We don’t get into the habit of defending Lebron James very often, but all the talk (much of it coming from Deshawn Stevenson) about Lebron ‘checking out’ in this Finals series is all a bit much. Granted, he’s not played at his usual standard offensively. The numbers tell that alone where James’ scoring has dropped to 17ppg down from the 25.8ppg he averaged against Chicago in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hate away, but in the end…..he’s defending well, he’s playing hard, he’s competing. He IS deferring to Wade more, yes. But if we took a poll with Miami Heat fans as to ‘who do you want taking a big shot at the end of the game?’…we are guessing that Dwayne Wade would receive more votes. And we’d agree. So Lebron is deferring offensively to a guy who is a better option? And what’s so bad about that?

Even so, Chris Sheridan from ESPN recently said ‘I asked Lebron if he could break a dollar and he said he could only give me three quarters.’

The Mavs are 3-0 in the NBA Finals against Miami…. when Brian Cardinal plays.

The New York Knicks recently held their free agent camp with Javaris Crittendon and Bonzi Wells both playing extremely well.

Allen Iverson wants to return to the NBA, but he couldn’t even muster a full season in Turkey? Don’t get us wrong, we’d love to see AI back in the NBA but we just don’t know he’s got enough in the tank.

We don’t want Isiah Thomas involved with ANY NBA team, but if it has to be the Pistons to keep him from destoying the Knicks again then we’ll live with that. Reality is, Joe Dumars is a better GM than Isiah Thomas will ever be a coach so the NBA is safer with Thomas in Detroit.

While we are talking about coaches, we would love to see Larry Bird back on the sidelines.

But we’ll settle for Mark Jackson… YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!! Could we be happier?  Probably not…

Portland are in talks with Sacramento &  Toronto in an attempt to move up in the NBA Draft. Apparently the Blazers have Andre Miller on the table with their 17th pick with the plan to move up and nab UCONN’s Kemba Walker.

While we’re on the draft, we’ll go out on a limb and say Kentucky big Enes Kanter is overrated. He has some serious range for a big guy, but when you’re his size you are going to score points in college. We’re hearing top 3 from some places, but we see him more as just outside the lottery.

We won’t dwell on Game 2 of the Finals too much. There’s PLENTY of good journalism on ESPN and other networks to dig into the results of Dallas’ epic come-from-behind win in Game 2 against Miami. But for us… Shawn Marion. Yep, Dirk was amazing in the fourth quarter. Yes, Tyson Chandler was great. Rick Carlisle did a phenomenal job managing the minutes. Especially for Chandler (38 mins up from a post-season average of 31.5) and Jason Kidd (38 mins up from 34) who both looked fresh everytime they were on the floor. But Marion. Shawn Marion. The guy made a tonne of big plays. There were nine times in the game where Dallas were scoreless for more than a minute. Four of those times, Marion broke the drought. Not to mention, Marion was also guarding Lebron James in the fourth quarter (James shot 0-3 in the finalperiod, missing all three of his jumpshots in the final 3:27). Shawn Marion.

Goodbye Shaq, we’ll miss you.

Gilbert Arenas is back on twitter.

Donnie Walsh is out of NY, is Mike D’Antoni next?

Steve Nash was in the crowd for Game 2 in Miami and mentioned afterwards that it was the first live NBA game he’s attended since he was in College at Santa Clara.

We really thought better of the LA Lakers organisation than to hire a coach without talking to Kobe Bryant. Now, let’s be realistic…the Buss family own that team. They can hire, fire, do whatever they please. Kobe is an employee so they hardly need his approval. BUT, out of respect for the guy you are paying $30m to and helped get you 5 x championships…maybe you should have made a call and say ‘Hey Kobe, you like Mike Brown as a coach?’

If Isiah Thomas ends up back in the Knicks organisation, James Dolan should be taken away by the men in white coats to a ‘special hospital’.

Mike Brown will be telling Kobe what to do from the Lakers bench… What do you think about that? We like Coach Mike Brown, but aren’t sure if he’s in the Doc Rivers category (nice guy, nice coach but not great) or the Greg Poppovich category (Coach extraordinaire – see also Phil Jackson). We’re really looking forward to seeing what Mike Brown can do with that Laker team.

There are four types of Dallas fans right now:
1. Fans who love Dallas.
2. Fans who love Dirk, therefore love Dallas but would love any Dirk-team.
3. Fans who are die hard Western Conference fans so at this point in the season, Dallas is their team.
4. Fans who hate Miami and are ordering their Mavs jerseys to wear during the finals as we speak.

Steve Nash, once again showing why he’s one of the best people in the NBA with his genuine support of NBA players having freedom of sexual preferance and his support of gay marriage in the USA. Love your work, Steve.

Jamal Crawford, even at age 31 has to be one of the most sought after guys this offseason.

We still don’t get why the Blazers fired GM Rich Cho. The guy made the biggest mid-season trade of 2010-11, bringing Gerald Wallace to P0rtland. That trade made the Trailblazers SO much better. Granted, they traded away some height but Wallace is a recent All Star who flourished in Portland after the trade. Then, when the season is done….they fire the guy who made it happen? Must be some serious personality conflicts in that front office. 3MW has learned one example of this, that when Brandon Roy complained of court-time late in the season, Cho was pushing internally to fine Roy for his public comments. Unfortunately for Cho, Blazers owner Paul Allen and President Larry Miller saw it differently and veto’d Cho’s attempts to punish Roy for his negative comments.

Back to the NBA Finals with the Mavs & Heat, we’ve got ANOTHER rematch on our hands. No doubt every reporter and analyst will talk of this, but we’re having our say too. Doing the research, these aren’t that rare in the whole scheme of things. 30 teams in the NBA, 15 teams per conference and we still have plenty of rematches in NBA Finals history. We’ll limit it to a 5 year window so we can include the current Finals and go back 40 years… check it:

2011 – Mavs v Heat rematch from 2006 (Heat won in 2006)
2010 – Lakers v Celtics rematch from 2008 (Lakers won the rematch after Boston won in 2008)
1998 – Bulls v Jazz rematch from 1997 (Bulls won both finals series)
1989 – Pistons v Lakers rematch from 1988 (Pistons won the rematch after LA won the 88 Finals)
1987 – Lakers v Celtics rematch from 1985 (Lakers won both finals series)
1986 – Celtics v Rockets rematch from 1981 (Boston won both finals series)
1985 – Lakers v Celtics rematch from 1984 (Lakers won the rematch, Boston won in 1984)
1983 – 76ers v Lakers rematch from 1982 (Sixers won the rematch, Lakers won in 1982)
1982 – 76ers v Lakers rematch from 1980 (Lakers won both finals series)
1979 – Bullets v Supersonics rematch from 1978 (Seattle won the rematch, Washington won in 78)
1973 – Knicks v Lakers rematch from 1972 (New York won the rematch, LA won in 1972)
1972 – Knicks v Lakers rematch from 1970 (Lakers won the rematch, NY won in 1970)

Draw your own conclusions on that one and let us know here at 3 Man Weave.

The LA Lakers are one hell of a team. And that’s how they won game seven against the Boston Celtics….as a TEAM. Early on, it looked grim for the Lakers. The media and every basketball expert had already handed the Lakers the 2009-2010 Championship, even before the ball went in the air for the opening tap. Only 3 teams in 64 years have managed to win a game 7 on the road in an NBA Finals. The Celtics were up against it, but it didn’t look that way early on.

With Kendrick Perkins out of the starting lineup with a season-ending knee injury, Rasheed Wallace stepped in and took it to the Lakers in the first half with a series of post moves that looked like someone had wound the clock back to 2001. Kevin Garnett looked strong, Ray Allen hit threes and Big Baby Davis stepped in and made shots. But for the Lakers, Kobe Bryant shot terribly, Andrew Bynum was playing on one leg and the bench wasn’t contributing on the offensive end. And strangely, the Lakers seemed surprised that the Celtics, after 105 games since they started their 2009-10 campaign…weren’t going to just bend over for the Lakers? Um….what Celtics team do you think you are playing, LA?

The second half started the same and with Rajon Rondo’s lay-up with 8:23 left in the third, Boston were up 49-36. But LA would string together a handful of baskets, with some clutch play by Lamar Odom, the ever-dependable Pau Gasol and even Kobe Bryant would hit only his 3r d& 4^thfield goals of the evening to bring the score to 57-53 at the end of the third. Even though they were still being outlplayed by this tough Celtics squad, the LA crowd were energised enough for the Lakers team to ride that momentum into fourth where it was a completely different game.

The Celtics were scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the fourth quarter and following three free-throws from Kobe and a three-point play from Ron Artest, the Lakers had tied the game up at 61-61 and you could feel the pounding the Lakers were taking had ceased. Ray Allen would hit a series of free throws to push it to 64-61, but then with 6:11 left in the game, Derek Fisher, clutch as always, nailed a high-arcing three-pointer to tie it back up 64-64. The LA crowd went crazy, and the Lakers would go on a 12-6 run courtesy of Bryant and Gasol. Gasol’s layup with 1:30 left gave the Lakers a 76-70 edge and a Boston timeout.

Straight out of the time-out, Rasheed Wallace hit a three. Then at the end of the shot-clock, Artest hit a three for the Lakers. 9 seconds into the next Boston possession, Ray Allen nailed a three-pointer. Two possessions later, Rasheed Wallace would collect his 6^thfoul and send Kobe Bryant to the free throw line where he’d make both and give the Lakers an 81-76 lead.

With 16 second left in the 2009-10 season, Rajon Rondo would get the offensive rebound off a Ray Allen missed three pointer, dribble out to the corner next to the Lakers bench and nail a three to make it a 2 point game, 81-79. Sacha Vujacic would then be sent to the line, and hit possibly the two biggest free throws of his career to seal the 83-79 victory.

The Lakers have won their 16^thNBA Championship of all time, and they did it as a team. Fisher, Odom, Vujacic, Brown, Odom, Gasol, Farmer, Walton, Mbenga, Bynum, Powell and Bryant. All of them at some stage over the last few weeks have stepped up and made a difference. And especially in game 7, where Kobe shot a dismal 6-24 from the field, he needed his team more than ever and they all contributed. Kobe would still finish with 23 points and an impressive 15 rebounds, but Pau Gasol (19 points & 18 rebounds), Ron Artest (20 points) and Derek Fisher (10 points) all featured heavily to help Bryant win his 5^th NBA Championship and coach Phil Jackson’s 11^th coaching championship. For Kobe, this was the toughest of any of the Championships he’s been a part of, and for coach Phil Jackson, this victory will only make his summer even more interesting as he grapples with the option to return to the Lakers.

We are all very lucky…we’ve just witnessed something that has happened now 4 times in 30 years.  And between the two most successful franchises in NBA history, no less.  Congratulations to the LA Lakers, the 2009-10 NBA CHAMPIONS!

You gotta love home court in the NBA Finals. Game 6 saw a return to the west coast and a return to form for the LA Lakers. Away from the Garden in Boston and back in the Staples Center, the Lakers had their crowd behind them and dominated the Celtics from the get-go. Kobe Bryant scored 11 first quarter points on 5/6 from the field. Then as if it wasn’t going to be tough enough for Boston, Celtics centre Kendrick Perkins went down with a knee injury after only 7 minutes of action and would not return. The Lakers Derek Fisher then picked up two quick fouls and the Lakers went to Shannon Brown who chased Rajon Rondo around the court, helping to force him into a series-worst 5-15 from the field. Brown would also feature heavily in the games highlight reels , including an amazing alley-oop dunk that he caught from outside the backboard. Even the Celtics fans around the world oohing & aahing.

Perkins’ injury would force Rasheed Wallace & Glen Davis to play extended minutes, but unlike games 3, 4 & 5 in Boston, Wallace & Davis would not step up. They combined for 0-10 from the field. Boston’s starters also shot poorly with Ray Allen as the sole performer, scoring 19 points on 7/14 shooting.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and four steals. Pau Gasol would near a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists and Ron Artest hit some big threes in the first half on his way to 15 points.

The Celtics may not be as deep a team as the Lakers, they may not match up with the Lakers talent…but Boston are easily the TOUGHEST team in the NBA. This Boston team may even be one of the toughest teams in NBA history, up there with the ‘Bad Boys’ Detroit Pistons of the 1980s. But by only midway through the first quarter in this one, the C’s were already hanging the hanging their heads and trudging up the court, looking beaten. Lakers were up 51-31 at the half and kept the pressure on for a 89-67 victory to force a final game.

And now…..game 7 is upon us. GAME 7! Do you know how often we get to see an NBA Finals go to seven games? 3 Man Weave does….this is the 5^th time in the past 30 years that the NBA Finals has gone to a seventh game. In fact, since the 1946-47 season, there have been 16 finals series go to seven games. And now, in the 2009-2010 season we have the two most successful franchises in NBA history dueling it out in game seven for the 17^th time.

Thursday night (Friday midday in Australia) will see the Boston Celtics step onto the Lakers home floor and attempt to do what only 3 teams in 64 years have managed to do. Win an NBA Finals in game 7 on their opponents home floor.  Whether you’re a Celtics fan or a Lakers fan…..you could be witnessing one of the greatest games in NBA history.