COMMENTARY
NBA Finals no reason to stay up late
Updated: 06/11/08 6:37 AM
The NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers figured to be a refreshing visit to yesteryear, when it was the greatest rivalry in sports. It was an opportunity to resurrect old story lines and rekindle the deep-seeded passion between two terrific sports towns going back to Russell and Wilt.
For me, as a huge Celtics fan in the 1980s after the Buffalo Braves were stolen away, the Bird-Magic days were the best days in NBA history. The league was loaded with talented players and personalities who identified much more with fans during that time than the distant delinquents playing the game today.
The Celtics were about Bird’s vision,
D. J.’s defense, the Chief’s jumper that descended from the rafters and McHale coming off the bench. The Lakers were Magic’s baby hook and Kareem’s baseline hook and Michael Cooper from the corner. Their contrasting styles defined the players on both teams and, in some ways, the fans who supported them.
This series might as well be the Bobcats- Nuggets. There’s no real history between the current players, no genuine hatred, no reason to stay up late watching on television. Seeing the two teams now shows how less exciting the NBA has become over the years.
The Celtics constructed a championship- caliber team in one summer when they picked up Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to play with Paul Pierce. None is a true Celtic the way Bird was. The Lakers wrapped their team around Kobe Bryant, who has spent three years whining and looking for an exit. He’s never been a Laker, not the way Magic was.
Pierce getting taken off the court in a wheelchair with an apparent serious knee injury in Game One and returning a few minutes later was an embarrassment. It wouldn’t have happened 25 years ago, not with Bird and Magic upholding the game’s integrity.
Let me know when the series is over.
• The Sabres aren’t expected to cannonball into the pool of unrestricted free agency, but they should keep close watch on East Amherst native Brooks Orpik and winger Ryan Malone. Both played with an edge for the Penguins. It’s precisely what the Sabres lacked last year.
Orpik’s stock soared during the Stanley Cup finals, particularly in Game Three when he flattened four Detroit players on the same shift. He also held the blue line together in the Game Five marathon after defense partner Sergei Gonchar left with back spasms.
Malone’s twice-broken nose became a symbol for the Penguins, who were known for their speed and skill before confirming their grit in the finals.
Orpik will likely pocket between $3 million and $4 million per year in the open market. Malone could command considerably more. For what it’s worth, I can see Orpik landing with the Rangers and Malone with Toronto.
• For all the collateral damage inflicted on baseball during the endless steroid scandal, the biggest tragedy might be overlooking Ken Griffey Jr. as the best player of his time.
Griffey became the sixth player in major league history to hit 600 home runs, but the accomplishment this week was greeted mostly with yawns. It’s a shame considering he cranked every one of them without a whisper of him using performance-enhancing drugs.
It’s just another example of the juicers diminishing the feats of those who followed them.
Junior hit a home run about once every four games in his career. He missed 331 games between 2001 and ’04. If he maintained his pace, he would have about 80 more homers had he stayed healthy. He’s won 10 Gold Glove Awards in his 20 seasons. The only thing missing is a World Series ring. I never saw Willie Mays play, but you would have a hard time convincing me he was better than Griffey Jr. in his prime.
