Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics Put League on Notice
In the midst of my Direct TV NFL Sunday Ticket viewing yesterday, I had a chance to catch stretches of AI’s home debut against the Champs, and the Lakers pulling away late from Houston.
I start in Detroit, where I was very interested to see how well the Pistons would do in their first big game since the trade. Well for one quarter it looked interesting, then Boston took over. The game was ugly offensively, with Boston getting their scoring from journeyman Tony Allen, who dropped in 23.
The Pistons were led by Tayshaun Prince who also had 23, but Detroit didn’t seem to have an answer in spots when they needed it most. As soon as the lead dropped to single digits, the Celtics would extend it again. The true mark of a champion is doing what it takes to win. Boston is now 6-1 and look like they aren’t ready to give up the title just yet.
A few hours later, I am watching the highly anticipated Rockets vs Lakers match, and seeing how well H-Towns Big Three would do against Kobe/Gasol/Bynum and company. The unbeaten Lakers showed flashes of brilliance in pulling away from the Rockets for a 111-82 victory.
The final score makes it look like a blowout, but at one point the game was close. Then Kobe and Gasol took over. The tandem thoroughly outplayed Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, who combined for just 15 points on 7-22 shooting. My only knock on T-Mac has always been his potential to be inconsistent at times. McGrady will go stretches where he scores 30 points/game for 12 games in a row, but then he will have slumps like he is in now, where you almost forget he is on the court.
I also had the chance this weekend to start reading Alonzo Mourning’s book, Resilience: Faith, Focus, Triumph. Alonzo, who was always known as being a warrior on the court, has always personally been an inspiration to me, as he battled his kidney problem to resume his NBA career.
I heard an interview recently from Zo that said he wasn’t ready to hang it up yet, and believes he will have an opportunity to contribute to a NBA team this year. I honestly can say that will happen, and Mourning would be a welcome addition to any clubhouse. His calm determination and leadership style is priceless in a league filled with me-first players.
