NFL Overlook of Week 10

There was a lot of exciting football in Week 10, but I believe this was the most interesting event that happened in the NFL this week.
MVP: Adrian Peterson - Vikings RB

I believed that halfway through the 2008 NFL season that Clinton Portis, Drew Brees and Kurt Warner were the leading candidates for the MVP award, but what about Adrian Peterson?

In my mind, today was Peterson's best game of his career. I know last year Peterson broke the all-time NFL record with 296 rushing yards in a game against a good San Diego football team, but today he was phenomenal because of the leadership he showed and how dominant he was when the Vikings needed him the most.

Last year, Peterson was a rookie and surprised NFL defenses because they had no idea he was going to be so good, so early in his career. This year the NFL knows what to expect from him along with the Vikings predictable offense, but today it didn't matter because he still ran over a good Packers defense for 192 rushing yards, 225 all-purpose yards and scored the game winning 29-yard touchdown. What made it better was because it was against the Vikings' biggest rival and more importantly, with the win today they are now tied for first (5-4) in the NFC North division with the Chicago Bears.

His performance was even more impressive because of the leadership he showed, especially in the 4th quarter. During the middle of the 4th quarter, the Vikings were 4th and 1 and trailing the Packers, 21-24. Vikings head coach, Brad Childress, was going to play it safe and punt the ball, but was persuaded by Peterson because he felt Peterson could get the first down. Childress went for it having Peterson run the ball but he fumbled it, giving Green Bay the ball with excellent field position. Luckily the Vikings defense only let the Packers get a field goal, leaving Minnesota with the ball down 21-27, with six minutes left in the game just needing a touchdown to win.

At that point in the game, Peterson went to another level because he took over the game like I have never seen before. The Vikings marched down the field with Peterson touching the ball 6 of the 7 plays and getting 64 of the 69 yards, finishing with a 29-yard rushing touchdown. He was running and catching the ball tearing the Packers' defense apart with the determination that he was not going to lose the game and made a performance to convince me that he is now my leading NFL MVP candidate.

Going into Week 11, Peterson is now leading the NFL in rushing yards (1015) over Portis (995), is fifth in rushing TD's (7) and over the last four games has been the best running back in the NFL averaging over 140 yards per game. It's not just stats that make him my favorite MVP candidate, the Vikings have also won three out of their last four games and has become the leader of the team in just his second year in the NFL. I'm not going to guarantee Peterson will be the MVP because their record is just (5-4), but if the Vikings win their division and make it to the playoffs it will largely be because of Peterson. Make sure to watch Peterson more as the season goes on because not only is he amazing to watch, he could be the 2008 NFL MVP.

NBA Finals: Celtics vs. Lakers - Game 5

It was a close Game 5, but the Lakers played well enough to force a Game 6 as they beat the Celtics 103-98, and be down 3-2 going back to Boston. The Celtics had their chances to finish off the Western Conference Champions, but the Lakers showed some pride and heart last night when they could have thrown in the towel after their embarrassing loss in Game 4.

Boston played a good game with Paul Pierce's impressive 38 points and Ray Allen's 16, but they needed the third player of the Boston PGA (Pierce, Garnett, Allen) Tour to play well to win the World Championship last night. Although Garnett did score 13 points and got 14 rebounds, he had one of his worst games in the playoffs this year on the defensive end of the court only playing 33 minutes because of foul trouble. He also missed three key free throws at the end of the game that may have helped win Game 5.

Boston really needed Garnett on defense with Kendrick Perkins out of the game because of an injured shoulder, and the Lakers took advantage of the situation getting Garnett five fouls in the game. Los Angeles' other two stars took advantage of Perkins' absence getting 20 points and 11 rebounds from Lamar Odom along with 19 points and 13 rebounds from Pau Gasol as they dominated the paint. I believe that Kobe Bryant is probably the best player on the planet, but he can't win a World Championship all by himself and with Gasol and Odom's performance last night, Bryant only needed 25 points to win Game 5.

The thing is, the Lakers know they barely got by with two close wins at home in the series that could have gone in the Celtics favor, and will not win on the road no matter what Bryant does. In the three games that Boston played at Los Angeles in the NBA Finals, Boston fell behind really early in the game and had to have great third-quarters to catch up. If the Celtics can have a lead going into halftime next game at home and continue to have another great third-quarter, Boston will not only win the World Championship but they will blow out the Lakers too.

So now it's off to Boston, where I predicted that the Celtics would beat the Lakers in Game 6 and I'm sticking by it. There is no way that Boston's trio will lose Game 6 because they not only know they are one game from winning the NBA Finals, but they also know they don't want to go to a Game 7 when anything could happen with Bryant in the game. Boston is 12-1 at home in the playoffs and will win a playoff record 13th home game with their excellent defense and an MVP effort from Pierce to become World Champions for the 17th time in franchise history. I'd like to say good luck to Boston, but they don't need it because on Tuesday the Celtics will show the world they are the best team in the NBA this season.

NBA Finals: Celtics vs. Lakers - Game 4

Last night was a game to remember as Boston made the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history after being down 24 points to beat Los Angeles on their home court 97-91, and put the Lakers on the brink of elimination down 3-1 to the Celtics in the series. No team in NBA Finals history has come back from being down 3-1 and with the devastating loss for Los Angeles in Game 4, the Celtics may bring back a World Championship to Boston as early as Game 5 on Sunday.

I have never seen such a game in my life that had two completely different halves from a team after the Lakers had their best first half in the 2008 playoffs and their worst half of the year in the second. Everything was going the Lakers' way in the first-quarter with a score of 35-14, as they embarrassed the Celtics' best defense in the playoffs by scoring 58 points going into the half and a 18-point lead. I know I have not had much faith in Lamar Odom after his first 3 games in the series, but even he shot 7-7 in the first half with 15 points.

I don't know if Los Angeles thought Game 4 was over and were looking on to Game 5, or if Boston was more hungry to win but the Lakers got dominated in the third-quarter as Boston went on a 21-3 run to end of the fourth-quarter with the score 73-71. In doing so, the Lakers 18 point lead at halftime was cut down to 2 points and when Eddie House put the Celtics up 84-83 with four minutes left in the game, Boston never looked back. The Celtics' tough defense locked down on Kobe Bryant, limiting him to a playoff-low 17 points as the Lakers' crowd was left speechless. They had just witnessed a nightmare that will always be remembered as one of the most devastating losses in their team's franchise history.

It took the Boston's entire team to come back from such a huge 24-poit lead with coach Doc Rivers' motivation to never give up, the excellent play of the Boston PGA (Pierce, Garnett, Allen) Tour and the production off the bench from House, James Posey and P.J. Brown. Pierce did lead the game with 20 points, Garnett was a factor in the second half with a total of 16 but Allen was the player of the game hitting 3-pointers and blowing by the Lakers' Sasha Vujacic at will. Even though I hadn't thought it would that big of a factor in the series, the team that won each game in the 2008 NBA Finals has gotten more production from their bench than their opponent. That was definitely the case in Game 4 as Boston's bench dominated the Los Angeles' bench 35-15, with 18 major points from Posey and another 11 points from House.

I know I predicted that the Celtics would win the NBA Finals in six games, but the way the Lakers lost Game 4, I would not be surprised if Boston wins it all in five games. The Lakers are a young team and I don't know if they can get over such a huge loss by Sunday. I'm not going to guarantee that Boston will win Game 5 because no team is out of the NBA Finals with Bryant on their team, but if the Lakers don't play their 'A' game the Celtics will win the World Championship for the first time in 21 years.

NBA Finals: Celtics vs. Lakers - Game 3

Even though it was an ugly Game 3 for both teams, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers came out with a 87-81 win over the Celtics putting Los Angeles just one game behind Boston in the series 2-1. Los Angeles is undefeated at home in the 2008 playoffs with a 9-0 record and with a win last night, the Lakers now have some confidence going into Game 4 knowing that they can beat Boston on their home court.

I don't know if it was the jet lag from Boston to Los Angeles or if it was Los Angeles' defense in Game 3, but two of the three Boston PGA (Pierce, Garnett, Allen) Tour's players had one of the worst games of their careers. Garnett tied his playoff-low scoring 13 points and shooting 6-21 from the field while Pierce played even worse shooting 2-14 from the field to score an embarassing 6 points. Luckily Allen had his best game of the NBA Finals scoring 25 points, or the Celtics' 81 points could have been even lower.

I said that if Los Angeles was going to win Game 3, they needed to get more production off the bench and get to the free throw line more, especially Bryant. Well if Leon Powe was Boston's spark off bench in Game 2, Los Angeles' spark last night was Sasha Vujacic as he scored 20 points and helped the Lakers' bench outscore the Celtics' bench 29-21. As for only putting up 10 free throws in Game 2, the Lakers attempted 24 more free throws in Game 3 and Bryant got to the line much more making 11 out of 18.

Los Angeles should not be satisfied with their win last night because Garnett and Pierce played terrible games and yet Boston only lost by six points. Bryant played his heart out in Game 3, scoring 36 points and almost single handedly won the game because the Lakers' other two stars once again did not play well. With Pau Gasol scoring just nine points and Lamar Odom playing even worse with four points and five turnovers, Los Angeles needs those two guys to play better because I guarantee you Boston will come back in Game 4 with a better performance.

I believe that if Boston can lose by only six points on Los Angeles' home court after playing one of their worst games in the playoffs, imagine what could happen for the Celtics in Game 4 if Garnett and Pierce played the way they did in Game 1 and 2. I'm going to say that Boston will win the next game because I have lost hope of Odom becoming Los Angeles' x-factor after his poor performances so far in the NBA Finals and I don't believe that Bryant can continue to score 36 points every game against Boston's tough defense. As for the Celtics, Pierce grew up in Inglewood, CA, just a few miles from Los Angeles and I don't think he will disappoint his friends and family like he did in Game 3 when he scored 6 points. Pierce will do whatever it takes in Game 4 whether it means slowing down Bryant on defense one-on-one and/or score around 40 points, just as long as Boston wins to put them one win away from a World Championship.

NBA Finals: Celtics vs. Lakers - Game 2

After almost blowing a 24-point lead last night, the Celtics held on to win Game 2, 108-102 putting Boston comfortably up 2-0 in the series over Los Angeles. The Celtics are a record-tieing 12-1 at home in the 2008 playoffs and know they are just two wins away from bringing back a World Championship to Boston for the first time since 1987.

Los Angeles was having problems against Boston's tough defense like in Game 1, but the Lakers biggest problems in Game 2 were free throws and Leon Powe. That's right, not Kevin Garnett, not Ray Allen, but Leon Powe. Boston attempted 28 more free throws (27-38) than Los Angeles did last night (10-10) and Powe was a huge spark off the bench to score an unexpected 21 points in just 15 minutes. In each game of this series Boston's bench has outplayed Los Angeles' bench like in Game 2, when Powe helped the Celtics outscore the Lakers' bench, 35-23.

The Celtics dominated the Lakers in every faze of the game for the first 40 minutes leading Los Angeles 95-71, looking like Game 2 was going to be a blow-out. Then the Lakers went on a shocking 31-9 run knocking down seven 3-pointers and getting as close as two points, 104-102 with 38.4 seconds left. Luckily Boston made some stops on defense and some clutch free throws to win the game, but the Celtics need to finish off the Lakers much better if they want to win a World Championship.

The loss last night may have put Los Angeles down 0-2 in the series, but after scoring 41 points in the 4th quarter, the Lakers now have something they didn't have in the first three quarters of Game 2: Hope. It looked like the Celtics had the game in the bag but after almost pulling off what would have the greatest comback in NBA Finals history, the Lakers can go back home for three straight games with a game plan and a little hope to make this series an interesting one.

Kobe Bryant had a better game in Game 2 knocking 30 points and dropping 8 assists, but even the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player cannot beat Boston alone. I expect the Lakers to find a way to win Game 3, because no team in NBA Finals history has come back to win the series after being down 0-3 and I don't see Los Angeles losing three games in a row with Bryant on their team. The Lakers should win Game 3, but if Los Angeles doesn't get something from their bench and get to the free throw line more there will be no more home games in Boston until next season.

NBA Finals: Celtics vs. Lakers - Game 1

The Celtics' hopes of winning their 17th World Championship seemed in jeopardy when Paul Pierce was escorted off the court in a wheelchair, but when Pierce came back in the game the Celtics fought back to beat the Lakers, 98-88. The Lakers struggled against the Celtics' tough team defense in Game 1 to go down 0-1 in the series as Boston held Los Angeles to their second lowest score of the 2008 playoffs with just 88 points.

The Boston PGA (Pierce, Garnett, Allen) Tour played excellent as Garnett scored a team-high 24 points, Pierce knocked in another 22 and Allen added 19 to combine for 65 of the Celtics' 98 points. The veterans coming off Boston's bench (Posey, Cassell, Brown) were a pleasant surprise as they outplayed the Lakers' bench with excellent defense, limiting Gasol to just 15 points and Odom with 14 while Perkins was on the bench most of the game with foul trouble.

Although Pierce's return back to the game with a strained knee and score 22 points in 31 minutes was impressive, what really impressed me in Game 1 was how Boston slowed Kobe Bryant down to 24 points and shoot just 9-26 (34.6%) from the field. In the Lakers last round against San Antonio, Bryant only had to worry about one defender the entire series (Bruce Bowen) and when Bryant has to worry about just one defender, nobody can stop him one-on-one.

The difference with Boston's defense is they can throw three different styles of defenders at Bryant, with the quickness of Allen, the strength of Pierce and the defensive intensity of Posey off the bench. Bryant was uncomfortable the entire night with the Celtics tough defense because throwing those three guys at Bryant really affected him during Game 1. Bryant got the shots he can usually make, but Boston's tough, physical play got to his mind a little.

Expect Game 2 to be a closer game because Boston knows Bryant is going to put on quite a show and do whatever it takes to get a win after not playing well in Game 1. I still think Boston will win the next game with another great performance by their defense and the Boston PGA Tour, but the Celtics have to focus even more on Bryant. There is a good chance he might drop 40 points and go back to Los Angeles for three straight home games tied up 1-1, so Boston better come ready to play in Game 2.

NBA Finals: Celtics vs. Lakers - Prediction

The NBA Finals is finally here, where people across the world watch the best team in the Western Conference play against the best team in the Eastern Conference for an eventful two weeks and compete for a World Championship. Every NBA Finals is unique in its own way, but this year it's extra special because it brings back the best rivalry in basketball history: The Boston Celtics vs. The Los Angeles Lakers. Russell vs. Chamberlain. Magic vs. Bird. Kobe vs. Garnett? If that doesn't cause goosebumps just hearing those names, I don't know what will. These two teams will meet for the 11th time in NBA Finals history, so you better buckle your seat belt folks because we are in for another exciting series.

I have discussed about both teams' starters, benches and coaches and am ready to predict who will win the 2008 NBA Finals. I believe the Boston Celtics will be World Champions in six games for five reasons...

1. Home Court Advantage - The Celtics had the best record in the NBA this season, leaving Boston with home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs. The Celtics were 35-6 at home during the regular season and 10-1 at home in the playoffs, so as long as Boston wins all their home games in this series and they will be World Champions.

2. The NBA Finals Schedule - In the first three rounds, the 7-game series schedule is 2-2-1-1-1, but for the NBA Finals the schedule is switched to 2-3-2. Now some NBA analysts think this is not fair to Boston's home court advantage because all Los Angeles needs to do is win one of the first two games on the road and win the next three games at home but I think differently. I believe that Boston will win their first two games at home because the Celtics are 10-1 at home in the playoffs. I also believe since Boston beat the Detroit Pistons twice on the road in the Eastern Conference Finals, they will beat Los Angeles at least one game on the road. In doing so, that will leave the Celtics ahead of the Lakers at the worst 3-2, with two games back at home (if needed) to win just one game for a World Championship.

3. Defense Wins Championships - During the 2008 regular season, Boston's defense allowed the second fewest points per game with 90.3 points while Los Angeles' offense scored the fourth most points per game with 108.6 points. Although the Lakers have the 2008 Most Valuable Player with Kobe Bryant and the Celtics have the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year with Kevin Garnett, Bryant has not played against the best defense in the playoffs yet. The Lakers have to continue to score over 100 points every game if they are going to beat the Celtics, but Boston has only allowed 100 or more points just five times in their 20 games during the playoffs. It has been proven time and time again in the NBA Finals that defense wins championships, just ask the defensive-minded San Antonio Spurs who have won four championships in the last nine seasons.

4. History Repeats Itself - Prior to this series, Boston and Los Angeles have met each other in the NBA Finals 10 times and the Celtics have dominated the Lakers, 8-2. Going back to the 1969 NBA Finals, the Celtics were starting to age and the (69-13) Lakers were the favorites to beat Boston with the best player in the NBA, Wilt Chamberlain on their team. Boston ruined Los Angeles' remarkable season as they upset the Lakers with a strong defensive plan lead by Bill Russell to slow down Chamberlain. Almost 40 years later, Boston and Los Angeles are in a similar situation. The Celtics are starting to age and most NBA analysts believe the Lakers are the favorites to win the NBA Finals this year with the best player in the NBA, Bryant on their team. So if history repeats itself, the Celtics will go at the Lakers with a strong defensive plan lead by Garnett to slow down Bryant and win Boston their 17th World Championship.

5. Experience - Besides Bryant and Derek Fisher's 3 championships, the farthest the rest of Los Angeles' players have gone in the playoffs is the first round. Boston's Sam Cassell and James Posey already have won a world championship, and P.J. Brown and the Boston PGA (Paul Pierce, Garnett, Ray Allen) Tour have made it to a Conference Finals series at least once. I think Los Angeles will win World Championships in the near future because they are a young, talented team with Bryant as their leader, but right now the Lakers' youth may be more of a weakness than a strength when they play an experienced team like Boston. Experience overcomes youth any day because when it comes to the NBA Finals, all the little things like making clutch free throws, playing team defense and limit turning the ball over can determine whether a team will win or lose a championship.

This series is the beginning of an old rivalry between the Celtics and Lakers in the NBA Finals, so you better get your popcorn ready because its time to watch the show.

My Overall Prediction: Boston Celtics