Charles Barkley had to pay a $40,000 finance charge for his latest gambling debt??  And to think I complain about the $1.50 convenience fee when I use an ATM that’s not my own bank.

PJ Brown was a masterful pickup for Danny Ainge.

I’m not sure who the Bulls will pick at #1, but they can’t go wrong with either Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley.  I’m inclined to think they’ll go with the local boy, Rose.  With the emergence of Chris Paul and Deron Williams, teams will need a quality ball-handler to compete.  Kirk Hinrich has been a bust and would be much better suited as a backup.  Similarly, either draft pick will fit in nicely with the Heat at number two. 

The Chicago Bulls head coaching position suddenly becomes a lot more coveted.  Do you think Mike D’Antoni’s thinking he jumped the gun by taking that Knicks job?

As if there were any doubt, Detroit and Boston are clearly the two best TEAMS in the Eastern Conference.

I had totally forgotten that Flip Saunders used to coach KG in Minnesota.  You’d think that would work at least somewhat in Detroit’s favor.  Yeah, right, like anyone has an answer for the Big Ticket.

One sportscaster tonight commended these Detroit Pistons for accomplishing so much with ‘no hall-of-famers.’  Hmmmm…. are you sure about that?  None of those guys in the Hall?  I think it’s a little too early to definitely say that.  Billups has a Finals MVP under his belt and ‘Sheed is one of the most versatile players the game has seen in recent years.  If they manage to win another title, I’d beg to differ with that statement.

Why is the Fleet Center hazier than any other arena?  Do they allow smoking in there like they did back in the day?   That’s why all those old black and white photographs turned out looking so cool.

Playing an intense Game 7 against Cleveland two days ago does not seem to have slowed the Celtics down one bit.

Jack and Coke is a truly, delectable beverage.

Rodney Stuckey is good.  Where did this kid come from?

Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breem were at Fenway for Jon Lester’s no-hitter last night.  How cool is that?

In the first half, Detroit’s taken significantly more free throws, yet the Celtics have more points in the paint.  Go figure.

Tayshaun Prince was an absolutely perfect fit for this Piston team.  Keep in mind Tubby Smith recruited both he and Rajon Rondo (that one’s for Bluegrass).

Fifteen people exchanging a Heineken makes me think of warm beer and backwash.  What exactly were they thinking with that commercial?

Matt Ryan’s rich.

In the first half, Boston shot 51% from the floor.  Detroit shot 39% and only trailed by a single point.  One need look no further than free throw shooting discrepancy (Detroit had 11 more points from the line).

Where are my Orlando Magic exit interview questions?  ‘Nique, get on the ball.

Did Jay Bilas say you can’t make a mistake with the number one pick??  Perhaps he’s never heard of Kwame Brown or Michael Olowokandi.

LeBron needs to add a post-up game to his repertoire.

This Hulk movie should be much better than the first.  No truth to the rumor that I turned down the role as body double due to other obligations.

It’s nice to see professional basketball players on both teams consistently knock down 17-footers.  Well, that is, everyone except Ray Allen.

Rip Hamilton can NOT guard Paul Pierce.

To celebrate my thousandth viewing of KG’s Gatorade commercial, I thought I’d share with you my favorite all-time KG commercial. 

With this game getting chippy in the fourth quarter, who do you think will be the first player ejected from a game in this series?

Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace have been among the top five power forwards in the league for the past decade.  I could watch these guys go at it for hours.

With six assists and five steals, Rajon Rondo is slowly starting to prove me wrong.  As is Doc Rivers ability to coach this team.

The Celts looked good tonight.  I’m not sure they can beat the Lakers, but they look pretty darn good.

Five road games, five road losses for the Boston Celtics.  This same Boston team had only ten road losses this season, the best in the NBA.  In only eleven post-season games, they’ve already lost half that many.

Make no bones about it.  Danny Ainge assembled this Celtic team with one intention and one intention only:  to win an NBA title.  We’ve heard Kevin Garnett say anything less would be a disappointment nearly as many times as we’ve seen his Gatorade commercial.

Lofty expectations for sure, and once thought to be realistic…. until we all saw the product they’ve put on the floor lately.  After boasting the regular season’s best record, the C’s are now 6-5 on the road and yearn for the friendly confines of the Fleet Center after each loss.

After listening to Magic, Charles and Kenny on Monday night’s “Inside the NBA,” they all, without directly throwing Doc Rivers under the bus, claimed that this team is still searching for an identity, that they're not getting the shots they want.  Magic aptly pointed out that Rajon Rondo cannot be taking more shots than both Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.  And he’s right.  While their presence on the floor might free Rondo up for shots, he should still be the facilitator, not the shot-taker for the “Charles told me not to call them the” Big Three.  On the road, their offense is stagnant.  They scored twelve points in last night’s fourth quarter.  Perhaps it's time for Doc Rivers, a la Gene Hackman in "Hoosiers," to pull out his measuring tape and measure the free throw line to the basket and the height of the rim to the floor to show his team that courts away from the Fleet Center are the same size as at home.

Someone needs to be held accountable.  Yes, Doc pulled Rondo off the floor after a late and ill-advised three-point attempt and told him not to take any more ‘hero shots.’  But it is ultimately the coach’s responsibility to direct this team and help them find that identity.  How hard can that be?  They’ve played 90+ games together and are all veterans and potential Hall-Of-Famers.  Doc is a former point guard.

Personally, I think the fact that none of these three can handle the ball hurts their ability to run their offense.  Kobe can bring the ball up the floor.  LeBron always has the handle at the end of the game.  The fact that those three can’t do that hurts their chances.  Again, that’s just one man’s opinion.

Look, I’m no Celtics fan, but I do like the team they’ve assembled.  That being said, they need to elevate their game.  Like KG says “playoffs is playoffs!”  While the Celtics may only need to hold serve throughout, I’m sure they and their fans would cherish a road victory like a newborn baby at this point.  No Celtic fan in their right mind wants any part of LeBron, the Pistons or Kobe Bryant in a Game Seven no matter where they’re playing or how many clovers they have on their uniform.  Anything can happen, and probably will to a Celtic team with shaken confidence.

Whatever the problem is, Doc better figure it out soon.  While anything less than a title might be a disappointment, anything less than the Eastern Conference Finals might just get Doc fired.