Erick Blasco

This is a short-sighted argument. I was thinking about this when looking at how legitimately awesome this Finals matchup is. The last time a pair of teams met in the Finals with championship cores came when the Spurs faced the Pistons this decade. Before that, you have to go back to pre-Jordan. The 2008 Lakers weren't a championship core. Only three players had a ring (I think Luke Walton won a ring in 2003), only two as valuable rotation players, and only Kobe remained of the team's top three players (unless you count Fisher as that team's third option). The Bulls and Rockets never met in the 90's. The only East team that won a Finals in the early 2000's was that Pistons squad. Miami has never been back since 2006, and the Spurs haven't been back since beating Cleveland in 2007. This is only the second champ vs. champ Finals matchup the NBA has seen in a long while. Also, the only teams to beat a championship team in the Finals since the Jordan era were the 2004 Pistons knocking off the three-peat, and the Spurs beating those Pistons. Are we going to criticize Pierce, Wade, and Shaq for never beating championship teams in the Finals? Jordan only did it once, and it was at the end of the Showtime era. None of the Lakers did it. The Celtics didn't do it. Neither did the Heat. Can you use this argument as a small strike against Kobe as a legendary player? Perhaps, but you also need to understand the context. Needless to say, this series will go a long way in enhancing reputations.

Like Riot said, the Magic loving spacing the floor and Bass doesn't give them three-point spacing. He also sometimes plays without focus on defense. That's why he didn't play the regular season. I don't know why he didn't play more in Game Six though. He made some boneheaded plays towards the end of the first half in Game 5 and wasn't seen again. I would've played him minutes strictly on the basis of Gortat being so ineffective. Bass maybe many things, but he's certainly not without a motor and he's certainly not soft. It comes down to the coaching staff though. If he constantly makes mistakes in their eyes, they won't trust him. I guess his stint towards the end of the first half of Game 5 caused them to leash him in.

Is it the same boat as Andy Samberg? That's the boat I'M on.

Mike Dunleavy charts out as the most unclutch. Something in the water at Duke? And how about Trevor Ariza and Ron Artest each being in the bottom eight?

According to FG% via 82games.com's clutch stats. http://www.82games.com/0910/CSORT6.HTM

I know who I'm rooting for...the Kansas City Chiefs! Wait, what?

Jiminez' four-hit shutout just said F-U Lincecum.

*Clears Throat Forcefully* Yes. :lol: :lol: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH :lol: :lol: You mean, you don't recognize ideologically studying television texts to determine what values our culture has, and how those values are enforced as real? *Reads Own Sentence* Oh man, I've wasted my life! Good answers!

After a one-year hiatus, the Eastern Conference crown belongs to the old guard—The Boston Celtics. It’s only fitting, then, that their 96-84 Magic vanishing act was spurred by their backcourt. Whereas the Magic turned the tide of the series with Jameer Nelson pushing the basketball before Boston’s defense could set itself, Boston regained its stranglehold because of Rajon Rondo’s own transition offense. Beating Orlando down court for layups, making no-look passes on the break, even draining a three-point jumper, by the time Rondo’s dust had settled, Orlando was down double figures. To combat the staggered screens Orlando had presented Boston with great effect, the Celtics had the defender of the ball handler fight through the screens, the initial screen defender sag off to prevent a roll to the basket, and the second screen defender show as best as possible on the far side of the screen. This allowed the on-ball defender an extra split second to fight back to the ball handler. While that was the tactical reason why Orlando’s staggered screen game sputtered, the inability of Jameer Nelson and Jason Williams to aggressively turn the corner was the real culprit. With Nelson playing more passively, the layups generated when he turned the corner off a screen, or the kick out threes created when he drove so deep Boston had to collapse disappeared. With them, so did the quality of Orlando’s looks. Ray Allen burned the Magic because Vince Carter and J.J. Redick couldn’t stay attached to him around various off-ball screens. Allen would either find himself open for jump shots—6-13 FG, 3-7 3FG, 20 PTS—or Orlando would have to compensate by hedging the screen defender out high where Boston’s passes would be faster than Orlando’s subsequent rotations. Meanwhile, aside from a brief flurry in the second quarter, Carter shied away from contact, missed layups, and underperformed when his team needed him—par for his course. Paul Pierce simply shredded the too-thin Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus, and feasted on Carter’s lack of resistance. As a result, patented step back jumpers, powerful drives to the cup, and made looks from the sea-of-three sank the Magic’s ship—9-15 FG, 4-5 3FG, 9-10 FT. Pierce also displayed his competitive edge by grabbing 13 rebounds and his ability to execute with five assists against two turnovers. And his defense was superb throughout. With the exception of when matched with LeBron James’ powerhouse defense in the second round, Pierce has demonstrated his greatness time and time again this postseason. He’s hit critical buzzer beaters to win playoff games, he’s made shots from near and far, and he’s always accepted the challenge of attacking deep in the heart of an opponent’s defense and coming out victorious. While other players have received regular season accolades—James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony—it’s Pierce that has stayed strong and true while other “great” wings have allowed themselves to be taken out of games. Meanwhile, Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus accomplished nothing aside from a few garbage-time threes. The Celtics received a boost from Nate Robinson, whose erratic, but potent offense came out on the plus side. With Orlando’s point men trained to sag off of Rondo, Robinson was awarded too much airspace by Nelson and Williams. He capitalized with 13 big points that helped blow the game open early. While Robinson was making shots, Redick’s shooting abandoned him—2-7 FG, 1-4 3FG—and Jason Williams repeatedly made poor decisions with the ball. In fact, the only area where Orlando had appreciable early success came from screen/rolls where the passer would lob the ball in the general vicinity of the rim and Dwight Howard would make a play with it. Howard bullied Kevin Garnett in individual matchups, and rolled hard after setting solid screens. However, he also missed six free throws—6-12 FT—and was out of position defensively on several screen/rolls that led to layups. Rashard Lewis had some success when Kevin Garnett brainlessly hacked himself out of the game with early foul trouble, but he missed a pair of layups, and KG’s defensive range put the clamps on his shooting. Rasheed Wallace was ineffective on offense, but played tough, iron defense, whereas Marcin Gortat played soft as tissue paper. Each team got to the line 27 times, but the Celtics made 22 attempts while the Magic made 16. Each team attempted 22 attempts from downtown, mainly of similar quality, but the Celtics made 10 while the Magic made six. Orlando missed eight layups. Orlando lost the point guard battle they needed to win. Orlando lost the bench battle they needed to win. Orlando’s playmaking wing was destroyed by Boston’s playmaking wing. All these add up to a playoff blowout. For Orlando, they have to go back to the drawing board. Carter has proven time and again that he can’t hold up to the rigors of elite playoff competition and should be jettisoned for anyone. The Magic will need a more legitimate wing who plays tougher, is a better finisher, and isn’t a sieve defensively. Orlando also needs an enforcer off the bench. Perhaps a year older and a year wiser, Brandon Bass could be that guy, but Marcin Gortat’s soft game was exposed by Boston’s rugged bench. Add a backup point guard to the list of Orlando’s needs, and a creative backup off the bench who can create his own shot. With Pietrus closed out on hard, and without him enjoying an advantage in the post against the size and length of Boston’s wings, each of his two-dimensions were taken away. He needs to improve his handle and strength to become a prime-time backup. As such, with Cleveland proving themselves pretender and not contender, Orlando has been overmatched in each of its playoff appearances against healthy, elite competition—this year’s Celtics and last year’s Lakers. Therefore, changes must be made. Regardless of who comes out of the West, however, Boston has the strength, firepower, versatility, and execution to win the season’s final game, especially with Pierce performing like he did in 2008. All the bad regular season habits have been eliminated and the Celtics look every bit as dangerous as their 2008 title team. The only question that remains. Will it be the Cinderella Phoenix Suns, or the ever-anticipated rematch with the L.A. Lakers?

This from Nate McMillan through BlazersBlog via BP http://www.basketballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=522

The artist formerly know as.

From http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com/2010/05/27/nba-playoffs-celtics-magic-game-5-apparently-kendrick-perkins-is-an-mvp/

1) Thoughts on Arrested Development? 2) Would you ever bring a gun to a knife fight? 3) If you could be fused with a lion, an ostrich, a jackal, Dwight Howard, or a 20 foot blob of ooze, what would you choose and why? 4) Name the most and least interesting museums you've ever been to. 5) What is your favorite shade of purple? 6) How beautiful are the Carolina Panthers uniforms? 7) What does having Steve Nash as a favorite player say about you as a person? 8) What was the strangest birthday gift you ever received? 9) Rank these household appliances on what you'd like to have in case you were attacked: Vacuum, mop, spatula, frying pan, bar of soap, a second mop, bottle of pepsi, large wooden spoon, bucket of water, chair that's difficult to lift, unvacuumed rag. 10) If Ric Bucher interviewed you, what would he ask and what would be your answer.

The Wolves don't have much of a team now. They don't need either Brand or AJ, but if they value Evan Turner as a legit superstar, then they have to make that trade.

Do you value Brand over Jefferson is the question that comes to mind. AJ is a touch cheaper, but their contracts expire the same year. Also how highly do you value Evan Turner? These are the questions that come to mind.

I picked out the novel on the title alone! The Great Gatsby is an attack of one of the conventional portrayals of the American Dream of materialism and upper-class bourgeoisie status. It's ingrained in American culture to try to attain as much as wealth as possible and to increase your standard of living, often with deleterious moral side effects, which Gatsby highlights. It's been awhile since I read it, I should pick it up again. I've been too busy watching documentaries this semester.

Guys, when the world presents an opportunity to ask me question, you gotta get on it. You only get this privilege once! Now I'm slipping back into my shadowy realm where people don't know who my favorite team is.

I actually read Electric Sheep recently and didn't like it. I think the concept for the story was great...I think the writing was bland. Maybe if there were 200 page asides to Android Law, I'd have enjoyed it more. I don't think there's any color to Electric Sheep. It's very terse in how it reads, or at least in how I read it, and it eliminates the pleasure in reading it. I've wanted to read Nabokov for awhile now, but always went with something else. Lolita's a classic though, I'm not surprised you enjoyed it. I've also never heard of the Neuromancer (I don't read as much as you do, not nearly so. I've read maybe 5 books the past year), and don't read many modern novels. I don't think I've read anything published in the 2000's. If I ever get hold of something good, I'll let you know!

Scott Skiles is in big trouble...

Most people are satisfied to know nothing about me. Glad I could be insightful.

We have. I always die a little inside when you point out Les Mis as boring. You can always skip his 300 page historical appositives! Though at the end of those asides, there's always some character or event who is introduced to the story which I think is masterful. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series is my favorite 20th Century novel. It's not as elegant as say, The Great Gatzby, but it's brilliantly funny with really witty and clever observations. It's absurdly silly, but it's really smart at the same time. For a second favorite, nothing jumps out too much. Slaughterhouse 5 was terrific, and its an easy read. And I was lucky enough to read Catcher in the Rye when I was 16 (Only 16 year olds love that book) and loved it but I wouldn't want to go back to it. So those are my favorite three if you count all the series of The Guide as one book. You were looking for a book to read last I recall, what did you choose?

Thank you. I try to put a little bit of thought and effort into everything I do.

Good for Stoudemire. That's how you respond to a bad first two games.

Oh no, it's much more embarrassing. I knew the Order of Operations, squared it, got 180. I just said, 180, 58, pssshhh, that's 208. I must be the dumbest person alive.

I didn't know what you meant so I had to make assumptions. Glad you enjoyed!