So Much for Lakers in 5

That prediction still slays me. "Lakers in 5" so-called experts predicted, practically tripping over one another to say it. The arguments were simple. The Western Conference was better than the East, the Lakers had Kobe* and the Celtics struggled putting away the Atlanta freakin' Hawks.

*I get that Kobe is a great talent, but I can't count the amount of close-ups I saw of him during Game 2. It was insane. It seemed after every play there was a closeup of Kobe pouting, or glaring at whichever teammate made the last stupid play. Seriously ABC, the action is on the court, not in Kobe's array of faces, however comical it may be.

What nobody seemed to consider was the fact that the Boston Celtics had the best record in the NBA, which last I checked, included the Western Conference. Listing to the build-up of this series you would think that the Lakers were a 65 win team, and the Celtics were a middle-of-the-road team that lucked into the finals.*

*See Cavaliers, Cleveland : 2007 NBA Playoffs

You would be wrong, dead wrong. For all of the smug predictions made of a Laker romp* nobody seemed to consider that the Celtics might want to win a title too. That they may use their physical style of play** to abuse the Lakers (specifically Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom) on the glass, and wear down Kobe's supporting cast, forcing him into I-Gotta-Score-100 mode.

*I'm looking at you Bill Plaschke and Jay Mariotti

**Boy did they. The Lakers looked like they had gotten collectively punched in the face right after tip off. Asides from Kobe the rest of the Lakers played like they were thinking "I thought we agreed to 2-hand touch!" It was kinda embarrassing to watch. Even Kobe stopped driving after a while, although that may have been a result of some whistle-happy refs. I'm not a Laker fan, but when Leon Powe shoots more free-throws than your entire team, you may have a gripe. Even so, the Lakers were gift-wrapped Game 4 against the Spurs, so as far as I am concerned, it evens out.

Well, surprise surprise. The Celtics, with the help of some shady calls, clotheslined the Lakers in both games in Boston, and now the series goes to LA tonight. I expect Kobe to shoot anywhere between 30 and 300 free-throws and the entire Celtics team to foul out by 3:23 of the 3rd quarter.* Not to say that the Lakers don't deserve a few hometown calls after Game 2, but you just know that these 3 games in LA are going to be brutal. Hell the NBA may stick Popovich on the Boston bench, then have Joey Crawford ref all three games.

*Not periods Mike Breen, for god's sake. Hockey has periods, basketball and football have quarters.

Needless to say, I have the Lakers winning tonight, and in Game 4. I also have the over/under line of "Lakers are winning the title!!!" stories at 35,000*.

*Not to sound like a grouch, but could ESPN for just freakin' once in their existence focus on the story that is happening, not the one they want to happen. I mean, the Celtics win the first two games, and the focus is how the Lakers can improve, and why Boston will lose the next three games in LA. It's disgusting. It's like they don't even try anymore, if what happens doesn't fit their pre-selected tone for the series, it's ignored. If Boston wins one of the games in LA (and they have a great chance to) I think ESPN may implode on itself.

Thing is, I don't hate the Lakers. Nor do I love the Celtics. What I do hate is the fact that nobody seemed to give Boston any kind of chance at all. That's stupid. Kobe is an amazing player, and when he goes into that extra gear (or ten) that he has, it is truly amazing to see him play. The fourth quarter of Game 2 proved that. If Kobe and the Lakers pull that game out, it's the greatest comeback ever. Even though they lost, it was amazing how he never stopped, it's like everyone on the court got together and said "Ok, this game is over, but don't tell Kobe, it'll kill him." Funny thing is, he almost willed his team to victory.

That is the part where Boston has to worry, if a scenario like what happened in the last 8 minutes of Game 2 happens in LA, the Lakers will pull it off. They feed off that crowd, and after the Game 2 disgrace, they will have the refs firmly in their corner. What Boston needs to do is keep the rotation short. Rivers should be sending out Pierce, Garnett, Allen, Rondo, Perkins as the starters with Brown and Powe getting between 10-15 minutes, and maybe Cassell for a few minutes (so long as he promises not to shoot the ball at all.) Tony Allen should not be allowed within 50 feet of the sidelines, get a restraining order if that's what it takes.

Game 3 is tonight, I expect the Lakers to romp, and the media to breathe a big sigh of relief, because god-forbid the Celtics go and ruin their pre-made story lines again.