What we learned from game 5

1. Kobe Bryant is simply not the best player in the game. Great, silky-smooth athlete? Of course. Does he, at times, make things look ridiculously easy? Sure does. But Paul Pierce, and the Celtics' defense in general, have made him look average at frequent intervals. It is incredible how he has been unable to get to the basket. And it's more than just Boston's (illegal) collapsing (read:zone) defense. Even when he is single teamed in space, it has been rare the times he is able to get a clean look at the rim.

2. Has Zen Master Phil taken one hit too many on the old Native American pipe? By often going into a 1-4 set with Kobe handling the ball up top, he is begging Boston to clog the lane and force Kobe into taking jump shots. Hey, Phillip, put down the Buddhist Zen sheeeeeeeeet and get Kobe's ass in the post. At least down there he could jump over Thunder Thighs Pierce. Also, why was Chris Mihm in the game last night? Why? Why? Why? Letting Andrew Bynum play on one knee in his fancy three-piece suit would have made more sense than letting Mihm see the court. Chris Mihm?!? And it took Phillip over five games to realize that Jordan Farmar is the type of athlete to give Boston trouble on both ends of the court.

3. It pains us to say that Fat Boy Pee Pee is the best player on the court. Offensively, he has been almost unstoppable. But it has been his defense that made us a believer. When he mans up on Kobe, two-four looks downright human.

4. Vladimir Radmanovic has to be the worst defender in the history of Whore Stern's league. Seriously, Pierce went by him last night like he was playing in the driveway by himself. We are pretty sure that our six year old could get to the rim if Radmanovic was playing D on him.

4. Jeff Van Gundy is right -- James Posey is a man. True, Van Gundy's man crush on Posey last night was bordering on nauseating. But he raised a valid point. When it's time to sack up and show some stones, you want James Posey on your team and on the court. Going back to our UMass daze days, the kids from Xavier always played hard, played killer lock-down D and kept their mouths shut. That was Posey then, and that's him now. Boy, how we will delight in the fact that some team will give him HUGE bucks this summer and lure him away from Boston.

5. It was great to see Proud Dad Bill Walton with a glowing grin on his face as his boy Luke hit a runner in the lane. True father's pride (on Father's Day, no less!). But, we were really hoping to see his face on camera two minutes later after Luke fouled Pierce at midcourt in a mindless foul that gave Boston two free throws as it mounted its comeback.

6. Yet again, Kevin Garnett failed to take over offensively in a big game. It has happened so many times, all must agree that he is simply not wired correctly to be The Man on offense. Too bad, because he has the skills that would make him the one of the five best players in the history of the game.

7. We began to pack up at halftime, but The Wife insisted we stay up. (She is all about cheering for the Boston Teams.) Yes, it was fun watching Boston lose. Especially when the turning point of the game was Pee Pee, with a chance to tie with under two minutes left, got stripped by Kobe -- who then dunked LA into a four point lead. But we paid the price all day today, moving in slow motion in a chronic state of fatigue. Even worse, we will have to do it all over again tomorrow night. And the kicker is the Celtics now get to win the title in Boston. Ugh.