FOULEDOUT!

The Boston Celtics are once again the NBA World Champions. After going through an intense playoff battles all the way back from the first round, the Celtics finally captured their gold. Truth to be told, I’m not really a fan of Celtics and I was rooting for the L.A. Lakers to win it all. I’m not a Lakers fan at heart, but I wanted them to win because I didn’t believe in the Celtics. I didn’t want to buy the idea that they are a championship caliber team because of their Big 3. Through the playoffs, Lakers looked poised to win it all while the Celtics struggled to win away from home. But after the grueling 26 playoff games, the Green Machine eventually emerged as the champs.

After watching game 6, I thought the Celts deserved to win. They showed heart, courage and determination. They were in the zone while the Lakers looked dazed and confused. The Green Machine was well oiled and every cog was running smoothly. Everybody in the team wanted to win the gold and everyone contributed something. Lakers, on the other hand, lacked the intensity and aggressiveness which eventually cost them the Larry O’Brien trophy.

After the game, I checked the stats of the game and it showed why the Celtics finished on top. Here are the stats for game 6:

Rebounds

Lakers 29 (2 offensive)

Celtics 48 (14 offensive)

Assists

Lakers 16

Celtics 33

Steals

Lakers 4

Celtics 18

Blocks

Lakers 0

Celtics 4

Turnovers

Lakers 19

Celtics 7

With those numbers posted on the box score, it wasn’t really surprising to see the Celtics finish on top. The Lakers were totally dominated by the Celtics in the game considering the fact that they are supposed to be more experienced, especially Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson. The Celtics just showed more hunger and determination than the Lakers to win the gold and they eventually got their prize. Props to the both teams for reaching the NBA finals and much respect for the Boston Celtics. Cheers!

-fouledout

I wasn’t able to watch the Hornets-Spurs game so I had no idea about the Horry-West incident. I logged on to the net and checked out videos to see what’s up with the buzz. So here’s what I got:

After seeing the video, I thought it was intentional given the fact that the Spurs in general is a dirty team (just kidding). Jokes aside, I really think that the bump was intentional. I know it’s the playoffs and hard hit and bumps are bound to happen, but this shot was different. David West played with back problems and Horry was aware of that. West was backpedaling and then out of nowhere, Horry’s forearms lands squarely on West’s lower back. In addition to that, West was trying to deflect Ginobili’s pass and his feet were not on the ground when Horry bumped him. West could’ve easily lost his balance and dropped hard on the floor, risking serious injuries.

Let’s take another look:

Oh and before I forget, the Spurs fans only made it worse. I think they know that their team is rough (or dirty) and they were actually happy to support it. The Spurs fans were chanting “Horry, Horry, Horry” while David West was grimacing with pain. Classy.

photo credits: Hornets 247

-fouledout