NBA 2010-2011 Season

The Lakers and Celtics are now set to renew their legendary rivalry in the NBA Finals. One night after the Celtics eliminated the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals, L.A. took out the Phoenix Suns in the West to set up the latest chapter between the teams.


Here comes Kobe Bryant’s chance against the team that beat him two years ago

This will be the 12th Finals meeting between the league’s two storied franchises. When they’re done, the Lakers and Celtics will have accounted for 33 of the NBA’s 64 championships. Their first NBA Finals meeting came in 1959 when the Celtics swept the Minneapolis Lakers for the first of eight straight titles. The rivalry, however, was sparked when the Celtics knocked off the Lakers six times in eight years in the 1960s. Those series included Boston’s Bill Russell and Bob Cousy versus Los Angeles’ Elgin Baylor and Jerry West.
Boston beat Los Angeles in the 2008 NBA finals, with a dominant defense that made life miserable for Bryant, that season’s MVP. When they meet again starting Thursday at Staples Center, the Lakers can show how much better they are since then.

Los Angeles will be going for its second straight title and No. 16 overall. The Celtics still have the edge, hanging their 17th banner with their victory two years ago in six games.

That was back when a Lakers-Celtics finals was expected. Nobody predicted this one.

While the Lakers were the best of the West all season, the Celtics stumbled over the second half and were only a No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Big Three of Paul Pierce,  Kevin Garnett  and Ray Allen is still going strong, but point guard Rajon Rondo  has perhaps been their best player in the postseason and they’re rediscovered the defense that contained Bryant two years ago, and after eliminating Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, now they get another shot at the Lakers star.

Beating the Orlando Magic for last season’s NBA Finals helped validate Bryant, but it didn’t erase the memories of two years ago. More than any team over the past decade, the Celtics made Bryant look mortal in the 2008 NBA Finals. Everywhere Bryant went on the court, a crowd waited. He shot barely 40 percent over the six games and concluded the series with a 7-of-22 performance. He didn’t trust his teammates enough, and they didn’t give him much reason to do so.

Bryant now enters these NBA Finals seeking his fifth championship, which would tie him with Magic Johnson. Two of Johnson’s titles came against the Celtics. No matter how much Bryant tries to downplay the significance of the opponent, deep down, he realizes what beating Boston would do for his own legacy. The game’s greats have distinguished themselves in the league’s most storied rivalry. Now it’s his turn.
This is payback for Kobe, and no one does revenge quite like him. The Suns know this as well as anyone. They knocked Bryant from the playoffs in 2006 and ’07 then felt his wrath in the West finals. Bryant averaged nearly 34 points while shooting 52 percent in what stands as one of his greatest series ever. He instilled some urgency into the Lakers after they flat-lined in Game 4, then closed out the Suns in Game 6 with a display of shot-making unrivaled in these playoffs.

“The challenge is to win the championship,” Kobe Bryant said. “The Celtics are in the way.”

The Lakers will host the first two games of the 2010 NBA Finals before the series shifts to Boston for the next three, if necessary. Both teams will be well-rested—the Celtics clinched their 21st trip by finishing off Orlando on Friday, while the Lakers are making their league-best 31st appearance after wrapping up their series against Phoenix in six games Saturday.

[sources: Yahoo Sports]