Leon Powe FILLS UP THE BASKET

Leon Powe was our favorite Celtics bench player all year long. Why? Because the man fills up the basket. This is hard to do in the NBA. Not for him. Last night, he filled it up. Twenty-one points in 15 minutes is some Kobe sh*t, but this isn't the MVP, this is the man from Cal. Give him the ball, and he's going to the hoop, and the ball is going through it. Simple as that.

Lakers upset about the fouls? Here's a suggestion: how about driving the freaking ball? The reffing was certainly not completely even last night, but as Phil Jackson alluded to, the discrepancy was a result of the Lakers standing around and having the ball stripped from them, whereas the Celtics, led by Leon, were getting to the rim. This is why Powe not playing in the early rounds was maddening — with the exception of Pierce, Powe and sometimes Allen, the C's are a jump-shooting team. Relying on Perkins to hit the bunnies is not a long-term strategy, but it's Powe's bread and butter. THROW IT DOWN, BIG MAN!

Now, staked to a 2-0 lead by the P&PP crew, the C's head to L.A. I've been warned, McCain-style, against going negative, so I can't write how I would be astonished if some combination of Kobe and the refs didn't push this series to 2-1 in convincing fashion, but that's why they play the games. On the plus side, Sam Cassell is "hurt" again, so we probably won't see him any more in this series. That means more Eddie Heezie. Sun Devils Stand Up.

Now with video!: