Sunday Pass

As anyone with young children knows, finding time to do what you want without the possibility (or absolute certainty) of being interrupted multiple times is extremely difficult. That’s why today was quite the treat, as I got approval from my wife to go watch the Lakers-Celtics game with my good friend and Laker die-hard Jonathon. We haven’t been able to get together (he has two young ones of his own) since the NBA Finals last year, so this was definitely a treat.


Before that, though, I attended mass (no I didn’t ask the Big Guy Upstairs for a Laker win…though I thought about it) and experienced one of the more unusual homilies I’ve heard. The New Testament reading was the well known from 1 Corinthians regarding love and so the priest, who has an unusual cadence to his speaking which makes it difficult to follow what he says when he’s speaking to you, wanted to tie his sermon to the reading. So he started off his homily by singing, “I want to know what love is. I want you to show me.” That definitely was the first time I’ve heard Foreigner quoted in a sermon. For years I thought they were a semi-cheesy 80’s band –I may have to rethink my position (Foreigner as late 20th century prophets? Who knew?) At least the priest finished the homily with a classic, as it ended with the congregation all singing a few lines of the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love.”


So after that religious experience, I settled in with Jon for a different sort of religious experience, Lakers-Celtics. To say there is no love lost between these two franchises is to say Sunnis and Shiites have a difference of opinion about religion. When I was younger, there was no team I hated more viscerally than the Celtics. The regular season games were life-and-death, and their NBA Finals contests were Armageddon for me. More than once my mother threatened to yank my TV viewing privileges as she could not take the venomous rants that streamed forth from my mouth during those games. Every Celtic was Satan's spawn, every Celtic fan was some primordial life form, every foul called against the Lakers was another example of Red Auerbach paying off the referees. Each of these games wasn't just one for the standings - these games mattered.


Then the Celtics hit a bad stretch - Len Bias overdosed, Kevin McHale and Larry Bird had their bodies break down, Reggie Lewis tragically died, and the Celtics no longer mattered. They weren't good enough to hate. During the 2001 NBA Finals, at halftime of Game 3 (featuring the Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers) NBA showed a few songs from the U2 concert at the TD Banknorth Garden and I remember making the crack to Jonathon that the NBA had this planned way in advance because they knew the Garden would be free in June. We both got a good laugh, as we didn't mind seeing the Celtics suffer while our Lakers prospered, but it's more fun when they suffer at the hands of the Lakers.


As the Lakers worked their way from the post-Magic era into the Shaq-Kobe one, new rivals had to be found because the old one wasn't up to the task. The Spurs and Kings were worthy foils and while I enjoyed watching the Lake Show vanquish these teams frequently, I found myself probably 95% as happy with those titles as with the ones that came at the hands of the Celtics. Then came the ugly Shaq-Kobe divorce following the 2004 Finals meltdown and a period of down years for LA.


Then 2007-2008 happened. Kevin McHale decided to help out his old team by gift wrapping Kevin Garnett and sending him to Boston, the Sonics did the same with Ray Allen, and the Celtics were a force to be reckoned with once again. On the other coast, the Lakers went from having Kobe demanding a trade to having the Grizzlies send Pau Gasol in a trade that the rest of the NBA still complains about to this day. The two rivals were back atop the NBA, and the hatred of the green and white was back to 1980's levels.


However, the Celtics abused the Lakers in the Finals, exposing the Purple and Gold as soft and weak. Laker fans had to endure a sight not seen since 1984 - the Celtics celebrating a title at the expense of the Lakers. What made that series even worse was the Lakers blew a 20 point lead in Game 4 AT HOME and then completely mailed in Game 6, losing by a gazillion. It was a brutal defeat, bringing up questions about the collective heart and manhood of the Lakers. They answered many of these questions a year later, as the Lakers toughened up enough to handle the Magic (who eliminated the Celtics) and match the Celtics triumph of 2008.


But it didn't really match it in the eyes of most Laker fans. It was great to see them win, but there was a dish of revenge that didn't get served since Boston wasn't the vanquished opponent. So as this season began, I found myself not only rooting for a Laker championship, but for the Celtics to win the East.


Which brings us to today's game, the first between those two teams this season. I'll choose to ignore the fact that the Celtics are struggling and Lebron and the Cavs are the team to beat in the NBA right now, because it's still Celtics-Lakers.


Sitting at the bar, beer in hand, no children distracting me, Lakers-Celtics on the TV right in front of me - to quote former Bills' coach Marv Levy: "Where else would you rather be than right here right now?"


And for the first 12 minutes, it was glorious. The Lakers, younger, taller, and healthier, used all those advantages in running out to a 30-19 lead after the first quarter. They hit big threes, they got easy shots at the rim, they played defense, they attacked and drew fouls from a team they had been reluctant to attack in years past. Of course, it helps that Kevin Garnett is playing with a cast on his leg (don't tell me that's a sleeve - it's white, it covers up most of his leg, and KG is dragging that thing as if he were auditioning for a part in "Zombieland").


Then, for the next two and a half quarters, the Lakers proceed to play the the exact opposite of how they started the game. They decided to ignore their considerable advantage in the post and decide to try and outscore the Celtics from the perimeter, ignoring the fact that Bynum owned the Celtics in the paint, scoring 12 points and dunking on Garnett's corpse. It probably didn't help that Pau decided to channel Kwame Brown for this game, dropping pass after pass after pass after pass. When these things happen, the Laker offense becomes an unwatchable series of Kobe desperately trying to create something (usually a forced jump shot) mixed in with the random three jacked up early in the shot clock by any one of Odom, Brown, Artest, or Farmar.


On defense, they let Rajon Rondo do the only thing he can do on offense - drive to the basket. Seriously, they should hold up signs when guarding him, saying, "Please shoot the ball. We'll pay you." His jump shot is the basketball equivalent of Charles Barkley's golf swing. However, the Lakers decided to go over the top on screens for him, giving him alleys to the basket and letting him set up his teammates, including Paul Pierce (only the league's top 3-point shooter) for three wide-open I can file my taxes, drink a cup of coffee, and check my stocks on line before anyone can get here to guard me three pointers.


Understandably, the child-free afternoon Jon and I were experiencing was becoming less enjoyable with each trip up and down the court (fortunately, the bartender, a friend of Jon's and serious Kings fan - I know that seems like a contradiction in terms - served up a mixture of trash talk with the occasional free shot, helping us on the path to numbing our pain).


However, by the middle of the fourth quarter, the Lakers realized that in a basketball game, going to the rim on offense is actually a good thing, and letting Rondo shoot jumpers isn't a bad idea either. Not only that, but they actually let their most effective player, Bynum, touch the ball on consecutive possessions.


As an aside, this is the aspect of the Lakers that probably drives me craziest. As fantastic a player as Kobe is, as skilled an offensive weapon as he is, when the Lakers offense has post players who can score down low (like Shaq, Gasol, or Bynum), the offense runs so much better when they get the ball to the post early in the shot clock. I still think Kobe tries to win on his terms at times and the team ignores the post for lengthy stretches way too much. That said, Bryant's work ethic and determination are second to none in the league, and there's nobody else I would want with the ball with the game on the line.


The Lakers eventually cut it to 1 point and needed a stop to have chance at winning and what happened next nearly killed me from shock: the referees called an offensive foul on Paul Pierce (with referee enemy no. 1 Ron Artest drawing the foul, at that). Granted, Pierce did his best Heisman imitation, throwing a stiff arm that would make Adrian Peterson proud, but to see that call made in Boston at that time was perhaps one of the seven signs of the Apocalypse.


Now with the game on the line, there was no surprise who would get the ball and take the shot, whether it was a good or bad one. The biggest surprise was Bryant passed it before getting it back and nailing a jumper with Ray Allen doing everything but wearing Kobe's jersey for him. It was a terrible, forced, amazing, brilliant shot that sucked the air out of the arena and led to Jon and I (and a few other purple-and-gold patrons) disturbing the more genteel customers on the patio of the restaurant.


But honestly, I could have given a damn about the dirty looks coming from outside. The Lakers had just taken the lead and would get the win after Ray Allen's jumper clanged off the rim like all his other shots today. All that was left was to call my Celtic-loving brother-in-law to ask him the score (and cackle while hearing his stream of profanities) and soak in the moment.


I guess moments like that are why I let complete strangers affect my mood so much.