As the classic rivarly between the Lakers and the Celtics was renewed last night in Boston, the Celtics took the first game 98-88. A few notes looking back at the Celtics game 1 victory:

-Kobe could not hit any shots in the fourth quarter and never really got in a rythm during the game, even throwing up an air ball or two in the fourth quarter. He couldn't make any big shots in clutch situations, which is surprising. Although, the Lakers didn't really get any offense going throughout the entire game.

-Kevin Garnett was more intense than ever in his first NBA Finals game and he had a monster two-handed put-back jam in the fourth quarter, which sealed the deal for the Celts.

-Paul Pierce sprained his knee in the second half and had to be carried off the floor into the locker room by his teammates. About five minutes later he walked/limped out of the tunnel to a standing ovation and he looked like Ali coming out for a fight. This got the crowd even more pumped up.

-As soon as Pierce returned, he hit two big threes in a row for Boston which swung the momentum their way for the rest of the game.

-The "Big 3" and the majority of the other Celtics got their first NBA Finals win and they will look to do it again on Sunday against the Lakers, who I am sure will come ready to play as it would be huge for them to take this game in Boston before returning to L.A. for potentially three straight home-court games.

Be sure to tune into ABC for game 2 at 6PM this Sunday.

With the playoffs starting tomorrow, I thought that I would preview some key first round match-ups and bring you some predictions. Also, my votes for MVP, R.O.Y., C.O.Y. and All-NBA first team.

The Lakers vs Nuggets series this should be a rather good series but I do expect to see the Lakers in the Finals.

I have the Lakers winning the West, led by Kobe and Pau, against the Celtics unless Detroit, Cleveland, or even Orlando can do something big in the East. An intriguing match-up will be the Cavs-Wiz series for the 3rd straight year. A lot of trash-talking has been going on between these two teams, especially by Deshawn Stevenson of the Wizards who started it by calling LeBron overrated. Should be a great series.

A great match-up in the West is the renewal of a great rivalry between the Suns and the Spurs. We all know how this one went last year in the playoffs and how the Suns thought that they got cheated in the series because of the suspension of Suns players including Amare Stoudamire.
The Suns have beaten the Spurs twice since Shaq joined them and he will play a key factor in what should be the best series in the playoffs so far. Amare and Shaq need to stay out of foul trouble for the Suns to win this series and I expect them to knock off the defending champs.

To sum it all up, I will not miss a game of the following 1st-round series:
Suns-Spurs
Cavs-Wizards
Lakers-Nuggets

And now to my NBA regular season awards:

MVP - Kobe Bryant
Kobe gets the nod over Chris Paul simply because Kobe does not have as great a supporting cast as the Paul does with the Hornets. And still Kobe led his Lakers to the number 1 spot in the West even though pre-season they were expected along with the Hornets to battle for a playoff spot (New Orleans got the 2nd seed).

Rookie of the Year - Kevin Durant
The bright future of the Sonics was showcased in 3 wins towards the end of the year as Durant had 37 points against the playoff bound Nuggets and a week later followed it up by scoring the Sonics last 4 points to finish off a comeback win against the also playoff bound, Dallas Mavericks, in a special home-finale game at the KeyArena. Durant then got his Sonics their 20th win of the season when they beat the Warriors in the season-finale behind Durant's new career high 42 points and 13 rebounds.

Coach of the Year - Byron Scott, New Orleans Hornets
Scott coached his team to the 2nd seed in the Western conference which was a surprise to all.

And to cap it all off I present to you my All-NBA First Team:
PG Chris Paul
SG Kobe Bryant
SF LeBron James
PF Kevin Garnett
C Dwight Howard

Enjoy the playoffs and check back here often as I will be covering the playoffs with game notes and recaps.

Firstly, I have to say, what a game!

Chalmers 3-pointer was amazing and will go down in Kansas history forever.

The Tigers definitely should have fouled when there was 10 seconds left and Rose should of hand-checked Chalmers, before he nailed the three ball. (Chalmers won the Final Four M.O.P.)

With a 7 point lead and 2 minutes to go in the game, Memphis thought it was over and that they just needed to hold on to be National Champions.

Memphis missing 4 of 5 free throws down the stretch really hurt them and eventually lost them the game. Their free throw shooting was fantastic throughout the tournament but it failed C.D.R and Rose in the clutch moments of this game.

Joey Dorsey fouling out in the final minutes of the game with his team up 7, played a key role in letting Kansas come back, as Memphis lacked an inside presence.

I felt terrible for Dorsey, a senior, as he had to sit on the bench when his team needed him and he could not do anything in OT to help his team win the National Championship.

Dorsey has tremendous passion for the game and fouling out and therefore not being able to help his team crushed him.

In the first half, Brandon Rush played great defense on Douglas-Roberts and the box and one defense in the second half shut C.D.R. down and made Rose take over the majority of the second-half scoring.

Also, with 2.2 seconds left after the Chalmers 3 that tied the game, Dozier could of quickly passed the ball up the court to Taggert for a decent three-point look, which is a lot better than a half-court shot.

Overall, KU played great defense and shut down North Carolina in the Semis, and eventually in overtime, they shut down Memphis as well.
This lead to a National Championship for the Kansas Jayhawks in one of the best NCAA National Championship games of all time.

With the NBA Playoff race remaining tight on the second to last weekend of regular season NBA games and the Final Four happening tomorrow, it is a great time to be a basketball fan.

Wondering what games are on when and what channels? I have you covered:

FRIDAY:

5PM ESPN San Antonio @ Utah ~ Two playoff teams go at it in another big game in the West
7PM ESPN Dallas @ L.A. Lakers ~ With Dallas trying to hang on to the 7 spot in the West, they take on the Lakers at Staples, as the Lakers look to solidify there top 3 playoff position at the top of the standings. Last game between these two teams was a great one that went into OT which the Lakers won behind Kobe's 50 plus point effort.

SATURDAY:

NOON ESPN Orlando @ Cleveleand ~ Two Eastern playoff teams go at it.
3:00 CBS Memphis VS UCLA ~ This Final Four match-up should be a great one.
5:45 CBS Kansas VS UNC ~ AP Player of the Year, Tyler Hansbrough looks to lead his Tar Heels into the National Championship game in this one.
The Final Four is going to be a beauty once again this year so I highly recommend tuning in.

SUNDAY:

10 AM ABC Golden State @ New Orleans ~ MVP candidate Chris Paul and his West leading Hornets will take on the Warriors who desperately need a win to stay in the hunt for the last playoff spot. It is about time that the entire nation gets to watch MVP candidate Chris Paul play and this game is his first national telecast of the season. So instead of only watching his and the Hornet's highlights on SportsCenter every night, you can watch the entire game live.
12:30 ABC Dallas @ Phoenix ~ Another great Sunday NBA match-up as the Mavs need every win they can get to stay in the playoff race and the Suns look to better their playoff position.

Overall, it should be a great weekend of college and pro basketball and it will be a great Monday of basketball as the NCAA National Championship game is Monday night.

Last night Dallas took sole possession of the 7th spot in the West and the Nuggets stayed in the last and final 8th spot.

The Mavs, who got a big emotional lift from the return of Dirk, just straight up played harder than the Warriors and it looked like they wanted it more.

This leaves the Warriors with 45 wins, sitting in the 9th spot in the West and are currently outside the playoff picture. However, this has the possibility to change whenever one of these teams plays.
So keep an eye out on that NBA schedule.

What to watch:
Tonight on TNT at 5pm the Cavs and LeBron are taking on Chicago and it is always a treat to watch LeBron play.
After that also on TNT at 7:30pm is the Rockets at Portland game in which the Rockets will need to win to keep up with the tight Western conference playoff race.

The Western Conference playoff race is crazy tight right now.
The West is so close that the 9th place team (#1-8 get in playoffs) has won 45 games (Denver Nuggets) and the 1 seed has won 51 games (shared by New Orleans Hornets & San Antonio Spurs).
That is crazy close.
Last night Dallas beat the Clippers.
Tonight the Nuggets beat the Suns and the Warriors lost to the Spurs.
This gave the Nuggets sole possession of the 8th spot in the playoffs and the Mavs are a half game ahead of them for the 7th spot, while the Warriors are a half game behind the Nuggets, as they stand in 9th place.
Wednesday (6:30 PM) there is a huge game on ESPN: Golden State @ Dallas.
This game once again renews the rivalry from last year's exciting first-round playoff series.
Every single night of NBA games have playoff implications and the games are being played as if they are playoff games.

It is a great time to be a basketball fan right now, as the playoff race in the NBA is as close as it's ever been causing just about every game to feel like a playoff game and the March/April Madness continues as the Final Four games are Saturday afternoon.

My picks for the games are as followed (same as my bracket):
North Carolina > Kansas
UCLA > Memphis

More to come for those games as I will post a Final Four preview by Friday.

Pay attention to the playoff race and try to catch as many games on TV as you can as NBA basketball is looking real good right now.

Selection Sunday was yesterday and people, including myself, began filling out our brackets for our pools. I myself am a huge college basketball fan and all my loyalty and support go to the Washington Huskies. Yet, as of late the Dawgs haven't playing at NCAA Tournament standards and for second consecutive year in a row, they have failed to make it to the "Big Dance". However, two teams that I indeed do like and have always liked in college basketball are North Carolina and Pitt.

I must remind everyone that my support of the Tar Heels has been present ever since I can remember supporting teams and up until two years ago, UNC and UW were my teams through all the ups and downs of both programs. When UNC won the title in '05, I was jumping with joy as I had followed them and the Huskies so closely that season as well as the prior seasons. Then about two years ago, I fell in love with Pitt while watching them tear it up in the Big East conference Tournament for 2 years in a row. Then this year before the Panthers upset G-town in the Big East Championship game I attended their game at Hec Ed against the Huskies. I supported the Huskies all the way and they lost by 1 in a game that literally went down to the final micro-seconds. During that game I loved the way Pitt played and I enjoyed watching all the familiar faces and their freshman center DeJuan Blair.

Anyways, it is rather hard to fill out your bracket when your favorite teams are in the tourney and it is hard to go against your bias in making the best picks possible. (This was especially hard when UW was in the tourney as I wanted them to go all the way and win it all, yet I had to make the best decision for my bracket)

The most intriguing first round match-up in my mind is USC-Kansas State.
It's Mayo vs Beasley in this battle of teams led by their star freshman.
I think USC will win as they are the better team, but I do think that Beasley is the better player as he is a more well-rounded basketball player and excels at every aspect of the game.

Some possible match-ups to keep an eye on:
Kansas-Clemson
Louisville-Tennessee
Memphis-Pitt
Pitt-Texas
Duke-UCLA

More to come, including other intriguing match-ups, before the first games tip-off on Thursday.

THIRD QUARTER
Kobe continues to dish the ball to Pau Gasol and others when he is doubled giving them easy baskets.
Kobe is passing the ball nicely and Pau Gasol now has 20 points and Kobe has 10 assists. Kobe now has 21 points to go along with those 10 assists as he just hit his 3rd three pointer.
Jeff Green just got fouled and made the shot as well as the free throw and the score is 83-57 Lakers.
Fisher has hit 2 straight threes.
The Lakers are just dominating the Sonics and are playing with so much confidence.
Kobe just got T'd up for talking to the official and has been in the official's ear the entire 3rd quarter.
And now he has been ejected with 4 minutes left in the third quarter!
Referee Brian Forte just ejected Kobe Bryant and this is the first time that Kobe has been ejected in his career.
It's a pity that Kobe has been ejected as he was having a great game with 21 points and 10 assists as well as giving the crowd what they came to see.
The Sonics are still getting dominated by the Lakers, even without Kobe and LA is up by 26 with just under 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
Gelebale has a career high 18 points for the Sonics at this point in the game. A
t the end of the third, the Sonics are losing to the Lakers 93 to 70.

FOURTH QUARTER
Durant had a nice double pump slam running baseline over Pau Gasol giving him a mere 15 points.
With 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Lakers lead the Sonics 103-81 and the live game notes will stop here with the game out of reach for the Sonics and Kobe Bryant in the locker room.
One more note, Gelebale is playing extremely well and is proving that he deserves more minutes.

Gelebale finished the game with a career-high 21 points and shot the ball extremely well for the Sonics who couldn't get it done tonight in a lop-sided loss 111-91 loss against the Lakers, who simply had more offensive fire-power than the Sonics.

1st half "live" game-notes for the Sonics-Lakers game live on my TV.

Lakers got off to a quick start and lead 20-12.
Kobe hit 2 free throws had a step back 3 over Green and a jumper over Gelebale.
Odom is wide open whenever Kobe is doubled.
Goes to prove that the Lakers are such a dangerous team with Kobe, Gasol, Odom, and Fisher.
Lots of Lakers fans in the house.
Game slowed down with 5 mins left in first quarter as the sonics are surprisingly keeping it close. Kobe just hit another three with 2 mins left in first quarter on a 9-2 run and now up 26 to 16.
End of first ends with Kobe driving and dishing to Pao.
Kobe has 11 points and 5 assists with a 34 18 Lakers lead at the end of 1st quarter.
Kobe starts off second quarter on bench.
Gelebale and Durant give sonics 4 straight points.
Lakers up 21 with 6 minutes left in first half still no Kobe.
Kobe back in with 6 mins left in half after a timeout.
Durant just swung the ball through on the perimeter guarded by Vujacic who gets a shot to face by Durant.
Green just hit a jumper and I think that he deserves a lot my playing time than he gets.
Gelebale is having a good first half shooting 5 for 7 so far with 4 15 left in first half.
Petro swatted Kobe's layup out of bounds but the Lakers are up by 20 still.
Nate Burleson is courtside and was just interviewed by FSN and he said that he had a 40 inch vertical at the NFL Combine back in the day.
Every time that Kobe is doubled he passes to a cutting teammate and gets an assist.
Durant has 3 fouls already and hits the bench for the rest of the half.
Kobe just went to work on Gelebale and had an 'and 1' giving him 13 points.
Kobe just drove, then pulled up baseline and hit a jumper over Green so make that 15 for Kobe.
Score at the half Lakers 62-Sonics 43.

*The varsity boys Mercer Island basketball team who is currently ranked 4th in the state led by Leroy Lutu and Drew Sexton are about to be honored on the court, as they have been named the Seattle Sonics high-school team of the month. The entire coaching staff and players are holding it down in a complimentary suite courtesy of the Sonics. They play Seattle Prep at BCC on Tuesday night in a winner to State and District finals game.*

Second-half notes will be a bit shorter but stay tuned.

Last night in New Orleans, to cap off a great All-Star Weekend, 23 year old, LeBron James, drove through the lane and hammered home a powerful dunk giving the Eastern Conference All-Star team the lead for good with 55 seconds left in the game. The final score was East 134- West 128.

LeBron then went on to win MVP, beating out former Sonic, Ray Allen (who was just draining three-pointers in the 4th quarter). LeBron was just a few rebounds and assists shy of being the only player besides Michael Jordan to triple double with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals.

Bron put on a show for the crowd with numerous dunks and alley-oops, just a night after Dwight Howard had electrified the same New Orleans crowd with creative and jaw-dropping dunks en route to winning the annual dunk contest.

LeBron, who is currently playing in his 5th NBA season, has 4 NBA All-Star appearances and 2 NBA All-Star game MVP trophies to his name as well as other regular season achievements and a MVP trophy for the regular season could be on its way? LeBron James is already is building his legacy as one of the greatest basketball players ever and the scary part is that he is only 23 years old.