Up first…

“Get Out of Your High-Top Shoes!”

P.S. Derrick Rose is playing as well as anybody in the league right now.  Just sayin’.

P.S.S. I’ll be back tomorrow with some more hoop talk.  Stay tuned…

Who Will Take The Title?

I’ll get right to it; the Lakers.  I’m not a Lakers or a Celtics fan.  Since the Celtics got over on the Lakers in ‘08, so I’d like to see the Lakers get it done this time.  Why are the Lakers going to win?

-They have the best closer in the game.  Yep, they had the best closer last time as well.  But the ultimate competitor in the league won’t let his team lose and the players around Kobe will be more prepared this time around.  The “other” players…

-Pau Gasol is tougher now.  Mentally tougher that is.  I heard one of the guys on TNT get asked why he thought Gasol would have a better Finals appearance in ‘10 compared to ‘08.  His answer?  “Kobe.”  In other words, Kobe’s tenacity is contagious.  I agree.  I see Pau playing with more intensity, and more physicality this time around.

-Human nature is another factor.  If you get beat one time, it is human nature to want it juuuuust a touch more the next time you compete against that team.  This “phenomenon” will come into play this year.

-Ron Artest, who does some dumb ass things on the court (off the court as well), will be another player that will help neutralize Boston’s toughness and physical play.  And I DO think the Celtics are very tough.  I have much respect for them.  Just because I am going against them, don’t think I have no love for them.   But Ron-Ron is a nice addition, especially in a Celtics-Lakers type of series.

-I think the Celtics will miss James Posey a bit.  Although nobody can stop Kobe, Posey made him work extremely hard for everything he got.

What Scares Me?

-As good as Rondo was in the Cs ‘08 run, he is that much better now.

-Paul Piece scares me.  Like Kobe (almost), PP is one of the best closers in the league.  He is just quick enough to get by his opponents and just big enough to shoot over them  In other words, he quite often finds a way to get where he wants/needs to get on the court to get the job done.

-Boston’s “D” has been very good.  They all work together to make the on-the-ball defender that much better.  They take a lot of charges, block shots, and play a physical style of defense.

X-Factors

For the Celtics, Rasheed Wallace could be the X-Factor… for better or worse.  For worse - he may not be shooting well, start to get frustrated, and then his famous complaining to the refs, technical foul side could come out.  OR, he could get hot from 3 and drag one of the Lakers big men away from the basket.  That’s all the Celtics need..ANOTHER weapon! 

For the Lakers, the X-Factor is Lamar Odom.  If he brings his A-Game and is a walking double-double, look out Boston.  I think he could make this into a 5-game series if he is focused and hungry.  Then again, he may only show his great ability in short stretches, or only 1-2 times per game.  Sometimes you won’t hear his named called for minutes at a time when he is on the court.  Which Lamar shows up will be very big in determining the winner.

My Final Word

Like I mentioned, I am not a fan of either team.  Of course, I’d much rather see the Bulls take it all.  I also really wanted to see Steve Nash make it to his first Finals.  Since neither of that happened, in my eyes the next best thing is sitting back and watching these two proud franchises go at it again.  I would not be shocked if Celtics find a way to get it done.  But for the above reasons, I am taking the Lakers in 6.5 games.  Ha!  Ok, ok, if you won’t let me cop out with 6.5 games, then I’ll say this; L.A. in 6.

Do I Want Lebron in Chicago?

Of course I do.  What, do you think I’m crazy?  But, I am gonna delve a little deeper into the matter by changing the question up… How badly do I want Lebron to be a Bull?  My answer may surprise you -  while the idea of Lebron wearing a Bulls jersey excites me, it seems I’m not as pumped about the idea as many of my fellow Bulls fans.  I mean, about 5 times a day I receive a picture message on my phone from my brothers that looks like this…

I love their enthusiasm, I really do!  But I afraid he may not be what they (my brothers and MANY others) think he is.  Here’s a scenario that I think lets you know how I feel; I win the lotto and am told over the phone that I will have a 1 million dollar check delivered to my door in 3 days.  But when they come to drop off the check, the check is for 250 k, and not the original million that they told me I won (in my fake story, there are no such things as taxes.  So no, the reduced money has nothing to do with taxes being taken out, just go with it…).  I would be like, “WHAT!  This is not what I thought I was getting.  But I’ll still take it because I am now $250,000 richer than I was last week at this time!”  To me, Lebron represents the $250,000.  The Bulls (or any team that gets him) are going to a lot richer (better), but not as rich as they thought they would be when they first signed him.

Why DO I Feel This Way?

At this point in his career, he is lacking that “it,” that so many people talk about.  He doesn’t smell blood like some of the people that we all compare him to.  You know, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane  Wade, Larry Bird etc. (And yes, I do put D. Wade in this category as I’ve seen him take over many a game.  And on the biggest stage – against the Mavericks in the finals a few years back – actually, he took that whole series over!)  I mean, I watched MJ play in some  huge games and ended up saying; “Michael didn’t have his best game today.  His shots weren’t falling, and he turned the ball over a couple times when they needed a bucket.”  But I have never, ever, ever, ever, said, “Jordan didn’t show up today.  Where was he?  It was like he just disappeared!” 

With Lebron, I have said that, and on more than one occasion.  I’ve seen him shy away instead of take over the game and WANT IT so bad that it looked like his life depended on it… like appeared to be the case EVERY TIME Michael took the floor, and every time Kobe takes the floor.

 Another thing that bothers me about Lebron, is that he seems to find a way to always make it about himself.  When the media asked him about his future after the Celticts knocked them out of the playoffs it looked like he couldn’t wait to address the questions.  I would have much rather seen him say something like; “I don’t know what the future holds, but right now I’m not going to worry about that.  I need to be here for my teammates.  We just lost a very disappointing series and it’s very hard on all of us.”  But he choose to sit up on the podium and let us know that “he and his team are weighing all of the their options, blah, blah, blah.”  C’mon Lebron, at least lie to us and make us think you and your teammates are hurting from the loss, and that that is all that matters right now.

Wrap Up

Above I mentioned that whatever team he goes to will be getting a “disappointing” $250,000.  Maybe the scenario should have gone more like this; “Danny, here is a check for 250 k.  Once you prove to me that you REALLY WANT IT, and that you are willing to do ANYTHING for it, I’ll be delivering the rest of your money to you.   And I do think you’ll get there soon.   Right now though, I’m not sure where where your priorites are, and I’m not sure how much it truly means to you.”

The worse case scenario is Lebron making me (the Bulls) a whole lot richer (better), with a good chance of making me a millionaire (championship ring) down the line.  So, I think it is fair to say that I’d take Lebron with open arms.  It’s just that at this point, my arms are not as wide open as other people’s are.

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