The NBA Finals, Kobe, KG, Paul Pierce....and The Rest....

So, the Finals are 2-1 now, with the pivotal Game 4 on Thursday night in L.A.

Wondering what the Big Two of the Big Three is thinking before Game 4?

Is Kobe Bryant so committed and sure about success that Game 3 was just the beginning of his ascendancy?

Will a Game 4 defeat, and a series tie, put Doc Rivers in critical mental pressure? Will experience (Phil Jackson) prevail over inexperience (Rivers)?

Will KG and Pierce, and Gasol and Lamar respond like Kobe and Allen?

But then again, we kind of expected this, didn't we? That Boston would take the first two at home, then LA would sweep three in their home court, Boston would take Game 6, and the all-important Game 7 at L.A. would go to the hosts.

For Boston to spring a surprise, they have to take one of the next two in L.A. If they can't, they shouldn't even bother coming back for Game 7 in L.A. No way.

For L.A. to take this championship, they need to sweep Games 4 and 5, and play for their lives for Game 6 at Beantown. Call me biased, or just plain positive, but if it's 3-2 for L.A. before Game 6, I wouldn't doubt L.A. on taking the title in Beantown itself.

L.A. has done far better on the road this playoffs than Boston has. And whether you want to hear it not, L.A. has Kobe. And we all know how he has thrived under pressure this season.

It's scary...trust me, it is.

Hold on, you might say...L.A. taking a game at the Garden? or even Boston taking one of 4 or 5? Nothing's impossible...but at the Staples Center, at Bryant's home court, this will take serious doing.

Serious series-changing events are supposed to be what the NBA Finals are about. This isn't the first round, or the Conference Finals...this is the NBA Finals...the best of the West against the best of the East...man, it's got to rise above this.

And there's the officiating...there's credible reason for those horse whisperers to stay afloat. Much of the officiating has been incorrigible and downright  incomprehensible...probably, in light of the latest Donaghy scandal, the less said about the officiating, the better.

But then again, the playoffs are not your routine early playoff matches, are they?

Whoever thought the Spurs would bow out in five to this young, inexperienced L.A. team? or that Boston would struggle against the minnows Hawks and the Cavaliers all the way? or that a one-man inspired Hornets could come almost all the way and threaten, even dare to eliminate, the experienced Spurs.

Perhaps it's fitting that we now have the two best teams left.

Emotion and sentiment says that Bryant will just push himself, and his teammates, exhort them because, frankly....if he can't win this time, after all this season has turned out to be, I don't expect him to do better in the future. This is his time...should be.

What then for KG? Can he forgive his inexcusable Game 3 and pull himself up? It's funny...when a superstar has a bad game, everyone and everything goes haywire.

It's not the end of the world, or even a series, and already, we're proclaiming doomsday. Give the guy a break...and give him some respect...he'll step up, because he's KG, because it could also be his time now.

Ever thought about that?

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