SPORTS/OLYMPICS> Basketball
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SPORTS/OLYMPICS> Basketball
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Celtics, Lakers set to revisit history
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-03 09:48 Home-court advantage in the Finals goes to the Celtics, who are 2-0 against the Lakers this season. Boston will host the first two games before the series shifts to Los Angeles for the next three and if necessary Games 6 and 7 back in Boston. Garnett is making his first appearance in the Finals in his 12th season. "Right now, it's a good feeling," Garnett said. "It probably hasn't hit me yet." Detroit coach Flip Saunders coached Garnett when the two were part of the Minnesota Timberwolves organization. Saunders is happy for his former star player. "I always said he happened to be a great player that just never happened to have a ring," Saunders said. "To get to the finals, I'm sure it's something, that's all he ever talked about. "But I'm sure he's not satisfied with that. He wants to win a championship, too." Garnett has fond memories of Celtics-Lakers games as a kid. "I used to watch on Sunday with that big plate of food in front of me, watching the Lakers and Celtics play on Sunday," Garnett said. "I remember it like it was yesterday. "Mom telling me, 'Don't get too close to the TV, it'll kill your eyes.' I'm looking forward to this." The Lakers, with a week off before the Finals start Thursday, will resume workouts on Sunday. The Lakers advanced by beating the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in five games in the semifinals. If he was a betting man, which he is not, Spurs Manu Ginobili might pick the Celtics to win the finals. "They (Lakers) are a great team, but I don't have the feeling that they are way better - either than us, New Orleans or Utah," said Ginobili, who played with a sprained left ankle in the semifinals. "I mean, they made it to the Finals because they deserve it, but I don't have that feeling that they were so much superior. "But we have to give them credit. They played great, especially down the stretch, when we fell a couple times. And so they are the ones that made it." |
