LA Lakers and Boston Celtics: A Victory For TV Ratings?

With 32 of a possible 63 titles between them, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are the most successful franchises in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. They’re also a boon to television ratings. When the Lakers and Celtics meet for another championship in this year’s NBA Finals starting in two days, Walt Disney Co.’s ABC may emerge a winner.

“This is best matchup ABC could have possibly hoped for,” Brad Adgate, research director at Horizon Media, a New York- based advertising company, said in a telephone interview. “It’s a classic rivalry -- cross-country, major markets and two teams loaded with history.”

Jeff Lindsey, a spokesman for ABC, didn’t immediately return an e-mail last night seeking comment.

The Lakers won their 15th NBA championship last season, while the Celtics won their 17th title two years ago.

Boston’s six-game win over the Lakers after the 2007-08 season yielded the highest television ratings for the NBA Finals in the past five years. It was the most recent championship- round meeting in one of sports’ most celebrated rivalries, which featured Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the 1980s.

The 1987 championship series, the third showdown in four years between Johnson’s Lakers and Bird’s Celtics, was watched in 16.7 percent of U.S. homes, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was the highest-rated NBA finals that didn’t include Michael Jordan since Nielsen began keeping records in 1974.

“These teams have national followings and leaguewide followings,” said Phil de Picciotto, president of Athletes &; Personalities at the Los Angeles-based marketing and representation firm Octagon. “Anybody who’s a basketball fan appreciates what the Lakers and Celtics stand for.”

Made A Living On Lakers And Boston Celtics

Former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson, who used to sit alongside Boston President Red Auerbach during the NBA Finals, said his network “made a living” on the Celtics and Lakers. Pilson expects more ratings success this season.

“There’s every indicator from size of markets, to quality of the matchup, to the athletes themselves, to the history and tradition,” said Pilson, president of Pilson Communications, Inc., in Chappaqua, New York. “This definitely is a great matchup for the NBA and the networks.”

The teams met in the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s, featuring Hall of Famers such as Bill Russell and Bob Cousy for Boston and Jerry West and Elgin Baylor for Los Angeles. Wilt Chamberlain played for the Lakers in the 1969 Finals.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Series

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s career scoring leader with 38,387 points, helped lead the Lakers to NBA Finals victories against the Celtics in 1985 and 1987. Los Angeles is the second-largest media market in the U.S. behind New York, and Boston is seventh.

The Lakers are led by former Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kobe Bryant, who has averaged 29.4 points in 16 games this postseason. The Celtics are paced by a quartet of All-Stars in Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo.

“Boston and L.A. -- wake up the echoes,” Pilson said in a telephone interview. “This is classic. The only thing that could spoil this matchup right now are blowout games or a four- game sweep. But it seems unlikely.”

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers won three of four regular-season basketball matchups against the Celtics. Los Angeles will host Game 1 of the best-of-seven championship series on June 3 at the Staples Center. Game 2 will also be played in Los Angeles, on June 6, before the series shifts to Boston for the next three games.

Phil Jackson Seeking Revenge

Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who has 10 NBA titles, said the loss to the Celtics two years ago still stings. During the offseason, after Los Angeles beat the Orlando Magic for the NBA title, Phil Jackson said he ran into Pierce at his daughter’s housing complex in Los Angeles and made it known he wanted a championship rematch.

“I said, ‘Get it back, we want to meet you in the finals,’” Phil Jackson said after beating Phoenix in the Western Conference finals. “So here it is almost a year later. We have this opportunity, both of us, to renew this rivalry.”

Since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles from Minneapolis in 1960, they’ve faced the Celtics 10 times in the NBA Finals. Nine of those championship series were decided in more than five games, with four going to a seventh game.

“You’ve got great star power and great tradition,” said Horizon Media’s Adgate. “The only other thing that ABC could possibly hope for is that the series goes seven games.”

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Lakers Wins The Game – Thanks To Ron Artest

Basketball fans catch up their breath when the Lakers' small but terrible forward Ron Artest made only one of his eight shots in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, misfiring on a late three-point attempt that drew the ire of Coach Phil Jackson.

But Jackson had a funny feeling Ron Artest was capable of something special in the final minutes of a tight game against the Phoenix Suns, so he sent the struggling player back into the game midway through the fourth quarter.

Good thing for Ron Artest, and a good thing for the Lakers. Ron Artest cut across the lane to grab an errant Kobe Bryant three-point attempt and tossed it into the basket with 0.8 seconds left to give the Lakers an exhilarating 103-101 victory tonight at Staples Center.

"He has an uncanny knack of doing things," Phil Jackson said of Ron Artest, whose shot joins Derek Fisher's 0.4-second heave against San Antonio six years ago in Lakers' playoff lore.

Ron Artest finished with only four points for the Lakers, who have a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series that shifts to US Airways Center in Phoenix on Saturday for Game 6. The home team has won each of the five games in the series.

"I thought Kobe got fouled on the shot, so I figured it was going to be short," Ron Artest said. "You've just got to continue the play."

The Lakers needed those heroics after Phoenix had battled back from a 101-96 deficit with 1:38 remaining on a 20-foot jumper by Steve Nash and a banked-in three-pointer by Jason Richardson with 3.5 seconds left. Steve Nash finished with 29 points on 12-for-20 shooting and he had 11 assists.

Kobe Bryant attempted a three-pointer from the wing while falling out of bounds with two seconds left, but the shot was well short and Ron Artest grabbed the ball and quickly shot it while turning toward the backboard.

"Bottom line, we didn't box Ron out," Phoenix Coach Alvin Gentry said. "We let him walk right in and get the rebound."

Kobe Bryant finished with 30 points and Fisher had 22 for the Lakers, who have won their last nine Game 5s under Phil Jackson, including a pair of triumphs this season. The Lakers are 8-0 at home in the 2010 playoffs. Pau Gasol added 21 points and Lamar Odom led the Lakers with 13 rebounds.

Phoenix Suns won Games 3 and 4 at home by utilizing a zone defense, repeatedly getting to the free-throw line and enjoying several breakthrough performances from its bench. Only one of those factors -- free throws -- worked in the Suns' favor in Game 5.

Phoenix did attempt 29 free throws to the Lakers' 23, but the Suns' bench combined for 31 points after getting 54 in Game 4.

The Lakers also scored 38 points in the paint and 23 points off 15 Phoenix turnovers. Phoenix Suns went with its reserves to start the second and fourth quarters, and the unit failed to reproduce its Game 4 magic. Guard Goran Dragic did little besides shove the Lakers' Sasha Vujacic early in the fourth quarter, resulting in offsetting technical fouls.

The Lakers appeared to have put the game out of reach late in the third quarter when a free throw by Lamar Odom gave them an 18-point lead at 74-56. But the Suns closed the quarter on a 16-4 run that included a four-point play by Jared Dudley, who was fouled by Pau Gasol on a three-point basket and made the ensuing free throw.

"It was a crazy game," Steve Nash said. "Just when you thought everything was OK, we lose."

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Kobe Bryant Scores 40 Makes Lakers Win

The basketball fans soared high kickin' some buts when the Lakers struggled to the end of the regular season and then were dominated in Games 3 and 4 by Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs. But, we're seven games removed from that and it was also the last time the defending NBA champions lost.

Kobe Bryant started playing like Kobe Bryant again as Los Angeles Lakers' 128-107 win over the Phoenix Suns, Kobe Bryant had 40 points, including a remarkable 21 points in the third quarter of the Western Conference finals opener. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday at Staples Center.

It really wasn't much of a game once Kobe Bryant took over. It was the fifth consecutive game in which Bryant has scored more than 30 points. He scored his 40 on 13-of-23 shooting from the field while making 11 of 12 from the line. He made three of six three-pointers.

Perhaps the greatest praise for Kobe Bryant came from two-time MVP Steve Nash of the Suns, who was held to a below-average 13 points.

"I don't think we sent him to the line a lot," Phoenix Suns' player Steve Nash said. "I don't think we let him inside a lot, but still he scored a ton." Kobe Bryant played only 35 minutes as he left the game with about nine minutes to play and nothing left to prove. As the game wound down, even the normally nervous Lakers crowd started to loosen up, chanting: "We want Boston."

The Boston Celtics have a 1-0 lead over the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals, with Game 2 on Tuesday.

"Kobe had an outstanding game," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said in an understatement of fact. "Pau (Gasol) played a fine game and so did Lamar (Odom)."

Pau Gasol contributed 21 points while Odom had 19 points and 19 rebounds. "Kobe carried a lot of the offense tonight," Phil Jackson said. "He came in and was going to shoulder the game."

Kobe Bryant's health is a constant topic around Los Angeles. The Times reported on Monday that he recently had a "significant" amount of fluid drained from his knee, something Phil Jackson verified although he said it was not done this past weekend.

And Kobe Bryant certainly made everyone forget about his date with a syringe early when he came out and scored 11 points in the first quarter. But there was an anxious moment with 1:46 left in the opening period when he slipped as he drove down the lane and fell on his injured knee. It hushed the sellout crowd of 18,997. But what was hurting him was his head, which banged into Phoenix guard Jason Richardson as he fell.

How did he respond? He got up, stayed in the game and sank a 17-footer at the buzzer. It was that kind of game for Bryant.

"When he's making those shots, there's not a whole lot more you can do about it," said Suns Coach Alvin Gentry.

"Every time he plays, he takes it personal. . . . He knows how important the first thing is."

Amare Stoudemire was the main reason the Suns were only seven points behind at the half before Kobe Bryant took over in the third. Stoudemire scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half and was the Suns' leading scorer. Richardson added 15 points with Robin Lopez contributed 14.

Besides Kobe Bryant, another subplot around Los Angeles has been the future of Jackson. He is in the last year of a contract that pays him $12 million a year. He said he would decide his future after the playoffs but in a radio interview he did before the weekend he said he was leaning toward retiring.

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Is Lakers Ready For The Western Conference Finals?

Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant recently had fluid drained from his right knee and has not practiced in the week since their last game, and Andrew Bynum says his torn knee cartilage feels a little worse. Both will try to shake off their injuries Monday when Lakers face Phoenix in Game 1.

The Lakers haven't played since completing a sweep of Utah a week ago, but the circumstances are more considerable, the results more weighty when they begin the Western Conference finals Monday against the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center.

They're four victories away from a 31st appearance in the NBA Finals, but they'll get there only if Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum shake off knee injuries that have basically kept them off the practice court the last week. Kobe Bryant recently had a significant amount of fluid drained from his swollen right knee, The Times has learned, and hasn't practiced since the last round. Andrew Bynum practiced only once and said the torn cartilage in his right knee was "getting a little worse" after making it through Saturday's scrimmage.

Ready or not, here come the run-and-gun Suns.

"We need some different company out on the court," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said with a smile Sunday after yet another day of practice.

Phil Jackson was a little more somber when discussing Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum, the former averaging a solid 32 points a game in the conference semifinals, the latter totaling only six points the last two games against the Jazz.

Jackson, on Bryant: "He came out [Sunday] and shot a little bit and tried to get in rhythm. We hope that he's on board and his game is right at that point where it needs to be."

Jackson, on Bynum: "I thought he played well [Saturday] and we're hopeful that he's going to be at that level."

Neither Kobe Bryant nor Andrew Bynum spoke to reporters Sunday, but it's been unusual to see Bryant off to the side watching and Bynum padding around in flip-flops as teammates run up and down the court at the team's El Segundo training facility.

Their teammates have shrugged off their absence.

"At this point of the year, we need those guys during the game," forward Lamar Odom said. "If they've got something that's ailing or something that's aching, that's bothering them, I'd much rather have them ready for game time."

Phoenix Suns won't take pity on the Lakers, bringing an offense that created a sweep in the last round, the Suns throttling the San Antonio Spurs behind the ageless legs of Steve Nash, the lively pick-and-roll game of Amare Stoudemire and the suddenly consistent shooting of Jason Richardson.

The Suns are shooting an impressive 41.7% from three-point range and averaging 105.8 points in the playoffs, almost five more than the Lakers. They will push the pace with the ever-crafty Nash in an up-tempo offense that somehow has a degree of control to it.

"It's not so full-out run as, say, Oklahoma [City]," Jackson said. "This team has some sense behind what they're doing on their runs."

The Lakers will counter by pounding the ball down low to Pau Gasol and, if possible, Andrew Bynum. They also have put a premium on getting offensive rebounds to limit the Suns' fastbreak opportunities.

"That's something we're going to focus on," Lamar Odom said.

The Suns will have gone eight days since their last game, one more than the Lakers, and they'll have a minor slice of history on their side, having eliminated the Lakers in the first round in 2006 and 2007.

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LA Lakers Wins In Game 2; Kobe Bryant Finishes 39 Points

All-Star basketball player Kobe Bryant scored 39 points and the Lakers pushed themselves away from the Oklahoma City Thunder, 95-92, in Game 2 of their first-round series last night at Staples Center. It wasn't easy, the game coming down to Jeff Green's missed three-point attempt at the buzzer, but the Lakers took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Lakers, however, took another tight one from the Thunder, Kobe Bryant making 12 of 28 shots and 13 of 15 free-throw attempts, just enough to move age and experience past youth and innocence.

Kobe Bryant had 15 points in the fourth quarter, seven from the free-throw line. Pau Gasol was the only other Lakers player in double-digit scoring, finishing with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Ron Artest missed eight of 10 shots and Lamar Odom missed seven of nine shots. The Lakers could have made things a little easier in the end, but Bryant and Gasol each missed one of two free-throw attempts in the final 15.1 seconds, allowing the Thunder to stay within striking range.

On the Thuders side, Kevin Durant had 32 points and Russell Westbrook had 19 to lead the Thunder. The Lakers led after three quarters, 73-69, but the loudest roar up to that point came when Craig Calloway, a 29-year-old from Compton, won $235,000 by making a halfcourt shot before the fourth quarter in a promotion sponsored by The Mirage hotel. Getting the ball inside was part of the Lakers' game plan after they went over video from Game 1. 

 

Rusell Westbrook carried the Thunder early in the third, and Durant scored their final five points to leave them trailing 64-56 going into the final 12 minutes. Fisher, Artest and Odom were in foul trouble and Bryant scored a single point on a free throw as they played to a draw in the third.

The Thunder outscored the Lakers 26-20 in the second quarter, when Los Angeles got away from the inside game of Bynum and Gasol and settled for jump shots instead. Their 17-point lead dwindled to 47-39 at the break.

Pau Gasol made eight of 14 shots, but Andrew Bynum had only six shots going into the fourth quarter. When he got the opportunities in the fourth, he didn't take advantage, finishing with six points on three-for-nine shooting. Andrew Bynum ignited the Staples Center crowd with a monster one-handed dunk over a defenseless Nenad Krstic in the second quarter that pushed the Lakers’ lead to 17.

The Lakers came out blazing against the overwhelmed Thunder, pounding the ball inside to Bynum and Gasol while shooting 54 percent and taking a 27-13 lead in the first quarter. In the playoffs for the first time since moving from Seattle two years ago, the Thunder shot 26 percent, leading to their fewest points in an opening period all season.

However, Oklahoma City settled down the rest of the way, but never got closer than six points against the defending champions, who are seeking a third straight trip to the NBA finals.

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NBA Star Kobe Bryant Will Not Play For Final 2 Game

Shortly after proclaiming to reporters Sunday he would play the Lakers' final two regular-season games, guard Kobe Bryant sent a text message at 8 p.m. to LA Lakers Coach Phil Jackson that suggested otherwise. He sat out games last week at Denver and Minnesota to rest his finger, along with a swollen right knee and a sprained ankle. 
 

That means the next time Kobe Bryant suits up will be Game 1 of the first round of the NBA playoffs, an absence a team spokesman said was because of Bryant's four-month-old fractured right index finger. After the Portland game Kobe Bryant told reporters he planned on playing in Los Angeles' last 2 games this week to "sharpen up" against Sacramento and against the Clippers but the 12-time All-Star changed his mind Sunday night, relaying in a text message to head coach Phil Jackson that he "probably shouldn't play the last two games the way he felt," Jackson said. 
 

LA Lakers 12-time All-Star Kobe Bryant, who didn't talk to reporters after Monday's practice, has felt dinged up all season, playing through assorted injuries including a fractured right index finger, back spasms, a sprained left ankle and a sore right elbow. He recently sat out two games because of a swollen right knee, only to return Sunday in the Lakers' 91-88 loss to Portland. In that contest, Bryant scored 20 points on only eight of 23 shooting and missed two key free throws in the final minute. 
 

LA Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has also played through a strained right elbow, lower back spasms and a strained groin at various points of the season. Kobe Bryant ticked past the vaunted 1,000 career-games plateau this season and has played 44 playoff games over the course of the past two postseasons, in addition to his service to USA Basketball in the 2007 FIBA Americas championship in Las Vegas and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

He ended his consecutive games played streak of 235, the fifth longest among current NBA players at the time, because of his left ankle injury, missing five games plus the NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium, a spectacle played in front of the largest crowd ever to witness a basketball game.

"A lot of it I think was Kobe's choices of shots, specifically referring to his guard's 8-for-23 shooting total Sunday, stretching Bryant's three-game shooting slump to a dismal 21-for-70 (30 percent). "He's taken some tougher than natural or normal type of shooting chances and I think that's contributed to his poor shooting." LA Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.

Kobe Bryant has an avulsion fracture, in which a tiny fragment of bone tears away near a tendon or ligament. The former MVP has been slowed by the injury since he first broke it in a game against the Timberwolves in early December. Kobe Bryant hurt the top joint on the index finger on his right hand while reaching for a pass along with Minnesota's Ryan Gomes.

The defending champion LA Lakers are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Kobe Bryant was the highest vote getter in the Western Conference. He will be replaced by a hometown player — Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks. Also out is Allen Iverson, due to a family matter, to be replaced by the Knicks David Lee.

Kobe Bryant sprained his ankle when Lamar Odom stepped on his foot during the LA Lakers win over Charlotte. He sat out the next three games, saying his ankle was too sore to push off and run on. The Lakers still won those three games, with Pau Gasol leading the way and improved Lakers defense over all.

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