Congratulations to the BOSTON CELTICS!!!! for defeating Kobe Bryant and the European Select All-Stars to win the NBA Championship. I am truly happy for Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Jesus Shuttlesworth (aka Ray Allen), and the rest of the CELTICS. They were the best team all season and truly deserve to be called champions. While watching the NBA Finals several thoughts entered my mind. My thoughts from the NBA Finals are as follows:
KOBE BRYANT IS NOT THE NEXT MICHAEL JORDAN – While watching the Finals, I realized that although Kobe Bryant is arguably the most talented and skilled player in the game, HE IS NOT MICHAEL JORDAN. Michael Jordan never lost a championship series, and Kobe has lost two. Also, I believe that this year’s Lakers had more talent than any of Jordan’s teams and he still led them to championships. I know that Michael Jordan would have led this team to a championship. He would have definitely gotten more out of Lamar Odom & Pau Gasol, because he would have demanded it. That is what separates Jordan from everyone else. Remember he made Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, Jason Caffey, and Will Purdue look like basketball players.
PLAYERS WIN CHAMPIOSHIPS – It’s funny how Doc Rivers was a Coach of the Year candidate this year after winning only 24 games last year (the Hawks won more games than the Celtics last year). What did he do differently, you ask? He inserted Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen into the starting lineup with Paul Pierce. He also brought James Posey off the bench. WOW! I can’t believe that you can improve as a coach, simply by getting two All-Stars and a clutch reserve. Go figure.
PAUL PIERCE IS “THE TRUTH” – Pierce has always been known as a great scorer, but he has now proven to be a complete player. He totally owned (insert the name of soft Laker defender here) throughout the series. Pierce took the challenge of guarding Kobe Bryant and shut him down in stretches. He also has a flair for the dramatic. Some say that he was overly-dramatic (the whole wheel-chair incident and acting as though he was about to pass out after each game). I simply think that he leaves it all on the court every night.
PAU GASOL & LAMAR ODOM NEED TO GET DOGS, BECAUSE THEY ARE SCARED – Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom were absolutely DOMINATED by the Boston front line. Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, and PJ Brown absolutely bullied the SOFTEST FRONTLINE IN THE NBA. The only LAKER big-man who did not tuck his tail and run was Ronny Turiaf. The only problem with that is the fact that Turiaf is talent-challenged. In other words, HE CAN’T PLAY. We all love the player that hustles non-stop, but at some point you need someone with just a little bit of talent.
RAJON RONDO IS THE BEST DEFENSIVE POINT GUARD IN THE NBA – Yes, I am a huge Kentucky fan and probably the biggest Rajon Rondo fan that any of you know. With that being said, I challenge anyone to name a better defensive point guard in the NBA. If you don’t think that he is a great defensive player, simply ask Mike Bibby, Chauncey Billips, and Derek Fisher. In addition to his defensive prowess, he is lightening quick and sees the floor like Magic Johnson. In fact, if the Celtics could play all 82 games at home, he would be an All-Star. Honestly the only difference between him and Chris Paul is a jump shot. If he’s smart, he would take private shooting lessons from Ray Allen this off-season. Once he develops a jump shot he will be a top three PG in the NBA (along with Chris Paul and Deron Williams).
JAMES POSEY IS THE NEXT ROBERT HORRY – I don’t know what it is about this guy, but he is simply the piece that makes each team that he plays on better. He defends well, and makes timely shots. He is a Free Agent and I will make a BOLD PREDICTION: WHOEVER SIGNS JAMES POSEY WILL WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP NEXT SEASON (he is likely to re-sign with Boston). He currently has two rings and will finish his career with more titles than Kobe Bryant.
LAMAR ODOM IS ONE OF THE MOST UNDER-ACHIEVING PLAYERS IN NBA HISTORY – Odom has all the tools to be a Hall of Fame player except the desire to be a Hall of Fame player. It is just frustrating to watch him play. With his skill set, he should be Scottie Pippen version 2.0. If you could create your ideal basketball player, he would look like Lamar Odom. He is 6’-10”, 230 lbs. and can defend all 5 positions. He handles the ball like a guard, can score in the post, and can shoot from three-point range. He is also a better than average defender. With all of that being said, HE IS THE STARTING SMALL-FORWARD ON MY ALL-UNDERACHIEVING TEAM (will be detailed in a later entry). He simply does not have the mentality of a championship player.
THE BOSTON CELTICS WILL REPEAT AS CHAMPIONS – Who will beat them? I really don’t think there is a team in the East that can compete with them next year. The PISTONS will be broken up, the CAVALIERS will be Lebron and the Pips as always, the MAGIC and the BULLS will be too young, and the HAWKS aren’t quite ready yet. Also, the West will be up for grabs. I have heard countless people say that the Lakers should be back, because of their youth and the health of Andrew Bynum. I am not buying that. The West will be too tough to simply say the Lakers will win it. The ROCKETS will have a healthy Yao Ming, the TRAILBLAZERS will have a healthy Greg Oden, the SPURS will make the necessary changes and they still have Tim Duncan, the JAZZ will always be hanging around, and the HORNETS will only get better. Did I also mention that, THE LAKERS HAVE THE SOFTEST ROSTER IN THE LEAGUE.
I hope that everyone enjoyed the Finals as much as I did. This year’s NBA season was one of the best in recent memory, and the Finals were the perfect ending.
4 comments:
Paul Pierce = Drama Queen
Even if Rondo gets a jumpshot, he'll still just be the funny looking dude who scores simply based on the fact that all the defensive attention is focused on those other three guys. He's the least scary of the group (not including KP43)and they'll let him have his. I'm simply not ready to bestow greatness upon that alien shaped head.
In response to the comment from AW....
Paul Pierce isn't a drama queen, he is the 2nd comming of Willis Reed. In all honesty, the whole wheel chair incident was a bit much. But remember, he didn't put himself in that wheelchair, the training staff did. They just wanted to be safe and not take any chances in the playoffs. Maybe it was the wheelchair that kept him from damaging it further by trying to walk on it, and they were able to stabalize it in the locker room. You never know.
In response to the comment from Jamila....
On the surface you make a good argument, but there is one problem with your logic. If you watch Rondo play, you would realize that his jumpers do come when he is wide open because of the attention demanded by his superstar teammates. But those are the shots that he miss (which is why he should work with Jesus Shuttlesworth). The shots that he makes are layups, runners, and dunks, which come from him simply blowing by his defenders on his own. Although he should score because of the attention that his teammates get, he actually scores on his own. Also look at how many open shots he gets his teammates. He did have 16 assists in game 2, and averaged 7 per game for the playoffs.
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