Christmas Day, Terrorizing the NBA on 12/25/08

Game: All of them.

Terror Maker: Multiple Offenders

Offense: Multiple Offenders

Target: Everyone

Christmas 08 was probably the best collection of Christmas games in a long time. And by best collection, I really just mean the Laker-Celtic game was absolutely awesome. From the get go it felt like a playoff game, making for great entertainment. The other games weren't all that bad either. A few things to note from each game:

Orlando/New Orleans: As great as Chris Paul is, he can't lead the Hornets anywhere if he has no one to pass the ball too. And it wouldn't kill to get a bench either. Seriously, Devin Brown as the go to guy of a 2nd unit isn't exactly a formula for success. And with that said, it was no surprise that the Magic absolutely crushed the hornets.

San Antonio/Phoenix: I was ready to talk about how Amare choked on three consecutive possessions int he final two minutes. Blowing easy layup after easy layup, until Grant hill got the screen from Nash and seemingly won the game. Really ruined my day. Well, it would have if it was a team not named the Spurs. Yet again a last second shot/play/miracle/hip check/suspension put a dagger in the heart of Suns fans everywhere. The game seemed pretty much over until Tony Parker found Mason for a three in the corner. This game proved yet again that the suns can't beat the spurs at there own game, and that Steve Kerr is a douche.

Lakers/Celtics: With Posey departure and Bynum+Ariza's return, the Lakers seem to have gained a bit of an advantage in match ups when it comes to versing the Celtics. In the Finals, Leon Poe pretty much dominated the Laker bench. Yesterday he was a non factor going up against Bynum when both teams went to reserves. And without Posey, no one was able to throw off Kobe Bryant by much. Combine all of that with Ariza's amazing hustle play and the Lakers were able to walk away with a 9 point victory. Although the game was a lot closer than the final score would suggest. All game i was complaining of Pau Gasol being, well, Gasoft. It wasn't until he scored 7 points and blocked ray Allen's three that the game was finally sealed for the Lakers.
On a side note, whats up with Mike Breen calling the Celtic Bench a bunch of "scrubs"? Seems kinda harsh.

Cleveland/Washington: Pure B-S. With Mike James having an amazing game, the wizards were poised to walk away with a win on the Cavs home floor. That is, until the refs decided otherwise. With 1 minute and 30 seconds to go, a foul was called on Butler for barely grazing "King James" on the elbow. It just so happened to be a 3 pointer with the Cavs down 5. So Lebron hits three free throws. Followed by Jamison being called for a charge when Wallace was clearly moving his feet while Jamison had already taken off. So the wizards lose a possession and it leads to a Mo Williams three. Awesome. After that the Cavs pretty much sealed the deal. Which is exactly what a 24-4 team would do against a 4-22 team. But is it really fair for Refs to hand the game away when the wizards were outplaying them for 46.5 minutes? No, its not. Especially when other matches are allowed to be played more physically. Inconsistency just makes David Sterns NBA look rigged.