Real Deal

Falcons are going to be pretty good this season, but I don't think they'll get past Green Bay. I'll take the Packers over either the Steelers or Patriots in the SB. It's hard for me to go against Moss because he's my favorite player, and I really don't like Pittsburgh or Big Ben...but if I were putting money on the game, it's Green Bay 34, Pittsburgh 24.

It actually wasn't...not exactly the way you interpreted it, probably my mistake for the way I worded the post. I just got off RealGM, where 80% of the Celtics fans think they were screwed by the referees. But of course, like every single series the Lakers have played in so far this season, the calls will be even until we go on the road, where we shoot 15-20 less free throws each game. If the fouls didn't disrupt the way the Lakers played, they didn't disrupt the way Boston played. If so, we know who the better team is. Plus, points in the paint and rebounds killed Boston. Has nothing to do with fouls.

Had Boston gotten more fouls called on them, and less free throw attempts than LA, I'm sure the refs wouldn't be doing their job at that point. Ray couldn't defend Kobe, and Rivers stuck him on Bryant most of the time he was on the floor. All five of those fouls were legit, and three of them were so intentional, it made Allen look like he was 45 years old. Again, it's expected. Tony Allen found it to be the same for him, also.

I don't know why anyone is surprised. 1) Rondo struggled against Bryant. You can tell he was happier with Fisher and Farmar defending him. 2) Pierce had to rely on his teammates to shake Ron Artest. Ron kept him off that elbow, the one place he doesn't miss shots. 3) Garnett has no answer, whatsoever, for Gasol. 4) Fisher did an excellent job chasing Ray Allen most of the game, and Ray was useless when he wasn't getting open looks. 5) Not a single player on the floor could stop Kobe from getting his shot, getting in the paint, or racking up his assists. Some of you thought I was ignorant for saying this stuff last week, but come on...if you watch Boston, and you watch LA, you can easily tell the Lakers match up to them much, much better than they did in 2008.

http://i45.tinypic.com/2j5dmbs.gif I've never seen Kobe this focused for a full playoff season. Dude has been even more focused since Game 1 versus the Suns. Anyone just see his post-game interview?

No idea why he is, but I am...and so is Jerry West, and even Magic Johnson was pretty happy to say he will end up being the greatest Laker of all-time. How happy would you be if Donatas Motiejunas found his way to Houston, then became the greatest big man of all-time?

Kobe did an excellent job keeping Rondo out of the paint (slipped up just twice, both times in the first quarter, helping on Garnett too much). He also put out 30 points (46% FG), 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Amazing game...11 of his last 12 have been 30+ points. Gasol was playing very well defensively, contesting everything, as expected. His length bothers guards and forwards around him, slashing to the rim or taking those contested jumpers (which we want). Artest played very good defense...Pierce got 24, but he had to work for half of those, and a lot of the points were dumped on other players. We reached 100 points, held them to under 90. I don't need to comment much more on it. Three more.

Posting my first spin. I could really see this happening, too... http://i47.tinypic.com/2vl0j02.jpg

Basically, that's why there won't be individual team forums for any sport OTHER than basketball.

I'm not surprised about any of those players, really...but as you reach the top, the list doesn't take into consideration the defensive attention the player receives, or the role he plays in the offense. Battier used to be a clutch shooter...couldn't stand when he'd shoot to the corner and drop threes to tie games up. Bowen did it, and so did Bell (imagine that, massive defensive players netting open threes in clutch moments). Artest was that way for a while, but with the busted hand, his shooting took a HUGE tumble, from 40% 3PT to almost 20% at some points of the season.

If some aren't going to give up on Andrew Bynum yet, you might as well treat Oden the same way. He's a defensive monster. Him and Dwight Howard were the two best defensive centers in the NBA last season (in the limited time Oden played, of course). Say Miami does pursue him...they can do it with someone taking a walk due to free agency (that includes Haslem and Wright). I like Joel Anthony, and he's a good defender down low, but he's not starter material...at least not yet. Wade would appreciate a defensive anchor like Oden.

I'll use them for football...probably not baseball, and definitely not hockey.

LOL what is that off of?

Hearing that she really isn't pregnant now... Hate to say it, but if she is, they better hope the baby comes out looking more like Lamar.

So the same can be said about Shaq, then...Pacers, Sixers, Nets, and Mavericks. Kind of weird...Jordan only defeated a "fellow NBA champion" just once in his career (Lakers, but no Kareem, Riley or Cooper), and took out the Sonics, Blazers, Jazz (2), and Suns. Hakeem Olajuwon took out the Knicks and Magic in the Finals...guess he really hasn't done anything, either.

Too bad he has beaten far dominant teams on the way to the Finals, including the Duncan-led Spurs (that he mentions multiple times in his article, and I'll talk about in a second), an extremely tough Blazers team and a contending Kings squad, having HUGE games in those match-ups. Those Spurs are so high on his list, but who did they take out for their four titles? They took out a Jason Kidd-led Nets team (must be bad, since he mentions it as such), LeBron James' one-man show in Cleveland in a sweep (similar to Iverson's Philly team he mentions as "weak"), a 54-win Pistons team that limped into the Finals to defend their title, and their fourth championship came against the weaker Knicks team after completing just half a season (lockout). Oh, and of course, LA beat a Denver team that fans thought would be in the Finals last season. I could go on and on, but I'm already bored with it.

Fill in the following. Ten points for each correct answer, minus ten for each missed (which includes extending the series over the correct amount of games). If you feel the series will extend past four games, continue to add an answer to each game you think the series will play to. +10 bonus for the correct series winner, +15 for a perfect series. For example, if you believe the Lakers will win the series 4-2, you should fill in six winners. Los Angeles has home court advantage.

I don't believe so. The point of draining the knee is for relief and mobility, so it doesn't seem like it. Never had it done before, though.

Wow, that's quite a bit. That's actually a good thing, though. After Kobe's was drained, he came out and killed OKC, and he's been a mad man ever since. I'm aware that Bynum's knee is a meniscus tear, so it's not going to heal just from the draining, but anything like this is a positive for his mobility and strength.

Tough, man. I might have to hand it to Steve Nash as the top point guard, if we're looking at who has done the best job throughout the decade. You can't beat the two MVP awards and those insane shooting numbers. Now, if we're talking overall abilities, nothing more...sure, Kidd gets the nod. He's a top five point guard in league history.

Iverson, Nash, and Dirk are a yes. Carter and McGrady are a no. At one point, Iverson was the most dominant guard in the NBA, and it lasted for a few years. Dirk is one of the greatest international players to play in the league, and he's the modern-day Larry Bird (minus the defense, of course). Nash gets in because he's arguably a top five point guard of all-time, and he's got two MVP awards. Carter and McGrady really haven't done anything significant to be put into that group.

Not so sure about that. Obama has knowledge of the game (basketball, at least). He's not oblivious to Rondo's strengths and weaknesses, knows about the Bulls (past and present)...and while he didn't do well with his NCAA predictions, I don't think many really did in the first place. Either way, all of our Presidents have to have lives. Bush was all about his baseball. Clinton sexed his secretaries. Obama watches basketball.

Quite frankly, it's all based on how much you like/dislike the player. Fans that hate Kobe always bring up the 2004 and the 2008 NBA Finals...but they won't discuss the 2007 Finals and the 22 PPG and under 40% shooting LeBron had (and honestly, that's just off the top of my head...I used to know the numbers, so I may be close). They both played bad, simple as that. For me, personally, I don't care how many times a player has been to the Finals. I don't care if the Lakers get to the Finals, either...but that might be because I'm spoiled. The Wizards fans would be thrilled, right? Any loss...I try to forget. So when someone says, "Hey, Kobe is 4-2 in the Finals. Jordan is 6-0. LeBron is 0-1." That really means nothing to me. I would be telling them how many rings each have.

For Cousins, you could say Al Jefferson, but a more athletic (sort of) and stronger Zach Randolph comes to mind as well. I'll have to comment on the rest of the mock (and the other mocks) tomorrow.

Haha, a few people spotted Kevin Durant in a Kobe Bryant jersey the other day, in OKC. He was praising him on Twitter, too...so I think I know who he's rooting for. Dude is funny...acts like a huge fan when he's out of the playoffs. We all know who Alvin Gentry is rooting for, too...haha.