ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY'S QUESTIONS

The Beast of the East remains to be the defending champions. KG and Ray Allen had a bad game but Paul Pierce took over with 27pts and Lebron missed a layup and 2 free throws in the last minute to seal the Cav's fate. Celtics win by 5pts.

The premier big man of the future? Neither Bynum nor Oden, if we go by this game. Bynum logged 8 points and three rebounds, Oden had 5 rebounds, blocked a shot and missed his four free throw attempts before getting injured. Yes, again.

Bulls versus Skiles. Winner, Bulls. Derrick Rose had 11 points and 9 assists, Deng had 21 pts, Gordon had 18, Hinrich had 15pts, Tyrus Thomas had 15 pts and 10 rebounds. Bulls win by 13pts, Skiles loses 100 strands of hair.  

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.

WHATTA GAME! Boston wins Game 1, 98-88!

It was a great basketball game.

Lead changes, highlight reel plays, smothering D, diving and clawing for loose balls, clutch shots...

It even featured the dead coming back to life, as Pierce bucked a sprained knee that had him writhing and crying, then hobbling off to the dugout before coming back to score 11 points in the second half and lead Boston to victory with 24pts.

KG, after a nervouse showing in the first few minutes, settled down to his old role of demolisher (did you see that dunk?!) and proved you don't have to be The Man to be a man.

And Ray Ray seems to have found his form and rained down 19pts in able wingman support.

Still, Kobe just scored in the mid 20's and we know he's capable of going for forty for 4 straight games.

Game 2 should be interesting but I'm still calling it for the Celtics.

BREAKING DOWN THE FINALS: KOBE VS THE TRUTH

This week, we'll be breaking down the key matches in the upcoming Celtics vs Lakers series. And we kick off this series with a look at each team's resident star.

KOBE "BLACK MAMBA" BRYANT VS PAUL "THE TRUTH" PIERCE

Paul Pierce is one of those rare basketball players who can, and does, everything. Shoots threes, drives hard, slams with authority, passes well, dribbles like a guard, rebounds like a power forward, guards his man, never tires, takes and makes the big shot, makes the right play...

Problem is, he's up against a player who can do everything Pierce does ...and does it better. At this stage, there is no one better than Kobe Bryant in the NBA. he doesn;t even need the MVP award to prove it.

So, no matter how high Pierce elevates his game, he's always gonna come off second best in this match up.

Kobe over the Truth, 10-8.

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.

PISTONS POUND CELTICS!

You could hear the collective gasp of disbelief grow louder and louder.

The green clad players grew more desperate with each tick of the timer, each tock of the clock.

And then, it was official. Detroit's Fab 5 just beat Boston's Big 3. Which actually makes sense.

With Hamilton exploding for 25 pts and Billups scoring 19pts, McDyess had 15 pts, Prince had 14pts and Wallace had 13 pts and 10 rebounds to trump KG's 24pts and 13 rebounds, Ray Allen's 25 points and Pierce's 26pts.

Only Stuckey (with 13pts) even mattered offense wise as Perkins, Rondo, Posey and Macxiell were no shows for this game.

But the bigger question now is...what happens to the Boston Celtics? All throughout the playoffs, they lost on the road, bringing each of their previous series' to Game 7. And while they got away with it with the Hawks and the Cavs, this is the Pistons we're talking about, the same basic group who have been in the ECF for 6 straight years.

Who you gonna call?

THE BIG THREE VS THE CHOSEN ONE

Three perennial All Stars versus the Anointed One.

The Big Ticket, The Truth and the Baby Faced Assassin versus The King.

Who will win? Boston will win in 6 games. I think.

But it won't be easy, oh no. They'll have to bring their A-Game every night (unlike the Hawks series, when the decided to send stunt doubles to play the games in Atlanta)

This is going to be real hard. Ilgauskas will body up Garnett and when he's done, Wallace will harrass KG. Lebron will run Pierce ragged while dominating both sides of the court (Pierce averaged like 13pts a game vs the Cavs in the regular season while Lebron logged in around 30pts)

So Boston will win because of Rajon Rondo (Boobie Gibson, hand him your "Surprise of the Playoffs" trophy, please), Sam Cassell and PJ Brown, not to mention Tony Allen and Glen Davis. Cavs have Pavlovic, Joe Smith and...well...Donyell Marshall.

Now all the Celtics have to do is make me a soothsayer instead of a liar.