The game starts in about 12 minutes. If the Cavs win this series, don’t be surprised. The refs have done everything in their power to give this one to LeBron, and the Magic have survived (and last night, it was evident these same refs are trying their hardest to get Kobe there, as well).

LeBron has had a great series. He’s averaging 42 ppg, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Great numbers. And while I’ll never blame the guy for his team being in a 3-1 hole, I will say this: Suddenly everyone is saying that Cleveland doesn’t have a team. For the better part of this season, with the Cavs dominating the NBA both on the road and especially at home, all everyone could talk about was what LeBron was capable of doing now that he has a team around him. With the addition of Mo Williams, this team was for real, and LeBron didn’t have to carry them all the time. Delonte West plays lock down D. Ben Wallace can defend the middle. The list went on and on.

It even continued into the post-season. After mauling the Pistons in Hawks in eight total games (sweeping both), it was stamped that the Cavs were going to the Finals, and now the only question was who they’d be facing.

Now they’re down 3-1. They’re strugging. They’re being outplayed by the Magic on offense and defense. This thing should be over, but a miracle last second shot has extended the season. And all of a sudden, the only talk is that LeBron has no team around him. That nobody can step up. That he has to have someone else, because these guys don’t cut it.

Again: I’m not blaming LeBron. But I do find it funny that all season long we’re finally able to see what the Cavs are capable of now that there’s a team around him, and then when the third series of the playoffs comes around he suddenly doesn’t have anybody. If LeBron is the “Next Jordan,” as I’ve heard some of his fans say (me, personally, I think his jump shot is too hit or miss, and I don’t think his career will be nearly as long — he relies on his 260 pound frame for a lot of his points, and that will fade as his career goes on), then I think the guy needs to be able to win against mediocre teams, whether he has a team around him or not. MJ won with John Paxson, BJ Armstrong, Luc Longley, Will Perdue, Steve Kerr, and a gang of other no-name guys that he made names. He had Scottie Pippen, sure, but we all saw what Scottie Pippen was post-Jordan, both during his time with the Bulls when Jordan had his brief hiatus, and also during his time with the Rockets and Trail Blazers towards the end of his career.

Where’s this rant going? Not sure. I just thought it was funny to hear about a great “team” all year long, and now all of a sudden LeBron has to have help, because these guys stink.

It’ll be an interesting game tonight. I say the Cavs win by 15. And as much as I want the Magic, I think the refs give them a game in Orlando, and Cleveland some how manages to come back from 3-1 and win the series, to meet Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. From there, maybe the refs can call the games as they see them, and not how the TV ratings want them to be.

The score is Cleveland 58, Atlanta 54 with a little less than a minute in the third quarter, but if this series and the series before have taught us anything, it’s that the Hawks don’t lose by less than double digits, and the Cavs don’t win by less than double digits.

Josh Smith is leading the way for the Hawks with 18 points, but also has about 10 of those “why are you shooting that far out, Josh?” moments.

This series should come to an end in just a few minutes. If the Cavs outscore the Hawks by 20 in the 4th quarter, don’t be too shocked.

I’m a Hawks fan, so I know who Zaza Pachulia is. He’s the scrappy white guy that looks like Rocky, and is most known for getting in the face of KG last year and nearly headbutting him. And now he’s going to be known for something else: Being richer than just about any other NBA player right now. And all he’s gotta do is find some tail he’s willing to marry and tag for the next five years.

His uncle, residing in Russia, died last week and left him $100 million. Zaza confirmed the incident, stating that he received a phone call from Moscow from a lawyer explaining the situation, but he said at first he taught it was a joke.

He also said that his uncle in Russia loved him very much and he is not surprised the uncle left everything to him and two sons. The lawyer told him that there is a condition on the will. This condition is that Zaza has to get married and stay married for 5 years.

I’m sure it’ll be hard for him to find a woman. Even as an ugly, beat-up looking dude, the pitch line: “I play in the NBA and the girl I marry will get to split a hundred million with me” will probably go pretty far. It’ll be hard to screw that one up.

[With Leather]

There’s a lot of people wondering if the Bulls/Celtics series was the best ever. I’m one of them. It was packed with excitement: There were overtimes, double overtimes, and triple overtimes. There were last second shots. Decisive defensive stops. There was Paul Pierce and Ray Allen coming up in the clutch, only to be matched by Derrick Rose or Ben Gordon or Brad Miller.

In short, it was by far the best first round series I’d ever seen.

And the worst? Or at least the worst 7 game series ever? Well, I think that one may go to the Hawks and Heat, who played a decisive game 7 today, and, like the others, it was decided by double digits.

There wasn’t a single game in this one decided by single digits. Only once in the entire series was there a lead change after the first quarter.

The Hawks move on. They’ll now be the sacrifical lamb to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and if they didn’t like the calls they felt were given to D-Wade, they really won’t like what’s waiting for them in Cleveland. Last I checked, LeBron has a way of getting a call here and there.

Boston moves on to face Orlando, and there’s rumors KG will be gearing up for it. If so, count on a Cleveland/Boston matchup in the finals, where we’ll get a repeat of the epic battle that took place last year.

The latest Power Rankings are out, and since I’m too lazy to do one myself, I’ll just link you to theirs. A couple of notes:

• The Celtics are back to No. 1. Yay. I just love the Celtics, with overglorified players like KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Please, LA or Cleveland, please beat them in the playoffs.
• The Nuggets are No. 6. How is it that one good point guard can change a team around so much? No AI, insert Chauncey, and this team is rolling.
• At 23-19, the Heat are No. 10. I know they’ve been surging, but c’mon. No. 10?
• In the same conference and same division, and three games up on the Heat, the Hawks are No. 11. This is the power Dwyane Wade has on a team.
• Beware the 76′ers, who sit at No. 12. After their terrible start, they’ve come on strong and are looking like the playoff threat they were last year.
• At No. 30, is there really any hope for the Kings? They don’t have the worst record, at least, which belongs to No. 26, the 9-35 Thunder.

I bet compulsively on the NFL and college, so I figure why not grow an addiction to the NBA. I’m going to pick three or four games a night, with no real knowledge. Maybe I’ll get lucky. Here we go.

Hawks @ Celtics (-10): Just look at their games in Boston last year. That’s all you need to know.

Blazers (+1.5) @ Heat: Take the points in the game Oden returns in.

Jazz (-4) @ Wizards: Washington stinks.

LA Lakers @ Hornets (-1): One point at home? Take it. They’re solid in New Orleans.

It’s been a tough last decade cheering for the Hawks. And after this year’s playoff run, I grabbed onto some hope that maybe there was a good future in store for Atlanta.

Then free agency comes, where the 3,000 different Hawks owners said they were “going to do everything possible to sign the Joshes.” The Joshes, that is, being Josh Childress, top reserve from last year, and Josh Smith, one of our best young players.

Well, scratch Childress off the list. It’s not that another NBA team got him, but a team in Greee has given him an offer he can’t say no to. The offer is for three years, and is worth $20 million in guaranteed money. At the end of any year, he’s able to opt out of his contract.

“It’s obviously a bit different, being the first player to do something like this,” Childress said on a conference call. “But I think it’s a great opportunity, and it’s going to be a great experience for me.”

“I was in a situation that I really didn’t know what my answer would be when I got to Athens,” he said. “But it’s a great city and a great team, and they did everything to make me feel at home.”

Way to go, Atlanta Hawks. One glimmer of hope, and now you’re looking to throw away the next five years. Memo: Having just Joe Johnson (this is under the assumption they let Josh Smith go, and then probably let Al Horford go in two years) isn’t going to win any games. It just isn’t.

It was the first time since the playoffs started that the Celtics didn’t require seven games to move on, and the fans and players in Boston are plenty happy about that. After last night’s 89-81 victory over the Pistons, the Celtics have advanced to the Finals for the first time since 1987.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Garnett said. “Probably hasn’t even hit me yet because we haven’t slept in about four days, going on five days now. Going to the Finals, I’m just hoping to get some sleep.”

Kevin Garnett only had 16 points and 6 rebounds, but the slack was picked up by Paul Pierce, who dropped 27 points on 8-12 shooting. What won the game, though, was the Celtics D, who suffocated Detroit’s offense, holding Tayshaun Prince to 10 points on 3-10 shooting, and Rasheed Wallace to 4 points on 2-12 shooting.

I hate to be the Atlanta Homer fan right now, but given that the Hawks took the Celtics to seven, and won all of their home games, rather than one of their home games, would it be fair to say that, maybe, just maybe, the Hawks are better than the Pistons?

Don’t answer that.

Anyway, Game 1 of the Finals is about two months away (starts on Thursday, really). It’s Kobe Bryant vs. the World, and while I want to say the Lakers win, I feel without homecourt advantage, and with the Celtics seeming to gather some momentum, the C’s will take this thing in 7.

Well, for starters, football. But since we don’t have football, I guess figuring out the NBA Lotto and figuring out if Boston can lose at home will have to make due.

Tonight features Detroit on the road against Boston, where the Pistons will try and exploit all of Boston’s many weaknesses that, unfortunately, Atlanta and Cleveland weren’t able to exploit (or at least exploit enough). My prediction last night was off — I said Hornets by 8 — and tonight I’m going out on a limb, saying Detroit not only covers, but Detroit wins.

Boston has got to be worn out with 14 games already played in this year’s playoffs, and Detroit has cruised through. Some people will say that makes Boston battle tested, but I think that makes them pretty weak. I mean, Atlanta? I’m from Atlanta, I’m a Hawks fan, and I still think they’re pretty bad.

Say what you will about Cleveland, but they’re a one man team, and if KG is a legitimate MVP, and Paul Pierce is all he’s suddenly been cracked up to be, and Ray Allen is that other guy in the Big Three, then they should have mopped the floor with the Cavs.

That said, they didn’t, and tonight features the first game where a team has about as much talent as them. And if the game isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, then we at least get to watch the NBA Lotto at halftime, where we can see just how easily David Stern rigs everything to make sure players end up in big markets where he wants them. Miami has the best shot at No. 1, but don’t be too shocked to see it head to New York, where they’ll take Derrick Rose and rid themselves of Stephon Marbury.

I watched Game 1 of the Spurs/Suns series, and I figured I was in for one of the better series of all time. With that game pretty much kicking off the playoffs, and with Atlanta taking Boston to seven, I figured I was in for one of the better NBA Playoffs of all time.

We’re halfway through the second round now, and all we’ve got is a bunch of teams that can’t lose at home and can’t win on the road. I’m waiting for something to change — you know, something that will maybe make this thing exciting — but I’m not holding my breath.

Utah visits LA tonight and Cleveland visits Boston. If I had to choose an upset and pick a road team to actually win, I’d say Cleveland by four points, only because I feel like Boston is starting to unravel a bit. Of course, I thought this against Atlanta, and the games weren’t even close at home.

If I was a betting man — wait, I am — I’d say every one of these series will go the distance, with seven games needed to decide the winner. And the real winner in all this? Detroit, who idly awaits, getting some much needed rest for an injured bunch.