Artest wants to go "Metta"

Oh Ron Ron, you so Crazy.

As not to be outdone by a bunch of unproven 20 year old draftees, our favorite NBA crazy (sorry Andray Blatche), made news yesterday when he filed a petition to legally change is name to Metta World Peace. Doesn't that picture just scream kindness, love and peace to you?

WTF?



 

Talking Points Memo

I just posted a piece on what to look for in tonight's historic match up over at Beatbots.

Here are some talking points that might not be absolutely beaten like a dead horse by announcers tonight:

What the absence of Kendrick Perkins does for the Lakers
Can Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom take advantage of Rasheed Wallace's limited movement? My guess is yes, yes, yes, and very much so. If the Lakers go inside consistently, this game could be over before the half.

Lamar Odom or Bizarre Odom
Dwyer says it better and with more words, but Lamar Odom simply has to show up tonight at his all-star level best.

Rondo's Availability on Offense
Rondo failed the Celtics in Game 6 partially because the Lakers know he doesn't have a perimeter game. If Rondo gets involved in pick and rolls and pick and pops or even hangs out on the low post after his initial pass, the Lakers simply have to pay attention to him, which makes life much easier for Ray Allen and Paul Pierce (and keeps Kevin Garnett where he should be - near the basket). Watch for Rondo's movement and involvement in screens. If you see it, that's great for the Celtics.

Lakers Clog the Lane
In Game 6, the Lakers absolutely destroyed the Celtics with their defense. Anyone in green who entered the lane found hands reaching in and grabbing the ball. Fisher from Garnett. Everyone from Tony Allen. This worked in part because the Lakers could slough off on Rajon Rondo and/or Tony Allen. If Rondo gets involved, it's tougher.

Benches need improvement
The benches have to play like it's the last game of the season. Why? Because it is. Big Baby needs a double-double for the Celtics. Tony Allen needs to suffocate Kobe. Farmar needs a repeat of Game 6. Shannon Brown can dunk all he wants, but tonight, he's going to have to use his gray matter.

Ray Allen needs to show up
He's done it before, even in this series, but the Celtics struggle mightily when this member of the Big Three doesn't play well. In the conflated id-ego-superego, mind-body-soul mixed triumverate spread across the Big Four, Allen shares the duties of the mind with Rondo but also holds the role of superego. He is the savvy veteran with control and he absolutely cannot disappear tonight. Keep an eye out for a few offensive rebounds from Ray. If he has a couple, this will be a real game rather than another rout by the Lakers.

We Meet Again

For the 12th time in NBA history, the Lakers and Celtics will meet in the Finals. The Celtics have 17 titles in 21 trips to the Finals. The Lakers have 15 titles in 31 trips. The Celtics are 9-2 against the Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Celtics embarrassed the Lakers in the most recent matchup in 2008, wrapping up the title with a Game 6 blowout. Will 2010 be any different? To answer that, we need to weigh the differences between these teams and this matchup in 2010 with the 2008 versions.

The biggest personnel differences are Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace, Nate Robinson, Ron Artest and a healthy(ish) Andrew Bynum. For Boston, the personnel changes are basically a wash, as they provide the same skill set as the players they replaced (with the notable exception of 'Sheed's 3-point shooting). For Los Angeles, Ron Artest should help shut down Paul Pierce, and Andrew Bynum's presence will mean a lot, even if he is slowed by his knee injury.

The series itself is different this time around, too, as the Lakers have home court advantage. In the Finals, this is much more important than in all previous rounds because of the 2-3-2 format. It's extremely difficult to win 3 games in a row in the NBA Playoffs. This puts the underdog at a severe disadvantage - instead of winning one game on the road, the Celtics will probably have to win two games on the road as it's very likely they will drop at least one game at home.

The themes of this series will be: Kobe vs. the Celtics' team defense; Rondo vs. the individual defender tasked to guard him (probably Kobe); Ron Artest's defense on Paul Pierce; the battle of the big men and whether Ray Allen can catch fire.

There are a ton of other things to discuss when looking at this matchup, and I'm not going to get into any of them. My status as a Laker fan precludes me from performing a rational, streamlined analysis. I am excited and nervous. This is going to be a great series.

I'm taking Lakers in 6.

The NBA's Final Four

We're getting closer. Today I'm going to rank the last four teams remaining in the NBA Playoffs based on the best chance to win it all.

1. Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are playing inspired basketball since the Game 4 blowout in OKC. I did predict that Kobe would go off in the Jazz series, but what I really get a kick out of is how every blog and media outlet is now proclaiming that Kobe is back to his old form. Well, I disagree (somewhat). Kobe obviously played better against the Jazz than against the Thunder, but a large part of that was the game plan and the opposing player guarding him. Thabo Sefalosha is one of the best defensive wing players in the NBA. Wesley Matthews is not. That is the main reason Kobe went off in the Jazz series. It's not because he's all of a sudden "back".

But I digress. The Lakers are operating on all cylinders, and a nice tune-up against a poor defensive team like the Utah Jazz combined with a one-week break to rest Bynum's knee and Kobe's finger/ankle/knee should prove to be invaluable to this team. Add to that the motivation to exorcise Phoenix demons and we should see Los Angeles advance to its third NBA Finals in as many years. They are the favorite to win it all.

1a. Orlando Magic

Of course, the Orlando Magic are absolutely crushing it this postseason. They are 8-0 and have been sitting at home watching the LeBron embarassment (hey LeBron - great players win championships) for nearly a week. Best team defense in the league, best defensive player in the league, a marquee point guard and a shooting guard who can pour it in when he's motivated enough to do so. The Magic are primed and ready to advance to their second NBA Finals in as many years. I just hope nobody sleeps on this team next year like they did this year. The only reason the Magic are #1a and not #1 is because beating Charlotte and Atlanta is not that impressive. They were clearly two of the weakest teams in the weaker conference's playoffs.

3. Boston Celtics

With their dismantling of the Cavaliers, the Celtics showed the world why you can never dismiss a championship team in future playoffs. This team is tough. This team is talented. And this team does not give up. Rondo is having a coming out party and their team defense is doing what it's so good at doing - shutting the other team down completely. Meanwhile, it looks like Paul Pierce is struggling. It will be hard for the Celtics to get past the Magic in the East Finals, but if Pierce can find his groove, it is entirely possible for the Celtics to advance.

4. Los Suns de Phoenix

The chemistry team. Steve Kerr was on the Dan Patrick show this morning and said that he could tell in training camp that this team just likes each other. That's a far cry from the usual distractions and prima donna personalities that the Suns have become known for over the past few years (hello, Amar'e Stoudemire). The resurgence of Grant Hill, the solid play of the Phoenix big men, the scoring of Jason Richardson and the masterful orchestration of the offense by Steve Nash have all combined to get the Suns to the West Finals. Unfortunately they (like almost everyone else) don't have the size to match up with the Lakers. But they do have the personnel to dictate the pace of the game, and they run the pick-and-roll as well as anyone in the league (which is the Lakers' main defensive weakness). If they can get past the Lakers, I could see them matching up well with the Magic and the Celtics. But they have to get there first.

Both of these series are going to be outstanding. I'll take Celtics in 7 and Lakers in 6 for a rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals.

Lakers vs. Jazz

The Lakers and Jazz couldn't have closed out their respective first round series in a more dichotomous way. While the Lakers secured a series-clinching victory with a last-second tip-in by Pau Gasol (off a Kobe Bryant isolation miss), the Jazz had the clock run out on a nearly double-digit lead while Deron Williams injured his elbow (although it looked like his wrist) on a screen by The Birdman.

While the Lakers are rolling into Game 1 at Staples on a high, the Jazz just hope Deron Williams can play (he is apparently a game-time decision). Luckily for the Jazz, this is not the NFL. It's a long, seven game series (with a notable 3-day break between Games 2 and 3).

This series comes down to whether any wing player on the Jazz is able to defend Kobe Bryant (doubtful), whether Deron Williams can be stopped or even slowed by anyone on the Lakers (doubtful/questionable), and whether the Jazz front line can hold serve against the Lakers' front line (questionable).

The Jazz have the advantage at PG (D-Will over Fish).

The Lakers have the advantage at SG (Kobe over Wes Matthews) and C (Bynum over Fesenko).

SF (Artest/CJ Miles), PF (Gasol/Boozer), Bench (Millsap, Price, Korver, Kirilenko/Odom, Farmar, Brown, Walton) and Coaching (Phil and Jerry) are a wash.

This series will be similar to the Lakers' first round series against the Thunder, with the major difference being that the Jazz do not have a premiere wing player for Artest to guard. I would not be surprised to see Artest guard D-Will for extended periods of time, if he proves that he won't get beat off the dribble. We all know Fisher has no chance, and Kobe might not be up to the challenge for a full 7 games.

I would also expect to see a lot more Kobe scoring in this series. The Jazz literally have no one who can stop him, so he's going to be taking a lot of shots, getting to the line a ton, and putting up some gaudy numbers. The Jazz front line is also deeper and more physical than the Thunder front line, so Pau and Bynum will not have the same advantage as they did against OKC.

Utah is a tough place to play and a very good team, but I don't see them getting past the Lakers.

Lakers in 6.

No Free Taco on Los Lakers' 'Noche Latina'

Yesterday's 99-92 victory by the best-in-the-west L.A. Lakers (52-18) over the fourth-worst-overall Washington Wizards (21-47) took place on the NBA's fourth annual Noche Latina, a night recognizing the fact that 15% of the league's fan base is of Latino heritage, as are 18 of its players.

But the lackluster win by one of the league's best over one of the league's worse is not a good sign for the reigning Champs as playoff season approaches, and as they prepare for their final road-tour of the year. Sure, the Lakers made the second half look like a competition between the Globetrotters and Generals, but the Lakers did lead by 28 points earlier in the half, giving up 21 points in a blink of the eye.

And more importantly, on Noche Latina, there were no free tacos.

As watchers of the Lakers well know, the fourth quarter of winning games brings chants of "We Want Tacos," derived from the Taco Bell Staples Center promotion of giving vouchers for free tacos if the Lakers score over 100 points while holding their opponents to under 100 points. The chant has spread even beyond home games; recently, the chant was heard by infiltrating Lakers fans at L.A.'s 106-99 defeat of the Sacramento Kings at Arco Arena. But last night, Los Lakers walked it out in the waning minutes of the game. With 98 points on the board, they played like they were already half asleep, and missed two of their final three free throws.

A repeat is a rare thing in today's NBA, much rarer than free tacos, so the failure to even win the latter for the fans does not bode well for the former.

Kobe: Top-Seeding Doesn't Matter

From yesterday's L.A. Times, Kobe dismisses any discussion of the fact that the Lakers are, for the second year, the Best in the West but second overall to the Cavs:

Because the Lakers were tested in the West playoffs last season, Kobe Bryant was asked if it's a big deal for them to have the top seeding in their conference.

"It doesn't matter," Bryant said. "You got to win games on the road too. You're not going to win every home game. You are eventually going to relinquish home court at some point. You wish that was not the case, but it happens."

The Lakers are 20-13 on the road this season, not quite up to last season's 29-12 mark.

Still, Bryant said he remains confident in his team's ability to perform on the road.

"I am, but it doesn't mean it's not trouble," Bryant said. "That Denver series last season scared … all of us — Houston too."

The Nuggets won Game 2 of the conference finals at Staples Center before losing in six games to the Lakers.

The Rockets were the only team in the playoffs that pushed the Lakers to a seven-game series.

"So, I am extremely confident," Bryant said. "But at the same time, I know how dangerous that is."

Doesn't actually sound that confident; he'd probably be happier if his bench showed up. O Jordan Farmar, where art thou?