The Boston Celtics had the perfect storyline to follow.
The heart and soul of Boston, Paul Pierce suffered the first major ailment of his career in 2007, a foot injury that kept him out for 35 games. The captain played the fewest games of his career that season, slightly above his rookie year when the NBA was shortened due to the lockout, and the Celtics had their worst record in eight years. They missed the playoffs for the second-consecutive year, rookie guard Rajon Rondo only started 25 games and Boston was in a downward spiral yet again. Pierce and the Celtics needed help from the outside.
Following the script, veterans Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett made their way to Boston in shocking fashion, celebrating down Causeway Street as the Celtics were surely on their way back to the top. The aging veterans had come to give head coach Doc Rivers the victory cigar he desperately yearned for.
Each individual player had made an appearance in their respective conference finals, but never made it to the finals. Together they realized they could finally get over the hump and into the Finals.
Pierce had spent his entire career in Boston and had only been to the Eastern Conference Finals once, in 2000-01, when the Celtics were ousted by the New Jersey Nets in six games.
Allen, the three-point shooting magician, was in search of his lone NBA titles when he ventured over to Boston in a trade between the Celtics and the SuperSonics. The furthest he had advanced in the playoffs was within one win of the NBA Finals, eventually losing in seven to the Philadelphia 76ers as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Garnett was loyal to the team that gave him a chance. The Minnesota Timberwolves had been his home since being drafted, but the former league-MVP and Defensive Player of the Year had only appeared in the Western Conference Finals once, exiting after six games at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers. The emotionally-driven forward was still in search of just one championship ring before he retired, so he was shipped off to Boston to join forces with Pierce and Allen.
The Celtics then had three hungry veterans, all in search of their “holy grail.” Boston had the lovable three-point shooting Eddie House, a ferocious defender in Tony Allen and of course “White Mamba” Brian Scalabrine leading the bench in collaborative cheers.
They had all the characters to fit a cast of on the verge of blossoming.
Boston won 11 of their first 12 games and were dominant through the first half of the season. The Celtics shopped around and got veteran P.J. Brown, a 38-year-old veteran chasing his career-defining NBA title and Sam Cassell, a former first-round pick looking for one more ring.
The Celtics eased through the regular season, finishing one game short of a franchise record 67-game winning season. Boston established itself as “the team to beat in the East” by snagging the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Boston was faced with adversity when they arrived into the playoffs.
It took seven games to defeat the no-name No. 8 seeded Atlanta Hawks. Then they were pushed to seven games by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, before Pierce and the ageless swingman, P.J. Brown, put them over the top. Their last test before the NBA Finals proved a bit easier, finishing off the defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons in six games.
The only team left was their old nemesis, the Los Angeles Lakers, a storied franchise that had historically struggled against Boston. This would be the first Finals matchup between these two rivals since 1986-87, when the Celtics dropped the series in six games to LA.
Boston put the pressure on immediately, winning the first two games at home in the best-of-seven series before moving out to LA. The Celtics took one out of three on the road before closing out the series out home.
They had finally done it. “Beat LA” chants erupted throughout the TD Garden as the Boston faithful celebrated.
The Celtics made one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history, a difference of 42 wins in one season.
Generally, this is where the movie ends.
The Big Three would get their rings. Kevin Garnett screaming emotionally at the camera would replay over and over for the next 10 years.
Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen would ride off into the sunset.
Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins would recruit the best supporting cast in the league and Boston would establish themselves as a contender to win the NBA title moving forward.
Only that didn’t happen. Like any great movie, there had to be a sequel.
Check back Saturday for “The Sequel.”
