LA Lakers advance to face Celtics in the Finals

Black Mamba on the prowl: Kobe Bryant is ready to take on the Boston Celtics in the Finals.
(Christian Petersen/NBAE/Getty Images)

The Phoenix Suns had homecourt advantage in game 6, Steve Nash and gang knew they could beat the L.A. Lakers and force a Game 7. They got everything planned out and their game plan was in full effect. The 2-3 zone bothered most of the Lakers but they forgot about the one guy they should really worry about -- Kobe Bryant.

A typical Kobe performance dropping 37 points on the Suns to make yet another return to the Finals. Phoenix's resilience and tremendous comeback undoubtedly gave the Lakeshow a run for their money. Amar'e Stoudemire knew their efforts didn't do too much against the Lakers:

“We played great and we were only two games short of getting to the Finals,” Suns forward Amar’e Stoudemire said. “They (the Lakers) have a great team and they have all bases covered; from the bench, to the starters, to Kobe.”

Suns veteran and co-captain Grant Hill agrees with Stat:

“It makes it hard when you’re down like that,” Suns co-captain Grant Hill said. “We fought and got back into the game but they have experience of being in these types of games before and they’re pretty good.”

Who could forget Suns' heartbreaking loss in Game 5 at the hands of one Ron Artest, who was always criticized by the Phil Jackson of his poor shot selections -- he didn't complain about his game winning shot though. How about Kobe's little gesture on Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry after hitting a big 3-pointer -- with Grant Hill all over him -- late in the 4th quarter? This clip says it all:

Stoudemire lead his team with 27 while Steve Nash collected 21 points along with 9 assists. Despite the loss, the Suns' court general praised his team for a great season and playoff run:

“I know everyone makes a deal out of I've never made the finals,” the playmaker said, “but if I play with a team like I played with this year, I'll be satisfied with that. It's phenomenally rewarding to be part of a group like this.

“It's a great source of pride for me to get a chance to play with these guys. They're just such great, great people and great teammates. They've committed absolutely to what we're trying to do. You want to say we overachieved until you think about it and say, 'We're a good team.' We had a real legitimate chance to beat the Lakers and go to the Finals and play for a championship.”

So it's come to this, the Lakers-Celtics rivalry is back in full effect. The Lakeshow now has the opportunity to avenge their loss in 2008. The defending champs have lot to prove as they have yet to win against the Boston Celtics in the finals. Kobe Bryant comments on what to expect in their storied rivalry come June:

"The challenge is to win the championship. The Celtics are in the way. They feel the same way about us. Obviously this is a matchup, it's very easy to talk about. There's a lot of things that people can write about and talk about. It's a sexy matchup.
We're looking forward to this challenge, looking forward to the test. When the ball goes up, we'll be ready to go."

As the 2010 NBA Finals loom, this is going to be yet another great championship match-up of epic proportions. It's win or go home for both teams. The Boston Celtics are aiming for NBA title number 18. The L.A. Lakers however want not just to defend their 'chip but it's all about redemption.

NBA All Star 2010 Thoughts....

Hey folks! First post for this year. Wasn't able to write something here last January 'coz I had to fix my pc. I'm not gonna get into detail on how I fixed it but the only thing I can say is, everything is working perfectly fine and I have my ultra-fast broadband connection again. That means, I'm back in business and updates will be coming more often -- I hope. I sure have a lot of catching up to do. On that note, time for the update(s)....

All Star Friday

I have rather mixed feelings with this year's NBA All Star Weekend festivities. It's nice that the Rookies dominated the Sophomores in All Star Friday. Glad to see Tyreke Evans getting all the love along with Dejuan Blair as they are co-winners of the Rookies-Sophomores game MVP honor. Evans somehow PWN3D Brandon Jennings in the event although Jennings was impressive in his own right.

All Star Saturday

The second day was very interesting to say the least. Dirk Nowitzki and Co. reppin' Texas winning the Shooting Stars event. I'm sure TNT broadcaster and former NBA player Kenny "The Jet" Smith loved every minute of it. And yes, he can still shoot. Kudos to you Jet. Oh, Kevin Durant defended his title in the H.OR.S.E. game by the way.

Steve Nash made sure he'd win the Skills challenge and that's exactly what he did. D-Rose got schooled (literally) by the Nasty one. Guess, he really wanted that hardware so bad. He may be almost past his prime but his handles are still dope, in my opinion. Nash truly deserves it.

And who'da thought The Truth would win the 3-point Shootout? I guess many underestimated his shooting prowess. The haters were silenced as he became the 3-point shooting king for that event -- giving Chauncey Billups a run for his money. Now the Celtics have another clutch shooter they can rely on (not just Sugar Ray, Sheed and Eddy House), P-Double's got 'em covered, that's for sure.

The Dunk contest this year was a sleeper, literally. A lot of people were disappointed in the main event for that day and I'm obviously one of them. Sure, DeMar DeRozan woke us up with one of his dunks but after that everybody went back to sleep. Congrats to Nate Robinson for winning his 3rd and historical Slam Dunk title nonetheless. No more dunk contests for him next year. Bottomline is, it's like each competitor, including Nate was scared to do something new and different. At least one of them tried. Hope this snooze fest never happens again. Dwight Howard and LeBron James better start thinking about joining the Dunk contest (you too, D-Wade). I wanna see these guys bring the fire back in this event and make people jump from their seats next year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

All Star Sunday

Ah yes. The All Star game was still exciting as ever. Both the East and West teams had fun and brought their A-game to the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. I have to admit, that I was happy that Kobe Bryant didn't play. For once, it wasn't about Kobe this year. The MVP trophy was up for grabs yet again. Melo, Bron, CB4 were all eyes on the prize but it was Dwyane Wade who won the MVP hardware. The East beat the West 141-139. It sure got close in the 4th quarter especially with only a few ticks left in the game. One of the best I've seen so far. It's rare that a lot of people in attendance were jeering the East All-Stars especially in the trophy presentation -- something that is totally unexpected.

For me, it was a decent All Star event. I pretty much enjoyed watching the events but I can't say the same thing for the Slam Dunk contest. I look forward to next year's All Star and hope it would be even better.

Lastly, y'all gotta love D-Will's breakaway dunk in the All-Star game. Simply dope!