So I was wrong about Game 6. Completely wrong. I expected the same themes to continue from Games 4 and 5, that being the Celtics completely out-hustling, out-muscling, and out-shooting the Lakers. I expected LA’s offense to continue its struggles, requiring Kobe to kick-start it all too often, and fizzling out late in the game [...]

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
It was a game the Celtics absolutely had to win, and their defensive effort in the first quarter showed they understood this all too well. The Lakers, to their credit, matched that intensity and the result was a hard-fought Finals game, even though the standard overall was pretty poor.
Before we get [...]

With Game 1 of the NBA Finals proving a bit of a lemon from a competitive standpoint, most neutrals – myself included – would have been hoping and praying for a more resilient Boston team to show up in the second game. They didn’t disappoint. If you weren’t lucky (or unemployed) enough to be free [...]

3 votes – Pau Gasol: Two years is a long time in sports. And after putting in what could only be described as a meek performance in the 2008 Finals, Gasol had a lot to prove this time around.
Of course, avid watchers of regular season basketball would have seen the improvements Gasol has made to [...]

No, this is not the 2008 Finals again. It’s completely different. The Celtics have a very different looking bench and an All-Defensive point guard. The Lakers are better and are the reigning champions. But I’m still tipping history to repeat itself and the Celtics to walk home with championship #18. Here’s why.
It’s a boring [...]

3 votes – Pau Gasol. This – “We just move the ball to an open guy. They send two guys at me, I’ve done my job… we’ll be ready if that happens” – is what Kobe Bryant said after Game 1. He couldn’t have been more prophetic, because not only did the Suns send [...]

Day 30 – Where Orlando ‘10 looked like Cleveland ‘09

3 votes – Ray Allen. Ray was real smooth in this one. Smoothly draining 8-16 shots on his way to a team-high 25 points, smoothly sneaking into the key to grab 7 rebounds (an equal-playoff high for Ray), and smoothly sinking two free throws with 6 [...]

3 votes – Pau Gasol. Well, it happened. The nightmare that David Stern was so anxious to avoid is now a reality – three of the four Semi-Conference series finishing in a tragic sweep. I certainly don’t remember that happening anytime during the last 20 years I’ve been following the NBA. And it’s not like [...]

3 votes – Kobe Bryant. Make no mistake about it, this game was almost a shock upset for the Lakers. After leading by as many as 14, the Lakers lapsed in concentration midway through the fourth quarter, letting Utah hold a 4-point lead at 93-89 with four minutes to play. It was at that time [...]

Contrary to what my mate Wibo tells me, Ray Allen’s head
clearly does not always have a matte finish
3 votes – Caron Butler. Who saw this coming? If you had told me one Mavs player would explode for 35 and 11 in Game 6 I would have bet my house on it being Dirk Nowitzki. But [...]