Byron Scott has never been shy about his disdain for the Boston Celtics. The Lakers’ head coach reiterated his position at Saturday’s practice, just one day before the rivals meet at Staples Center.
“One of the best rivalries of all-time,” Scott said. “Anytime you think about playing the Celtics, your whole mentality changes, because you just want to beat them. It’s just that simple. I always revert back to the ’80s when we played them. So I’ve got a lot of fond memories, and I’ve got some heartaches against them as well.”
Like Scott — who won two of three NBA Finals series against the Celtics as a player — Kobe Bryant has plenty of memories with Boston on the league’s highest stage.
Bryant’s Lakers fell to the Celtics in 2008, but returned to win back-to-back titles, including over Boston in 2010.
Now, Scott expects Bryant to be available for his final game against the Lakers’ greatest rivals.
“I think he was always looking forward to having that rivalry and playing in that series,” Scott said. “Then to have an opportunity to do it and beat them in Game 7 — after losing to them a series before — I think is something that kind of helped him out as far as: ‘Hey, I won all these championships, but I also beat the Celtics in one of those series.’”
Like Bryant, another retiring Laker is sure to have a memorable night against Boston, as head athletic trainer Gary Vitti will be honored by the Lakers on Sunday.
“Gary’s a Laker; purple and gold through and through,” Scott said. “He knows about the rivalry. He witnessed it for many, many years. So I think if you’re gonna get honored, it’s great to get honored when you’re playing an opponent that you’ve despised for so many years but have so much respect for as well.”
While the Lakers hope to replicate their victory over the Celtics in Boston on Dec. 30, Scott also has his sights on longterm success.
Sweeping the Celtics is always a welcome accomplishment. But Scott wants his team to soon be playing at the day-to-day level of Boston, which currently occupies the Eastern Conference’s sixth playoff seed after handing Golden State its first home loss in 54 games on Friday.
“Right now, they’re ahead of us,” Scott said. “We’ve gotta catch up, obviously. We’ve got a lot of work to do as far as that’s concerned.”