One of the (many) things that fascinates me about this series is how...perfect the script is. I mean, it couldn't be written any better than this.
One of those "perfections" is that each team seemed to face the ideal path to get here. The Lakers have a ton of championship experience together at the 3 most crucial pieces: head coach, best player, and starting point guard. With that stability at those crucial areas, they have the kind of top-down leadership that make playoff experience a bit less vital for their young supporting cast when compared to confidence. Thus, starting off with a cupcake sweep of the Nuggets was ideal for that team. In the next round, they faced one of the most physical teams in the West in the Jazz, which is probably the closest that they could have gotten to experiencing what the Eastern Conference playoffs are like. Then they ended up with the Spurs, which is the model upon which the Celtics' team is built. It's almost like the Spurs are the perfect sparring partner upon which to prepare for the Cs.
The same was true for the Celtics, as their postseason prepared them just as they needed. Unlike the Lakers, the Cs had very little championship experience and none at the key spots (head coach, best player, and starting point guard). And they had no experience at all playing together in the postseason. So getting stretched to 7 by the Hawks was (in retrospect) likely the best thing that could have happened. Likewise, the Cavs (with LeBron) gave them playoff experience against the only talent in the NBA comparable to Kobe. Finally, the Pistons play the most like a Western Conference power of any team in the east (motion/efficient offense, good (but not very physical) defense, versatility). No other pathway, IMO, would have prepared the Celts for the championship as well as the path that they took.
Plus, did anyone catch that the Lakers went through both Western Conference Finalists from 2007 (Spurs and Jazz) while the Celtics went through both Eastern Conference Finalists from 2007 (Pistons and Cavs). This truly is the best of both conferences meeting each other, each having been prepared to be at the apex of their powers. You've gotta love it.
Topic: Perfect playoff preparation (Read 2823 times)