Break's Over, Back to Work

I watched the entire NBA finals. I just couldn't resist. Lakers v. Celtics for all the marbles. It was kind of a no-brainer, actually. It's my favorite rivalry in any professional sport. In fact, I suspect that's true for most sportsfans who grew up in LA.

Pro sports in Southern California just don't have many compelling rivalries - it's not part of the culture. San Francicans will tell you that the Dodger's/Giants rivalry is a big deal, but Angelinos just don't care that much. And that's really the closest thing any sports team in LA has to a real rivalry. Dodgers/Padres? Angels/A's? Dodger's/A's? Yawn. Lakers/Clippers? Lakers/Warriors? Zzzzzz. Rams/Niners? Oops. (Actually when I was a kid that was a pretty good rivalry, though the Niners always won big in LA and always won when it counted.)

So this was it. If I was going to blow my resolution on a pro sports event, this truly was the one to do it. I'm 99% sure that no other combination of teams - except maybe Phoenix vs. Boston - would have even tempted me. But Phoenix was gone after the first round so that was moot anyway.

I definitely enjoyed the series, but it also really reminded me why I gave up sports in the first place. It's a pretty big time commitment, even with TiVo, and it didn't really give me a ton of satisfaction. Of course that's probably because the Lakers lost, and lost bad.

It was interesting to watch the games after having seen absolutely no NBA since Christmas. I hadn't even seen the new Celtics play yet. And I certainly hadn't seen Gasol in a Lakers uniform. I didn't know what to expect, but I'd heard great things about both teams. And I knew that the Lakers breezed through the supposedly tougher Western Conference playoffs while Boston needed 7 games to beat Atlanta! It didn't look good for the Celtics.

But what I saw was essentially a one-sided affair that was awfully close to ending in 5 games rather than 6. In fact, it's kind of amazing the Lakers took two games. Game 1 was a solid win for the Celts, and then Game 2 was an absolute rout that turned into a squeaker. But the Celts held on to win because they wanted it more. Game 3 was back in LA, and the Lakers showed a little heart and won despite a mediocre performance. But Game 4 was the one that really showed the difference between the two teams. The Lakers came out absolutely on fire - over the top impressive, dominant, overwhelming, you name it. But by the 2nd quarter they were sputtering and the 4th quarter was pretty much all Boston. That's not the stuff of a champion. It's weak. The same basic storyline unfolded in Game 5, but surprisingly the Lakers held on to win. The announcers couldn't stop ripping the Lakers for their poor play, and they were totally right. And Game 6 was an old-fashioned ass whooping.

Anyway, the point is that the Lakers aren't ready to be champs yet. Maybe next year. If Bynum is healthy they'll be contenders for sure. But they just don't seem to play with any heart. That will have to change.

On the other hand, the Celtics looked like they meant business from the opening tip. All three of their Big Three have toiled on crappy teams for years. They all know their careers won't last too much longer. And they weren't about to let the opportunity to get a ring slip by. You could feel it oozing from Paul Pierce every time Michele Tafoya interviewed him. After the win, KG couldn't even speak he was so overcome. Those guys wanted it with every fiber of their being, with their souls, with their hearts and that's how they played.

Come to think of it, I guess it's kind of inspiring. How about that. I was trying to write about how empty I found the experience, but upon further reflection I think it's the opposite. I was just considering the wrong team's perspective....

Anyway, my break from my break is over, again, and I'll be back to writing more regularly.

Cheers,
Chris

P.S. The Staples crowd definitely sucks. They reflect their team's ambivalence.