Sweet Seventeen

My earliest NBA memory is the 1986 NBA Finals and euphoria that accompanied the Celtics winning their 16th title. I still remember the images of Bird and Walton on the sideline in the game's waning moments and how the fans stormed the court like one only sees in a college game today. The Celtics returned to the finals the following season and lost to the Lakers, thus ending the glory days for my favorite team. Since that last championship, Celtics fans have endured the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis, the breakdown of Larry Bird's body, the Rick Pitino experiment, not getting Tim Duncan in 1997 draft, and Antoine Walker as a number two scorer, I could name more. During this dark period there has been one ray of hope that has shined on, albeit very dimly at times, Paul Pierce. Of all the great Celtics, none have dealt with more pitiful circumstances than "the truth." The acquisition of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen made this team an instant contender. And yes, now that they have won a title we can refer to them as "The Big Three, V. 2.0." Also, the signing of James Posey was a great signing. Say what you will about the guy, but he can play. He has a Robert Horry quality to his game. Depth was the major question mark coming into the season for the Mighty C's. But solid play from the likes of Leon Powe, Glen Davis (much to my surprise), Eddie House, and later P.J. Brown answered that question. Another question was the play of everyone in the starting lineup not named Pierce, Garnett, or Allen. Young Rondo demonstrated that he is on the cusp of becoming a top flight point guard in the NBA. He shot better than was expected throughout the season and played sensational defense. He is starting to blossom under the tutelage of a coach who was a pretty good point guard in his own right. Kendrick Perkins is one of the more frustrating players to watch, as he shows signs of being able to take over a game with his interior defense and rebounding, but has problems staying on the court because of foul trouble. He showed something during these playoffs, a toughness and improved presence on the block that should make all Celtics fans excited.

Back to the aforementioned feeling of euphoria. After watching this team nearly squander a 24-point in the final 8 minutes of Game 2, play terribly and still almost win Game 3, engineer the greatest comeback in the playoffs in any sport since Frank Reich brought Buffalo back from the dead in the 1993 Wildcard playoffs in Game 4, and nearly finish the Lakers off in LA in Game 5, I was cautiously optimistic going into last night's Game 6. Cautious optimism became over-exuberance as the Mighty C's put it on the Lakers to close out the first half. Remembering Game 2, I was weary, but the onslaught continued with the best defensive performance exhibited in a championship game since the Steelers held the the Vikings to 119 yards and 9 first downs in Super Bowl IX. The Mighty C's set a finals record with 18 steals. Rondo was fantastic and demonstrated his potential shooting the ball in being aggressive early. Allen exhibited why they signed him, going 7-9 from the three-point line. Garnett saved his best performance for the series clincher. And James Posey was once again stellar off the bench. The Celtics never let up, putting on a show with the second unit to close out beating their once bitter rivals by 39. Like I had said in my posting before the start of the playoffs many moons ago, "17 is currently my favorite number." But I must say, 18 is looking good all of a sudden...