History

The stage was set -- the Boston Celtics had won the NBA Championship two seasons earlier; now the LA Lakers were back in the Finals, looking to repeat from their Championship of the year before. They lost a game at home early in the series, but rebounded to win one on the road and return home down 3-2 for the final two games.

Sound familiar?

That was in 1988. 22 years ago. The reason I bring this up -- as this year's Game 6 is barely underway -- is to remind myself that I was actually pulling for the Lakers that year as they squared off against the Detroit Pistons. There were reasons -- (1) I had a good friend who was a Lakers fan -- (2) They weren't playing the Celtics -- (3) They were playing the Pistons (Bill Laimbeer, Isiah Thomas, enough said) -- (4) The Pistons, in addition to their many other flaws, had just beaten the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals -- (5) And, quite honestly, in addition to being highly talented, that was (in my view) a very likable Lakers team.

Fast-forward to 2010 -- Led by Kobe "Not Guilty" Bryant, Pau "buy a consonant" Gasol and Phil "X-Man" Jackson -- I cannot help but absolutely loathe this crowd. Talented, yes, but over-rated. I guess what bothers me the most is how Phil Jackson is being called the greatest coach of all time -- okay, his ten rings might get him into the top ten, but not any higher. See here for my thoughts on that a year ago. The Lakers showed their true colors as they became unravelled in Game 5, pointing and sniping and blaming each other for their collective incompetence and inferiority, while the Celtics did what all good teams do -- pass, take good shots, stick with what works and don't care who's playing or who gets the credit.

Here's hoping for #18. Good luck catching that, Phil.