NBA Finals Thoughts

If the Celtics lose this series - and I am not a believer that the Lakers are a lock to take home the title just yet - they will look back on the fourth quarter of Game 3 and be able to blame no one but themselves. That is because despite the Starks-esque shooting performance from Ray Allen and the third consecutive no-show from Paul Pierce on the offensive end in this series, the Celtics were in position to take a 2-1 series lead. But then Rajon Rondo, the Celtics best player, decided to stop playing defense on Derek Fisher. The veteran of four Laker championships scored 11 of his 16 points in the final quarter, picking apart his more celebrated and much younger counterpart. For the Celtics to win the series, they cannot afford to have Rondo be on the losing side of the point guard matchup again... Welcome to the Finals KG... Don't be shocked when Ray Allen hit 5-of-9 three-pointers tonight. Great shooters - and Ray is one of the all-time great shooters - do not get nervous about pulling the trigger after one (historically) bad game... As bad as Ron Artest has been shooting the ball, he has to be given a ton of credit for effectively taking Pierce out of his game. Pierce has not yet had a big game scoring the ball and that is a major reason why the C's are down 2-1... I would be lying if I said that I wasn't scared that Kobe hasn't had a monster night yet... The health of Andrew Bynum's knee controls the fate of this series right now. If the Lakers center is healthy, he is a weapon that the Celtics have almost no answer for. However, if he is limited for the rest of the series after tweaking it twice during Game 3, the Celtics have the opportunity to steal the series... Enjoy Big Baby tonight...