The NBA Finals match-up between the Lakers and Celtics seems to strike me more as a heavyweight boxing fight than a basketball series. Just as any big fighter knows, much of the hype surrounding a fight is in the months leading up to the actual event, and as we sit here waiting for the Finals to begin that feeling is very much reciprocated. The history behind the two teams is vast, and everyone knows the history. It is clear that over the past three years these two teams have been the most dominant in the league, and both feel that they will walk away this year with another Larry O’Brien trophy.
The first thing that needs to be done when considering this NBA Finals is to throw out all the excuses. Whenever any team reaches the NBA Finals they aren’t going to be completely healthy, and that is the case with both Boston and Los Angeles. Both teams are beat up, so claims that injuries are going to cost either team the title are outlandish and incorrect. There are always excuses for losses, and both Lakers fans and Celtics fans have made excuses the past two seasons.
Many Boston fans claimed that if Garnett was healthy during the 2009 campaign they would have beaten Orlando and ultimately the Lakers to win the championship again. If this is a game that you want to play consider this, in 2008 the Lakers had injury problems of their own. Starting center Andrew Bynum missed the series, and Trevor Ariza barely contributed after coming back from surgery of his own.
Any Lakers or Celtics fan who wants to claim injuries cost them a ring from the past two years, stop it. All teams face injuries, and both Boston and Los Angeles have had their fair share in the previous two years. The players won’t be making excuses for this series, so as fans we cannot either. What we can do, however, is recognize this NBA Finals as the biggest series in all of sports in years. The implications that are going to come out of the next seven games or fewer are going to have major implications for the rest of our lives, and probably much further than that. Needless to say, for both teams, this series means everything.
Next: What is on the line… 
First, the ultimate championship trophy count. If Boston is able to win again and push their total to 18 the Lakers are still at least five years from catching or surpassing them. However, if Los Angeles hangs up banner 16 they are only a year away from tying up a Celtics team that never thought their titles would be matched. This is clearly the main storyline entering the series, as both players and fans alike brace themselves for the ultimate bragging rights showdown.
Next, the rubber match factor. These are the two championship teams from the past two years. One team will be on the fast track to a dynasty while the other is left wondering why they could only sneak one trophy out of three championship-caliber years. The fact that the teams played each other in 2008 brings even more drama to the table, as the Celtics have the confidence of knowing they have done it before and the Lakers are looking to extract a thick measure of revenge.
Next: More than just the best team…
Now what makes this individual NBA Finals so remarkable is the individual legacies that are all riding on this as well. Phil Jackson has already established himself as the winningest coach of all time with his 10 NBA Championships, but consider what he is facing now. If the Lakers win this series Jackson has a chance to come back next season for a chance at his fourth three-peat. Just stop and digest that. His FOURTH three-peat. However, before he thinks about his 12th he has to win his 11th.
Kobe Bryant. I’m not going to waste everyone’s time with some obnoxious lead in on why Kobe is great. We all know he’s great. But he is on the verge of turning great into greatest. If Bryant and the Lakers win it all this year it will be the fifth NBA Championship for Bryant, tying him with Lakers legends Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Many people feel that in order for Bryant to become the greatest Laker of all time he needs to surpass Johnson’s ring total, but by tying him he will at least make the debate interesting. His fifth ring would also put him only one short of his childhood idol, a man who is almost unanimously considered the greatest of all time, a man named Michael Jordan. While he won’t admit it, everyone knows just how important it is for Bryant to keep moving up the ladder of champions.
A small side note – if the Lakers are victorious against the Celtics in the Finals it will be the fifth title for Lakers’ players Derek Fisher and the aforementioned Bryant. This would put them ahead of every other active NBA player, surpassing Tim Duncan, and maybe more importantly in the eyes of Bryant, surpassing Shaquille O’Neal, both of whom have four.
Next: What it means to Boston…
While I have mainly focused on the Lakers players and coach throughout much of this argument that doesn’t mean it means any less to the Celtics players. Kevin Garnett played most of his career with a giant asterisk, as many of his critics claimed he couldn’t win. A second championship would put him above all talk of one-year wonder and other ridiculous statements that he just can’t win.
The same arguments goes for 2008 Finals MVP Paul Pierce. Pierce is looking to cement a legacy of his own, and everybody knows that while one championship is nice, two is that much sweeter. If Pierce is able to bring home another title, especially another against Boston’s hated rival Los Angeles, he will quickly become an immediate Boston legend. Remember, arguably the best Boston player of all time, Larry Bird, only beat Los Angeles once in the Finals before losing to Magic’s showtime squad twice in his career.
There is no question that everything is riding on this series. In a rivalry that began in the 50’s and has become resurrected multiple times throughout history, it is back again. Fans should consider how lucky they are to be witnessing the rebirth of a rivalry that just never seems to go away.