Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 at 9:00 am  |  78 responses

Celtics Look to Close Out Lakers, in L.A.

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

In about 15 hours, a new champion will be crowned. That, or we’ll be getting ready for a seventh and decisive game in these here NBA Finals.

The Boston Celtics need to win one of the next two games on the Lakers’ home floor to reclaim the title, and they know it will not be easy.

The Boston Herald caught up with Ray Allen, and discussed the task at hand for the C’s:

The Celtics are 1-7 in close-out road games in the playoffs over the last three seasons, and have lost two such games this season, in Miami and Orlando. In fact, the last time their starting five finished a road playoff series came in the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against Detroit. Last season perhaps stung the worst. The Celtics led Orlando three games to two in the Eastern Conference finals but lost a possible road-clinching game and eventually lost the series.

“Whatever happened last year, I thought we had a great season, we got beat by Orlando,” Allen said. “It’s a new year and it’s definitely been a blessing, but this year has definitely been a lot tougher, and I think the tougher it is, the more you want it.” Their playoff road has certainly been tough. The Celtics have faced Miami (Dwyane Wade), Cleveland (LeBron James), Orlando (Dwight Howard) and now the Lakers (Kobe Bryant). And for a team that finished fourth in their division after a 27-27 close to the season and was considered over the hill, the run seems remarkable.

“I think along the way, people forgot, forgot who we were and what we were capable of,” Allen said. “We got back to that mentality, but it didn’t shake us at all. We didn’t worry about what people said, what they thought. People were saying that we were a team that was old, but here we are. We’re capable, that’s the most important thing and we all knew it.”

Legacies and futures on both sides of the coin will begin to get sorted out tonight, or perhaps even on Thursday night.

For now, we have a few basketball matters left to settle; an entire season and the championship are on the line.

May the best team win.

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  • http://www.shawnkemp.com JACO

    As a laker lifer (hate all you want) I am nervous because i believe everything royal says.

  • flash

    celtics win if kobe gets into foul trouble. and if that happens the refs aint getting out the building alive!

  • JTaylor21

    Arek, I pity the fool. U must have not seen MJ play. Please go to youtube and watch many game footage of MJ and you will see the light. MJ had the best midrange shot in nba history with the Logo right behind him. Kobe’s midrange game has always been overrated which is why he’s shooting 43%. That whats makes MJ so much better than kobe, because if you gave him space (he kills u), play him close and he’s gone in a flash. All kobe does in this series is take tough contested shots because he has never had the first step or jumping ablility to attack the rim like MJ had. And don’t give me the Kobe is getting old crap, Jordan even at 34-35, he was smashing on chaps. Get your mind right

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Kobe had a nasty first step and hops whne he was younger.
    And, MJ smashed on cats in 96, but after that, he was very much a jump shooter who lived in the post.

  • http://www.twitter.com/Th3_R3al_Chris Th3_R3al_Chris

    Kind of ironic how refs are being blamed for Celtics being up 3-2 when Lakers have shot more free throws every game.

  • The Philosopher

    I keep telling the audience, Jordan is IONS better than Kobe. IONS.

  • http://www.twitter.com/Th3_R3al_Chris Th3_R3al_Chris

    Kobe/Jordan debate is going on in the OTHER Game 6 thread, Philosopher and JTaylor21.

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ The Promise

    How many times do I have to say, there IS no argument about Kobe and Jordan, stop it, for the love of God.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com Eboy

    Promise, it will never stop…..the majority of Laker fans expect entitlement regarding their team and their best player. It’s pretty simple, really. They are the spoiled brats of NBA fans. That is fact and terribly unfair to the real old school Laker fans (which there aren’t many under the age of 30)who used to stand with their team regardless of wins and losses, not doing disappearing acts when a team struggled for a few seasons (see: most of the guys that ramble on and on from this particular website)like the Post Shaq era.

  • http://www.dimemag.com Royal

    ^^^^^Yea if you weren’t a LA fan during the first three seasons after Shaq left ,then your officially a Faker. I’m a “Youngbuck” ( just turned 19) but I have been a LA fan since I could spell Basketball.

  • Brian

    If the discussion over who is better comes down to who has the most fruity looking pretty boys wearing their jersey then Kobe is the best in a landslide.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com Eboy

    Royal, I did clarify my statement with “most/majority”…I can see your passion from your posts so I wouldn’t lump you in with the poor portion of your Laker fam.

  • http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:OzhW3M1GBSKkgM:http://fashionsensei.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/jackie-moon.jpg Jackie Moon

    Me too, me too! But I’m a Kobe Stan, so of course I rooted for the Lakers post Shaq.

  • http://www.twitter.com/Th3_R3al_Chris Th3_R3al_Chris

    So much talk is focused on what the outcome of this game will be if the Lakers show up, while I’m still waiting for the Celtics to all show up at once. If they grind out a win tonight then it will be the first series win this playoffs where they Ray, Paul, KG, and Rondo all got it cooking the same game. It starts with Rondo, though. When he is looking to pass early and often, the others get into a nice flow. Usually leads to double-digit victories too. Hopefully Ray’s jumper is on tonight and Paul and Kevin will keep being aggressive.

  • http://nba.com S.Man

    Let’s go Raptors.

  • http://nba.com S.Man

    Let’s go Raptors.

  • http://www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com Tarzan Cooper

    Phil, ions are different types of particles, eons are a very large period of time, so wtf u talkn bout?

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ The Promise

    @Eboy: Yes, we both see this crap in each of thse threads, and these Laker fans always have to bring up the “Kobe is better than Jordan” talk every day. For those people, lets get something straight: Kobe is the secong best shooting guard, next to Jordan. Now I will be attacked by the certain number of people on here who got their hand on Kobe’s nuts, who will crucify me that I would say such a thing. Well, sorry, its true, and for the record, Kobe is nowhere near the second best player, only the second best shooting guard. Kobe isn’t even the greatest Laker of all time. I would give that title to Majic. Now, getting back to the game, I have correctly predicted Boston’s last 3 playoff series, so I doubt I will be wrong now. Boston closes it out tonight, for they are simply the better all around team.

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ The Promise

    Magic** excuse the typo

  • The Philosopher

    @Tarzan: Both.

  • Pingback: SLAM ONLINE | » NBA Finals: Game 6 Live Blog

  • ENDS

    game 7

  • Ronald

    @Tarzan: I guess Phil is saying MJ is only a very few negative or positive particles better than Kobe?

  • flipnoyce

    there is gonna be a game 7!!!! celtics gave this game to hollywood so they would stop whining! it wouldn’t be fair for the actresses of the LA fakers! Congrats Stern for making this a suspense,NOT!!!! See you in game 7, where its going to hurt more!!!! Celtics is going for a kill!!!

  • http://www.lamarodom.com LamarOwedThem

    Flipnoyce. Once you make a little bit of sense we will acknowledge you. Oops just did. Where is game7-anyone know?

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/CathedralsRecords?feature=mhw4 Earl

    Silly SLAM. Celtics closing out Lakers is for idiots! :) :) :)

  • http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:OzhW3M1GBSKkgM:http://fashionsensei.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/jackie-moon.jpg Jackie Moon

    From “the Promise” Now, getting back to the game, I have correctly predicted Boston’s last 3 playoff series, so I doubt I will be wrong now. Boston closes it out tonight, for they are simply the better all around team. … Not tonight

  • Tim

    Shannon Brown’s sick alley-oop:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/51107932@N05/

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