Boston’s Big Three – Chasing the legacy
There is no doubt that the “Big Three” of Boston are future Hall of Famers. They are champions, even legends. They have had storied careers individually and together
they won it all. They did, however, join up pretty late in their careers. But, in the very first year they merged the Big-3 went on to win the NBA World Championship in 2008. Two years later, they again made it to the finals only to fall at the last hurdle
against Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers.
Boston’s ‘three party’ really wanted to get their hands on the Larry O’ Brian trophy last year. They really needed to, because as great as their combined careers
have been, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, have won only one NBA crown. For the vast majority of players, winning an NBA crown once is a greatest achievement in itself, but not so for this troika, not when they are in Boston colours.
Boston Celtics are the greatest franchise in NBA history. They have a legacy no one can match, a story no one can top. The 17 championships they have won are a testament
to that. Eleven of those were won in the era of the legendary team led by Bill Russell. No other team, in any sport, has been that dominant. Therefore comparing the current team with Bill’s will be very, very harsh.
However, Boston since have had two more championship winning sides, both of whom had their own Big Three. The original were Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish
who won 3 titles. Two more were won when John Havlicek, David Cowens, and JoJo White got together. The feature common in the sides, is that they won multiple championships. They repeated their success.
That is where the current Big Three are lacking and this is why they needed to win last year. To be on par with those great teams and to compare themselves with the
legends of their glorious past, the Celtic need to win again. They need to prove themselves at least one more time.
To have a chance of doing that, a chance to go back to the NBA finals, they have to go through a more potent, a more athletic and a younger Big Three - The Big Three
of the Miami Heat - the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Miami assembled this star studded team in the summer and made their intentions quite clear, that they want to win the championship not once, but time and time again.
And so, the two Big Threes come head to head. Miami need to prove themselves. They were eliminated by the Celtics last year and Boston have also twice blocked LeBron’s
seemingly pre destined path to the Championship. The Heat want to take Celtic down, they want to start a legacy of their own.
However, there is no doubt that Celtic will be more desperate for the win. Their place in folklore is secured, but these players will not be satisfied by what’s been
done so far. They want more, they want the championship one more time and more than anything, they want to be remembered as one of the great Boston sides.
And this year might be their last chance. The Heat have time on their side, the Celtics do not. None of them are getting any younger and they are making it tougher
on themselves with each passing year. They know that the Miami team will only get better with time. That’s why they have to make this their year. . And rest assured, they will put everything on the line.
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