Doc Rivers may be the head coach of the Boston Celtics but the real genius behind the Celtics defense is assistant coach Tom Thibodeau.

Thibodeau comes from the Jeff Van Gundy school of defense, which requires three important principles: 1) load up one side of the floor, usually the strong side, 2) protect the paint and 3) contest every shot. These three diciplines is what elevated the Celtics to the top defensive team in the league.

The key to beating the Celtics defense is ball movement and hitting outside shots. Phil Jackson's triangle offense seems to be the perfect approach to beating Celtics' defensive scheme because the Lakers have the most efficient and balanced offense in the league.

However, the long layoff could hurt the Lakers more than the Celtics because it usually takes a few games before players get into their groove offensively so expect some rusty jumpers in Game 1. When a game turns ugly, teams who rely heavily on defense have a tremendous advantage because their is no flow to the game.

Continue reading "NBA FINALS: PHIL JACKSON VS. TOM THIBODEAU"

Championships are won and lost by great players.

No matter how many times you play out the 2008 NBA Finals between the Lakers and Celtics in your head and break down all the matchups, the fate of the series will be in the hands of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett.

I've always believed that to win an NBA title, your best player has to be at his absolute best when it matters most. When you review past Finals MVPs, it's going to look like a Hall of Fame induction speech.

Jerry West, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Willis Reed, Rick Barry, Dave Cowens, Wilt Chamberlain, Wes Unseld, Moses Malone, Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade (just the 2006 version) and Tim Duncan.

Continue reading "NBA FINALS: BLACK MAMBA VS. THE BIG TICKET"

The truth will come out in Game 2.

One day after pulling a Willis Reed-like return in Game 1 to lead the Boston Celtics to a 98-88 victory over the Lakers before a gushing Boston Garden crowd, Paul Pierce (aka The Truth) admitted he is feeling sharp pains in his right knee and revealed that if Game 2 was played Friday he would be a scratch.

Hmmm. He sure looked fine in Game 1. Heck, he didn't limp around in the fourth quarter. He went from clutching his knee as if he just tore his ACL, carried off the court onto a wheelchair and back jogging on the sidelines in a matter of minutes. Minutes!

Continue reading "NBA FINALS: A KNEE-JERK REACTION"

Leon Powe just beat the Lakers.

Leon Powe. Yup. That Leon Powe.

Leon F. Powe (the F stands for something that rhymes with "ducking") was the difference in Game 2 and is the reason why the Celtics are up 2-0 in the series.

The second-year man from Cal scored 21 points in 14 minutes. He made six of seven shots from the field and was nine of 13 from the free throw line. He almost outscored the entire Lakers bench (23) and was second to Paul Pierce among Celtics. Pierce scored 28 points but he played 41 minutes.

It's bad enough that the Lakers are not doing a good job of slowing down the Boston Three Party, but now they have to worry about Leon Powe.

If the Lakers have any hopes of making this a series, they better make sure that Leon Powe does not come close to his Game 2 point total.

Continue reading "NBA FINALS: GAME 2 WAS ALL ABOUT POWE"

Game 3 of the NBA Finals was such a downer it looked like an uncut version of Celtic Pride.

Who is to blame? For one, the NBA should take some responsibility here for scheduling Game 2 and Game 3 just two days apart. Both teams barely had 24 hours to fly from Boston to L.A. and get ready for Game 3 at Staples Center.

But the short turnaround was just one reason for the 87-81 boredom.

When the referees allowed P.J. Brown, Kendrick Perkins and James Posey to put their hands on the Lakers, the triangle offense became very disjointed. There was no flow to the game. It felt like a Knicks-Heat game from the mid-90s crashed the 2008 NBA Finals.

Now that we are on the subject of officiating, I found it very amusing that the Tim Donaghy case suddenly grew some legs when Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals between the Lakers and Sacramento Kings became the epicenter of the NBA's gambling controversy.

Continue reading "NBA NEEDS TO FIX THIS PROBLEM"

A few weeks ago, I wrote that the 2008 NBA Finals will come down to Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett.

I was only half right.

Through five games, the Finals have been all about Bryant and Paul Pierce. Bryant may not be playing at optimum level by his and our standards, but the reigning MVP has managed to keep his Lakers in the series despite averaging less (down from 30.6 to 26.4) and shooting poorly (from 48.8 to 42.4).

Pierce has been the whole truth and nothing but the truth for the Celtics. He is averaging 22.6 in the Finals (up from 19.8 in the playoffs) and he almost single-handedly won the championship for the Celtics with his 38-point effort in Game 5.

The Celtics are up 3-2 in the series and Game 6 will be front and center tonight at the new Boston Garden. Because both teams have barely 48 hours to prepare for Game 6 with the coast-to-coast travel, I anticipate the game will not be pretty. If you thought Game 3 was ugly, wait 'till you see tonight's game. Eighty points might be enough!

Continue reading "THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NBA FINALS"

The better team won. That's the truth.

Fueled by a Boston Garden crowd that has been starving for an NBA title for 22 years, the Boston Celtics slapped a good old fashioned 131-92 whipping on the Lakers in Game 6 and raised their 17th championship banner.

The 2008 Celtics have bridged the gap in their rich basketball history. From Hondo to Rondo. From DJ to Walter Ray. From Kevin McHale to Kevin Garnett. From Larry Legend to the The Truth.

As KG put it, "Top of the world, Ma! Top of the world!"

The Celtics recorded an NBA Finals record 18 steals in Game 6.....18 steals! That's unheard of in the playoffs yet alone in the Finals.

Continue reading "NBA FINALS: THE LAST WORD"

His act is getting real old.

A week after the Lakers were blasted by the Boston Celtics in Game 6 to capture the NBA championship, a ghost from Lakers past reared his ugly fat head and sprouted some venemous verses towards his former sidekick, Kobe Bryant.

Shaquille O'Neal, the 35-year-old former purple and gold Daddy, went on stage at a New York nightclub and went B.I.G. on us. The Diesel grabbed the mic and took shots at Bryant. The Big Cactus rapped about how Kobe couldn't win without him. He said that, "I'm a horse. Kobe ratted me out. That's why I'm getting a divorce." And he repeatedly asked the question, "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste?"

What?

Did Shaq just blame Kobe for his marriage falling apart? Did he just crap on Kobe, again? C'mon, Shaq. I thought you were bigger than this. You won. You got your post-Lakers championship ring. You have scoreboard over Kobe and the Lakers...for now. You didn't have to rub it in. Why revisit your divorce from the Lakers? Why kick Kobe when he's down?

Continue reading "SHAQ AND KOBE...AND THE RIFT GOES ON"

In a few minutes, the Chicago Bulls are expected to select Memphis point guard Derrick Rose with the top pick in the NBA draft. In a few years, the Bulls will look back and say, "WTF!."

Rose was elevated to the top spot in the 2008 draft partly because the Bulls hold the top choice, Rose is a Chicago native, and partly because Rose played well in the Final Four and nearly led Memphis to a victory in the national championship game.

Some say the 6-1 Rose, tutored by former NBA point guard Rod Strickland, is a hybrid, a mixture of Jason Kidd and Deron Williams with a little bit of Chris Paul. I say that's crazy.

Rose has lottery-pick talent but I don't consider him the best player of the draft. He can't shoot, he's only an average passer and a poor free-throw shooter.

Continue reading "NBA DRAFT: DON'T PASS ON MICHAEL BEASLEY"

The real winners of the 2008 NBA draft were the Lopez twins from Stanford.

Robin Lopez, the 7-footer with some game, was taken by the New Jersey Nets with the 10th overall selection. Five picks later, his twin brother Robin (the 7-footer with no game), was chosen by the Phoenix Suns.

What a day for Mommy Lopez. Her baby boys got drafted and realized their NBA dreams. She'll be in tears once both sign their guaranted contracts. It's like winning the lotto...twice!

It was no surprise that Brook, the serious one in the family, was a first-rounder. He was Stanford's best player last season and should start immediately for the Jay-Z Nets. He'll follow the path taken by another Stanford Cardinal 7-footer with a twin brother in the NBA, Jason Collins. Do the Nets only send their scouts to Stanford University? Just wondering.

Continue reading "NBA DRAFT WINNERS AND LOSERS"