Here we go again; for the 12th time

First appeared on June 3rd, 2010
in The Lebanon Reporter

The United States and Iran refuse to negotiate, a deadly plane crash in Poland, Israel and Palestine suffer another ugly setback and the Lakers and Celtics are in the NBA Finals. This may all sound familiar to those of us who attempt to monitor world events while paying bills, raising our families and eating the occasional piece of apple pie.


Strange but true, while all these stories have happened this year, for our

purposes here they were ripped from the headlines of 1987. Funny how things change and yet stay the same. While the Lakers and Celtics may be making a return to basketball’s biggest stage, thankfully the “Kurt Rambis look”, Magic Johnson’s shorts and Larry Bird’s bad mustache will not.

The 1987 Finals were likely the high-water mark of the Bird vs. Magic era for it was only a year later we saw the face of the NBA change as the Detroit Pistons killed the fast break by tripping, choking and elbowing their way to the Finals.

For me personally the memories of the 1987 Finals are clear. Dick Stockton was repeatedly muttering about how hot it was in the Boston Garden and I can still hear the disgust in Tom Heinsohn’s voice as his beloved Celtics collapsed in six games under a barrage of sky hooks and no- look passes.

But this is 2010 and these aren’t your grandpa’s Lakers and Celtics. Today “Showtime” in L.A. means Kobe is about to take over. Phil Jackson starts two seven footers and has a 6’10 point guard if he needs one. The Lakers led the ultra-competitive Western Conference with 57 wins and also have the league’s third leading scorer in Kobe Bryant.

In 1987 Boston was a number 1 seed and fielded a roster that included 5 future Hall of Famers. The 2010 Celtics are much different. They weren’t even supposed to be here. This was the year LeBron was supposed to get Cleveland to the promise land before bolting for greener (literally) pastures.

Still the Celtics somehow appear a likely favorite. If you’re looking for rationale, I’ll be the first to admit Boston doesn’t look good on paper. They lack gaudy statistics and a coach who is considered the modern day version of Red Auerbach. What Boston does have however is something the average NBA stat geek can’t measure. They are a team fueled by their own heart and toughness and this is what will carry them through the Finals.

In order to win the series however Boston will need to steal a game in L.A. and history has shown the easiest to grab is Game 1. Thursday night Boston needs to hit the floor like a herd of bulls tearing down a Pamplona street. Head Coach Doc Rivers should show a replay of Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals when his Celtics clinched the title by drumming the Lakers by 39 points.

Conversely, Jackson would be well served to do the same. It could be argued that singular loss was the impetus behind the Lakers putting their full faith in Kobe and Kobe putting his full faith in his Jackson. All this faith finding of course culminated in a run that saw the Lakers capture the championship a year later.

Thursday night will mark the 12th time these two have met in the Finals and together they have won a disgusting 32 of the 63 NBA Titles. The faces on the floor and in the stands may be different, but history is there looming large over the Finals. Funny how things change and yet stay the same.