Larry Weighs In

And though he runs a team that competes against both the Lakers and Celtics, Bird has a decided interest in the outcome of tonight’s game. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “I want the Celtics to win it. Are you kidding me?” Bird’s take on the Celtics’ chances of winning another NBA championship is simple: They need the parquet.

“I think they’re both very talented,” he said of the Celtics and Lakers, “and I think whoever gets home-court advantage is going to win it. I also think Cleveland’s very strong, and the Celtics are going to need to have home-court advantage against them. A lot of people don’t put a whole lot of emphasis on that, but I do. And I think it’s going to be very, very important for the Celtics to get home-court advantage if they’re going to repeat.”

“Last year when I was watching the Finals, I thought they had too much of me and Magic going on,” Bird said. “We had our time, and now it’s all about Kobe (Bryant) and Kevin (Garnett) and Paul (Pierce) and Ray (Allen.) It’s their time now.” Bird paused, then added, “But the Celtics won it. That’s all that mattered to me in that series.”

--The Herald