Drafts 1984-1989

1984

This is the draft that really changes the landscape of the league in the 90s. The Rockets obviously takes MJ with the first pick, the Blazers ignore Sam Bowie and wisely take Hakeem and the Bulls ended up with Charles Barkley. We can’t forget about Mr. John Stockton being headed to Dallas instead of being ignored by 15 teams until Utah grabbed him.

Championship Builders: Rockets, Blazers, Bulls, Mavs
Biggest Jump: Jerome Kersey from 46 to 9

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Rockets -- Michael Jordan (3)
2. Blazers-- Hakeem Olajuwon (1)
3. Bulls-- Charles Barkley (5)
4. Mavs-- John Stockton (16)
5. Sixers-- Sam Perkins (4)
6. Bullets-- Alvin Robertson (7)
7. Spurs-- Kevin Willis (11)
8. Clippers-- Michael Cage (14)
9. Kings-- Jerome Kersey (46)





1985


The first ever lottery draft was fixed for the Knicks (according to some conspiracy theorists) and they walk away with one of the greatest power forwards ever , taking the Jazz from contention for the next 12 years, hence Ewing falls in the lap of the Indiana Pacers. This is a tough draft class featuring enforcers like Oakley, A.C. Green, Mario Elie. Terry Porter, Ty Corbin and the X Man.



Championship Builders: Knicks, Pacers
Biggest Jump: Mario Elie from 160 to 12th.

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Knicks-- Karl Malone (13)
2. Pacers -- Patrick Ewing (1)
3. Clippers-- Chris Mullin (7)
4. Sonics-- Joe Dumars (18)
5. Hawks-- Detlef Schrempf (8)
6. Kings-- Terry Porter (24)
7. Warriors-- Charles Oakley (9)
8. Mavs-- Xavier McDaniel (4)
9. Cavs-- A.C. Green (23)
10. Suns-- Wayman Tisdale (2)
11. Bulls-- John Williams (45)
12. Bullets-- Mario Elie (160)


1986

I like to call this class the “What If?” class. Just putting out there the idea if Len Bias actually plays in the NBA is he named in the same class that Dr J. , Drexler and Kobe ? Maybe a notch lower with Vinsanity, Pistol Pete and Joe D? Is he the guy that was supposed to really challenge MJ as Bill Simmons once said? Another “What If?” for u: Sabonis is in this class but he didn’t go to the States until 1995. If this guy had played in the NBA a decade earlier would he had been remembered as a top 5 center of all time?
What if Drazen Petrovic doesn’t die? What if Dennis Rodman is kept away from Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer? Does he learn to rebound like he did? Does he go psycho on us?....

Championship Builders: Cavs, Celtics
Biggest Jump: Drazen Petrovic from 60 to 7th.

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Cavs-- Len Bias (2)
2. Celtics-- Brad Daugherty (1)
3. Warriors-- Chuck Person (4)
4. Pacers-- Arvydas Sabonis (24)
5. Knicks-- Mark Price (25)
6. Suns-- Ron Harper (8)
7. Mavs-- Drazen Petrovic (60)
8. Cavs-- Dennis Rodman (27)
9. Bulls-- Jeff Hornacek (46)
10. Spurs-- Scott Skiles (22)

1987


Perhaps the biggest effect in the remaking of this draft is on the Bulls. They are not getting Scottie Pippen nor Horace Grant. Instead of that they are getting Derrick McKey and Sarunas Marciulionis to team up with Michael Jordan.


Championship Builders: Spurs
Biggest Jump: Sarunas Marciulionis from 127 to 8th.

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Spurs-- David Robinson (1)
2. Suns-- Reggie Miller (11)
3. Nets-- Scottie Pippen (5)
4. Clippers-- Reggie Lewis (22)
5. Sonics-- Mark Jackson (18)
6. Kings-- Horace Grant (10)
7. Cavs-- Kevin Johnson (7)
8. Bulls-- Derrick McKey (9)
9. Sonics-- Kenny Smith (6)
10. Bulls-- Sarunas Marciulionis (127)
11. Pacers-- Reggie Williams (4)




1988

A whole lof of role players in this year, no major effects redoing this one!

Championship Builders: None
Biggest Jump: Anthony Mason from 53 to 9th.

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)


1. Clippers-- Mitch Richmond (5)
2. Pacers-- Rik Smits (2)
3. Sixers-- Danny Manning (1)
4. Nets-- Hersey Hawkins (6)
5. Warriors-- Dan Majerle (14)
6. Clippers-- Rod Strickland (19)
7. Suns-- Rony Seikaly (9)
8. Hornets-- Charles Smith (3)
9. Heat-- Anthony Mason (53)
10. Spurs-- Rex Champman (8)





1989


This is a class hard to read, there is no clear cut number one guy - or even number 2 – but there are very good solid role players. Some of them had their moments. I’m just putting Tim Hardaway up at number one because he is a clutch point guard. You can’t find too many of those

Championship Builders: None
Biggest Jump: Shawn Kemp from 17th to 2nd.

1. Kings-- Tim Hardaway (14)
2. Clippers-- Shawn Kemp (17)
3. Spurs-- Glen Rice (4)
4. Heat-- Vlade Divac (26)
5. Hornets-- Sean Elliot (3)
6. Bulls-- Nick Anderson (11)
7. Pacers-- Mookie Blaylock (12)
8. Mavs-- George McCloud (7)
9. Bullets-- Danny Ferry (2)
10. Twolves-- B.J. Armstrong (18)
11. Magic-- Pervis Ellison (1)
12. Nets-- Dana Barros (16)

Drafts 1978-1983

1978

I left Larry Bird for the next year because he belonged to that draft class. The Blazers got great help in Michael Ray Richardson to continue their search to get back to a championship level. The championship teams of Philly and LA got a big hit as two of their main players (Maurice Cheeks and Michael Cooper respectively) got drafted by different teams.

Championship Builders: Blazers, Knicks and Warriors

Biggest Jump: Michael Cooper from 60 to 3

Pick Order. Picking Team Player Selected ( Position, Original position drafted)

1. Blazers -- Michal Ray Richardson (G, 4)

2. Kings -- Mychal Thompson (C, 1)

3. Pacers -- Michael Cooper (G, 60)

4. Knicks -- Maurice Cheeks (G, 36)

5. Warriors -- Reggie Theus (G, 9)

6. Celtics -- Purvis Short (F, 5)

7. Blazers -- Dave Corzine (C, 18)

8. Celtics -- Mike Mitchell (F, 15)

9. Bulls -- John Long (C, 29)

10. Hawks -- Freeman Williams (F,8)

11. Jazz -- Phil Ford (G,2)

1979

History in the making here as the Chicago Bulls drafted Larry Bird pretty much scratching the 80’s matchup between the Lakers and the Celtics. The Pistons franchise also got a big hit to their future championship run as, Seattle Sonics, took two of their main guns with the 6^th and 7^th pick although they got Sydney Moncrief and Mark Eaton with their picks.

Championship Builders: Lakers, Bulls, Sonics

Biggest Jump: Mark Eaton from 107 to 10th

Pick Order. Picking Team Player Selected ( Position, Original position drafted)

1. Lakers -- Magic Johnson (G, 1)

2. Bulls -- Larry Bird (F, 6 (1978))

3. Knicks -- Bill Cartwright (C, 3)

4. Pistons -- Syndey Moncrief (G, 5)

5. Bucks -- Calvin Natt (F, 8)

6. Sonics -- Bill Laimbeer (C, 65)

7. Sonics -- Vinnie Johnson (G, 7)

8. Nets -- Clifford Robinson (F, 11)

9. Knicks -- Dave Greenwood (F, 2)

10. Pistons -- Mark Eaton (C, 107)

11. Nets -- Jim Paxson (G, 12)

12. Blazers -- James Donaldson (C, 73)

1980

A very weak draft, pretty much a 2 player draft as the Warriors got a great power forward to pair with their center Robert Parish (weird eh?) and the Jazz and the Bulls got quality players.

Championship Builders: Warriors, Jazz

Biggest Jump: Kurt Rambis from 58 to 8.

Pick Order. Picking Team Player Selected ( Position, Original position drafted)

1. Warriors -- Kevin McHale (F, 3)

2. Jazz -- Kiki Vandeweghe (F, 11)

3. Celtics -- Joe Barry Carroll (C, 1)

4. Bulls -- Andrew Toney (G, 8)

5. Nuggets -- Jeff Ruland (C, 25)

6. Nets -- Darrell Griffith (G, 4)

7. Nets -- Rick Mahorn (F, 35)

8. Sixers -- Kurt Rambis (F, 58)

1981

The expansion team Dallas Mavericks got a hell of a building stone with Isiah Thomas but the winner of the draft must be the Nets who got two quality big guys. Again the great drafting by the Boston Celtics in this era is shown as another piece of their championships is stolen from them as Danny Ainge is selected in the 7^th spot instead of landing in Red Auerbach lap until the 31th pick.

Championship Builders: Nets, Hawks

Biggest Jump: Danny Ainge from 31 to 7.

Pick Order. Picking Team Player Selected ( Position, Original position drafted)

1. Mavs -- Isiah Thomas (G, 2)

2. Pistons -- Mark Aguirre (G, 1)

3. Nets -- Tom Chambers (C, 8)

4. Hawks -- Rolando Blackman (G, 9)

5. Sonics -- Larry Nance (F, 20)

6. Bulls -- Buck Williams (F, 3)

7. Kings -- Danny Ainge (G , 31)

8. Clippers -- Orlando Woolridge (G, 6)

9. Mavs -- Eddie Johnson (F, 29)

10. Nets -- Steve Johnson (C, 7)

11. Bullets -- Alton Lister (C, 21)

1982

Another weak draft basically a 4 player draft where the 57 win newly crowned Lakers team got the man they originally selected and the Mavs show the poor drafting they did as a young franchise first passing on Isiah Thomas a year ago and now taking a guy named Bill Garnett instead of Rickiee Pierce or Fat Lever.

Championship Builders: Lakers

Biggest Jump: Derek Smith from 35 to 7.

Pick Order. Picking Team Player Selected ( Position, Original position drafted)

1. Lakers -- James Worthy 1

2. Clippers -- Dominique Wilkins 3

3. Jazz -- Terry Cummings 2

4. Mavs -- Ricky Pierce 18

5. Kings -- Fat Laver 11

6. Knicks -- Sleepy Floyd 13

7. Bulls -- Derek Smith 35

8. Pacers -- LaSalle Thompson 5

1983

One of the strongest draft until that date gave us one great big guy and a bunch of quality shooting guards but one guy was head and shoulders above all those guards and that was Clyde Drexler. His drafting by his hometowne Rockets gave them a hell of a stepping stone for years to come and takes out the Blazers from contention in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The Rockets walk away with the scoring prowess of Jeff Malone. Meanwhile the Pacers don´t do to shabby as they select Ralph Sampson to pair with Herb Williams

Championship Builders: Rockets, Pacers

Biggest Jump: Doc Rivers from 31^th to 9

Pick Order. Picking Team Player Selected ( Position, Original position drafted)

1. Rockets -- Clyde Drexler (G,14)

2. Pacers -- Ralp Sampson (C,1)

3. Rockets -- Jeff Malone (F. 10 )

4. Clippers -- Byron Scott (G, 4)

5. Bulls -- Dale Ellis (G. 9)

6. Warriors -- John Paxson (G, 19)

7. Jazz -- Thurl Bailey (F, 7)

8. Pistons -- Derek Harper (G, 11)

9. Mavs -- Doc Rivers (G, 31)

10. Bullets -- Antoine Carr (F, 8)

Rewriting history

Well hello there ...

Yeap, trying to come back here so instead of commenting about current events or ground breaking news that chocks everyone i decided to go against common sense and go ahead and write about boring and old stuff. These upcoming three o so posts I'm redoing every draft since 1978. Why 1978 u might ask? From this draft on players that really have an effect on what we know as the NBA started getting into the league. Legends like Bird, M.J. , Drexler, Scottie, Isaiah got drafted by difference teams that the ones where they build their legacy.

The ground rules are that players are selected where they should had been selected. No Sam Bowie, no Michal Olowakandi, no Darko Milicic in the top 5. Stockton and Malone don't go after the 10th pick and Manu gets selected in the first round. Just put yourself in the shoes of Joe Dumars in 2003 knowing everything you know right now. Did you pic Melo o Wade before Darko? Do you select Bosh insteand? In the cases where the players had similar careers or similar impacts in their respective teams the way to break the "tie" would be which players fullfills better the needs of selecting team at the time.

2008 Trading Bonanza. The Sequel ?

Four monts go by so quickly. I gain nothing looking back and trying to explain my non existening fan base what the hell I've been doing during the NBA Season. I have been watching. I know what's going on but I'm sure y'all also know what is happening so let's call it a day , a'right?

I've finally been compelled to blog thanks to the tons and tons of trade rumors out there. So I'm killing some time arranging some trades that should happen (Using ESPN's Trade Machine or RealGM's Trade Checker. Keep this in mind and weight in this trades the economic scenario we are living in. Small market teams like Hornets or Milwaukee might be force to surrender some key players just because there's not enough money to pay the luxury tax. This is a reality. It certainly sucks for a team like New Orleans to give away Tyson Chandler for some scrub and a draft pick but this are the times that even the deep pockets ain't so deep no more (Yeah, the rest of us who don't even have pockets we are just fucked)

The Amar'e Saga

Apparently Amar'e is going nowhere. If something happens in the next couple of days this is the trade I'd like see happening. Amare to Toronto, Bosh to Chicago, a nice little package to Phoenix.
Why would Colangelo do this? I know is far fetched but somewhere down the line Colangelo will have to trade Bosh. This way he's getting a player ready for primetime, not just a kid with some upside and a hustle swing player in Nocioni, that might prove to be better suited for Toronto than Shawn Marion (cheaper too). Phoenix is geting more than 12 million dollars coming off the book next season and Chicago is getting the franchise big guy to pair with Rose.
Chances of happening? 0.2%





The Blazers

Kevin Pritchard is looking at Caron Butler, Richard Jefferson and Gerald Wallace. I do think he's going to end up with one of those guys.

Washington might be shaving salaries just as a consecuence of their record. I don't see them moving Butler but I see Jamison in different colors next weekend. More on him later.

Milwaukee is going nowhere this season or next or the next one after that. If you ask me Michael Redd is not a franchise player but right now he's injured and untradable. As the big australian is untouchable the only valuable piece here is Jefferson. So he'll be sacrificied for the all mighty dollar. The Bucks get LaFrentz's contract and a couple of young guns. Next year they can trade Redd and I promise you the Buck will be in a better place
Chances of happening? 30%

Larry Brown likes Gerald Wallace. He does. But again economics might get in the way and I assure you they prefer keeping Okafor than Wallace. That's the only reason why I see something like this happening. This way the Bobcats get rid of Felton in the process and get in return cap space (aka LaFrentz' expiring contract), Sergio Rodriguez and the likeable sweet shooting Martell Webster. Throw some draft picks here and there and they are done. Take this as a straight up salary dumping move
Chances of happening? 14%


And Chris Paul is pick and rolling with...

Another crisis related move. Add one of the 800 draft picks Sam Presti has collected and we have a cute little trade. You know I hold Wilcox in high regard. He works hard, great rebounder, good guy. A little undersized and he might collide with West in the court but the Hornets would save more then 11 million dollars this offseason. And Chandler gets a fresh start ...again...
Chances of happening? 49%



Dead Wizards

They might no be dead (Basketball wise they are) but they are too expensive to be this bad. Arenas is...Arenas. Whatever that means. So their tradeable assets are Jamison and Butler. Butler is younger and that is why he's the guy staying and Jamison is the one packing his stuff. A pretty much straight up Jamison for Artest deal might be the right path for both teams and players. Houston gets a reliable 4 and Washington get a half season trial on Artest ( why everybody gets and "Artest trial" You all know that he can snap after more han 4 months, right?). Not sure the Rockets are going to give up on their own "big three" just yet but they might realize that this guys are not delivering no championship.
Chances of happening? 8%

Dont' hold your breath for...

This are the thing you are not going to see happening this season:

1. I don't see the Celtics repeating. The hunger will be there but the health and those lucky bounces might not be there this year. And the chances of a team as soft as the Lakers getting out of the West are very poor.

2. The Knicks wining more than 34 games. There's going to be trades, lineup shuffling, mardbury complains,etc..just keeping the drama going.

3. Jermaine O'neal is not coming back to his old form pre-melee. I like the guy, he's a great post player and we don't much of those left and I just hope he plays enough time and there's enough game in him to open up the game a little for Chris Bosh

4. Corey Maggette celebrating a championship (I know cheap shot for selecting the Warriors over the Spurs)

5. The Suns getting out of the first round. They do have enough talent in there for a 55 win season but I don't care how much the slow down I can't see Amare , Nash and Shaq defeating the Spurs, Hornets or Jazz.

6. Lebron's first ring. Might be his MVP season ( if he doesn't start cruising 20 games in the season) but Mo Williams doesn't strike as the Scottie Pippen type of player and their shooters have never been that stone cold!

7. The Pistons holding their fourth O'brien Trophy. I think this guys' run ended in Lebron's 48 point game. They need to retool and pronto.

8. The Hornets having another season like last one. Something tells me this guys are going to take a step back, maybe Chandler or West but I'm see them as a 6th or 5th seed and get kick in their buts by the Lakers or Jazz at some point in the playoffs.

9. Bibby staying in Atlanta. Come on, seriously? What's that guy doing there?!

10. Michael Beasley competing and behaving. I just get a weird vibe from this guy. When the Heat are 8-20 and the Wolves just beat the crap out of them by 36 you are going to see the real Michael Beasley

11. Gilbert Arenas earning his money. But he can write a mean wicked blog!

12. The Nuggets in the playoffs unless the new Melo Carmelo has been talking about is actually Lebron James.

13. The Blazers reaching the 40 win plateau. I know they are the fashion team and everything but Oden still not ready, although 2 block shots per game is almost a guarantee. They need to trade somebody of their young guns and again just a gut feeling they may regrese a little bit on us.

Yes I'm alive

Somebody asked me back then when the Celtics where up 3-1 against the Lakers what does an NBA blogger does in the offseason? Start blogging about soccer or baseball? Well I had the most clever response 'cause I actually had a plan for this offseason. To huge ( i mean huge) proyects to take the Basketball Gods to the new level. Suddenly mine niner to fiver got a little needed so I had to stay there a couple of day for a cuople of weeks. After that I was too tired went to a vacation wrote one entry, and dissappear for the next 3 months. The proyects are still up, I'm still standing, hoping this next season brings us more competitiveness as the last season brought us.

Game on, Basketball Gods

Draft, Free Agency and Old Stuff

Finally I got dtoxed from all the NBA playoffs and finals posts. I missed posting about the entire draft and pretty much the enture free Agency. I have my reasons and they are not cool or fun so I'm not sharing them! I would share a couple of thoughts that had pop up in my head during this postless time:

• I love the beach
• My work is so boring!
• One can't really compare what Elton Brand did with what Boozer did like 3 year ago to Cleveland. It was brand option to opt out of his contract. He said thing that point to him returning to the Clippers. The signing of Baron Davis was partly because of him and coach Dunleay might got a little ahead of himself. Elton Brand just said the right things every important free agent have to say he was giving his own team a better chance to sign him but other team came with more money and a better oportunity (Think about it. The Clippers with Brand and Davis might be a 50 win team and be a 7th to 9th seed in the West. They'd be out in the first round. Philly now is a 47- 52 win team with home court advantage in a conference with 2 quality teams and Lebron James. Where is the best option?) Baron Davis is also a movie producer so I don't think he needed a lot of brain washing to get him in a LA team. This was just bad luck. Philly got the better of the Clippers.
• For a lot of people what Corey Maggete did was another example of what's wrong with sports. A young athlete going for the money instead of taking a better shot at a championship. I think this could go either way. Maggette opted out of his last contract year leaving 7 millions on the table. The Spurs where offering a contract starting with the 5,5 million middle exception. That's a lot of money for anybody. The Warrios offering him a 50 million contract for 5 years. That's more money that most of us would ever see. Maggette is about to turn 31 meaning he has 2 maybe 3 years at his current level this one just might be his last contract so it makes sense he went for the fatter one. In the other hand he is already a millionare and his married to Brandy so I don't think they are cutting cost anywhere and helping the Spurs squeeze another championship or two from Tim Duncan wouln't be that bad.
• I'm glad Chicago picked Rose. I don't really follow the NCAA tournament so whatI know is what DraftExpress and nbadraft.net told me. Beasly is the better offensive option a true weapon in the low post with good size and good hands. Rose is apparently the leader with the quickness and the outside shot. "A Jason Kidd with a shooting touch" somebody said that. Chicago has plenty of talented players with lost potential but due to Kirk Hinrich dissapearing act last season, Skiles firing and Big Ben trade they didn't have a voice to follow. Now the WILL have. I don't think Rose can do much this upcoming season speacially considering that Chicago's roster is going to change considerably and they might have two selfish and uncomfortable seasons (again) from Deng and Gordon. But in the long run I think Chicago made the right choice.
• Josh Childress went to Greece. Now that was a shocker I totally expected those rumors to be a bluff with Childress' agent but it wasn't. Americans might not give this a lot of importance but it is a big deal. European basketball is very competitive. They don't only have their local leagues but they have a yearly continental tournament wich level is very similar to NBA basketball. Now European team can offer better monetarial conditions to NBA players that for whatever reason can get true value in the NBA. So when Atlanta was just waiting to some team to offer Childress some crappy contract and then they could match it he went overseas. That wasn't an option before. When Mr Childress was packing his things Atlanta came with this 35 million contract but the harm was already done. See, I have to agree with Hollinger on this one you need to show some love to your free agent players it's not only about waiting and waiting and in the 11th hour throw some numbers at the guy. He might be in a plane to another continent before you know it.

Finals Overview

Man oh man. We were way wrong. The Boston Celtics performed a defensive clinic for most of the series, specially on Kobe, and just rough the series up taking Lamar and Gasol out of their games. The rest of the Lakers were just too young to know how to react and the leadership coming from Phil Jakcson never get through to those guys.

Ray Allen was a total surprise. He struggle in all first three rounds shooting like crap in all of them. Paul Pierce became a defensive stopper and maybe the most deserving champion we have had in a long, long time. He has being a Celtic for 10 years. He has seen everything. He was up, he was down, he was stabbed, he was in the comeback wins againts the Nets and the Lakers. His career belongs to the city of Boston. And know he comes with a ring.

What to say about KG. Perhaps to the most clutch player in the court at any time but he came through with that performance at game 6. You won't remember this series for KG's perfomance but you will because this was KG's first title, maybe the only one, but this guy has killed himself on the court for more than 10 years to reach this point. He needed lost of help, this is not tennis, this is a team sport and when KG is given a true team he comes through.

The Celtics' bench was terrific. Big shot after big shot.And they always entered the game with a poice the comes from someone that knows his role and knows he will do that job. Doc? I never talked trash about Doc - mainly because I never had a chance - but when you lost 18 straight games one might think their coach is a little predictable but after this series Mr Doc Rivers has prove himself to be a very good coach. I won't go as far as saying that he outcoached Phil Jackson, if Lamar Odom and the bench play with some balls the history would have different, but his team won. Game 4 and 6 were brilliantly coached from my humble perspective.

The Celtics won the championship with defense, hunger, great leadership and a helluva of a bench. LA lost the championship because their inside players were afraid of contact, their second team couldn't defend (outside Farmar) and thei top player got involve in a web of brilliant defensive schemes executed by a stronger and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay hungrier player and smarter team defenders.

Whose fault is it? Tom Thibaudeau. If all the talk is true. This guy is a effing genius.

NBA Finals Game 6

That was easy. The Celtics entered the game with determination and with that assasin mentality we have been praising Kobe for having. Plain and simple the Celtics never gave a chance to the Lakers in this game. The Lakers never gave themselves a chance. After a 10 -2 run in the middle of the second quater everybody but Gasol (probably because Big Baby was on him ) look defeatead.

After the first 3 minutes of the third quater and the lead was balloning Kobe and Co. called a night. The Celtics D was unbelievable. Really. Deflections, box outs, reading passing lines, taking balls straigh up from Lakers' hands. They did everything to win the game. The Lakers did nothing to win the game. The result: 131- 92.

I did the ref watch but outside a dubious call here and there, specially by Salvatore, there wasn't anything "fishy".

Just one final comment: Why on God's good earth was Lamar Odom pissed of in the final 5 minutes? Because the Celtics kept playing ? Because the Lakers never did? Because he wanted scare KG like KG has been scaring him all series long? Did he wanted to people to say: "Boy, did Lamar Odom played with passion tonight"? I don't know but Lamar, let me give you an advice, pushing and shoving is not your game. It's ok. There has been bunch of good players who are not too fond to contact and they have had great careers. Stick with what you got, ok? Thanks

Ref Watch

You need to read this.The refs for game 6 are: Benneth Salvatore, Eddie Rush and Joey Crawford.

It's pretty clear on Abbot's piece. Salvatore was the responsable for the "DWadre Free Throw Parade" and Crawford was the one that considered Fisher sit down on Barrys' shoulder didn't change his shot. I hope this game goes as smoothly -officiating wise - as game 5 was. I'll be on ref watch. I hate to do this. I don't want to think the league is going to fix this one to get the money from a game 7.

Let the Basketball Gods protect us all

State of the Finals

We are back to Boston. The Celtics achieve their goal stealing one in fron of Will Smith, Denzel and Jack. What can we expect for the rest of the series? The adjustements made by both coaches have worked for both of them. Jackson's decision to put Kobe on Rondo when he's on the floor and let him roam and screw Boston's offense has been the key to those opening huge leads. Last night he used Farmar to pressure House/Cassell when they are bringing up the ball. The result of that was Paul Pierce running the offense which takes a little bit more from their go to guy.

Rivers' adjustements aka Smallball has opened all kind of spaces for their big three. The diference last night: neither Allen nor Garnet sank those open jumpers they were going down in game 5. Specially Allen has we learned later that he have some family issues on his mind. (Good luck with that, Ray). House and Cassell were pretty effective last night.

The bad comes with the good. I think the Lakers failed to give a major role to Lamar Odom when he was guarded by Posey. I know he might be afraid of him but in the third quater - with KG in the bench - they went to him and good things happened for them. He's just to versatile to be roaming around without a north in the offense. What about Radmanovic's north? This guy can't defend nobody. He's a poor rebounder and his shot ain't falling. I know coaches can't start the game with their "adjustement line up" but playing him more than 5 minutes is just criminal. Mihm? Well, that was intersting. Who know, he could have been game 2's Leon Powe.

For my money, Rivers is playing Rondo too much.Unless he's driving to the basket at 250 mpg he's pretty much useless and apparently that ankle ain't allowing him that fifth gear. Again, I understand why he's seeing some minutes but when Kobe is running behind the ball like a 12 year old in a soccer match I think is time to put a shooter whose shot is not cheered by the Lakers. Another big issue that could have affected last night game: The Truth playing the entire game. I know this happens when you go down by 20 ( which happens when Kobe is everywhere where the ball is. Which happens when Rondo is in the game) but somehow u need to trust your bench and at least give him a minute off at the end of a quater or a couple of posetions after a TV time out.

This is also a players game. I've been saying all along that when Gasol and Odom stop shaking like little girls when KG is around them they can win any game (no matter state of the series) and that finally happened in game 5 (Actually it happened thanks to KG's foul trouble. By the time he got back to the game LO and PG where so pumped and their adrenaline were running so high that there was no fear ) Can they go back to that aggresiveness in Game 6? I really don't think but at least they saw what could happen when the play like big boys.

I can't believe I'm going to post this next paragrah: KG needs to cool down. Simmons wrote a piece some time ago about KG's lack of composure at crunch time. Totally truth. He has been playing subpar basketball this entire finals but somehow that lack of production hasn't directy affected any outcome so far.. until last night. He missed 3 free throws and two tip-ins inside two minutes to play with a 2 point game or 4 point game. He saids that he will play better but I ain't sure. For all the criticism that Gasol have received for being tissue soft he's not afraid of taking shots when the baskets matter the most. He came through last night (even when Kobe was looking in desbielf) . Sadly when can't expect that from Garnett. I can only hope and dream ( for history sake. I'm not cheering for the Celtics or the Lakers ) that KG comes with a huge 30 point, 17 rebound, 6 block game with the C's winning thanks to a KG's block shot or a couple of Garnett's free throws. Would that make 5 games of practically not showing up? Right away not. But in a couple of years the public will only remember that monster game . Take my word if happens but until it does I'm ashame to say that KG has become a reliability in crunch time.

Ps: What happend to Simmons' game 5 column? I hope his dad is ok. If something happened to his heart we should trial KG for murder.

NBA Finals Game 5

What set this two teams apart? It was another close game in which Boston came back to tie the game after letting LA getting a 19 and 14 point leads but this time couldn't get over the "hump". As Kobe said: "The series ain't over" and we are going back to Boston.

The diference for the Lakers this game was Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Easily. For the first time they were aggresive, they didn't back down to KG and they played like that -almost- the entire game. In the fourth quater the lack of poise of the Celtics cost them the game. I'm not taking anything here from the Lakers, they did a hell of a job going directly at Garnett and putting him in foul trouble early and often during the first half but when the game was on the line the Lakers didn't exactly went for the kill. They needed 2 missed put-backs and 3 missed free throws for KG to stay alive. There was also the Kobe "steal" as he reached from behind Pierce to poke the ball away but in that particualar point it should have been a tied game .

The Lakers again play like a desperate team. Like a team with nothing to loose and so far that mindset have worked for them twice at home. Can the bring the same intencity and desire outside to Boston? The question is not about the Lakers' psyque but about Odom and Gasol consistency because they might have found out that if they took it to the C's -without that fear of contact they have shown for most of the series- good things would happen. They know Kobe can't beat the C's by himself and they know they need to come through for their team. For all the talk about coaches and adjustements and strategy the major hole for the Lakers this Finals have been their inconsistency and lack for fire. This is the first series they need that ( Denver? Please. My dog has more fire when barking at fallen leaves. Utah? Outside DWill, Matt Harpring and Jerry Sloan they are softer than those fallen leaves my dog enjoys to roll over after awhile of barking at them mercylessly. The Spurs? They are not soft but they were more tired following the New Orleans series that my dog after a good half hour of rolling over a pile of fallen leaves). They don't need to magically create a defensive mindset. They just need some hustle.

This take us to the adjustement of the moment. The C's can't do anything if Gasol and Odom decide to be aggresive. They are not going to hack them every time they go to the rim that's just not Celtics' defense. The answer to that question might be scarier that most Celtics' fans think. The key is Mr Defensive Player of the Year. Garnett had another awful game and he - again - crumbled under pressure in the fourth quater. They are going to need a very smart and under control Garnett to control the paint ( specially if Perkins is out for the series) and keep both Odom and Gasol in check. He needs to make them pay for daring to attack him offensevely. He needs to make them work for every posetion without collecting fouls like the were trading cards. Despiste KG's offensive struggles the last couple of games he has gone more to his repertoire in the post. He needs to keep that trend but go up a notch or two or eleven and make them defend him and probably (given those two defensive "capabilites" ) put them in foul trouble.

This is Doc Rivers' graduation. Game 6 is all about Celtic pride. They can not afford to go to a game 7 and deal with the possibility of a 50 point game from Kobe Bryant. Their passion and desire can't be lesser that the Lakers'. The championship is one win again and Mr Auerbach is watching.