Game 7 Ramblings

I'm not going to bore you with all aspects of the nervous breakdown I was having as the Celtics' lead slipped away slowly like Chinese water-torture. Not to mention, most of the notes I was taking as the game was going on are pretty much illegible anyway. But, here are the ten most pressing thoughts I had while watching the game last night:

-I was very surprised that Christina Aguilera got the call to sing the National Anthem for a second straight game. They must not have had anyone booked, but this is LA. You have to think they have pop stars on-call. She toned back the outfit, but upped the over-singing. 'Wave' was now 15 syllables.

-It took all Finals, but I finally figured out who Derrick Fisher is: he's basketball's Jorge Posada. Yeah, he's a pretty good player, but where he plays suddenly makes every one want to ramp him up to a level he doesn't deserve. If he was still on Golden State he'd never be brought up in any conversations.

-At the very opening of the game ABC showed a somber Kendrick Perkins on the sideline, standing and imploring his teammates. In the background you could see the typical LA douche (over-tanned, over-jeweled) yelling at him to sit down. Sir, this is Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Perhaps you should stand your ass up.

-The TV feed kept showing us Jack Nicholson, as if anyone cares that much. One shot would have been enough. (I will not miss the constant updates about whether or not Jack approves of a ref's call.) Anyway, he had a kid with him wearing a Kobe #8 jersey. If you can afford courtside Laker tickets than you can afford to spend the $75 on a new jersey.

-Another thing I will not miss about this NBA playoffs? All the promos for Grown Ups. You know, I might have been inclined to give it a viewing, but now I'm annoyed with you all, so forget it. This is unfortunate, because they shot part of this movie in Wareham, so I really would have liked to see how Water Wizz looked on film.

-At one point Rasheed Wallace scored on back-to-back possessions down on the low post against Pau Gasol. Mike Breen, calling the game for ABC said something to the effect of, "He's so effective on the low block, it makes you wonder why he spends so much time shooting from the perimeter." (sigh) Welcome to my world, Mike. I've been asking that question for 9 months.

-The halftime show featured a discussion on what another championship would mean for Kobe's overall legacy. Let me save you the time: Great player, top-10 of all-time, not as good as Jordan, bad teammate and an asshole. Those were the facts going into last night and nothing that happened last night changed my opinion of him.

-At one point, when Kobe was something obscene like 3 for 18, Mark Jackson made a Jon Starks reference. I'm willing to bet that was not the comparison Kobe had in mind when this game started. But, again, that's why Mark Jackson is a great announcer.

-Speaking of that terrible shooting, when Kobe was at the line late in the game they showed his stats and he had shot 5 for 21 on the night (Jordan never would have been that bad in a Game 7). Yet the crowd was still chanting M-V-P. Really, LA? I thought you guys were supposed to be knowledgeable basketball fans. That is not an MVP performance. Good basketball fans know when they need to be realistic. Instead, they were just following like sheep. Between that and the rioting like this was their first championship ever, it was not a banner night for Laker fans.

-I think what made this loss extra frustrating was the knowledge in the back of my mind that this could be the end of the run. I don't expect Doc or Ray Allen back and even if Pierce re-signs with the team he's got a lot of miles on those legs. I don't expect much of anything from Wallace next year either. KG should be better another year removed from knee surgery and as long as we have Rondo we'll be competitive, but with no cap room and no young guys waiting in the wings it could be a long time before the Celtics are back in the Finals.