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Former Celtic Tony Battie relishes his role on the Orlando Magic as a backup to Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) |
Battie wants a ring
Making Finals is not enough
ORLANDO, Fla. - When his first trip to the NBA Finals became official, Orlando veteran forward Tony Battie was deluged with text messages from well wishers, but one in particular piqued his curiosity.
It was from former Celtics teammate Paul Pierce. The 2008 NBA Finals MVP not only wished Battie luck against the Lakers, he also sent a picture of his NBA championship ring from a year ago as motivation.
"It was right after the game when we beat Cleveland," said Battie. "You know how it goes. You get flooded with texts. You can't return them real quick. You try to look at all of them. But when I saw that picture, it put things in perspective.
"We're right here. We have a golden opportunity that we have to take advantage of."
If Battie hopes to get a ring, the Magic need to start getting some wins soon. The Lakers lead the best-of-seven series, 2-0, with Game 3 tonight at Amway Arena. The next two games and a possible Game 5 will be played in Orlando.
The Magic, who were swept in the 1995 Finals by Houston, are now 0-6 all time in the championship round. But considering that Orlando had opportunities to win Game 2 and is now looking at three straight games at home, the Lakers are expecting a much stronger challenge starting tonight.
"They're going to be fighting for their lives," said Lakers center Andrew Bynum. "We have to be ready because they're going to be hitting the floor."
Said Magic guard J.J. Redick, "We can't rely on the crowd. We can't rely on the notion that we're going home so we're going to get Game 3. As hard as we fought [in Game 2], we have to fight even harder in Game 3."
Until now, the closest Battie, 33, had come to the Finals was when the Celtics played the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 Eastern Conference finals. But the Celtics lost in six games, and it would be six more years before they reached the Finals again, and won their 17th title.
Battie spent five seasons with the Celtics before he was sent to Cleveland in a six-player trade in 2003. Although he has played with the Nuggets, Lakers, Cavaliers, and Magic, his longest NBA tenure was with the Celtics.
"I was a lot younger then," said Battie about playing in the 2002 Eastern finals. "We had an up-and-coming team. We were trying to get back to, as they called it, the glory years of Celtic pride.
"It was pretty big. I had an integral part in that, especially being a starter that year. We had two studs, Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce. Up until this point, that was probably the pinnacle of my career.
"I still keep in touch with Paul Pierce. I still call him my little brother. We got there at the same time.
"Paul and Big Perk [Kendrick Perkins] are the only two guys I played with that are still there. I was happy to see [Boston win a title]. I made a lot of friends there. The pinnacle of my career was there. I was happy to see Paul get a ring."
With the Cavaliers and Celtics entering this year's playoffs as higher seeds, the Magic seemed to have only an outside chance to make the Finals. But after beating Philadelphia in the first round, knocking off the injury-plagued Celtics in the second, and upsetting LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the East finals, Orlando put itself in position to win its first championship.
Battie is a role player for the Magic, coming off the bench to spell All-Stars Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis. The Dallas native also serves as a valuable mentor and has no plans to unlace his sneakers any time soon.
"As a veteran leader, I tried to tell guys just take it one game at a time and see what happens," Battie said. "We got to this point. We're going to stick with this formula and see what works out.
"I'm going to play as long as I can. Even though I'm not playing a major role, my body feels good. I'm playing behind two max contract guys in Rashard and Dwight and an upcoming guy in [Marcin] Gortat. As long as they need me to be a veteran leader, I can still play this game. I can be the new millennium's [Dikembe] Mutombo."
Said Orlando general manager Otis Smith: "Tony is one of those persons that when he speaks - and he doesn't speak often - they all listen. He's worked his tail off the last 10 years to get back from his shoulder injury. But as a guy, a person around your young team, you can't ask for a better guy."
Battie definitely appreciates finally making it to the NBA's highest stage, but he is far from satisfied.
"After 12 years, this is my first Finals appearance," Battie said. "For some guys, they will never make it to this point. But for me, this is a long time coming. To not be here in 12 years, hopefully I can get a ring out of this."
Celtics legend Sam Jones was on hand as the Larry O'Brien Trophy arrived via 
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