The Lakers are closely monitoring the Chinese basketball talent, as the feeling is many future NBA players will come from the world's largest country. Last year the Lakers drafted Sun Yue in the second round and this year they invited Yi Li to play on their summer league team as a non-roster invitee.

Who is the toughest guy in the NBA? Jerry Stackhouse is one, I wouldn't want to mess with Matt Harpring, Ime Udoka is another, and DJ Mbenga is 7 feet tall, 260 pounds and has a black belt in Judo. What's funny is, so many people think that NBA players are thugs, but it couldn't be any farther then the truth. Sure every professional sports league has its riff-raff, but for the most part, NBA players are a bunch of nice guys. With the success of MMA and the UFC, I thought it would be an interesting question to answer; who is the toughest guy in the NBA?

After going through the NBA rosters, I realized that the tough guy left the NBA right about the same time as Charles Oakley did. In the old days, everyone had an enforcer; guys like Maurice Lucas, Rick Mahorn, and Wes Unseld were on every NBA roster. To a lesser degree Truck Robinson, Ken (The Animal) Bannister and San Antonio's bruise brothers (Mark Olberding and Dave Corzine) were also gainfully employed. Now that David Stern has fixed the NBA, there is only one real tough guy left, and that is Ron Artest.

The Clippers are still reeling from the loss of Elton Brand and are in a state of shock over his departure. Many have blamed Elton and his star struck agent David Falk, but in the end, the Clippers didn't play the game the right way, and they paid for it. They need to learn how to play hard-ball and stick it to the teams that stick it to them.

Many years ago the Knicks signed restricted free agent Kevin McHale to a whopper of an offer sheet. It included no trade and opt-out clauses, and a lot of money up front. Red Auerbach not only matched the offer, but then signed Rory Sparrow, Marvin Webster and Sly Williams (Three Knick players) to contracts valued at two times their worth. The Knicks lost millions in the deal. If the Clippers want to be respected around the league, they need to stick it to the Sixer's and make a big offer for Andre Igoudola. Include an opt-out clause after two years and a no trade clause, just to stick it to Philly. That's what championship teams do.

As the Lakers plan for the off season, Mitch Kupchak has already come out and said that he wants everyone back by virtue of this comment, "If we did nothing," Kupchak said, "and brought back the players that are our existing free agents, just by virtue of this team aging one more year and getting Trevor (Ariza) and Andrew back, I think we're right back in the hunt."

Although that might be true, many Laker fans are looking for Mitch to make a big splash and bring in a Ron Artest or maybe Tayshaun Prince to add the grit many think the Lakers need. The soft tag has been a put on this team unfairly, and although I doubt the Lakers do anything, it is some thing where everyone has a suggestion. If the Lakers are so soft how did they eliminate the gritty Utah Jazz? What about the Spurs; how did they fall to the soft Lakers? Bottom line is this, had the referees called game two correctly, the series probably would have gone seven games, and the Lakers would not have laid an egg two games in a row.

Presidential candidate and political activist Ralph Nader sent a letter to David Stern at the conclusion of the Los Angeles Lakers/ Sacramento Kings game six play-off game in 2002. This play-off game was recently brought up in Tim Donaghy's recent disclosure of irregularities within the NBA, but was something aggressively addressed by Ralph Nader immediately after it happened in 2002. Here's the letter in its entirety (By the way, David Stern never responded):

Dear Mr. Stern,

Well I guess we now know what David Stern wanted to talk to Tim Donaghy about. I know many think we should just take Donaghy, put him away, and throw away the key, and that in itself would solve any problems the NBA has. That's the perception, but few people are willing to understand the reality of this situation.

Let me make one thing clear; Tim Donaghy is guilty, and no one, himself included, is saying otherwise. Right now, he is facing sentencing for his crimes, and is looking at a very long prison sentence. In order to reduce his sentence, he's singing like a canary. If you know anything about police work or military intelligence, you know that this is how they make the majority of their arrests and gather the most pertinent information.

The Lakers didn't play their best game and were extremely fortunate to come out of game three with a victory. The final tally was 87-81, but this was not the blow out redemption game many expected. Sure Kobe was strong down the stretch and Sasha was clutch off the bench, but the Celtics were right there, even with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce having off shooting games.

Offensively for the Lakers, other then Kobe's 36 and Sasha's 20, no one else was in double figures. Pau Gasol, had 9 points, Lamar Odom 4 and Derek Fisher had a whopping 6 points. When we discuss tempo, this is the kind of game that usually favors Boston. However, with two dozen make-up calls in the first half, and Garnett and Pierce not on their game it was too much of a mountain to climb.

Ah, the heart of a champion isn't it amazing how today's NBA defines it. Right now the Celtics have the hearts of champions! That plus 38 free throws and they beat the Lakers 108-102 in game two. The Lakers clearly do not have the heart of champions, because they were only allowed 10 free throws in the entire game. Please go to heartofchampion.com to see if this is your year to win a ring.

Most people don't understand what I'm talking about, because this is all they know. "Todays NBA" has force-fed them the worst officiated game in sports and they have grown to get used to it. When I hear people say, "it is, what it is," I know either a rip job is coming or happening the minute those words are uttered. The rip jobs have become common place, but what I can't stomach is the "heart of the champion" rhetoric that the media wants to attach to some of these players.

The clash of the working class grit vs. Hollywood glitz starts next Thursday in Boston as the Lakers come West Coast strutting into Boston after dispatching the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Boston also took out an ex-champ in the pesky Detroit Pistons, but this was the finals everyone wanted, so let's get it on.

Boston dominated the Los Angeles in the 60's winning an unbelievable six finals against them. When they hooked up in the 1980's it was some of the best basketball ever played with the Lakers and Celtics playing three times in the finals. The Celtics made it seven in a row (actually 8 if you count the Minneapolis Lakers in 59) by beating the Lakers in 1984, but the Lakers finally got the monkey off their back by winning in 1985 and 1987.

After weak attendance and dismal TV ratings in the 1970's the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird would propel the NBA into the stratosphere in the 80's. It was must-see TV for all sports fans as the "Rivalry" would transcend even sports itself.

The last time Kobe Bryant was playing in the finals; he was the Crown Prince of the NBA. At 25 years old; he was a three time champion, and even changed his game a little as the Lakers had added Karl Malone and Gary Payton in hopes of securing another title. The year prior he had averaged a scintillating 30 points 7 rebounds and 6 assists a game, but this was old hat for the Kobester, as he and championships rings were something he expected every June.

A lot has changed since then, but one thing that hasn't, is his immense desire to just win the game. When you are scouting players and looking for the next big thing; that's what is often overlooked, the immense desire to win the game. It makes an average player great and for the few with Kobe's talent, well Jordanesque!

As Americans we have tried to implement the government of our forefathers around the globe, only to be met with resistance, war and flat out rejection. We have been through cold wars, nuclear bombs and two world wars and have reached a point where we have to realize that not everyone is willing to do things the way we want to do them. We can't go out there bomb and occupy every area that has a different opinion. Sometimes you have to stop fighting and start loving.

The question of the day is why, why will the Lakers beat the Celtics in the finals?

Some say the dominance of Kobe Bryant, others cite the record of Phil Jackson and others like to point out the depth of the Lakers bench. These will all be factors in the series, but it would be easy to point out similar advantages that the Celtics have- in the end it's a push at best.

The real reason the Lakers will win the title this year against the Celtics is my "theory of relativity." All things being relative, which in this series you have, there is one thing that definitively separates the Lakers and Celtics. I'm speaking of the time the team has been together.

For the Celtics to win they are going to have to control the tempo of the game. This can be done with a ball control offense, solid offensive rebounding and good free throw shooting. By slowing the ball down, there are a ton of advantages that all point to the Celtics. Number one, a slower tempo will allow their "Big 3" to log longer minutes; less running equals less fatigue. Two, they can score down low with Garnett, Perkins and to a lesser degree PJ Brown. Three, they have reliable scorers in Paul Pierce and Ray Allen that can take big shots on the perimeter. But by far the biggest factor is that a slower tempo should favor the older team, which in this case is the Celtics.

Every year prior to the NBA draft they have all of the potential draftees measured and weighed. Most players that play in college are listed taller then they actually are and this gives the NBA general managers a chance to see their true height and weight. They also test for vertical leap, wingspan etc, if you check the link to draftexpress.com all of the stats are there.

The lottery was slightly affected when Eric Gordon (Indiana) measured 6'2 in his bare-feet, but when they did the sprints and agility tests he graded as a world class athlete, so it might not affect his draft status. For Joey Dorsey (Memphis) his 6'6 ¼ height, most certainly keeps him in the second round and Lester Hudson's (Tennessee at Martin) 5'11 ¾ was equally disappointing.

Kobe Bryant tweaked his back the second play of the game Sunday in Utah and is currently getting ready for Wednesday's game 5 against the Jazz at Staples. It appeared to be a minor strain that got considerably worse as the game wore on.

Too many Laker fans think this is extremely bad news, but to me it looks like something right out of a movie script. The entire year seems to be one big choreographed movie that culminates with the Lakers winning the title in a game 7 at the Boston Garden on a last second shot in the 5th overtime.

I also laugh at the people that would have taken Kobe out, as if that were an option. Imagine if Red Holzman would have said to Willis Reed in 1970, "That's okay big fella, we don't need you tonight." We would have been robbed of history and this is no different. Look for Kobe to come out and put up 40 on the Jazz and squelch any rumors of being incapacitated. Most minor back injuries heal in about two-three days. With the advanced "secret" technologies used in sports today, and the extra day rest, there is no doubt number 24 is playing and playing well on Wednesday.