Yesterday, on Twitter (@rodriguezg and @DLSmooth82 Find us, follow us. I'm sure you can figure out who is who.), Dave referred to me as the Bucwild to his Star. (Look up Star and Bucwild if you have never watched their videos. Funnier than hell. Amazing.)
I didn't like that comparison, at all. In fact, I don't think it is apt, mostly.
There is one way in which it is true. Star is a hater. Dave is a hater.
And they are sort of general all-purpose haters. They can find something wrong with anything. I am a much more focused hater. My hate is intense, but reserved for very few, like the Philadelphia Eagles or Nickelback.
If you have read what Dave has been putting up here and at prosportsblogging.com then you know he is not excited about this year's NBA Finals. Consider this the other side of that coin.
I'm really excited about these finals. Rather than find it boring that the Celtics and Lakers are in the finals again I find it exciting for historic reasons. These games are about pursuits of greatness. All-time greatness. Historic I can tell my kids I saw these guys play and coach greatness.
Kobe isn't trying to beat the Celtics in these finals. He is trying to beat Michael Jordan. He is chasing Magic and Kareem. Amongst all of the talk about LeBron James and this summer of free agency, the fact that Kobe is the best basketball player on the planet has been forgotten. People forget that he has no weaknesses because he plays with so much grace, intelligence, and finesse. He is an artist. He does everything right. LeBron is great, probably the second best player in the world, but don't ask him win a title, hit a game winning shot, or make a mid-range jumper for that matter. Kobe is an assassin. He is the greatest finisher in the game. He has four titles on his resume already, and will probably have a fifth sometime in the next two weeks. Kobe's role as the leader of the Lakers' last title is obvious, but don't discount his impact on the three-peat Lakers in the early 2000's. Yes, Shaq was on those teams, but Shaq took portions of those seasons off and was never in close games at crunch time because he was a liability. Shaq couldn't finish, Kobe could and still does. Kobe needs to win these finals not to win just them, but to continue on his quest to be seen as the greatest player ever.
The Celtics are looking to add to their number of titles. They already have the most number of championships in NBA history. They are one of the all-time greatest franchises in sports history, not just NBA history. So are the Lakers for that matter. And that doesn't happen by accident. Franchises have to earn that stature. They have to win often and for long periods of time. The Celtics and Lakers do that and do it better than any other franchise in the NBA.
I also think this series could bring something back that has been missing from the NBA, an intense rivalry. The kind of rivalry that brings in casual fans. I'm talking the kind of rivalry rarely seen outside of college football these days. Alabama-Auburn for the hardwood. Texas-Oklahoma in high-tops. Current NBA stars are too friendly with each other. They compete on the court, but then are boys off the court. The Lakers and Celtics of the 70's and 80's hated each other. It was a hatred, with some respect, born out of a common quest for greatness. The players had an intense desire to win, at any cost, no matter who was in the way. Kobe has that. Kevin Garnett has some of that. Maybe this series can tap into some of that.
Greatness is always hated, but only sometimes appreciated. I'm going to appreciate what we're watching, and let Dave hate.
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