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Lay over could be a good thing for both teams
By David Zizmor June 1, 2008 |
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Don't be fooled by the long snooze in the hammocks by either the Lakers or the Boston Celtics. Kevin Garnett is finally getting that peace and quiet he was talking about after Friday's game six victory, saying after the series with the Pistons that the team almost never got any rest between games, and it took a lot out of both the Celts and Pistons. The Lakers, who finished their series with the San Antonio Spurs in five games, ended their series earlier then the Celtics, and with the Celtics, who just finished last Friday, the feeling for both teams having six days off, it's almost like a vacation if you don't include the two hours of practice and workouts each day. But trust me, the two hours of workouts is not anything like game day pressure and preparation. Looking at this week of rest for both clubs- this is the best thing that the NBA could have done schedule wise. When play commences, both teams would not only have been rested but be at full strength and ready to give it their full effort. No sleepy heads here, no air ball show, and no sloppy finals basketball here. This series should be top notch. This is or what is expected to be one of the best series in pro basketball history. Will there be a Joey Crawford moment when Brent Barry was hit at the last second for an uncalled foul? Maybe, but everyone will have a full night's rest up to that point and that won't be the player's call but the officials running up and down the court. If there was anytime that fans, media, wanted to see a full-blown great series, probably one that will or at least should be the best in recent memory, it will be this one. The big three will be there- the Celtics’ Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Garnett versus Kobe. Looking at this series coming up, it will be the tightest crescendo in basketball history if you let your B-Ball mind go wild. Talk on talk shows have mentioned that there have only been three game sevens in the last 20 years, five in the last 30 games, and eight games of the last 40 years: The Spurs-Pistons, then the Rockets-Knicks in ‘94, and before that, Lakers-Pistons in 1988 in the last 20 years. Before those series, guess who? The Celtics and the Lakers played seven games in 1984. If you had to make a prediction, if you had to look at how this stage is set, if you consider how the NBA scheduled these six days apart from the Conference Finals to the Finals, it was a stroke of genius. No matter what anyone says, this series with the Celts and the Lakers will go all seven games and if it does happen, very few will be surprised. Everyone loves the idea that these two teams are matching up and it's a break away from the usual Finals featuring the usual suspects, the Pistons and Spurs, or my favorite, the Spurs and the Pistons; just turn it around a little bit. So the stage is set for game one on Thursday night at the Fleet Center and finally by that time, you'll get to see two well rested teams and by all means, enjoy all seven games of the series. Finals schedule: Thursday: at Boston June 8: at Boston June 10: at Los Angeles June 12: at Los Angeles* June 15: at Los Angeles* June 17: at Boston* June 19: at Boston* * denotes if necessary all games start at 6PM PDT David Zizmor is covering the NBA Finals for Sportstalk radio. |
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