Can Kobe and the Lakers close out what has been a very tough Jazz team on the road tonight? Considering the closeness of the last two games of this series, sure, it's possible. But given the fact that home teams are 20-1 in this round of the playoffs and that they're likely to continue to get more free throw attempts, I would say it's a long shot.

Either way, we'll find out soon enough. Join me right here for all the action, beginning at around 1030PM EST.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Lakers-Jazz Western Conference Semifinals Game 6 this evening. Be sure to stop by later tonight for FanHouse's signature LiveBlog of this game. It'll be Vujacissimo!


1. Over The Back, Against The Wall: Regardless of your feelings on the Pau Gasol put back that clinched the game for the Lakers (and I personally think Okur flopped and am glad the refs didn't call it), the onus comes back on Mehmet Okur. It's not so much a one sided, "Okur has played badly" as it is that he hasn't been able to put it all together. If he scores, he struggles on the glass. If he rebounds, he can't put the ball in the hole. In the one game where he did manage to have a complete game, the Jazz won convincingly. If Utah wants to extend this series back to Staples for a shot to steal what they couldn't in Game 5, Mehmet Okur has to step up tonight.

2. Odom Overdose: Lamar Odom had a simply spectacular Game 5. He's been a joy to watch for the last month and even as Lakers fans have to be wondering when the joyride stops and the old Lamar returns, he's been a major contributor to them winning. He's making smart decisions, being aggressive with openings, playing with confidence, and getting the ball to Gasol and Kobe when he needs to. The Jazz have bad matchups for Odom outside of Andrei Kirilenko. They want to maintain their edge on the boards so they're not willing to switch AK to the 4. But their power forwards are too slow to guard him and Ronnie Brewer has his hands full with that Kobe Bryant fellow you've heard so much about. If Odom keeps playing the way he has? This series ends tonight.

A few common complaints from fans of the team that's playing the Lakers in the playoffs go something like this: The refs screwed us! The NBA is fixed! The league wants the big market team from Los Angeles to advance! This is not something unique to fans of the Jazz, they just happen to be the ones currently facing L.A. in a tight series, and their fans just happen to be the ones making this complaint at the moment.

What's different this time though is that finally, a writer from the team's home town tells the fans exactly how completely ridiculous these sentiments are. Gordon Monson, take it away:

To all the Jazz fans who are crying . . . and crying . . . and crying about the refereeing in the Jazz-Lakers playoff series, how about this idea: Give it a rest. It's old and it's tired and it's predictable and it's embarrassing and it's unfounded. Drop the persecution complex. Nobody's out to get you. David Stern is not a grand puppet-master. He's not Vince McMahon.

Since the end of Game 5 I've received complaints from at least a hundred fans about the Jazz getting jobbed in one form or another, or 30 anothers, by the refs. Most of those protestations blast straight past accusations of ineptitude on the part of a few refs, and claim rather that there's a conspiracy afoot, that the NBA wants the Lakers in the Finals, and the Jazz are an inconvenience that must be dealt with by way of a crooked whistle. C'mon, does anybody really believe that?

Amen, brother. Seriously, there isn't anything more annoying than hearing a team's fans blame the refs for losing. I heard a little of this after the Lakers took Game 5.

Excellent post from Henry over at TrueHoop regarding the late game put-back from Pau Gasol that clinched the Game 5 victory for the Lakers. Like Henry, while watching it happen live, I thought Gasol pushed off, and was shocked there was no foul called. Not "angry" shocked, mind you, just "relieved" shocked, because I was rooting for the Lakers. But shocked nonetheless, because it appeared that Gasol used his forearm to shove Mehmet Okur in the lower back to be able to get the position to grab the rebound.

A big time Laker fan I know who was at the game texted me immediately with "Gasol pushed off!" That's how it looked live, and I guess that's how it looked in person. I mean, heck, Okur did go flailing under the basket, so he must have been fouled, right? Watch the video a few times though, and I think you'll see that Okur clearly exaggerated the contact, and it looks like the refs made the proper no-call.

Every now and again there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

The Celtics came from behind to protect their home floor on Wednesday, which is kind of important considering they've yet to win on the road in the playoffs. Paul Pierce (29 points, 11-13 FT) took over in the fourth quarter and Kevin Garnett (26 points, 16 boards) filled the bucket and cleaned the glass, but the guy who impressed me the most was Rajon Rondo.

Rondo scored 20 points with 13 assists, both personal highs for him thus far in the playoffs. Rondo even hit 2-3 from long distance, which might not sound all that special until you realize he shot just 5-19 from three-point land the entire regular season. Rondo can drive the lane with the best of them but has little to no range -- except when the Celtics desperately needed points to climb over the hump and erase a Cavaliers lead.

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Bad back and all, Kobe Bryant was still able to score 26 (6-10 FG, 13-17 FT) with seven assists and six boards to lead the Lakers to victory. He finished the game with only 10 field-goal attempts (and six makes), but that's a bit misleading when you also consider he went to the line 17 times (converting 13 times).

Entering the game, LeBron James hadn't scored more than 21 points in a single game against Boston. He had that by halftime, but unfortunately his production slowed to a crawl in the third quarter. He finished with 35 points, five assists and three boards -- a rather ho-hum performance given his fast start.

The Lakers will need to do a whole lot more than stand around and watch tonight if they want to get Game 5. The Jazz were able to have their way offensively for two games in Utah, so the Lakers defense will need to step up tonight as the series returns to Los Angeles.

Oh yeah, and about Kobe Bryant and his back? He's going to play (of course), but it remains to be seen how much the injury will limit him. Even if he's hurting, as long as Kobe looks to distribute to his teammates a little more than he did in the fourth quarter and overtime of Game 4, the insane trend of home teams winning almost all of their games this round should continue. Join me right here for all the action, we'll get started around 1030PM EST.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Jazz-Lakers Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 5 this evening.

1. Is The Back Back?: All eyes will be on Kobe Bryant and his back tonight. Kobe's been near indestructible throughout his career, rarely succumbing to injury (remember the pinkie? Yeah, neither did I.). So to see him so shaken up is kind of surprising. What's worse, this is not exactly the team you want to have a back injury against. Bryant's going to need to take defenders off the dribble for jumpers tonight, because if he posts, he's getting a stiff elbow in the back, and if he drives, well, just don't drive, Kobester. No doubt Bryant will play through the pain and he'll most likely be brilliant. He's kind of legendary like that. But if he suffers like he did in Game 4, he needs to trust his teammates. Of course that requires ...

2. Backups To Provide Backups: I don't know what exactly else the Lakers should have done in Game 4. I mean, Pau Gasol had 23, Lamar Odom had 26, and Fisher had 15. So maybe all that talk about how the other Lakers disappeared isn't fai ... oh yeah, it was overtime, and they gave up 123 points. The Lakers have to be able to create a consistent effort behind Kobe, or they have to manage to stop the Jazz for, oh, I don't know, a possession or two. With Kobe a question mark with the back, now would be a great time for the Pau Gasol statement game.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Bleacher Report: The Utah Jazz have "the most disgusting fans in the NBA."

2. The Wages of Wins Journal: Statistically, the All-Rookie second team is better than the first.

3. Mark Murphy, Boston Herald: Is Sam Cassell getting benched?

4. Basketbawful: What it's like to lunch with Larry Bird.

5. Jerry Brown, East Valley Tribune: Mark Jackson is getting an interview with the Destroyer.

6. FreeDarko: ESPN does not know who Rodney Stuckey is.

The NBA named their Executive of the Year today, and not surprisingly, the prize went to the Celtics' Danny Ainge. The Celtics were able to go from one of the worst teams in the league a season ago to the team with the most regular season wins this year, a feat that's worth recognizing to some extent. But as our headline states (sentiment courtesy of Matt Moore), Ainge was really more lucky in getting Garnett (by way of his relationship with Kevin McHale) than he was skillful in pulling off any amazing deal.

The alternatives to Ainge though aren't really that exciting either. The Lakers' Mitch Kupchak finished second, largely because he didn't acquiesce to Kobe's off-season trade demands, and because he was able to get Pau Gasol from Memphis for Kwame Brown. As great as that deal was though, Mitch wouldn't have even pursued it had Andrew Bynum not gone down with a knee injury. Still, Kupchak is the one who put together this Laker roster over several seasons, and now that it's all come together, he seems like the logical choice.

One final note on this award, and that's the fact that inexplicably, third place went to Hornets' GM Jeff Bower. Now, either the people who vote for this award are completely lazy, or they simply don't know what they're talking about. The only difference between this year's Hornets roster and the one from last season is the addition of Morris Peterson and Melvin Ely. So those guys are the reason NOLA has the Spurs down 3-2? I don't think so. Plus, Bower didn't even draft Chris Paul or Davd West, so how he can receive so much credit for the team's success this season is beyond me.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Need4Sheed: The patented 'Sheed foul reaction, endlessly looping for your enjoyment.

2. Tim Kawakami's Talking Points: Presenting the first annual NBA No-Defense team.

3. Brian Windhorst on the Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James is glad this didn't happen on Mothers' Day.

4. Mitch Lawrence, NY Daily News: Starbury, meet coach D'Antoni. Now pack your bags.

5. Mike Bresnahan, L.A. Times: Ronny Turiaf won't be suspended for that Game 4 flagrant foul.

6. CelticsBlog: I knew Ray Allen was Jesus, but Wally Szczerbiak as Blue Steel?