Who wants/needs it more: Celtics or Lakers?
In Part 2 of our Christmas Day exchange with the bloggers from the LA Times Lakers blog, Andrew Kamenetzky and I engage in a lively debate: Which team needs this game more?
Our boy Andrew Kamenetzky kicks it off:
Actually, the answer is “Neither,” because NOBODY on this planet needs a specific outcome- namely, a Laker victory- more than the Kamenetzky Brothers. For real. If the Lakers can’t pull this sucker out, our little corner of the Internet will basically explode. Our blog duties will primarily consist of talking readers down from cyber ledges- since their 23-6 Western Conference leaders will now have clearly reached “bottom feeder” status- and explaining why oodles of one-sided trade suggestions aren’t realistic, despite ESPN Trade Machine approval. Frankly, we do a fair amount of that as it is. Thus, I can safely say the stakes riding on this contest aren’t higher for anybody than the L.A. Times’ LakersBlog co-hosts. Period. Point blank. End of story.
But in terms of who runs a distant second between the Lakers or Celtics, I give the edge to the hosts. Not because a win “means” anything definitive for either team, mind you. No matter how this shakes out, both teams are obvious elites and have plenty of time to become even better. Plus, you never know what’ll happen from now and February (the next meeting), much less when the playoffs begin in April. Dudes get injured. Teams enjoy monster rolls and endure wretched slumps. And frankly, who’s to say the Cavs ain’t better than either ’08 Finals rep, anyway? Those cats are balling at the moment, in case folks haven’t noticed. To treat this game as the early stage of an inevitable coronation would be, on its best day, premature. Not that the media isn’t salivating to do so, of course. But assuming both teams play well, the final result will be more “entertaining” than truly “indicative.”
Having said that, the Lakers are still the metaphorical bridesmaids who played Julia Roberts to a Beantown Cameron Diaz (my blatant pandering to your female readership, by the way) and want to remove a bad taste from their mouths. Coming up short, and in particular, that Game 6 massacre, hurt. The degree of pain lingers varies from Laker to Laker- Sasha Vujacic literally won’t wear green until revenge is exacted- but I seriously doubt anybody has reached a place of being “okay” with it. The Lakers wiping that slate clean, if just partially, with a win means more than Boston having to “settle” for a 19-game winning streak. Unless they lose by 50, Team Green’s credentials will remain above reproach, but the Lakers’ recent sluggishness means they’ll likely still hear “question mark” talk even with a victory, much less a loss. But that chatter will certainly come at a lower volume (unless Stephen A. Smith is on hand) by chalking up “W” #24.
Gary Dzen, of the Boston Globe:
It’s more of a must-see than a measuring stick.
Don’t misread any of the following as a dismissive jab at the Lakers. One championship has not deluded Celtics fans to the point where they think their team is untouchable. But beating the Lakers on Christmas Day is not the goal. In the grand scheme of things, it’s just not that important.
Celtics fans care about Thursday’s game for two reasons. The first is that Boston will have a 19-game winning streak on the line. No matter how much C’s fans try to downplay the Lakers as an opponent, losing the streak to LA would sting a little more than losing it to someone else.
But the main reason Celtics fans care about this game is because it’s a game they would not miss. It’s great television. It will bring back memories of Pierce outplaying Kobe in his own building. Of Ray Allen making Sasha Vujacic look like his feet were glued to the floor. Of the Celtics, who came into the Finals as underdogs, storming back from a 24-point deficit in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.
 Rajon Rondo is developing into a star (David Kamerman/Globe Staff) |
And it will be a chance for Celtics fans to reach out to their friends on the West Coast and whisper, “You know what? This year’s team is even better.”
There will of course be Celtics fans for whom this game is a statement game. Whether trumped up by obnxious media outlets such as ourselves, or organically produced by those who know the game best, the perception is that the Celtics (27-2) and Lakers (23-5) are far and away the two best teams in the NBA this season. If the Celtics lose to the Lakers, you can expect sports talk shows to run with it and declare the Lakers the favorites. That will be too much for some Celtics fans to take.
But it shouldn’t be. The Celtics are 27-2!!! I mean, stop and think about that for a moment. Does one regular-season loss, on the road, to a very good team from the Western Conference, diminish anything the Celtics are doing? If the Celtics bounce back from that loss and win another 18 straight on their way to clinching home-court advantage for the playoffs, is anyone going to care about that Christmas Day game?
As the defending champions, the Celtics seem to have a statement game every other night. Opening night against LeBron. Beating the Pistons with Iverson. Winning down in Atlanta. The team brings their fans along with the ride for each of these emotional contests. The Lakers game is just another of those challenges.
There may, however, be one reason that Celtics fans want this one more than Lakers fans. You see, while the Lakers were trumping the return of Andrew Bynum as a reincarnation of Shaq, the Celtics were dusting off their new toy: Rajon Rondo, the All-Star. Celtics fans want so badly to show the country what Rondo can do.
And there’s no better day to show off a new toy than Christmas Day.
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Alright, that’s it for me! Merry Christmas, and enjoy the game everyone! (Click here to read the exchange, and the comments, from the people out in LA)
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