Speaking of bad, yeah, the guy who began the series being carried off the floor and placed into a wheelchair was the Series MVP, an award that Pierce should place next to his Oscar.


"This is unreal," said Pierce in his acceptance speech.

I agree. I picked the Lakers to win in five games. The Lakers could not have won this series if it had gone 25 games.

I discounted that the Celtics' three veteran stars – two of them acquired last summer – would not be denied the championship that had thus far eluded them.

I didn't give them enough credit, and I gave some of the untested Lakers way too much credit.

So, too, apparently, did Jackson, who took the unusual step of threatening roster moves even before the cheering stopped.

"We have to get some players if we're going to come back and repeat, to have that kind of aggressiveness that we need," he said.

So when they return next fall, some of the Lakers might be new.

After this awful farewell, it is hoped that some of them will also be improved.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns

by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.