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“But I’ll be damned if I don’t take a stand/We ain’t goin’ out like that” – Cypress Hill

Don’t act shook about this performance, True Believer. This game is exactly what we should have expected out of the Lakers following their let-down in Game 5. This series is not at all about momentum. It is about the moment. This LA team has been two-faced and erratic all season – its part of their identity. But that doesn’t mean they will roll over.

Consistently inconsistent? Sure. But punks that fold up when facing just a bit of adversity? Doesn’t seem like it.

This Laker team is not the same team from 2008 we hear so much about. That team was not yet ready to fight in the trenches for an NBA title. They were just as talented, and maybe had fresher legs than this current squad. But they didn’t have the reps. They hadn’t been punched in the mouth. The 2008 Celtics did that, and then some. They left the Lakers bruised and bleeding on the curb, but LA learned how to respond to big moments because of it.

This team was never going to pack up their toys and go home after getting sand kicked in their eyes in Game 5. They were outplayed, and more importantly, outworked. It has never been about the talent, or even the will to win with this Laker team.

It is just about consistent focus. That is the difference, and it’s no small surprise that that is also what defense is about – steadfast commitment to and focus on stopping your opponent. That’s all it is: concentration. The team is full of personalities who may lack a consistent attention to detail, but when they turn their full consideration to the defensive end, things like Tuesday night’s performance happen.

Now we get treated to a Game 7 between the two best franchises in NBA History, and NBA Present. I rock with Obama but Lakers-Celtics is ‘Consistency I Can Believe In.’

Can. Not. Wait.

Top 5 Takeways:

1. Gasol’s Homecooking: Maybe Pau just doesn’t like the weather in Boston. The most skilled (notice that doesn’t mean ‘best’) big man in the league played like it in Game 6, missing a triple-double by a mere one assist.
2. Kobe’s Start: Between putting the vice grips on Rondo and Pierce, and a soul-crushing start offensively, there was little else Bryant could do in the game’s opening eight minutes or so. He didn’t have the gas in his tank to keep that level of energy up, of course (I doubt even a 25-year-old Kobe would have) but the tone was now established and the Lakers rolled.
3. Let Shannon Dunk: Fact: Either of Brown’s dunks last night would have won the Dunk Contest. And Jordan Farmar put down something nice just for kicks.
4. He Still Got Game: Ray Allen was the only Celtic to play truly solid basketball in Game 6 (19 points on 7-14 shooting, 2-5 from three, three assists, two rebounds) and I would bet my life on him repeating that “very good, not great” performance on Thursday night.
5. Obligatory Duke Bashing: Oh, Shelden. On the plus side, you actually had the highest plus/minus ratio of any Celtics for the entire game. On the downside, you’re wife could easily have thrown down that dunk you missed. Your pathetic play is almost enough to make me feel better about Duke winning a title this year…almost…

Low 5 Takeaways:

1. Disney Debates: Via @KollinCurrie – Big Baby and Nasty Nate: Shrek and Donkey or Timon and Pumba?
2. Rasheed’s Veteran Savvy: When Big Perk went down, the Celtics needed Wallace to step up and rise to the challenge of the moment. Apparently Sheed thought that meant shoot 0-7, including 0-6 from three (all wide open) and pick up three early and stupid fouls on Lamar. In the words of Mike Honcho, “I am confused by your tactics…”
3. Punch Drunk Pundits: A lot of post-game recaps this morning focused on how smooth and effective the Laker offense was. No doubt, it was better than in Game 5, but they still shot a mere 41.8% from the floor and scored less than 90 points again. This game was ONLY about their defense.
4. Boston’s Ghost of Game 7’s Past: The C’s have a lifetime 4-0 record when facing the Lakers in a Finals Game 7. I hate everything about that stat existence.

TSN – Where NBA Failure Happens: This was the first game I tuned in early enough to see TSN’s studio crew break down their” analysis” prior to the toss over to ABC. Put it this way, if you make Stuart Scott seem likeable and informed by comparison, you are doing a bad job. Oh, and Mr. Magloire, I know this is difficult for you, but Bryan Colangelo is not the G-D COACH OF THE RAPTORS! STOP SAYING “COACH COLANGELO” six times without correcting yourself or anyone on set acknowledging your error. YOU SOUND LIKE A DAMN FOOL. Sorry, that was festering. I feel better now.

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Long after Game 5 finished, I was left staring at the television before me and echoing the call of the Prince of Denmark. “Bloody, bawdy villain!” I would have exclaimed, if I had better vocabulary, diction, and sense of phrasing. In reality my cussing was much less eloquent – think more fishing wharf than The Barb – but cuss I did alright.

My MFs and GDs were directed at everyone and everything related to what I had just watched. My frustrations overwhelmed me – my hatred for Paul Pierce and Nate Robinson were only outweighed by my disgust with Ron Artest and disappointment with Lamar Odom.

I’d like to tell you that the inner monologue running through my head read as such: “Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!” But the reality is that my revulsion was reduced to a sad, simple “…goddammit.” After an eight month journey, it looks like this season will meet its end Tuesday night in Los Angeles, and I’ll have to concede that the Celtics truly do deserve this. (Sigh.)

Top 5 Takeaways:

1. Kobe Going Solo: Mamba’s run in the third quarter reminded me more for Slash’s solo in “November Rain” – not the best of all time, but a highlight in the genre. This was the Kobe Bryant we know to be the game’s greatest singular talent.
2. PP Rises to the Moment: It may have taken five games, but Pierce has figured out Ron Artest it seems. Pierce is perhaps my least favourite player in the league, and yet as a basketball fan first and foremost there is nothing I can question about his performance in Game 5. This was Paul Pierce circa 2008, and if he plays like that once more this year the C’s will win Banner 18.
3. Ron-Ron is…Ron-Ron: I have no words. None. Trying to describe how angry Ron Artest has made me this series would be a pointless exercise, because it defies all explanation or means of expression I possess. I refuse to say Queensbridge Ron, at least until you start to deliver.
4. Tony Allen’s Block Party: For your block on Gasol in the third quarter, I stand and applaud you, Sir. I am a diehard Laker fan and concede that was the play of the series.
5. Rondo in the Clutch: Say what you will about the number of risks Rajon Rondo takes every game, but acknowledge that it is precisely that fearlessness that allows him to excel the way he does. Through five games, I think he is the Finals MVP (assuming Boston closes out).

Low 5 Takeways:

1. Donkey: Shut up, Nate Robinson. No, seriously. Stop jawing. It’s tired.
2. Replay Refusal: Whatever your take on Ray Allen’s brick of a three late in the fourth (for the record I still have yet to see a replay where it looks as though it hit the rim), the inability of the referees to go back and review the call using replay is ridiculous. If you are going to make replay available, it is all or nothing. You cannot make it available to check out of bounds calls and ignore its relevance on shot clock questions.
3. Milk Carton Gasol: Someone please remind Pau there is a game Tuesday night. I’m not sure he was made aware there was one happening Sunday until we reached the fourth quarter. You want to be called the best big man in the league? Play like it.
4. 47-1?: Please don’t tell me my favourite stat of all time is going the way of the Smoke Monster…Phil can’t lose a series he was up in after Game 1, can he?
5. Again, Ron-Ron: I still don’t have any way to illuminate how angry I am with everything Artest did in Game 5, but trust me that it is angry enough to mention it twice. Pathetic.

Check it out! But Trev, tell us how you really feel.

Big Mo’ has become a rather finicky friend to have. It used to be that you could trust him at least to stand by you for a while, enough that you felt comfortable with him on your side. Now though, Mo’ just seems to flip-flop around with no consistency at all. Here today, gone today.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love him – no one is better to have with you than Big Mo’ when he is really present – but it has become exhausting trying to figure out whether he is going to show up or not.

Mo’, I love you man, but how about bringing some dependability, some stability to our friendship. This intermittent back-and-forth is not your style. That indecisiveness is more Lady Luck and Fair Weather Johnson’s modus operandi, and those guys are both galoots. Pick a side in this battle and stay with it brother!

The trials and tribulation of relying on Big Momentum aside, here are the talking points from Game 4 to discuss around the watercooler for when you run out of soccer player names you remember how to pronounce.

Top 5 Takeways

1. Boston’s Bench Delivers: Krypto-Nate and Big Baby came to play alright, and their determination and energy pushed the Celtics over the top Thursday night. So what if Baby looks like he needs a bib and if Robinson’s little man complex reminds me of this guy – Shrek and Donkey got it done and deserve 100% of the praise they are getting this morning for stealing this win for Boston.
2. Bynum’s Woes: The Laker big man was only able to go for 12 minutes last night, and did not return to the game in the second half. The extra day off before Game 5 should help somewhat, if only to get him another day of treatment, but his knee is not going to magically get better before Sunday. His ability to play through this will have a major impact on who walks away with a 3-2 lead.
3. Lakers’ Tired Legs: While coming into the series we knew that the Celtics would want to get out and run on Los Angeles to make the most effective use of Rondo’s speed and athleticism, it still holds to reason that the Lakers themselves should be able to score more than a single basket in transition as they did Thursday.
4. Tony Allen is Gully: Grimey, filthy, smothering – whatever term you want to use to describe Allen’s defense on Kobe Bryant, it probably applies. While Kobe was much more effective in Game 4, scoring 33 on 22 shots compared to 29 on 29 as in Game 3, Allen is making life extreme difficult for the Mamba.
5. Phil Jackson’s Privacy: Phil was having no part in pumping the tires of the Boston bench, or of giving a clue on how he plans to make adjustments for the next game. Asked after the game for his strategy for stopping Davis and company, PJ simply said, “No, I don’t want to talk about that.” O.G.

Low 5 Takeways:

1. Paging Lamar Odom: Yes, Odom put up 10 points and seven rebounds, but it took him 39 minutes to do so, and he was sorely outplayed by a player whose body type resembles a McDonald’s mascot. No one is under the assumption Odom will deliver on his considerable talent consistently, but doing so on Sunday at least would be much appreciated.
2. “Whatcha Gonna Do Brother?!?!?”: Big Baby played like a star on Thursday, so it is unfortunate that instead of celebrating his hustle and hard work I have to take him to task for some Hogan-esque WWE preening and histrionics (actually, as a Lakers fan I would knock him anyway, but its particularly annoying that he has taken after KG in the overly-emotional department).
3. Desperation Mode: This is exactly what the Celtics were in Thursday night, and they responded by playing emotional, lively ball. Game 5 will remain a must-win for Boston, as they would be unlikely to take two straight in LA, but the Lakers should also consider Sunday a must-win, given the odds against a team losing Game 5 and still taking the series.
4. Rasheed being Rasheed: If you ask him, Rasheed last committed a foul during the Clinton administration.
5. 7 Minutes in Heaven: Every part of me thinks this series goes the distance, if for no reason other than the back and forth nature of old momentum described in the (overly drawn out?) introduction above.

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Jonathan Swift once said that no wise man ever wished to be younger. Well, beyond the obvious fact that this makes Mr. Swift sounds like a curmudgeony old man who would very much like you to “get off his lawn with your damn rap music,” he has a valid point.

The passage of time makes us all nostalgic for our youth, but truth be told, most of us were insufferable morons during said youth. Reverting to being even dumber and more ignorant than I am now sounds like the 7^th level of The Inferno.

What does any of this have to do with Game 3 of the 2010 NBA Finals? Admittedly, not that much on the surface, but I mention the phenomenon of taste and intelligence improving with age because it is for precisely this reason that I was able to appreciate last night’s game.

A younger version of me would hardly be doing backflips over a game that saw my childhood hero play selfishly and shoot a gawd-awful percentage. Likewise, the idea of sitting through an 0-for performance from an NBA legend would have sounded less than ideal to a younger version of myself, a version who didn’t see the nuanced beauty and difficulty involved in a team changing how it defends off-ball screens.

What I am (unsuccessfully?) trying to build to is that Game 3 was an ugly game for casual fans everywhere, but that to true hoop-heads, this was a chess match that was so much fun precisely because of its flaws. What did we learn from all this nonsense then?

Top 5 Takeaways

1. Derek Fisher Only Drives Standard: Because he is clutch. Get it? You get it. That doesn’t make it funny…but you get it. Fisher rose to the occasion when it mattered most, and his play down the stretch almost singlehandedly kept the Lakers from handing the game away.
2. “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE”: In reference to Kevin Garnett, who appeared to have an out of body experience last night and managed to locate an avatar model of Circa-2004 Kevin Garnett. The Big Ticket had a bounce in his step unseen at any point over the last two rounds, and was making a ton of difficult shots for good measure. He took the ball to the rim instead of settling for fallaway jumpers, and was rewarded handsomely.
3. Luke Walton Demands Your Respect: You probably won’t give it to him, I realize, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t merited. You would be hard pressed to point to another Laker (outside MAYBE Gasol) who understands his position within the Triangle better than Luke. With his court vision, touch, and ability to post in the mid-block, it seems as if he were born to play in the triple-post. Now if only he could teach Shannon Brown or Jordan Farmar the concept behind proper offensive spacing…
4. Drive Slow, Homey: This shoutout to Kanye serves to highlight the Lakers improvement on transition defense. By getting back, and stopping the ball from moving side-to-side on the secondary break, they prevented the same kind of easy looks Ray Allen and Paul Pierce had in Game 2. That isn’t to say the defense was perfect, as Rondo still got all the way to the rim far too often, but at least he was forced to make very difficult finishes around the basket against the Laker bigs. Transition defense will surely play a big role in Game 4 come Thursday night as well.
5. Mr. Kardashian Is Not Amused: The Boston crowd brought face cut-out of Lamar Odom’s wife as a taunting tool, and while it is unlikely that this is what set LO off, he did nonetheless respond with what was easily his best performance of the Finals, particularly in the first quarter.

Low 5 Takeaways

1. Kobe’s “Lone Ranger” Routine Still Leaves Audience Wanting: Best to leave “lone gunslinger galloping in to right injustices single-handedly” act to George Seaton. While I appreciate that Bryant did other things to contribute to the Lakers victory, he was forced to take far too many bad shots up against the clock, and not all of them were because of poor spacing or lack of ball movement – often Kobe just put himself in a bad position. He can’t revert to being the same volume shooter he was in 2008 or this could get nasty in a hurry.
2. Paul Pierce – Miss Cleo He is Not: Between his claim that the Celtics would be sweeping the Magic in Boston and his now infamous chirp that his team “ain’t coming back to LA,” maybe PP should cool it with the travel forecast and get back to making baskets.
3. The Machine Now Sentient After All: Sasha made an appearance last night for all of 19 seconds but managed to hit both his free throws. I always loved this guy! (*insert awkward, uncomfortable laughter*)
4. Big Baby Will Haunt Your Nightmares: You played great there Grimace, now cool it with the lip-licking and grunting. You look like the love child of LL Cool J and Stay Puff when you do that. Just keep working your tail off down low and you will be praised accordingly.
5. The “Put a Cork In It, Billy Zane” Award: This of course goes out to Doc Rivers, who has zero right to complain as he did after the game about the replay reversal for two reasons. Foremost, the overturned call on Garnett was 100% his fault, as the referees only even thought to review the play because he called an unnecessary timeout. In addition, his team got the ball on a critical play with less than a minute to go precisely because the replay rule is so limited; if you only gain possession because your point guard got away with an obvious foul, you may not want to go throwing stones.

Boom. Check it.

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