The NBA’s greatest rivalry played out another round on Friday when the Boston Celtics travelled west to face the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers won 101-92 on the strength of a 38-point fourth-quarter surge. It is unlikely, though, that many people were much invested in the outcome.
That is because the Lakers and Celtics are both bad this year. Really, really bad.
It is hard to fathom that just a few years ago, these two were the most-dominant teams in basketball. In 2008 and 2010, the Lakers and Celtics played each other for the NBA championship, each winning once. The Lakers also appeared in the 2009 final, defeating the Orlando Magic.
An interesting statistic was shown during the broadcast: the teams’ combined winning percentage of 33.9 was the lowest heading into a match-up between them in the history of the series, which dates back to the 1940s.
The line-ups the Celtics and Lakers are trotting out on a nightly basis are almost unrecognisable from the dominant squads of just a few years prior.
There is, however, a silver lining for fans of these two glamour franchises: the poor form is partly by design, and it should not last long.
Both teams are realistic enough to know they need to be among the league’s bottom-feeders this season, ahead of an unusually strong NBA draft. Each defeat stings even as it improves their chances for a top pick.
The Lakers have been miserable without Kobe Bryant and, if they can move the fading Pau Gasol at some point, they believe they can make a run at one of the marquee free agents becoming available in the next few seasons, such as Kevin Love (after this season) or Kevin Durant (in 2015).
They will also have their pick in this year’s draft, and if historical patterns hold true, they will hit upon a star to take over the mantle of greatness from Bryant, who in turn took it from Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who took it from Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.
Stars seem to have a way of finding themselves in Los Angeles.
As for the Celtics, they are being led by first-year coaching wunderkind Brad Stevens, and will own their pick in this year’s draft and several other valuable assets, thanks to sending Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets in a trade last summer.
Plus, they still have Rajon Rondo, who could be a backbone in the transition to the next great Boston team or used to acquire more building blocks for Stevens.
So while Friday’s meeting was an ugly affair between two fallen giants, think of it more like a hiccup for the NBA’s two most historically dominant clubs.
jraymond@thenational.ae
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Read more about the coronavirus
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
