Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett remembers what he was doing the last time the Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers played for the NBA Championship.
"I can remember sitting in front of the TV with a big plate of food on a Sunday afternoon, watching the Celtics play the Lakers and watching Dick Stockton and Hubie Brown doing the game," Garnett said in the recent post-game press conference after the Celtics knocked off the Pistons to advance to their first NBA finals in 21 years.
"I remember that like it was yesterday, and my mom telling me, 'Don't sit too close to the TV, it'll kill your eyes,'" Garnett added. "Man, I'm looking forward to this."
I'm sure there aren't too many Celtics fans—myself included—who don't share KG's excitement at the renewal of one of the most storied playoff rivalries in professional sports, especially when you consider what a train wreck the Celtics have been pretty much since the last time they played the Lakers in the finals back in 1987.
One guy who knows all too well about that is Celtics Captain Paul Pierce, who, ironically enough, grew up in Inglewood, Calif. at the height of the last Boston-L.A. battle for NBA supremacy.
"As a kid, I hated the Celtics, and now I'm going back home to play a team I grew up watching," Pierce said. "It's an amazing feeling."
Beginning this Thursday, we'll all be getting that feeling when Boston once again takes the Garden parquet in search of championship banner number 17. But what makes this series even more intriguing is its many storylines, which can best be described by taking a look at some of the numbers, and not just the obvious ones.
Let's start with 25, the number of All-Star appearances made by the "new" Celtic "Big Three," Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen, all of whom will be making their first appearance in the finals.
24—The number of wins the Celtics had one year ago, before two major trades that brought Allen and Garnett to Boston, without which there is no way Boston would find itself within even a sniff of being in this position.
10—The number of NBA title wins Lakers Coach Phil Jackson will be able to lay claim to should his team prevail in this series, which, ironically, would tie him on the all-time list with legendary Celtics Coach Red Auerbach. Ten is also the number of times these two teams have battled for this particular championship.
0—The number of NBA titles Kobe Bryant has won "on his own," a bit of a misnomer because no one actually wins any team championship single-handedly. But this is the first year that Bryant has gone into a championship round without the shadow of Shaquille O'Neal hanging over him. It was no secret that Kobe wanted the big man out of town, largely because he wanted to prove he could win it all without having to ride on "Big Diesel's" coattails. A win in this series would silence the critics, and cement Bryant's reputation as one of the all-time greats in the game.
44—The number of All-Star- or Hall of Fame-caliber players who have taken part in this series, a list that includes names like Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and now Kobe, KG and Pierce and Allen. By the way, 44 was also the number of a certain Celtics point guard by the name of Danny Ainge, who is now Boston's Director of Basketball Operations and the guy who pulled off the Garnett and Allen deals that may wind up putting the green-and-white over the top.???
30—That's how many times these two teams have made appearances in the Finals, lest anybody think this is a flash in the pan experience.
7—The number of games in this series. And while I'd like to see it end with four quick wins and a parade, part of me hopes it goes seven and becomes a series for the ages that provides the launching pad for a new era of post-season excitement where it's Boston and L.A., and everyone else.
That would be just fine with the captain.
"I'm just happy to?be in this position with the Celtics," Pierce said.?"When?I?think back to what I was doing a?year ago at this time, and?to be here and be able to be doing this, it's a dream come true."
There are people on both coasts who couldn't agree more.
