Even though the Boston Celtics didn’t receive as much attention or notoriety for moves made over the last few months, bringing in free agents Jason Terry, Courtney Lee and re-signing Kevin Garnett were definitely steps in the right direction after losing Ray Allen to the Miami Heat.
It remains to be seen whether or not this Eastern Conference powerhouse can continue to play at an elite level, but the mentality and hatred for the Lakers hasn’t changed with the new blood coming in according to Terry’s diary via ESPN.com:
“It didn’t take me long to embrace being a Celtic. I hate whoever they hate. The Lakers are number one up there and the Heat aren’t too far behind.”
The Lakers and Celtics may be one year older and nearing the end of an era with Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce and Garnett being the faces of these storied NBA franchises, but the competitive drive and pure hatred for one another seems to be just as fresh as ever.
Although there remains no love lost between Boston and Los Angeles, both teams will have their sights set on taking down the best teams in their conferences heading into next season. The Lakers will be focused on dethroning the Oklahoma City Thunder while the Celtics will be putting all energy on taking out the defending NBA champion Miami Heat.
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As of right now, the Celtics are a long shot to overtake the Heat in the East. Miami is clearly the better all-around squad in comparison to Boston and will likely not face must resistance in the conference in terms of finishing with the top seed.
As for the Lakers, the competition for the top spot in the Western Conference is much tougher with the Thunder, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers all posing a threat.
The matchups between the Celtics and Lakers during the upcoming season will be highly anticipated as usual, but both teams have bigger fish to fry within their conferences before focusing on their arch rivals.
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In case you missed it: Kobe talks A-Rod, growing up in a family of “a-holes.”
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