The Boston Celtics brought an end to the 2007-2008 NBA season last night by achieving their 17
th championship, and crushing the L.A. Lakers in the process.
I have to say that I wanted this to happen all year.
I said to several people throughout the season that the only way I wouldn’t be pulling for the Celtics to win it all was if they had to face the Spurs at the end.
Even if they had faced the Spurs, I would have been happy with either team winning the title.
Really, it wasn’t
Boston and it wasn’t the Celtics that I was rooting for.
I wanted to see Kevin Garnett become a champion.
I wanted to see Ray Allen become a champion.
I wanted to see Paul Pierce become a champion.
Those guys, especially Garnett, always seemed to have a quiet struggle within themselves between knowing that they could do it and sensing that they would never get the chance.
I’m very happy that they got the chance and made the most of it.
I hadn’t started the blog yet when all of the trades went down, so I have no proof for what I’m going to write next. When Boston traded for Ray Allen, I didn’t really get it. I know I wasn’t the only person to think it was a bad move. As much of a scorer Allen has been in his career, I felt that he was an old guy with lingering injuries that wasn’t going to put the Celtics in any different situation than they were already in. When they got KG, I was impressed. I was excited for Garnett, Pierce, Allen, and the Celtics franchise. I thought they had a really good shot at the title. When they signed James Posey, I was almost certain that they would win it. That might sound crazy, and I’ve heard things about Posey that indicate he’s not always well thought of, but I see him differently. I became familiar with Posey when he played for the Miami Heat two years ago when they took the title. I’ve written in earlier posts about seeing that Heat team scrape their way to the top of the heap, and James Posey’s three-point shooting was a big part of Miami’s story that year. I knew when the Celtics got Posey, they were a major threat. Pat Riley knew it too and was quoted saying so. Jeff Van Gundy said the same thing last night, and I pointed at the screen and shouted “that’s right!” My girlfriend looked at me like I was a crazy person.
So congratulations to the Celtics, to the city of Boston, to Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Posey, House, Rondo, Davis, Powe, Brown, and the rest of the team. Congratulations to the fans of the Celtics and to everyone who enjoyed the story of the season as it played out.
This blog was something that I have wanted to get going for a while now, and I have high hopes for it next season. My posting was really sporadic, and I’m not ever going to get anyone other than family and friends to read it if I don’t make it more active. Next year is going to be a break-out year for me and for NBA on the Brain. Thanks for reading, and keep your eye on this space. As news comes out over the summer, I’ll get some more posts up. I can’t write much about the draft because I am willfully ignorant of college basketball. I don’t know a thing about any of the guys in the draft pool except a few of their names. But trades will happen, coaching moves may still occur, and there will be things to talk about. That being said, it’s way too early to begin talking about next season, but I do have some gut feelings that I’m going to put out there now. We’ll see how the moves of the summer affect my opinions by opening night of 08-09.
Prediction 1: Celtics don’t repeat. These guys knew this year that this was their best chance to win a title. It was now or never. That drove them to the title, but next year won’t have the same sense of urgency, and those old guys are going to be one more year closer to retirement.
Prediction 2: Portland is going to tear it up. I’ve been telling people that Portland is going to be crushing dreams next year. I think with Oden, Roy, Aldridge, Webster, Fernandez, and to a degree, Frye and Przybilla, they’ve got a pretty insane team. I think they could probably use another seasoned vet on the roster for guidance, but I can’t wait to watch them play.
Prediction 3: San Antonio will scare me. I think they need to do some serious work this summer. I didn’t like the look of the team at all this year. Too much reliance on older players that just didn’t have the juice anymore. The Spurs are going to either struggle in the early part of the season with bringing new components into the fold, and then breaking into a streak of mind-numbing dominance after the all-star break, OR they’re going to look sloppy and old all year and possibly even miss the play-offs. The Western Conference is not getting any worse and the other teams are looking at the Spurs like the sick animal in the pack.
Prediction 4: These teams will be better next season: Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New York, Portland. These teams will be worse: Boston, Denver, Detroit, Phoenix, San Antonio.
I’m already looking forward to it. Talk to you soon.
