The Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 131 to 92 in Game 6 on Tuesday June 17 to win the 2007-2008 NBA Finals 4-2. The Celtics dominated Game 6 shooting 49.4 percent and success with screen/rolls and screen/pops offensive the Lakers’ defense failed to contain. Game 6 showed why the Celtics earned the championship.
One can say the Celtics won the championship 5-1 because the Lakers won Game 5 with all luck. In Game 5, the Lakers’ made fewer mistakes than the Celtics. The Celtics missed 10 layups, Ray Allen made 4 out of his 16 shots and fouled out, and Kevin Garnett missed three critical free throws. Both teams played horrible. The bottom line was the Lakers won Game 5. If the Lakers wanted to win the championship, then they must learn their mistakes in Game 5, they must realize the process to win Game 5 was unchampionship like, which they failed. The Celtics corrected their mistakes and made adjustments for the clinching Game 6 win. Congratulations to Paul Pierce for NBA Finals MVP.
The Celtics’ championship process was deserved and earned. Every player made contributions including the Game 6 blowout. Offense, defense, smart plays, key clutch scores, everything a champion team must do to win the Celtics accomplished. The players trusted each other. The Big Three dropped their egos and played as a team. Teamwork and chemistry are keys to win championships. The coaches make great players great and great players make great coaches great. Both sides must work together. The Celtics were 24-58 last year. The turnaround was absolutely fantastic.
I saw no championship desire in the Lakers. There were no defense adjustments, the bench contributed little offensive, and turnovers were costly. NBA MVP Kobe Bryant had no support. Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Derik Fisher were garbage. The team needs support players desperately. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson each had support for their championships.
How can the Celtics win the 2008-2009 NBA Finals? The answer is to innovate. The team must look at their championship process. What were the mistakes? Learn from the mistakes. What was good? Take the good and make it better. Just because they won the championship doesn’t mean the team relaxes and take the championship for granted such as having the attitude, “We won. We are invincible. Let’s party.” While the Celtics may have the false championship attitude, the rest of the NBA teams including the Lakers are figuring out how to beat the Celtics the next NBA season. Innovate their offense, defense, players’ skills, and coaching strategy and the Celtics have a great chance to win next year. The bottom line is the Celtics won the championship. Never evaluate a season on the bottom line. Evaluate the season on the process.
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