The Lakers vs. the Celtics for the 2008 NBA championship. Really...could it have been written any better than this?
And I'm not even talking about the history of the rivalry. That definitely helps the story, don't get me wrong, but even if there had never been a Magic vs. Bird or a Wilt vs. Russell this current Lakers vs. Celtics matchup would have been just as riveting. Consider...
The Lakers are arguably the best offensive team in the league while the Celtics are the best defensive team.
The Lakers are led by the MVP, an offensive force that is also an excellent defender. The Celtics are led by the Defensive Player of the year, a defensive force that is also an excellent offensive player.
The Lakers had to go through both Western Conference finalists from 2007 (Spurs and Jazz), while the Celtics had to go through both Eastern Conference finalists from 2007 (Cavs and Pistons) to get to the championship, emphasizing that these are clearly the best from their respective conferences.
The Lakers faced the perfect "sparring partners" to prepare for the Celtics in the Jazz (one of the most physical, Eastern Conference-like teams in the West) and the Spurs (model for the current Celtics team). The Celtics faced the perfect preparation for the Lakers as well, by going through LeBron (the closest analog to Kobe in basketball) and the Pistons (versatile, quality Western Conference-like team).
This thing is chock-full of miscellaneous storylines. The two prototypes for this high-school-to-pros generation go heads up in a legacy-defining showdown where the winner moves into the NBA Pantheon. Paul Pierce, who grew up as a Lakers fan in LA returning home to try to beat his old team. Lamar Odom, in some ways KG-lite, facing off with the original. Ray Allen and Kobe get to continue their feud on the big stage. The Zen Master tries to break Red's record for NBA coaching championships against Red's former team. And on...and on...and on...
This is the matchup that most of us would have drawn up if we were trying to write the script for the best possible championship series. There hasn't been a Finals with this much potential in both quality and electricity in a LONG time. And I absolutely can not WAIT until Thursday to finally see it play out on the court.