Great game last night, and once again it was the Celtics role players who came up big. Posey with the epic last minute steal. Perkins with the seven boards and two blocked shots. Rondo actually pulling up for a jump shot rather than passing off every time he had an open look. Even the international man of mystery Leon Powe got some high impact playing time, making a nice defensive play to force a 24 second violation in his first series on the floor.
The emotional highlight was seeing Celtics great John Havlicek presenting the championship trophy and then helping Paul Pierce to lead a "Beat LA! Beat LA!" chant. Priceless.
The big story, of course, is that the Lakers and Celtics are meeting in the NBA finals for the first time since the glory days of the 1980s. I am sure I will be sick of the hype by sometime tomorrow afternoon, but as a someone who grew up on Bird versus Magic, I am looking forward to the endless video montages of sky hooks, clotheslines, short shorts, and bedlam at the Garden that we will be inundated with over the next few days.
As is historian of the game Kobe Bryant, who was quoted back in November: "I hated those [expletives]...I couldn't stand them man. Are you kidding me? Bird. McHale. Ainge. Ainge was like a little pest, man. I couldn't stand that guy."
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