Lakers/Celts: Over before it started?

So, I'm sitting here in the middle of the second quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and the Lakers have let yet another double-digit lead ooze out their grasp. The question that comes to mind, of course, is: Why?
The answer, I think, is equally simple: Defense.
The Celtics just finished a 15-0 run, much of which came on easy drives for layups and wide open jump shots. Phil Jackson has to know that the interior of his defense is weak -- at times, Pau Gasol looks softer than a recently-tranquilized giraffe. Lamar Odom is a decent defender, but Kevin Garnett makes him look silly when they're one-on-one, and Odom's real assets lie with the ball in his hands.
The defense of the men in Green has been lauded appropriately since the season began, and Boston is the best defensive team I've seen since the Spurs were young.
Paul Pierce and KG are the best guard-forward defensive tandem since [blasphemy alert] Jordan and Pippen, and even though Pip was a 3 and Garnett a 4, the comparison is apt. These two-thirds of the Big Three have stretches where their men simply do not score, much like MJ and Scottie displayed during their six trips to the Finals.
Pierce may be the most underrated player in the League -- and you have no idea how hard that is for this MU grad to print. I guess the blasphemy is coming easy this evening.
Halftime is here, and the Laker lead is down to three. There's really no telling which way this one will go. If the Celtics can deny Kobe the ball and double-team him as perfectly as they did in the late stages of Game 4, there's no doubt in my mind that the city of Boston will take home yet another Major Championship this year. But, honestly, there's no accounting for what Kobe can do in the right situation, and in an elimination scenario, attempting to predict a loss for his team would be like picking Big Brown to finish last at Belmont or Tiger Woods to need an 18-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open.
Tiger's Father's Day performance, of course, brings Dad to mind, and I can't help but think about how lucky I've been to grow up in a house with two supportive parents. The worst handicap a young man can have in this country is to grow up without a male role-model, and I was blessed enough to have about five. Where else would I have picked up this undeniable masculinity and sheer machismo?
Thanks, Dad.