1. Steve Kerr has stepped down as the Suns GM.
2. When you’re not playing in June, you have a lot of spare time… the Magic and Jazz unveil their new logos.
3. Basketball is being played somewhere other than LA and Boston??  Great overview of Barcelona in the ACB Championship Series.
4. While we’re there, check out the list of current European Champions, thanks to Ballin In Europe.
5. Speaking of Europe, check out this INSANE video of the Greek finals.  Takes me back…
6. The Kobe Conundrum.
7. Hilarious.  The 11 players you always meet in pickup basketball.
8. Pierce and Rondo hug it out.
9. Who complains the most about calls in this Finals?  Kevin Garnett?  Ron Artest?  WRONG.
10. Take it to the rim, Lakers.

It’s been a colorful history between these legendary clubs.  Some highlights throughout the years:

1. 1962: The second NBA Finals with the Lakers against the Celtics (after 1959). Elgin Baylor scored a Finals record 61 points in a game 5 Laker victory. In Game 7, the clock was winding down with the score tied at 100, when Frank Selvy, who once scored 100 points in a college game, missed an eight-footer for the Lakers. The Celtics won in overtime, with Bill Russell tying his own Finals record with 40 rebounds.
2. 1966: Another Celtics-Lakers classic. In Game 7, Red Auerbach, Boston’s coach, lit up his traditional victory cigar midway through the 4th quarter, only to see his team’s big lead melt away. They held on, however, and won 95–93 to preserve the Celtics’ eighth straight championship and ninth in ten seasons.
3. 1969: For the third time in the decade, a Lakers-Celtics final went to seven games. Chamberlain, Baylor, and West, three of the game’s best players, were now all playing for the Lakers.  Nevertheless, the aging Celtics, led by player-coach Bill Russell, held their ground.  In Game 4, with the Celtics trailing 2–1 in the series and 88–87 in the game, Sam Jones hit an incredible buzzer-beater with three seconds left to even the series and preserve the Celtics’ championship winning streak.  In game 7, Don Nelson threw up a recovered loose ball with only 2 seconds left on the 24 second shot clock. Nelson’s shot hit the heel of the rim, bounced high in the air and came down through the hoop as Boston ended up winning 108–106.
4. 1984: The long-awaited rematch of the Lakers and Celtics after their rivalry was revived in 1980 with the legendary Johnson-Bird pair entering the league. The Lakers won Game 1, and almost Game 2, but a crucial steal in Game 2 by Gerald Henderson led to a tie game and the Celtics were able to win in overtime to tie the series. The Lakers won Game 3. The Celtics won Game 4. Now tied 2–2, the Lakers and Celtics each held serve at their home court to send the series to Boston for Game 7.  Celtics took out the trophy.
5. 1985: The Lakers and Celtics met again, and the Celtics opened the series with a crushing 148-112 win over Los Angeles. Known as the “Memorial Day Massacre”, Boston’s 148 points still stands as the highest total by a team in the Finals. However, the Lakers came back to win the series in six games, finally beating Boston in the NBA Finals. L.A.’s Finals victory marked the only time Boston lost a championship on their home floor.
6. 2008: The Boston Celtics ended their 22-year title drought with a six-game victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
7. 2010: Lakers currently lead 2-1… bring on game 4!

Check out the 1984 Finals:

1. Not sure who to root for in the NBA Finals?  DJ Gallo has some ideas of how to choose.
2. Legacies on the line; Ian Thomsen looks at the ripples these finals will have on the stream of basketball history… (how’s that for imagery?)
   “For most of his career Bryant has been identified as a potential successor to Michael Jordan, but before he can incite that debate he must first equal the achievements of Magic. How can Bryant be compared favorably with the greatest player when he hasn’t outdone the greatest Laker?”
3. Little Knicks fans in Ghana...
4. Newspapers.  Radio.  TV.  Websites.  Blogs.  Now Twitter.  All ways you can be updated about basketball games…
5. Australia’s chances pre-world championships… their best weapons may not be who you think.
   “While Jawai has had limited opportunities to play since his NBL Rookie of the Year season in 2008, in his 10 minutes per game with Minnesota last season he grabbed an offensive rebound every eight minutes – a rate better than the NBA’s best offensive rebounder Joakim Noah.”
6. We miss you, Coach Wooden.

Today we saw an energetic, in-rhythm LA Lakers team beat a Boston Celtics team that never looked like winning this game.  You have Boston from the East, who since April 17^th, have played Eastern-Conference teams and played a physical, lock-down defensive orientated style of basketball beating King James & the Cavs and steam-rolling last years Eastern Conference Champs, the Orlando Magic.  On the other hand, the Lakers have fought through an extremely talented OKC Thunder team, swept the Jazz and overcame one of the best offences in the league, the Phoenix Suns, to make the NBA Finals.  Two different teams, two different conferences, two different styles of basketball, and yes….it’s all TOO different.

So when you have two teams that are so different match up in the NBA Finals, inevitably one of them is going to surprise the other.  Today, it was the Lakers turn to surprise the Celtics.  Both teams went deep into their benches early, with Nate Robinson, Sacha Vujacic and Luke Walton sightings in the first and second quarters.  Both coaches seemingly were trying to spread the minutes so their stars had enough in the tank down the stretch.  The Lakers probably benefited from chasing around those young punks at Oklahoma City in the first round, then Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals because they out-hustled and out-ran the Celtics at every opportunity.  The Lakers looked to have more energy from start to finish in this game and after being up 20 at the end of the third, coasted to a 102-89 victory.

Kobe Bryant did everything you could ask from him.  He hit fadeaway jumpers, went to the basket for dunks, distributed the ball, rebounded & even had a spectacular block on the Celtics Tony Allen on his way to a very Kobe 30 points, 7 rebounds & 6 assists on 10-22 shooting.  Pau Gasol (as 3MW predicted) outplayed the entire Celtics frontline with a dominant display of post moves, finishing with 23 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists & 3 blocks.  Gasol shot 8-14 from the field and 7-10 from the stripe.  Ron Artest again proved what a difference maker he can be, nailing threes in the fourth quarter and coming up with defensive play after defensive play.  There were numerous times in the second half where a Laker was scoring on a fast break with no Celtics in sight.   The Celtics had 24 points and 9 boards from Paul Pierce and a solid 13 point, 8 assist, 6 rebound night from a clearly injured Rajon Rondo.  But the Lakers would pound them on the glass for a 42-31 rebounding advantage and Celtics shot just 1-10 from behind the arc.

What does this mean?  Not much at this stage.  We aren’t ready to hand the Championship trophy to the Lakers just yet, and we’re sure the Celtic’s aren’t either.  Whilst it was a convincing win, it’s only one game and the Lakers did what is expected from them…they came into their own building and defended their home court.  And for the Celtics, it’s likely that they came to LA hoping sneak one game and go back to Boston 1-1.  They’ll have their chance to do that in game 2 on Sunday (Monday for us Aussies) and you can bet that is going to be one physical game!