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Well I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from a Game 6, but I know that wasn’t it. I mean the Celtics totally obliterated the Lakers. I’m sure Pau Gasol felt a tinge of familiarity with his old team after that debacle. The Lakers looked a lot like the Grizzlies last night (and Kobe looked a lot more like Rudy Gay than the heir to Michael Jordan).

I am completely impressed with the team atmosphere that the Celtics created. They completely embraced the concept and bought into every little thing that helps a team win. They genuinely seem to like each other (unlike the Lakers who took 5 games to start helping each other up after someone got knocked to the floor) and genuinely defer to the team concept. They were the best team in the NBA during the regular season, but struggled out of the gate in the playoffs. No problem, they thrived on making adjustments throughout and got better with each series.

Last night, they really put it all together at once. Their defense was stifling with Rajon Rondo causing serious problems all over the court and a myriad of different guys bothering Kobe. The offense sputtered early in the first quarter, but once they got going there was no stopping them. Garnett had a fantastic all-around game and Ray Allen kept the Lakers at bay most of the second half nailing 7 three-pointers throughout the game. Rondo played one of his most complete games as a pro and was just all over the place on the defensive end and the offensive glass. He is such a pest out there on the court and when he is playing like that he is really fun to watch.Paul Pierce didn’t have his best game of the series, but he really managed the game last night. He picked his spots, got everyone involved and continued to play great defense.

The Celtics really could not have asked for a better end to the series. They played outstanding basketball and got strong performances from their Big Three and got to do it all at the TD Banknorth Garden in front of an absolutely fantastic crowd. That crowd was completely energized the entire game and really made the entire event so much more fun to watch. I have to say I’m not exactly the biggest fan of Boston these days. Frankly, I’m tired of all the winning they’ve been doing and having to hear about them every freaking day. But, the connection the whole city had with the Celtics was great to watch. I’m not sure that any of the Lakers (or the city of Los Angeles) would have appreciated winning a championship as much as Boston and this team of Celtics.

Three more quick thoughts for now:
1) Kevin Garnett is certifiably insane. I mean, that interview after the game with Michelle Tafoya was just unreal. I’ve never seen anything like that. He went so many different ways in the three minute span of that interview: speechless with head down; screaming at the ceiling; crying; going Joe Namath on us and telling Michelle she looked pretty. Basically the only thing he didn’t do was answer one of Michelle’s questions. That was amazing.

2) The Kobe-MJ thing is over. Never again can this be brought up. I was probably one of the first to bash this argument, but even Mark Jackson (a big supporter of the comparison) said he was backing off. Kobe is an otherworldly talent, maybe even more talented than MJ, and may win a championship or two down the road. But, MJ never would have let that happen to his team in the finals. Never. End of discussion.

3) Funniest subplot of the Finals: Jeff Van Gundy using the broadcasts as a job interview. I really enjoyed the broadcasting team. They have great chemistry and really know the game. But Van Gundy was hilarious with his, “Here’s what I would do…” line that he used at least 10 times in the course of the game. The weird part: a lot of what he said made sense and the adjustments never came from the Lakers. Hmmmmm…

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