Celtics look to prove a few points in NBA Finals

For the Boston Celtics, their 2008 NBA championship was more about teamwork, hard work and sacrifice than anything else. It was truly the collective effort of three individual stars coming together to achieve their one seemingly fleeting goal. For the 2010 edition of the Green, this year’s NBA Finals appearance is about separation and vindication.Following the Celtics’ 2008 championship, Boston guard Ray Allen ran into 6-time world champion Michael Jordan. Jordan told Allen he was “lucky” for winning an individual championship and to come talk to him when he collected his second. For Celtics captain Paul Pierce, this year’s Finals appearance gives him the opportunity to join other Celtics legends as winners of multiple rings and truly cement his permanent place in Celtics history. Finally, for Kevin Garnett, the Celtics/Lakers rematch gives the Celtics mega-star the chance to remain perfect. The Celtics are an astounding 7-for-7 in playoff series that feature Garnett.Most importantly for the Celtics, their 2010 Finals appearance is about vindication. Vindication for a group of players that vastly underachieved throughout the regular season, vindication for a head coach that stuck with what he believed was right rather than cave to the immense pressure of the Boston media and fan base, and finally vindication for Celtics general manager Danny Ainge. It was Ainge who was faced with the option of trading Allen just a few short months ago. Rather than trade the Celtics’ aging star and better prepare the Celtics for their eventual transition into the future, Ainge opted for one last run at glory. Since the trade deadline, it has been Allen who has been the Celtics’ most consistent player.Heading into the 2009-2010 season, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers knew that he had something potentially special in this year’s edition of the team.”I saw us in training camp, and I know that sounds crazy, but I thought we were phenomenal in training camp. I thought we looked better in training camp than we did two years ago, quite honestly,” Rivers said. “As a team, I thought we were close. We started out great and then obviously we fell apart with injuries and all kinds of other issues. But you could see that everybody wanted to get it back.”With the NBA Finals kicking off tomorrow evening in Los Angeles, the Boston Celtics have clearly “gotten it back.” Having already separated themselves from the rest of the NBA, the Celtics are just four more victories shy of the vindication the 17-time World Champions are so desperately seeking. For the Big Three, this last shot at glory could be the one that separates the “lucky” ones from the truly great ones. Just ask Michael Jordan.