Good Analysis Coming Out of Long Beach

How effectively can Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and (if healthy) Tony Allen keep Kobe Bryant from scoring as readily as he did against Utah and Phoenix?

Can the Lakers consistently stay in front of Rondo, especially in transition?

Will the much more physical nature of the Celtics' post players, and the team's vast defensive superiority over the first three teams the Lakers faced, hamper the effectiveness that Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum have displayed this spring?

If the answers prove: "Very," "No" and "Yes," to those questions, the Celtics will win the series in six games.

If two of those answers favor the Lakers, though, the Lakers could wrap it up as quickly as five games.

--Press-Telegram

I might add, as I will suggest later, one more question:

Does KG elevate his game close to 100%?

Jerry West: Kobe is the Best Laker Ever

"Kobe's the best player in Laker history," says Jerry West, casting aside such other worthies to such an exalted throne as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, George Mikan and even himself. "He does things on the court that are simply amazing. And he's gotten better every year. He's improved every facet of his game, which is what great players do throughout their careers. He just keeps adding to it.

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Did Nate Just Play His Way into the Rotation?

If you're a Knicks fan, you're happy for Mr. Robinson. It's like seeing your kid grow up and graduate college. Actually, it's more like seeing your kid grow up, graduate college, flip you off and drive away in an expensive car with another, cooler family.

--Wall Street Journal

Doc's playoff rotation has been tight . . . and successful. The starters plus Sheed, Baby, and TA. Throw in Michael Finley for a minute here and two minutes there, and call it a day. Except when you let Nate Robinson escape from the dungeon and he responds with one of those classic Celtic bench performances provided by little used scrubs at critical junctures in the post-season. In other words, it's a good bet Nate Robinson is now part of Celtics lore, especially if the Celtics win banner 18 against the purple and especially if he makes a meaningful contribution in the Finals.

But will he?

Nate has been a little Sam Cassellish to me. Don't get me wrong. I'm not Hatin' on Nate. If you've read this blog for any time, you know that I still defend Sam Cassell's end-of-season performance for the green. In his first game with the Celtics, he dropped the game-winning three on the Spurs (on the road, no less), and played pretty well at home in the first round. Cassell had his share of disappointing performances, too. And that's what makes Nate's tenure with Boston "Cassellish." He's up and down and a bit unpredictable.

This is not what you need in the NBA Finals, particularly when the Finals start on the road, where a 3-point deficit can become 18 in the blink of an eye, aided by point-guard boneheadedness. It's no secret that most players play better at home in the playoffs. Often it's a difference of night and day. It says here that Doc didn't just wait for the right playoff game to insert Nate, he waited for the right home playoff game to do so. Now with the Finals starting in LA, Doc has a bit of dilemma, made more difficult by the fact that Tony Allen, the back-up point guard Doc employed for most of the post-season, will likely be spending a few tours of duty guarding Kobe.

Who plays the point then? Nate? On the road? Did his game 6 performance in Boston constitute a moment that the Celtics' bench rides into the Finals? Or did his forgettable second-half performance in game 6 represent his return to earth from the rarefied air of quarter number 2?

I'm gonna say Doc plays Nate in the first half of game 1, but keeps him on a short leash.

What say you?

Who All Will Guard Kobe?

Do we start out with Pierce on Bryant and Jesus on Artest or vice versa? I don't know, and, really, I don't care. Try it one way and then the other. See what happens. What I do care about are DKDs (Designated Kobe Defenders) 3, 4 and 5. In 2008, we only needed to go three deep. The third DKD proved to be a difference maker in Game 4, which decided the series. His name? James Posey.

Nails has moved on, and the question is, who do we have to replace him?

It says here that we've still got plenty.

Tony Allen is undersized, but physical. He'll be sure to use his fouls in pushing Kobe around. After TA comes Marquis Daniels. Thinner but longer, Squisy has a chance to prove why we signed him in the first place. Having received a free pass during the regular season because he has "good hair," he will now be counted on to use the full length of his body to frustrate #24.UPDATE: 5/31. Doc says Marquis is out indefinitely. Perhaps the whole series. Boooooooooooooo!

Finally, we have the most intriguing member of the DKDs, Michael Finley. At 6-7, Finley stands the tallest of the three. At 37, Finley may also be the wisest. Perhaps most importantly, Finley can drain the 3 ball. No Kobe playing free safety to offer help defense when he's guarding Mike.

But is Finley too old to play D?

We're not talking about lots of minutes, and we're only asking for short spurts. No one doubts that Finely is still in good shape. All he needs to do his channel his energy and his length for 5 or so minutes every game. I think he'll make a meaningful contribution on D. But he if can't, we've still got four other guys to throw at the Fakers' star.

Paul Pierce, Where the Hell have You Been?

There was a certain energy about Paul Pierce as he walked off the TD Garden floor following the Celtics' 104-80 win over the Bobcats on Wednesday night.This is a healthy Paul Pierce, a lively Paul Pierce. It's hard to believe this is the same guy who watched from the sidelines just four short days ago. But he's back now, and when the captain's feeling good, the whole team feels good.

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The season started with me exhorting Paul Pierce to live up to his self-proclaimed status as an all-time great by hoisting this team on his back on the way to regular season MVP honors. Even NBA.com said Pierce was right there with Kobe and LeBron in the fourth quarter. Doc Rivers chimed in, too. But long before he started getting injured, Paul Pierce was already starting to fall off the MVP radar. It then occurred to me that, God forbid, Pierce was showing signs of old age.

While the MVP talk is kaput, talk about Paul Pierce as premiere player, especially in big games, is alive and well. John Havlicek performed at a high level in fits and spurts through the end of his career, when he retired at age 37. Asking Pierce to become the old Pierce, the intestinal fortitude of this team, isn't asking a lot. It's just asking him to be himself. Hopefully, last night was the first in a series of such nights that don't end until June.

Random Drive-Bys (Lakers Edition)

Faker fans weigh in on the state of the team.

Sign Odom already, in order to repeat we need him back, the bench is nothing without him. Oh and remember we have Bynum who is injury prone.

Looks like we may not get to keep Lamar, but at least we have that Playboy Mansion superstar Andrew Bynum. It will be interesting to see when the bum gets hurt this year now that he is on a big contract. Wish LA could trade him for a bag of chips to get rid of that toxic contract.

I could care less if Odom walks. Worst case scenario your core is Bryant, Gasol, Artest. He's not as productive or consistent as Atest so why should the Lakers pay more, a premium on his knowledge of the Triangle? Please, Phil still takes shot at his hoops IQ with respect to the Triangle and he's been in it for 4 years. Goodbye, Lamar.

Sad to say Odom is an asset which never blossomed. He will always be a "what could have been guy" with any team as he is not focused and certainly doesn't play with heart just like wasted talents such as Vince Carter and Chris Webber.

Lakers could even be greater than Bulls (Mike, Scottie and Rodman) with their current line-up (Kobe, Pau, Lamar). But with Lamar just being contented to do barreling offensive fouls instead of developing more moves and use his height, athleticism and a bit of smart outside shots.

Come on Laker fans. Stop hating on Lamar just because he wants what he's worth. Odom isn't worth 10 million yet bynum is worth 12 million plus? Give him his due. Once he signs you will all be loving him again. Calm down.

Bynum is just lost out there. Odom is a key to the teams success. We need him!!! You guys aren't true Laker fans!!

Kobe & Kevin Blackistone

After listening to Kevin Blackistone drone on about all the things Kobe Bryant can do on a basketball court, I think I understand why the MVP voters in the media are so drawn to Kobe.

"He can score at will."

Cool.

He couldn't really do it against the Cs this year, having shot 12 of 46 over the course of two games in which the Lakers lost by a combined total of more than 30 points.

But I will concede that against everybody else, Kobe can score the rock.

And that makes him MVP?

It makes him fun to watch, no doubt. Just like it made Dominique fun to watch in 1988 when the Hawks won 50+ games.

But MVP?

Whatever.

Kobe Leads League in Technicals

With two very pointless technical fouls against Charlotte this week, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant reached 15 for the season. One more and he draws a one-game suspension. Bryant leads the league in this dubious category, followed by Ricky Davis and Rasheed Wallace, each with 11.

And NBA writers will reward this clown with an MVP award?

Kobe for MVP

Bryant has been terrific and deserving, surpassing career averages in field goal and three-point shooting, steals, assists and rebounds. He's taking fewer shots than at any time in his previous six seasons but is second in the league in scoring (to James), averaging 28.2 points per game. His rebounding (6.0) is his best in five years (6.9 in 2002-03), his field-goal shooting (46 percent) is his highest in six years (47 in 2001-02), steals (2.0) second most in his career (2.2 in '02-03).

At 29, a year older than when Jordan won his first championship with the Bulls, Bryant is right there, the best player in the NBA and the player who overwhelmingly should be voted MVP.

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Needless to say, I didn't pen this.

The MVP BS continues...

Gasoless Bryant Loses Three of Four

KG was the MVP front runner until he got injured and the Celtics went 7-2 during the games he missed. After he came back, suddenly it was as if Garnett had fallen off the face of the earth as far as the MVP discussion was concerned.

The new front runners were LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Chris Paul.

Bryant was thought to be the sentimental choice, since he had yet to win an MVP over his long career. Forget the fact that maybe he didn't deserve one earlier in his career when Shaq was the most dominant player on the planet. Also please ignore that the MVP award is not a lifetime achievement award. All of this bugs the hell out of me. But for now I'll go with it.

Then we move to LeBron. Wow, that dude can fill it up. Forty points here. Fifty points there. The LeBron-as-MVP talk stopped, of course, when the Cavs went on their current two-game losing streak and the King stunk up the joint against the Wizards.

This brings us to Chris Paul, a great player on a good team. Does he deserve to be in the discussion? Perhaps. Without Paul, the Hornets aren't even a .500 team. With him, they are in the hunt for the best record in the West. If the Hornets end up with the best record in the West, he should easily vault ahead of Bryant and James in the MVP race.

Which leaves us with KG.

The case for KG as MVP is well known, if underappreciated. He is the best player on the team with the best record in the NBA. The Celtics have had the league's best record the entire season, and are likely to make it a wire-to-wire job. Garnet is the fuel in his team's tank, and the quarterback of their league-leading defense. KG intimidates opponents, get in their heads, and gets his teammates on the same page, locked and loaded, and ready to play.

Despite what I said about Paul, I have little doubt that Bryant remains the MVP favorite. This puzzles me for a couple of reasons. Before the Lakers acquired Gasol, the Lakers were somewhere near the middle of the pack in the Western Conference. The Celtics had humiliated the purple twice in head-to-head match-ups.

The Lakers then acquire Gasol, go on a rampage against mostly lesser opponents, lose Gasol to injury, and promptly lose three of four.

So in the spirit of Bush 41:

Before Gasol: No winning.

With Gasol: Winning begins.

Without Gasol: Losing resumes

Sounds to me like if there is a Laker that should be in the running for MVP, his name is Gasol, not Bryant.

Bird, Like KG, Undervalued in First Year

With all of the talk about "29-loss" LeBron and "can't win-without-Gasol" Kobe leading the MVP race, I thought the below piece might present some solace to those of us who are a bit confused by KG's absence from the discussion.

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Larry Bird is barely two thirds of the way through his first regular season in the NBA and already he is being taken for granted.

People have a hard time admitting the obvious. Out-of-towners are pretending that other rookies are his equal as a ballplayer when they are not. What's even more amazing is that many people locally are so casually accepting his greatness.

It has become, for example, a favorite pastime of some media folk to speculate on who is the Celtics Most Valuable Player. The popular favorite in some circles is Tiny Archibald, and that's all right, as long as you re-define the concept to read "Most Indispensable." Until Pete Maravich proves he can do the job, Tiny remains the only legitimate floor leader on this club. But he is not the best player.

Likewise, the Celtics need Dave Cowens to be a great team. While Dave is not the player of four years ago, he is still the team's best defensive player, and he is a true captain and leader. His prolonged absence would severely hamper this team. I have certainly not come here to knock Dave Cowens, who remains my all-time favorite player, and who is one of my favorite people as well.

But I wonder exactly what game people have been watching if they haven't noticed what Larry Bird has been doing. Hey, people, wake up. Larry Bird is the reason for the passing madness which has engulfed the Celtics. Larry Bird has given this team, which is neither very strong nor very swift, a dimension of full-court basketball it couldn't have otherwise. Without Larry Bird the Celtics would be much easier to defense. You must realize this.

Maybe the reason Bird has sort of slid out of the public consciousness is the low key reaction of the coach. Bill Fitch is a trained professional who sees both the good and bad in everyone. In this sense, he is the perfect coach for Bird at this stage of his career, for Fitch will make him work hard to overcome his weaknesses. Fitch points out that he is getting paid, in part, to find the things a Larry Bird can't do and thus find a way to eliminate or overcome those deficiencies. Therefore, Fitch has done anything but gush over Bird.

Well, somebody's got to, and I'm gonna. I know there are areas in which Bird can improve, but that's what is so exciting to me. All I can think of is what he is going to be, once he has a year's experience, once he ceases to become a media event and becomes merely a great athlete and once his damaged right index finger is fixed. Meanwhile, Larry Bird has scored 19 points a game (while often shooting far too little), has led the team in rebounds and has posed enormous defensive problems for every opponent.

I hate to mention the stats because their fraudulence is legendary. There is, for example, no category for what I call the "pass-before-the-pass." That's the pass which opens up the floor and which creates the assist. Not since Bill Bradley retired has anyone so consistently made this pass in a half court offense as has Larry Bird. And that's before mentioning his great outlet passes. How many times have you seen this? Bird rebounds and flings a pass some 50 feet to spring the Celtics for a two-on-one fast break. I submit that any two professionals, be they 7 feet 4or 5 feet 11, ought to be able to finish off a two-on-one nine out of 10 times. So one of them gets the basket and the other gets the assist. Bird gets nothing - officially.

What must be remembered is that Bird, though he can go one-on-one (did you see him take Sidney Wicks and throw that running lefty hook in his face?), is like John Havlicek, a team player. He is totally wired into the other four men, the result being that some of his achievements are subtle ones. Another factor is that people become so worried about what Bird might do that they leave themselves open to something else.

It's no accident that the smart opponents are the ones who appreciate him the most. Jamaal Wilkes was lavish in praise of Bird, and just the other day Bill Walton declared that Bird had done a lot more for the Celtics than Earvin Johnson had done for the Lakers because Bird had turned around a team while Magic had essentially augmented Kareem, and that Bird's approach to the game reminded him of Havlicek's. The flip side, of course, is that a moron like Joe Bryant declares that Bird is "too slow."

Bird is a prodigy who is just learning how to use his powers. In many ways he had been holding back, not wishing to dominate play, for whatever reason. But he has earned the respect of his peers (among other reasons, because he is so damn tough, in a football-hockey sense) and they would welcome a show of ego.

Lord, how lucky we hoop freaks have been in this town. From Russell to Cowens in one year, and now from Havlicek to Bird. We are truly the Hoop God's Chosen People

Kobe Copies the KG Jersey Pull

The Orange County Register
SACRAMENTO, Calif.

In a scene unimaginable mere months ago, Kobe Bryant grabbed at his jersey from the arm holes and pulled the single word even fuller out front: "Lakers."

Time after time over the final minutes of the Los Angeles Lakers' 117-105 victory over the Sacramento Kings onTuesday night, Bryant did that in the direction of certain pockets of Lakers fans.

One last time he did it as he walked off the floor, this time followed by him raising both index fingers in No. 1 signs.

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Good lord.

Can't you come up with your own way to bond with the fans?

So lame.

Doc Wonders if Players will Target Kobe's Finger

"Well, we had a little rule," said Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, "if you put something on your hand or on your body, that was a bull's eye. I don't know if that goes on anymore. We actually talk about that. I don't think anyone wants to hurt anyone, but if you're going to go out and play injured, we're not going to let you beat us injured. That was the old-school thought. I think that's still prevalent today, but not as much."

Source: Los Angeles Times

Kobe Takes 44 Shots in Lakers Win

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