| 21 June 2010
Before the NBA Finals started, Bloguin's basketball writers put their collective craniums together to vote on the top 10 players participating in this year's Finals. Now that the final buzzer has sounded and Kobe Bryant gets fitted for ring number five, let's take a look at how our player predictions turned out in real life.
1) Kobe Bryant - Lakers
Despite winning yet another NBA title and yet another NBA Finals MVP award, the 2010 NBA Finals weren't Kobe Bryant's shining moment. He barely shot over 40% for the series, including a horrendous 6-24 showing in Game 7. But, like all great players do, he found a way to get the job done and led his team to victory, snagging 15 boards in the decisive game while also continuously getting himself to the charity stripe. But, please, stop the comparisons to Michael Jordan - it isn't fair for Kobe and it is insulting to his Airness.
2) Rajon Rondo - Celtics
Along with the rest of the basketball world, we were smitten with Rajon Rondo heading into the Finals, and for good reason. Unfortunately for Celtics fans, Rondo didn't really have the "breakout" series everyone was predicting, despite averaging a solid line of 14, 8 & 6. As us rational thinkers predicted at the starting of the series, Rondo isn't quite ready to become the "best point guard in basketball" like many were stating (he's still damn good though).
3) Pau Gasol - Lakers
Without Pau Gasol riding shotgun for him, Kobe Bryant wouldn't have one more ring that his old nemesis, Shaquille O'Neal. While he still tends to play a little soft, Gasol quite possible should have won the Finals MVP award instead of Bryant. His numbers for the series were ridiculous - 19 points, 12 boards, 4 assists and 3 blocks per game.
4) Paul Pierce - Celtics
Paul Pierce's met his Kryptonite in the Finals - Ron Artest - and he subsequently had a rough go of things. He still was Boston's best player, and was able to put up a double-double (18 & 10) in Game 7, but nothing can easy for The Truth.
5) Kevin Garnett - Celtics
Age and injuries have left Kevin Garnett an inconsistent shell of his former self. One game he can get you 18 points and 10 boards (Game 5), a few days later he'll only get you 3 rebounds (Game 7) while his counterpart, Pau Gasol, grabbed 18. The fact of the matter is, when the Celtics needed Garnett the most - Game 7 - he couldn't deliver.
6) Ray Allen - Celtics
Similar to Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen is at the age now that you really don't know what you are going to get from him from game to game. Other than Game 2 where he hit a Finals record eight three-pointers, Allen had a miserable series, only shooting 37% from the field.
7) Ron Artest - Lakers
We pegged Ron Artest as the "ultimate x-factor" heading into the Finals, and he made us look smart. As is often the case with Artest, he alternated between brilliant and befuddling, shooting 36% from the field for the series yet came up big in Game 7, netting 20 points to go along with five steals. Queensbridge, indeed.
8) Lamar Odom - Lakers
Lamar Odom is.... The Invisible Man. In theatres soon.
9) Kendrick Perkins - Celtics
When Kendrick Perkins shredded his knee in Game 6, the Celtics title hopes basically limped off the floor with him. Without his inside presence, rebounding ability and scowl, Boston was toothless downlow in the decisive seventh game.
10) Derek Fisher - Lakers
What can you say - the old man gets the job done (I allowed to call him old considering he is among a small handful of players older than me still in the League). He carried the team to victory in Game 3, shutting down Ray Allen and pouring in 11 of his 16 points in the tight fourth quarter. And he rocked the best beard in the Finals, a very important, yet overlooked, factor.
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