... 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

DETROIT- When the Detroit Pistons fired coach Flip Saunders and hired assistant coach Michael Curry to replace him, my first reaction was "They're finally done"

Because I view this move as a downgrade, not an upgrade. Curry worked under Flip his entire three years with the Pistons, but that doesn't mean success. In my opinion, it won't.

Now, with a no-name head coach, I believe that the Pistons 6-year streak of making the conference finals is over. There are too many developing powers in the East right now for them to get back. Orlando, Cleveland, Washington, Toronto, and even Philadelphia are all on their ways to becoming great.

There are several easy things that I think the Pistons should do in the next week prior to the Draft. One, trade your first-round pick (#29) and Chauncey Billups to the Golden State Warriors for their first-round pick (#14). Then, with that draft pick, draft Georgetown center, Roy Hibbert to back-up Antonio McDyess for the first 20-30 games, then start him for the remainder of the season.

They might have a chance to make it back with these moves, but I doubt it. If the Pistons drop below the #2 seed in the East, they might have to play Boston before the conference finals, most likely ending their streak.

Here is how I think the 2008-2009 Eastern Conference Playoff seedings will look:

1. Boston Celtics
2. Orlando Magic
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Detroit Pistons
5. Toronto Raptors
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Washington Wizards
8. Philadelphia 76ers

According to these predictions, Detroit would have to play Toronto in the first round. The Raptors could definitely pull that off, but I would say the Pistons win that series.

Here are the rest of my predictions:

Boston over Philadelphia in first round
Orlando over Washington in first round
Cleveland over Atlanta in first round

So, the Celtics and Pistons would meet in th second round. Boston would win that in 5 or 6, thus ending the Eastern Conference Finals run.

It will end this coming season. Just watch.

If anyone cares, here are the rest of my Eastern Conference Playoff Predictions for 2008-2009.

Orlando over Cleveland in the second round.
Boston over Orlando in the East Finals.

I’m hoping the Pistons beat the Celtics in round 2, because the Magic could beat the tar out of ‘em in the East Finals. GO MAGIC!!!

Thanks for reading! Take care!

-Mike Greenspire

Yeah, at least I'm not the only one out there that knows that the Lakers are gonna win it all.

Here are the current estimated poll answers on an NBA poll in the NBA section of the site. These numbers estimate by votes who will win the NBA title.

Lakers-----------------61%
Celtics-----------------approx. 25%
Pistons----------------approx. 14%

Those numbers are incredible! That means that the country thinks that the Lakers have more than twice as good a chance to win it all than the #1 overall seed, Boston.

These are just numbers, mind you, but they speak the truth!

GO LAKERS!!!

-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

Tonight’s game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals is an extremely pivotal game for both teams. They have both shown that they can win on the road in this series, Detroit pulling off Game 2 and Boston doing likewise in Game 3.

The situation may be this: If Boston wins, this is most likely gonna be a 5-game series. However, if Detroit wins, this could just as easily turn into a 7-game series. Ya never know what exactly is gonna happen. That’s why you gotta watch this, tonight at 8:00 on ESPN.

The Pistons need to get one man unparticular involved early: Rodney Stuckey. They say he’s a carbon copy of Chauncey Billups, and if that’s true, it would be nice to have two of them on the same floor at once now, wouldn’t it? That’s the key for Detroit; get Stuckey into it early.

The key for Boston has to be as simple as this: Get the ball to Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Ray Allen has been way too inconsistent for me to trust him in this big o####ame. He scored (in order of games) 9, 25, and 11. I don't know what to expect from him. However, in this series, KG averages 24 points per game, and Pierce averages 19.7 points per game. If you ask me, that’s the recipe for success to focus on. Rondo averages 11 ppg, which isn't bad against Billups.

I think Detroit will win Game 4, but not by much, by the skin of their teeth, to be more specific. Detroit-88, Boston-84.

-Mike Greenspire