Article: The NBA's Showcase Showdown

The chanting in and of itself didn't mean much; in fact, it probably struck many as a bit sophomoric. And there's certainly nothing original about people in an arena chanting, "Beat L.A.! Beat L.A!" What gave it context Friday night was that the men proclaiming they were ready for the Los Angeles Lakers were the Boston Celtics, a newly earned silver trophy in their midst. Already, it was like old times, like the best of times.

Lakers-Celtics is the Yankees-Red Sox, the Duke-North Carolina, the Michigan-Ohio State of professional basketball. The Celtics have won 16 NBA championships, the Lakers have won 14 -- which means those two clubs have won nearly half of the league's 61 titles. ...

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