Chadd will appreciate this....

[Jason Harris 31]

As someone who has been a fan since their last championship of the 60's, it's been so long since the Celtics were relevant. I basically stopped watching basketball (which really is a great sport when it's played with a team focus) since the C's usually were on TV only twice a year, but it's been such a fun season to follow them.

By the way, I sure am glad they came back to win tonight's game, cuz I would have come on here bitching about the officiating. I have been watching for nearly forty years and I have NEVER seen an offensive foul for slightly sliding a shoulder to draw more contact from a defender who was going to crash into the player anyway. That was a 5 to 6 point swing, and when the Pistons went up by 10, I told The Big D that it looked like the C's were folding, so that was impressive to overcome that call.

(The funny part is I recorded the game, yet when I first turned on the TV with no sound, Doc Rivers was looking glum in the postgame press conference. I immediately thought the C's lost the game, so as they built a seven point lead with around two minutes left, I was thinking that this loss is going to sting!)

The other call that was unfathomable was Rasheed Wallace yelling at the ref "Don't call that spit!", swinging his arm in disgust, berating the ref for a full five seconds, and then berating him again down the court, with no Technical since it would have suspended him for Game 7; yet two plays later, Perkins yelled "Offensive Foul!" after a whistle, then swung his arm in disbelief when the call went the other way, and he was given a T. The point is it sometimes gets frustrating as a sports fan knowing the refs could call infractions on every play, yet they have periods throughout the game where they appear to be too one-sided. This happens in basketball, football and hockey, where you find yourself asking, "How the hell could you call that just now, when Player X did that to Play Y thirty seconds ago with no call??"

Again, I realize they could call fouls on every play, so when they make an egregiously bad call, it stands out.

[Chadd 916]

The NBA officials are the worst in any major sport. If anyone thinks Donaghy was the only one gambling on games, they're crazy. I can't even watch the sport anymore because it's pretty obvious that some of the guys have an agenda out there.

[Jason Harris 31]

There's no doubt that enough head-scratching calls occur to lead one to question whether there are agendas, but I think it's more because the refs seem to be influenced by the crowd. It definitely has been noticeable this postseason, where I've seen the home teams play much more aggressively, presumably because they innately know they'll can get away with more.

By the way, as much as it kills me to say this, I think the Lakers are the better team now that they have Pao Gasol (as well as Kobe playing better in the second half of the season), but I don't know how much I'd favor them by. What helps the Celts' cause is six full days off until the first game, then three until the second. That and whether Ray Allen is officially over his slump.

[Chadd 916]

The fact that Joey Crawford worked a playoff game with the Spurs proves how screwed up their officiating is.

[Doctor Hook 0]

See a lot more green being repped around town than ever before. BEAT LA!

[DCott 0]

I wish I could get excited about the Celtics, but I just find Basketball too boring. It is the least team-oriented (at least thse days) of the major sports, games are won and lost at the foul line, an dit's just too slow paced for me. I see a huge slam dunk that gets most people out of their seats as just another 2 points out of 100.

[Jason Harris 31]

I can understand that sentiment, but the reason the C's are going to the Finals is due to how much of a "team" they really are. An interesting factoid is they took the least amount of shots of any team this season, yet they had the most wins, the biggest point differential and, of course, are going to the Finals.

That's really amazing if you think about it, but they played an incredible team defense this year.

[dangle 0]

I can understand that sentiment, but the reason the C's are going to the Finals is due to how much of a "team" they really are. An interesting factoid is they took the least amount of shots of any team this season, yet they had the most wins, the biggest point differential and, of course, are going to the Finals.

It helps that they are in the east where the Atlanta Hawks got into the playoffs and they were below .500

[Jason Harris 31]

The Celts were 22-4 against the Western Conference this year and 3 straight losses came when Garnett returned from a 9-game injury. I went to the first of those losses in Denver and it was obvious the the C's were having a hard time integrating him back into the offenses, since they actually had gone 7-2 in his absence.

There's no doubt that being in the East helped their statistics, but not as much as most people would imagine at first glance.

[Jason Harris 31]

Wow, what a dismantling!

It was quickly evident that Kobe was easily the best player in this series, but the C's were the better team. Were it not for the injuries some of the Celtics sustained during the series, they probably could have clinched in L.A., but it ended up being sweeter by winning decisively at the Gahden.

[mrusse01 0]

Wow, what a dismantling!

It was quickly evident that Kobe was easily the best player in this series...

Was it?

I thought Kobe really tarnished his career with this series. Pierce outplayed him by a mile.

[Chadd 916]

Wow, what a dismantling!

It was quickly evident that Kobe was easily the best player in this series, but the C's were the better team. Were it not for the injuries some of the Celtics sustained during the series, they probably could have clinched in L.A., but it ended up being sweeter by winning decisively at the Gahden.

And Garnett still hasn't played to his potential. I would love to see him get the ball and say "I'm going to the net and you can't stop me." A nice drop step and power to the net or a quick spin off his man would make him utterly impossible to stop. I watched the entire game, something I normally have a hard time doing with the way the game is played anymore and it reminded me of why I loved basketball in the late 80s and early 90s. Back then, those guys worked hard and left absolutely everything on the court, win or lose. Too many guys were just going through the motions last night.

[dangle 0]

And Garnett still hasn't played to his potential. I would love to see him get the ball and say "I'm going to the net and you can't stop me." A nice drop step and power to the net or a quick spin off his man would make him utterly impossible to stop. I watched the entire game, something I normally have a hard time doing with the way the game is played anymore and it reminded me of why I loved basketball in the late 80s and early 90s. Back then, those guys worked hard and left absolutely everything on the court, win or lose. Too many guys were just going through the motions last night.

I couldn't agree more about Garnett. You said exactly what I think when I watch him.

[Jason Harris 31]

Wow, what a dismantling!

It was quickly evident that Kobe was easily the best player in this series...

Was it?

I thought Kobe really tarnished his career with this series. Pierce outplayed him by a mile.

I don't think you're being fair to Kobe. He outscored Pierce by 4 and slightly rebounded better, while Pierce had 1.3 more assists per game and shot better. It's hard to measure defense, since they guard different players.

What would be interesting is what a team of five Kobes would do against five Pierces. The Kobes would win, but it would be closer than most people would imagine. Pierce really grew up this season. He always had a strong will to win, but it usually manifested itself in selfish play. This year, he seldom forced up bad shots, yet took over when the defense left him creases.

[Jason Harris 31]

And Garnett still hasn't played to his potential. I would love to see him get the ball and say "I'm going to the net and you can't stop me." A nice drop step and power to the net or a quick spin off his man would make him utterly impossible to stop.

I recognize his game is more of a jump shooting game, but it was frustrating earlier in the series to see him not go straight to the basket, since it was obvious the Lakers had a terrible interior defense. Hell, Leon Powe scored 21 points 15 minutes because the Lakers had no answer. Can you imagine how many points Garnett could have scored if he made one fake, then spun to the basket?

[Chadd 916]

And Garnett still hasn't played to his potential. I would love to see him get the ball and say "I'm going to the net and you can't stop me." A nice drop step and power to the net or a quick spin off his man would make him utterly impossible to stop.

I recognize his game is more of a jump shooting game, but it was frustrating earlier in the series to see him not go straight to the basket, since it was obvious the Lakers had a terrible interior defense. Hell, Leon Powe scored 21 points 15 minutes because the Lakers had no answer. Can you imagine how many points Garnett could have scored if he made one fake, then spun to the basket?

He used to go to the net when he was younger. I have no idea why he doesn't do it anymore. You hate to assume it's because the jump shot is easier but that's the knee jerk assumption.

[mrusse01 0]

Wow, what a dismantling!

It was quickly evident that Kobe was easily the best player in this series...

Was it?

I thought Kobe really tarnished his career with this series. Pierce outplayed him by a mile.

I don't think you're being fair to Kobe. He outscored Pierce by 4 and slightly rebounded better, while Pierce had 1.3 more assists per game and shot better. It's hard to measure defense, since they guard different players.

What would be interesting is what a team of five Kobes would do against five Pierces. The Kobes would win, but it would be closer than most people would imagine. Pierce really grew up this season. He always had a strong will to win, but it usually manifested itself in selfish play. This year, he seldom forced up bad shots, yet took over when the defense left him creases.

Technically, Kobe is a superior player to probably anybody who's ever played. He'd probably win the All-Time 1 on 1 tournament.

The problem is, in real life you have to have him on a team with other people. The man is quite simply a terrible team player; you can see him berating his teammates in public, he clearly tunes out the coaching staff, people just don't like him, it's obvious. This was the season where he had apparently put that all behind him and was the leader that he needs to be to win a title as the alpha dog on a team. The Finals exposed that theory as a complete sham.

[LegoDoom 0]

The problem is, in real life you have to have him on a team with other people. The man is quite simply a terrible team player; you can see him berating his teammates in public, he clearly tunes out the coaching staff, people just don't like him, it's obvious. This was the season where he had apparently put that all behind him and was the leader that he needs to be to win a title as the alpha dog on a team. The Finals exposed that theory as a complete sham.

Going by this post, I'm not sure how this series tarnished his career.... it simply exposed him for what most people already knew.

[mack 44]

I thankfully haven't seen a Lakers game in years, but since when has the coaching staff gotten onto him? There's the old story about how Jackson and the other coaches would rip into players but never said anything to Kobe, even when he wasn't yet established and had O'Neal on the team. Jackson's reasoning was something about not wanting to take him out of his mindset and hurt his killer instinct or some crap.

[LegoDoom 0]

I'm a little tired of people on Phil Jackson's jock. The guy "coached" championship teams that consisted of Jordan/Pippen and Shaq/Kobe. Sorry if I don't consider that to be a monumental feat.

[mack 44]

Though he didn't exactly win championships with talentless teams, there's something to be said for keeping egos in check enough to play together as well as those teams did. I'm sick of the praise as well, especially with the Triangle that he can't even use in LA most of the time.

[Chadd 916]

Though he didn't exactly win championships with talentless teams, there's something to be said for keeping egos in check enough to play together as well as those teams did. I'm sick of the praise as well, especially with the Triangle that he can't even use in LA most of the time.

I'm not so sure he kept the egos in check all that much. Jordan was always THE guy, no questions there but Kobe obviously has an ego that is not been checked in any way shape or form.

[mack 44]

He kept it to a point where they didn't actually want to be traded away from the team though. Then again winning is the best medicine and this happened in a time when players actually wanted championships.

[Thockey17 1]

Technically, Kobe is a superior player to probably anybody who's ever played. He'd probably win the All-Time 1 on 1 tournament.

No and No.