Lakers-Celtics game three. It was everything you expected it to be. Seemingly empty Staples Center few minutes before game time because Holly wood stars were having their limos parked in front of the arena? Check. Kobe Bryant determined to take over the game no matter what face during player introductions? Check. Celtics in foul trouble because they are playing on the road? Check. Unheralded Laker bench player coming up huge? Check.

First of all I have some thoughts on this series, particularly that played out in Game 3.

Anyone catch the singing of the national anthem? I am one of five people who can honestly claim to be versed in pop culture and couldn’t name you the last two winners of American Idol. I knew this year’s version had to be David. Ok, so David the rocker, sang the national anthem in the most bland, and uninspired way ever. This guy either looked incredibly nervous or incredibly drugged out. Its L.A. so take your pick. I felt so bad for him, I just wanted someone to go there and tickle him and have him show some sort of emotion because the guy’s face looked as stoned as if he just got Botox shots to his face but his mouth. I’d say his career fizzles out in about six months. Celeb Rehab is always looking for new house guests.

Where is Lamar Odom? The guy seems to have lost his entire mojo. The moment he enters the game it seems like it takes him about five seconds to pick up 2 quick fouls. Odom somehow has forgotten how to play the game of basketball all together. He seems uninspired and even when he drives to the hoop its like he’s trying to convince himself that he can still do it but he sees KG and he immediately tries to do one of those up and under moves.

Can someone tell Rajon Rondo that his behind the back fake isn’t working anymore? This guy does it like four times in every single game I’ve seen it and it is now becoming old. No one buys the fake since he unveiled it in spectacular fashion in the Hawks series. I like Rondo but the Lakers were right in their defensive positioning on him. Let Kobe stand about ten feet away from him and dare him to take those 20 footers, chances are, he won’t hit 40% of them. No one has ever been that good of a shooter with his horrible form since my friend who does this over the head shot that inexplicably goes in every time. What I’m trying to say is, it only works with accountants who are 5’7 and not starting point guards on a championship caliber team.

Who’s going to get punched first, Sasha Vujucic by one of the Celtics or PJ Brown by one of the Lakers? PJ Brown went from clutch guy in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals back to consummate bully. I’ve seen this PJ Brown before when Pat Riley had him hip toss Charlie Ward (mind you, Ward is a bible toting, gentleman) and start a melee that eventually helped the Heat to their only significant playoff series victory over the Knicks by eliminating half the starters for Games 6 and 7 of that series. PJ Brown had some stretches where he was simply on the court to deliver an elbow here and a punch there. This is the Bruce Bowen style of playing defense when he is clearly frustrated by the level of competition that he is up against. Sasha meanwhile is a pesky fly that does not know when to turn off that engine of his. I love watching him play but I’m sure that if I were playing against him, I would probably give him a nice shiner in his eye with an elbow just to let him know that maybe he should back off a bit, but don’t worry, I would hide my intent by throwing my hands in the air and giving the “gee what happened” look. Oh wait, is Sasha Vujucic the new Bruce Bowen?

The Kobe face. It’s the scowl that makes even those watching him feel unimportant. Seriously, playing with him is like being involved with an abusive boyfriend/controlling girlfriend. In short, you like being told what to do. When daddy wants you to jump you ask how high. But when daddy doesn’t like what you do, he’s going to let you know. These guys can never get a break around Kobe. Basically all that trust that the Lakers players have built up in him is slowly beginning to break as Kobe realizes that the last few months were a dream and he must fix this ship all by himself.

The Official Word- Honestly, I can’t remember how ridiculously biased officiating has been in a series of this magnitude in a while. Mind you, the Lakers were passive in Game 2 and yes they didn’t deserve to go to the line. But in Game 3, Kobe went to the line a ridiculous 18 times and it seemed like he was getting the mythical Jordan treatment ( you know, breathe on him, and it’s a foul?) for a good portion of the first quarter which made Paul Pierce, KG, and everybody else guarding him to the bench because of foul trouble. Everything seemed fine, its just that the Celtics team defense and obvious physical/rebounding edge kept them in the game despite KG or Paul Pierce showing up.

Which brings me to the next point which is, I understand why Paul Pierce was a bit shaky, I mean he did have that dramatic knee injury in Game 1, and the fact that he was playing in his first NBA finals in his home town with a lot of family in crowd to impress, but where’s KG? I have been reluctant to accept the theory that KG hides in big games but I’m starting to accept him for who he is. A show piece. An attraction, but not the headliner. He’s a popular player that plays with such an insane amount of passion that people never choose to question his desire. But apart from all that, when has he really come through for his team? After a while, every single star player has to look past the shortcomings of a front office and be a leader and KG never accomplished that. He was always content of being that other guy, the glue guy that could make the roof on a stadium blow but when a team needed a huge shot, he was ready to pass up the opportunity all the time. Am I blaming him for being a passer? Yes, in those instances, if you want to be remembered as an all time great, you’ve got to want the ball and take it in the hole.

Just for comparison purposes, lets look at how Kobe handled last night when the Celtics were still hanging around and it was late in the game and the Laker lead was only four. He decided in his head that he was going to take the shots and everything was going to ride on him. These are the decisions that star players on your team must make. Now, sure, KG plays on a team with two guys who also should have that same mindset but I don’t see KG kicking chairs when a last second play isn’t designed for him. He just isn’t built like that and it’s a shame. This conversation should not even be taking place about this guy with an awesome post up game, incredible defensive efficiency and an automatic jump shot from 15-18 feet.

Back to Kobe for a second though. I sometimes do feel bad for his teammates, if Kobe even sees them on a level that bears them worthy of calling them teammates. He seems to look down upon them and not really care about them that much and its sad really. This more has to do with his skills as a person. No matter how much he deflects the comparison to MJ, he loves it inside, because its an incredible honor to be mentioned in the same breath as the greatest ever. But Kobe, aside from having that killer instinct MJ had did not make the adjustment that MJ made in his prime years while accumulating championships.

He has not learned to be a guide on the court, a guru that players can come to for advice when a play is misread. Instead, like an abusive father, teammates have this “oh man” face that kids usually have when they break the expensive vase and know what’s coming when daddy realizes who did it. It might be ok for him, but eventually its going to come back to haunt him. Not every player responds well to criticism (I guess we know who’s been giving Lamar Odom his pep talks to make him disappear), and for those who do, won’t appreciate it constantly and on such a public setting. Its emasculating and it makes people think that Kobe is egotistical and frankly Kobe could use a little less negative press.

Atleast we know why Sasha Vujucic plays so well even with Kobe yelling at him. He doesn’t understand English.

Good day!