The New York Knicks might be lucky to get anybody. Yahoo Sports is reporting that their sources don’t believe that the Knicks will sign anyone of the major free agents this summer. That would mean that big time names like Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and Dirk Nowitzki would play a real life game of keep-away with the city of New York.

At the end of the day, everybody who watched Game 5 of the NBA Finals is going to recall what Kobe did in the third quarter, look at the box score and say Kobe Bryant had a great day against the Boston Celtics even though the Lakers lost 92-86. And it’s hard for anyone to argue with that given that Kobe scored 38 points on 13 of 27 shooting, a percentage that was hurt only by the fact that he was basically compelled to take some terrible shots late in the fourth quarter to help keep his team alive.

Kobe Bryant did everything he could to do what someone savvier than I once called, "putting the ball in the hole." With 38 points on the night, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar tried to be the savior for his team, but he just couldn’t out shoot the quality shots and the effort coming from the Boston Celtics side of the ball, as Boston beat the Lakers 92-86 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to take a 3 games to 2 lead in the race for the championship.

Count Celtics coach Doc Rivers as one person who won't be marching in the Derek Fisher appreciation parade that commenced Tuesday after the 14-year veteran scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers to a 91-84 Game 3 victory in the Finals.

The truth is that "The Truth" did a little too much talking for the second time around. Normally, I don’t mind such chatter—in fact, I encourage it. However, when chatter bumps heads with reality, common sense has to step in. Enter, Ron Artest.

Pau Gasol said it with out so much as a smile on his face.
The day after the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals, Gasol described Kevin Garnett as less aggressive, more of a shooter and having lost a step.

It was an observation, not a critique or an insult. But under the glare of the N.B.A. finals, even a seemingly innocent remark can fuel a firestorm, as Pau Gasol just learned.

Does Pierce's mentality sit well with Celtics fans?

The Los Angeles Lakers are the defending the champions, three-time Western Conference Champions, and have the last player not named LeBron James to win the MVP award. Clearly, there should be no question as to whether or not they belong in these NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics.

Now that the Lakers are back in the NBA Finals, it shines a brighter light than ever on one of the few key decisions L.A. had to make since winning the title 12 months ago: The de facto trade of Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest.

The world, as I see it, is basically broken down into two sides; those who think LeBron James is the best basketball player in the world, and those who think Kobe Bryant still has that title. Basically, it’s Witnesses vs. Kobe-backers.

For one tiny, little second, some people questioned the audacity of proclaiming the Eastern and Western Conference Finals over after the first two games in each series. While those series wound up being more competitive than they started out, the teams I had winning did win. Thus, my way, way in advance prediction of an NBA Finals matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angles Lakers still has some meaning a couple weeks later.

Anyone who remembers the 1998 NBA Draft remembers just how crazy it was. Michael Olowokandi was hyped more than LeBron James and went #1 overall. Mike Bibby, that year’s national champion from Arizona, was the second overall pick. And then of course there was Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter both coming out of North Carolina, being drafted back to back, and being traded for one another immediately.

"That’s right: Howard was 1-of-7 when Perk was in the game. The focus will be on the fact that Perk is strong enough to play Howard without help. Howard can’t back Perk down under the rim or move Perk wherever he wants. We knew that already, but it was refreshing to see Perk pull it off again despite his sore knee."

The Boston Celtics have to be the most disrespected team of the 2010 NBA Playoffs, and writers like me are to blame. Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe wrote last week that the whole world viewed the Celtics series with the Cleveland Cavaliers as LeBron James losing instead of the Boston Celtics winning—and he’s right.

I was wrong. I was 100% wrong. I thought the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to win Game 5, and there was no doubt in my mind about it. But they didn’t show up, and the Boston Celtics played great basketball. Now the Cavaliers are facing elimination, and I don’t know what to think of their chances to win Game 6 and stay alive in this series.

There is no question that LeBron James legendary status is on the line during these 2010 NBA Playoffs. With 2 MVPs, multiple Eastern Conference appearances, and no championship rings to show for it, LeBron James does not have any room for mistakes this postseason—elbow or not.

The other day, I gave the Utah Jazz the kiss of death. I said they needed to win Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers, and they immediately went out and lost. To me, there’s no doubt that game was a must win for them, because to think they can win 4 out of 5 games against the Los Angeles Lakers is ludicrous.

Suns power forward Amar'e Stoudemire is about to receive a reception from Portland fans that will be as cold as their beach water.

Over the last decade, the San Antonio Spurs have been one of the best teams in the NBA. And during the last 5 seasons, the Phoenix Suns have been one of the best teams in the league as well. Unfortunately, I don’t see both of these reigns going further than the end of the of this 2010 NBA season.

Any sane, objective, knowledgeable basketball mind understands that the Cleveland Cavaliers are the favorites in their second round series with the Boston Celtics. That being the case, anybody who has watched NBA playoff basketball for a considerable number of years can look at this matchup and see that the Boston Celtics have a chance to win this series.

Maybe I am the only one that is unbelievably excited for this matchup. While a part of me wanted to see Dwyane Wade and LeBron James face off in the second round, there is little question that with the Boston Celtics facing off against the Cleveland Cavaliers, this is the series that will provide the most bang for our buck.

Going into Game 5, the Los Angeles Lakers have some serious issues. Now, I’m not one of the 43% of ESPN’s Sportsnation that thinks Oklahoma City is going to win this series in 6 or 7 games—I’m not crazy. But that doesn’t mean this is going to be an easy contest, not by any means.

The Lakers will face their biggest challenge of the season in Game 5. They have allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to climb back into this series and now all the pressure is right on last year's NBA Champions. The younger more athletic Thunder team has beaten the Lakers twice now because they have dominated several key areas of each game.

Remember when Michael Beasley implied that he was insulted by Charles Barkley’s statement that Dwyane Wade was surrounded by (forgive me if I don’t have this quite right) a bunch of Tito Jacksons?

Wade tired of talking Beasley

"They did great" Boozer said of Miles and Matthews. "They set the tone by being a little more physical with [Anthony] when he crossed over half court."

I won’t go crazy, because I still believe that the Phoenix Suns are going to win their series with the Portland Trailblazers. However, in Phoenix's 105-100 loss in the series opener, one thing became very apparent to me: the Suns aren’t ready for postseason basketball.