Welcome to the Garden …
TD BANKNORTH GARDEN — Welcome to the Garden, where the Boston Celtics (41-9) will take on the Los Angeles Lakers (39-9) in a nationally televised game at 8 p.m.
Where to start? The last time these two teams met in this building, the Celtics held what amounted to a 48-minute celebration of their 17th NBA title, running the Lakers right out of the building, 131-92, during Game 6 of the NBA Finals. A lot, or very little, depending on your perspective, has changed since then.
Ray Allen hasn’t changed. The very recently named All-Star, who hit seven three-pointers in that Game 6, was the first one in the gym tonight. He had the court to himself just before 5 p.m., which seems to be the way he likes it.
The amount of attention this matchup receives hasn’t changed much, either. To accomodate the crush of media expected tonight, the team has reconstructed the makeshift press conference room it used during last season’s playoffs. Unlike regular season games, KG and Paul Pierce won’t have to talk to the media in a converted closet.
Another similarity between this game and Game 6 of the NBA Finals: Andrew Bynum is once again hurt for the Lakers. Another knee injury will keep the bruising center out until around playoff time.
So what’s different? The stakes of this game, for one. Despite the hype and national attention, this game won’t mean a thing for either team in their respective conference standings. The Celtics are far more concerned with Cleveland at this point in the season, the Lakers with San Antonio. The Finals seem like a long ways off.
It’s hard to write an intro for this game, and this one was by no means complete. Luckily I’ll have help tonight. Marc Spears, Frank Dell ‘Apa, Chris Forsberg, Tony Massarotti, and Bob Ryan will all be here to bring you coverage of this one.
I’d advise you to stay tuned.
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