On July 31, 2007, after weeks and weeks and weeks of speculation, after rumored trades with the Lakers, Suns, and Warriors fell to the wayside, the Minnesota Timberwolves trade Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics for Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, and two first round draft picks. The Boston Celtics traded ten current and future players, essentially everyone but Paul Pierce, in order to acquire Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. It payed off though, as the threesome of Pierce, Allen, and Garnett was easily the best trio in the NBA.
The
anticipation for the Celtics season was instant. In the span of one week, the
Celtics' odds of winning the title went from 100-1 to 5-1. By opening day,
Boston had sold out 94% of their home tickets for the season. And with the
additions of James Posey, Eddie House, and P.J. Brown, the Celtics did not
disappoint. They began the season 8-0 and never looked back, finishing with a league-best
66 wins.
Boston
struggled to maintain their excellence in the postseason. Both their first and
second round series with the Hawks and Cavaliers went seven games, and they
even trailed in the third round to the Detroit Pistons. Ray Allen was atrocious
the first two and half rounds of the playoffs, but he got it going late in the
Conference Finals. He then played great in the NBA Finals, helping the Celtics
beat the L.A. Lakers and win their first title in over two decades.
The
Celtics' acquisition of a future Hall of Famer in Kevin Garnett was the best
thing to happen to the NBA in a while. They were coming off a terrible season
that included a horribly-rated Spurs-Cavaliers Finals and the revelation that
one of their officials was fixing games. Getting the attention off of the
negative, and back onto the glory of a Celtics-Lakers Finals, was just what the
doctor ordered.
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