Rick_Garcia's Blog

Maybe it's because this is the first time they have met in the NBA finals in 21 years. But it just doesn't have the feel of those magical series from the 80's. Perhaps if we see the these Lakers and Celtics in the finals a few more times maybe we will learn to hate or love them.
See that's the key to a great rivalry. Wasn't it fun Lakers fans to hate Robert Parish, Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale and Cedric Maxwell. They were the bad guys. The cowboys who wore black hats. You remember Kurt Rambis getting thrown around like a rag doll. Those Celtics were characters. So were Magic, Kareem, Worthy and Cooper. I'll bet fans all over Boston cursed those Lakers all day long too! But for some reason today's Lakers and Celtics just don't seem to have that edge. Sometimes I think it's because I don't get the impression they play as much for the name on the front of the jersey as they do for the endorsements they hope to get as individuals. It's funny but I was thrown for a loop one day when I was covering sports in Phoenix Arizona some years ago. I was at a Suns practice one day and was interviewing Maurice Lucas. Lucas was sort of an enforcer in the NBA. Wasn't afraid to mix it up on the court. That's why the Lakers signed him in '85. I asked Mo if he could pick one guy to be his teammate who would it be. Magic??? Kareem??? Jordan??? He told me he'd want Danny Ainge. I was shocked. Ainge??? The ANTI-Laker? Lucas told me he'd take Ainge over everybody else for the same reason he hated playing against him. The guy was tough. The guy hustled. The guy would step in front of a bus for his teammates. Ainge was just one example of that era.
Characters! Guys who would try to bash your head in on the court. But would give you the shirt off their back off it!
This years Lakers/Boston series looks like a great one. But it may take another one next season or the season after to convince me these guys should be put on the same shelf with the Lakers and Celtics of the '80's.