Michael Jordan: we were lucky last year

[Celtsfan1980]

I do recall Jordan predicting the Lakers to win the Championship, so I can imagine he may be angry that the Celtics proved him wrong.

I mean, the best player to ever play the game must be "lucky", then.

That is opinion and not fact. Bill Russell was a much bigger winner both in the NBA and college(even with an inferior supporting cast), so I would consider Russell as the greatest player of all time. There are many basketball fans who don't feel Jordan is the greatest player ever.

[dwestside]

If I were the Celtics I'd take a bit of offense to that. Teams that play some of the best defense the league has ever seen aren't "lucky." Defensive teams TAKE championships, they don't luck out on some 3 pointer that managed to drop.

[7seventynine9]

Its better to be lucky than good.

[SexyScottish]

We weren't lucky, we were dominant all year long. However, the Soft Angeles Fakers WERE lucky to even make it to the Finals. If they didn't have the refs on their side against the Spurs and Jazz, they don't even sniff the Finals.

[rambo_ortega]

it's simply a motivation from the greatest player that ever played the game.

[greenbeans]

it's simply a motivation from the greatest player that ever played the game.

I must have missed it, what did Russell say?

[Celtsfan1980]

it's simply a motivation from the greatest player that ever played the game.

I must have missed it, what did Russell say?

It's good to see other Celtic fans feel the same way. Worthy led NC to a Championship, and the team choked when Jordan led them for two seasons. Meanwhile, Russell led San Fransisco to 55 straight wins and 2 Championships. He had KC Jones and not too many other good players with him, while Jordan had Smith, Daugherty, and Perkins. Russell's overall achievements were so much greater than Jordan's, so it's a shame that even most Celtics fans consider Jordan as better.

[DelMonte West]

it's simply a motivation from the greatest player that ever played the game.

I must have missed it, what did Russell say?

[celtxman]

It seems like some of you heard this so I'll take your word for it, but whenever you use the word "lucky" in this context, it comes across poorly. I'm sure Jordan didn't feel like they "lucked out" after their first championship and maybe had Pippen had a career ending injury at that point it would have been his last.
Ray Allen and Jordan are friends and I suppose the overall message is that you need more than one championship to establish yourself as a great team and I'm sure Ray took it that way. It may be only semantics but lucky is the wrong word. And the Celtics had detractors up to and including the Finals where 2/3 of the "experts" still didn't believe the Celtics would win a championship. Oddsmakers have already picked the Lakers to win it all this year. The Celtics lead the NBA wire to wire and won 66 games, but there was skepticism throughout.
I think the Celtics and their fans have the right to be a little sensitive to even subtle jabs

[Matt34520]

this is such BS. Alot of people don't win one!!! Barkley, Malone, Stockton, Miller...etc.

they won one, did they not? remember that was the big deal all last year...ya'lll ain't doing nothing yet!!! well now they did jackass. but now its well you won one, but its fluke until you win two!!!! **** outta here. next it will be well you won two, but you ain't **** until you win three!!!! celtic fans/media are never satisfied, this is their new ammunition for the season. there has to be a negative spin on everything.....

bottomline, they won a championship, and that will forever be remembered in celtic history, with these three guys 1 championship was the goal...maybe maybe two. but at least we got one for sure..

the miami championship and the piston one wern't flukes, they were the best teams those years. just like we were the best team last year. just because a team isn't dynasty doesn't mean you write their win off as a fluke. and you know what, we could have won nothing out of this garnett, pierce and allen experiment!! it could have happened. but thankfully they exceeded expectations, so we got something out of it. we should be happy...lol

and i want to say one last thing on this topic...of course i want to see the celtics win another one, what celtic fan wouldn't? all i'm saying is if they don't, don't write the GPA era off as a fraud. They could have won nothing at all, in January you guys would have done anything for a championship.

[canman1971]

I'll take lucky over not winning one any day of the week. We are champs. I don't care if the entire Laker team got lost on its way to the final game and we won by forfeit, as long as we won and we did. Yea!!!

[JordansBulls]

Really on paper only two teams can beat the Lakerrs this year. They are the Rockets and the Celtics. However with the health issue with the Rockets, it would more than likely fall on the Celtics. MJ could simply be stating this so that the Big 3 stay hungry and prevent Phil from winning another.