The Fish That (Once Again) Saved LA

When Kobe is acting like old number 8, ballhog afro Kobe, when Pau Gasol cannot buy a basket and Ron Artest thinks he is still playing for Sacremento, a hero will emerge. And his name is Derek Fisher. Fisher, co-captain of the Lakers, absolutely went on a tear with 11 huge points in the fourth quarter of game 3, stopping a furious Celtic comeback.
Derek Fisher finished with 16 points in the game and proved all the haters (cough Utah fans cough) wrong once again. Fisher is not new to finals pressure and clutch plays. From hitting an amazing turn-around buzzer beater to sink the Spurs with 0.4 seconds left to swishing the clutch long-ball in last years finals against the Magic in game 3, he has been through it all. But this may have been the greatest Fish moment of all time (its close, maybe after the time he ran into the gym mid-way through a playoff game in Utah to close out the game after he had to take care of his daughter). Not only did Fish score, but he played amazing D on Ray Allen, who went 0-13 after setting a finals record the game before, and his emotional interview after the game was truly awesome. Derek Fisher once again proved he is both a leader and a champion, and he, along with his other Laker teammates, will not rest until they are hanging up another championship banner in Staples Center.

Finals Series Overview

Sorry for the lack of updates I was in Colorado for a week on a ranch and they computers were not working.
Anyways I have missed a lot. The first three games are the finals are done and the Lakers are up 2-1. We have seen records been beat. The Lakers set a finals record for most blocked shots with 14. Ray Allen set a record for most three pointers in a game with 8, then nearly set a record the next game for worst shooting performance in the finals with 13, including 0 for 8 from three point land (if he would have missed one more shot he would have tied it, and he nearly did except his missed shot was waved off due to a Kevin Garnett offensive foul) and the Lakers bench set a record for best shooting percentage from a bench that shot at least ten shots (they shot 11 shots and made 9) with 81.8 percent.
The stars have shined in the finals so far. Garnett showed why he is still one of the best post players in the league when he exploded for 25 points in a 11 for 16 shooting night in game 3 after struggling in the first two games. Ray Allen proved why he might be the best shooter in NBA history after his 8 for 11 shooting night from beyond the arc and finished with 32 points in the Celtic's win in game 2. Pau Gasol has performed great, dominating Garnett in 2 out of the 3 games (remember when I said that might be the difference... yeah) and he is not the soft Gasol of '08. And then there is Kobe being Kobe, although I think even Laker fans agree he should take less contested jumpers unless hes hot, but still has contributed in every way possible for the Lakers, from scoring to blocking shots.
Then there have been suprises. Of course you have heard of my man Derek Fisher's clutch performance, scoring 11 in the fourth quarter alone when it seemed that no one could make a basket, making shot after shot. But have you noticed Glen Davis' play, he might be the most consisten Celtic of the series so far. Big Baby is averaging 7.7 points but all his baskets are big ones and he is hustling after every loose ball. There has even been a Sasha Vujacic sighting, and in the only 19 seconds he played in game 3 he sank two big free throws to secure the game for the Lakers.
The finals this year have been an absolute classic. Everybody ready for game 4?

Finally a shout out to Aneta, my first follower.

That Old Celtic Defense

Have you ever heard the saying defense wins championships? Well it is definately true. The San Antonio Spurs recently built a legacy around defense, the Detroit Pistons shocked the world by beating the Lakers in the 2004 finals around defense, and even more recently the Celtics beat the Lakers in 2008 because they were the better defensive team. In the NBA defense is key. And at this moment, no one is playing better defense then the Boston Celtics.
The Orlando Magic have one of the simplest but best offense in the league. Give the ball to Dwight Howard and when he is double team kick it out to one of the many three point shooters. Orlando has so many offensive weapons, they might have the best offense in the game, but Boston completely shut them down. The Celtics won all three of the first three games in the series because of the amazing defense that they were playing. Kendrick Perkins and the other Celtics' big men did a fantastic job on Dwight Howard and the entire Celtics team did a great job of running the Magic's shooters off of the three point line. They did so good that Rashard Lewis only averaged 8.2 points in the series, a major drop from the 17 he had the series before.
The Celtics have a great set of defensive players. Rajon Rondo was named to the all-nba first defensive team this year. Kevin Garnett is a former defensive player of the year. Kendrick Perkins proved what he could do against Dwight Howard and Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rasheed Wallace all are under-rated defenders. Only time will tell if the Celtics can play the same type of defense against the Lakers and their triangle offense. They proved the can play defense against great offensive teams like the Magic and Cavaliers, but neither one of those teams had Kobe Bryant...