... I forgot about the NBA Finals. I completely forgot that the Celtics and Lakers were playing last night until I saw the ticker on ESPN.

Well, luckily, I apparently didn't miss a whole lot, but at least the Lakers were winning.

I was watching the US Open until 10:20 and was cheering for Rocco to win it, and then Tiger made that birdie shot.

"Unbelievable. I knew he'd make it. I knew it."

That's all Rocco Mediate had to say after Tiger Woods drained the putt on the 18th hole to force an 18-hole playoff later today.

Anyways, I pick Rocco to win by 2 shots over Tiger today.

Now, back to the story. It was 10:30 now. I ran to the cupboard and got some potato chips and a pop and watched the game. I was in a state of happiness for some reason. It just seemed like nothing could go wrong, absolutely nothing.

Well, it did rain, but barely. And there was some really cool flash and ground lightning going on. Or, it might have been the kids two doors down flashing their toy lightsabers up that tree...

Anyways, I can hardly complain about the rain when the Lakers eventually won, but there were some slight bumps along the 3rd and 4th quarters. Our defense looked tired and unhealthy again, but at least for the first time in the 2008 NBA Finals, the Lakers won the 3d quarter, outscoring the C's 24-18.

Well, now that the series is back in Beantown, I don't think the Lakers can win 2 against Boston on the road. I was talking to my Dad yesterday wishing him a Happy Father's Day and he brought up the Lakers.

He asked me "Is the beatdown tonight?"
I said "No, not 'til Tuesday"
My Dad said "Oh, the Lakers aren't playing tonight?"

Not a trace of sarcasm, either. (sigh)

I would definitely worry if I'm Kobe or Phil (Jackson) or Jack (Nicholson), but I actually think we'll be able to pull one off in Boston. It obviously has to be Game 6. It'll be tough, but somehow I thnk that Phil is gonna do something in practice (We' talkin' 'bout practice -A.I.) this week that gets our defense palying like an NBA team, not a bunch of kindergarteners.

Lakers win Game 6. Celts win Game 7. Let me hear your thoughts.

-Mike Greenspire

Here are the current standings in my NBA Playoff Game (prior to Game 1).

Here are the picks for the NBA Finals (Celtics vs. Lakers)

If any of the participants want to change their picks, please do it now before tip-off. I have already changed mine form Lakers in 6 to Lakers in 5.

-Mike Greenspire

The Los Angeles Lakers are up 3-1 after a very controversial call Tuesday night in San Antonio at the end of game 4.

Joey Crawford, the referee (whom I think is one of the best refs around in any sport) made the call that Brent Barry was not fouled by Derek Fisher, and the game ended on a missed hail-mary shot from way downtown.

Well, yesterday, the NBA reviewed the call and said that it should have been called as a two shot foul. Now, considering Barry made both of those shots, the game may have had a different outcome, but I doubt it. If you haven't led for an entire 48 minutes, I doubt that you will be able to gather enough momentum from 2 foul shots to go into overime and win.

So, with that said, I don't think it would have changed the outcome at all. Hell, I don't even think Barry would have sunk both free throws, but we'll never know, will we?

Even if the Spurs don't win this series, I doubt that Spurs fans will hold that call in their memories as what cost them their season. I think that they are very respectable and decent fans, and wouldn't bame the bad call on the Lakers or their fans.

I'm 100% certain that the Lakers aren't letting the thought of the NBA Finals get in the way of their game tonight, so I'm gonna think about it for them!

Say the Lakers advance and sit around until June 5th waiting for the Celtics and Pistons to hurry up, yada yada yada. Here is what I believe would happen to each possible NBA Finals opponent of the Lakers:

Lakers vs. Celtics
The Celtics get the majority of home game sin this match-up, which up until last week probably meant that they were gonan win. Uh, wrong!

The Pistons, who are a far inferior team to the current boys in Purple and Gold, defeated the Celtics in Boston by 6. Now, if Boston keeps playing how they have played, then I firmly believe the Lakers can steal at least one game in the Garden.

Lakers in 6.

Lakers vs. Pistons
The Pistons make noise every year, but when the get to the East Finals, they lose. If that changes, I doubt that they will be ready enough to face as fast and smart of a team as the Lakers.

If Tayshaun Prince has to guard Kobe, then Kobe will jus pull out his bag of tricks like he did in Game 1 of the West Finals, scoring only 2 in the first half, and exploding in the 3rd and 4th quarters, scoring 25. You can bank on something similar from him and the rest of the Lakers if they have to play Detroit.

Lakers in 5.

Thanks for reading! Take care!

-Mike Greenspire

Did anyone happen to watch the San Antonio Spurs beat down n the Los Angeles Lakers last night. Well, I did, and I was disappointed with the lack of effort the Lakers put into the game.

That is, until there was only 2 minutes and 56 seconds remaining. Then they got aggressive, hoho! We have to wait until we’re down by 20 to start doing good, Kobe said so!

What the f***?

Seriously?

You gotta be kidding me.

They were more relaxed than a drunk guy, high on anesthesia for 44 minutes and 4 seconds. Then, when somebody asked himself “Self, can we lose by 20?” Self said “NO!” so, they only lost by 19 due to the kinda play you wanna see outta guys making millions to win. But, they only used that kinda lay for roughly 3 minutes!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOIN’?

I’m glad I didn’t bet on the Lakers, because I would have had I found a Spurs fan somewhere. Whew, at least I’m off the hook there.

I want to see more aggressiveness and hard-nosed ballin’, or I’m gonna wait until I read the paper the next morning to find out who won, Kobe, so get your and your teammates acts together, and perform like you did in Games 1 and 2.

No money lost there, but the Pens better get something going quick or I’ma lose some serious moolah.

-Mike Greenspire

The All-NBA First Teams is:

Kobe Bryant
LeBron James
Chris Paul
Kevin Garnett

And…