Friday, December 26, 2008

Friday 12/26 (Very) Quickie

Well, that Celtics-Lakers game lived up to the hype. The atmosphere was crazy, Pau Gasol scored out of his mind down the stretch and the Lakers snapped the C's 19-game win streak.

Now, like all sports except college football, the win really didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, except symbolically -- that the Lakers ARE ready to challenge Boston for the NBA title.

Kobe's quote says it all: "It's our year." I'm betting that by June, the Celtics have something to say about that. (Will it all come down to who has home-court advantage in the Finals?)

Meanwhile, Suns-Spurs was the best game of the day -- that Roger Mason 3 was tremendous. As a Wiz fan, I am torn about Mason's success, knowing the Wiz could have kept him. (Their first indication they should have should have been that the Spurs wanted him at all.)

Speaking of the Wiz, they put out their standard effort: Great play for 3+ quarters, then folding late. This might have been the worst loss yet -- this was the Wizards' Finals game, the chance to ruin Christmas on national TV for LeBron and Co.

And the Wiz were up 7 in the final minutes, before allowing the Cavs to run off 11 straight in the final 90 seconds to win the game. Mo Williams (24 pts) put on a display why he was the Best Move of the Offseason in the NBA.

The Magic led off the day with a statement win: They throttled the Hornets, who seemed right away like they would have rather been at home celebrating the holiday than playing basketball. Even Chris Paul was shut down -- no steals for the first time forver, snapping his streak at 108.

As I mentioned, I was down in Orlando last Thursday/Friday, and in talking casually with a couple of fans down there, they expressed the feeling that if it wasn't for the amazing start by the Celtics (and Cavs), the Magic's start would be one of THE stories of the season. But it feels buried.

Bowling tonight: Central Michigan vs. Florida Atlantic. Ehhh...pass. Although I'm always up for a chance to watch CMU QB Dan LeFevour.

NBA Today: Bulls vs. Heat. Rose vs. Beasley. (More like Rose vs. Wade.) Oh, and please go to NBA.com and vote for Joe Alexander as the 4th contestant in the Dunk Contest.

MLB Hot Stove: Derek Lowe to the Mets happening or scuttled? Or just delayed? Does anyone really think he's the missing piece?

More later.

-- D.S.

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