Don't call it a comeback...........!

No one could have seen this coming. Entering the playoffs, everyone was talking about the Cavs, Lakers, Magic and the Mavericks. Heck even teams like the Nuggets, Spurs and Hawks were considered to be more legitimate contenders. But somehow, someway the Boston Celtics have become the team to beat in the NBA playoffs. They have 2-0 lead over the Orlando Magic and are going back home to Boston. Are you kidding me? They already shocked the basketball world by upsetting Lebron and the Cavs.
 Then to prove that it was no fluke, they’re beating the Eastern Conference Champs, a very deep and talented Orlando Magic team that hadn’t lost a game in the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. Honestly, I thought the Celtics were done. Garnett looked like a mere shadow of his former self going into the playoffs. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, not far behind. And Rasheed Wallace……..Come on, he was a complete bust! Unbelievably, he’s starting to actually do what he was brought there to do, help them win another championship. And the demise of Garnett, Pierce and Allen? Well, let’s just say they look like they have more than enough in the old tank for one more serious run at the title. And the most exciting part about it, it looks like it could be against their arch rival, the Los Angeles Lakers. They too have played like a team on a mission. They’ve won 8 in a row and just seem to be a tough match up for the Phoenix Suns. Speaking of demises being exaggerated, Kobe Bryant has been showing the world and all the naysayers that he’s still as good as ever. He’s scored a playoff career high, six consecutive 30 plus point games and followed that up with a career playoff high 13 assist game.


Not to diminish what the Lakers have accomplished, what the Celtics have done thus far in the playoffs is far more impressive. The Lakers haven’t really had to face any team that anyone thought could beat them. In fact, if you could pick the easiest road possible for the Lakers out of the 7 other Western Conference playoff teams, it would have been the OKC, Utah, and Phoenix. The Laker’s greatest strength and advantage over almost every team in the league, is their size and length and none of their playoff opponents really had any. The Celtics on other hand have had to face 2 of the best teams in the League in Cleveland and now Orlando. They’ve been playing that stifling kind of defense that propelled them to the ’08 Championship and even though the Big 3 aren’t quite as good as they were in ‘08, Rajon Rondo has emerged as one of the best playoff performers in the league if not one of the best players period. His ability to get in the paint makes him as effective as a dominant center in commanding double teams and making defenses collapse. He’s the kind of point guard that the Lakers dread. You remember how effective the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook was vs. the Lakers? So much so that the Lakers had to put Kobe on him. And as good as Westbrook is, he’s not nearly as good as Rajon Rondo. Rondo might just emerge as the Finals MVP this year as he will undoubtedly have the biggest advantage of all the potential match ups in the Finals. As for the Laker’s considerable size advantage over every team they’ve faced in the playoffs, that won’t be the case against the Celtics. Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace and Glen “Big Baby” Davis are all big and play the physical brand of basketball that gives the Lakers big men wilt. And let’s not forget how effectively the Celtics slowed Kobe down in the ’08 Finals. Paul Pierce was able to use his size and physicality to really make life miserable for Kobe. They don’t have James Posey anymore but Tony Allen has shown this post season that he can be a gritty defender and who knows; maybe even Marquis Daniels (who was acquired specifically for his defense) will get an opportunity to contribute. But perhaps the biggest perceived advantage might be a psychological one. After all, last year title defense abruptly ended when Kevin Garnett's season ended with a knee injury. They have a distinct advantage of knowing they can beat the Lakers because they've done it before. Resoundingly! It’s still all a little premature, but it’s looking more and more like the 2 most storied franchises will lock horns yet again in arguably the best rivalry in all of sports. The Los Angeles Lakers vs. the rejuvenated Boston Celtics.