6 AGAINST 5!

When an NBA team has 6 players on court and they score, should it count?

Logic and common sense says no. These refs say yes. No wonder the Celtics got so upset (especially since they lost this game).

THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASKETBALL!

Much like Tom Hanks shouting at his female players in the movie "A League of Their Own", I find myself screaming at Glen "Big Baby" Davis upon chancing on this clip.

The Celtics were up by 25pts when Big Baby and the Celts second unit came to play. They promptly gave up points like aortic blood spurting when Doc Rivers called a timeout. 

KG chewed out the second unit, grabbing Big Baby by the arm and pouring scorn and disdain on them. Big Baby walked out of the huddle, whined to Gabe Pruitt and fought back tears at the end of the bench.

GREAT NIKE AD WITH KEVIN GARNETT!

This TVC is absolutely fabulous. It starts off with a shot of a foosball game between NBA star Kevin Garnett and USA soccer star Brandi Chastain.

Brandi Chastain gained international fame for two things: scoring on an Olympic Games winning penalty in 1996, and then flinging off her shirt to reveal her chiseled body in a black sports bra in celebration right after her goal.

What will she do in this ad? Find out.

FINE GAME FIVE!

Now that is championship basketball.

Killer threes, slashing drives, miraculous foul-counteds (one from Fisher, one from Cassell), in-your-face shoutdowns, no-calls on obvious fouls, dives and floor burns, missed free throws from All Stars plus a strip and a Kobe dunk to seal the game.

Whew!

Lakers win Game 5, 103-98, and earn the right to go to Boston to try and keep their title hopes alive. Heroes for this game include Fisher, Farmar, Odom and Pau Gasol, who thoroughly outplayed Kevin Garnett in the last 3 minutes.

And now, on to Boston!

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?

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.

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.

THE BIG MEN MATCH UP: KG VS PAU

It's the battle of the big men, the throwodwn in the front court, banging bodies and locking horns between Spain's favorite basketball son, Pau Gasol, and the Big Ticket, Kevin Garnett.

What makes this match up so intriguing is that this is a first of sorts. While Pau and KG have matched up as members of the Grizzlies and Wolves respectively, they have never met as Laker and Celtic yet.

Pau Gasol is a silky smooth and talented inside operator, a finesse center who still bangs around as much as he can inside the paint. Garnett isn't muscular either, using lithe quickness and intensity to overpower bigger opponents.

But just like the Kobe-Pierce match up, one of these guys can do everything the other guy can...only so much better. And that guy is KG.

Pau Gasol is a franchise player for a bad team (see: Grizz), a possible All Star for the East and a great second option for a good team. KG, on the other hand, is a franchise player who makes a team great, an All Star no matter the conference and is a second option by unselfish choice.

Having said that, the gap between Gasol and Garnett as big as one between Kobe and Pierce, but the gap is there.

KG over Pau, 10-9.

THE PAST AND THE PRESENT: LAKERS VS CELTICS

As a denizen of the 80's, this image is one of the most enduring memories from my childhood.

Cool Larry Bird against exuberant Magic Johnson.

Intense white and green versus flashy purple and gold.

Stoic Celtics versus trash talking Lakers.

And they are back.

This time, the Celtics are no longer stoic and are probably more intense than ever before, with the arrival of the Big Ticket, Kevin Garnett and babyfaced sharpshooter, Ray Allen. But they are still as good as any veteran Celtics team of yore with Paul "The Truth" Pierce leading the charge, as well as rising star Rajon Rondo and solid role players like James Posey and Kendrick Perkins.

The Lakers aren't as flashy as Magic's Showtime Lakers, as hardworking Pau Gasol and reliable Derek Fisher are more about solid fundamentals and high basketball IQ's than athleticism. But all you need for Showtime is Kobe Bryant around the rim and Lamar Odom running free and determined. Add to that underrated Luke Walton, solid Sasha Vujacic and better-than-ever Jordan Farmar and we have got ourselves a hell of a series.

My take? Celtics over Lakers in overtime in a Game 7 for the ages (Kobe ends up with 60+pts, Allen, Garnett and Pierce each with 25+)

But then again, I've always been a fan of the Basketball Jesus.

HERE'S MAXIELL'S AMAZING BLOCK ON KG!

MAX-IELL IT OUT!

He was just too much to handle. Aggressive on offense, persistent on defense. He seemed to be everywhere at the same time, and there seemed no way to stop him.

And we're just talking about Jason Maxiell here. The bull strong Piston reserve was a key factor in Detroit's Game 4 win, serving up a highlight reel dunk, two sweet jumpers and a game defining block on Kevin Garnett, a block that screamed to the fans that there ain't no way the Celtics were getting another one in The Palace.

Of course, he had a lot of help from old reliable Rip Hamilton, who did another Reggie Miller impersonation, eating the helpless and hapless Ray Allen, who seems to be deliberately bricking his shots in a fit of superstition.

The series is now a best-of-three affair. I still think Boston's coming out of this dogfight but if they don't...Pistons are a more than worthy championship caliber team.