From C.A. Clark, Silver Screen and Roll: That’s the 2010 NBA Finals in a nutshell. There is no valid set of rules that explains the events we’ve seen so far. There is no spoon. No matter how this series ends up, the “impossible” has already happened. Phil Jackson is currently 47-0 when his team wins the first game of a playoff series. The past 10 times an NBA Finals has been tied 1-1, the team that has won Game Three has won the series. And yet, the Celtics have never lost a Game Seven in the NBA Finals, having won seven times under those circumstances. A team has won the last two games after facing a 3-2 deficit only twice in the last 25 years. Of course, one of those teams just happened to be the Lakers. Improbable is a better word than impossible to describe these feats, as they are all stats that had to be disproven eventually. But at some point along the roller coaster that has been this series, it has been improbable that either team would win, based upon the analysis and historical data available at the time. Now, one team has to win.
No outcome would surprise tonight, and while the Series hardly qualifies as "epic" (in the traditional sense of the word), it has nonetheless been immensely satisfying, one that will leave mental scars - good and bad - for Boston and LA fans alike.
It's akin to watching two champion Heavyweight Boxers go at it across 15 rounds, knowing that a knockout blow could come at any time, but probably won't given how evenly matched, well-coached and mentally tough these two teams are.
Laker fans out there, PRAY-PRAY-PRAY for a victory for the ages tonight by Kobe, PJ, Pau, Lamar, Fish, Bynum and the gang.
As a fan, you live for these moments.
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- Magic & Bird - A Courtship of Rivals (awesome documentary on HBO)
- Lakers-Celts and the Sporting Metaphor
