Oh, wait. Did I just miss “the greatest comeback in the history of the finals?” Did the Celtics really hand the Lakers their first home loss in the playoffs after being down by 24 points?

My main problem was the fact that I sat through the entire miserable first half and I didn’t feel like sitting through a second. Here’s the gist of what was going through my head during those first 24 minutes:

Oh no, the C’s are coming out a little lazy, that’s not good. The Lakers aren’t missing any shots. The Celtics look sloppy. Too many turnovers. This is going to get ugly. Lakers opening a big lead. Doc, call a timeout. Doc, timeout. Timeout Doc. Timeout. Let’s call a timeout. Timeout. Timeout. Timeout. Dammit Doc, a timeout. Why is Eddie House shooting so much? Pass the ball Eddie. STOP JACKING UP SHOTS! Where the hell is that timeout? If Sam Cassell turns the ball over one more time, I’m going to reach through the TV and punch him in the face. You know what would be awesome right about now: a timeout. Doc, why don’t you calm everyone down with a timeout? Be a buddy and call a timeout. F**KING TIMEOUT! Why are 5 guys guarding Kobe and leaving the rest of the team wide open at the three point line? Trevor Ariza for three? Down by 24. We so need a timeout. Please, Doc. FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, CALL A DAMN TIMEOUT.

/ Kobe misses a three
/ Garnet hits a jumper
/ Radmanovic misses a three
/ Allen hits a three
/ Phil Jackson calls a timeout

Arrrrggghhh!

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For a team that was dogged most of the season for not having one, the Celtics are getting plenty of game changing play from their bench during the playoffs. Last night it was Leon Powe, who I hear warms up before games by doing cock pushups (at least that’s what his ABC halftime profile said), scoring 21 points in less than 15 minutes on the floor. He also threw down a few.

The Celtics are also playing some great – dare I say glorious – defense against the Lakers. Swarming Kobe away from the basket, disrupting the triangle offense, and controlling the glass. With the exception of Gasol, the Lakers are also doing their part by settling for long jumpers instead of going aggressively to the basket. Or maybe you agree with Phil Jackson that it’s the ref s who are in the bag for Boston.

Wait. Is it too late for my playoff prediction? Celtics in 4! Celtics sweep! Lakers suck!

Alright that was fun. But in reality, the Lakers are too good to allow that to happen. Kobe is too good to let Boston take 2 out of 3 in LA. This series is going back to Boston. Mark my words. In pencil. So I can erase them when I’m wrong.

Nels’ prediction of the Celtics in 6 is looking particularly prescient today.

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On a related note, if the Celtics split the 3 in LA 2-1, my prediction of Green in 6 is looking pretty good.

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The Celtics are older, but not so old that they’ll be outrun or out hustled by the Lakers. Just old enough to have enough at stake that they have to win it now. The Lakers can make another run next year, and probably the year after that and still be successful. The Celtics might not have as large a window, so their Big 3 will be fighting harder for it. Celtics in 6.

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• There’s one sport that can get away with playing exactly one game in a week, and it’s not basketball. Thank God Lebron made it to the finals, otherwise the NBA might have been challenging the NHL for the worst ratings in the history of, well, I guess ever.
• Although I didn’t officially throw out a finals prediction, if I had, I probably would have went with the Spurs in four or five (in a related note, my Dad could have totally kicked your Dad’s ass back in the day). But then I read something like this from Henry Abbott, and he pretty much convinces me that the Cavs are going to win. Well played, Henry Abbott, well played.
• If I can give you once piece of advice for your fantasy draft next season, it would be to NOT DRAFT DANIEL GIBSON. In a couple months, come round 7 or 8, you’ll probably be looking for a guy you’ve heard of, someone familiar, and Gibson may pop into your head. You may think to yourself, hey, he had a great playoff run, he’s in for a breakout year! The thought will come, let it pass, draft someone else.
• I’m not hating on Gibson. He’s got a great playoff blog on NBA.com. It’s the first time I’ve seen the word “mom’s” in written form in my life, and I love how he told the story about how he got the nickname “Boobie” without actually telling us how he got the nickname.
• Here’s to Lebron making things interesting tonight.

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I’m leaning towards the Cavs in this one based on their ability to put out 10 videos to the Spurs Silver Dancers who only have 4.

The balance of power shifts, though, when you recall that I voted Kim the number two hottest All-Star Dancer. None of the Cavs dancers (lamely called the Cavalier Girls – but wisely appealing to all the pervs out there) even made the list (the list was only 5 dancers though so really you the odds are pretty slim – kind of like most of the dancers).

The balance of power shifts back, though, because the Cavalier Girls have 26 photo galleries. Their site is also easier to find your way around. The Silver Dancers site seemed like it should have more, and while it’s a prettier site, it’s really quite shallow when it comes down to it. And the CG site made it a lot easier for me to grab photos for this post.

The photos are out of date since they don’t have the 06-07 calendar pictures online (understandably), but really, everyone knows that the best place to get cheerleader pictures is at Sports Illustrated anyway.

I know whenever my hair gets blown in my face, I’m forced to hang onto my swimsuit for dear life.

Yes, all women need somwhere to rest their hands. If you don’t have pockets to put them in, the top of your swimsuit is the next best place. Followed by the bottom of your swimsuit, but really, only hos do that.

No good caption for this one. Just wanted to show off those skyscrapers. The ones in the Cleveland skyline.

WINNER: Cavalier Girls by +4.5 (if you’re betting)

Winner of the series? Sorry, it’s going to San Antonio.

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Ain’t nothing wrong with a little HaddaWade.

Thanks to the unapologetic Digg clone NBA Ballers for that one. Actually it’s kind of interesting, given the extreme focus on only 7 players. I suppose picking the 7 most popular players in the league is probably the easiest way to get traffic to the site. But I think you need more than about 4 members to really have a good social network. I mean, I drink Web2.0 Kool-Aid on the daily, but how many of these sites can The Internet really support?

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Behold, the Sonics in the NBA Finals, rocking you like a hurricane:

Also behold, the updated and (in my opinion) uglier controls fresh from the YouTube graphic UI design team:

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I can just say this, and I think it summarizes about 80% of my opinion within +/- 10%:

Dwyane Wade is the only player in the Finals on either team who deserves a ring.

Even just writing that, I’m tempted to explain, but you know what? I’m not going to. I’m going to let that statement stand on it’s own. I’ve ready so many blog posts and new articles over the past 4 days that it would take me the rest of the offseason to address all the points I feel need addressing, and even then, everyone in Dallas, most people in Miami, and even the other 18 die-hard NBA fans would still disagree with something I’d said.

I still would buy the DVD set of every single game of the 2006 NBA Playoffs (if the NBA – and ABC – can make such a product a reality for a price of less than $3.95/game). And, now that those playoffs are over, there is a draft and an offseason that will be filled with fantasy-relevant news. I (and presumably PMad) will be back on topic until the end of the 2006-07 season, starting right now.*

* For me, at least; I can’t control what PMad writes.

EDIT: So, I just went through my Bloglines and felt compelled to cut down on the venom that was running through the veins of this post. It was already out there, so some people will see the original. Everyone else will just have to accept that I feel better now. Still don’t like Bill Simmons, though.

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7:21 – 10 blocks? That’s pretty ridiculous.

I might not post anything else now, and just let PMad handle it.

0:26.2 – Great. Wade pushes off and they call a foul on Dirk. I was really hoping they could win the game and not have anything for people to argue about. I got really overwhelmed by reading blog post after blog post after news story about Game 5. Let the rest of this be a clean one, please.

0:17.7 – No foul on that pass by Dampier, right? Clean steal.

I know my wife will be happy if this is over.

0:11.5 – There, they called a foul on Wade.

0:9.1 – They’re trying to give it to Dallas with the travel call.

But no! It’s over!

Miami is the 2006 NBA Champion! It may have been controversial, but I think they proved they were the better of the 2 teams. Only about 3 points better, though. But I’m sure many championships were won by 3 points. Can’t think of any off the top of my head, of course… but if it weren’t close, then it wouldn’t really be a championship.

I like how Derek Anderson is celebrating like he did something. At least GP hit some key shots, and Mourning got some key blocks, and Antoine didn’t totally screw everything up. DA played for like 6 seconds in the last quarter of the last game.

Congrats Miami. Helluva playoffs for all 16 teams involved.

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