Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals Gives League Marquee Retro Matchup

Lakers-Celtics Matchup Invokes Teams' Old Magic-Bird Rivalry

ALL EYES ON THE NBA: SI's Jack McCallum writes, "For a league starved for a meaningful rivalry, these Finals are destined to put forth much joyful noise. ... Now even casual fans will look up from their fantasy baseball stats and NFL depth-chart analyses and note that something special is going on" (SI, 6/9 issue). Stern said, "When you toss in the Lakers and the Celtics, you probably get some people born of nostalgia to tune in and see what the most recent version of these two teams look like” (CNBC, 6/5). SI.com's Frank Deford wrote of the Finals, "Attention will be paid -- even by sophisticates who otherwise would not cock an eye toward the NBA" (SI.com, 6/4). USA TODAY's Mike Lopresti wrote the NBA has "hit the marketing mother lode. The Finals are going retro, and maybe the Baby Boomers will like [the NBA] again" (USA TODAY, 6/2). SPORTINGNEWS.com's Steve Greenberg wrote most of the NBA's fans -- "hard-core and bandwagon -- have to be pretty stoked. ... If this isn't the birth of a new heyday for the NBA, then something must be broken that can't be fixed" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 5/30).

NOT ALL GOOD: In Milwaukee, Michael Hunt wrote, "Don't allow the Celtics-Lakers glitz to obscure you to the NBA's problems. It might not be as broken as some suggest, but the evidence from Seattle, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Memphis, Sacramento and Charlotte could tend to make one a little edgy around here. The two latest relocations, Memphis and New Orleans, are failing. The expansion to Charlotte isn't working." Meanwhile, Milwaukee-area politicians and business leaders need to "begin public dialog on what must be done about the Bradley Center, whether it be replacement or addition on the vacant land just north of the building" before the Bucks are in an arena situation similar to the Sonics (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/4).

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