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The Boston Celtics clamped down on defense in the second half, outscoring the Lakers 52-37 leading them to a 98-88 Game 1 victory. I’m not going to get into this game too much, because the best is still to come with both of these teams still feeling each other out. But here’s a couple thoughts from the game:

-Kendrick Perkins left the game with 6:19 left in the third quarter after straining his right knee. The Lakers were leading 62-58 at that point. The combination of PJ Brown and Leon Powe provided a quicker lineup (especially on defense) that was more effective against this Lakers team. The Celtics outscored them by 14 points with Perkins on the bench. In hockey, Perkins would be considered a minus player. Hopefully, for Celtics fans, Perkins will see limited time from here on out.

-Lakers forward Vladamir Radmanovic could be one of the worst starting forwards in the league. He can’t cover Paul Pierce. I’m not sure how much playing time Vlad will get next year when Andrew Bynum comes back.

-What happened to the pick-and-roll for the Lakers in the second half? When they closed out the first half, Kobe and Pau were starting to click, but this did not carry over to the third and fourth quarters. You have to credit the Celtics defense on that. Adjustments were made, rotations were solid, ball pressure was great, and the passing lanes were non-existent. The Celtics defense in the second half is what won this game for them. That and Perkins being on the bench.

-Sam Cassell either makes a really good play or a really stupid play. Nothing in-between.

-I love Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy calling these games.

-The refs made a great call on the Kevin Garnett almost-back-court save, but Pau Gasol’s back-court was a horrible call. Maybe instead of having a huge trophy painted on the court, they should put a half-court line so they wouldn’t have this problem? Just a thought.

-Kobe’s shots were hitting both sides of the rim (the rim is a circle, it doesn’t have sides?) and popping out. Look out when they start falling, which they will…soon.

-The Lakers were only 3-14 from 3-point land (21.4%). For the season they were a 37% three-point shooting team.

-The Celtics bench matched the Lakers bench. This needs to happen more often than not if they want to win the Championship.

I just realized this is more than just a couple thoughts.

Led by Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce (The Big Two), the Boston Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons last night 88-79. Garnett had 26 points and 9 rebounds. Pierce had 22 points, 6 boards and 6 assists. Rajon Rondo was also very active on the defensive side, seemingly beating Detroit to every loose ball and collecting five steals.

Detroit looked very rusty coming off a week of rest. They missed their first five shots of the game and fell quickly into an 8-0 hole. Overall they shot 42% from the field and never really found their offense (couldn’t hit wide-open shots). Billups, Sheed, and Hamilton all had their switch turned off. Expect these three players to step up their game for Game Two.

Pierce looked like a new man out there with no Lebron on the court to defend. With all the pressure off from guarding Lebron, Pierce looked very sharp attacking the hoop and continued where he left off from Game Seven.

Also, there is no "Big Three" anymore. As noted above, it’s "Big Two." Ray Allen is not a big-time player anymore. He had a sweet wide open air ball last night. It looked like the shot came from an MTV Rock and Jock game thrown up by Malcolm in the Middle.

I didn’t have time to address all the emails, so I will get to them later this week. However, I did want to cover one email in this addition of the mailbag. But before I get to it, let me say this. Chris Paul is not the best player in the league for all you folks out there that think he is. He is also not the most valuable player in the league. Championship teams are not built around point guards. They are built around Tim Duncans, Shaquille O’Neals, Hakeem Olajuwons, Kareem Abdul-Jabbars, Bill Russells, Moses Malones, etc. Michael Jordan was an exception, but he was one of the best to ever play this game. However, there might be another exception this year.

Let’s begin.

I just got finished watching Game Seven between the Spurs and the Hornets and I loved the outcome. The defending champs went on the road and dominated Chris Paul and the home team. And this is exactly why they are the defending champs. Honestly, New Orleans was not ready for this. Chris Paul was not ready for this. Experience in this situation is second to none.

Before the tip I received this email from loyal reader Dan Rust, “I’m starting this out with an assumption. The assumption is that New Orleans is going to fall to San Antonio tonight. If I’m wrong then simply place this e-mail in the trash; However, I just don’t see the Spurs going out like that. So….”

I didn’t see the Spurs going out like that either. I would have considered this a major upset if the Hornets won tonight. The Spurs are that good. However, Dan has a “So…” at the end of his sentence. ‘So,’ let’s continue with his email…

“I hate the Lakers, but I feel that they might move on to the finals. You predicted Spurs vs. Pistons for the final. I conferred with my magic 8-ball and it has forecasted Lakers vs. Pistons (actually i just asked it if it would be Lakers and Pistons gave it a shake and it said “It is certain”)…. Do you really think the Spurs can beat the Lakers? I never like to count out Big Fundamental (Timmy Duncan), but Kobe and the Lakers are pretty strong, have home court advantage, and are a younger faster team.”

I did predict the Spurs vs. Pistons for the finals this year (I actually nailed the top four teams), with the Spurs winning it all, again. However, I didn’t see the Lakers being this good. On February 1st, the Los Angeles Lakers traded Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton, Aaron Mckie, the rights to Marc Gasol, and two future first round picks (2008, 2010) to Memphis for center Pau Gasol. In other words, an absolute steal for the Lakers. They instantly became a legitimate contender.

And now a legitimate contender is facing off against the defending champs. There is not a better match up that could have happened in the Western Conference. We are given two stories. The story of a dynasty. And the story of Kobe. Isn’t this exactly what we wanted? The perfect story of Kobe taking down the champions on the way to his first ring without Shaq? Or the dynasty maintaining their reign as champions of the NBA by not bowing down to anyone? Wait…am I discounting the Eastern Conference? I’ll address this later.

Dan asked the question, “Do you really think the Spurs can beat the Lakers?” Do I? Yes. Will they? No. I believe we are watching the Kobe Bryant that everyone wanted to see from the very beginning. He is surrounded with teammates that make his game that much more potent (something Lebron does not have in Cleveland). The Lakers play outstanding defense. They score so many easy baskets, including beautiful cuts in the lane with three to four Pau Gasol dunks per game. They hit the open shots. They have a deep bench. And most importantly, Kobe Bryant is playing the best basketball of his career, and that is dangerous for any opposing team.

I love the Big Fundamental, but he did not look at his best during the second half of tonight’s game. He played a huge part in the victory, but he was beatable tonight. And if Kobe smells the blood during this upcoming series, there is no doubt in my mind that he will go for the kill. I really do believe the Los Angeles Lakers will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

However, am I discounting the Eastern Conference? Boston is not playing very good basketball right now. Kevin Garnett is playing well, but there is no other consistent player on their team. They just played two straight series that went seven games. They aren’t playing well on the road. Ray Allen is playing like Allan Ray. They have zero bench. And we have to remember, their coach is Doc Rivers. On the flip side (no pun intended), Detroit has been here before, six straight times to be exact. They seem to be peeking at the perfect time. They are well-rested, which is huge for Chauncey’s hamstring. Tayshaun has played brilliant basketball. Rip has played brilliant basketball. They have ‘Sheed. They have a bench. And I’m a huge Pistons fan.

I’m not really going to get into detail about the game tonight, because it really doesn’t matter. The Celtics stink. They got completely embarrassed on the road again by a team that also stinks. Their is something wrong with the Celtics that can’t be fixed. They dominated the regular season, but this is the NBA Playoffs and they clearly don’t have a good enough team to contend unless everyone on the Pistons get blood clots in their ankles.

Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett became the first Celtic ever (really??) to be named Defensive Player of the Year.

Garnett averaged 7.3 defensive rebounds per game, 1.2 blocks per game, and 1.4 steals per game.