There is no term that can do justice to what happened last night. None. No single word in the English language (or any for that matter) can summarize what we saw in Downtown Los Angeles last night. It will take a series of words. The title today, is the best I am capable of.

As I said to Matt, via text, after the first quarter, the only way that could have gone any worse was if Paul Pierce was stabbed 11 times again. With tires, there are varying degrees of flat. You have the slow leak, “Oh, it looks like your tire is a little low,” flat. And then you have the “You car has been abandoned in sand dunes for 20 years and is rusty and the tires are so flat that the rims of the car are now the only things keeping the fenders from being three inches into the earth,” flat. That was how flat the Celtics were in the first quarter last night. To be honest, because it’s the NBA, I wasn’t totally concerned. Sure they were down 20 points in the first 12 minutes and sure Lamar Odom was hitting every shot he took, and sure Kobe Bryant had yet to attempt a field goal. But it’s the NBA. Everybody makes a run.

Then the 2nd quarter happened. The Celtics started to score a bit more. The Lakers, however, did the same. The Celtics defense was porous. Doc couldn’t find a rotation that worked. He tried Leon Powe. Sam Cassell. At one point in the 3rd quarter, he tried Tony Allen, who I believe had been living in an igloo somewhere in northern Alaska since the playoffs began, before Doc decided to give him a call and come play. Nothing seemed to turn the tide though. Doc couldn’t get the right personnel out there to stop the Lakers. The Celtics could get the lead down a bit (after going down 24) to about 12 points, but the Lakers would make a run and the Celtics would have to try to chip away more.

Jump now to halfway through the third quarter. Kendrick Perkins hurts his shoulder. And the fortunes of the Boston Celtics miraculously alter at that very moment. Now, I like Perk’s hustle and his intensity. And, as he did in Game 5 against Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals, Perk can play pretty well at times. But Kendrick Perkins is not the key to the Boston Celtics success. And at times, I think he’s an offensive liability on the court. So with Perk gone, Doc decided to go small. Very small. He moved KG to the Center spot and went with a The Truth and Posey at the forward spots and Ray Allen and Eddie House almost sharing time as the point guard/2 guard. The Lakers could not match this lineup.

To me, the biggest reason the Celtics won last night’s amazing game was due as much to Kobe Bryant’s need to be the guy who takes every shot when his team doesn’t have the momentum. If Kobe had continued to play in the 2nd half the way he did in the first quarter: driving, drawing double teams, and kicking out to wide-open teammates, the Lakers would have won by 15. But Kobe, as he usually is, was insistent on having the ball in his hands at all times. And Paul Pierce was up to the challenge. His defense was outstanding. Beyond outstanding. Incomprehensible. Pierce has never been regarded as Ron Artest meets Scottie Pippen, but his defense in this series particularly has been a key to the Celtics now 3-1 series lead.

And now, for something that you never thought you’d hear and I can’t believe I’m typing: Doc Rivers has outcoached Phil Jackson in this series. In the NBA, a league full of stars who “forget” the play coming out of the huddle, Phil Jackson has been at the mercy of Kobe Bryant. He (Phil) has no control over the Lakers on the court. Case in point: First quarter, the Lakers are dribbling the ball with a big lead and about 14 seconds on the shot clock when Phil inexplicably calls a timeout. Derek Fisher could not have looked more incensed. I assume that the so-called “Zen Master” (I prefer Arrogance Master) wanted his team to run his triangle. So he likely called a play. And what happened out of the timeout? Lamar Odom received the inbounds pass. Dribbled for a few seconds, and hit a 18 foot jump shot. Now ask yourself, is that the play that Phil Jackson called out of the timeout? The Lakers, at least in this series, do not appear to respond to Phil Jackson. Meanwhile, at the other end of the court, the Celtics eat up every word out of Doc Rivers’ mouth. He motivates more than he coaches. But in the NBA, especially in games like last night’s, perhaps that’s all you need. There’s no 20 point play you can draw up. But there are certainly words and phrases that can lead to 10 2-point plays.

Heading in to Sunday’s Game 5, I don’t know what to expect. If momentum was 100 points given out to two teams, the Lakers would have 0 and the Celtics would have 100. By no means do I think this series is over. I don’t want to have to deal with a Celtics collapse. I don’t want to shed tears next Thursday, unless it’s because the Celtics are holding up the trophy at center court at the Garden. If Phil Jackson is as good a coach as he says he is, the Lakers will be pissed off on Sunday and will wipe the Celtics off the Staples Center floor. But at least the Celtics know that no matter how hot the Lakers play, the Celtics can play with them. And that’s got to be a great feeling.

Normally, I would end the post there. Last night’s game was so historical that it deserves to stand alone. However, I haven’t given the readers a Mid-Atlantic Bias in 8 days. And this is only my second in since May 30. So lets talk some baseball.

The playoff matchups, should they begin the playoffs today would be:

AL:
Boston vs. Chicago
Los Angeles vs. Tampa Bay

NL:
Chicago vs. Arizona
Philadelphia vs. St. Louis

The thing that jumps out to me is how much Arizona is struggling of late. They were, if you remember, the best team in baseball for a while. Now they are 4 1/2 games up on the Dodgers and 6 up on the Giants, who are somehow not the worst team in baseball (That goes to the Seattle Mariners). There a few teams to watch. Texas is one of them. They’re at .500. They are 7 1/2 back of Los Angeles of Anaheim of California of the United States of America of North America of Earth of the Milky Way. However, the Angels have been hot of late and will cool down. Also, the Yankees. By this time next month, they’ll be in the Wild Card spot. Mark it down. In the NL, I think we’ve got our playoff matchups already. The Milwaukee Brewers are the only team I see with a shot to make the playoffs right now of those teams who are not in it. The Braves and Mets are abysmal. And the rest of the Central and West are no better.

It’s also time for the 4/10 (2/5) awards. It seems like I just did this, but that’s because I did. Last time, I got a lot of negative feedback from an incensed Matthew. Lets see what I can muster this time around:

AL MVP: Previous Winner: Josh Hamilton
Current Winner: Same. Hamilton is still leading in HR and RBI in the AL. And while I said last time around that Texas has no legit shot at the playoffs, I may have been wrong. They have a shot. To this point, no one in the AL has been as good as Josh Hamilton. Period.

NL MVP: Previous Winner: Lance Berkman
Current Winner: Same. This is where I got Matt the angriest last time. His belief was that Chipper Jones (hitting .414 at the moment) should be the MVP. However, Berkman is still my choice because of his power numbers (2nd in HR, 3rd in RBI) to go with his .366 average. Chase Utley is also in this conversation. Right now, I go Berkman, Utley, then Jones. In the end, I think this award will go to Utley, for what it’s worth.

AL Cy Young: Previous Winner: Daisuke Matsuzaka
Current Winner: Cliff Lee (Cleveland Indians). Daisuke hasn’t pitched since I gave him the Cy Young. And Cliff Lee at the moment has 10 wins and a 2.52 ERA, along with a K/BB ratio of 5.00. Whatever you think about Cliff Lee, you can’t argue with those numbers.

NL Cy Young: Previous Winner: Edinson Volquez
Current Winner: Same. 9 wins. 1.56 ERA. Leads the Majors in strikeouts (96). The only player near him is Tim Lincecum of the Giants.

AL Rookie of the Year: Previous Winner: David Murphy
Current Winner: Same. Who would’ve thought?

NL Rookie of the Year: Previous Winner: Geovany Soto
Current Winner: Same. He’s got this locked up.

AL Manager of the Year: Previous Winner: Joe Maddon
Current Winner: Same. The Rays are still in the playoffs. Maddon is still the Manager of the Year.

NL Manager of the Year: Previous Winner: Fredi Gonzalez
Current Winner: Lou Pinella. The Marlins have faltered. The Cubbies, have not. They’re the best team in the Majors hands down. We’ll see what the Soriano loss does to them in the next 2 months.

What You Need To Watch This Weekend:

EURO Cup 2008:
Matches to Watch: France vs. Netherlands (Friday 2:45), Sweden vs. Spain (Saturday 12:00), and Switzerland vs. Portugal (Sunday 2:45).

MLB Game O’ The Weekend:
Yankees @ Astros (Sunday) Chien-Ming Wang vs. Roy Oswalt. This weekend’s slate is weak. The only matchup featuring two teams currently in the playoffs is the Phillies vs. Cardinals, but none of their pitching matchups are particularly intriguing. So I’ll take Wang vs. Oswalt. I will not watch this game.

THE GAME THAT YOU NEED TO WATCH:
Celtics @ Lakers (Game 5 Sunday night). No predictions. We’ll see if on Monday I write a piece about the Champion Boston Celtics or my fears heading into Tuesday night’s Game 6 in Boston. Until then, enjoy your weekend. Good to be back.