So It Ends

So, here we are. The NBA season has come to an end. A new champion has been crowned. The slew of awkward interactions and hugs between people who most likely have never spoken with one another has come and gone. Phil Jackson's bizarre "X" hat with Chinese characters on it was unveiled for the world's enjoyment/horror. (I understand the "X" is for 10 championships, but I'm just wondering how long ago they made the hat. Is it from 2004? Have they just been holding it until he finally won his 10th championship? Or was it made this year? How much of a role did he have in designing the hat? Did he know that it existed before they won? Wouldn't that have just put even more pressure on him to win? What would they have done with it if the Lakers had lost? Two months from now would some poor Nigerian be wearing a Phil Jackson celebratory hat? I need answers.) Questions about Phil Jackson's headgear aside, we've got some recapping to do.

First things first, I'd like to (admittedly begrudgingly) congratulate the Lakers. You know, giving credit where credit is due, not being a sore loser, things like that. They won an NBA Championship. Something only 14 teams have done before, something they've done for the 15th time. That's a hell of an accomplishment, no matter how hated they might be for it. As much as I've berated and ridiculed the Lakers this season, seeing the pure emotion coming from team as the clock hit the triple zeroes was special. The unbridled joy that comes from working through the ups, downs and turbulence of everything in between of an NBA season only to end up on top reminded of why I watch basketball, even if it was coming from some of my least favorite living creatures on the planet. And I know, the same reaction comes from every team in every sport after they win, and it's usually even more fevered and excited than the Lakers' celebration, but it's still always a spectacle to see. So without any more smoke-blowing, I'll run through a few personalized congratulatory paragraphs before getting to my conciliatory (what a word) speech for the Magic.

Kobe Bryant-Go to hell. Take your trophy, under-bite-face and inhuman shots and go to hell. Leave Vanessa here though. But in all seriousness, Kobe Bryant deserves this. He is probably one of the five most hated people in the world, endlessly yells at and belittles his teammates and is most likely impossible to play with, but he deserves it. Not just the hate, but the championship as well. I know how every single media member has written about how much he wanted this title, but there's a reason for that. It's true. From his newly created angry wolf-man face to his performances on the court, everything about Kobe this postseason has screamed desperation. Desperation to finally get that 330 pound apostrophe-named monkey off of his back. Desperation to cement his legacy as one of the best players ever. Desperation to take a team that is actually his own to the top of the mountain. And it was never more evident than the end of Game 5, when he started jumping up and down with his hands in the air with a few seconds left and then started doing the Jordan Fist Pump While Jumping Extremely High over and over again. And of course when he nearly cried when being interviewed after receiving the Finals MVP trophy. Kobe Bryant wanted this championship. More than that, he needed it. He needed to validate himself. He needed to prove to himself that he could do it. He needed to be able to tell Shaq just exactly how his ass tastes. And he did it. Congratulations Kobe. Now get the hell out of my life for the next four months. Please. Don't ask questions, just do it. Disappear to some island and enjoy this, but more importantly, don't force me to see you until training camp.


Pau Gasol-One of the few Lakers that I'm actually happy for. After taking nonstop criticism since last summer for being "soft" when he never really deserved it, Pau showed us why he's the second best center in the NBA. Sorry Dwight, but this Finals demonstrated to us that you're not quite there yet. Pau's willingness to guard virtually anyone, his tenacious, relentless covering of Dwight Howard and his typically brilliant offense in the final five games of the season cemented his status as anything but "soft". He's versatile, extremely talented and a whole hell of a lot more fiery than anyone could have guessed, and he deserves this championship as much as anyone on the Lakers.

Lamar Odom-A man whose play was inconsistent enough that a doctor wrote an article theorizing that his affection for candy was the reason why he seemingly randomly disappeared in games. A man whose infant son died a few years ago. A man who for so long had physical gifts that in no way matched his desire or focus to play basketball. A man who, after Pau and Kobe, took the most criticism for the Lakers' loss to the Celtics last year. And deservedly so. But he, like nearly every other Laker, redeemed himself this year. In the Finals he was involved, interested, and, probably most importantly, effective. He showed us that somewhere in that immensely talented 6-11 frame is an actual beating heart pumping blood through a living, breathing human being. A shocking revelation, if you ask me, but a well deserved championship for the "Candyman."

Phil Jackson-Yes, he had Michael and Scottie, Shaq and Kobe, and Kobe and Pau/Lamar/injuries to Yao, Mcgrady, Ginobili, Nelson and Garnett. You know what else he has? 10 NBA Championships. As a coach. That's 10 more than me and good enough for the most in NBA history. Greatest coach of all time? Luckiest coach of all time? Does anyone really give a damn?

Derek Fisher-For all my jokes about you being half-dead, utterly useless and a disgrace to the good people of Little Rock, Arkansas (that last one's new), you came through when it mattered the most. After sleepwalking through nearly the entire length of the playoffs, you were brought back to life in Game 4 and hit the two biggest shots of the NBA season. Now you'll get to slack through another full year without being benched or called out by your teammates. Congratulations. Not just on the championship, but on buying yourself an extension on your career. Have fun getting burned by Aaron Brooks, Chris Paul and Deron Williams next season.

Sasha Vujacic-Cheer up Machine. I know you didn't have the ideal series. I know you didn't score in the NBA Finals. I know you probably hurt the Lakers more than you helped them. But you're still my favorite Laker. Keep your head up, one day you'll be a star. In hindsight, probably not. You lack a variety of fundamental basketball skills necessary to be a successful NBA player. But at least you're a winner. And not Sun Yue.

And finally, to the Lakers team as a whole. You took shots all year for not being focused, for being too soft, for not showing up every night and for being a bunch of arrogant pricks who were hated by nearly every one outside of Los Angeles, but you still ended up winners. It probably didn't happen the exact way you wanted it to, but, it usually never does. And, like they say, the ends justify the means. And your means have been justified. You went from the peak of peaks in 2000-2002 down to the bottom of the league and eventually and into basketball hell for a few years by making the playoffs consistently but never contending, and lost last season in the Finals. And now, you're here again. The top of the mountain, the end of the road, whatever you want to call it. You're NBA Champions.

But here's where the real work begins. Now you have to go and do it again. Teams will come at you harder, contenders will be healthier and you'll still have to find the fire and will to compete every night. Do that, and you make the leap from champion to dynasty, from great to legendary. So enjoy these next few months, because come November, the grind starts all over again.

And if you think I'm being nicer than usual to the Lakers, you're right. As much as I hate to say it, I'm starting to respect this team. Because no matter how hard it is to like them, you can't deny that they have been through a lot. And before you pounce on me, remember the struggle that is Lamar Odom's life, Derek Fisher's daughter and of course, Kobe's rape-trial that still (understandably and deservedly so) haunts him to this day. I'm not supporting Kobe, but even the most stubborn Laker-hater will admit that he's been through hell, even if he brought it on himself.

So yes, in a twisted, mind-boggling way that even I don't fully understand, I'm happy for the Lakers. Yes, I'd rather be saying this about 29 other NBA teams, but I'm not sure those 29 other NBA teams merit having this said about them. Well, at least 28 of them. If anyone's been through more than the Lakers, it's the Rockets. But the middle of a paragraph in the middle of an article is no place for that. That deserves it's own, very, very lengthy post. And if you think I'm saying all of this about the Lakers so that I can generate some good karma for the Rockets next year, you're spot on. Partially, at least. But to make a long, tedious story short, be proud, Los Angeles. You're champions.


Kobe made some questionable facial expressions during the Finals


And, to be cliché, for every winner, we must have a loser. Unfortunately, the loser this year was the Orlando Magic. A very good team. A great team actually. A few inches either way and they would have been up 3-1 in this series instead of down. If Courtney Lee had hit a difficult layup (something he does frequently) and Fisher hadn't made a 3 (hardly a stretch, he had missed 5 times in 5 tries up to that point) this would have been a very different series. But he didn't, he did, and it wasn't. Still, there's nothing to be ashamed of there.

Orlando, you went at least a round farther than most people had you going. You lost to an extremely talented, hungry and more experienced team. You beat the team with the best record and best player in basketball during the regular season. And you did all of this without your All-Star point guard. (And on the bright side, you won a game this time. That's one more than you did against us. At this rate, you'll win a championship in your third Finals appearance after this. So if you get to one every 15 years, you'll be champions in 45 years. Congratulations to the Orlando Magic, your 2054 NBA Champions. Book it.)

But I'll stop being an ass for a few sentences. If may ask one thing of you, it's this: remember this feeling. Especially you, Dwight. Remember how it feels to be a loser after getting this far. Remember the pain, spend nights staying up thinking about it, let it eat away at you. You're 23, you'll get a title soon enough. But not without the right amount of desire. And if this doesn't give you the fire needed to win the last game of the NBA season, then nothing will. So, if you've learned nothing else from this series (And you should have learned a lot. Mainly, Dwight, that you need to developed at least three more reliable moves in the paint. Which would bring your total to three. But that's a topic for another day.) learn how it feels to be a loser. It happened to the guys you just lost to last year, and as you can see, things worked out pretty well for them. So keep all of these emotions with you. Not just for next year or until you win a championship, but for your whole career. Let it push you to get better. Remember that a little passion goes a long way in this league. Keep at it, and soon you'll be on the other side of this result, celebrating with Bill Russell and popping champagne the way Kobe and company are right now.

Remember that to get to the top, you have to start from the bottom. You have to stumble along the way. You have to be knocked down in order to be able to get back up. You've got the falling down part mastered, now it's time to see if you can rise up after it. Have a restless, sleepless, frustrating four months. Some day, it'll all be worth it.

And finally, congratulations to the Houston Rockets. Not only did we take the Lakers to more games than any other team did, we also were, in my opinion, the main reason for their victory. Without our series, they never would have realized that they had to bring their best effort every single game in order to win. You're welcome, L.A. Send us a few of those championship rings and we'll call it even.

Which brings us to the end. 30 teams, 82 games and then 16 more teams each trying to win 16 more games. A lot of basketball, a lot of moments to remember. There was Wade's resurgence (Yes Dwyane, it's your house), Lebron's dominance, Kobe's elbows and some great commercials. We had a spirited run and won 1-3 more games against the Lakers than most people expected us to and were their toughest out in the postseason. And, most importantly, we made it past the first round. Suck it, Tracy.

But now we enter the long dark that is the NBA offseason. Sure, we'll have the draft, and yes, hopefully there will be some blockbuster trades or free agent signings, but for the most part, we're on our own now. Completely on our own, trying to keep it together for four months before basketball starts once again. Check back here for updates on the Rockets, ideas and propositions from two of the finest basketball minds you'll ever come across (Yes, I'm talking about myself and Billy. Try not to laugh) and if some groundbreaking, earth-shattering, other-adjective-that-describes-our-planet being-torn-apart event happens in the NBA. It's been a fun postseason, and we'll be back stronger than ever next year. Which really isn't saying much, but still. Enjoy the summer. And, just for the hell of it, go Rockets.

Playoff Ramblings

Just a quick thought before we get to the hard work. Lebron James is inhuman. That turnaround three was unbelievable and I honest-to-god believed that his half-court three was going in. He's just that good. If you had told me that he had made a 35 footer to win the game, I wouldn't have been surprised. Amazed? Of course. Surprised? No way in hell. Nothing with this guy surprises you anymore.

While we're on the topic of the unbelievable, Dwight Howard's sixth technical foul was a joke of a call and I'm glad that it was rescinded. For those of you who didn't catch it, Dwight made a great play, scored, and yelled. That's it. That's not a technical foul. That's a good player scoring and getting excited. The referees need to see reactions for what they are, let players be players, and loosen up a little bit. If Dwight had missed a possible Game 6 or 7 because of that technical, Orlando would have been up in flames. So yes, I agree that Dwight's technical should have been taken back by the league.

Magic-Cavaliers

-Every bad habit of the Cavaliers we thought had died is popping back up. I actually don't know any of their bad habits besides standing around and watching Lebron, but that's the one that keeps popping up. That's the reason they're down 3-1. And that's why they're going to lose this series. If Lebron James is averaging 42 points and 7 assists a game, there's no reason you should be losing a series. Unless those 42 points and 7 assists make up half of your overall points as a team. As great as he is, no one man can beat a team. And the Magic are team. A hell of a team actually. Sorry Lebron. We thought Mo was the answer. We were wrong.

-Dwight Howard is hitting his free throws. When Dwight came out and complained about not getting enough touches towards the ends of games, I laughed at him. I said that he has no reliable post moves and that teams could just foul him and waste possessions for the Magic. I was wrong. Last night he dominated the overtime, scoring 10 points and carrying the Magic to victory. He even made two clutch free throws to effectively end the game. Throw in his usual, award-winning defense and there's a good chance that we just saw the birth of a superstar last night. See, this is why I'm hoping that neither Lebron or Kobe make the Finals. I love one of them (not Kobe) and I think it would be a great matchup, but people need to realize that there are many, many phenomenal players in the NBA and that we shouldn't be putting all our eggs into one basket. Even if that basket is a 6'9", 270 pound man who can score like Jordan and pass like Magic.

-Rafer Alston is one win away from the NBA Finals. Let me repeat that. Rafer Alston. Our "beloved" Skip is on his way to playing for an NBA Championship. And he scored 26 points last night to actually help is team in a good way in an important game. Who would've thought, right? I don't know if we should be happy for him or bitter. I'm just going to settle for pleasantly perplexed.

-The Magic are better than the Cavaliers. Yes, yes I know, we're not allowed to say things like that. It's sacrilege or something of that nature. But it's true. They won two games by 40 points combined and lost by 4 during the regular season, and now could easily have just swept the Cavaliers. At first glance, making 17 threes last night seems like an anomaly. And yes, it's a lot. But when you dig a little deeper, you realize that that's the Orlando Magic. They shoot the ball and they shoot it damn well. When you factor in how open the threes were, 17 threes is almost a foregone conclusion. And it's not even Cleveland's fault. If they stay home on the shooters, they open the lane to the likes of Courtney Lee and especially Hedo Turkoglu with his constant driving, dishing, and scoring. Oh, and of course, that means they can't double-team this guy. Which, as we saw last night, probably isn't a good thing.

All things considered, I don't want to act like I saw this coming. I saw this coming after Game 1, but if you had told me a team would be up 3-1 in this series, I would not have guessed the Magic to be that team. Yes, that means I thought the Cavaliers were going to win. But, here we are. The King is about to be dethroned by a team without it's starting point guard, who also happens to be an All-Star. Just saying. Then again, being an All-Star doesn't seem to mean much in this series. Just ask him. Mo, just an idea here, but don't talk trash when you're on the Cavaliers and are not named Lebron. It just makes those 5-15 nights when you leave Lebron to fight a team all by himself that much worse for you.

Lakers-Nuggets

What's left to be said here? A lot actually. I don't really know why I said that. The Nuggets put on a valiant show in Game 4, beating the Lakers with defense, rebounding and some fire from J.R. Smith. But more on that later.

-Chris Andersen. That's it. If you saw the mini-documentary on him during the halftime show, you'd [hopefully] understand my man-crush on him a little better. When he said, "Look at me now," I teared up. Alright that's an exaggeration. But it was still a great video nonetheless. Billy put it up, take a look at it. I'd link you to it, but there's no way in hell I'm linking you to something Billy posted. Find it yourself.

-The Nuggets big men (Andersen, Nene, Martin) combined for 42 rebounds while Odom, Gasol and Bynum had 23 put together. In other words, the Nuggets wanted it and the boys in purple didn't. The Lakers had a 58-40 rebounding advantage and won the offensive board battle 20-9. The Lakers cannot allow that to happen again if they want to win this series. So, yeah, L.A., allow it to happen again.

-The Nuggets were able to win on a night when Kobe got his 34 and 'Melo was sick and injured. That means, like I've said before, that the Nuggets are the better team. They are deeper and have more weapons, which is why they won by 19 points with Carmelo struggling.

-A big reason for that was J.R. Smith. He did what we've expected him to do all series long. He came in, took a bunch of shots and changed the game. And, before we move on, I'd just like to point out something to you. "I'm not worried. J.R. Smith is the definition of streaky, and I won't be surprised if he averages 22 a game in the next two games in Denver on something like 60 percent shooting from three and 55 percent shooting from the field." That was me. Yes, I was actually [half] right about something. I know, it was only in Game 4 and my percentages were way off. I'll take credit anyway. It'd be great if you threw me a bone and agreed with me. 24 points, 4 threes and 1 badass post-shot celebration for this man.





J.R. Smith (the shirtless one), tatted up and ready to go.




So that leaves us at 2-2, with a big game tonight. A huge game. Monumental. Birdman-hair sized. That was a recycled joke. I think the winner of Game 5 wins the series, so here's hoping that the Nuggets win.

A Nuggets win tonight is dependent on their defense, rebounding, hustle and Carmelo Anthony. If they outplay the Lakers on the defensive end like they did in Game 4 and have a normal game from Anthony, they have a great shot at winning tonight. As for the Lakers, they need to remember how to box out, grab rebounds and most importantly, want the game. They can't come out flat like they've been prone to doing, and even games like Game 4 when they play hard but not as hard as they could will kill them against a team like the Nuggets. Against the Rockets, unfortunately, no. But against the more talented, deeper and fiery Nuggets? Yes. It's going to be another fight akin to Games 1-3. Don't expect a blowout. Don't expect any niceties to be exchanged between the two sides. This isn't the Champion's League (I actually shouldn't have said that. I watched Barcelona vs. Manchester United and actually enjoyed all of it. It was exciting and a great change of pace from what I'm used to. I think I'm actually starting to like soccer). But still, I mean what I said. There'll be no love lost between these two teams. It's far too late for that. Now is when things get chippy, ugly and sometimes even downright dirty. That means no more tripping, Dahntay. I'm looking forward to another great game and hopefully the boys in baby blue can pull out the win. If not, I don't really mind. At least not as much as I did before. My respect for Bryant has actually grown a lot, and while I still can't stand him, the Lakers or their fans, I suppose I don't hate them as much. That being said, I still want my Carmelo-Dwight Finals and would love to see Sasha Vujacic trying to console a raging-mad Kobe Bryant after they fail to win the championship yet again. And you're welcome to go now, I'm pretty much done here.

Just as an aside, I ordered a Hedo Turkoglu and Carmelo Anthony t-shirt jersey today. They should be here in about a week. Yes, just in time for the Finals. I don't know where my loyalties will lie if they face each other for the NBA Championship, so I got both just in case. I'll probably do something like switch shirts at halftime, or cheer for the home team. But my strange man-love is a completely different path that we don't need to be taking right now. Happy Wednesday and enjoy Game 5.

Conference Finals Recaps: Four Games, Four Posessions

Before we go any further, you need to see this. Not just the Lebron shot. We all know that he's not a human being. But the last two minutes as whole. Hedo hits a huge three and a twisting jumper in the lane that we would be talking about this morning if Lebron had never been born (granted, there would a lot less people saying "we are all witnesses" and other variations of the phrase). And after all of that, of course, you have one man breathing life back into 20,057 people at once in less than a second. Add that to the three tense games we've had before Game 2 and we're looking at one hell of a pair of series. And since I have nothing better to do with my time, why not look at both of them in a little more detail?

Western Conference Finals: Lakers-Nuggets

Even though Lebron is busy on the other side of the bracket with his usual ungodly work, this has been my favorite series of the playoffs so far. The frenetic pace, similar quality of the teams and the massive tattoo that is the Denver Nuggets are a few reasons why. Here's what we know after two games.

-Something, somewhere, somehow has clicked for Carmelo Anthony. I've said this before, but I just want to repeat it because I don't think people understand just how good he is. Watching him defend Bryant late in Game 2, his hand waving in Kobe's face, was something special. Yeah, Kobe hit a pull up three and a jumper to tie the game on two separate occasions with that hand waving in his face, but he's Kobe Bryant. You can say all you want about forcing him to his left and trying to make him settle for jump shots, but at the end of the day, he's going to make very, very tough, near impossible shots. That's why he's Kobe Bryant. But Carmelo's ball denial throughout the fourth quarter and especially on the last play of the game was spectacular. Anytime you can make Derek Fisher (and I don't care what the Lakers say about Kobe being a "decoy," we all know that that ball would have been in his hands if they could have gotten it to him) take the last shot of a game, you're in good shape. And I'm putting this up before any of you try to send this to me and try to convince me that Derek Fisher is a viable option in the clutch. That was a fantastic shot, but that was also five years ago. A lot has changed since then. Some things got better, Derek Fisher got worse. The point is, Carmelo has really come into his own in the playoffs this year, and we're finally getting to see it. His offensive game has always been unstoppable, and now that he's doing it on the defensive end as well as winning games, he's right up there with Lebron, Kobe and Wade.

-Chauncey's layup off a pass to himself off Kobe's back. Witty, savvy, intelligent, entertaining, creative, resourceful, brilliant. Just a few ways to describe it.

-The Denver Nuggets are a more talented team than the Los Angeles Lakers. Outside of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, the Nuggets are better at every position on the floor. Billups, Carmelo and Nene are better than their Lakers counterparts and the Nugget also have the deeper bench. The Lakers might be better coached, better led and an overall better team, but talent-wise the Nuggets are the winners. Of course, they've been talented for years. It's just that now they're finally living up to their potential.

-We're going to find out all we need to know about the Los Angeles Lakers from this series. If they want to beat the Nuggets, the Lakers are going to have to show up to every game and play tough, physical basketball, which are the two things they've been criticized for not doing consistently since last summer. If they do both of those in this series, there's no reason to think they won't in the Finals. Which, by the way, is where they'll be if they do. That combined with the Magic proving that the Cavaliers are still a part of the NBA and can lose to other NBA teams means that Kobe receiving the championship trophy while awkwardly interacting with his teammates and pretending to like them as they wonder why he's not yelling or scowling at them followed by a contrived Bryant speech about how he couldn't have done it by himself before he ignores his team for two months is becoming more and more likely. The only thing that could make this moment any better is if afterwords Sasha Vujacic tried to take the trophy from Bryant to hold, only to get a Kobe elbow to his mouth followed by a "The Only Reason I Talk To Any Of You Is Because I Haven't Found A Way To Clone Myself And Win The Championship By Going Kobe-On-Five" glare from Bryant. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a little excited.

I'll write a little more after tonight's Game 3, but right now we're moving on to the second series.

Eastern Conference Finals: Magic-Cavaliers

In one of the most surprising games of the playoffs that in hindsight probably shouldn't have been that surprising, the Magic stole Game 1 from the Cavaliers. They tried to do the same in Game 2, but as you saw above, Lebron James had something to say about it. I've got a few incoherent thoughts about the series so far.

-The Magic are an excellent team, and them beating Cleveland is not as out of the question as we'd all like to think. They almost just beat Cleveland twice in two days at Quicken Loans Arena. To put that in perspective, Cleveland only lost twice at home all year, and one of those losses was a game in which Lorenzon Wright played 35 minutes. Don't ask who, it's not important. But listen to the following scenario without thinking about who the teams actually are and decide for yourself. During the regular season, Team A beats Team B twice at home, once by 11 and once by 29, and loses to Team B by 4 on the road. In their first game of the playoffs Team A comes back from a 15 point deficit to win on the road. In Game 2, Team A comes back from 23 down only to lose on a last second three point shot. If you didn't know that Team A was the Magic and Team B was the Cavaliers, who would you pick to win three out of the next five games in the series? It would have to be Team A right? Which brings me to my second point.

-Don't get too excited about the Magic. Even though could easily be up 2-0 right now, they could just as easily be down 2-0. And even though they came back from double digit deficits in both games, there's a reason they were down by so much. They are a streaky team. Any team whose offense is built around three point shooting and a center without any reliable low post moves is going to have stretches where it can't score. Any team led by Rafer Alston, and I know that this doesn't have to be said on a Rockets blog of all places, is going to have it's share of problems. The Magic were also one of the best road teams in the NBA this year and are not that much better at home than they are away from it. So before you jump onto the Magic bandwagon, remember that they still have this guy as their starting point guard.

On a semi-related note, I made a bet with a friend last night about the Magic-Cavaliers series. If the Cavaliers win I have to eat a full box of Eggo cereal with a jug of milk in one sitting. If they lose I get 30 dollars. It's a little lopsided, but so is the series. The reason I'm telling you this is because I'm a Magic fan for the next 3-5 games. So don't get confused if you see a little more fawning over Hedo Turkoglu than usual.

-The "momentum" of a playoff series isn't as big of a deal as people might make it out to be. The reason Lebron's shot was so huge was because it tied the series at 1-1 instead of sending the Cavaliers into Orlando down 0-2. Not because of the confidence or swagger or whatever-the-hell-you-want-to-call-it it gave back to the Cavs. At the end of the day, a shot is a shot. The Magic had three losses at the buzzer before Game 2, so it obviously didn't have too adverse of an effect on them. And as for the momentum of the series being changed, momentum changes all the time. That's why it's momentum. It's fleeting. If the first play of the game is an entry pass to Dwight Howard followed by one of his thunderous dunks where he nearly throws the ball into the hoop or a Howard block on a Lebron drive that sends the ball into the fourth row, who has the momentum then? It's the fact that it won the game, not the momentum shift it may have caused, that makes Lebron's shot so amazing.

-The Cavaliers shouldn't be panicking. Should they be worried? Yes. But they should have been worried before the series started. The Magic were clearly the better team when they played in the regular season. Eight wins against mediocre teams that probably shouldn't have been in the playoffs doesn't change that. The Cavaliers weren't going to go 16-0 to win the championship, and it's better that their first loss came relatively early. They recovered, won their next game, and now have to win one on the road. It's as simple as that.

-"Carmelo Anthony has been the best player who has played this week...And yes, I'm aware that now Lebron is going to drop 50 tomorrow and make me look like a fool." Damnit. But in all seriousness, I stand by that statement. Hopefully 'Melo does something tonight to make it look like I'm not a complete idiot.

What I'm trying to say in a very ineffective, inefficient and unneccessarily wordy way is that we have up to 10 more close games on our hands, and that's something any basketball fan should be anticipating. The first four games of the Conference Finals have been decided by four possessions, and that's truly special. So many little things can happen in a game like a shot rimming out, a missed free throw, a player stepping out of bounds, a bobbled pass, a bad call (a really bad call, an embarrassingly bad call, you get the idea), that it's rare to have so many games being so close. What's interesting is how important seemingly unimportant things become. For example, Dwight Howard went 4-8 from the free throw line in Game 2. If they had won you would look at the box score and think "So what? He's a terrible free throw shooter. It's expected." Now you look at it wonder what would have happened if he made two of those four that he missed. The beauty of these games is that Anthony Johnson missing a jumper in the second quarter becomes just as important as Lebron James making a three with one second left in the fourth, that Pau Gasol missing three free throws over the course of the game affects the game's outcome just as much as Derek Fisher missing the potentially game-tying three at the buzzer. Hopefully these four games are an indicator of what's yet to come in the Conference Finals, because I don't think anyone, regardless of who they support, would mind more games like the ones we've had. I just hope that Hedo recovers from his heartbreaking defeat at the hands of The King, that the Nuggets are able to push the Lakers and Kobe Bryant a little closer to an emotional breakdown tonight, and that we get as many of those Lebron-Kobe puppet commercials as possible.

A quick note on tonight's Game 3 of the Lakers-Nuggets series. I think the Nuggets are going to win tonight. The Lakers are hungover from a heartbreaking Game 2 loss and are probably scared for the first time in the playoffs, maybe even all year. The Nuggets are confident and are going back home where they haven't lost in something like 24 years (it's more like since mid-March, but it feels like a lot longer). I see another close, highly contested game with more continued brilliance from Carmelo and another victory for the Nuggets. And, by the way, we shouldn't have to say that about Carmelo anymore. He's on that level now with Kobe and Lebron where you don't have to mention that he's going to dominate because everyone already knows it.

Another "quick" note on Lebron's shot. What stood out the most was the reaction of the fans before and after the shot. It really is amazing how in a single second a single person can change the fortune of a team and by consequence an entire city. It was like those decades of suffering of Cleveland sports fans (the Indians haven't won a World Series since 1948, the Cavaliers have never won the championship, the Browns have never won the Super Bowl or even played in one) were erased with that single shot. After years and years of suffering, Cleveland invested everything it had left into an 18 year old kid from Akron and he has blessed them with his play ever since. I was reading a Sports Illustrated article and in it someone said that Lebron was "God's gift to Cleveland," and he proved it to us last night. In one arching, fading motion, Lebron carried the hopes, dreams and wishes of an entire city to a better place. Now that that's out of the way, I'll leave you with this. You know, just to clarify where my loyalties lie.

Why Mcgrady Has To Go (And Various Thoughts From The Conference Finals)

I noticed a few things in Billy's article and in the Conference Finals that I'd like to share with you. One of them was his blatant misspelling of the word "bait" (he spelled it bate). Another was the comments about how Mcgrady can still help us. I love Mcgrady and argued for him all year until the microfracture surgery, but I don't think that he will ever suit up for us again.

First things first, I understand how good Mcgrady is. I remember that he average something like 24-7-7 during our winning streak last season, I remember his 40 in Game 6 of the Utah series. I also know that you don't go from scoring 40 in your last game of a season to averaging 15 a game the next season naturally, so obviously something was wrong this year. Ideally he has fixed whatever the problem was and will come back fully healthy, but his ability is not the problem anymore (and to be truthful, it never was, it was his commitment to working, but that's another story for another day). In fact, I'm almost sure he's going to go back to averaging 20 points a game, but that's not why he needs to leave our team.

Whether it's true or not, the seed has been planted in every Rocket's head that the team is better without Tracy Mcgrady. For the record, I don't think we are. Yes, we played better without him. We also had a healthy Artest and Battier as well as a newly unleashed Aaron Brooks. Don't forget that when you talk about how we "don't need" Mcgrady. But no matter what the truth is, the Rockets now think they don't need T-Mac. Yes, the Houston Rockets now believe we don't need our supposed savior, the man who was going to take us back to where the Dream took us, the man who "just sucked the gravity right out of the building." The man who beat the Spurs in the greatest comeback in NBA history. Now that we won a playoff series without Mcgrady, the doubt has been solidified. (In an unrelated note, the commercial for "The Hangover" just came on. There is absolutely nothing, and I will repeat, absolutely nothing, more bizarre than Mike Tyson singing "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins.) But that's neither here nor there nor anywhere in the vicinity of either of those two places. The point is, Mcgrady will not be able to just walk into practice now that the Rockets "know" that we are better without him. That is the kind of mental damage that cannot be repaired. Bridges have been burned, and I believe it's time for both parties to move on. Not because it's the best option, but because we have to.

That being said, I would have advocated trading Mcgrady anyways. He is past his prime and his contract expires at the perfect time, as Billy just explained, which gives us a lot of options. Hopefully we can parlay (what a word) his contract into a star wing player and actually get somwhere next year. We'll keep you updated with news and our most likely worthless commentary on the matter as the offseason progresses.

And the Nuggets just beat the Lakers in Game 2. The series is tied at 1-1 with two games being decided by a combined 5 points. I'm going to put up a recap of the first two games of both this and the Cavaliers-Magic series on Saturday night, so I'll just make a few comments here.

-Carmelo Anthony has been the best player who has played this week. Yes, I know Kobe and Lebron have been playing, but the things Anthony has been doing are amazing. His offensive game is, since I really have no other word for it, perfect. He can score from inside, outside and everywhere in between. And yes, I'm aware that now Lebron is going to drop 50 tomorrow and make me look like a fool.

-Chauncey Billups is missing free throws. It's probably nothing, but it's still something, if that makes sense. I don't like that he went 1-2 with 4 seconds left when making both of them would win the game. Things like that are what make good teams lose games they should win.

-J.R. Smith has been nonexistent. Actually, he's been existent, he's just been really, really bad. Horrendous even. Usualy out of control. Sometimes just stupid. He's been all of those things, but in all honesty, I'm not worried. J.R. Smith is the definition of streaky, and I won't be surprised if he averages 22 a game in the next two games in Denver on something like 60 percent shooting from three and 55 percent shooting from the field.

-In Game 1, the Nuggets led by 8 after the first quarter and 1 at the half, their biggest lead was 15 and they lost by one possession. In game 2, the Lakers led by 8 after the first quarter and 1 at halftime, their biggest lead was 15 and they lost by one possession. In both games, Pau Gasol made more agonized faces than Yao Ming during an x-ray.

-The Magic are a very good basketball team. In case you missed Game 1, which you shouldn't have, I just want to tell you that it was not an anomaly. They won the way they usually do, Dwight dominating the paint, their shooters hitting 3s and Hedo "The Legend" Turkoglu running the show. And in all seriousness, "The Legend" should be Hedo's new nickname. He deserves it. Really. I'm dead serious. The point of this is that I think they will give the Cavaliers a fight, and while I still think Cleveland is going to win, (that Lebron fellow is not too shabby) I now think it's going to be in 7 games.

I'll post a deeper recap of what I saw in the first four games sometime Saturday, so that's another article for you to read. Or more realistically, another article for you to ignore. Happy Friday everyone.

Also, feel free to call out Billy about his Rockets Season Grades which were supposed to be "coming soon". If Mcgrady had the same work ethic as Billy there's no way he'd even be coming back next year, let alone returning to his pre-surgery form. Oh wait. Damnit. Forget I said anything.