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Lakers-Celtics Meet in FinalsNBA Championships 2008 Features Familiar FoesLos Angeles Lakers face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals for the first time in 21 years.
Though the 1980s were known for the intense rivalry between Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird's Boston Celtics, the two have not squared off in the NBA Finals since 1987 when the Lakers won four games to two. 21 years later, the teams meet again in the 2008 NBA Finals. Neither team resembles those teams of the 80s, but there are some familiarities. It's hard to think that just one year ago the Celtics were dead last in the Eastern Conference, winning just 24 games. A couple jaw-dropping trades over the summer made the team instant contenders. First it was the draft-day trade that saw Seattle Supersonics' star Guard Ray Allen heading to the Celtics. Next it was the multi-player deal that sent star Forward Kevin Garnett to the Celtics. The result was the "big three", which featured long-time Celtic Paul Pierce, Garnett and Allen. The trio put together the best record in the NBA regular season, winning 66 games, as well as one of the best defenses in the league. In addition, Garnett won the 2008 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Yet, the Lakers have quite the turnaround story, too. They won just 42 games last season, barely scraping by .500, and held the seventh playoff spot in the Western Conference. This season, LA earned the top seed in the West with 57 wins, and have breezed through the playoffs so far with a 12-3 record. That includes beating the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in just five games. Many attribute LA's turnaround the emergence of young Center Andrew Bynum at the beginning of the season before he got injured, and the trade that brought star Forward Pau Gasol to the Lakers after the All Star break. The Celtics won both meetings with the Lakers this season, but both of those games came before January, before Gasol was on the team. The Celtics have struggled a bit more in the playoffs than LA, playing in 20 of the possible 21 games. Boston's biggest challenge will be containing Kobe Bryant. Boston Guard Ray Allen is not known for his defense and back up Guard Tony Allen will likely miss the series due to injury. Meanwhile, the Lakers will have their hands full guarding the big three, especially Kevin Garnett. Game one begins at 9:00 p.m. EDT this Thursday, June 5th. Check out all playoff dates and times at Yahoo Sports.
The copyright of the article Lakers-Celtics Meet in Finals in NBA is owned by Phil Partington. Permission to republish Lakers-Celtics Meet in Finals in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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