Finally...

I haven't written a word about this year's NBA playoffs, mostly because it's been the dullest playoff season in memory.

But now, better late than never, things are getting interesting. Odds are probably still with a Lakers-Celtics final, but it's a lot less certain than it was just a few days ago.

You have to wonder if the long break between the Eastern Conference semis and finals took Orlando out of its game, because the team that beat Boston tonight looked nothing like the team that squandered the home-court advantage in Games 1 and 2. It's going to be wild in the Garden on Friday night, but if Orlando can pull a rabbit out of a hat one more time, I'd make them an odds-on favorite to become the first NBA team in history to come back from a 3-0 deficit.

Out west, you still have to like the Lakers chances, but I'm glad that "Los Suns" have made a series of it. But right now, I just can't see Kobe allowing his team to lose. I don't think this is a great Lakers team by any stretch of the imagination, but it's good enough to make it to the Finals.

And if they do, I'd pick them to beat Boston, but to lose to Orlando.