Game One Leadership

 

 

            Paul Pierce is the captain of the Boston Celtics.  He is their leader, and their jumpstart to success.  We saw his game seven heroics against the Cavaliers where he scored 41 points leading them to victory.  Pierce is the only player on the Celtics roster left from when Danny Ainge took over as Celtics General Manager.  He is what drives this team and it was as evident as ever in game one of this year’s NBA Finals.

             Pierce went down in the third quarter of Thursday’s game one with a knee injury.  The fans of Boston hushed as trainers huddled around Pierce.  Pierce had to be carried off the court and put into a wheel chair to get to the locker room.  When watching the game, I didn’t like the Celtics’ chances in this game any more.  I knew that they still had Kevin Garnett, but it seemed this was the opening that the Lakers needed to take over the game.  The energy of the crowd was way down compared to before the injury.  I was starting to give up on the Celtics and beginning to think about game two when Pierce suddenly made a grand entrance out of the locker room and back onto the Celtics’ sideline.  The crowd started cheering as Pierce bounced over to the scorer’s table while receiving hi-fives and from his teammates.  Pierce entered the game and nailed two momentum-swinging three-pointers. 

            A fair share of NBA analysts and the Lakers organization have called Pierce’s injury a fake and that he did it just to get attention.  They also questioned how he returned to the court so fast.  All of this skepticism is complete garbage.  Pierce has been with the Celtics through the roughest times of the organization.  He has hung tight and has finally gotten to the NBA Finals.  Pierce returned to the floor so quickly because he wanted to get back out there.  This is the biggest thing in his career so far.  The injury obviously wasn’t as bad as it looked, so everyone needs to give the guy a break for returning so quickly.  Pierce is the captain and a fierce competitor.  He doesn’t want to miss any part of the NBA Finals, especially considering who the Celtics are playing.  Pierce grew up watching the Celtics play the Lakers and said how honored he was to take part in such a legendary rivalry.  Pierce is not the kind of player that would milk an injury like that.  The status of Pierce for tonight’s game two is that he is “likely to play,” so the injury obviously had some significance. 

            The other point here is that the Lakers should not have called out Pierce in this whole situation.  Head Coach of the Lakers, Phil Jackson, was the one who questioned Pierce and his injury.  Who is he to call out the captain of the Celtics?  Before his comment I had a lot of respect for Jackson, but now I have definitely lost respect for him.  Knowing Pierce, he will be out on the floor tonight leading the Celtics in, what should be, an exciting game two of the NBA Finals.         

 

           

NBA Finals

 

 

            Ever since I started playing basketball, I have enjoyed watching the NBA postseason.  The finals are supposed to be the most exciting part of the post season because it is the two best teams in the NBA, fighting for the championship.  But to be honest with you, this is really the first time I have been this excited to watch such a legendary event.  Before I was born, NBA fans saw some incredible, classic basketball that can never be repeated.  Just watching it on ESPN Classic thrills me. However, this year, NBA fans will be getting a taste of the past, as they watch one of the most exhilarating finals match ups repeated with today’s spin.

            It is the Boston Celtics versus the Los Angeles Lakers again in another NBA Finals match up.  In the eighties, the Celtics and Lakers had some incredible finals’ series where each game was so exciting.  There were so many famous players in those match ups like Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, and Dennis Johnson all from the Celtics.  Then you had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and James Worthy all from the Lakers.  These were some of the superstars who took part in this magnificent match up. 

            The 2008 NBA Finals will be giving this match up a new look with the modern game and new superstars.  The “big three” from the Celtics and Kobe Bryant from the Lakers are the players who people will be keeping an eye on the most.  I expect this series to be invigorating and extremely fun to watch.  All of the pre-series pandemonium has been getting me so excited for the series.  I love hearing the classic players’ take on this year’s NBA Finals.  Hearing from Larry Bird and Magic Johnson was great, and hearing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talking about the series was fantastic.  Hearing from these players was awesome because they used to be fierce competitors but now good friends.  They have always had loads of respect for each other.  It is just so fascinating for me to see the older generation of this match up talking about the new generation. 

            The fans of Boston have been waiting for an NBA Finals game to come back home for a while now.  The Lakers however, won the NBA title in 2000, 2001, and 2002 so this is nothing new for Lakers fans.  When game one comes around on Thursday night, Boston fans will be ecstatic.  The T.D. Banknorth Garden will be going mental as the Celtics have finally returned to the finals.

            As for winning the series this year, the Celtics have to rely on two things: their solid defense and all members of the “big three” showing up in each game.  If the Celtics continue their fierce defense, they will be able to frustrate Kobe and limit his point total.  If the “big three” shows up in every game, the Celtics have an excellent chance at winning the title.  We all saw how well the Celtics did, at home and on the road, against the Pistons when the “big three” was clicking.  Yes, Ray Allen, you are part of the “big three.”  Do Boston a favor and continue making shots.         

Game 4 -Not a Foul

6/1  Game 4 -Not a Foul

 

            It was game four between the Lakers and Spurs.  The Spurs were down by two points with three seconds left.  Brent Barry of the Spurs received the inbound pass near mid-court and pump faked Laker defender Derek Fisher into the air.  Fisher came down and bumped Barry who then heaved up a potential game winning three-pointer, which bricked off the backboard. 

            Ever since this play occurred, the argument of, “it was a foul” or “it wasn’t a foul,” has been swirling around the outcome of this game.  There is no way that play was a foul.  First of all, when Barry got bumped, we are talking about a little nudge.  Barry wasn’t even in the act of shooting when the bump occurred.  If Barry wanted this to be a foul he should have been much more aggressive in initiating the contact.  If you are going to pump fake somebody, you have to at least lean in to him to draw the contact. 

            The problem with the argument from the people who thought it was a foul is what the Spurs said after the game.  The Spurs acknowledged in the post game press conference that it wasn’t a foul.  Even Brent Barry agreed to this.  “That play,” Barry said, “was not where the game was lost.”  He is absolutely right about this.  The Spurs found themselves down three games to one after game four because that is where they belonged.  It was clear who the better team was.  How can you even argue the call when Greg Popovich, one of the most respected coaches, and Tim Duncan, one of the most respected players, both agree that it wasn’t a foul?

Some people are also saying that the call was not made due to who the nearest ref was to the play.  It was Joey Crawford who has had bad blood with Spurs’ head coach Greg Popovich and player Tim Duncan in the past.  This is complete garbage.  Crawford is one of the best refs in the game.  There is no way he would base a call on past experiences and if he did, that would just add more to growing controversy with NBA referees.       

In addition to this is the point where the Lakers and Spurs were in the game.  The Lakers had been leading the whole game, right from the opening minutes.  The Spurs may have gotten that call at the beginning of the game.  However, the refs are not going to call that when the game is on the line.  They don’t want to be the ones to be the deciding factor in a game of that magnitude.  Imagine what would have happened had the refs made that call.  That could have given the Spurs a chance to win a game they had no business winning.  Who knows how the momentum would have shifted?  It is a very delicate call that, like I said before, the Spurs might have gotten towards the start of the game.