One Win Away From Banner 18

The Celtics are now the physical team. The Lakers are getting out-bodied. Kobe is upset and whining, while Pierce is calm, cool, and collective. After Sunday night's 92-86 victory at the Garden the Celtics are heading back to LA in the driver's seat to win their 18th title in franchise history.

The Celtics dominated the Lakers for three quarters, even holding off Kobe's 19 straight points in the 3rd and going into the 4th with an eight point lead. Kobe scored 38, but the rest of the team only saw one other player in double figures and they collected only 12 assists as a team, compared to the Celtics 21. The men in green even out-rebounded the Lakers again 35-34.

I said before the game, if Bynum is able to play well the Celtics lose. It's true, if Bynum is able to play well they will lose. Bynum came out early and looked like he was ready to play, but he eventually began limping and it affected his play. In 31 minutes he grabbed just one rebound.

Paul Pierce had a great shooting night and scored 27 points. He even helped bury the Lakers 4th quarter comeback by a cross court pass to a sprinting Rondo while he was falling out of bounds. Garnett manhandled Pau Gasol beneath the basket, something that hadn't been seen in the first three games of the series. He made me eat my words of thinking he may be done. Not yet. Not while he's this close to a championship.

So the Lakers are licking their wounds on the long flight back to LA. The Celtics head into the Staples Center full steam ahead with a 3-2 series lead.

Phil Jackson said after the game, "We're going back home to win it, that's the way it's supposed to be. Isn't it?"

The Celtics will see you in LA Phil!

Series Tied!

What else can you say, Boston's bench won this game. Big Baby in particular. In 21 minutes he dropped 18 points. Nate Robinson also provided a spark of the bench and played 16 quality minutes scoring 12 points. Celtics won by a final score of 96-89.

The Celtics went into the 4th quarter struggling offensively, scoring only 60 through three. Then Doc Rivers stuck with the bench for 7 straight minutes and they ended up scoring 36 points in the 4th. The reincarnation of Paul Pierce made key shots throughout the game, he scored 19 on the night.

Kobe got his points, scoring 33, but the Celts did a great job of keeping him in check and not allowing him to go on an extended run.

Before the game I stated whoever outrebounds the other would win, and that's exactly what the Celtics did in this one. They out-boarded the Lakers 41-34, but more importantly 16-8 on offensive rebounds leading to key second chance points.

The officiating in this one was actually ok, atleast compared to what it has been all series. They realy one blew two calls, one on Wallace when Gasol slipped, and a ridiculous 3-second call on Garnett. But otherwise pretty solid officiating, letting the players play for the most part.

So the series now becomes a best of three as it's all tied at 2. Next game is Sunday at 8pm at the TD Garden.

Celtics Finish First Half Strong

Well it's another game where the Celtics start out strong and for some reason let themselves come down to earth. The Lakers take a 45-42 lead going into the half.

Ray Allen is still struggling shooting, but Paul Pierce has picked up the slack scoring 12 points in the half. KG hit a buzzer beater to end the second quarter giving the Celtics a little momentum to carry over to the next half.

Some positives for the Celtics are the defense they have been playing. I said before the game the team that out-rebounds the other will win this game, and the Celtics have a one rebound advantage over the Lakers going into the half. Despite the Celtics poor shooting in the first half they find themselves only down by three points.

Kobe Bryant almost went off on the Celts in the first half scoring 8 consecutive points but the Celts did a nice job of throwing him off his game. Watch out for Kobe in the second half.

Reboundings The Key

The team that wins the rebound battle, wins. It's a pretty simple formula. Defensive rebounds complete defensive stands and offensive rebounds lead to second chance points.

So far this series the Lakers have controlled the rebounding category which is the reason for the 2-1 lead in the series. The Lakers are longer and more aggresive. They are literally taller than the Celtics at every position.

Last game Derek Fisher was the closer for the Lakers in the 4th. Kobe has a poor shooting night especially once the 4th quarter started. The Celtics unfortunately could not capitalize and shot worse than the Lakers. Ray Allen shot 0-13 from the floor and Pierce could not figure out Artest other than hitting three 3-pointers. Artest and Kobe have done a great job of keeping Pierce and Rondo out of the lane. KG broke out of his slump and dropped 25 points on the Lakers which is encouraging for C's fans.

As for tonight's game, it was proven last game if 3 of the big 4 can have a consistently good game the Celtics will win. However, that is alot to ask for this series as it hasn't happened in the first 3 games. Kobe is still looking to have that breakout Kobe game and his killer instincts point that tonight could be the game.

My prediction: Unfortunately for the Celtics I think Kobe goes off for over 30 points. As I said if 3 of the big 4 have good games the C's will win, realistically I don't see it happening. Lakers win and take a 3-1 lead.

What's Wrong With Boston Sports Fans? I'll Tell you.

So if you made it past the title without throwing your computer in anger, hear me out. This isn't just Boston sports fans, but because I root for Boston teams and I'm from the Boston area, I have learned to observe my kind from an outsiders perspective. I guess I owe that to hanging out with people that hate Boston at college, but besides the fact, these are things that either Boston fans blindly believe or just excuses for why things didn't go their way.

Boston Belief #1 Tom Brady is the best quarterback in the NFL.

I'm sorry but right now he is not. Plain and simple. Is he bad? No, I would not call Tom Brady bad by any sense of the word, however I can't in any good conscience say he's the best QB in the league. That title belongs to Peyton Manning. Peyton has piled the best career of the two stats wise and has been the most durable and consistent. I refuse to penalize Mannning for winning just one super bowl, because I am not an idiot who measures a players career based solely on how many championships someone wins. And since I am going by present day best QB, Peyton has even had far more sucess in the past couple of years. Last year his team went to the super bowl, Brady had a first round exit. And if anyone dares to come at me with the lame "Brady's more clutch late in games" garbage, I got you covered...Manning has more 4th quarter comebacks/gamewinning drives than Brady, 35-30.

Boston Belief #2- The Refs are currently fixing the NBA Finals so Kobe can repeat and beat the Celtics.

Have you been watching the same series I have? Get real on this one seriously. If the NBA is scripted like people say it is, why did both teams have 24 foul shots tonight? The problem the referees have is calling too many ticky-tac fouls away from the ball. They do it for both sides. I know Tim Donaghy was recently on the Dennis and Callahan show saying there were close to 15 refs still fixing games in the NBA, but he's also a crook. Why is no one behind the scenes coming forward about this? Why aren't the refs being reported for making an extreme amount of money? If the refs were fixing games, why has LeBron James not won an NBA Finals game?? Clearly the NBA would want him above anyone to get a title, imagine the story? Why wouldn't they put him in there if it was scripted? He's the prodigy of the NBA right now.

Boston Belief #3- Pink Hats

If you wear a pink hat and/or a Jacoby Elsbury jersey to a Red Sox game, you should be escorted out, immediately.

Boston Belief #4- Bill Buckner, Bucky Dent, Aaron Boone, and Pedro cost us world series.

No. Bill Buckner was a great guy and a good player. If you do some research you will know that the entire post-season Buckner was subbed out late in games that the Red Sox were winning for defensive purposes. He was an offensive threat but their were better defensive options. He was left out there so he could celebrate with the team when they won. Next thing you know Bob Stanley throws a wild pitch and then Buckner gets a ground ball and misplays it. Red Sox fans crucify him and he has to move to Idaho. In 1978 Bucky Dent simply hit a homerun in the 7th. Obviously it was a bad pitch and let's not forget the Sox had a 14 1/2 game lead that season. It was their fault they lost. Pedro cannot be blamed for what happened in 2003. He was the best pitcher on the team and any manager in baseball would tell you they want the pitcher to say he wants to get out of the inning. This is where its the managers job to take the ball from him and say, "thanks for the solid innings but we gotta turn it over to the bullpen." Grady Little didn't do this. It was his messup. This led to Aaron Boones homerun off Wakefield, the game had to end sometime. The Sox had other chances to win and didn't. The Yanks capitalized.

Boston Belief #5 Hate any team that eliminated you from the playoffs.

Why? What happened to saying good job and admitting you got outplayed? Everyone immediately looks for a blame. They cheated! The refs were on their side! They played dirty! The better team lost! Well guess what, make all the excuses you can but you still lost and they're moving on. Get over it.

Boston Belief #6- The Sox grow their own talent!

Not true. They spend more money than 27-28 other teams annually. They won the 2004 world series with countless players they recently acquired and did the same in 2007.

Boston Belief #7- You have to hate players from the Yankees.

I am guilty of this at times, we play these guys 19 times a year so you learn to dislike guys that consistently hurt your teams. But to hate someone solely because they put on another uniform? Come on. Johnny Damon was a large reason we won the world series. He was offered more money and years from the Yankees and did what every player in the MLB would do. He took the better contract.

Boston Belief #8- Bandwagon Bruins Fans.

I hate them. I dislike hockey for the most part. I find playoff hockey pretty exciting but it would be hypocritical for me to start faking an interest just because the Bruins made the playoffs. Don't comment on this stating that you are not a bandwagon Bruins fan and that you've been with them all along, because I don't care. If you stuck with them all year, good for you here's your reward: another year of being without a stanley cup.

Boston Belief #9- Fenway Park is the best stadium in the MLB.

(Sigh) It is not. It's actually one of my least favorites. I have had the pleasure of visiting other ballparks and they are all better. Maybe the only worst one would be Wrigley Field. Fenway is old and rundown. Larry Luchino and John Henry feed Red Sox fans the same bullshit every single year. "Let's preserve Fenway! It's the capitol of Red Sox Nation!" Then all the stupid fans line up to get overpriced tickets to sit behind a damn pole, or under the Dunkin' Donuts sign out in the right field bleachers. They add a couple hundred seats to make it look somewhat decent and people line up again to fill the Red Sox owners' pockets with cash. I go to somewhere like Camden Yards in Baltimore or Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and wonder why we can't have something like this. Why? Stupidity and feeding into the bullshit.

Boston Belief #10- Yankee Sucks chants when the Yankees aren't there.

I'll end it here. I could keep going but I think 10 is enough. This one is self explanatory. They can't hear you, and they are pretty damn good last time I checked.

I don't mean to attack just Boston, most cities around the country are just as guilty, but I grew up around people like this. Believe it or not, I am a die-hard Boston sports fan. I just wish people wouldn't mistake fanhood for ignorance.

Heartbreaker For Celtics Fans

The Lakers were the team that were just resiliant enough to get a 91-84 win in Game 3 and take a 2-1 series lead.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 27 points, but it was Derek Fisher that stuck the dagger to the Celtics. Fisher completed a three point play by getting a layup and then the free throw afer the contact to take an 87-80 lead. After catching a break on an out-of-bounds replay the Celtics got the ball facing an 87-82 deficit. Garnett then gets called for an illegal screem after a Gasol flop, but the refs made up the call after the replay before showed a missed foul call on Rondo. Afterr a few free-throws the Lakers outlasted the Celtics 91-84.

Some positives for the Celtics- Kevin Garnett went off tonight. He dropped 25 points and grabbed 6 boards. They kept Kobe from being the deciding factor in the game, but couldn't get stops when they needed one most.

Negatives- Ray Allen follows up his Finals record performance in Game 2 with a dreadful night shooting 0 of 13 from the field and getting his only 2 points on free-throws. The defensive effort was not going well for the Celtics tonight. They showed like they were getting it under control during the 3rd quarter but were unable to translate that down the stretch in the 4th just trading baskets with the Lakers. Pierce had another poor shooting performance going 5 of 12 from the field.

Well the refs didn't decide this one, each team got to the line 24 times. The Celtics were once again out-rebounded by a 43-35 total. This team beat themselves tonight, and they can't seem to be all on. I don't know what the deal is, but they have to get it figured out if they want a chance the rest of the way.

Halftime Analysis

Where to begin... well Boston's defense and free-throw shooting has been about as good as Jeff Van Gundy's commentating. The Lakers head into the half with a 52-40 lead in this one.

The Celtics stars continue to struggle, but KG is atleast getting some offensive numbers. Unfortunately Pierce is still terrible and Allen hasn't been able to find his stroke. Pierce is a miserable 1-8 and Allen is a scoreless 0-5.

The Lakers were real close to blowing this game wide open and leaving the Celtics looking at game 4. However, the Celts only face a 12 point deficit.

The Lakers haven't been playing great, Bryant and Gasol both seem to be struggling from the field but they are catching breaks (Odom's bank three pointer). Above all though they are completely out-hustling the Celtics and it shows.

If the Celts want to be competitive they have to start making shots, pure and simple.

Keys to Game 3

Well the NBA Finals are now a best of 5. The Celtics and Lakers are tied up at 1-1 and the Celtics are looking at 3 straight home games starting with tonight's game.

Lakers Keys to Victory- Get Bynum and Gasol going early! We all know Kobe is the man on the team, but he doesn't need to drop 50 for the Lakers to win. The big men for LA have dominated thus far and Boston hasn't come up with a viable answer yet. If Bynum drops another 20 and snatches 7+ rebounds the Celts are in trouble. Another key, Fisher guarding Rondo. Kobe will most likely start on Allen because of the success he had in Game 2. This forces Fisher to guard Rondo, he needs to find a way to keep him out of the lane so Kobe doesn't have to switch to Rondo.

Celtics Keys to Victory- Garnett and Pierce have yet to put together a solid game in the finals. Artest is playing great defense on Pierce, but Pierce just has to be smart. Don't turn the ball over! Rondo needs to set the tempo early and force Kobe to guard him. This in turn will open up the game for Ray Allen to get open looks. Garnett is clearly injured, so if he can't compete at a high level, then Doc needs to go to Rasheed and Big Baby fast. Rasheed played well in game 2 and the Celtics had a +15 net points with him on the court, the highest on the team. Lastly, they need to keep Bynum out from underneath! Kobe and Gasol will get their points, but they can't allow Bynum to get 21 points again.

Prediction- I see the Celtics winning game 3, but their big men are going to have to step up, and Rondo needs to be going early!

The Summer the NBA has been waiting for

Let's admit it, no one know where LeBron James is going. At this point, LeBron doesn't even know where LeBron is going. But hey, free agency wouldn't be free agency without mass amounts of speculation; so let's do some speculating.

Chicago Bulls - The Bulls seem to be the favorite right now out of the teams that aren't named the Cavaliers. Why? Because of Derrick Rose. Because of Joakim Noah. Because of Kirk Hinrich, Loul Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Hakim Warrick, and Taj Gibson. That's one heck of a list of household names. This team is one superstar away from being extremely dangerous. But, if you're LeBron James, do you dare step into Michael Jordan's territory? Are you ok with knowing that it will be near impossible for you to be a Bulls fan's favorite player of all time? I don't think so.

New York Knicks - I'm from New York, and I am sick of this LeBron talk already. Every single day on ESPN New York there's another article about the hype. Sure they have money, but they just don't have the supporting cast. They would have to sign another big time free agent as well. The problem with that is that LeBron won't sign until the Knicks ink the other free agent, but the other free agent most likely wouldn't want to sign until LeBron to New York was a definite. See the clash here?

New Jersey Nets - Billionaire owner. Massive amount of cap space. Number 3 draft pick. Sounds good, right? Let's face it though. This would be risky as hell. This team is coming off a TWELVE win season. The Vikings, Saints, Colts, and Chargers all matched or beat that total, and they play 66 less games!!

Cleveland Cavaliers - At this point, the Cavs make the most sense for LeBron. He grew up in Akron and has lived in Ohio his entire life. They can offer him a bigger contract and a longer contract than anyone else. He's been there for 7 seasons already, and they have a fantastic team in place that already has chemistry. They have finished with the best record in the league two seasons in a row but have yet to turn that into a championship. They are the closest to the prize though. And if it's the ring LeBron wants, his best short term chance is with the Cavs.

Where should LeBron go? Let's hear your thoughts.

The Disappearing Act?

Where is Kevin Garnett? Could Pau Gasol's statements be true? So far it is clear, yes. Now don't get me wrong I'm not saying he can't figure whatever he's going through out but one thing everyone is noticing is that Bynum and Gasol are both having their way beneath the basket and Garnett hasn't been able to do anything about it.

Through the first 2 games of the NBA Finals Garnett has only been able to grab 4 rebounds in each game and has a combined 22 points for the series. He's even coming off a poor 6 point/4 rebound performance in a Game 2 victory. Clearly he is battling through some sort of injury problem because he has been unable to physically compete and box out.

Paul Pierce is also going through his own Houdini like disappearing act, although not as easily visible to the eye. I know what you're thinking, come on TED! He scored 24 points in GAME 1!! Right? Well yes, he did get the usual Paul Pierce total, however most of it came when the game was out of reach because Paul Pierce racked up the free-throws down the stretch. Pierce had no points in the second quarter and only 2 points in the third quarter where the Lakers buried the Celtics. Kobe had 14 in the quarter. Pierce then only went on to score 10 points in Game 2.

If it wasn't for Allen shooting lights out and Rondo's second half in Game 2, oh and don't forget a few "phantom fouls" on Kobe Bryant, the Celtics would be looking at a 2-0 deficit on the flight back to Boston.

Once again I am not saying Pierce is finished or that Garnett can't have a good game this series, but they haven't yet. If the Celtics are going to have a shot at this series then both men are going to need to show up. Gasol and Bynum are having their way under the hoop and without Garnett being Garnett, the Celts are looking at a spoiled homecoming party.

Gasol's stats: Game 1- 23 points 14 rebounds Game 2- 25 points 8 rebounds
Bynum's stats: Game 2- 10 points 6 rebounds Game 2- 21 points 6 rebounds.