http://www.talkingpointfreesports.com/article.aspx?s=6000&su=6000&a=101210&t=A%20Year%20Later%20Than%20Expected,%20A%20Rivalry%20Is%20Renewed
Feb 6th- It all came rushing back to me. Old habits and feelings I haven't encountered in years.
The pacing up and down in front of my television, yelling at the top of my lungs at the refs, believing my team wasn't getting any of the calls. The rush of adrenalin that shot throughout my system as Rajon Rondo angrily pushed Kobe Bryant away while Paul Pierce attempted to add fuel to the fire by talking smack into the ear of the Lakers superstar.
It was that little black and white television sitting on top of the floor model color TV that no longer worked old school. Rabbit ear antenna vintage in its intensity, the game was a brief return to the early years, as the Los Angeles Lakers ended the Boston Celtics 12-game winning streak yesterday evening with a 110-109 overtime thriller in a building that bore the feel of old Boston Garden.
I haven't had the privilege of witnessing a regular season game in recent years that carried so much intensity. From Paul Pierce hearing the chants of “MVP” from Celtic fans as he dribbled away at the FT line (a direct stab at Kobe Bryant who heard those same chants in his honor by NY Knicks fans earlier this week), to the minor skirmishes that took place throughout the game, the anger and passion missing in last year's NBA Finals between these two teams unexpectedly appeared in yesterday's game.
Obviously, the Lakers still bear the scars from the beating taken at the hands of the Boston Celtics in the 2008 Finals. And it was evident that “the house of doom” which played host to so many Los Angeles Lakers failures in the past, seemed to weigh heavily on the Lakers shoulders with each passing shot or Celtic rebound. Surprisingly, those shoulders stood broadly this time around, as the Lakers kept fighting back.
Midway through the third quarter, the much maligned Lamar Odom decided that he was no longer going to be the guy offering a helping hand to pick his opponent up off the ground as he often did (much to my dislike) in last year's Finals. Coming off the bench for the first time in his career this season, Lamar displayed some heart that has often come under scrutiny. The Queens native instead used that hand to mockingly pat Kevin Garnett on his backside after being on the receiving end of a hard elbow into his back from the Celtic superstar.
KG (who stepped out of character to confront someone at his eye level), got in his face. Lamar stood firm and barked back, as the two players had to be separated.
It was a defining moment for a team that lost its budding superstar center, Andrew Bynum, over a week ago to what maybe a season ending knee injury. The stand off sent the signal that this year’s Lakers team would not be physically intimidated by a Celtics squad who had their way with them last season. And for one game, I felt as if I wasn’t watching “Kobe’s Team,” instead it was the Los Angeles Lakers.
And it set the tone for the rest of the game.
As the back and forth bickering and multiple lead changes between two of the league’s best teams took place for the rest of the game, the temperature inside Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden felt nothing like the 15 degrees outside it. The climate carried the inviting heat of early summer when the Lakers and Celtics usually met in an era when the referees kept their whistles around their necks and allowed the players to play.
The earlier skirmish seemed to take Kevin Garnett out of his game, as he fouled out towards the tail end of a pressure packed fourth quarter. Under fire from a constant barrage of bombs thrown by Eddie House and All Star game replacement Ray Allen and facing the rabid noise from Celtic fans chanting “Beat LA!! Beat LA,” the Lakers stood their ground and didn’t wilt under the pressure they once crumbled under.
Maybe I witnessed the TRUE renewal of this rivalry. While the rivalry’s true grit and feistiness may not have appeared in last season’s Finals, the passion displayed in yesterday’s game was built on the wounds inflicted from it. It wasn’t a manufactured renewal of a rivalry for current players, 20 years removed from it, to artificially embrace. It was as genuine and real as the old feelings I encountered yesterday evening.
I hope it makes a return visit this June.
