My favorite player is Magic Johnson although nothing about his game has ever resembled mine other than the fact that we both played Division 1 basketball.
The Bird/Magic era was special and the NBA will never see years like those when everyone seemed to play for the love of the game and not the money! (See quotes and link from a good article about the history of the LA/Boston rivalry below)
I will always fault Kobe Bryant for pushing Shaq out of LA. Magic, the ultimate team player would have never done that.
No one is happier than me about the Lakers (my favorite team) being back in the NBA Finals! Mr. Bryant is the reason why.
Since MJ retired, we have not seen anyone come close to taking his place either in dominating games or marketing. In terms of talent, drive and ambition, Kobe is a close second. Even if he ends up having more NBA titles than Mike's 6 (not likely), he will never be on the same level because of his arrogance and desire to be the center of attention.
If he could have co-existed with Shaq, he would probably have 5 rings like Magic instead of 3.
Kobe will be the difference in this series since I cannot see the Garnett (will he shine in his first "moment of truth"?) Celtics beating the Lakers. Winning a NBA title with a brand new nucleus is never easy and these Celtics have not paid their dues. The Lakers are younger, more athletic and have strong reserves. In addition, Kobe is in a league of his own and has been here many times before like his coach, Phil Jackson!
The late Red Auerbach was not fond of Phil Jackson's coaching:
Critics — notably Red Auerbach — used to chide Jackson for taking over ready-made teams, rather than developing them. But Jackson has reached this point with an overhauled, decidedly youthful roster. His rotation has featured five players drafted since 2003 — guards Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar, forwards Luke Walton and Ronny Turiaf and center Andrew Bynum. The Lakers lost Bynum, 20, to a knee injury in January.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/sports/basketball/29lakers.html?ref=basketball
Phil should get a little more respect now for his 2007/08 work of art. Passing Red's 9 titles as coach with a victory in this year's NBA finals should be enough to silence any critic.
For Boston , the Big Three (Garnett, Pierce and Allen) have only watched the NBA Finals up until this point. That inexperience will hurt them. Any comparison to the "real deal" BIG THREE, Bird/Parish/McHale is a insult to that magnificent trio.
My prediction is 4-2 Lakers.
The Lakers will be back on top once again and with their youth, a few more titles before Kobe's 34th birthday wouldn't surprise me.
Gswede
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From 1970 through 1983, Boston-L.A. went into cease-fire mode. Then in 1984 the league's newest mega-stars, Bird and Magic, turned the Finals into an event, with Bird winning a classic seven-gamer. The next June, Magic got the better of Bird, celebrating on the famed parquet, just 13 days after the Lakers suffered a 34-point trouncing at Boston Garden on Memorial Day. Two years later, Magic again claimed victory, hitting his legendary junior sky-hook in the final seconds to win the series-changing Game 4 in Boston.
Just like the Finals matchups in the '60s, the games of the Bird-Magic Era were memorable, and so were the players. Bird anchored what is considered the greatest front line in league annals, playing alongside fellow future Hall of Famers Kevin McHale and Robert (Chief) Parish. Magic's Lakers countered with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had arguably the greatest weapon in league annals in his skyhook; along with James (Big Game) Worthy.
"We came along at the right time," Johnson recalled. "I needed Larry and he needed me. We pushed each other, we meant so much to each other and we meant so much to the game. It was a fun time."
And since they're again chanting "Beat L.A." in Boston, you know the fun times are back.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/2008/05/31/2008-05-31_after_21year_hiatus_boston_la_renew_nbas.html?page=0
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