nothing second-hand coming from me on this issue. That is in fact one of the reasons I hate the Celtics so.

On the other hand, wasn't Russel the first Black coach in the NBA? But, then again, that was just Red being contrarian again, wasn't it? I can never tell with that story.

At any rate, it is a family feud with me. LA v. Boston splits my family in two. Just like UCLA (my Alma Matter) v. USC (my Mom's Alma Matter).

However, that racism thing weighs heavily on me, even though I spent some time being raised there.

So, when I say "hate". I mean that deep down, automatic hate. From the gut. The good stuff. What poetry and rap songs are made of.

I HATE the Celtics.

--Fearless

F the Celtics!

Boston vs. LA will be an epic series.

I'm sorry to insult you, however if you disagree, you probably know little about basketball, except for the regurgitated words of some co-worker you spew on here.

This series will be highly rated, not because it's the Lakers v. somebody and that it's destiny. It'll be highly rated because it stirs up memories of the two greatest teams of all time matching up against each other.

Minus the 10-15% of people on the board that actually know what they're talking about (and thank you to those people, you obviously know who you are, for making this an interesting read) I have never read more ridiculous things in my life.

just watch the games and enjoy the games. If you base your pride off of local sports, you should be wholly embarassed.

Lakers, cause New England should be rooting for Manchester United in soccer... and LA is two words: Show Time!!