Los(t) Suns Have Set

I couldn't resist the little jab with the Spanish. Someone in the Suns organization made a lame attempt at politicizing the Western Conference Finals before it started and I felt that was inappropriate. This is/was Basketball and not the floor of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives. Enough of the politics - the Lakers prevailed tonight on the Suns home court and that's good enough for me. Winning in Phoenix surprised the hell out of me.

Congratulations to Phoenix for a great series. The played their hearts out and came oh so close but the better team won. But no thanks to the officiating which thoroughly pissed me off last night. Not one close or disputed call went the Lakers way. The refs may as well have been wearing Suns jerseys. One call in particular - the flagrant foul on Sasha Vujacic against Goran Dragic was just plain shit. Sasha is an emotional player to say the least but his foul on Dragic was a flop by Dragic and nothing more. Can you say Academy Award Performance? But it got the Suns going and had the Lakers not been as tough as they are it could have cost them the game. After the flagrant foul was called Phoenix got hot and nearly eliminated an eighteen point lead (again) by the Lakers.

For years I have bitched about the NBA officiating because it stinks. There's a reason why having home court in the NBA playoffs is so important and it's the officiating - not the players. Teams don't get suddenly better because they're playing at home. The close calls almost always go in favor of the home teams and every basketball fan knows it. It's the NBA's dirty little secret (except it's no secret). I suppose the refs just get caught up in the crowd and the cheering and it seems to influence their calls. I hate it but there's nothing a road team can do but play through. And tonight the Lakers did exactly that.

Extra credit for tonight's win again goes to Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Ron Artest. But kudos to the rest of the team for hanging tough and withstanding the near comeback by the Suns. A lesser team might have folded but tonight we saw why the Lakers are the NBA champs. Kobe made some of the most difficult and clutch shots in the last quarter I've ever seen him make. I'm sure it frustrated the hell out of Coach Alvin Gentry considering the tight and very good defense of his players had little effect on Kobe's shooting. Ron Artest also had a much better shooting night (25 points) and was especially effective in the first half with his three-point shooting. He once again played very strong defense.

And here are a few Ad hominem jabs at TNT's Marv Albert. His voice alone makes me want to puke. And (as with the refs) Marv was also wearing his Suns Jersey last night. I don't know why, but for some naive reason (silly me) I thought sportscasters were supposed to show at least some small bit of objectivity when calling games. Marv nearly shit in his pants every time the Suns hit a three-point shot or made a nice defensive stop. Doug Collins makes Marv Albert look like a fool when it comes to journalistic professionalism. And Marv, you need to retire the Toupee. That or least have a few gray hairs dyed into it. You're nearly seventy (68) now and the rich coffee colored brown rug isn't fooling anyone. Stevie Wonder could see through it.

And (like lots of Network and Cable sportscasters) like the other Laker haters calling NBA games across the league Marv was riding on the Phoenix bandwagon all night long until it became obviously apparent the Lakers were gonna win. Then the fucker started jabbering about what great players Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Lakers are. Marv and so many other sportscasters have been pulling this kind of shit for years when it comes to the Lakers. It makes me miss the late great Chick Hearn all the more. Marv and his bullshit make me want to shoot my television. And since Marv likes wearing women's underwear while biting ass he can smooch mine while he wears his finest pink panties. I promise not to fart. Damn - I can't stand his ass!

Now for the Boston Celtics: They are virtually the same team now as they were in 2008. That was the team kicked the shit out of the Lakers - especially in the last game of the finals that ended up being a thirty-nine point blowout. I fully expect the Lakers to play a much more physical game this time. I strongly suspect this is one of the reasons the Lakers acquired Ron Artest this year - Ron is known around the league as an enforcer. Without Andrew Bynum in 2008 the Celtics got away with pushing around Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. But that was then and this is now and I expect a different Laker team. If Artest (or Derek Fisher) have any close encounters with Kendrick Perkins or some of the other Celtic tough guys we may see some fisticuffs. Just a guess. Anyway, the series begins in L.A. on Thursday night. Time for some payback.