History Told in 24 Hours

It was the tale of two storied franchises. One with 17 World Championships, one with 16. Both known around the globe as the two greatest rivals, the two most accomplished teams to ever play in the National Basketball Association. Both with histories littered with great moments and some of the best players to ever play the game. Cousy and West, Russell and Chamberlain, Bird and Magic; they transcended the game. There's not much of a discussion as to who the top two franchises of all-time are in the NBA, but in the last 24 hours it became VERY apparent who was #1 and who was #2.
If you were watching the Celtics game last night, you just knew you were witnessing something special. This was history in the making. The Cs, battered and beaten, with their backs against the wall, down 2-0 to the anti-Christ Miami Heat, did what any Boston Celtics team would have done. They battled. They were tenacious, they were passionate, they were tough, but most importantly, they played with heart. Rondo wasn't just coming back onto the court with one arm for himself. He was coming back onto the court for likes of Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, he was coming back onto the court for the "Red Auerbach" name that stretches across the parquet floor, he was coming back onto the court for the 17 championship banners that hang in the rafters above. He came back out because he knows what those 17 banners mean and he knows just what it would mean to put number 18 up there.
If you were watching the Lakers game today, you also knew you were watching something special. Once again, you were witnessing history. The Lakers, down 3-0, had a chance to attempt to become the first team ever to dig themselves out of that hole. What did they do? They folded. They packed it in. No one has ever done it before, why should they be any different? Why should they even try? They played selfishly, they fought amongst themselves and let their frustrations get the best of them as they laid on numerous, absolutely unacceptable cheapshots in the game's extended garbage time. One of the greatest coaches in history, Phil Jackson, will have to walk away from the game knowing his team quit on him. Think the Celtics ever quit on Red Auerbach? Kobe Bryant, one of the great players of all time, made it very clear that he is certainly not even on the same planet as Michael Jordan. And Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum made a disgrace of the Laker name.
You'd NEVER see a Celtic do that. Never. They have too much pride. They know they'd be letting down those who came before them. Kevin Garnett cries, he cries like a little baby cries, when he talks about Bill Russell. He has that much respect for the man. You think Andrew Bynum cares what Magic Johnson thinks about him? Not a chance. He's out to get what's his and that's it. That's the difference between the Celtics and the Lakers. The Lakers are a bunch of individuals and the Celtics are a team. The Celtics are a family. The number of championships have become irrelevent. The Celtics are the greatest franchise in the history of basketball and the Lakers are a very distant second.

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