Boston takes Game 1, how can the Lakers rebound (no pun intended)?

Once again, the Boston Celtics are able to take the first game of a series on their home court in a 98-88 win over the L.A. Lakers. It seems like the Celtics are always able to play an energetic game in the opening game of whatever series that they're in and it seems to be a key win for them in every series in these playoffs. That Game 1 win is always important to them because they have yet to take complete control over a series as they were able to win each one in six games or more.

But how key was this one against the Lakers?

Well, the Lakers look like they are the only team that won't give Boston any stolen opportunities to allow them to take control of the series. The Lakers aren't like the Pistons who seem to be the only team in the NBA that can't take momentum into the next game, unlike the Lakers who can use momentum from a good win and use it to make the kill on their homecourt. It didn't show in the series against the Utah Jazz much, but they were still able to get the job done there. And don't forget the impressive, knocking off of the '07 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs. In a series that was predicted by many to be the toughest for the Lakers by going six, if not seven games. But the hungry Lakers were able to take advantage of the fatigue shown by the Spurs from rounds one and two.

That is what the Lakers will need to do in order to top off the Celtics. It's safe to see that the Celtics are a team that you wouldn't want to face on their homecourt while they are up in the series because that's where they have done most of their damage throughout the regular season, and even the playoffs. They've only lost one game in the postseason at TD Banknorth. That was against the inconsistent Pistons who had the best chance to give the C's the most trouble, but they couldn't take the energy from Game 2 and send it back to their homecourt where they allowed the C's (a team who couldn't by a win on the road) to steal away TWO games on the road. Not cool at all.

The Lakers are similar to the Celtics when it comes to playing at home, but they've shown more consistency on the road than Boston has. That is really the one and only advantage that the Lakers have over the Celtics. The Celtics are too good to assume that the match ups that the Lakers have against the Celtics are an advantage because that's not true. It showed in Game 1 that the match ups may be a little difficult for the Lakers.

The Lakers will have to do what all of the other teams that faced the Celtics couldn't do, and that's actually STEAL a game at TD Banknorth. The Pistons didn't steal Game 2 away from Boston, rather more than they just won it because they didn't take advantage of that win. That is all the Lakers will have to do in order to make this series come out in their favor.

Lakers vs. Celtics Rivalry Renewed?

By Jake Wessel

At the conclusion of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals, the whole NBA front office must have been high-fiving each other as their wish for Lakers-Celtics has finally come true. In a rivalry that captivated NBA fans in the 80’s and thrusted the NBA into prime time, it has also passed baseball as the second highest rated American sports league. Now in a two-decade long wait, the rivalry is renewed and the NBA can start counting its money as the advertising and the games themselves will rack up some major ratings and money. This is a rivalry that is one of the few that has transcended the sport by bringing in more viewers, by having two teams year in and year out playing for the championship. Bringing in two guys, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who were some of the first NBA players to gain advertising promos for McDonalds and such thus getting the NBA more spotlight and gaining a wider audience. The Lakers and Celtics were the ones that were in large part, responsible for the popularity increase in the NBA in the 80’s. It’s no secret that the actual rivalry itself ranks with the greatest rivalries of all time, like the Yankees/Red Sox, Michigan/Ohio State, Redwings/Avalanche etc.. So how does the Lakers/Celtics rivalry get to rank up there with aforementioned above? They had everything in terms of being an all time great rivalry.

They had prominent figures on their respective teams, which the casual NBA watcher would recognize. Thus, they were able to reach those viewers to get a larger audience that other teams might not have been able to draw. They were totally opposite teams in every aspect to their game plans, types of players they had, coaches, all the way to the actual cities they represented. On one side you have the blue-collar working class Boston Celtics that played great team defense ran traditional plays and were scrappy. O the other side, you have the Hollywood flash and flare, show time L.A Lakers that ran teams out of the building with lights out shooting and countless fast break points. Those attributes and description of the teams and cities can be added to their leaders, Larry Bird of the Celtics and, Magic Johnson of the Lakers.

On one side you have Larry Bird who was a country boy best noted by his lights out jumper and clutch abilities, while he was a quiet guy who led more by example than by words. He embodied his team image by hard work, getting loose balls, steals and rebounds; just plain and simple scrappiness. He also had the clutch shooting and plays that only Michael Jordan can compare to. Then you have Magic Johnson who was outgoing loved giving interviews talking to reporters, and possessed skills that the NBA hasn’t seen before and hasn’t seen since. I don’t feel bad saying that he was the most completely skilled basketball player the NBA has ever seen. It can be noted first that he was a 6’9 point guard which is unique in itself, then add that he was quick, made insane passes and could shoot from anywhere on the court; you really had the most dangerous player in the league. He could have played every position on the court and excelled at each. So when you have popular players conflicting game styles, players, and cities you have the makings of an all time great rivalry that dominated the 80’s.

So then fast forward 21 years and you can see why this is so huge in the fact the NBA’s greatest rivalry is renewed. Even with an obvious different roster and playing styles. You have Kobe Bryant who can solidify himself as the true best player in the league by winning his fourth championship ring. Then you have three players in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen That have been criticized in their career for not being able to get it done in the playoffs and win that all elusive NBA championship. Also being able to continue the legacies of the two most decorated and noted NBA franchises will provide everything needed to have successful and notable Finals series. This is just what the NBA needs in a time that ratings and popularity has leveled off and is in need of a spark that only a Celtics/Lakers Finals can produce.

Win or lose: Jobs are no longer safe in the NBA

By: Vince Vitale

The most recent firing of Flip Saunders of the Detroit Pistons is just the latest case of how unfair this business really is. We’ll come back to Flip soon but first let us go to before Flip when this problem first started.

In 2004 the Pistons defeated the Lakers in 5 games. This led to a complete makeover for the Lakers. Such moves were made to send Shaq to Miami, let me add they won a championship the season after his arrival. The most shocking change was at the coaching spot. Phil Jackson was removed from his duties at coach. The same Phil Jackson that won 9 rings with the Bulls and Lakers throughout the past 20 years. I don’t think you can find anyone better than 9 rings on their fingers, or anyone more qualified for their job, but still he was released from his duties.

That was just the beginning.

A year after that Larry Brown himself would not be coaching for the Pistons anymore because Detroit management thought his health was inconsistent. The same guy who won them a championship and split apart the Kobe-Shaq combo just a season before was gone. He would go on to sign a massive contract with the Knicks and he gets fired a year after that job. You can’t blame anybody for him not doing well with the Knicks because nobody in the world can get that team to win. So who fills the spot of a legend like Larry Brown. Flip Saunders, the same guy who got fired in Minnesota a year after they made it to the Western Conference finals. So now the Pistons make it to several Eastern Conference championships throughout the next couple years.

All while having a great record in the regular season each and every year. This just wasn’t enough for Joe Dumars though. I mean this guy does know what he is doing after all. Look at his great drafting ability. He is the guy who picked Darko with the second overall pick. Meanwhile Wade, Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony all turned into perennial all stars.

Fast forward to this year, the Pistons have the second best record in the entire league and Flip gets fired. Instead of pointing the finger at Billups’s bad health, or Rasheeds complete insanity, or even Tayshauns vanishing act, we point the finger at Flip. Well this is just why the business is how cold hearted it is. Alongside with Flip, Avery Johnson and Mike D’Antoni are also gone from their respective ball clubs That’s right the Suns and Mavs who have been competing with the Spurs throughout this entire decade fire their coaches. Did anyone think that maybe the Jason Kidd and Shaq deals had an affect on the team by any chance. Anyhow with all this being said Mike D’Antoni now gets to coach the Knicks.

Only prayer can help you now Mike.

Meanwhile a guy who just won coach of the year last year in Avery Johnson doesn’t even have a job. There is no time in the NBA, you either win a ring or get fired. Anyhow, the Pistons will probably replace Flip with Michael Curry. A guy who used to play for the Pistons but hasn’t been the head coach in this league for a single game.

Good luck Detroit.

I rest my case with a simple point, management is cruel to coaches for no reason, this is the same league that allowed Scott Skiles to get fired this year on Christmas Eve.

FGS update: Flip Saunders out as Pistons head coach

The last straw for Joe Dumars was when he saw his team get knocked out of the Eastern Conference Finals for the third consecutive season. Flip Saunders is no longer the head coach of the Detroit Pistons.

There were already rumors that Flip was already on the hot seat before the season even began and they wouldn't have died down until he had a successful season, or at least make it to the NBA Finals. But instead, he has failed once again to bring the Pistons back to the Finals after they made it there in the previous two seasons before Flip was the coach.

Those back-to-back finals appearances were credited to the former head coach, Larry Brown. There aren't that many comparisons that you can make between Saunders and Brown. The main reason why Brown was able to take a championship caliber teams to the Finals is because he had proven that he was a winner. Whether it was in the NCAA or in the NBA; Brown was the kind of coach that knew how to motivate his team. That seemed to be Saunders' main problem. There has always been talk regarding the chemistry between the Pistons and Flip, most recognizable Rasheed Wallace. There was a lack of respect for Flip and that is something that Brown demanded from his team. He was able to get that, partially because of his history as a successful coach and partially because...he was just that type of coach.

The question that surrounds this move made by Dumars is "was it the right move"? Was it the coach that reflected the players, or was it the players that reflected the coach?

Flip has had a championship caliber team for the past three seasons, but he hasn't been able to lead them to another championship. Motivation was a visible problem with this team and the coach is highly responsible for bringing the fire in their team. But at times, we saw the Pistons get cocky and play like they had nothing to prove. How much of that is their fault?

As much as people like to put everything on how Flip runs the team, some of it is not his fault and that is why the firing of Flip won't be the only move that Dumars will make. Expect to see some player movement over the Pistons offseason.

We will have more updates on this once we receive more information.

2008 Celtics-Lakers Finals have big shoes to fill

By: Byron Parker

The Boston Celtics vs. the Los Angeles Lakers...this is the way that it was supposed to be for the '08 NBA Finals. Conspiracy or not, that is the way that it has turned out and now we have a highly anticipated match up for the NBA Title.

This is a rivalry that was built in the early 60's and kept on until it died around the early 90's. Since then, every match up between these two teams haven't been as intruiging as the years of Bird, West, Johnson, Russell and all of the other stars who made this match up one to always watch. The years have gone by and now we find ourselves anticipating a series that hasn't been more hyped than the last time these two teams met in the NBA Finals--21 years ago. Yes it has been a long time since we've seen the Lakers and Celtics in action for something that is more important than just a regular season win--these are two of the most successful franchises in sport's history going against each other once again, for an NBA Title. It's way better than another Cavaliers-Spurs series, or a Pistons-Spurs series only because of the business aspect. With NBA ratings going down in the past couple of years, the NBA needs something like this to bring it back to where it's supposed to be. The interest level has plunged and now the chances of it skyrocketing are very high with this particular Finals match up.

Let's not get carried away with this though. With all the hype surrounding this series, it all comes down to the players.

Will they be able to make this an intruiging series?

Will the outcome of this series bring back the old days when the tension between the two teams was high?

This years Lakers and Celtics teams have HUGE shoes to fill. There is a lot of pressure on these two teams--not because they are playing for an NBA Title, but they are being relied on to bring back a rivalry that was once the face of the NBA. It seems like a lot of people, including David Stern, are depending on them for a boost in the interest level of the league. We've seen the commercials with highlights from the old games be compared with Kobe and Garnett to build up the anticipation of the series. But at what point does it get too "over-hyped"?

The pressure for this series to be similar to the ones in the 60's-80's is high and we don't know what to expect. As of now, there is no beef between the two teams that could make it more interesting. That is what was great about the former match ups between these two. We saw a lot of physical play on the court and it was fun to watch. But with a league that seems to be full of "softer" players these days doesn't make me look forward to a typical basketball game. The players on both teams don't seem to be the kind of players who would trash talk, in order to make the series more interesting to watch.

It is no secret that Boston is a much more physical team than the Lakers are and they've shown that all season (and a few times during the playoffs). What can we say about the Lakers being physical?

They tend to be more focused on winning the game rather than trying to make it more appeasing to others, which is a good mentality to have going into a highly anticipated series such as this. There is no need to make bad decisions because of what people want to see. That will just furthermore prove how much the NBA is staged. But with the Lakers being the way they are and the Celtics being the way that they are, how will this fair out with the rivalries from years ago when both teams had just about the same mentality?

It won't. These two teams can't allow the pressure of trying to be like the old guys get to their heads, because there is no need to fake it in order to make this an interesting series. They have to renew the rivalry rather than continue it. The days of Bird vs. Johnson, West vs. Russell is now over. This is a new era in the NBA where it is only right to play like you need to instead of play like you want to.

We definitely want to see the best possible series, but without the comparisons. With all of the comparisons being made between the two TOTALLY different era's, how dissapointed would everybody be if one of the team's were to be swept?

All of the unnecessary hype goes right out of the window and now we're looking forward for it to happen again. There is a pretty good chance that these two teams could meet in the NBA Finals again for the next several years, but let's not get too carried away in the hype. Not saying that this will be a great series because everybody on Earth should be tuning into every game of this series. It's just that we have to let the series play out to become its own rivalry, instead of trying to turn it into one that hasn't been around for over 20 years.

Pens waste opportunites, Wings one win from Stanley Cup

By: Byron Parker

The Detroit Red Wings bounced back from their Game 3 loss the other night with a win in Pittsburgh, snapping the Penguins 17 game home win streak. Nicklas Lindstrom scored for the Wings in the first period several minutes after the Pens struck with their first goal by Marian Hossa. After a long and physical second period, the score remained tied at 1-1. But Jiri Hudler came through for the Wings in the third period by shooting a backhand behind the Pens goalie, Marc-Andre Fluery. It looked like it could've been an easy stop, but Hudler found a way to get it to the back of the net and that is what happened to be the
difference in the game. If he made took the same shot with Fluery staying aware, there is a small chance that he would get the same results.

Chris Osgood bounced back by holding the Pens to 1 goal with 22 saves. He has arguably been one of the best players for the Wings throughout the postseason. He is now 13-3 in these playoffs and he is highly deserving of the Hart Trophy. Many Detroit fans have ripped Osgood for over the years, but this is a guy who has led the Wings to a Stanley Cup already and he arguably has HOF numbers. Osgood leads the Wings franchise in many of the goalie categories, and he has proven why he is one of the best in these playoffs. He's had his flaws, but when it comes to making stops in big moments, he does it. If you saw the 5 on 3 advantage that the Pens had last night, Osgood was able to stay focused and make the stops that were needed in order for the Wings to gain their men back. It was hard to believe that the offensive threat(s) that the Pens pose weren't able to come through at that time, considering that they had the advantage for almost two minutes.

The defense also deserves a ton of credit for that penalty kill. The way they were able to block off shots and clear the puck out on occasions to kill the penalty time was tremendous. Henrik Zetterberg was particularly the one who played outstanding on that penalty kill by competing the whole time. On the other side, the Pens didn't execute well at all; at least at that particular time.

The Pens didn't play all that bad throughout that game. There were a lot of missed opportunities, great shots and exceptional defense in that game. They just happened to run into Osgood when he was at his best (which seems to have been throughout this whole post season). The only time where you could point out a crucial moment for the Pens was on that 5 on 3. It was tough for them and they had their biggest opportunity during that advantage. They took some good shots and they took some bad shots, but most were bad shots. After that advantage was complete, the Pens wouldn't find a better time to score because it looked as though the Wings put their heads together and stopped committing unnecessary penalties, and also tried to keep the puck out of their zone for the most part of that third period.

The keys for the Pens to get it together is for their stars to get it together. Sure, Sidney Crosby had a good game in Game 3, but he was on the ice for the most part of that spoiled, 5 on 3 advantage. We've seen Crosby on the power play and it isn't a secret that he is dangerous in that situation. But when you have a 5 on 3 advantage, you can't allow three guys to crowd their sticks in the lane to hold you scoreless in that situation. He was really a non-factor in Game 4. Still, Crosby has contributed a hell of a lot more than Evgeni Malkin who has been more than a non-factor; he's been non-existent. He still remains scoreless and heartless. Malkin was a Hart Trophy finalist coming into this series, but that hasn't motivated him one bit in this series. It's
like watching Ray Allen when lost his touch in the some of the games of the NBA Playoffs, or watching Rick Ankiel when he lost his control in 2000 during the NLDS. The outcome will probably end up similar to Ray Allen because we won't see Malkin come back several seasons later in a goalie's uniform. Malkin won't remain in this mode, but he will need to show some kind of life in Game 5 in order to give the Pens a chance to win this. It's hard to call him a choke, but that may be exactly what he is doing.

With probably their best opportunity of the game (5 on 3), and possibly of the series being spoiled, and one of their best players who doesn't seem to have his head on straight, the Pens find themselves in a deep 3-1 whole to a veteran-poised team who have the home-ice advantage going into Game 5. A series that many were wishing to go in the Pens favor, or at least a little deeper than five games, may be wrapped all up at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Monday night. It will take 3 consecutive wins for the Pens to knock off the Wings, and history shows that the chances of that happening are the same as gas prices hitting $3.00 a gallon--very low.