The Future of the Celtics/Lakers Revelry is Bright
When people think about the Lakers/Celtics rivalry, they think of Bird vs. Magic, Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlin, Kobe vs. Peirce, and all the greats that have put the uniforms on for both of the respective teams.
The Lakers and Celtics have met 12 times in the Finals with Boston winning the first nine series, while the Lakers have won three of the last four. Between the two franchises they’ve combined for 33 championships. Both teams are currently in different states right now because the Celtics made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Lakers struggled in a tough Western Conference going through growing pains trying to build for the future.
Both teams fell in the lottery this year with the Celtics getting the first overall pick (but later trading it to Philly swapping 1st and 3rd picks), while the Lakers were right behind them with the second overall pick. Lakers took hometown kid Lonzo Ball out of UCLA and Boston taking Jayson Tatum out of Duke. Scouts say that Lonzo is a Jason Kidd 2.0 with his high basketball IQ, flashy passes, and an unorthodox shot. The scouting reports say on Jayson Tatum is that he’s the most polished player in the draft class on the offensive end with his great shooting, rebounding, and his Kobe like fade away jumper. Out of all the players from the lottery, Tatum is in the best position to succeed because he’s going to a team that just made it to the Eastern Conference Finals with a veteran roster, while the Lakers are hoping Lonzo Ball can bring the “ShowTime Lakers” back on the map. We got to see these two go head to head against each other and it was a great game to watch. Saturday night in Vegas the hottest ticket in town was the Summer League game between the Lakers and Celtics (not J-Cole) where it was a sold-out crowd to come see Lonzo Ball and Lakers take on Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. Coming off of his worst game of his basketball career, Lonzo put on display his flashy passes setting up his teammates. He finished with a triple double with 11 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds. On the other side, Jayson Tatum had a great all-around game finishing with a game high of 27 points along with 11 rebounds. The Celtics would pull away with an 86-81 win. Yes, the Celtics won the game but the thing that stood out in this game was that the Lakers and Celtics rivalry is still one of the best rivalries in sports, and the amount of young talent each team has is setting up for a bright future for the rivalry.
Years from now we could be talking about the next Celtics/Lakers greats in Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Jordon Clarkson, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Isaiah Thomas, and so many more. Once the Lakers can prove they can compete in the Western Conference, and the Warriors dynasty ends, we could see many more Finals between the Celtics and Lakers in the future.
