CAVS.SPACE

*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2010; minor revisions made pertaining to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  In the summer of 1999, Phil Jackson joined Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant en route to their first NBA Championship.   In the 1980s, the Los Angeles Lakers had won 5 NBA Championships, including back-to-back championships in 1987 and 1988.  The Lakers had also made 4 other NBA Finals appearances between 1983 and 1991.  However, by the mid-’90s, the Lakers were fading, with Lakers executive and legend Jerry West ambitiously preparing to create a new Lakers dynasty.       Shaq and Kobe In 1996, superstar center Shaquille O’Neal broke Orlando Magic fans’ hearts, leaving to join the Lakers.  Shaq left behind a team that had won 117 games the past two seasons en route to the Magic’s first NBA Finals appearance (a loss to the Houston Rockets in 1995) and a follow-up loss in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals to the Chicago Bulls.  Shaq also left behind Anfernee “Penn

This year's NBA Finals has not disappointed. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have come in strong, with momentum shifting game by game. The two teams battle for the coveted NBA Championship in a decisive Game 7 Thursday night. Prior to heading into this series, the Celtics-Lakers series--a rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals--brought back some memories of the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons series of the 2005 NBA Finals. Like the Celtics-Lakers series, the Spurs-Pistons series was a battle of championship teams. While the Spurs had won the 2003 NBA Championship, the Pistons had won the 2004 NBA Championship. The teams were fairly evenly matched, and that series went to 7 games as well. While the first 4 games of the 2005 NBA Finals turned into routes and blowouts, the series ended with 3 much closer games. This included a 96-95 overtime victory for the Spurs in Game 5. Now, the Boston Celtics--2008 NBA Champions--get a second chance to close out this series. However, with

Now that it is a little bit in the past, it is now time to look more in depth at what went wrong in the Cavaliers’ run for the NBA Championship this year. For the second straight season, the Cavs failed to make it to the Finals despite being one of the favorites to win it all. Overall, the Cavaliers failed to win the Eastern Conference’s bid to the Finals because they overreacted to last year’s loss to the Orlando Magic. True, last year’s elimination was difficult to stomach—never had the Cavaliers had the best record in the NBA. At the same time, the Cavs did not lose that series by much. A number of people commented that the Cavs gave up too many points and rebounds to Dwight Howard; however, the same could be said about the Magic’s defense on LeBron James. The bigger issue in that series was that the Cavaliers failed to guard the perimeter well. Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, and Mickael Pietrus all played a good series. Of the Cleveland defenders guarding these

*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2010; minor revisions made pertaining to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett joined Paul Pierce and a new look Boston Celtics roster to win the 2008 NBA Championship.    With a 24-58 record, the 2006-2007 Boston Celtics were the second-worst team in the NBA.  However, they failed to land one of the top 3 draft picks in the NBA Draft Lottery.  Instead of being in position to draft Ohio State center Greg Oden or Texas forward Kevin Durant, the Celtics were looking at the #5 pick in the 2007 Draft. Danny Ainge Recreates the Boston Celtics Big Three Celtics Executive Director of Basketball Operations and General Manager Danny Ainge had his work cut out for him.  Fans had grown weary of mediocre basketball and had counted on a top pick to help revive the historic NBA franchise.  Both Ainge and Head Coach Doc Rivers were considered on the hot seat.  The team had gone as far as All-Star forward Paul Pierce could take

... The Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, 4-2, in the best-of-seven series. Point guard Rajon Rondo is named MVP. Rationale : Over the past 3 seasons, the Celtics have made their marks as championship contenders. This included getting stronger as the postseason carries on. Boston is a team that gains confidence with each round. Like 2 years ago, they came out strong once they eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers from the playoffs in the second round. As Coach Doc Rivers stated after the clinching victory over the Orlando Magic, "This starting five has never lost a playoff series." In this rematch with L.A., Boston seems to have a lot more momentum going their way. Moreover, this is likely this Celtics group's last shot at the title, so they will make sure to win it while they are there. The Lakers, on the other hand, have at least 2 or 3 more good years together. Unlike the Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant is still in his prime. Ho