Road To Redemption

Ron Artest will not be forgotten. Of course, for all the wrong reasons. He earned himself a dubious spot in NBA history after charging into the Detroit crowd, resulting in a year-long suspension. You may remember him also holding up a CD next to his face, promoting his girl group while being interviewed after the news of his suspension was released.
My personal favorite Ron Artest moment came just a few weeks ago when he convinced Craig Sager to say "Queensbridge." Convinced really isn't the right word. More like if I ask you five times in a 30 second clip, you're forced to comply.
I could be talking about a number of things after the Lakers won Game 7, clinching the franchise's 16th championship. They're now one behind the Celtics for the all-time lead. A short list of talking points:
Kobe wins ring number 5
Great defense, bad offense
Lakers 26 percent shooting in the first half
The absence of Kendrick Perkins
Andrew Bynum limited to 19 minutes
Rajon Rondo's stat line: 14 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds
Kobe Bryant pulling down 15 boards
A Brian Scalabrine sighting!
Ron Artest's performance in Game 7 is far more interesting to me than any of those topics. Think back to July of last year when the Lakers decided to sign a 30 year-old headcase, better known for his off the court issues despite being an all-pro defender. The Lakers chose not resign Trevor Ariza, a player five years younger than Artest who showed flashed the ability of a quality player on both sides of the ball. Many people questioned that move, especially me.
The critics were out come playoff time, as Artest had a terrible regular season, posting close to career lows in points, rebounds, and assists. He also made some head-scratching decisions, most notably the three pointer he hoisted up at the end of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals that almost cost the Lakers the game. Of course, he did end up winning that game for them.
Here we are in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Greatest rivalry in basketball, and I think it's safe to say all eyes were not on Ron Artest. His performance in the 2nd quarter was quietly the key to the Lakers victory. Down 7 and looking particularly sluggish offensively at the end of the 1st quarter, the Lakers desperately needed a spark. They got it from Artest who accounted for 11 of the the team's 20 points, and came up with two big steals that changed the course the quarter would take. The Lakers would outscore the Celtics by three in the 2nd quarter to narrow the lead to four at the half.
Artest would top off his performance with a three that put the Lakers ahead by six late in the game. It proved to be biggest of a barrage of threes at the end of the game. Artest finished with 20 points and 5 steals.
In the post game interview the first person he thanked was his psychiatrist for helping him relax. While most probably laughed, there was something very touching about that to me. None of his know him and what's going through his head, probably not even his psychiatrist. But I appreciate someone who can be that open and honest during the emotional high-point of their career.
Queensbridge. Yeah, I said it. 

NBA Finals: 6 Down, 1 to Go

The biggest story of this game was obviously Kendrick Perkins's injury. He sprained his knee only seven minutes into the first quarter and never returned. With Perkins out, the Celtics have no one who can match up with Gasol defensively in the post. Doc Rivers trotted out KG, Shelden Williams, Glen Davis, and Rasheed Wallace, none of which had much success. Gasol had his way in the post, scoring 17 points and pulling down 13 rebounds, 5 of them offensive. Plain and simple, if Perkins can't play in Game 7, the Celtics will not win.
One surprising stat I just cooked up was that in the Celtics 3 wins, they have only outscored the Lakers bench by an average of 8.6 points. I would hav thought that number to be over 10, and most of that margin was made up in their Game 4 victory, when they outscored the Laker bench by 18. In Game 6, they were outscored 25-13 by the Laker bench. While it isn't essential for the Celtic bench to score big for them to win, they need to at least outscore the Laker bench.
How about Shannon Brown? Everytime I see him make a spectacular dunk I think that he won't be able to top it, but somehow every time he does. Nate Robinson is the only other player in the game I can think of that currently could challenge his vertical leap. One thing is for sure though, no one in the NBA is able to showcase their vertical during the game like Brown does. If Brown could develop a respectable jumper and handle the ball a little better, he could play 35 minutes a game for most teams.
In other news not related to the NBA Finals, Tom Izzo has rejected the Cavs offer and decided to stay with Michigan State. This news to me says LeBron isn't coming back without actually saying it. Izzo's salary gets doubled and he gets a chance to coach the best player in the game, and he turns that down? I realize the track record of successful college coaches jumping to the pros isn't good, but something tells me LeBron's status is what prevented him from taking this job.

So who wins Game 7? I'm taking the Lakers, not because of their dominant Game 6 performance, but because I had them all along. I think it will be a very close game actually, assuming Perkins can play and is 100 percent. If the Celtics want to win I think Rajon Rondo needs close to a triple double. He'll be close in rebounds and assists, it's the points that worry me. Allen, Pierce, and Garnett will get theirs, expect each to have 15 to 20 points. The question is, where can the Celtics make up 35 points? I don't trust their bench enough to produce in such a big game. Rondo needs 20 to 25 to ease the burden.

Reality Show Proposal

Who says Nate Robinson doesn't have any value? I surely didn't when I suggested (in a satirical story, of course) that the Celtics consider promoting him to cheer captain. Turns out, Robinson is in fact a marketing genius. If you haven't seen his postgame quote here it is. In the clip, he likens himself and "Big Baby" Davis to Shrek and Donkey. Crazy thing is, Davis actually looks like Shrek, pre-photoshop.
If I know anything, it's that mediocre players who happen to play spectacular in must-win playoff games need to capitalize off of the opportunities that are sure to arise. Robinson already set the stage for a "Rob and Big" type reality show.
I can see it now. VH1 picks up the reality show and can call it "Nate and The Baby" or "Baby Nate," something like that. I'm assuming the title "Shrek and Donkey" would be copyright infringement. Point is, any title would be more creative than "The T.O. Show."
Cue the silly synth driven theme music, and start by showing Robinson's cut to the basket and teardrop shot. After he turns around screaming, they pause and flash across the screen "Nate" or "Nate the Great," whatever. Then cut to the shot of Davis slobbering to the title of "Big Baby." Then you get the two of them sitting in the studio explaining how they were once bench warmers to an overachieving playoff team. Then we got out chance....Cut to shot of Robinson in the interview saying, "We're like, we're like, Shrek and Donkey, it's crazy." And then they can show them slapping hands in slow motion.
The premise could involve them doing some "Fear Factor"-esque challenges in competition for playing time. Doc Rivers makes a special appearance, and the last episode can be the serious one where "Big Baby" opens up about how he really feels about KG.
When they're not competing in challenges, Robinson and Davis can live together in a rented mansion, where they throw huge parties with Michael Beasley while they're supposed to be training in the off season. Fellow NBA players show up and hilarity ensues when Davis and Pacers PG Earl Watson find themselves competing for the same woman.
Make this happen VH1. It's time to move on from unsigned wide receivers as reality stars. We want NBA players who play less than 20 minutes a game.

Pivotal Game 3

With the series tied at a game a piece, Game 3 was especially crucial for the Lakers, who will find themselves playing the next 3 games in Boston. I still don't like that they haven't changed the Finals 2-3-2 format. It doesn't make sense to me why they would change the preceding rounds to the 2-2-1-1-1 format and not the most important series. As we've seen in years past, the 2-3-2 format is an advantage for the underdog, who can get right back in the series with a 3 game sweep. Anyway, that's a topic for another day. Here's some things that stood out in Game 3.
1) Ray Allen's performance. Would you believe me if I said I expected this? Well not exactly, an 0-13 night, 0-8 from behind the arc, but a bad night. My criticism of Allen has always centered around his penchant for disappearing in games. He will have a huge game like he did in Game 2, and then come back with a less than stellar performance. He's not really all to blame, it also has a lot to do with the way the Celtics are constructed. When you have 4 guys who are big-time scorers, one or two are bound to be left out of the loop. Ray Allen was left out today, although he did have some pretty good looks that he just couldn't knock down.
2) Derek Fisher's big 4th quarter. Fisher's play down the stretch won this game for the Lakers. He scored 11 of his 17 in the 4th on 5-7 shooting. Kobe only shot 1-6 from the field in the 4th. It was Fisher's play that put the Lakers over the top. Every year I, and many others want to write him off, but he'll come up with a game like this. Fisher's contract expires after this year. He'll be 36 at the start of next season, but don't the Lakers need to resign him to at least a one year deal? Are they really ready for the Jordan Farmar era?
3) Big Baby's continued licking of lips. The cameramen have finally caught on, and now after every shot Davis hits, they cut to him backpedalling down the court, rolling his tongue around his lips like a mid-90s R&B video. His performance in Game 3 was nowhere near his legendary tongue rolls of Game 1 that seemed to last for 30 seconds, but I appreciate the effort. I don't like Big Baby and I especially don't like seeing him play well, but these ridiculous tongue motions almost make it bearable.

4) ABC's use of of the bleep. They picked some interesting times to use it. The bleep seemed to be mandatory anytime Kendrick Perkins or Rasheed Wallace approached a ref. I think they even used it on Jeff Van Gundy one time. I wish just once, a west coast game perhaps, after the kids have gone to sleep, that the NBA would mic up every ref and present a special edition censorship free game. I've never had the privilege of sitting close enough to the court to get an idea of what's said down there. The NBA needs to make this happen, no one cares about the clean version of what Doc Rivers says in a timeout or in the locker room.
5) Instant replay aka the refs blow 3 calls in the span of 2 minutes. I don't think NBA fans need any more convincing, but if you do, take a look at the last few minutes of this ball game for proof that the NBA has the worst officiating in all of professional sports. Every time I see a blown out of bounds call in the NBA I wonder why they can't get it right. Especially considering an NFL referee can spot a ball accurately 95 percent of the time watching a game that goes 100 mph. That would be looking at the negative side. The positive is that instant replay allowed the refs to get all three calls right. Hopefully Major League Baseball catches on.  

Three's Company

A lot of interesting things happened in the second half of the Magic's 113-92 Game 5 win. Kendrick Perkins's ejection with under a minute left in the first half was the precursor to a crazy night of basketball.
The Celtics lost Glen Davis and Marquis Daniels to concussions, and Rasheed Wallace fouled out. All of this led to a Shelden Williams sighting, that's how crazy of a night it was.
The previously nonexistant Rashard Lewis stepped up and played an excellent 4th quarter. The Magic also inched one game closer towards becoming the first team in NBA history to win a playoff series down 3-0.
Lost amongst all these storylines was the Magic's spectacular performance from behind the three point line. Take a look at their three point numbers from the previous four games.
Game 1 - 5-22
Game 2 - 7-18
Game 3 - 8-30
Game 4 - 10-28
While showing an improvement of three pointers made per game, that's a combined 30-98, 30.6%. For a team that shot 37.5% during the regular season, that's a significant downgrade.
In Game 5, the Magic made 13 of 25 3-pointers, with Jameer Nelson (4-5) and Matt Barnes (3-4) doing most of the damage.
Three-point shooting was such a huge advantage for the Magic during the regular season and it seemed like they got away from that in this series. They tried dumping the ball into Dwight Howard for the first two games and that didn't work. The on the ball defense of the Celtics is too good down low for the Magic to rely on getting consistent scoring in the paint. If they want to continue to battle in this series they need to find a way to create more open looks from the outside.
The Celtics don't have the outside shooting to contend with the Magic, really no team in the playoffs does. For every three pointer Rasheed Wallace makes, he seems to airball two. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are capable of making big threes but they tend to disappear for long stretches of the game. Simply put, if the Magic put pressure on the Celtics during the course of the game from behind the arc, they can build and early lead and force the Celtics to play on their heels the entire game.

Overtime Thriller: Celtics-Magic Game 4

While watching an NBA game I like to look for potential "turning points." I enjoy this so much, mainly because they're purely speculative, so noboby can call me an idiot, like they would if say, I predicted the Magic were going to win this series in 6 (Which I did, by the way).
First potential "turning point" - about 9 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and Kevin Garnett pushes Dwight Howard's arm aside after getting hit in the head with an elbow. Barnes tries to restrain Garnett, but he throws him off too.
This turn of events seems to light a fire under the Celtics. They remain competitive all the way til the end of the regulation, holding off an inspired Magic team. Leading me to...
Second potential "turning point" - The Celtics are down 7 with about 2 minutes left. I made the point a while ago that the Celtics have four guys you can count on at the end of the game. Paul Pierce is one of those guys, he drives to the basket and dunks the ball emphatically, in a way that I don't think I've ever seen him dunk.

Allen follows this with a big 3 pointer, Jameer Nelson splits a pair of free throws, and Pierce drives to the basket again and completes a three point play. Pierce and Allen step up and the Celtics tie the game at 86 and head to overtime.
In overtime I'm looking for someone on the Magic to step up. Jameer Nelson is that player, he hits two big three pointers, after both teams went scoreless in the first 2 minutes. Howard also stepped up with two baskets off of offensive rebounds.
Howard had a very impressive stat line: 32 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks. He looked much better in the paint tonight, both offensively and defensively. Nelson also stepped up 23 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds. Vince Carter was a non-factor, scoring only 3 points on 1-9 shooting.
So if I had to pick a "turning point," it would be Nelson's first three pointer of overtime, which he banked in. The Magic played great tonight to keep the series alive, but if your "turning point" is a three pointer off the glass, it doesn't bode well for the rest of the series.

Celtics Come Up Big in the Clutch

Although Game 2 between the Magic and Celtics never really got out of hand, it seemed like the Celtics had a firm grip on the Magic the entire game. Then all of a sudden, 3 minutes left and the Magic take a 90-89 lead on a Vince Carter 18 footer.
At this point, I start thinking to myself about which Magic player I would want to take a potential game winning shot. I can't come up with anyone. Rashard Lewis has looked generally disinterested in playing this series (he went 3-9 from the field in Game 2). Dwight Howard came up with a big 30 point performance, but I wouldn't feel comfortable dumping the ball into him during a clutch moment. The combination of Perkins and Wallace has proved to be more than capable of guarding him one on one, although Perkins had fouled out at this point. Howard hasn't developed enough of a touch around the basket or a wide enough array of post moves to be a consistent low post scorer.
Vince Carter would seem to be the choice, they brought him to Orlando for the purpose of being a playoff force. But Carter has proved time and time again that he is not a clutch performer. He would prove this again tonight.
During the remaining three minutes, we see Carter take an off balance shot fading to his left, and Jameer Nelson shoot a contested three with 18 seconds on the shot clock. On the flip side, Rondo hits a fadeaway jumper and Pierce sinks two clutch free throws to give the Celtics a three point lead.
Carter had the chance to redeem himself with a minute left down 95-92 and missed two free throws as Nate Robinson contributed the only way he was allowed to, yelling from the bench. This is typical Carter, he's not a clutch player, and if the Magic expect him to be, this series will be over quickly.
The Celtics have four players who have proven themselves during crunch time, the Magic have zero. If the Magic have any chance of winning a game, let alone the series, someone needs to step up during clutch situations.

The Lakers Are Just Too Good

The title says it all, they can beat you so many different ways, all of which were on display Monday night in their 128-107 beatdown of Phoenix. They used their size to outrebound the Suns 42 to 34, utilized the three point shot 8-17 (47%), and have Kobe Bryant, the best player remaining in the playoffs who is capable of scoring 40 every night like he did tonight.
It's hard to bet against a team led by a guy who can still play effectively looking like this, but the Suns looked completely overmatched Monday night. If the Suns have any hope of competing with the Lakers in this series, these three things need to happen:

1) Channing Frye has to hit the three. Frye went 1-7 from behind the arc. That's not going to cut it, especially when the Suns entire game plan is structured around being able to outscore the Lakers from the three point line. Frye's shooting is particularly important when he's matched up with Lamar Odom. Odom disrupted Frye's shooting rhythm all game, and also managed to pull down 12 defensive rebounds (19 total). If Frye can consistently hit the three this series, he'll pull Odom outside of the paint and force the other Lakers bigs to rebound.
2) Make Kobe Bryant work on defense. In Game 1 Kobe had it way too easy matched  up with Grant Hill and Jared Dudley. Since neither Hill nor Dudley is a threat to drive to the basket, Kobe can relax on defense and save his energy for the offensive end. This gets back to the point of three pointing shooting, Dudley needs to to be able to hit the three consistently enough to make Kobe defend him on the perimeter. The Suns need to seriously consider running a three guard lineup of Nash, Richardson and Barbosa. Make Kobe defend either Barbosa or Richardson, and he will burn energy being forced to guard them on the perimeter and chasing them through screens.

3) Score fastbreak points. The Suns only scored 4 fastbreak points in Game 1. They need to take advantage of their ability to run the floor. Even their big men Stoudemire, Lopez, and Frye are all capable of getting down the court. Making Bynum and Gasol run the floor should also limit their effectiveness in the paint, where the Suns were outscored by 20. Of course, in order to start the break, the Suns need to rebound the ball better and keep Odom off the offensive glass. Easier said than done.

Random Thoughts on Celtics-Cavs Game 6

Here are a few of the random thoughts I jotted down in my notebook while watching Game 6.

Mike Breen's opening thoughts, "I think we've talked about Game 5 quite enough." Amen, let's get this show on the road.

Mike Brown decides to put Shaq on KG, and KG proceeds to make his first four shots, all midrange jumpers. Apparently Brown's thought process behind this matchup was to put a bigger body on KG so he would have a tougher time in the paint. Well, that backfired, because KG can hit the midrange jumper too.

I think I've found out why they call Glen Davis "Big Baby." ESPN cuts to a shot of the Celtics bench and KG has both hands around Big Baby, coddling him as he's wrapped up in towels. It was very reminiscent of a father holding a newborn. I'm looking at KG shouting in his ear, and Davis has this dumbfounded look on his face, his tongue's hanging half-way out like KG's teaching him calculus. I'm reading the thought bubble above Big Baby's head and it's saying "We're up 3 with three quarters to go. Shut the fuck up already."

10:30 mark in the 2nd quarter, LeBron drives to the basket and finishes a three point play as Rasheed Wallace weakly rakes him across the arm. I wonder if Rasheed has ever comitted a smart foul? He always seems confused as to whether he wants to foul or back off, so he just figures I'll go half-way and foul weakly. [Edit: Rasheed commits almost exactly the same foul again in the 3rd on LeBron, resulting in another 3 point play.]

One minute later Rasheed gets T'd up. That thing I said about bad fouls, yeah...

Who has worse form at the line: Tony Allen or Shaq? Both throw it up there like a 10 year old kid from India who picked up a basketball for the first time.

The most surprising story of the first half is Mo Williams, 20 points on 7-10 shooting. I think an assistant coach told him before the game that he's not in Milwaukee anymore, he can stop playing like a backup point guard.

First half turnovers, CLE - 12, BOS - 9. Close game, Celtics up 51-49. Who ever turns the ball over less in the second half will win this game.

Start of the second half and Jamison is matched up with KG. KG hits two of his first three shots, it seems like Anderson Varejao is the only player on Cleveland's roster who has a shot at guarding him.

Varejao is matched up with KG around the 6 minute mark in the 3rd. KG hits a fadeaway jumper over Varejao's extended hand. Played perfectly defensively and it just doesn't matter. What a wild card KG became in this series. Who would have thought he'd come up this big in the postseason watching him, say, midway throught the regular season? He's going to matched up against Rashard Lewis next round, that's going to wear him out on the defensive end. Let's see if he's still able to hit 18 foot turnaround jumpers.

Paul Pierce hits the Celtics's first three pointer of the game to put them up 7 towards the end of the 3rd. It always seems like Pierce comes up big when you need him to. He'll be 2-14 and still hit a game winning 3 pointer. [Edit: Did it again, another big 3 with 8 minutes left in the 4th to extend the lead to 9 and put the Cavs away].

Through out the playoffs they've been advertising this Just Wright movie starring Common and Queen Latifah. I honestly want to see this just to see how terrible it is. How unbelievable is it that Common falls for Queen Latifah? This is a guy who's dated gorgeous women such as Serena Williams and Erykah Badu and I'm supposed to believe that he falls in love with Queen Latifah, AND she helps him recover from an injury?

The funniest moment of the night involved Big Baby loathing in self pity, screaming at his bench "I fucked up, I know, I know," while free throws were being shot. He repeated it like five times. At the other end he had just passed up a wide open jumper to drive to the basket and throw up a brick. Want to take a guess which one of his teammates was criticizing him from the bench?

9:30 left in the 4th, LeBron hits back to back 3s, Cavs down 4, it looks finally like this will be the first time in two games he takes over. Next two possessions: LeBron turns it over, instead of driving to the basket, passes to Varejao who drives and doesn't get the call. This succession of plays really sums up the Cavs and LeBron's play in the series. A glimmer of hope, followed by a turnover, and the realization that this series is over.

By the way, turnovers in the second half, CLE - 10, BOS - 2. Celtics win 94-85.

I eagerly await some the ridiculous things people will say to justify the theory that LeBron played bad on purpose to "ease" his way out of Cleveland. My two predictions. 1) Someone will point out the suspicious way that he covered his mouth while talking to Celtics players after the game. 2) Someone will comment on how quickly he removed his Cavs jersey before even making it to the locker room.

Ok, I'll Bite

One thing I've always hated about sports commentators and writers alike is their insistance on blowing things out of proportion. Tony Parker gets knocked down midway through the first quarter, that must be the reason he started the 4th 0 for 4. Ron Artest grabs his ankle during a timeout, let's watch this for the rest of the game and base our opinion of his performance around this event. LeBron James and his infamous elbow...

Speaking of LeBron James and blowing things out of proportion, all of this talk about his Game 5 performance is starting to get to me. Theories of him mailing in the performance are flying and I thought to myself, here we go again, one bad performance being blown out of proportion.

But here's a point that is every bit as important as the media is making it out to be. What LeBron James decides to do this offseason will have a drastic effect on the NBA for the next 10 to 12 years. Consider the situation, the NBA's best player, potentially one of the greatest ever, 25 years old and not even in his prime yet has the opportunity to choose between a number of NBA teams. His decision will have a snowball effect on the rest of the league.

I'd always believed LeBron would stay in Cleveland but what does he have to gain from that? They're already up against the wall to an aging Celtics team, and likely don't stand a chance against a Magic team that is firing on all cylinders. An aging Jamison and Mo Williams don't look as attractive as say a Devin Harris and Brooke Lopez or a Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

All the talk about LeBron has centered around the Knicks. If he doesn't stay in Cleveland he will likely go to New York to play with the Knicks in a big market, make movies with Spike Lee, and lay down the intro for Jay Z's next record. New York's most attractive options are Wilson Chandler and an Italian guy who can shoot threes some of the time. David Lee will bolt for free agency, leaving the door open for New York to sign LeBron and another big name such as Chris Bosh.

About a year and a half ago I was watching ESPN, and there was Jalen Rose and his goofy smirk. I loved Jalen Rose as a player, but as an analyst, not so much. He gave that little cockeyed grin, looked directly in the camera and said, "Ladies and gentleman, you heard it here first." He paused and let the suspense build. "LeBron James and Chris Bosh will both be playing for the New York Knicks in 2010."

At the time this seemed about as far fetched as Jalen Rose playing for the Knicks in 2010. Now it seems like a distinct possibility and it worries me. Team LeBron and Bosh together and they win at least 5 NBA titles, probably more. They immediatley become the Magic's only competition in the East and soon enough would usurp the aging Lakers and up and coming Thunder. Plain and simple, putting those two together would not be fair for the rest of the league.

And since I can't go more than a few paragraphs without mentioning a Chicago team, Bosh to the Knicks would set the Bulls back another ten years. They let Ben Gordon walk, traded John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas, and have been giving minutes to the likes of Brad Miller, James Johnson, and Flip Murray with the hope that they would clear enough cap room to lure a major free agent.

I'm not even going to entertain Wade or LeBron to the Bulls rumors, neither of those are happening, and the more I think about them the more I try to convince myself they are. So that is the last I will mention of it. Bosh is the main target on the Bulls radar and would instantly catapult them into a top 3 or 4 team in the East that could legitimately contend for a title next year.

Amare Stoudemire would be second on the Bulls radar, who the Bulls could have drafted in 2002 if it wasn't for the previous years draft landing Tyson Chandler (gasp) and Eddy Curry (double gasp). He'd be a nice addition but I'd still prefer a more traditional back to the basket scorer that Bosh is.

LeBron's offseason decision will greatly alter the landscape of the NBA for the next decade but don't read too much into this series. It would be foolish to assume that LeBron's decision is going to be based solely off what the Cavs do in the playoffs. If he wants to leave he will, simple as that. If it's for more money or because he feels he has a better shot at winning a championship he will do it.

This Game 6 is, however, of monumental importance for the city of Cleveland and the Cavaliers franchise. It is the most important game in franchise history, and that is not blowing it out of proportion. LeBron won't stay or go based on this game, but Cleveland fans realize that this is their last chance to win a championship. This team, even with LeBron isn't going to be good enough to contend in years to come, this is their shot. I can't wait to see how this unfolds, I haven't been this excited to watch a single playoff game since 1998.

Rajon Rondo, I Can Help You

On the eve of tonight's pivotal Game 5 between the Celtics and Cavs, I feel compelled to share my Rajon Rondo story. Well, it's not actually my story, it was told to me about a month ago, but I'll share it now.

I'd made a weekend trip down to Illinois State University to visit my brother and buddy Chris. That night Chris and I hit up a few of the bars, planning to meet some of his roommates and friends from school. We were out on the back porch drinking the world's largest Long Island Ice Tea's. For prospective employers, this is the only drink I would have all night, because I'm a responsible individual.

A few of Chris's friends began to filter in and we were having typical bar conversation. What drink is this, which one is that, that chick is hot, what are you majoring in, that chick is also hot. Then out of nowhere, Chris's roommate, who I'm going to call Andrew, because I think that was his name. Again, for prospective employers, my inability to remember his name has to do with the fact that I'm bad with names, not that I had drank a lot that night.

Anyway, out of nowhere, Andrew asks the small pack of us if we knew who Rajon Rondo was. I immediatley yelled, "Yes!" like an excited preteen, wanting to engage in basketball conversation.

"Ok," he said. "Well check this out. I was in Milwaukee last night and I guess the Celtics were in town to play the Bucks. When I got back to the hotel last night, who do I see in the lobby but Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins.

I kind of just stood there and stared at them I didn't know what to do. Then Rondo sees me staring at him, walks up to me and asks 'Can I fucking help you?' I just stand there and shake my head I didn't know what to say but I still wasn't moving from where I was. Then he told me to "Get the hell out of here."

"What an ass hole," I said. "I knew he'd be that type of guy. Where's Kirk Hinrich when you need him."

Everybody who watched last year's playoffs laughed. I like to look at this situation and imagine that Rondo and Perkins were polar opposites. While Rondo stood there bashing the star-struck basketball fan, Kendrick Perkins was in the corner smiling, contemplating how unnecessary the conflict was.

I have to say, a Kendrick Perkins smile, if it ever happens would be the third greatest moment in sports history for me. Only the Cubs winning a World Series or Bears winning a Super Bowl in my lifetime would bring me more joy than to see Kendrick Perkins smile for a split second, and while I'm dreaming, maybe give a thumbs up to the camera. [Edit: Upon further review, I've come across two pictures where Kendrick Perkins does indeed appear to be smiling. One of them is posted above. However, I still wanted to see this live during a game, not in some snapshot.]

But back to Rondo, who I'll finally say, is the Celtics best player. People have been saying this for at least a year now, and I always refused to go along with that crowd. But I can only ignore the elephant in the room for so long. Let's just throw the regular season out the window because if you're even a casual fan of basketball you know that real basketball isn't played until the playoffs.

The measure of a player is how they can perform under the increased pressure and scrutiny that is the playoffs. In this Cleveland series Rondo has increased his PPG by 8, AST 3, and REB 3 from the regular season. He's nearly averaging a triple double this series 21-8-13. Not since Jason Kidd has the NBA seen a point guard that is a legitimate threat to put up a triple double every night.

Most impressive to me however, is that Rondo has been averaging 42 minutes a game in the 2010 playoffs. Compare that to Allen - 35 MPG, Pierce - 34 MPG, and KG - 29 MPG, and it is clear that this is Rondo's team. Remember only two years ago he was the question mark. The point guard who if he could just help from screwing up, the Celtics were a title lock. Those times have changed, and if Rondo can match the intensity in tonight's game that he showed towards my man Andrew, Boston will become one game closer towards a shocking upset.