Write On Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers, in a defensive war against a tough, scrappy, well-coached Boston Celtics team, rallied from a game-long deficit to win Game 7 of the NBA Finals, 83-79, and have successfully repeated as Champions of the NBA. Kobe Bryant was awarded the series’ MVP, and deservedly so, averaging more than 28 points per game. But it was Ron Artest, who bailed out the Lakers in one of the games against Phoenix, who stepped up both defensively and offensively to give the Lakers a needed boost to help win this game. Artest scored 20 points, none bigger than a late-game three pointer to keep the Lakers ahead of the Celtics when the Lakers needed to have a lead the most. But it was the strong effort of the entire Lakers’ team that eventually outlasted the feisty Celtics. The Lakers outrebounded the Celtics by 13 in the game, giving them much-needed second chance points in a game where they shot rather poorly. And, most of all, it was the defensive prowess of the Lakers who, once again, held the Celtics to a low point total, especially important since they were held to a low point total, themselves. It was a defensive battle all the way, but it was the Lakers who came away with the close victory. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest, and Derek Fisher are all to be commended for their resiliency, having trailed for most of the game, even by as much as 13 in the 3rd quarter. Lamar Odom, one of the best 6th men in the NBA, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and Shannon Brown are also Champion reserves who performed well in this series.

The Lakers have now won 16 NBA titles, as compared to the Celtics, who have won 17 titles. These two teams have now won 33 NBA titles altogether and they are, without doubt, the two greatest teams in the history of the sport, and two of the greatest teams in the history of all American sports. The Boston Celtics have to be given tremendous credit for their effort this season, defeating the teams of Dwayne Wade and Lebron James, and coming within 4 points of winning the title. And Doc Rivers has to be given all the credit in the world, showing himself to be a class act and a proficient coach.

But in the final analysis, congratulations are for the Los Angeles Lakers, the Champions of the NBA for the last two seasons, and a strong favorite to come back again next year for a 3rd straight title run. Phil Jackson now has 11 championship rings as a coach, the most in NBA history. Congratulations to the Lakers, owner Dr. Jerry Buss, Mitch Kupchak and Magic Johnson and the entire Laker organization for a job well done.

The Lakers are the 2009-2010 NBA World Champions.

M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life

In a long-awaited display of NBA Championship form, the Los Angeles Lakers completely dominated the Boston Celtics, winning Game 6 going away, 89-67.  Not only was this 22-point margin of victory the largest in the Series, but the 67 points scored by Boston was the second lowest in NBA Finals history. It was a complete Lakers knockout almost from start to finish. When Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer to put Boston ahead 12-10, that would be the last lead that the Celtics would hold for the rest of the game.

So now the entire season and the NBA Finals have come down to one, do-or-die, winner-take-all game on Thursday night. For Kobe Bryant, it is the first time he will play in an NBA Finals Game 7.  For the Celtics, it is a chance to win their 18th NBA title. For the Lakers, it is a chance to win their 16th title, their third against Boston, and to do it on their home floor, in front of their home fans. For the Lakers, it is the opportunity of a lifetime, so they would be wise to take advantage of it.

Right now, given the way Game 6 was played, I would say that the Lakers have the momentum going into Game 7, and they are 10-1 at home during these playoffs. The good news is that the Lakers have only lost once in these playoffs on their home court. The bad news is that the Celtics are the one team that beat them. And it was Game 2 of this series. So the Lakers had better keep up the strong defense and superior rebounding if they want to win this NBA game of games, the Championship winning game, Game 7, Thursday night, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

It could be one of the best games in NBA history with the NBA’s two storied franchises going blow-to-blow in a fight to the finish - - and the Championship of Professional Basketball.

M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life

The Los Angeles Lakers are going home now. They will now get to play on their own home court, in front of their own home crowd, instead of the cold, object-throwing Boston Celtics fans.

They had another golden opportunity to head home with a 3-2 series lead, having only to win one of the scheduled two home games to win the title. Instead, they let the Boston Celtics outplay them throughout the game, then down the stretch, to win 92-86 and stand one game away from their 18th World Championship.

The Los Angeles Lakers need to take home this stern lesson for all close games:
If you fail to hit shots down the stretch…
If you fail to get to the loose balls down the stretch…
If you fail to box out down the stretch…
If you fail to rebound down the stretch…
And if you fail to play strong defense down the stretch…
YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE THE GAME.

They failed to do all of the above down the stretch and, not surprisingly, THEY LOST THE GAME.

At one point in the game, Kobe Bryant was the only player scoring for the Lakers. He scored 23 consecutive Laker points. That is not only a shame. . . . . it is a CRYING shame. No Championship caliber team should play this way in the Finals. But this is what the Lakers are doing. That is why they are losing 3 games to 2.

But, on the bright side, the Lakers are very capable of winning two games in a row. This is especially true on their home court. But, of course, it is now or never. . . . do, or die. . . . . WIN, OR GO HOME. Enough said.

M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life

The Los Angeles Lakers blew a golden opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals by allowing a 33-point performance by Kobe Bryant and a 21-point performance by Pau Gasol to be outdone by a 30-point performance by two Celtic bench players. Glen Davis and Nate Robinson, whose only trip to the Hall of Fame will be to see other players get inducted in, scored 18 and 12 points, respectively, to defeat the defending champion Lakers, 96-89.

While we must give Davis and Robinson credit for their offensive games, the Lakers must also be criticized for their poor defensive performance in this contest, often allowing Robinson to float freely to the basket as if he were a 7-footer. And the Laker defense made Glen Davis look like Michael Jordan at times, being “unstoppable”. The Lakers’ defense was sub-par, and they can have this series slip away from them if they are not careful.

The Lakers were out-rebounded 16-8 on the offensive board and 41-34 altogether. When the Celtics were not shooting well, the Lakers often allowed them to stay close with half-hearted rebounding and turnovers. So they lost this game as much as the Celtics won it. They must have a better performance in Game 5 if they want to repeat as champions.

Game 5 will be Sunday, 3 pm ET, in the TD Garden in Boston. Somebody’s going to be up 3-2 when the series resumes in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. The title, this year, will be decided at the Staples Center.

M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life

This just in…..Ray Allen did not hit eight 3-pointers tonight. The Celtics lost. Hmmm…reminds me of something I wrote in my last blog.

In fact, Ray Allen did not hit ANY 3-pointers tonight. The Celtics lost.

In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, it was Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers who hit the big shots down the stretch to help the Lakers win a tight 91-84 win over the Boston Celtics to take back and secure home-court advantage for the series, which the Lakers now lead 2 games to 1.

As the fourth quarter wound down, and the Celtics kept doing everything they could to stay right on the Lakers’ heels, Derek Fisher would come up with one big shot after another to keep the Celtics at bay. Eventually, he would widen the Lakers’ lead with a heads-up, driving layup while being fouled hard by three Celtics. He would make the basket, and a foul, and would sink the free throw, increasing the Lakers’ lead, which they never relinquished.

The final score of the game was Lakers 91, Celtics 84.  Now the Lakers have home-court advantage and cannot lose it, due to the 2-3-2 format. And the Celtics cannot win the Championship this year on their home court. They must go to L.A. if they want to win this series as they can only win in Games 6 or 7, which are both in Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 29 points, while Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with 25 points. Game 4 will be on Thursday night at the TD Garden in Boston. The pressure is now on the Celtics, as they must win Game 4 to avoid a 3-1 deficit in the series to a team as strong as the Los Angeles Lakers.

Games 1, 2, and 3 have been hard-fought and very exciting. Game 4 should be no different.

M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life

Ray Allen scored seven 3-point field goals to tie the NBA record for the most 3-pointers in an NBA Finals game. A four-quarter NBA Finals game. But when Ray Allen hit the 7th of his 3-pointers in 7 attempts to tie the record, it was still the first half. So he had the entire second half to break the record, which he did in the 3rd quarter. Eight 3-pointers in one game, finishing up with 32 points (27 in the first half). That was the story of Game Two of the NBA Finals, won by the Boston Celtics, 103-94. The series is now tied at 1 game apiece.

There are some who are now getting their shovels out of the closet to bury the Lakers.  It is only 1-1. And two very important factors must be taken into consideration here. One, Kobe did not have a good shooting game and was in foul trouble (thanks to horrible referee calls throughout the game. . . i.e.- their review of the Gasol-Garnett tip out of bounds which they REVIEWED using a very clear replay showing Garnett’s hand hitting the ball out and they still got it wrong after the replay). Secondly, the Celtics had a tremendous boost from Ray Allen’s shooting. But before you start waving green Championship flags, keep in mind that what Ray Allen did is not done too often in an NBA Finals game. In fact, it was the ONLY time it was done in the history of the Finals, so do not count on it happening again in Game Three. Would Boston have won this game without his 24 points on 8 shots? I don’t think so. As it is, they won the game by 9 with some pretty bad calls against the Lakers (and against the Celtics, too).  The referees, I think, did a lousy job in this game, and let the NBA try to fine ME $35,000 if they want. I will say what I want about the refereeing. It stunk.

The Lakers defeated the Jazz in Utah and the Suns in Phoenix, so they can defeat the Celtics in Boston. As the Celtics proved, games CAN be won on the road. So don’t count the Lakers out. The Black Mamba can still bite.

Game 3 will be Tuesday in Boston. It should be a good one.

M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life

The Los Angeles Lakers have taken the first step in their quest to repeat as NBA Champions, with a convincing 102-89 win over the Boston Celtics at the Staples Center. The Lakers were led by Kobe Bryant, who had 30 points, and by Pau Gasol, who played an excellent game offensively and defensively, with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

The Lakers lead the best-of-seven NBA Finals series 1 game to 0 with Game 2 being Sunday evening in L.A. All the talk has seemed to center around the 2008 Celtics and how they dismantled the Lakers in that series. However, this is a different Laker team and, so far, this series is having a different result as the Lakers are the ones with the more dominant defense coupled with an explosive offense.

Despite this Game 1 win, the Lakers still must win Game 2 since the 3rd, 4th, and 5th games are all scheduled to be played in Boston, where the Celtics are a bit tougher. Winning Game 2 would also put more pressure on the Celtics and give the Lakers a welcomed boost in confidence going after their 16th NBA Championship.

We’ll see what happens on Sunday in Game 2.

M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life

The Los Angeles Lakers, behind another momentous performance from Kobe Bryant (37 points), put an end to the Phoenix Suns’ season with a hard-fought 111-103 victory and have advanced, for the third straight year, to the NBA Finals. The Lakers led the game by 17 points going into the 4th quarter, only to have a basket, a flagrant foul with two foul shots, and two more baskets reduce their lead down to 9 in a very short span of time. The Suns would proceed to get that 17 point lead down to as low as 3 points before the Lakers’ resiliency took over and kept the Suns at bay until the end.

It was, indeed, a veteran performance by Bryant and the Lakers, with a major boost by Game Five hero Ron Artest who scored 25 points to help propel the Lakers into their 31st Finals appearance (the best in NBA history). They will face the Boston Celtics, who advanced to the Finals on Friday night with their victory over the Orlando Magic. The Celtics will be making their 21st Finals appearance, 2nd most in NBA history behind their Laker opponents.

The Celtics, however, have won the most NBA titles with 17, while the Lakers are second with 15.  So these two storied franchises will face off against each other on Thursday night in Game One of the NBA Finals from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The first two games will be in L. A., while games 3, 4, and 5 (if necessary) will be in Boston. Should the series go further than that, Games 6 and 7 will be in Los Angeles, since the Lakers have home-court-advantage in the series, having had a better regular season record than the Boston Celtics.

Congratulations to both the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, Champions of the East and the West, on their upcoming NBA Finals series.

M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life

The Boston Celtics, the most storied franchise in NBA history, if not American sports history, avoided becoming the first team to ever relinquish a 3-0 series lead by knocking off the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic, 96-84, in Game Six of their best-of-seven series. After having a 3-0 lead in the series, the Celtics were beaten, first in Boston, then in Orlando in Games 4 and 5, and seemed to be flirting with NBA history. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA and the Magic were pushing things their way to become the first team to do so. But the Celtics had too much pride and stopped the Magic and are now returning to the Finals against either the Phoenix Suns or the Los Angeles Lakers. Another Lakers-Celtics Finals matchup would be ideal (though the Suns and their fans would TOTALLY disagree).

The Celtics have the most titles in NBA history with 17 Championships. The Lakers are a close second, with 15 Championships. So if the Lakers can knock off the feisty Phoenix Suns on Saturday night, we will get to see another historic showdown between the NBA’s two all-time greatest teams. The Suns, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about any of that.

We shall see what happens.

M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life

Ron Artest, who had only 2 points as the game approached its end, caught a Kobe Bryant last-second airball and banked it in to win the game and give the Lakers a critical 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals. With 6 seconds left and the Lakers winning by 3, Jason Richardson threw up a desperation 3-point shot that banked in after two straight 3-point misses by Phoenix on the same possession. The Suns celebrated the fact that they had tied the game, one in which they had trailed at one point by 18. There were 3.5 seconds left, and everyone felt that the Lakers would go to Kobe Bryant for the win. They did. And the defense on Kobe was tight. So tight that Kobe’s desperation shot was an airball. But Ron Artest, who had rushed a shot 50 seconds earlier instead of holding the ball to wear down the clock, and was on track to be the game’s goat, ran in and grabbed the airball and put it back onto the backboard for a game-winning basket as the buzzer sounded.

The Lakers came away with a close 103-101 victory after having being up by 18 and 15 points at different points in the game. While the Lakers now lead 3 games to 2 and are one victory away from the NBA Finals, they have to return to Phoenix where they’ve lost both games and play an extremely resilient Suns team, who will be desperate to stay alive. It should be a difficult challenge for the Lakers, whose defense has been questionable in this series. This Game Six will be played on Saturday night in Phoenix.

M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life