Sweet Seventeen

Posted by David Green June 18, 2008 at 5:00 am

Where do you start? How do you even begin to talk about the Celtics’ domination on the parquet Tuesday night?

It was total. Unrelenting. Humiliating. And for Celtic fans, it was the most impressive and enjoyable 48 minutes in a long, long time.

A magical second quarter broke the Lakers’ spirit, meaning Game 6 would not feature yet another huge Finals comeback. How good was the 2nd? Try 11 assists on 11 baskets. An 11-0 run courtesy of supersubs James Posey and Eddie House. A 9-0 run going into halftime that turned a 14-point lead into 23… a run that “buried the [Lakers] emotionally,” according to Phil Jackson. You know what? The Zen Master was right.

The second half was a glorified victory lap for this team that brought glory back to Causeway Street after a 22-year hiatus that seemed decades longer. While L.A. couldn’t get anything going, the C’s got everything going. The Celtics had a Finals record 18 steals, including 6 from Rajon Rondo, whose pestering, aggressive defense set the tone early. The rebounding edge was 48-29 — including a 14-2 edge on the offensive glass, as L.A. couldn’t grab a single offensive rebound until the 4th quarter.

You could marvel at the stats of this one for ages. The 39-point margin of victory was the largest for a clincher in Finals history, and just a couple of points shy of the worst beating in any Finals contest. Ray Allen’s 7 threes tied another Finals record. (By the way, can anyone remember all the concern about Ray Ray’s struggles early in the playoffs? Yeah, didn’t think so.)

By the way, do you want to talk about home-court advantage? The Jungle earned its nickname in this series, especially compared to the disinterested crowd that sauntered into the Staples Center. I was there for Game 3, and I was embarassed by the atmosphere. The crowd made more noise when Hugh Hefner was shown on the Jumbotron than when some guy named Earvin Johnson made an appearance. On Tuesday, the place was rockin’ from the opening introductions, and it never let up until the last piece of confetti finally touched down on the parquet. The official attendance was 18,624 but it felt like thousands more.

The scene in the locker room afterwards was one of total jubilation. I’ll admit it; my job has many perks, but nothing I’ve experienced to this point compares with being in the middle of the madness Tuesday night. Even now, as I’m watching the trophy presentation on the ESPN replay at 4:49 a.m., I’m still at a loss for words. While it felt amazing to watch the Sox and Patriots spray champagne after their championships, the sting of having champagne and beer sprayed in your eyes as it’s happening is a much better experience.

Now it’s time for yet another parade in Titletown. I’m guessing a few people might call out sick on Thursday to watch the Celtics roll through the city on the Duck Boats that Doc took the new Big 3 on way back at the start of the year. Doc told them that’s how Boston celebrates champions… now they’ll get to see exactly what it’s like.