Real Deal

1) Denver wouldn't have beaten the Lakers, coach or no coach. They didn't do it last year, despite what you predicted, they were swept before that, and this year's match-up would've been even worse for the Nuggets. Phil Jackson doesn't call plays. They are freelanced by our offense. There was a reason why Jackson considered coaching JUST the home games a couple of years back...the assistants (would've been Rambis) can just sit there and watch Kobe and Fish coach their teammates on the court, which is what happens every game. Phil is there for the ego management and big man development. This team is fine. 2) Yeah, Garnett will draw Gasol out. So did Amare. Same with Boozer, and especially Jeff Green. Garnett isn't Amare on offense. Not a big deal. Pierce and Rondo penetrate? Again, they have the two best perimeter defenders on them. What makes you think they will get into the lane that easily? Ray Allen will be too busy running off screens. If he is forced to be a playmaker (something Rivers will not agree to roll with), Boston loses in five games. They aren't that dumb.

Veteran champions win games, and ultimately, win the series. Kobe and Fisher were the two biggest players in these six games, no doubt about it. Can't say enough about Kobe, so I'll just leave it to one statement: best player in the game. Fisher's physical play on Nash changed the course for the first two games, and it also helped tonight. Nash has done most of his scoring on our bigs, on those pick and roll switches. He did blow by Fisher a few times, but some were due to Fisher having to be cautious about Amare's screen. After Ron's 2-9 shooting and a game-winner on Thursday, he came out huge for us in the first half tonight. Those 17 points he gave us in the half were crucial, and he played very good defense, as always. While Ariza is a better offensive player, Artest is easily the better defender, and the one defensive player we were missing in 2008. Gasol couldn't handle the pick and roll, and he had trouble containing Amare. That's not good, of course, but Garnett won't be dropping 40 on us, nor will Boston use a PNR every time down the court. Plus, that zone defense wrecked Gasol's offensive production. Too many Phoenix defenders closing in on him...and Pau makes bad decisions out of double teams, one of the reasons why he never won a playoff game in Memphis. Stupid move by Sasha, stupid move by Dragic to start it. Similar to Kwame and Boris a few years back. Whatever. Let them both cat fight, for all I care. No reason to discuss it any further. Poor shooting: Gasol (2-9), Odom (3-12)...both bigs. Again, the zone defense put too many defenders in the paint, collapsed on us and forced a lot of tough shots down low, but some of those shots should've been dunks. Both Odom and Gasol need to grab the board, go up hard with it, and either dunk or take the foul. For the Suns, four boards for Amare, and 7-20 shooting on your home floor, closeout playoff game...not going to get it done for an all-star big man playing against a "soft" Pau Gasol and an injured Andrew Bynum. Dragic did well, but Gentry left Nash on the bench for too long. If you want to produce with both on the floor, do it. Stick Dragic at the two. He and Nash are fully capable of playing together against the Lakers, especially in the quick offense they run. Congrats on a nice season, Suns. On to the Finals for us.

Kobe would've flinched if Michael Jordan did that to him? Like that really matters? Wow dude... I would flinch if a 15-year old, with no money, did that to me, an inch from my face. Money means nothing in this situation. I can't even believe this is in the discussion.

Kobe dropped 30+ points in 9 of his last 10, near triple-doubles in his last three, played stellar defense on Westbrook (which may have saved us from losing in the first round), dominated the Jazz and is doing everything against the Suns, yet Gasol (who let Amare drop 42 on him and can't even hold off Robin Lopez, or contest Nash's jumpers) is above him? Why? Because Kelly Dwyer wrote the article. You want to know what's funny? Click and read Or you can just read the most important part here: This was his fake interview with Kobe. He wrote it on the 19th, which was just 3-4 days ago, wrote the Top 10 article on the 21st. Game 2 against Phoenix was that night. He wrote his "new list" two days after he wrote that article. Don't bother reading his articles. The truth is, Kelly Dwyer doesn't know his basketball, and everything he says is strictly based on getting a rise from certain fans. It promotes his articles even more. Typical BS writer: no substance, all incoherence. If he re-read what he writes and actually understands what he's saying most of the time, he would see how his opinion flip-flops as much as his articles flop. I also left this comment on his article:

Ah, so if I'm playing baseball and I'm someone like A-Rod, and some no-name minor league pitcher throws a fastball three inches from my head, I'm not going to quickly duck because I'm rich and I'm great? It wouldn't have mattered who had the ball. Matt Barnes, Shammond Williams, Omar Cook, Shaq, Wilt or Jordan...Kobe wasn't going to flinch. It had nothing to do with the person itself, and everything to do with the moment at hand: in the game, angry, focused and determined, cold-blooded and dominant. This nonsense about money and fame...that doesn't mean anything. If you don't want to get hit in the face with a basketball, you flinch. Kobe's attention was 100% in the game and on Matt Barnes (or whoever he would've been defending), and nothing more. EDIT: If I were A-Rod, I would just duck and make sure I wasn't hit by the pitch, then drill him in the side of the head with a line drive the next pitch.

Kobe didn't flinch because he's not intimidated by anyone, and his head is always in the game. If it had anything to do with money, Tyreke Evans would be intimidated by Adam Morrison, and almost everyone in the league would be intimidated by Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison.

I don't see a problem with what any of them are saying, honestly. Nash is either going to say they will win Game 6, or he's going to say they won't. If someone asked me if my team was going to win a particular game, I'm not going to answer by saying, "Oh man, I hope so." And if I'm Ron or Phil, I'm asking why the Lakers aren't getting the respect they deserve...because, quite frankly, they aren't. So really, it's not an issue, from either side.

Great defense doesn't make a team a good offensive team. You should know that with the Charlotte Bobcats. They were a top five defensive team this year, yet they were ran out of the building in four games by the Magic. And as good as Orlando was on the defensive end, they couldn't produce enough offensively to beat Boston...granted that Boston's defense is arguably the best in the league, that's really no different than the situation Orlando found themselves in against Charlotte. The main difference? Match-ups. Boston took out the Cavaliers because they took away the three-point shot, and forced LeBron to do it all. They took out the Magic because they took away the three, and forced Dwight to do it all. I don't see why that's so difficult to figure out. The Celtics would sweep Phoenix in the Finals for that very reason, assuming the Suns would beat LA in these next two games. However, the Lakers don't want the three. They are in the bottom half of the league shooting it, and they want to go away from it. Matching up to Boston? We CAN lock down their two main players, with two of the best defenders in the NBA...something that the Heat, Magic and Cavaliers didn't have. You keep talking about defense, but you're ignoring ours. Garnett is going to struggle against Pau. He's not Amare offensively, and he's not Shaq physically. I've told everyone at TLN that there's still a chance we lose the NBA Finals, but you're saying five games, and you're saying Phoenix would do better against Boston. Unless there's a huge breakdown by Kobe, or someone gets injured, that's not going to happen. Of all people here, I would expect a Nuggets fan to recognize how important match-ups are, because you just ran into a very limited Jazz team in the first round, the same team we swept in the second. There's a reason for that.

You're telling me that Kobe won't be able to defend Rondo? Come on now. Our two best defensive players (and two of the best in the NBA) are defending the Celtics' two best overall players, in Pierce and Rondo. Garnett is hurt...barely producing in the ECF, having trouble rebounding. If Boston wants to win, it will be up to Ray Allen, simple as that. I really don't think Ray Allen has enough in him to dominate the Lakers every night, to the point where it negates what Gasol will do to Garnett...not to mention the fact that you expect Ray to challenge Kobe when the ball is in Bryant's hands. Ray is in his mid 30's, not 25. If we lose this series, it'll be because Bynum doesn't do a damn thing, and either Rondo or Pierce dominates. I can say for sure Bynum will struggle (unless he's faking it), but there's no way I'm going to say Rondo lights Bryant up, and I would be shocked if Pierce dropped 30 against Artest, unless he puts him in foul trouble. Today, Phoenix is a bigger concern...and not because we're still in a series with them, but because we don't play as fast, and their bench shoots way too many damn threes. Boston won't run up and down the court the entire game, unless Nate plays 30 minutes...and he won't. I'm not saying Boston sucks. I'm not saying it will be an easy series. But...with Kobe and Gasol, and now Fisher playing the way he is, I'm confident we have the pieces to take them out in six or seven, especially now that we hold home court.

The one without Vince Carter.

Excellent article, by the way. Take note of what Grant Hill says.

Deadline is 24 hours from this post. No exceptions.

Deadline is 24 hours from this post. No exceptions.

This shouldn't even be news. I'm sure free agents do this every year. The media just prays for a trio of superstars to head off to the same city, so basically, reporting anything like this and gaining both media and fan support is ideal.

Make it a top-tier NBA team, and you don't see the desperation as much. You'll still see a TON of support, because LeBron is a superstar player and a key to their franchise's success in the future...but you have to understand that Cleveland is a city ran down by their sports teams. They don't get this type of attention often, let alone the success (if you want to call a 60+ win season successful).

The weird part isn't just licking his fingers (and I've seen players do it before), but he does it after he brushes his sweat-drenched hair back with them. Watch a Nash free throw. He will brush his hair back behind his ears, lick his fingers...then practice his shooting form twice. Then he gets licks his fingers one more time, and shoots the free throw.

Team defense is most effective with good defensive players. Sure, I'm going to talk about them individually, in the same way you would talk about Dwight Howard and LeBron James, changing their team's overall defense. And no, a double by Nash and Nowitzki isn't better than being held by someone like Prince. A double leaves someone open. It was stated two or three times at the half and at the end of the game: Boston ran Orlando off the three-point line. They didn't want the Magic catching fire. With Perkins in the game, they don't care what Howard does in the paint. He has very limited offensive skills, so Howard dropping 40-50 points on them is highly unlikely, as long as they are forcing hooks and long jumpers. They have no problem winning when Howard is scoring 25-30 points...but when Orlando catches fire from beyond the arc, Boston blows leads (as you saw in those first two games, actually, and in Game 5). But okay. Never said the Lakers will shoot threes against Boston and win by doing so. And no, the Celtics would not let Phoenix shoot threes over the Nash-Amare pick and roll. They would rather defend the PNR straight up, and cover shooters, because they have excellent interior defense. You really think Rivers would allow Phoenix the three before the Nash-Amare pick and roll? Phoenix racked up 9-12 points in 80 seconds against the Lakers the other night, and it was their threes that gave their bench 50+ points en route to beating LA in Game 4.

Boston ran them off the three, again, and when the Magic did shoot the three, it was off a screen and usually contested (looking at Jameer). But there was way too much Dwight, posting up against Perkins. Those shots he was throwing up...it just slowed Orlando down, took him off the glass, and their offense just sat in the water for 48 minutes. Garnett is a punk. It's too bad Howard didn't throw an elbow to his jaw after those two on his forearm. Orlando was going to lose to begin with, so if I were Dwight, I would've trucked him in the paint, or something. And also...Garnett is a liability on the offensive end. He has been all series long, and he's even less effective on the glass. Something isn't right.

Do or die for both, in my opinion. Boston loses this series if they lose Game 6, and obviously, Orlando is done if they lose.

Turner has too much potential (Brandon Roy potential) to not be picked after Wall. Plus, you have to select a guy that can score AND play defense (some of the best defense on the college level). Wall is the clear-cut choice for most GM's, I'm sure...but you can't ignore the many skills Turner can bring to an NBA team, especially things that the coaches won't even have to teach him.

Currently, the Pacers are clinching onto the 10th, 40th and 57th picks in the NBA Draft. Discuss. ----- Indiana could use help at the point, but I don't think there will be a point guard good enough to take with that 10th pick. Collins would work out well in the second round. Bledsoe could always move up, but the lottery may not be right for him. Hibbert is improving, and Granger has the three covered...so you have to look at two-guards and power forwards. Xavier Henry would be ideal, and if Wesley Johnson were to fall, I think he would be playing the two for a while, at least until he puts on some weight (much like McGrady did). Ed Davis would be solid, also. Davis would add defense to the frontcourt, helping Granger out a bit (because Hibbert still struggles, and Murphy doesn't play defense), and

Sacramento currently has the 5th and 33rd picks in the NBA Draft. Discuss. ----- I wouldn't be surprised to hear they are exploring a trade with the first-rounder. The 5th pick is usually valuable come draft time. Otherwise, I could see them snagging a frontcourt player to help them out. Cousins and Favors would probably be on their radar, assuming they drop a spot or two. Aldrich would be nice for the Kings, especially seeing how Hawes struggles to defend at the five. Aminu and Johnson aren't out of reach, either.

TIME: 8:30 PM EST TV: TNT

TIME: 8:30 PM EST TV: ESPN

After seeing what Kobe has been doing in the playoffs so far, having Ray Allen defend him (instead of someone like Tony Allen) is a mistake. Since Bryant has been working with Chuck Person, he has been more dangerous everywhere on the floor, even with that injury.