Merry Christmas

It’s finally here!!  Christmas.  You know what I love?  The fact that the best Christmas gift for Celtics fans is merely the arrival of Christmas itself.

And later, we’ll get another Christmas gift:  A win in LA that will be easier than a lot of people expect.  LA is too outwardly hyped for this game.  They’re measuring themselves against this Celtics team.  That’s why Kobe Bryant says things like this:

“The only stock we put in it is to see where we stand, right at this moment,” Bryant said of today’s game. “It’s like a balance sheet. The Finals is the ultimate revenge.”

And Paul Pierce says things like this:

“We look forward to playing them like we looked forward to playing Philly,” Pierce said, referring the C’s 110-91 victory over the Sixers Tuesday. “That’s just the mind-set of this team. If you all would just be around us and understand our mind-set every day, it’s not like we circled this game or anticipated this matchup.

It seems like such a minor difference… but you’ll see the difference on the court when the Lakers are moving a step too fast.  You’ll know that’s what they’re doing when passes are going behind players, the shots are back-rimming, and they’re committing offensive fouls.  Just something to watch for early… perhaps as the Celtics are building a huge first quarter lead.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, The Celtics gave to me…

12 more months as defending champions

11 Lakers excuses for losing

10 more Rondo triple doubles

9 Tommy Points

8 course dinners for Big Baby

7 C’s in double figures

A 6 year deal for Rajon Rondo

Fiiiiiive minutes for Scaaaaaaaaal…….

4 monster blocks from Perk

3 point bombs from Ray and Eddie

2 straight Finals losses by the Lakers

and a ring for Tony Allen’s pinky!

After the jump, today’s links and a video guaranteed to get us all pumped up for tonight’s game.

Herald:  Lengthy run not #1 for champs |  Globe:  Going for the Green |  Celtics find bench is giving way lately |  Chicago Sun-Times:  Time to root against the Celtics |  Louisville Courier Journal:  Rondo can be Christmas star today |  T&G:  Magic: Lakers face big test |  LA Times:  Doc using Christmas trip as motivation |  Celtics go beyond Big 3 |  Hate made rivalry great |  Lakers still thinking about Game 6 | ESPN Daily Dime:  Celtics-Lakers battle will tell us everything |  Best Celtics-Lakers moments |  SI:  LA must prove itself

(Via 7secondsormess.com)