Congrats to the Celtics and Ainge for putting together the greatest turn around in NBA history. They were the better team. They handled Kobe better than anyone else, shot lights out (House and Posey were unbelievable), and had a tenacity and toughness the Lakers did not have...Game 4 was the killer for the Lakers...I sure was wrong about this series. I predicted the Lakers in 6 and that Ray Allen was history. The Celtics won in 6 and Ray Allen MADE history....Sigh...Gasol was no match for KG, but next year Bynum will more than hold his own against KG...In essence exchanging Bynum for Ramonovic ("I can pick up two fouls faster than anyone in the league" ) will put the Lakers light years ahead of where they are now...If Farmar can come into his own, he can match or surpass Fisher and the Lakers will be down right impressive next year....Not sure if it will mean championships, but pretty darn scary....That the Lakers made it to the Finals without Bynum says something...Not that he is on par with KG, but where do you think the Celtics would have ended up without KG playing?

The funny thing, is that going into the finals, you could have said the team that needed the heart transplant was Boston. They looked terrible and nearly got knocked off by Atlanta in the 1st round.

LA played soft and Allen reappeared after hibernating the rest of the playoffs - Pierce and Garnett proved they are warriors and deserving of a ring.

Anyone that says that they're not surprised by this result might have a screw loose. 90% of the ESPN, SI, etc. experts picked LA to win this.

LA ran through the West, beat down a really tough San Antonio team and played with the kind of heart that for whatever reason, they never showed against Boston.

I'm happy to see KG get his ring though. The guy may never get his due from all the time he sat in Minnesota as arguably a top 2-3 talent in the league. Pierce too, another guy that always had the talent but never the team.

Kudos goes to Danny Ainge. Not for pulling off a trade that really fell in his lap (honestly, he wanted Yi Jianlian so bad last year, that had he gotten him, Boston might have gone into rebuild mode and Danny might be without a job right now)(Kevin McHale should be getting a commemorative ring from the Celts)but for putting together the bench that Boston had. Posey, Powe, PJ Brown, Eddie House, Tony Allen, etc. They had a huge part in their championship and ironically had played awful (or not at all) in the playoffs up to the finals.

I wouldn't at all be surprised to see LA back in the finals several times in the next few years. Jordan Farmar is a legit point in this league (ala Tony Parker) Pau Gasol is a borderline all star and if Andrew Bynum (he's still just a baby) returns to the form that he left playing last season, then they're the scariest team in the NBA.
If you don't think that Bynum could haver made the difference, just realize that the 1st two games in Boston were close enough that a guy with Amare Stoudamire size and talent could have turned the tide. Bynum showed that he's that good before he got hurt.

One player can make that much difference in the NBA, imagine how different Boston would have been without KG in the middle (kicking the crap out of Gasol) or how poorly Boston played in game 5 without Perkins. If Bynum returns to all star form, he could be the difference.

Obviously not the difference in game 6 (LA seemed prepared to give up the ghost last night) but he could have been the difference in games 1,2,4

The Celts aren't ancient by any means and if their young guys like Rondo, Powe, Perkins, Davis, and House continue to improve, Boston could very well be back in the finals next year.

I have a hard time judging the Lakers based on last night though, the way they played, they could have lost to any team in the league. I was a really bad loss, but it hardly summed up the rest of the series.

BoiseBYU wrote:

....Sigh...Gasol was no match for KG, but next year Bynum will more than hold his own against KG...In essence exchanging Bynum for Ramonovic ("I can pick up two fouls faster than anyone in the league" ) will put the Lakers light years ahead of where they are now...If Farmar can come into his own, he can match or surpass Fisher and the Lakers will be down right impressive next year....Not sure if it will mean championships, but pretty darn scary....That the Lakers made it to the Finals without Bynum says something...Not that he is on par with KG, but where do you think the Celtics would have ended up without KG playing?

You're comparing Bynum to KG!?!?!? Are you out of your mind!? What has Bynum ever done in this league to warrent that comparison? You think Bynum is the reason the Lakers and Kobe got their backsides handed to them? The Celtics had a chance to win both games the Lakers won and the Celtics won the last game by 40 points. I though the Laker banwagoners would take a little time to show themselves but I was wrong. Next thing you'll say is that Kobe played fantastic but didn't get any help and he deserves to be metioned in the same breath as MJ. One things is for sure, MJ never would have allowed his team to go down that way. I HATE the Laker and I hate the Celtics but Bynum is no KG and Kobe is not even close to MJ. Last night proved that.

suuwr wrote:

BoiseBYU wrote:

....Sigh...Gasol was no match for KG, but next year Bynum will more than hold his own against KG...In essence exchanging Bynum for Ramonovic ("I can pick up two fouls faster than anyone in the league" ) will put the Lakers light years ahead of where they are now...If Farmar can come into his own, he can match or surpass Fisher and the Lakers will be down right impressive next year....Not sure if it will mean championships, but pretty darn scary....That the Lakers made it to the Finals without Bynum says something...Not that he is on par with KG, but where do you think the Celtics would have ended up without KG playing?

You're comparing Bynum to KG!?!?!? Are you out of your mind!? What has Bynum ever done in this league to warrent that comparison? You think Bynum is the reason the Lakers and Kobe got their backsides handed to them? The Celtics had a chance to win both games the Lakers won and the Celtics won the last game by 40 points. I though the Laker banwagoners would take a little time to show themselves but I was wrong. Next thing you'll say is that Kobe played fantastic but didn't get any help and he deserves to be metioned in the same breath as MJ. One things is for sure, MJ never would have allowed his team to go down that way. I HATE the Laker and I hate the Celtics but Bynum is no KG and Kobe is not even close to MJ. Last night proved that.

And that, like paul pierce, is the truth

I am disappointed in last nights results. We had given orders that it was to go to a game seven and the refs didn't do their job!

But here in Akron/Cleveland we still have his highness King James! (and his role players). At least we have him until his contract runs out. Expect the US GDP to go up 50% when he becomes a free agent. Heck, the Yankees may just sign him because the've got the money! We know around here that he will be gone. Heck he is already setting himself up for it. Last year in the playoffs against the hated Yankee's he wore a NY hat to the game. And he got the tickets as a gift from the Indians! It was a nice feeling to have it blow up in his face when we took the series and sent the moneybags back to the Bronx crying.
Anyways, maybe he will sign with LA or Boston when he goes, just kidding. I think he has already committed to play for a new NBA team that is rummored to startup in NY(?) within the next few years. Or at the least he is expected to sign with the Knicks. Oh, to root for the little guy teams!

I'm just glad I'm not a "big" fan of the NBA. It lose interest when nobody is playing "d", everyone is hacking, a foul is called on nearly every possesion, and more time is spent at the charity strip than dribbling. Bring on NCAA Basketball anytime. Now that is basketball. Of course nothing (except maybe the birth of a baby ) is better than NCAA football!!!!!

suuwr wrote:

BoiseBYU wrote:

....Sigh...Gasol was no match for KG, but next year Bynum will more than hold his own against KG...In essence exchanging Bynum for Ramonovic ("I can pick up two fouls faster than anyone in the league" ) will put the Lakers light years ahead of where they are now...If Farmar can come into his own, he can match or surpass Fisher and the Lakers will be down right impressive next year....Not sure if it will mean championships, but pretty darn scary....That the Lakers made it to the Finals without Bynum says something...Not that he is on par with KG, but where do you think the Celtics would have ended up without KG playing?

You're comparing Bynum to KG!?!?!? Are you out of your mind!? What has Bynum ever done in this league to warrent that comparison? You think Bynum is the reason the Lakers and Kobe got their backsides handed to them? The Celtics had a chance to win both games the Lakers won and the Celtics won the last game by 40 points. I though the Laker banwagoners would take a little time to show themselves but I was wrong. Next thing you'll say is that Kobe played fantastic but didn't get any help and he deserves to be metioned in the same breath as MJ. One things is for sure, MJ never would have allowed his team to go down that way. I HATE the Laker and I hate the Celtics but Bynum is no KG and Kobe is not even close to MJ. Last night proved that.

Slow down my friend before you blow a fuse. I expressly said Bynum is not on par with KG and did NOT say that his absence is what caused the Celtics to win. I did not say and do not say Kobe is on par with Jordan, so your prognostication skills, in addition to your reading skills, seem off track. I DID say the Celtics were the better team. And I do think that Bynum provided the Lakers what KG provides the Celtics. Bynum's stats were pretty impressive this year and the type of play he brings to the Lakers was not something, not even Gasol, could replicate. If you disagree so be it, but do so without whipping out strawman arguments and bashing them around.