If you picked the Lakers to win it all, you weren’t alone ….. overwhelmingly the National Media picked the Lakers over the Celtics. Look at the egregious picks made by these, eh hem, experts on ESPN!!! Let’s look at some of the myths that influenced the so called experts and possibly you in making the same mistake causing you to lose $ to some guy at the Grotto in the greasy chair named “Charlie with the Lotion and the Kinky Hair“.

1) Coaching: The Zen Master would make Doc Rivers look silly and break his tie with the Celtic’s Red Auerbach for total NBA Championships (9) by a coach. Well, even the Boston Sports Media as well as skeptical fans think Doc made the Zen Master look like he was a Zombie or some old man kicked down an elevator still in a coma. I was convinced when Doc went small and played House and Posey, along with the Big Three, to spread the floor and stop Kobe from laying off his man so he could double team the Celtic with the ball. Genius! Kobe had to respect all five players for their shooting ability and actually run around and cover someone. Then Doc agreed to let Pierce, a much taller and stronger player, cover Kobe for the second half when Kobe likes to takeover the game. Ray Allen was doing a terrific job but Kobe had an advantage and Ray would get tired and his offense could suffer. What did the Zen Master do to counter act these moves …. other than complain about the number of free throws awarded the Lakers as he did after game 2 in Boston, not much beside benching Odom in favor of Vujacic (hmmm, who promptly got blown by for a layup by Ray Allen) and change Kobe’s defensive assignment. Let’s face it …. Jackson’s no Red Auerbach … he’s the beneficiary of coaching “ready for the playoffs” teams led by the likes of Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neil. On the other hand, Doc is praised for staying cool under pressure, staying focused and encouraging his team to “just play” and know that they were the better team and could overcome the challenge they faced (as witnessed by the Laker’s Media Director and acknowledged to the sports media). Phil’s Zen Master techniques will be tested when it comes to game 5 …. we’ll see if his team shows up or quits on him and continues to point fingers at each other. Oh, and so much for the “Triangle Offense” … the Fakers have scored 88, 102 (scoring a fast 20 in the 4th qtr when the C’s got bored), 81 and 91 points so far. Not what you’d call fast break basketball for sure. Phil would be better off with Triangle Petroleum if he needs a gusher.

2) Pah [sic] Gasol vs Kevin Garnett: The “National Media” had it wrong! Gasol is soft with no low post game …. he is only effective when the offense is spread and he can use his speed/length coming through the lane. Of course the C’s half court game does a good job of clogging the middle and taking away that part of Gasol’s game. Too bad! And he certainly can’t defend K G.

3) Bench Players : How on earth could the National Media pick these guys:

Trevor Ariza, Ronny Turiaf, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, and Jordan Farmar over these guys:

P J Brown, James Posey, Eddie House, Sam Cassell and Leon Powe …. talk about Egregious!!!

4) West vs East: The Western Conference is soooo much better than the East …. put a fork in it …. The new look Cavs and the Pistons would have kicked the Lakers combined asses and if they didn’t piss the bed they would have shit the shower!

One writer admits to misjudging the Celtics …. he thought they were not athletic enough, too old, lacked speed, determination, heart, support and coaching. As soon as he saw game one he said he knew he was wrong …. clearly the Celtics were the better team he admits but was fooled by seeing only how they played against Atlanta and Cleveland. He still thinks they weren’t that good but evolved from their experience in the first three rounds of the playoffs. I think the asshat misjudged how good some of the eastern teams were and forgot about the NBA directive to referees to keep the games close to extend local and national revenue streams not to mention keeping “home team” fans happy while encouraging them to support their local franchise with season ticket purchases. I must admit that I have never been so sure that the fix was in seeing some of the most outrageous calls I’ve ever witnessed while watching the Atlanta & Cleveland series. The C’s weren’t that bad to go seven games with Atlanta and they couldn’t breathe on King James or else!

And finally, enough of the heart pounding by Laker players after scoring. Yeah it’s L A and they may think it’s cool but have they really got heart? We shall see …. on Father’s Day!…. Go Celtics! …. Beat L A!