Finals Bound

For the second year in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers are Western Conference Champions! Their reward is representing the Western Conference in the NBA Finals for an unprecedented 30th time. The Lake Show finished off the Denver Nuggets last night in convincing fashion with a 119-92 victory. The Lakers finally looked like the team that dominated the West the entire year, as five players scored in double figures. They were lead by the best closer in the NBA in Kobe Bryant, who had 35 points and 10 assists. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom each scored 20 points, and Trevor Ariza added 17 points for the Lakers, who without question played their best game of the postseason last night.

The way the Lakers played last night reminded me of the way they played in the 2006 playoffs, when they nearly upset the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers play at their very best when Kobe Bryant is the facilitator of the offense. Of course you're going to get better results when you have guys like Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol around you as opposed to 2006 when the Lakers had guys like Kwame Brown and Smush Parker. Last night Kobe was the facilitator, as he got other players involved early, and then took over when he had to. It didn't hurt that the team shot a scorching 57% from the field. The stat that impressed me the most was that of the 43 field goals the Lakers made, 28 of them were assisted. It also was very encouraging to see the Lakers go a perfect 24-24 from the free throw line. At this point it really doesn't matter who comes out of the Eastern Conference, because if the Lakers play the way they did last night during the entire Finals, they will win the championship easily.

So who will the Lakers face in the Finals? It will either be Cleveland or Orlando. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals will tip-off at 5:30, and Orlando has the opportunity to finish off the Cleveland since they have a 3-2 series lead. This is must win game for Orlando. If they don't win tonight, there is no way they are winning a Game 7 in Cleveland, especially now that the Lakers are in the Finals and the NBA will do anything to have a Kobe vs LeBron Finals. If I had a preference on who I would rather see the Lakers play, I would say Orlando. The Lakers would have home-court advantage, plus I would love to see LeBron James not get to the Finals. 

I emailed Matt "Money" Smith from AM 570 KLAC last night. It was pretty cool, we messaged back and forth on our opinions on the Eastern Conference. I was very surprised that he was able to email me back so quickly, but it was great and he was very friendly. I plan on emailing him regularly from now on. Money is really a great guy. I love listening to him on the PMS Show and on all the Laker pregame and postgame broadcasts. I actually met him in person one time at the Staples Center, and he is one of the nicest guys out there. 

Thank God for online podcasts. Since I've had a lot of free time the past couple of weeks, I have spent nearly five to seven hours a day listening to sports radio shows online, and getting a feel for how the professionals act on-the-air. I've been listening to "The Loose Cannons" and "The PMS Show" on AM 570 KLAC, in addition to "The Mason & Ireland Show" on 710 ESPN. If I'm up early enough, I sometimes listen to "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd, and "The Jim Rome Show". Since I won't be on-air with the Blaze for another two months, I figure listening to the very best professionals is the next best thing to do. 

I started work at 8:00 a.m. this morning, so I was up at 7:00 a.m. and now I'm tired as hell. If only Arizona State didn't cost so much so I wouldn't have to pay for part of it....Damn out of state tuition.