The Three Point Play 06.02.08: Celtics-Lakers to Meet in NBA Finals, and Doug Collins Rejoins the Bulls

Posted by Blake Lovell on 06.02.2008

Somewhere, David Stern is smiling, as the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers will meet in the 2008 NBA Finals. This edition of the Three Point Play is sort of an introduction to the Finals, and discusses what happened in the past week in the league. This is one of many editions of the Three Point Play this week, as there will be several previews in the coming days. Enjoy!



Hello everyone and welcome to another playoff edition of the Three Point Play! The NBA got its wish granted, as it will be the Lakers vs. the Celtics in the battle for the league championship. On a side note before we begin, be sure to tune in this week for a special edition NBA Finals Preview edition of the Three Point Play, as we'll talk about all the ins and outs of the upcoming series, and take a look at who has the advantage. We'll look at matchups at each position, and who the potential X-factors may be in this series. Tuesday's edition will look at the backcourt of both teams. Wednesday's edition will look at the frontcourt for both teams. And Thursday's edition will look at other intangible categories, along with some fun categories to lighten the mood a little. But we've got plenty to get to now, so let's get started!

1. Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers will be making their 29th appearance in the NBA Finals, as they knocked off the defending champion Spurs 100-92 in Game 5 of the series. The Lakers move on to now face the Celtics in a showdown of arguably the best two teams in the NBA in the Finals. I was a little surprised at the Lakers knocking out the Spurs in a short series, but I suppose on paper, you had to expect it. The Lakers were the more athletic team, had the most energetic and productive bench, and had the best player in the league on their side. Oh yeah, and it doesn't hurt having Phil Jackson on the sidelines either. The Lakers were the superior team in the Western Conference, even though the Spurs were the defending champions. They were the number one seed in arguably one of the toughest conferences in recent memory, and all the bumps and bruises they have taken along the way have paid off in the long run. It may not have been pretty last year, or pretty at the start of this season, but the Lakers are sitting pretty right now for a shot at another NBA Championship.

Kobe Bryant continued to prove why he was the MVP, as he took over games when necessary, and was just unstoppable for the entire series. It's just funny to look at things from a larger perspective though. We can all look back to the start of the season, and how we wondered if/and when Kobe would be traded. He wanted out, and he made that perfectly clear. There were times when we thought he was headed for Chicago, and that the Lakers would suffer, and become one of the worst teams in the league. Kobe wasn't happy with how things were going, and how things were likely to turn out in Los Angeles. Many months and a Pau Gasol trade later, this is where we stand. Kobe has led the Lakers from average to great, and now they are four wins away from a title. I would have never thought the Lakers would be sitting here still playing when the season began, but it shows you just how quickly things can change. There were people who thought Kobe was never serious about being traded from the beginning, but I wasn't one of those people. I honestly thought he'd end up in Chicago, and beginning a new era with the Bulls. But you've got to give credit to all sides for resolving the matter. Jerry Buss, Mitch Kupchak, Phil Jackson, and Kobe all deserve a pat on the back for being able to put differences aside, and put together a plan to keep the best player in basketball in Hollywood. It's safe to say they're probably glad they did.

And now, heading into the NBA Finals, the Lakers look like the best team in basketball. They've pretty much made easy work of the teams they've faced so far in the playoffs, although the series with the Jazz went six games, but you never really felt like the Jazz were a serious threat to them. And it hasn't been all about Kobe for the Lakers. Sure, he's had an unbelievable postseason, but the guys around him are stepping up as well. Derek Fisher has been solid at the point guard position throughout the postseason, and has been the guy to hit big shots for the Lakers in crunch time situations. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol have had their struggles in the playoffs, but when they're on, they're on. These guys always present matchup problems at their positions because of their size. And it goes without saying that the players off the bench for the Lakers have been incredible. They may not always score a ton of points, but Phil Jackson knows that they can score points at any time. Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar have been shooting the ball well, which has gave the Lakers the added boost throughout the playoffs. Luke Walton has provided solid minutes. Ronny Turiaf has been explosive off the bench, as his physicality inside has provided Los Angeles with more of a physical style rather than just a finesse inside game. Plain and simple, every person on the team has been vital for the Lakers.

2. Celtics

As for the Boston Celtics, well, they proved quite a bit in their series with the Detroit Pistons. On the one hand, they proved they could actually win a game on the road in the playoffs. And not just one game, but two games. On the other hand. they proved they could actually lose a game at home in the playoffs. But more importantly, they proved they were the best team in the Eastern Conference, which is why they will play in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987. The Pistons had the ability to keep up with the Celtics, and even win the series, but in the end, it was the big three for the Celtics leading them to victory. While Ray Allen hasn't had a particularly spectacular postseason, he still made a difference in the Eastern Conference Finals along with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics finally started playing at a level they had during the regular season, which is why they were able to eliminate their road troubles, and move on to the next round. It will take this kind of effort from the Celtics in the Finals if they want to hoist the trophy above their heads and proclaim that they are the best team on the planet.

What a year is has been for this team. Their situation was much different than the situation in Los Angeles at the beginning of the season, as the expectations were much higher. The Celtics acquired Allen and Garnett prior to the 07-08 season, which made things a little bit different in Boston. Let's take a look back. This was one of the worst teams in the league last year, as they were just plain bad. And as most of us remember, this was the same team that was believed to be tanking towards the end of the season in order to receive number one pick in the draft. That didn't happen, as the Blazers got the first choice, but Danny Ainge and the Celtics organization made big off-season splashes anyways. Picking up Allen was a surprise, but picking up Garnett was an even bigger surprise. So therefore, the nature of the Celtics changed completely, from top to bottom. At the beginning of the year, this was a team that was expected to rule the Eastern Conference, given the huge moves they made. While some people believed that chemistry problems would keep the team from achieving a lot this year, there were others who thought this was now going to be the best team in the NBA. And the Celtics have a chance to prove they are the best by beating the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Pierce, Allen, and Garnett have lived up to the hype this season, and all three are now trying to capture their first NBA title in their first appearance in the Finals.

The Celtics are basically back to where they started now, before the postseason even began. They have 7 games to win four. That's what it comes down to. And they've got the home-court advantage. They've got to forget everything that's happened in the past rounds. The near collapse against the Hawks, the inability to win on the road, and the struggles of Ray Allen have to all be forgotten. They have to just concentrate on this one matchup with Kobe and the Lakers. Everyone gets a clean slate at this point. The only thing that matters now is that they beat the Lakers. They've made it this far, so I'd expect that some Boston fans would be disappointed if they didn't finish it off. This is why they made all the moves they did. To win an NBA Championship. Now they are given that opportunity, and have to make the best of it. The big three will have to be consistent for them to win, and their bench play will be even more important. The L.A. bench is one of the best in the league, so the Celtics will need a lot of production out of James Posey, Eddie House, and Sam Cassell if they want to win this thing. This is the matchup most people have wanted to see, and now we will get it. Thursday can't get here soon enough.

3. Collins to Bulls

It seems likely at this point that Doug Collins will be taking the Chicago Bulls head coaching job for the second time in his coaching career. This is a very interesting occurrence to say the least. Of all the guys I thought may get that job, Collins wasn't even in the top ten. Not saying he's a bad coach, it's just that he's been out of the league for a little while now. His stint in Washington with the Wizards when Michael Jordan returned was a very forgettable run, as that team really didn't have the talent to compete in the Eastern Conference at that time. Collins also coached the Bulls in the early era of Jordan, and had to take some bumps and bruises then as well. The common denominator in both cases? Jordan. Now Collins returns to the Bulls without a star player at this point, unless of course the Bulls first pick in the draft turns out to be a star (and I'd say Rose and Beasley will both be stars in the league). It's definitely different for Collins this time around, because he doesn't have a team of veterans who can lead themselves. He's now gotta be the leader and the teacher.

There is some talent on the Chicago roster as of now that he can work with. Ben Gordon has to be considered the go-to-guy at this point in time, even though he lacks consistency at times. Luol Deng is a solid player on both ends of the floor, and is probably the most consistent player on the team. He's gonna show up every night, although it really didn't help much this past season. Tyrus Thomas is an up-and-comer in the league, and can be a force in the paint with his shot-blocking ability. As we've talked about previously, the problem is that the Bulls are just young. Only a couple guys are older than 25, and they have no type of leader on the team. They are just a bunch of guys out playing the game. But sooner or later, you've gotta have some type of leadership to be successful. And right now, they don't have that.

Can Collins be the guy to bring that to them? I'm not totally sure. I'd expect the Bulls to make some trades in the near future to try and improve the roster. But if Collins wants to bring the Bulls back after a disastrous season, he's probably going to have to focus a lot of his time on straightening out some of the on and off the court problems. Joakim Noah for example. On the floor, Collins has to be able to teach these young guys how the pro game is played. It's not that the Bulls can't do it, because they've had success in the last couple years (this last one aside). They've just got to be able to put it all together. I thought Avery Johnson or Mark Jackson would have been a better fit because they are more of the hard discipline types. Collins is a disciplinary coach, but maybe not to the extent of those other two guys. It's a little early to judge whether or not this move will be a success, but I just pictured the Bulls going after more of a long-term guy. A lot of questions have been raised as to Collins' aspirations to coach again, so it'll be interesting to see how things turn out. But honestly, I just can't see him being there for more than a couple seasons.

THE BONUS

- Going back to the Celtics-Pistons series, what the was Rasheed Wallace thinking at times? In Game 6, the guy is one technical away from being suspended, yet he keeps on running his mouth at anyone and everyone. Given the result of the game, it wouldn't have mattered, but still. Had their been a Game 7, Wallace would have had to sit out. Combine that with an injured Richard Hamilton, and we could have seen another Game 7 beatdown in Boston. Luckily for Rasheed, it didn't get that to that point. Because he wouldn't have had some happy teammates.

- If you have ESPN Classic, here's a list of past NBA Finals games that will be appearing on the station leading up to Game 1 of the 2008 Finals Thursday night:

Monday - Bullets vs. Sonics 1978 NBA Finals Game 7 (2 PM ET), 76ers vs. Lakers 1983 NBA Finals Game 4 (4 PM ET)
Tuesday - Pistons vs. Lakers 1988 NBA Finals Game 6 (2 PM ET), Bulls vs. Suns 1993 NBA Finals Game 6 (4 PM ET)
Wednesday - Bulls vs. Jazz 1998 NBA Finals Game 6 (2 PM ET), Nets vs. Spurs 2003 NBA Finals Game 6 (4 PM ET)

- And lastly, with all the hype going on this week regarding Celtics-Lakers, do you like it or not? I know that newer basketball fans may not really care to keep listening about what happened 20 years ago, whereas older basketball fans will love to go back and revisit some of the memories of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry. I actually enjoy looking back at the older games, especially the days of Magic vs. Bird. However, the only thing I have a problem with is when the comparison between these Laker and Celtic teams, and the past Laker-Celtic teams come into question. It's a different era, so it's hard to completely compare who was better. Fans will have different opinions, because they come from different eras. I thought the Magic and Bird teams were two of the greatest teams of all-time, so I personally don't think this year's teams stack up to them. Tons of comparisons will be made throughout the week, but there's no definite answer one way or the other as to who was better.

That's it for this installment of the Three Point Play. Be sure to tune in all this week for special previews and coverage of the 2008 NBA Finals.