Congratulations

[rickortreat]

Considering all the classless statements contradicting my pick of Boston, I think it is only appropriate that I get some props.  I should have known better than to expect that of posters here, even if hope springs eternal.

I don't even care.  I knew I was right when I went with the Celtics and they made it so.  Lakers actually deserve as much congratulations for what they accomplished this year.  They didn't win it all, but they won the West in great style, beating last year's champs in convincing fashion. No doubt they will be right back in it next season, and with Bynum they will probably be close to even with Boston, and with a better guard to go with Kobe instead of Fisher, they could be the team to beat.

How long will Boston be able to stay on top with this group?  It looks like they have a couple of years left.

[Derek Bodner]

Rick, why is it that every one of your posts is me against the world?

You're not the only one here who liked Boston, or who thought they would be favorites.  heck, i myself called it before the season

[msc]

I think pretty much everyone picked the Celtics to win it all once they saw how they were destroying the opposition in the regular season.  Only the media pundits who jumped on LA's bandwagon were delusional enough to pick LA in that series.  Early in the season I picked SA to win it all so it shows you how much I know 

[Skandery]

Early in the season I picked SA to win it all so it shows you how much I know

I am in the same boat.  In pre-season I picked San Antonio to win it all.  When Boston started going on a tear through the season, I STUCK with the Spurs.  I thought a weakened East inflated Boston's record and inexperience with playing together would strike at inopportune times in the playoffs.  When Pau Gasol went to LA, I switched to the Lakers and never changed it.

[westkoast]

The Celtics deserve a lot of credit.  They looked shaky in the first two rounds and were not picked to win the finals by a lot of people.  Yet they just kept playing with heart, determination, and as far as I am concerned ran a very good Laker team right off the floor in a brutal fashion.  To stay focused in a close out game to beat a squad to a pulp deserves major kudos.  When I was able to step back as a basketball fan and take everything in it was great to see KG and PP hoist the trophy.  It was also good to really feel apart of a Lakers/Celtics rivalry as a fan. Its now, as they say, ON AND POPPIN!  They whooped the Lakers rear ends plain and simple.  Now its time for the Lakers to up the ante in the off-season by getting healthy, focusing in on trying to win the trophy to get rid of that awful feeling in their stomachs, and work on getting Bynum/Gasol to be able to play together well.  I think some Laker fans feel that if we had Bynum playing better interior defense and rebounding that the Lakers wouldn't have been beat so handily.  I personally am going to stay positive and try HARD not to ignore the good season they had because they hit a more talented and determined team.

Skandery...you really thought KG should have got finals MVP over PP?  KG's defensive contribution was a little bit unmentioned but there were times when PP straight strapped the team on his back on BOTH sides of the floor.  Getting to the rack and going to the other end to slow down Kobe is all around, good as it gets professional basketball.

And since I haven't got to comment due to being MIA...The Lakers coaching staff did not get outcoached.  The Lakers players got out played by a large margin.  The adjustments were made, they countered, but the Celtics were just that much better then the Lakers.  It's similar to the Spurs series where Pop did not get out coached.  They just met a better team.  Same in this instance IMO.

edit: Rick you get your props.  I don't think it was classless to say that we felt good you picked against the Lakers.  If you want us to man up and give you props (that you deserve) then man up and admit you picked wrong the entire playoffs up until that point LOL.

[rickortreat]

OK,  Fair's fair.  And thank you for the props westkoast!

I did a terrible job of prognosticating this year. The Sixers pick over Detroit was more sentimental than logic.  I did think they were closer than they were, I saw their last loss against the Pistons and realized that they were still better than Philly.

I also didn't pick the Lakers to win anything and was clearly waaay wrong on that count.  As I have said in other posts, Laker fans have a lot to feel good about this season.  Simply because they got beat by a better team in Boston is no reason to hang your heads.  You won the West, upending San Antonio with no problem. With Bynum back and healthy, the Celtics won't be able to dominate the boards so easily, but you will need a better guard than Fisher, IMO. 

The only thing I was really right about was the Celtics, and it's true a lot of people also thought the same thing.  But plenty of professional sports writers and LA fans were sure the Lakers were the team to beat.  They did appear to have more momentum coming into the finals, but I just couldn't see them matching up with Boston without more size in the middle.  And I also thought that no-one was giving Boston credit for their defense.  It took a lot to shut down a high-powered offense like LA, and no one else, including the Spurs were able to do that.

In any case, Boston has now raised the Bar.  They have won with three ALL-Stars, and some very talented role players and a rookie point guard who played great. This is about as good a level of talent on one team as there ever was, I would say on a par with the older Celtic, Laker and Piston teams of the 80's. This is at least good news for the NBA, it is still possible to put a great team together.

Boston has now defined a new way to win a Championship.  Recruit bona-fide All-Stars, stuck in franchises unable to attract enough talent to seriously contend.  Trade away your entire team to get them from these desperate franchises, and mortgage your future.  By comparison LA adding Gasol was a nothing, LA is building from within, and should be stronger down the line unless Boston is very lucky.