Halftime Hype

The game sevens in both conferences turned out to be a thrill. The Lakers, victims of the media's unreasonable criticism after being the subject of plenty of playoff compliments, beat the H-Town Rockets in a laugher. Orlando, trying to prove they're a championship-caliber team, also followed suit, and pulled off a victory against the energetic Celtics in a very scary arena. Both teams capitalized on their game seven momentum in the Conference Finals, defeating teams that were favorited to take the series lead. Interestingly enough, neither of the Game 1's were won by more than 2 points.

The Lakers stole Game 1. The tattoo parlor kids practically had the game won. Carmelo was proving most of his doubters wrong - except for the ones that think he's selfish. Sure enough, Chauncey Billups was on his A-game, clinging to his crunch time reputation. But in the end, it was Kobe Bryant, king of the clutch, who came threw yet again. Had the Lakers lost, they would have only fueled the arguments against them that they are "softies" and that they strongly lack a "killer-instinct." Personally, I'm very tired of hearing the word "killer-instinct" - mainly because it's the only reason the Lakers are being legitimately criticized. did impress me though, is how they've fixedmany problems from the Houston series. Pau Gasol is stronger, Fisher is more accurate, and everything seems to be clicking. Denver, on the other hand, must be extremely frustrated with the loss. After leading most of the game, they were outscored 23-14 in the last five minutes. However, I do give them their props, for attacking the post despite lacking a height advantage.

As for Orlando and Cleveland. I'm glad that the media has finally gotten over Lebron and is paying attention to another subject - the Magic. The fact that they were able to rally from 15 points down against this seemingly invincible Cleveland is truly amazing. It's nice to see that the Magic are playing with passion and are trading jabs with the league MVP. For Cavs fans, no biggy, just one loss. Nevertheless, you have to be slightly concerned about this series, since your team is finally being tested. Z against Dwight Howard will prove to be an interesting match-up and may turn out to be one of the keys in winning the series. Let's not foget, though, that this is the biggest test Lebron and the Cavs have faced since running into the Spurs in the '06 NBA Finals.

I also thought I should mention the NBA lottery. As you know, the Los Angeles Clippers, have come away with the first overall pick and have publicly declared they will be selecting Blake Griffin come draft time. But how will he fit into the rotation? We'll have to wait and see. In my opinion, the Clips are already a little stacked at the small forward position, but Griffin should be able to help them. If I were the GM, I may even consider Thabeet to replace Chris Kaman, who missed time due to injury during the past season. Anyway, another exciting player to look forward to is Ricky Rubio. Despite all of the criticism against foreign players, some say he could potentially be the next Steve Nash. But, then again, some said Lamar Odom had "Magic (Johnson) potential" when he came into this league. Emtythebench.com is thinking the Grizzlies might acquire him with their #2 pick, and I think that's a very likely possibility.

Good Clothes - Little Brother - Opening with some emphatic horns, this song is the chronicle of shopping and getting by in the "hood". The lyrics basically document Little Brother's obsessions with apparel. He also manages to point out whose "in the wrong", chastising those at the bar for their carelessness. A very good song to play on the way to a party or in some cases, a black tie event. From a production standpoint, I like the combination of trumpets and snares sprinkled with claps. Overall, this somewhat similiar to an earlier recommendation of mine, "Drivin' Down the Block", in the sense that it should fill you up with plenty of pride.