HOLY KAMOTENG KAHOY!

No effing way.

This was certainly not the way I thought things were going to be.

I had the Celtics winning in a Game 7 for the ages...and now, chances are we won't even get a whiff of a Game 7.

Game 4 at the Staples Center was supposed to be the equalizer, the game that anted up the pot by turning this series into a best of three.

And when the Lakers went up by 21 in the first quarter, with Garnett riding the bench, prophecy seemed all byt fulfilled.

The Celtics fought back in the 2nd, trying to whittle down the lead into a manageable size when Jordan Farmar hits a buzzer beating shot snuff out Boston's mini-rally.

In the third, Boston mad eanother run, bringing the lead down to 11 in the first 2 minutes. The lakers responded, staking another 20point lead, seemingly indestructible.

The Jesus took the floor. Jesus Shuttlesworth, that is. Ray Allen (19pts and 9 rebs, 3 of which were offensive rebounds) hit 2 clutch 3pointers, grabbed 2 offensive rebounds and hit 2 lay ups, one of which was a miraculous left handed banker, all in a span of 5 minutes. Paul Pierce (20pts and 7 assists) hit a three of his own, and connected on 2 jumpers. Garnett (16pts and 11 rebounds) chipped in two bank shots and a dunk. Eddie House hit 2 threes.

And suddenly, the Lakers were down by 2.

Kobe (17pts and 10 assists) tried to take the game over, hitting 2 straight shots but Boston countered with a Pierce jumper and a Posey three pointer.

And then...the game ended. Boston over LA, 97-91.

And I still find myself asking...what the hell just happened?

THE NEW BULL IN TOWN IS VINNY DEL NEGRO!

Today, Vinny Del Negro became the 17th head coach in Chicago Bulls history.

Last season, Vinny was the Assistant General Manager of the Phoenix Suns, working for a former Bulls guard, Steve Kerr. He also spent 3 years as a color analyst for the Suns, for ESPN and for the Spurs.

Del negro was selected in the second round by the Kings and played 12 seasons in the NBA, for teams like San Antonio, Milwaukee, Golden State and the Suns.

In 771 regular season games, he averaged 9.1 ppg, 3.2 apg and 2.3 rpg in 24.9 mpg and was a member of seven playoff teams appearing in 54 playoff contests and averaged 8.8 ppg, 2.8 apg and 2.2 rpg in 25.3 mpg.

He also spent two seasons in Italy (1990-92), where he played for Benetton Treviso of the Italian A1 League and starred with former Bull Toni Kukoc and earned playoff MVP honors during the club’s title run.

THEY CALL HIM..."THE MACHINE"!

And, in Game 3 of the NBA 2008 Championship round, they certainly needed his machine like precision.

Sasha Vujacic scored 20points on a variety of fundamentally sound and extremely open shots as Kobe "The Black Mamba: Bryant upped his game by another notch in scoring 36 points to lead LA to a 6 point victory.

Vujacic's offensive proficiency was very timely as Gasol and Odom were off-form and old reliable Derek Fisher was not as reliable as usual.

Fortunately for them, only Ray Allen from Boston's Big Three showed up, as Garnett missed his first 6 shots (including a breakaway dunk) and Pierce went 2-14.

On a curious side comment, Leon Powe drew some defensive pressure from Odom, Turiaf and Gasol. The Game 2 hero quickly reverted back to being a rookie.

Also, Kobe guarded Rajon Rondo, a testament to the Lakers' growing respect for the yougn point guard. Of course, 16 assists do have a tendency to get an opposing team's attention.

VINNY? SERIOUSLY? VINNY DEL NEGRO?

Vinny del Negro? That wily old Spurs guard who wasn't fast, wasn't quick, wasn't built like his namesake Vinnie "The Microwave" Johnson and certainly didn't play like him?

The one who spent 11 years in the NBA with around 5 or 6 teams?

The one who was not physically gifted but had a high basketball IQ, who took care of the ball and is respected and loved by everyone?

Okay, so he is all that.

But how does that make him the perfect fit for the suddenly childish Bulls?

I'm gonna go to a corner and cry now.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR! (just Red Auerbach's)

This was a loss that showed just how possible it is to beat the Celtics.

The Celtics had the Big Three firing, with Pierce scoring 28 and Allen and Garnett scoring 17 each.
The Celtics had Rondo fuelling and orchestrating the offense magnificently, with a Nash-like 16 assists.

The Celtics had a 28-10 advantage in free throws (meaning calls were going their way).

And yet, they still nearly gave away a 24point lead with just 8 minutes left in the fourth, as Kobe brought the Lakers to within 2points with 30seconds left in the game.

It actually took a herculean 21pt effort in just 14minutes from unheralded Leon Powe and a blocked Vujacic three pointer to finally close the deal for Boston.

Now just imagine one of those things not happening.

PS Kobe is such a phenomenal player. In the fourth, I saw a Laker execute a perfect crossover on Pierce, drive to his left, then rise for a lefthanded teardrop in the lane that hit nothing but net and I thought "Damn, that Odom sure is smooth!"

Then I saw the number. Who else but Black Mamba? He is so good with his offhand that I'm not sure he has an offhand.