Don't Worry, There's Time

Here’s a quick disclaimer:

To Laker fans, get down from that ledge. Don’t be so shocked. The Celtics are actually not that bad. That is to say, they’re damn good. But remember, they’ve been here before… against the Hawks… and the Cavaliers. So calm down. You have the current MVP and he hasn’t shifted into “I’m going to kill everyone on this team if we don’t win” mode.

To Celtic fans, calm the hell down. Remember Atlanta and Cleveland. I’m not saying luck had a lot to do with it but you guys are damn lucky to have home court advantage with that atrocious playoff road record. These next three games are the real test.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I can begin. Obviously, unless you’re suffering a power outage too, the Celtics have gone up by two games against the Lakers. I said the Lakers would win in seven games and I stand by that statement. The Lakers are (usually) a deeper team and have more offensive weapons for the Celtics to deal with. However, you wouldn’t know it by the last two games. Kobe simply isn’t Kobe, and no one else is really stepping up. Pau has taken a step back and is having trouble dealing with KG. The Celtics bench has come alive and their younger players are playing like seasoned vets. Leon Powe’s Game 2 performance has to go down as one of the most efficient NBA Finals games for an under-25 player. 21 points and 2 rebounds (6-7 shooting, 9-13FT) in only 15 minutes. If he can keep that up, my prediction’s going to be wrong. The one knock on the Celtics is Doc Rivers. I still don’t think he can manage a rotation well. Sam Cassell did absolutely nothing in six minutes and there was no reason for Rajon Rondo to play 42 minutes when you have Eddie House and Tony Allen on the bench. And with PJ Brown being as old as he is, why not give “Big Baby” Davis some run, especially when you’re up by more than 15?? PJ Brown is one of the oldest players in the league at 38 and he contributed six points and three boards in 23 minutes.

Another thing I’ve noticed and everyone else should have is the difference in foul shooting. How could David Stern sit there and watch the Celtics take 28 more free throws? Had the difference is foul shots not been so huge, Game 2 might have gone a different way. While I can’t really speculate on what might have happened, the Lakers only lost by six.

So now what happens? The Lakers go back home for three games… unless they get swept, then its actually two games. If the end of Game 2 was any indication, Kobe won’t show up… but I think Black Mamba might. I don’t know what he said to his teammates but it looked like it worked. Sasha Vujacic hit a three, then Vladimir Radmanovic made a steal and took five steps on his way to a dunk that cut the Celtics’ lead to four. Kobe hit a couple of clutch free throws to cut the lead to two after a Rajon Rondo missed jumper. Posey was fouled on the other end and calmly hit his free throws to extend the lead and eventually put away the game.

If the Lakers can play an entire game the way they played the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, this should be a hell of a series. History isn’t on their side, though. The Lakers have never come back from a 2-0 deficit in the Finals, and the Celtics are 7-0 all time when they lead 2-0 in the Finals.

Like I have done in the past blogs, here’s how I feel about a few things going on in the sports world.

– The Bears cut Cedric Benson. He’s had two DUIs in the past few months and its not like he ever made an impact on the field, so goodbye Benson, hello either Shaun Alexander or Matt Forte.

– Ken Stabler got arrested for a DUI too. Isn’t he a little old for things like this? I guess once a Raider, always a Raider.

– My guy Michael Strahan finally decided to call it quits. I’m happy for him. The 7-time Pro Bowler is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He’s fifth all-time in sacks, holds the single season record, and he won a championship. May he be as successful in all future endeavors as he was on the field.

– Terrell Owens was placed in the reasonable clause testing program for performance enhancing substances. Dude, this would all be averted if you would pick up your phone.

– Ken Griffey Jr has finally hit his 600th home run. One can only watch Griffey and wonder what he could have accomplished if he was always healthy.

– The Mets finished a series against the Giants and things were looking up. They had won 7 of their last 9. Then they got swept in a four game series to the Padres for the first time since 1990. The Padres. A team they should have and could have swept. But no. They got swept. Wanna know the scores? 2-1, 2-1, 2-1, and 8-6. History was made. Yeah, thats right. The first time a team has won 4 straight games by a score of 2-1. Obviously, the first 2-1 win wasn’t against the Mets, but if it had been, would you be surprised? That said, I still don’t think Willie Randolph should be fired. I think the baseball gods had something to do with this.

– In a recent wave of coaching changes, Flip Saunders was fired and Michael Curry was promoted, Vinny Del Negro is about to accept the Bulls coaching job, and Terry Porter is the new coach of the Suns. No love for Avery Johnson?

– Floyd Mayweather Jr has decided to hang up the gloves at 31. Is this just his way of going out on top or is he afraid of Oscar De La Hoya? Personally, I’d go with the latter. Do you really think he’d pass on making over $20 million? I mean, he doesn’t really need it, but more money is still more money.

– Kelly Pavlik beat the snot out of some Welshman in three rounds. Man he’s good.

– Now that the Red Wings have won the Stanley Cup, Dominik Hasek retired again. This time, I’m pretty sure he won’t be back.

Any questions or comments? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com