Sunday 6/15 Live Millings (NBA Finals Game 5)

Millting Points: Live Thoughts from Game 5:

8:54 - The National Anthem by Ashanti was terrible. This usually means that the Lakers will win... (In Game 3, David Cook, who was previously praised by the Millings a few weeks ago, butchered the Anthem allowing the Lakers to throw the Celtics off their game.)

8:56 - oooo...Leon Powe is getting the start at center. I think this will pay off for the C's.

8:57 - The Lakers should put more time into hyping up their starting lineups...no pyro? On the flipside...the giant bed sheets that they project on...may explain what Kobe was talking about when he said the Lakers wet the bet big time in Game 4.

9:03 - Doc said "Let's show em what Ooombooontooo is all about"....Is that even the correct pronounciation? It's spelled Ubuntu...where did the mmmm come from? For those who don't know, Ubuntu is a philosophy that Doc stole from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. For some reason....black players respond better to South African Philosophies (Celtics) than White Man Zen (Lakers).

9:08 - Did you notice that the Lakers went to their White Jerseys tonight? It might change their fortune...but I have a hard time seeing Pau Gasol and Vladamir Radmanovic in camouflage.

9:10 - Powe turns it over...Leon needs to have a big game tonight...not for the Celtics to win...but so the Celtics can trade him for something good in the offseason.

9:12 - Adding on to the previous racial commentary, have you noticed that the two best defensive teams in the NBA have only black guys on their 12 man rosters.

9:13 - Rondo is rebounding like this is NBA Jam.

9:24 - For those of you at home wondering what an arm sock actually does, be sure to check out the Wikipedia article on the "Shooting Arm Sleeve"...it keeps the shooting arm warm? What good is that?

9:27 - Upon ABC's use of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" for the pre-commercial replay, let us all wonder how R. Kelly was found innocent last week of all charges against him. As Joses likes to point out...what is more incriminating than the fact that R. Kelly and Michael Jackson wrote the hit song "You Are Not Alone" together? It was clearly a show of solidarity among two dirty dirty men.

9:31 - KG picks up his 2nd foul and forces ABC to censor his vulgarities on 3 separate occasions in 15 seconds. Parents, KG is a good ballplayer...but he is no ideal role model.

9:33 - Do you think the NBA should start marketing Sasha Vujacic's Girl Headband? Would you buy one? Maybe girls would... Maybe girls named Sasha?

9:35 - Lakers shot 65% in the first quarter. That's the percentage necessary to pass medical school. Speaking of education...during the announcement of the starting lineups earlier this year, my good friend Officer John Remka asked me "Hey Millah...don't you think that Kevin Garnett could just get a degree online from the University of Phoenix?" He makes a good point...KG, Perk, and Kobe need to get some kind of online degree...

9:40 - Chris Mihm sighting... Lakers could put an all-white lineup out there right now with Vujacic, Walton, Radmanovic, Gasol, and Mihm. Can any other NBA team even put 4 white guys out there at once?

9:46 - Tony Allen gets a steal! ...and a dunk!

9:47 - Speaking of Tony Allen, I think the last names of NBA players are fake! Ever go into a souvenir shop and look for a keychain with your name on it? Well, the NBA may be outsmarting us all in an effort to sell more jerseys. All of a sudden, more NBA players than ever have last names that are first names. For example: Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade....and one day you just might name your kid Boozer! David Stern is a genius!

9:51 - After Turiaf commits the charge...none of his Laker teammates go to pick him up off the floor. They ain't know what Ooooombooooonnntooooo is!

10:03 - Sam Cassell is terrible. He's just a backup. Why does he hafta shoot the ball all the time. He should take some lessons from his half-brother Matt Cassel (Tom Brady's backup). Just hand the ball off.

10:09 - Tony Allen scores again...Millings Reader Mike Auyeung believes that Tony Allen will be tonight's "gamechanger."

10:11 - Did Derek Fisher just get a technical foul for picking his nose with his thumb?

10:17 - Looking forward to seeing Bill Walton at halftime. The live updates will be back for the 2nd half.

10:34 - Has anyone noticed if Scal has been activated for this game or not? If this NBA Season ends with the ball in Scal's hands, Matt Chin wins the "Who touches the ball last?" Contest. (For the record, I have Glen "Big Baby" Davis holding onto the ball in a blowout win in Game 6. Who do you have?)

10:40 - If Ray Allen is the Celtics' leading scorer in the Finals, why isn't he getting more recognition as a potential Finals MVP. It may not mean much to you, but I picked Ray Allen long ago in my Finals Preview.

10:42 - It's a well know fact that White Guys can't outrun or outjump Black Guys. But I've also noticed that White athletes have more hair than Black athletes. Could the difference in athleticism simply be attributed to haircut and not skin tone?

10:51 - What's with the video segments in which the NBA Trophy is cradled like a baby? There are only a few inanimate objects worthy to be held like a baby...and the trophy does not make my list...(see image below).
10:58 - Lakers are up 5 with 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, but for the a 2nd straight time I think the Celtics just might win this 1. (Now, you try writing a sentence using 5-4-3-2-1 in that order. Prove to me that you aren't Mill-iterate!)

11:07 - For more word play, L-A-M-A-R--O-D-O-M can be rearranged to spell DOOM ALARM. With a name like DOOM ALARM, did the Lakers even have a chance?

11:10 - In case you were wondering what P-A-U-L--P-I-E-R-C-E can spell....it's "PURE ICE, PAL."

11:24 - How did Luke Walton not grow up to be a 7-footer like his Dad? If only America believed in breeding NBA players like they do in China...

11:27 - Sam Cassell is actually knocking down some shots! Somewhere in Outer Space...they are chanting "MVP, MVP, MVP!"

11:31 - Celts are down 7 with 6:14 left in the game. My requirements for a successful comeback are...you gotta be within 6 points with 4 minutes left.

11:38 - Well, the C's have tied the game with 4:25 left in the game so they can definitely steal this game.

11:41 - Pierce and KG each have 5 fouls with 3:31 left in the game...I'm gonna predict that this game goes into overtime...and look for a Ray Allen game winner.

11:44 - Commentator Mike Breen just used the phrase "house of fire." I wonder if he would say "House on fire" if Eddie House hits a couple of 3s.

11:47 - FYI, Jeff Van Gundy has a man-crush on James Posey.

11:50 - KG just missed a pair of free throws that would have tied the game...I guess Red Auerbach doesn't actually tip free throws in like it was reported in Game 7 of the Cleveland Series. By the way...after Game 4 when Paul Pierce pointed to the sky, was he referencing God or Red Auerbach?

11:54 - There's 1:14 left and Tony Allen checks in...what is Doc thinking? I don't know who I'd rather see right now....Tony Allen or the Bald Black Guy from the annoying GMC commercials...

11:55 - Lakers up 4 with 37 seconds left. Celtics might mail it in...

11:57 - RayRay misses and gives the Lakers possession with 26 ticks left. But Fisher is choking at the free throw line, so this game isn't over yet.

12:00 - Lakers up 5 with 24.8 seconds left. If I'm the coach...I want James Posey shooting this 3.

12:02 - Well, Ray Allen just fouled out with 16.7 seconds left. Forget about the Ray Allen game winner. Looks like Kobe's defensive move in which he caresses the left hip of Paul Pierce from behind will be the difference.

12:05 - House hits a 3 and almost steals the inbounds pass! Shades of Reggie Miller....but the fact that it didn't work out that way....just show you how special Reggie was.

12:06 - It's over. Final Score: Lakers-103, Celtics-98, Scal-0. Whoever sings the National Anthem on Tuesday better do a good job...