The Whole Delivery

Will it be the Boston Celtics league record 18th franchise title, or will the Lakers make the rivalry between these two teams in the final be a record of 3-9 instead of 2-10? The keys right now to the ultimate game of the National Basketball association season. It's Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The Keys Work For Perk By Powing Pau It's not just his 7 point, 7 rebound average that the Celtics will miss tonight from their injured center Kendrick Perkins . Gone from Doc Rivers' side is the stuff you don't see on the stat sheet. Weak side defending, clogging the lane, altering shots, and offering that key enforcer downlow that gave the Celtics the slight advantage in the paint, where the Lakers couldn't dominate them like they did their Western conference brethren through these playoffs. Rahseed Wallace and Glen Davis must facilitate Kevin Garnett on Pau Gasol tonight, as well as containing the order ailing center in this series, Andrew Bynum, from getting off down...

Thursday night.......will Perkins be back, and will Artest playing like he did tonight? Let the two day hype begin:

From NBA.com After the 1st quarter update: Paul Pierce has come to play tonight, and the referees are still.........the referees. 19-16 Celtics. And here's the Live Feed for now: Video chat rooms at Ustream 2nd half review : Despite the Celtics missing a lot of easy buckets and Kobe getting hot at the end, and Lamar Odom showing up and caring for another game, the Celtics are fortunate the find themselves only down by 3. Oh, and the officials are still having a forgettable series.

And we still are looking for Ray Allen's shot ......what a contrast from game one:

Photo from NBA.com He was able to stay on the court tonight and set a Finals record for 3-pointers instead of setting up fouls on his score card. But it was also Rajon Rondo, his back courtmate, who made the difference. Playing faster, controlled the tempo, the Celtic #9 was certainly proficient tonight. And he even hit a three pointer! This was the real Celtics tonight, and they exhibited the form that made people believe that they will win this series. The full review is here .

To Tevin........Night:

Going to the Finals for the 21st time .

It's really facile and lazy for one to say "LeBron James choked again, LeBron James showed that he is overrated and will never be Jordan" comments that have certainly emanated from last night's latest and arguably most devastating blow to a Cleveland sports fans psyche. But anybody who has watched the Cavs the last two years, knows the NBA deeply, and isn't on their obsessive "Hate on LeBron just because I will hold him to the Jordan mantle" perspective will know full well that Mike Brown was the reason why the Cavaliers are not even advancing to the East Finals, let alone winning the title like they should have done this season. Now there were several factors causing the Cavaliers to succumb to the pressure and crash out to a Boston team, though fully restored to their championship pedigree best, should not have defeated them in this series. The play of Antawn Jamison, supposedly the #2 that LeBron needed to get over the top, was just simply atr...

To lose a Game 5 at home is already bad enough. To lose it by 32 points at home, after leading 29-21 in the first quarter.......rolls need to role tomorrow, or heads will really roll after Thursday if they lose.

Photo from NBA.com I still thought before this game that Dwayne Wade was still slightly better than Kevin Durant at this stage, meaning that he was still apart of that Super 3 with Lebron and Kobe. And maybe now for those who believe that Durant is better than Wade, they will think a little differently about that sentiment. Not to be outdone however was "The King." Man, did he put on a display today at the United Center : It's LeBron year folks.

The signing day obsession is reaching a disturbing high with every passing year (Image from ESPN) Everyone knows that there is a major problem with the hype signing day gets in our current age. But it is here to stay forever, so too bad for us who don't like it I guess. As Dave Zirin said, Jemele Hill is one of the more rational and good voices in the sports pundit community. But my goodness, that Tebow piece was the worst thing she has ever written But Jemele Hill chose to take it to an entirely higher level: a level that deeply miseducates her readers and demands a response. She chose to write, "Tebow's decision to appear in this ad should be considered just as courageous as Muhammad Ali's decision to not enter the draft, or Tommie Smith's and John Carlos' black power salute at the 1968 summer Olympics." Dear Lord, Jemele. Where do we possibly begin to unpack this? Tim Tebow is starring in a 2.8 million dollar ad while being praised by sports writ...

Photo from Chuck Burton of the AP I guess all that trash talking and bullying is catching up to Kevin Garnett. Another poor loss for the defending World Champions tonight, getting up ended by the Jordan's Bobcats 114-106. The defeat gives LeBron and the Cavaliers now the best record in the East. I guess if the the defeat to the hapless Knicks on Sunday (who, in turned, lost to the awful Thunder tonight) couldn't kick start their surprising lack of defense (Wilson Chandler, with 31 points, unacceptable), then neither did the mediocre Charlotte outfit with Raymond Felton (25 points, 8 assists, 7 turnovers) outperforming Rajon Rondo (16 pts, 6 ass but 9 TO's) tonight. I guess fate didn't want Dick Vitale to say Carmelo Anthony is awesome baby this Wednesday like he used to do when the All Star forward was at Syracuse. Anthony is out for three weeks after getting a fracture in his right hand in the Nuggets 135-115 victory over the Pacers on Tuesday. Vitale, in ESPN's ...

(Photo from nba.com)Garnett and Bryant will face off again in today's marquee matchup Well, at least it isn't at the level of the Shaq-Kobe Christmases of the past, is it? Nevertheless, ESPN has been hell bent on marketing this game, and rightfully so, they should. Of course, the Celtics have separated themselves from the other big three in the last few weeks (though you maybe are inclined to make that "Big 3" a "Big 4" with how the Orlando Magic have been playing of late). Hell, they have even distinguished themselves from any other team in history by having the best record in the league after 29 games. And a key reason for this tremendous start is the continued growth of Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins. It absolutely amazes me how people don't back off of Rondo all the time. He hasn't proven to be a consistent threat on the perimeter, yet teams still take the chance of guarding him close, leading to the former Kentucky guard to blow right by and c...