Boston Celtics: "Anything Is Possible"

In the end, it wasn't even close. Led by the new "Big Three", the Boston Celtics, after obliterating the L.A. Lakers 131-92, are NBA champions for the 17th time.

After 26 gruelling playoff games, the Celtics were rightly and deservedly crowned. Not even the sting of the city of Boston winning yet another professional sports title could ruin the moment.

I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the beating Boston laid down on Kobe Bryant and his teammates to seal the deal. Sure, it was rather anti-climactic seeing as the game was over at half-time, but I hate Kobe, and I took a certain amount of pleasure in watching Bryant and his teammates get their asses handed to them in the biggest game of their lives.

Kobe and company did their best impersonation of Toronto Raptors defensive basketball last night, and it was impressive, you know, in that really pathetic Raptors sort of way. The Celtics scored, and scored at will, racking up 58 points in the first half, and a staggering 73 in the second half.

Boston also dominated on the glass. The Lakers' effort on the boards would have made the Raptors squirm, and that tells you something. Boston out-rebounded L.A. 48-29. In a telling statistic of who simply wanted it more, the Celtics picked up 14 offensive boards, while L.A. responded with two.

On the flip side, it was a most impressive defensive performance by the Celtics. Textbook Doc Rivers basketball.

Once again, Kobe Bryant was rendered ineffective (so were his teammates), scoring 22 points on 7-of-22 shooting from the floor, and only getting to the line five times. Turnovers killed the Lakers, and Bryant was stripped on numerous occasions.

Kobe started the game 4-of-5 from the floor. Then, much to my delight, it all fell apart. He was 3-of-17 the rest of the way. When the Lakers needed him the most, Kobe did not—could not—deliver. It proves, once and for all, that Bryant is nothing without Shaquille O'Neal. No Shaq, no title.

But last night wasn't about Kobe and his douchebaggery. It was about Kevin Garnett, and his dream of winning an NBA title. It was about Paul Pierce, his sacrifice, and all the tough times he went through in Boston. It was about Ray Allen, and his extreme humility.

It was about a once-proud Celtics franchise that won only 24 games last season and finished next to last in the Association. It was about the ghost of Red Auerbach, who passed away in 2006. It was about the culmination of the remarkable journey from worst to first. It was about never giving up.

As a die-hard supporter of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Blue Jays, Kevin Garnett's words during his emotional postgame interview, as he looked up to the heavens with tears in his eyes, resonated strongly with me: "Anything is possible."

Amen, brother.

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