It’s finally playoff time in the NBA. The Boston Celtics will start their climb towards Banner 19 on Sunday afternoon, when they host the winner of Wednesday’s Philadelphia 76ers vs. Orlando Magic Play-In Game.
Fans in Boston have gone all-in on this Celtics team. Skeptics have turned into believers over the past six months and now hope to see the Cs emerge from the Eastern Conference and potentially win another title.
They’re not the only ones.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James can be added to the list, too. On a recent episode of his Mind The Game podcast, the 41-year-old said he’d love an opportunity to match up with Boston in the NBA Finals.
“That’d be crazy,” he said. “I had a lot of Celtics series when I was in the East. They don’t quite like me either.”
Don't worry, the Lakers won't be playing in June
As much as James would like to see a Celtics vs. Lakers matchup in June, it’s just not happening.
Los Angeles is not a serious contender to begin with. Sure, they had a fun run in March. That doesn’t erase the several months of mediocre basketball they put together before that. At one point, they were fifth in the West despite having a point differential of zero -- the definition of “mid.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and Denver Nuggets all would’ve scoffed at the idea that the Lakers would emerge from the West, even during their meaningless March hot streak. Nevermind now that both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are sidelined with respective hamstring and oblique injuries.
L.A. enters its first-round series against the Houston Rockets as a +450 underdog. To be clear, the Rockets (who finished the season strong) aren’t considered one of the West’s powerhouse teams, either.
The odds speak to how, without Doncic or Reaves, the LeBron and the Lakers have no business even thinking about the NBA Finals. They’d be lucky to be playing in May.
With all of this being said, if by some miracle the Celtics saw them in June, Mayor Wu would be wise to begin planning a parade. When the two teams met back in February, both at full strength at Crypto.com Arena, Boston broke the Lakers’ spirit.
Luka was red in the face complaining at the officials, James was fed up with his teammates as always, and the rest of their guys had no answer for the Celtics. The game outlined the differences in depth and culture on both sides, and showed why Boston clearly has the superior system.
Besides the laundry, a Lakers vs. Celtics Finals would be a big yawn.
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