In the 1985 NBA Finals the Celtics beat LA by 32 points in the first game and went on to lose 4-2 despite home court advantage. To their undoing, their characteristic brashness turned into overconfidence.
Now they've lost two games in a row--the second in blowout fashion--after upsetting Cleveland and leading Orlando 3-0.
Given this year's choke by the Bruins and the Patriots' history of choking (not to mention the pre-2004 Red Sox, and the closeness of the two Celtics wins in Orlando), I have declined to be confident about the Celtics' prospects. Good luck to them, but note that, in a sense, a--historic--sweep of their semifinal series remains possible.
Addendum 201006101947. Okay, false alarm.
Now I see that Paul Pierce, while working to win Game 2 and tie the series, gibed at a fan the Celtics wouldn't return to LA. Whereupon they lost the first of three consecutive games in Boston...
Addendum 201006171950. Okay, another false alarm.
An hour before the rubber game starts, I see that the sports press, which was talking up the Celtics when they took the lead in the series, is now talking up the Lakers after they won Game 6.
My pessimistic temperament is telling me that the Curse of the Bambino hasn't been broken: it's been transferred to the Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics. This kind of infantile swagger from, fittingly, the Celtics' 'Big Baby' Davis doesn't make me feel any better.
Addendum 201006180038. sigh Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans.
I was definitely rooting for the Celtics but my feelings became mixed once I realized their reputation as braggarts and bullies.
The following has the ring of sour grapes, but I'm getting very repulsed by the steady stream of news about thuggishness by professional athletes. At this point I haven't withheld my attention. Maybe ultracompetitive sport, like war, brings out the best and worst in people; for sure, I've been noticing the bad.
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