Even when they trailed 3-2, the series was always within arms length for the Lake Show
By: David Washington
Two very evenly matched teams played a closely contested game last night and managed to create a sports atmosphere that rivaled even a Superbowl. The Lakers-Caltics rivalry was back in full force. The intensity of a Game 7 was relevant throughout, but the mood that was created seemed to peak late in the fourth quarter. The Lakers had been trailing the Celtics for the majority of the game, when Los Angeles began surging back. Slowly but surely, the familiar chants of “MVP” began to ring throughout the Staples Center as Kobe Bryant began to do what he does best, take control of the game. Sure, his shooting night was extremely poor, but a true champion never stops trying to find a way to contribute. His 15 free throw attempts helped to force four Celtics players into foul trouble. His 15 rebounds put him only second to Pau Gasol for the game. And his defense, though immeasurable by any numerical stat, was stifling. Managing to dominate a game without having a hot shooting hand? Sounds like a champ to me.
With the win, Kobe’s name will once again be thrown around by fans, players, and analysts alike as they try to decide who the greatest basketball players of all time are. Sure, four championship rings was nothing to scoff at. Hell, few players can even claim to have been to the NBA finals, never mind win four rings. But, because Kobe was wearing the Purple and Gold of the Los Angeles Lakers, just four is never good enough. What Kobe needed as a stamp on his Hall of Fame Laker career was something that all the Lakers greats had, a win over the Boston Celtics. A daunting task, considering the fact that the Celtics feature three surefire hall of famers in Allen, Garnett, and Pierce as well as one of great young point guards in the NBA in Rajon Rondo. With the recent injury troubles of Lakers Center Andrew Bynum, the quest to beat the Celtics got even harder. But Bryant managed to pull through and win it all in one of the most memorable Finals of recent history. Does this make him the greatest Laker, or even (dare I say it) the greatest player of all time? I say not yet. But there’s a key word there, “yet”. I’m sure that by the end of his career, Kobe will have firmly secured his name as, at the very least, equal to names like “Magic” and “Kareem”. Will Mr. Bryant be able to surpass Jordan? That’s still uncertain, but even the consideration of being on par with MJ is an accomplishment that few people though any man would be able to achieve.
There’s a multitude of other stories that have emerged from this NBA finals other than Kobe’s assertion as one of the most dominant players of NBA history. First of all, will Phil Jackson retire, firmly secured as the greatest pro basketball coach of all time? Will Doc Rivers take a break from coaching so that he can spend time with his family? What about the Big Three? are they officially “too old” and “finished”? How about Ron Artest finally getting that hard fought piece of jewelry into his much deserving hands. “Queensbridge’s Finest” has long been considered one of the best defensive players in the game, but his somewhat illogical and irrational behavior (see “The Malice at the Palace”) has often kept GMs away from him as the key ingredient on their potentially championship winning team. However, in a bold offseason move, the Lakers acquired Artest through free agency and marketed “Tru Warrior” as the missing ingredient for a repeat. Finally, the talented but unpredictable Artest was getting his chance on a championship caliber team. And now that he had been given the opportunity, Ron-Ron wasn’t about to let it pass him up. He cemented his legacy with an excellent NBA finals performance that could’ve won MVP on a team that didn’t sport a future legend (I’m speaking of Kobe of course). His defense was on point and, though he took a few errant shots here and there, his shooting was often clutch when the Lakers needed him to step up his game the most. Almost as important was Artest’s emotional control, as he was able to contain himself and refrain from picking up an abundance of technical’s during the series. And with that Ron Artest cemented his legacy on the game. Other than the aforementioned Bryant and Jackson, and perhaps Pau Gasol, there is no one that deserves more credit for this championship than Artest.
Kobe Bryant’s resume as a Lakers legend and one of the greatest to play the game strengthened. Ron Artest finally got his much deserved championship ring. And the sport of basketball gets to put on a premiere series that not only excited avid basketball fans, but was able to draw in many others that don’t frequently watch as well. This will surely make the 2010 NBA finals a series to remember. In closing, I’d like to point out that there are few cities that know how to celebrate a championship like LA (which is probably a good thing because we can only afford to divert so much police attention to stop championship induced riots). Almost as entertaining to watch as the game itself, LA fans celebrations often result in the destruction of thousands of dollars of property damage. But if there was one championship to celebrate like a madman, this would be the one. Hard fought Game 7 wins over your most hated rivals only come every once in a while. So party on Lakers fans, party on. You deserve it.
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