To put NBA 2008 in perspective, you have to go back to Oct 2007. The Boston Celtics were finishing a season with a record of 22 wind and 58 defeats - the second worst in the league.
The Los Angeles Lakers were mediocre, finishing the season 42-40, with a slew of drama surrounding their best player Kobe Bryant.
Boston made two franchise-changing trades, acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to give help to their one-man-show of Paul Pierce.
Overnight the Celtics went from a doormat to one of the league's top teams. The experienced trio of Garnett, Allen and Pierce led them to the best record in the league last season.
The old formula of slowly building through the collegiate draft was eschewed. The Celtics went with a new recipe: add two All-Stars, stir, instant winner.
The Lakers had their own problems. While their roster was strong, their best player was not happy. Bryant had little post-Shaquille O'Neil success and there were rumours that he and the Lakers were thinking about a new home for the three-time champions.
Just days before the season, it looked like the Chicago Bulls would trade for Bryant, but when the season started there was Kobe in the Lakers starting line-up.
With the Celtics cruising in the Eastern Conference, the Lakers fought through a tougher road in the Western Conference to make it to the NBA Finals against their old foe from Boston. This was a coup for the NBA to have their two premier franchises together again. Television ratings for the NBA finals were the best in a decade. All the usual suspects showed up at the finals, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The three-headed monster of Garnett, Pierce and Allen were two much for Kobe to topple single-handed as the Celtics won the title four games to two.
Off the court, 2008 was another rough year for the NBA. In 2007, long-time referee Tim Donaghy was fired and arrested for betting on numerous NBA games, including those he worked.
In June, Donaghy claimed that game six of the 2002 Western Conference finals was fixed by two referees.
Despite denials by NBA Commissioner David Stern, the faith of the NBA supporters took a blow.
Luckily for the league, the 2008 finals match between Boston and Los Angeles trumped the ugliness of the Donaghy scandal. This season could be more of the same.
The Lakers have started the year well, while Celtics, the defending champions, are even better.
LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers are nipping at their heels, but this season's NBA finals could be more of the same.
ppabst@thenational.ae
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
2017%20RESULTS%3A%20FRENCH%20VOTERS%20IN%20UK
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Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Watch live
The National will broadcast live from the IMF on Friday October 13 at 7pm UAE time (3pm GMT) as our Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi moderates a panel on how technology can help growth in MENA.
You can find out more here
Henrik Stenson's finishes at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship:
2006 - 2
2007 - 8
2008 - 2
2009 - MC
2010 - 21
2011 - 42
2012 - MC
2013 - 23
2014 - MC
2015 - MC
2016 - 3
2017 - 8
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
- Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported.
Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Schedule:
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
