Quick NBA Finals Game 7 Preview...

I'm going to make this a quick post, because like most of you, I want to get a seat at the bar for the game. Today's game marks the final game of the NBA season. It all comes down to a do-or-die game 7 between the Boston Celtics and the LA Lakers at the Staples Center. Neither team has been able to gain more than a temporary sense of momentum in the series. It seems like any time a team gets on a roll or has something go it's way, the other team ends up benefiting. That's a good sign for the Celtics, because they got throttled in Game 6. Unfortunately for the Celtics, they will be without starting center Kendrick Perkins, who tore ligaments in his knee during the first half of Game 6. That's not a good sign for a team that is already way more guard-oriented. Glen Davis or Rasheed Wallace will start in place of Perkins, but the best piece of news coming out of this unfortunate incident is that my favorite Celtics player Brian Scalabrine is probably going to be activated for this game.



Even though he's a U$C Trojan, he gives hope to goofy-looking white guys everywhere that maybe they can get paid big bucks to become a cheerleader on the bench.

But back to the game. Honestly, I think everyone expects this game to be one for the ages. I mean, it's the Lakers and the Celtics, the two teams with the most NBA titles, in a game 7. Bird vs. Johnson, McHale vs. Abdul-Jabbar. This game can't not be good. In the end though, I think the Lakers are going to pull it out. Kobe playing Game 7 in LA means he won't be stopped. If the Celtics can limit him enough, they will win. Another key player is Lakers center Andrew Bynum. He is getting surgery after the season for torn cartilage in his own knee, but he'll play through the pain tonight. How he performs has a huge impact on who will have the frontcourt advantage in this game. Without Perkins, I think he'll have an easier time posting up against the short Davis or the old (and quite possibly insane) Wallace. Frontcourt contributions will be the difference, and the Lakers win 99-92. And I'm not just saying that because I have ten pesos on the game.

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The Verdict is in...NBA Refs continue to suck it up

Being a sports fan, I usually enjoy watching games in the company of fellow sports fans. It's not too hard in most sports to find someone who is willing to head to the bar and catch a game with me. But many of my friends won't go near making the trek to watch an NBA game, even if it's in the playoffs. They don't want to watch the refs call a foul every ten or so seconds, or every time a guy flops on the ground. My friends always say that it's not really a game if there's no sense of continuity or freedom.

Well, last night's game between the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic definitely reinforced the ridiculous nature of refereeing in professional basketball. Celtics center Kendrick Perkins was called for two technical fouls by ref Eddie Rush that were at best doubtful. Luckily, the NBA announced today that one of those technicals would be rescinded so that Perkins wouldn't need to be suspended for Game 6. Glad to see that the NBA isn't fully incapable of doing something right.

One constant theme of both of these technicals is that they were made quickly. Unless a guy is sucker-punched, the refs should allow the situation to develop a little more. Do a few swear words really merit impacting the final outcome of a game or potentially even the playoff series? At this rate, NBA coaches might need to introduce my mom's once-famous technique of having a coin (or $100) jar for swearing so that their players can be upstanding gentlemen that always act polite. The NBA is a physically demanding sport. The Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic are two of the more physical teams. There comes a point when the teams need to be allowed to just play the game instead of having the refs decide how every second should be played.

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NBA Western Conference Playoff Notes...

The first round of the NBA playoffs has already come and gone, with the Mavericks (as they always seem to do in the first round), Blazers, Nuggets, and Thunder all heading home earlier than they wanted to. The four remaining teams have all been there before, with each playing each other as recently as two years ago. Unfortunately, for any Jazz and Suns fans, the results haven't been too kind, as the Lakers and Spurs respectively have owned the head-to-head matchups. Should this year be any different? The Lakers have already beating the Jazz in Game One, but they definitely needed to work for it, using a late run by Kobe Bryant to rally for the win. If the Jazz were completely healthy, I'd say that they could not only give the Lakers a run for their money, but the rest of the Western Conference. This is a team that just took care of a talented Nuggets team fairly easily, boasts a bevy of talented players in Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, and Mehmet Okur. But Okur is out for the postseason with an achilles problem, and Kirilenko won't be at full strength at any point in this series. Playing against a team with Kobe Bryant, and that is hungry to prove doubters wrong and repeat, just doesn't add up to the Jazz doing much damage, even if the Lakers haven't been totally clicking recently. But hey, maybe the Jazz are hungry to win too. At the very least, they've got some ammo in the form of Kosta Koufos:

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NBA Eastern Conference Playoff Preview

The Eastern Conference gets a lot of flack for not having the same kind of depth as its' West Coast counterpart. While eighth-seeded Chicago may have needed to win its last three games to finish with a .500 regular season record, at least the Eastern Conference can say that it has the clear-cut favorite to hold the trophy at season's end. The Cleveland Cavaliers are loaded. With four out of five starters being All-Stars at some point in their careers, there is always no shortage of talent on the floor. But this team has always had talent. It's about how the talent plays together. And in the past three years against San Antonio, Boston and Orlando, the Cavs have come up short when the pressure is highest. Is this finally gonna be the year they break through? Let's see how they stack up to the rest of the teams in the East:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavaliers limped into the playoffs, but that was without Lebron and Shaq. In their first game against Chicago, they showed that they mean business, leading by 15 at the half before cruising to the victory. Every part of this team is in good shape. They have three established front-court players in Shaq, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Anderson Varejao, not to mention solid backups in J.J. Hickson and Leon Powe. Oh, I forgot to mention #23. Mr. James can pretty much play whichever position he wants whenever he wants, and still control the game. And the backcourt and wing each have All-Stars in Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison. Anything less than a championship for this team is a disappointment.

2. Orlando Magic: If there's going to be one team that knocks off the Cavs, it's going to be the Orlando Magic. Mostly everyone has already penciled these two teams into the Eastern Conference Finals, and for good reason. They might not have the depth of the Cavs, but they have the starting five to challenge the Cavs. Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter give the Magic a formidable backcourt, and Rashard Lewis can play all over the court. And this team has Superman Dwight Howard, the best front-court player in the game. There are quality reserves too, with Mikael Pietrus, Ryan Anderson, and Martin Gortat.

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