Two teams remain and the stage is set. The Boston Celtics will visit the Golden State Warriors Thursday night to tip-off what promises to be a very intriguing NBA Finals matchup. Golden State, the closest thing to a modern-day NBA dynasty finds itself in a familiar position back in the championships for the sixth time in the last eight years. Boston, a young group of talented rising stars is here for the first time with this group of players on a team that is tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most NBA championships in NBA history. The storylines are rich: the new dynasty versus the perpetual dynasty, young athletic thoroughbreds versus savvy veterans, and defense versus offense. Sunflower County residents say that something has got to give. “Celtics in 7,” said E-T sports writer Mark Stowers. “Been cheering for them since my oldest brother John told me about John Havlicek in the 1970s!”
Chris Carter, a local barber, and fan of the Warriors disagrees with Stowers’ assessment. “I don’t think that it will last past five games,” Carter said. “I’ve been a Golden State fan for at least ten years because of Montae Ellis and Mark Jackson. Montae is from Mississippi and played for a few years with Golden State and I think that the former coach Mark Jackson has a lot to do with the success of the team because he drafted the players who won championships for the Warriors the last few years.”
Indianola Rotarian Woods Eastland likes the Celtics. “I tend to like Boston-area teams,” Eastland said. “I like the Celtics and the Red Sox but not the Patriots so much. In football, I’ve usually rooted for the teams that the Mannings have played for because of the Mississippi connection.”
Our lone female respondent to the question Tashe Gardner made it an even slate of local folks preparing to watch the hardwood showdown at the highest level. “I’m not a Warriors fan, but I’m going for them because they are coming out of the west,” she said. “I’m a San Antonio Spurs fan in basketball and a Dallas Cowboys fan in football. I also like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, but if Boston put Miami out of the playoffs, then they can also do the same against Golden State. I could watch a series like this all day every day.”
