Congrats To The Celtics

Well, that went a little bit different than most had probably visioned. After keeping the first five games of the series close, the Lakers got run out of the gym to the tune of 131-92. Ouch. No amount of zen will be able to ease that asskicking.

While it would be easy to heap most of the praise on Boston's "Big 3", the truth is that it was a total team effort. Rajon Rondo didn't shoot particularly well, but he ended up with 21 points and his defensive intensity frustrated the Lakers all night. James Posey scored 11, including 3-3 from 3pt range. Even Eddie House chipped in with 9 points. Though, without the "Big 3" firing on all cylinders the outcome wouldn't have been nearly the same.

Paul Pierce, the Finals MVP, ended up with a double-double by scoring 17 and dishing 10 assists. Ray Allen scored 26 despite missing much of the 2nd quarter. And KG made up for his "trash" play in Game 5 by scoring 26 and pulling down 14 boards. He also would have maxed out "overcome with emotion" if that were a statistical category. It's great to see these guys get rings, and I'm especially happy for Garnett because I've been a fan of his for quite some time. It's amazing how far things have come since his interview with John Thompson back in 2005.

From this:


To this:


KG was right when he said "in my heart, you can't measure that". Last night we all got to see what was in KG's heart.

Nobody F@#ks With The Jesus!

Especially not you Sasha Vujacic!

If Vujacic is "The Machine", then Ray Allen, a.k.a. Jesus Shuttlesworth, must have been "The Ghost" in that machine because on more than one occasion he easily floated by Vujacic on his way to the basket. The biggest one came with less than 30 seconds left in the game when Allen dribbled the ball at the top of the key, his teammates spread the floor and he drove right past Vujacic for an easy layup to push Boston's lead to 6.

Over the next 20 seconds, L.A. didn't score another point, and Boston walked off the court with a 97-90 victory after being down by 20 points at the end of the first quarter. It was an incredible comeback that seemed to get its spark from Ray Allen stealing the ball from Derek Fisher, and then making a layup to cut the lead to just 10 with 2:59 left in the third quarter. From there, Boston outscored L.A. 10-1, and closed out the quarter down by just a single point.

Allen finished the game with 19 points, but maybe more importantly he played all 48 minutes. Eventhough the Celtics got down big in the first half, they were able to have at least one of the "Big 3" on the floor throughout the entire game to keep them pointed in the right direction.

And true to what his character said in "He Got Game", Allen made basketball look like poetry in motion as he crossed over to the left, then came back to the right, had Vujacic fallin' back and made a sweet layup. Allen didn't even have to look at Vujacic and say "what". Millions of Celtics' fans were doing that for him.

Are The Lakers Preparing For Some Family Feud?

The Los Angeles Times reported today that Jeanie Buss, daughter of Lakers owner Jerry Buss and girlfriend of current Lakers coach Phil Jackson, was upset that her brother Jim Buss, who is in the process of taking over the basketball operations of the team, "ripped Jackson for calling out players in the media".

She went on to say that the comments were "interesting" because it seemed that her brother, who is essentially Jackson's boss, was berating Jackson for the same thing that he was doing. She also said that the combination of her overseeing the business operations of the Lakers, and her involvement with Jackson "throws the monkey wrench into things" and that it "muddies the waters and complicates things".

Uh oh, this is the type of situation that could get very messy very fast. It's like when your sister brings home her newest boyfriend, and at first he seems ok. Then after talking to him for a little while he starts rambling about his Eastern philosophies and Native American rituals. Eventually he asks that instead of calling him by his real name you use the nickname "Zen Master". Eventhough you try to talk to him sensibly, he continues to brag about the numerous accolades that he's won and how he's better than you. All the while your sister is pissed off and yelling at you and your dad about how you never take her seriously and always sabotage her relationships. The visit ends with your sister storming out of the house, "Zen Master" in tow, while you and your dad place bets on how long they're going to last.

I wonder who's won the bet so far, Jerry or Jim?