NBA Goes Green

That was an awful long flight to make across the country just to get yourself embarassed. I guess I'm not as surpised by the outcome of the game and the series as I am that this Lakers team was actually the Western Conference's representative. This Lakers team looks soft and gutless and I'm shocked they were able to beat Golden State, Utah and San Antonio. Is that the best the West has?

I said after the game five loss that I was even more confident about the Celtics winning game six than I would have been had they won game five (and yes, I still realize that makes no sense). My point is that this Lakers team was totally exposed in every facet of the game throughout the series. Don't all of those predictions by national experts look pretty silly now?

Here are some thoughts on World Championship number 17 for the Boston Celtics and the sixth championship that Boston has celebrated this decade.

· The Lakers were simply destroyed in this game. Their first offensive rebound didn't come until the fouth quarter, which is nearly impossible to do when you only shoot 42 percent for the game. They missed 19 shots in the first quarter alone and never got one second chance. You're not winning when you play like that.

· I was sort of disappointed that Kevin Garnett didn't spontaneously combust at some point during this game. I actually can't blame the Lakers players for not wanting to drive to the hoop with Garnett around. I just wish he could take over games like this more often. For some reason, I have a feeling that he's still out partying somewhere.

· Can someone check Phil Jackson's pulse to make sure he's alive? I know he's the Zen master and everything but it might help your team to act like you care. And has he ever heard of in-game adjustments? Did he watch any film in between games to try to mix things up and come up with a new way to stop the Celtics? I realize that I have no coaching experience so take this for what it's worth: it might be a good idea to have someone cover Ray Allen on all of those three pointers that he's knocking down. Seriously, was Jackson's strategy to give Allen as much room as possible in the hopes that it would freak him out or something and cause him to miss? I actually love the fact that the Celtics prevented Jackson from breaking Red Auerbach's record of NBA Championships by a coach.

· I owe a huge apology to Kobe Bryant. He is an unbelievable talent and quite possibly could be under rated because of his fierce tenacity on the defensive end and his ability to score from anywhere on the court at any time. . . in the first quarter. He pretty much sucks after that.

· The in game interviews with Michelle Tafoya are stupid. The players and coaches don't look like they want anything to do with her and no one reveals anything of relevance. And her postgame interview with Kevin Garnett was ridiculous and they should have cut away from it. Overall, ABC/ESPN did a horrible job with this series. There were few too replays shown of good plays and controversial calls. I did think it was funny that they showed Danny Ainge in the stands for about thirty seconds while we missed the play on the court last night, though. At one point, I thought Ainge was actually going to suggest they film the game instead of him.

· The technical foul on Doc Rivers was a good move by him. Prior to that point, the refs were calling some pretty cheap stuff on the Celtics and letting the Lakers get away with a lot of grabbing. After the T, the game was called pretty evenly.

· Doc probably should have been called for another technical foul for running up the score. With the celebration well underway, the Celtics were still launching threes and driving to the hoop. And I loved every minute of it.

· I sort of wish that Eddie House had just handed the ball to one of the Lakers as the 24 second clock expired just before the game ended.

· I loved Doc putting in Glenn "Big Baby" Davis. The guy hadn't played a minute in the Finals and here he is coming in to guard Paul Gaso and Gaso still can't score. One of my favorite plays was of Gaso backing down and bumping into Davis so Davis simply steps aside as Gaso is about to bump him and Gaso falls to the floor and turns the ball over.

· Did Sasha Vujacic make the flight across the counrty or did he decide to fly straight home after being embarassed for the first five games?

· On the way to their 17th Championship Banner, the Celtics' 18 steals were a Finals record, Ray Allen tied a Finals record by making seven 3-pointers (and 22 in the series, also a Finals record), and the 17th Banner was won in Boston's 26th postseason game, another NBA record. They also had the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. And before all of this happened, the Celtics also made the biggest single-season turnaround ever, going from 24 victories a year ago to 66 this season.

· I'm going to bed at eight o'clock tonight.



And somewhere, Red's smiling down on Boston today.



And just in case you forgot, I predicted Celtics in six.

Let's Just Have the Parade and End This

After watching game 5 of the NBA Finals last night, I feel even more confident that the Celtics will close this thing out tomorrow night than I would have if the Celtics had actually won last night. Yeah, I know, that makes no sense. My point is that I don't think the Lakers are any good. Say what you will about the Celtics (and I'll get to them in a minute) but how big of a lead do the Lakers need in order to win? If we gave the Lakers a 50 point lead to start the game, I think the Celtics would come back and tie it at 60.

Here are just a few thoughts on last night's game:

· I'm not sure what to think of the officiating in last night's game. I guess it was pretty bad all around. Or maybe they've just changed the rules and I don't know about them yet. Are you allowed to take two steps or six steps with the ball? Paul Pierce looks to be one of the worst offenders of the new six steps without having to dribble rule. And I guess you can now move directly in front of someone after they've already jumped and get the offensive interference call. That happened a few times to both teams and I think it's pretty lame.

· I can totally see why Kevin Garnett has gotten a bad rap for his poor playoff performances when he was with Minnesota. Everyone always talked about how he was never surrounded with the talent to go deep in the playoffs but I think it's apparent that he's just not that good under pressure. He looks scared out on the floor in big moments. He's passing the ball off nearly every time he touches it. He's throwing up bricks at the free throw line with a chance to tie the game. On the defensive end he was called for some cheap fouls but he also needs to play smarter defense at times. If Garnett had to sink Tiger Woods' 12 foot putt yesterday at the U.S. Open to force a plyoff, I think he would have missed it by 14 feet and then four putted to finish in fourth place.

· I love how James Posey refused to let anyone score after the play was whistled dead. Usually guys continue to play an additional second or two after the whistle blows and every time one of the Lakers took a shot after the whistle was blown, he went up and grabbed the ball before it had a chance to go in the hoop. I also like him fouling Lamar Odom about five seconds after the play was whisteld dead. Hey, if Odom wants to continue playing after the whistle, I see nothing wrong with Posey going in for another foul.

· Say what you will about the inability of the Lakers to hold a lead but why do the Celtics feel the need to stink in the first quarter? Not sure if that's the home court advantage, nerves or just being outplayed but it would be nice to play with a lead every once in a while.

· Nice of Kobe Bryant to show up. . . for the first quarter.

· On that note, it's time to hide the women and children. Kobe Bryant's coming back to town.

· Is Rajon Rondo hurt or does he just suck? At this point, I think I'd rather see Alien Cassell playing point guard.

· Who are all those people in suits on the Lakers bench? Seriously, does Phil Jackson need eight assistant coaches? Apparently he does.

· Best play of the night: Sam Cassell and Sash Vujacic both have their hands on the ball and Vujacic tries to rip it out of Cassell's hands at the same time that Cassell lets go, causing Vujacic to basically throw himself to the floor in a violent, contorted movement.

· I'm not sure I understand all of the three point shooting on both sides. The Celtics were 8-22, the Lakers 8-27 last night. It's one thing to have that many when you're nailing them but neither team has been good from three point range.

· The Celtics will break the record for most playoff games in a postseason when they tip off on Tuesday night, which will be their 26th game. With the loss last night, the Celtics fell to 3-9 on the road this postseason, which tied a record for the most road losses in a single postseason. The 2008 Celtics, breaking records any chance they get.

· The Celtics are 47-7 at home this season, playoffs included.

· The only chance I see of the Lakers coming remotely close to pulling this thing off is if Kendrick Perkins separates his shoulder, Rajon Rondo sprains his ankle and decides to take away Sam Cassell's part as The Mole, Paul Pierce comes down with multiple muscle sprains and Eddie House gets hit so hard on a non call that he starts bleeding uncontrollably from the head. Huh? That's all happened? Uh-oh.

· I said it before and I'll say it again: Celtics in six.

It's Almost Time to Fire Up The Duck Boats

In game two of the NBA Finals, the Celtics nearly blew a 22 point lead, which would have been the largest deficit ever overcome in an NBA Finals game. Luckily, the Celtics never relinquished the lead and held on for the win. Following that game, everyone was saying how the Lakers' ability to make game two close at the end would provide them momentum heading home to LA.

Well, in a battle of showmanship, the Celtics decided to try for the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history last night. And you know that if you're going for the biggest Finals comeback in history, you've got to give the other team a huge lead. And the Celtics did just that- they gave the Lakers a 24 point lead and then stormed back for a shocking 97-91 win. Is this the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history or the greatest collapse? Perhaps a little of both? Here are just a few thoughts on the game:

· I wrote in my NBA Finals preview column that the NBA and David Stern were fools for starting these games so late on the East Coast. I wonder how many people missed seeing the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history because these games are simply on too late. I can suck it up and go without much sleep but how many kids missed seeing this? That's a whole generation of potential NBA fans that missed one of the most exciting games in NBA history.

· You would think that in light of the officiating scandal that the NBA would tell the refs to call the game a little more even. I don't care if you call fouls on hand checks but call it evenly on both ends of the court. I think a Celtics player had to be bleeding in order to get a foul called. My favorite non call was during the fourth quarter when Ray Allen is bringing up the ball and Rodmanovich has both his hands on Allen's chest. That play isn't even legal in the NFL, let alone the NBA. I love how Doc and the Celtics have handled the officiating in LA- they've said nothing and have persevered in spite of an obvious Laker biase.

· Congratulations to Sasha Vujacic for being the first person to never commit a foul. What a cry baby. I loved the play where he and Ray Allen got tied up, fell to the floor and then Vujacic kicks his feet and tries to trap Allen's legs. Apparently that's a legal play in Vujacic's home country. Nice defense in the final minute, too. Was it his strategy to just let Allen blow by him?

· I'm not sure what to think of Kevin Garnett. He's obviously not putting up huge offensive numbers but he's been a beast on the defensive side. It would just be nice to see him have another way to score than his fall away shot. I just feel like he should be able to dominate on the offensive end and either go in for some easy layups/dunks or kick it back out to an open shooter. Having said that, he's averaged a double double for the first four games.

· It's nice to see that Doc Rivers has finally figured out the Sam Cassell is The Mole and has since cut his playing time. That guy is terrible.

· Absolutely terrible job by ESPN/ABC on the coverage of this game. They never showed any replays of possible fouls, except when it involved Bryant. Any close call was never shown, which has to be a direct order from the league. In addition, they had the cameras on the announcers during several plays, including one with less than a minute left. And is my eyesight going bad or are their graphics impossible to read?

·Can we stop comparing Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan? This type of collapse would never have happened to Jordan and the Bulls. Never. And to top it off, Bryant talked about going out and having beer and 20 shots of vodka after the game. Look, Jordan was no angel, either, but Bryant is a pure loser. And in the interest of my readers check out this site, www.kb24overrated.com to see the career stats of Jordan and Bryant. Those two should never be compared in the same sentence again. On a side note, I love how the Lakers fans are chanting MVP when Bryant goes to the line. Do they know he already won the MVP award?

· I wish the TV timeouts were just a little longer so that I could cut my lawn during a timeout. Maybe take a quick trip to the grocery store, too.

· Has anyone seen Paul Gaso?

· I have no faith in Rajon Rondo, the Celtics point guard. I know he's injured but he also looks like he's afraid to take a shot. There were at least five occasions last night where he had a clear path to the basket and never shot the ball. On one play, he drove right under the hoop and kept running.

· I know this is typical sports talk, but I think Paul Pierce wants this more than anyone else. He played phenomenal defense on Bryant in the second half and had the energy to be a force on the offensive side, too. I still have no idea how he blocked Bryant's fall away jumper and was still aware enough to grab the loose ball and hit Ray Allen streaking down court.



· I know that Phil Jackson's whole persona is built around that Zen thing but it might be nice if he acted like he cared about his team blowing the largest lead in NBA Finals history. Going into this series I thought the Lakers had a huge coaching edge. Jackson has been here before and this was a first for Doc. This sort of reminds me of Tom Coughlin outcoaching Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl.

· Counting the regular season, the Celtics and Lakers have played six times. The Celtics have won five of those games. Do you really think it's conceivable that the Lakers are taking the next three? Fire up the duck boats!

Just Another Day At The Office

Well, yesterday was just another typical day at the old sports office here in Boston. In the last twelve hours, here's what's gone down:

1. Coco Crisp gets beaned in the leg and charges the mound.

2. Jacoby Ellsbury gets hurt making a diving catch (this could have huge repurcussions for the Pilgrims, my fantasy baseball team).

4. Manny Ramirez hits Kevin Youkilis in the face between innings. The announcers say that Youkilis looks bewildered by the event but I can't tell because Youk always looks that way.

R. Red Sox finish off a sweep of the Devil Rays and go a game and a half up on the Devil Rays in the standings. Hopefully this will be the demise of the Devil Rays. Are they just the Rays now? Did they drop the Devil?

4. Coco Crisp tells reporters after the game that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays fight "like a bunch of girls." Coco looks like a girl.

T. Celtics kick off their first NBA Finals appearance in 21 years by introducing someone who is not currently on the team because of an injury and then skipping Brian Scalabrine. It's hard to tell if anyone is actually at the Garden because the player introductions are so quite. They didn't even boo Kobe Bryant when he was announced.

6. NBA unveils Larry Bird/Magic Johnson commerical in which both players look like they belong to the local beer bowling league:



7. One of the main announcers for the game has a bandage on his forehead. His lips are moving but I don't hear one thing he said because I'm too busy staring at the bandaid. ABC should have sold advertising on that thing.

7. Paul Pierce gets carried off the court by teamates in what looks like it could be a career ending injury, perhaps even life threatening. All local Boston hospitals are standing by to assist in a life saving operation.

8. Two minutes later, Paul Pierce returns from getting taken off the court and goes berserk on the Lakers and propels the Celtics to victory.

B. Kobe Bryant looks like me shooting baskets during the fourth quarter (not a good sign).

10. Celtics win Game 1.

Yup, just another day at the old sports office. Just a quick question, would sports cease to exist if it weren't for Boston? I think so.

Beat LA! Beat the Rays! Beat LA! Beat the Rays!