NBA

[Magpiespower]

As that legendary a$$-biter Marv Albert says...

'YESSS!'

[JK]

Celtics lead Game 6 at the half 58-35 and appear to have one hand on the title ... Can Kobe and his Lakers rally a-la Boston of Game 4 and keep the series alive?

Far Ky hope not!!!

[saintal]

go the celtics

[JK]

Celtics 101 - Lakers 70, 9 minutes on the clock .. C'mon you good things!!!!

[rogernumber10]

Celtics 101 - Lakers 70, 9 minutes on the clock .. C'mon you good things!!!!

I reckon the ESPN court-side interviewer girl still doesn't have a clue about what Kevin Garnett was rambling on about in the post-match celebrations, other than the fact he loves his mother and he's on top of the world.

[JK]

Celtics 101 - Lakers 70, 9 minutes on the clock .. C'mon you good things!!!!

I reckon the ESPN court-side interviewer girl still doesn't have a clue about what Kevin Garnett was rambling on about in the post-match celebrations, other than the fact he loves his mother and he's on top of the world.

LOL .. Just heard it - Fair call!

[Hazbeen]

Congratulations Celtics



NBA Champions 2008

[Mr66]

What a M-A-S-S-A-C-R-E!!!!!
131-92 the final score and it wasn't even that close.
2nd largest margin in finals history (Bulls d Jazz by 42 in '98).
Largest margin in deciding game in finals history(previous Celtics d Lakers in'65 by 33).
Great scenes in Boston as I'm watching the replay at the moment.
Pierce a thoroughly deserving MVP.
Lakers totally outclassed, had one good game and were soooo lucky to win another.
Celtics best team all year (66-16) and deserving champs.

[Strawb]

Sweet 17 is home in Boston where it belongs. Lakers played good until game six just winning game 5 must have worn them out. I Love the Celtic's

[Strawb]

The new gaurd for Boston

[Strawb]

from Celtics.com

Banner Year: 17th Title Reclaims Heart of Championship City

By Peter F. Stringer
Celtics.com
June 17, 2008

BOSTON, MA - For longer than anyone would care to remember, and during a period where admittedly, too few remembered to care, the Boston Celtics, 16-time World Champions and the NBA's most storied franchise, were just another NBA team.

Tonight the Boston Celtics are World Champions, and for those of us old enough to remember any [or all] of the last 16, a hole in our collective hearts has been filled.

For a city that's seen five other World Championships in just under a decade, as the Celtics add the sixth title since 2002, these luminous times in Boston sports have never been brighter.
Wyc

Wyc Grousbeck holds the trophy aloft for fans in the Garden.
NBAE/Getty

Tonight, Boston is, as U2 would say, the city of blinding lights. And boy, do we look beautiful tonight. With fans still basking in the glow of three Super Bowls and a pair of World Series titles, the Celtics' 17th NBA Championship takes Boston and New England to a level few cities will ever see.

Admit it, when you saw the New England Patriots win their first title on February 3, 2002, you were overwhelmed with pride, but just a little jealous. And when the Red Sox finally snapped an 86-year drought in 2004, it was euphoric, but you looked at a basketball team with less-than-indomitable talents like Jiri Welsch and Mark Blount and doubted the Celtics ever get to this point.

Even with a glass-two-halves full and overflowing optimist outlook, it seemed like a ridiculous stretch. But from Manchester, NH, where basketball hoops went up all over the neighborhood when the Celtics were winning three titles in the 1980s, to outposts in rural Maine where kids cherished their gaudy, one-size-too-small Celtics jacket, NBA basketball once owned Boston while the city's other franchises came tantalizingly close but never quite reached the top of the mountain.

Expect communities across New England, not to mention transplants from Manhattan to Manhattan Beach. to renew their long-lost love affair with Boston Celtics. If you've been driving an empty bandwagon through the passing of Red Auerbach, 24-win seasons, Jerome Moiso jerseys, draft lotteries and summer league box scores, it's time to expect company. And that's not a bad thing. After all, why else were total strangers embracing in the stands at TD Banknorth Garden tonight and high-fiving at Sonny McLean's in Santa Monica, California, a Boston sports stronghold in the heart of Lakers country?

It's simple. Humans like company, and shared experiences like watching the Celtics knock off their most hated rivals engenders a sense of pride between the best of friends and the most perfect of strangers. It brings us closer together.

A lot of things had to happen to get the Boston Celtics to this point, and sure, luck played a part, but this championship, more than anything, reflects the hard work of basketball players who sacrificed for each other on the court, and a front office that came up with a plan and hired the smartest people it could find to pull it off.

There's a lot of sweat-equity, thought-equity and old-fashioned financial equity, invested in this championship team.

You'll probably read a handful of stories today marveling about how the Celtics have returned to glory in the span of a year, but nothing could be further from the truth. The resurrection began when ownership changed hands in September of 2002, and a group of people who loved the team decided they would restore the franchise.

You may know this team as the Boston Celtics, but every other Thursday, there's a group of people working in Boston and Waltham depositing paychecks from Banner Seventeen, LLC, daring to dream out loud about the next chapter in the Celtics' legacy.

As of press time, there's no word on when the company will rename itself, but after a little bit of well-earned celebration, the focus will soon shift -- where else? -- to Banner 18.

There were bumps along the way; certainly mistakes were made and well chronicled, but ultimately, the organization's philosophy of building a strong business off the court to put the team in position to field a championship-caliber basketball team on the court paid off.

When you celebrate this championship, you have to think about Danny Ainge, a feisty member of the 1986 team who was entrusted with the team's basketball operations and faced many potentially franchise-altering decisions. Inheriting an aging team that had made an improbable run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002, Ainge blew the team up and started the rebuilding process, trading a mercurial star in Antoine Walker who'd become the face of the franchise and opting to instead build around Paul Pierce, who was just coming into his own.

Meanwhile, Ainge began accumulating draft picks and young talent in the hopes of one day being in a position to make the Celtics a championship contender. Along the way, the team developed some talented players while trying to bring in character veterans. The young Celtics took their lumps, as did Ainge, Doc Rivers and everyone associated with the team. Pierce began to lose faith and started to reconsider his future with the Celtics, placing the team at the crossroads a little quicker than anyone had probably imagined.

Thanks to developing situations in Seattle and Minnesota, though, the timing couldn't have been better. Ainge rolled the dice, dealing youth for experience, and the summer of 2007 turned up aces. Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were suddenly joining Pierce in Boston, the team was back on the NBA map, and free agents started lining up to join the fray.

Pundits figured the Celtics would need some time to gel and figure it out. Next year, they said, would be the Celtics' time. But the team started playing together informally a month before training camp, traveled to Rome, and while Ubuntu wasn't built in a day, it was definitely underway.

Sixty-six regular season wins later, the Celtics were THE story of the postseason, and the Celtics' time was now. Sixteen postseason wins later, after dismissing Zaza, LeBron, Chauncey and Kobe, the Boston Celtics are World Champions.

In the city of blinding lights, it's time for the blinding bling of trophies and rings. It's been a banner year, in every sense of the word.

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[Magpiespower]

My eyes hurt...

[Drop Bear]

The new gaurd for Boston

Haha! Who's the new guy?!

[brod]

God, I cant wait until the new season and we can forget about all of this Celtics rubbish..anyone but the Celts and to have the Lakers as the other team in the Finals, it just couldnt have got worse. It was amazing how so much interest in the league could suddenly dissipate to the point of not even finding out the scores until they were published in the paper...

Bring on the new season, even the draft so we can talk about something else.

[brod]

David Andersen is in negotiations with the Atlanta Hawks (who drafted him in 2002) to join them in the NBA next season, but he has come out and stated that he will only go to the NBA if they meet his salary request - $5 million

[Magpiespower]

David Andersen is in negotiations with the Atlanta Hawks (who drafted him in 2002) to join them in the NBA next season, but he has come out and stated that he will only go to the NBA if they meet his salary request - $5 million

Just signed a three-year deal with Barcelona after four stellar seasons at CSKA Moscow.

Not sure what that means for his NBA prospects...

[brod]

David Andersen is in negotiations with the Atlanta Hawks (who drafted him in 2002) to join them in the NBA next season, but he has come out and stated that he will only go to the NBA if they meet his salary request - $5 million

Just signed a three-year deal with Barcelona after four stellar seasons at CSKA Moscow.

Not sure what that means for his NBA prospects...

Strange..this story was only reported on Sunday

[brod]

The 2008 NBA Draft is fast approaching and with the Numbers 1 (Derrick Rose) & 2 (Michael Beasley) pretty well settled, the interest is all about Nathan "AUSSIE SHAQ" Jawai.

In the past two months he has moved slightly in mock drafts according to DraftExpress.com.
- April 25 #40
- May 10 # 42
- June 24 # 37

In the past few weeks he has had trials with Seattle, Toronto, G. State, Phoenix, New Jersey (twice), Cleveland (twice), Utah and Denver, but has admitted that he may struggle due to the high numbers of big men in this years draft who are projected to be drafted late first round, early second round.

[brod]

David Andersen is in negotiations with the Atlanta Hawks (who drafted him in 2002) to join them in the NBA next season, but he has come out and stated that he will only go to the NBA if they meet his salary request - $5 million

Just signed a three-year deal with Barcelona after four stellar seasons at CSKA Moscow.

Not sure what that means for his NBA prospects...

He's looking at for the 2009/10 NBA season (he has opt out clause in his contract)

[brod]

NBA DRAFT

1. CHICAGO - Derrick Rose (Memphis)
2. MIAMI - Michael Beasley (Kansas St)

Jawai NOT taken in the first round

41. INDIANA - Nathan Jawai (Australia)