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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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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Thanks For The Memories Lebron James?

It's in progress, just one Boston Celtics victory from completion after the Cavaliers' embarrassing 120-88 Game 5 meltdown Tuesday at home in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. In the most stunning on-court development of the season, two-time basketball shark ace player MVP LeBron James— the Cavs' leader, the homegrown star destined to deliver a championship after the city's 46-year drought — is faltering with an underwhelming, unfathomable playoff performance. It's not that he had 15 points on 3-for-14 shooting Tuesday.

It's that he disappeared.

All that against the backdrop of Lebron James' impending free agency and potential departure, hanging over the city like a dark, gloomy Lake Erie cloud. Lebron James demurs.

"We know what it takes to win as a team, but at the same time, we haven't played great basketball," Lebron James said without great passion after the game.

If Game 5 was a big game in his career, Game 6 today in Boston (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) looms the biggest. His reputation, at least temporarily, is at stake.

"You guys are crazy," Lebron James said after Wednesday's practice. "I'm 25, and you're talking about a reputation and legacy. C'mon.

"Man, I got more years and a lot more time to play this game. ... The only time I work out is to win an NBA championship, to compete for an NBA championship, and I'm excited we have the opportunity to do that here."

This is when the greats are special.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself, of course. That's the kind of player I am," Lebron James said. "That's how I hold myself accountable. ... I need one of those games, and I look forward to having one.

"I'm going to be ready for Game 6."

So that a Game 7 is forced back home.

Lebron James' Inconsistent Play

Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry assembled a team to win a title this season. He traded for center Shaquille O'Neal and signed guard Anthony Parker and forward Jamario Moon in the offseason and acquired forward Antawn Jamison at February's trade deadline.

Those moves helped the Cavs to a 61-21 record and home-court advantage for the playoffs. But they are not paying off now, the reverse of the Orlando Magic, who needed time to work newcomer Vince Carter into the system. The Magic are rolling.

Those are subplots. It all begins with Lebron James, who appeared disengaged at times during the game and indifferent in his postgame news conference.

"You don't know if I'm angry or not," James said after practice Wednesday. "If I show a sense of panic, guys follow my lead. ... If I say, 'Oh, we lost by 30 last night and we don't know what to do,' that's not right. That's not who I am."

Fire and brimstone is not Lebron James' style. But his team needs something now.

"The thing you're worried about is our consistent play, which hasn't been there," he said of the 3-2 series. "As far as being worried about the series, I'm not worried."

NBA basketball ace player Lebron James has been uneven, averaging 36.5 points and shooting 56.5% in two wins and 20.3 points and 36% shooting in three losses.

He brushed off questions about his strained right (shooting) elbow. "I don't hang my head low or make excuses about anything that may be going on because that's not the type of player and type of person I am."

Without James performing at an MVP level, the Cavaliers don't look like a championship team.

He is beloved in northeast Ohio. He grew up in nearby Akron, has an affinity for his hometown.

But how much does this postseason influence where James plays next season? What if he left the Cavaliers after a second-round exit? How would fans feel? James isn't thinking that far ahead.

"It makes no sense for me to look that way, say, 'This could potentially be my last game here or be our last game in Cleveland for the season,' " he said.

A loss to Boston has repercussions off the court, too. How much would James' departure hurt the franchise?

In 2003-04, Lebron James' first season with the Cavaliers, Forbes estimated the franchise was worth $258 million, 15th out of 30 NBA teams. In its latest NBA valuations in December, the Cavaliers were worth $476 million, an 84% increase.

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, "The last two home playoff losses and the manner in which we lost does not come close to the high expectations all of us have. Our fans and supporters deserve more."

Boston does have some say in this. The Cavaliers are being outcoached and outplayed. The Celtics are defense first and foremost, and when they're healthy and getting offensive contributions from guards Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo and forwards Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, "They're as good or better than anybody," ABC/ESPN analyst and former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy said.

Boston is playing its best basketball of the season at the right time, just the way coach Doc Rivers had hoped. That has left northeast Ohio angry, depressed and in a panic, and rightfully so.

Growing up here, James understands: "If I'm a fan from Cleveland and watching the game, I would have booed, too."

Cleveland sports fans haven't experienced a championship since the NFL Browns won in 1964.

Sports talk radio revealed frustration and resignation on the state of the Cavaliers. ESPN Cleveland radio host Tony Rizzo said, "I'm flabbergasted. I may be speechless. I don't know what to say."

But he really did.

"LeBron is going to go somewhere else and win a title," Rizzo said, hitting Cleveland fans where it hurts most, in the heart. "You choked in the biggest game of your career, and where you play next year — and I don't think it's going to be here — this is going to follow you."

Darrell Mayo, 38, is a life-long Cleveland resident. After so many disappointments, Mayo conditioned himself for what seems like the inevitable finish.

"I tell people, I'm a Brown fans, I'm a Cavs fan, I'm an Indians fan. For many years, I used to be one of those die-hard fans," Mayo said. "I took my emotions out of it. Now I go off of what I see and not what I feel. I still root for the team."

So where has it gone wrong? Did O'Neal's return after missing 23 games with a thumb injury mess with coach Mike Brown's rotation?

Brown's distribution of minutes, especially with his big men, has been inconsistent. He barely played center Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the first four games, then gave him quality time in the first quarter of Game 5.

O'Neal played 49 seconds in the fourth quarter of Game 4. J.J. Hickson gets minutes one game and not the next. When pressed, Brown has been diplomatic, trying to massage egos and protect the sanctity of locker room talk.

His demeanor changed after Game 2. The playoffs can do that, especially with so much at stake, including his job. He joked after the Game 1 victory. But the jovial coach who likes to chitchat about life outside of basketball disappeared after Game 2. Even after the Game 3 win, his mood was serious.

"I'm bothered about me not putting them in a better position to win," Brown said. "I have to change my mind-set and attitude to make sure I'm focused just as much as they are."

James supported his coach Wednesday when asked about the game plan: "The whole coaching staff and I agree with the system that they put in. We've been successful in the postseason, we've been successful in the regular season."

In the playoffs, the story line can change quickly. If the Cavs win Game 6, the series finale is Sunday in Cleveland.

The pressure would shift to Boston.

"They have to play one great road game," Van Gundy said of the Cavaliers. Brown said they would learn a lot about themselves in Game 6. We'll learn more about James.

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Suns Team Owner On The Way To Immigration Law

We all know that politics and basketball don't mix but they sometimes collide. On this day, the MVP of the Phoenix Suns isn't Amar'e Stoudemire or Steve Nash, but team owner Robert Sarver, with an assist from General Manager Steve Kerr. They saw a political freight train heading right toward them and - rather than veer out of the way - accelerated full-speed right into it.

That doesn't happen often in the pro game. Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in professional baseball was a collision of sports and politics. Muhammad Ali's legal fight against the draft was a collision. Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising a Black-power salute during the playing of the national anthem in the 1968 Olympics was a collision.

And now, in a way no one saw coming, Senate Bill 1070, the state's new immigration-enforcement law, has collided head-on with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Phoenix Suns. The Diamondbacks tried to avoid it. Owner Ken Kendrick, a major contributor to Republican causes, was surprised by the protesters who greeted his team outside ballparks. Kendrick issued a mild-mannered statement saying that he personally disagreed with the law, then sent out his public-relations flacks to spread the word about sports not really having anything to do with politics and that people upset with SB 1070 shouldn't take it out on his franchise.

The team, for the most part, was silent, allowing the baseball players association to issue a tough statement against the law. The Phoenix Suns and their owner, Sarver, took a slightly different tack. Instead of trying to avoid a collision, Sarver steered his high-rolling franchise right onto the controversy.

He sought and received unanimous support from his players for them to wear their "Los Suns" jerseys for Game 2 on Wednesday. He told The Arizona Republic that the new immigration law was not "the right way to handle the immigration problem, Number 1. Number 2, as I read through the bill, it felt to me a little bit like it was mean-spirited, and I personally just don't agree with it."

Team General Manager Steve Kerr added, "It's hard to imagine in this country that we have to produce papers. It rings up images of Nazi Germany. We understand that the intentions of the law are not for that to happen, but you have to be very, very careful. . . . It's important that everyone in our state and nation understands this is an issue that needs to be explored. So, we're trying to expose it."

According to some sports analysts, a reader calling himself "chatmandu" wrote, "Steve Nash can move back to Canada, and the Suns can go play for Mexico City. ... I am burning all my Suns stuff in effigy." Reader "tonyman10" added, "I attended the first ever Suns game at the Madhouse on McDowell and became an avid fan. . . . I've attended at least a dozen games each year and watch every other one on TV. That all ended today. . . . " Others, like "Bob46" praised the team, saying, "Sometimes you just have to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. Thank you, Robert Sarver and Suns players. ..."

Whether you agree with the Suns' decision or not, you should be proud of them for taking a stand and for doing so the right way. No wavering. No dancing around the issues. It took guts. It showed heart. In basketball terms, they drove straight down the lane and jammed it.

Or as the "voice of the Suns," Al McCoy, might say, "It's a wham, bam, slam!"

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Clippers Wins Against Lakers With 107-91

Bad day for the Lakers, who lost another player to injury, got drilled by their cross-town rival and angered the NBA basketball All-Star forward on the team they'll face in the first round of the playoffs. Since the LA Laker's Ace star Kobe Bryant sat out for the fourth time in five games to rest several injuries, including a swollen right knee and a broken finger on his right shooting hand and a Andrew Bynum missed his 13th straight game with a strained left Achilles'.

Clippers star player Steve Blake scored 23 points as part of his first career triple-double, Chris Kaman added 22 points and the Clippers beat the Lakers 107-91 Wednesday night. Steve Blake finished with 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Clippers, who ended with a 29-53 record to miss the postseason for the 15th time in 17 years. Interim coach Kim Hughes' contract ends June 30, and he doesn't know if he'll be back next season.

"It was a great way to end the season,We were a well-balanced team all the way around." Steve Blake said.

On the Lakers side, Lamar Odom led the Lakers with 21 points despite being in foul trouble. Pau Gasol had 18 points and 17 rebounds, and Shannon Brown added 18 starting in place of Kobe Bryant. However, Sasha Vujacic didn't return after spraining his right ankle in the second quarter. Lakers spokesman said it was severe, although X-rays were negative. He'll have an MRI on Thursday. He left the locker room on crutches and was driven off in a cart.

The Lakers finished the regular season with a 3-6 skid and lost Sasha Vujacic to a high ankle sprain when he landed on the foot of Clippers guard Mardy Collins after a shot with 2:51 left in the second quarter. Sasha Vujacic was helped off the court by trainer Gary Vitti and reserve guard Jordan Farmar, who sustained an injury of his own the previous night with a strained left hamstring and played 1.3 seconds against the Clippers so he could officially say he played all 82 regular-season games. 

 

"He could miss the first round, It'll hurt." Said LA Lakers coach Phil Jackson. The Lakers finished with a 57-25 record and the No. 1 seed in the West. The defending champions have lost six of 10 heading into the playoffs. They will face No. 8 seed Oklahoma City beginning Sunday at Staples Center.

"I said at the start of the season if we don't win 60 games, we'll be disappointed, and we're disappointed in our team's effort at the end of the season," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

The Clippers dominated the fourth quarter, hitting four 3-pointers — three by Blake — to pull away in what was a tight game until early in the third. The Lakers trailed by three to start the third quarter, but were outscored 15-5 as the Clippers built the first of two 13-point leads. From there, the teams each scored 11 points to close the period, with the Clippers ahead 78-65.

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