Looks like you got some pain behind those eyes...

Not much to report here. Pretty disheartened about the Nuggets game last night. Lakers really proved to be the dominant team once they started running the offense through Pau and Odom. The bigs really stepped up and then obviously you still need to worry about Kobe. It was a good run for the Nuggets, I dont think many anticipated a Western Conf. Finals appearance. Things got so bad last night that I was flipping during the 3rd and 4th quarters to watch a little Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Jurrasic Park. Certainly was a crazy night.

Underrated role for Paul Rudd by the way in the film. Has some memorable one-liners. Particularly like when the British guy is bleeding on the beach looking for help and all he can think to say is "You sound like you're from London."

On the Jurrasic Park front, during the scene where they are trying to restore power to the park, how does the one hunter truly believe he has the Raptor nailed down, and then he is surprised when they do their patented Triangle Attack. Everyone knows Raptors hunt in threes!!!

Anyways, im off to prepare for an NV Blue double header. Mulldog is at the local OTB today trying to double up on his robust $25 dollar bankroll. Should have some interesting stories to tell later.

NBA Finals Picture Shaping Up

In a game in which the score was tied at the end of each of the first three quarters, the Nuggets came up short in the 4th quarter last night, falling down 3-2 in the series.

Since we agreed that whoever was "right" last night would mock the other man - I'm going to take a look at some of the Millman's points and see how (in)accurate he was.

Kobe vs. Melo. Not only does Mrs. Bryant hold a 7-3 advantage in the hotter girl poll, but Kobe got the W last night, scoring fewer points but playing a much more efficient game taking just 13 shots while dishing out eight assists. (To be clear here the loss was not Melo's fault, he had 31 so the non-wife part of Millman's argument may not have been too far off really)

Big Men. Well I'd like to say first off that someone must have finally notified Lamar Odom that the series has started because he was an absolute monster last night. 19 points, 14 rebs, 4 blocks. Odom honestly looked like the best player on the floor last night and that is what makes this Lakers team so good. Pau Gasol? Another very efficient double-double, 14/10...added some assists, steals and 5 huge blocks. ESPN put up a stat at one point deep into the 4th quarter that the Nuggets hadn't scored in the paint since there was 5:11 left in the 3rd quarter. Here is where I'd say this was thanks to Pau and Lamar blocking shots left and right, except I have to ask, did anyone else notice that they posted this two possessions after Linas Kleiza drove to the hoop, splitting two defenders, and made a lay-up? Terrible work as usual ESPN. As for Andrew Bynum, well did I mention there is a rumor he is dating Rihanna?

Birdman, Kenyon and Nene were badly outplayed last night, bottom line.

Home court advantage, or rather lack thereof? Actually, the Staples Center had some real life in the third quarter and obviously at the beginning of the fourth when the Lakers made what turned out to be the run that was the difference in the game (11-0 start to begin the quarter?).

On the bright side, as best I could tell the Nuggets still won the tattoo battle last night.

So now that I've ripped the Millman more than he probably deserves or needs this morning, the question becomes, are both of these series essentially over? The Cavs trail 3-1 with a home/road/home left. The Nuggets trail 3-2 with a home/road left. I still feel the Cavs are the most live team here. I don't think too many people expect the Magic to win game 5 in Cleveland, we should at least be headed for a 3-2 Magic lead, with one game in Orlando followed by one in Cleveland. Essentially, I feel it will come down to whether or not Lebron James can be absolutely heroic in game 6. If he goes into refuse-to-lose mode on the road and wills his team to victory, we'll be looking at a game 7 in Cleveland, where we ought not forget the Cavs are still 44-3 on the year. Are you really going to beat King James, at home, in a game 7? This Magic team is a fun-loving group that has been able to erase huge first-half deficits, but if you keep getting down big early, sooner or later you won't have enough to come back. I fully expect Cleveland to jump on them tonight and I won't be surprised if Orlando packs it in. And if they do no-show tongiht, I think it will be a grave mistake...Orlando has two chances to clinch this series in my eyes: tonight while the Cavs are still feeling down about themselves, and game 6 at home...but if they pack it in tonight and get buried, Cleveland may get their mojo back and the Magic may see the rug pulled from under them before they know what happened.

As for the Nuggets, I'm going to leave that for the Millman to touch on. I think they're drawing dead. I could easily see them taking game 6, but I don't think they beat the Lake Show in a game 7 (and feel there is a strong chance Lakers take the next one in Denver).

I refuse to start a third poll, but if I was going to I'd ask, which trailing team has a better chance of making the Finals, Nuggets or Cavaliers?

Hubie Brown was on Mike and Mike this morning and gave one of the most thorough, insightful, positively brilliant breakdowns on the Cavs-Magic series. If you have a few minutes, click the link and give it a listen, you will be a better fan for it:

http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/player?id=4211968

Millman and Birdman Sharing Same Pipe?

<--Mrs. Bryant vs. La La -->

First of all, this is essentially a direct response to the piece directly below this, so if you haven’t checked that out first, you’d be advised to do so. The Millman may be on the wrong side of this argument, but it is worth a read, if for no other reason than the one-liner about Kobe which I won’t spoil.

Well before I get into my defense of the Lakers, a few quick notes on last night / the Cavs-Magic series in general. First off, you’re nuts if you’re complaining about the foul call at the end of regulation that allowed the King to tie the game with .5 seconds left. Bottom line is, NBA refs are not going to let a game end while Lebron James hits the floor (with the defender not in position no less) and doesn’t even get a shot off. The Magic should consider themselves lucky that his second free throw went in, by the way – it was going to be the most tailor made tip-in by Varejao of all-time. On the other end, as Varejao and Howard got tangled up, it was a good no-call – honestly if anyone was fouled there it was Varejao. The refs, who I and most everyone else love to kill, had a bunch of extremely difficult calls last night, and I feel they were on the right side of most, if not all of them.

And after yet another incredible game we have to start considering the fact that we may be on the verge of having the best pair of conference championship series in the history of the NBA. With the Cavs down 3-1 now, that could be in jeopardy, but both of these series could easily still go 7 games, almost every game has been decided on the final shot, with only the last Lakers-Nuggets game really being a bore. I don’t recall two series ever both going to game 7 in the same year…and you really have to go back to the late 80’s, early 90’s golden age of the NBA to find both conference finals having this much juice.

I remember having a conversation (as the Magic were wiping out the Celtics in game 7) abut the conference championships where I made the – at the time unpopular – claim that if either the Cavs or Lakers were going to not make the finals, that the undefeated Cavs were the team in danger. Now, both teams are arguably in danger, but I still feel as strongly as ever (and most would now agree) – the Lakers will be in the NBA Finals waiting, but the King may not make it.

But why can’t the Lakers lose this series (currently 2-2)? For one, I maintain that the Nuggets are simply a lesser version of the Lakers. Both teams want to get out and run, unfortunately for Denver the Lake Show is more efficient on both ends of the floor. Both teams shoot it efficiently, but the Lakers control the boards…the only place I really see an advantage for Denver is their ability to get to the line, which is why I do think the Lakers home court advantage helps them – even if the entire crowd looks like they’re watching Jack Nicholson re-enacting About Schmidt.

As for the Millman’s claim that Kobe is a jump-shooter – he has been to the free throw line 53 times in the first four games. He has proven absolutely un-guardable all series even when Dahntay Jones is tripping more people than Julian ‘Frankenstein’ in Big Daddy.

The idea that La La Vasquez is somehow superior to Kobe’s wife is probably the Millman’s most ridiculous claim however. I love how he conveniently found Kobe’s wife’s worst picture and La La’s best…and it was still arguable who looked better. Huge advantage in the wife department to the Lake Show – a quick google search reveals a rumor that Andrew Bynum is dating Rihanna. I then bring to the table Pau Gasol’s wife:

The big men argument is almost laughable. Pau Gasol can score on Nene anytime he gets single coverage - quick shake, baseline, dunk. Repeat…the Lakers have not utilized this enough yet but it is there for them at any time. For the record, he has recorded a double-double every game…and the way he opens up the floor for that offense by always being in the right spot is so underrated. Odom hasn’t been special, but he’s rebounding a ton and doing exactly what Phil Jackson wants. Did I mention that Bynum is dating Rihanna? Meanwhile, all the Denver big men are the same exact players…shot-blocking, poor one-on-one defenders who offensively can do nothing but dunk and have been getting beaten on the boards (despite being a good rebounding unit).

Look, I love this Nuggets team. They have a player who made an appearance in a gang-related Stop Snitchin’ video (Melo), a recovering – and in my suspicion relapsing – drug addict freak (Bird Man), and the guy who netted the Knicks Antonio McDyess (Nene). They are exciting to watch. But really, what kind of crushing blow would it be for the NBA if somehow both Kobe and Lebron get knocked off before the finals? Can the season-long crash course that was the Cavs-Lake Show really turn into Magic-Nuggets? Orlando and Denver really? The same Denver team that has never made the NBA Finals in the franchises 32 years of existence? Can’t happen. Won’t happen. In one of the juiciest NBA seasons in recent memory there would be little juice for that NBA Finals. David Stern is too wise for that. His referees are too scared for that.

His referee

One more piece of real analysis – once the Lakers big men realize that they’re better off staying on Nene, Birdman and Kenyon and forcing the Nuggets guards to finish around the tin themselves, I think we see the Lakers take total control. That or if Kobe decides he wants to lock up on defense (a characteristic he can do like no other which has strangely not been employed by him yet this series as JR Smith is blowing by him with the greatest of ease, though he’s doing a good job of not letting him get his threes off). Unless Melo comes out in a vintage Orange jersey (which he practically has so far this series) then I really can’t see the inferior Nuggets getting it done here.

And last but not least, has anyone ever put a career in cruise control more than Spike Lee? After the masterpiece that was He Got Game, every “Spike Lee Joint” has been hot garbage. It’s as if you could plot his career path along the same curve as Public Enemy…once his favorite rap group lost it, he did too. Am I the only one who thinks that maybe Chuck D should get more credit for Do the Right Thing and He Got Game than Spike Lee himself in hindsight? Am I just crazy? Kobe Doin’ Work is probably the worst execution of a great idea I have ever seen. I literally thought it was a joke with insightful comments from Kobe such as “Here I take a jumpshot” and “that’s me running back down the court to play defense.” It was at times reminiscent of the infamous Ball St “Boom Goes the Dynamite” announcer as Kobe finds himself at a loss for words, check this clip and then watch the legendary footage if you have not seen it before:

Nuggets of Wisdom

For those of you who don’t know the mulldog and I very well let me comment that we are both NBA junkies. That being said we have some contrasting opinions of who will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals while the Nuggets and Lakers are at a 2-2 series stalemate. Lets first clear the air as I admit I am a Denver Nuggets fan…however, my allegiance to them is not why I think they will advance. Let’s check out the real reasoning the Nuggets will be in the NBA Finals….

Star Power: Kobe vs. Melo:
Listen, I am not going to sit here and go through some ridiculous argument that Melo is a better player then Kobe, just not going to happen. In fact, Kobe recently set the record for most conference final points through the first 4 games last night, Talk about Kobe Doin’ Work (thanks Spike Lee for one of the worst documentaries I have ever watched)! Kobe is still no questions asked the best closer in the game (speaking of The Closer I cringe when any game is shown on TNT because god knows we are going to see the damn commercial for the new season of The Closer 800 times).

Kobe is a jump-shooter at this point of career and you can see he did little to no penetrating in Denver so far this series (it’s not his fault, it's court ordered). Carmelo has done enough this post-season to merit being called a superstar and is slowly edging his way to top of the class. He has taken the challenge of playing both ways (offense and defense perverts), guarding Kobe, and making Bryant look like a child in the post grabbing offensive rebounds. The edge here obviously still goes to KB24, but not by as much as he is getting credit for. Let’s also take a look at their wives, which plays a small factor in my opinion. Kobe’s wife, who is surrounded by scandal and lies is not someone you want to associate yourself with. Carmelo’s wife, world famous MTV VJ La La Vasquez is all over the red carpets. Take that for what it's worth.

Big Men: Trio vs Trio:
For this breakdown we are pinning Nene, Kmart, and Chris “Birdman” Andersen vs Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom.

Lets take a stab at the Lakers big girls to start. Pau Gasol (stolen from the Memphis Grizz) is a great player, but not a game changer. Pau could be effective, but they do not utilize him enough and its apparent as he is only averaging 10 shots per game. Andrew Bynum, age 16, still can’t play with the big boys, gets into feuds with Phil Jackson, and is nothing more then a complimentary player. As far as Odom goes, I am actually high on LO…Just not sure if anyone has told him the series started yet.

Nene, Kmart, and the Birdman hold the clear advantage (as evident as them all securing 13+ rebounds last night). Nene is finally playing to the level of his $60M dollar deal (how he got that coming straight off of knee surgery baffles me). Kenyon, currently playing with no knees if nothing more will be your enforcer and scrap. Any man with a tattoo of pink lips on his neck has to be scary, right? And finally the X Factor, the BirdMan. For those of you who haven’t checked out his story its worth a watch.(http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4205357&categoryid=2459788).

The BirdMan is the perfect role player willing to take the charge, rebound, and he will erupt the home crowd with his thunderous dunks and high flying swats….he will even quiet down the crowd when playing in LA…scratch that…they have no home court presence anyways.

Home Court Advantage?:

It does not bother me that the Nuggets have to win one at the Staples Center. Those fans don’t show up until the 2nd half starts and they are more concerned at watching the jumbo tron showing the celebrities in crowd. The celebrities themselves don’t care about the Lakers either. They are just there so they can watch themselves the next day when TMZ reports on every move they make. “Is Leo DiCaprio trying to watch his weight, we saw him eat nothing during the game and even had a diet green tea in hand…two words Leo, Anti-Oxidants!”

Denver will have no problem winning one in LA.

Head Coaching: Karl vs Jackson:

Sort of in parallel to our Kobe vs Melo conversation I am not going to tell you George Karl is a better head coach. In fact, I think Karl is a lousy coach and essentially sits on the sidelines and gains weight. My point here is that Phil Jackson isn’t all he’s cracked out to be. Sure he has 9 NBA championships, but I am convinced you could have all-star, hot as a pistol, Jason "J Mac"McElwain, as your head coach and still win finals with the talent Jackson has had.

After all it's not to hard to win championships with Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant. These championships were more about the players and less about the “Zen Masters” Triangle offense. Phil Jackson only got the LA coaching job because he was sleeping with the owner’s daughter Jeanie Buss in the first place. So Phil Jackson you keep being the “great” coach that you are and stick your fingers in your mouth and whistle and pretend you are doing something while you sit on your elevated throne on the bench.

Intangibles: Nuggets have them, Lakers don’t:

If my points above don’t help my argument about Denver’s ability to win, let me sprinkle these “Nuggets” into the post for you (You see what I did there, I used Nuggets to represent both small facts, and the basketball team…it’s called journalism, don’t worry about it). The Nuggs have the best point guard left in the playoffs in Chauncey B-B-Billups. Mr. Big Shot will make a statement in one of the final remaining games the way he did in the first two series vs the Hornets and Mavs.

Also, the Nuggets have one of the best benches in basketball. Leinas Kleiza the Lithuanian all-star, the BirdMan, and last but not least J.R. Smith all bring big time scoring to the court. Finally, the Nuggets lead the league in this all important NBA stat: Most team tattoos: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Andersen, J.R. Smith, and Kmart all host sleeves of tattoos. You can guarantee (yes you, Mark Cuban) that this group of thugs will be storming to the NBA finals.