Quickly ... what's the seminal moment of the 2010 NBA Playoffs?

To quote Katt Williams, "Don't worry. I'll wait."

...

Still no answer? That's because it concerns someone who hasn't played in two weeks: it's LeBron James leaving the court in Boston after his Cavs were prematurely knocked out of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. That loss has led to All LeBron All the Time. It sometimes feels like the playoffs aren't even going on with all the coverage devoted to "Mailman Jr." I can't take credit for that moniker. It was given to James by ESPN.com's Bill Simmons.

There hasn't been any GREAT moments in these playoffs. How many people - outside of me because I have issues - remember Pau Gasol's tip in with .5 seconds left in game six to close out the Lakers' first-round series with Oklahoma City? Who can recall Paul Pierce's buzzer-beater in game four of Boston's first-round series with Miami. Not many.

That's changed since the conference finals tipped off.

So far, the Phoenix Suns have been able to keep pace with the Los Angeles Lakers, despite the brilliance of Kobe Bryant, who is averaging 33.8 points on 56 percent shooting, along with 9.8 assists and 6.5 rebounds. Phoenix has even opted to employ a 2-3 zone, which has garnered a lot of attention, even though defense, not that zone, has been L.A.'s biggest problem.

After falling behind the Boston Celtics, 3-0, in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Orlando Magic have battled back and forced a game six.

That game could have a decidedly different look to it, as Boston could be without three key players: Glen Davis, who suffered a concussion in game five after taking a Randy Savage-like elbow to the head from Magic big man Dwight Howard; Rasheed Wallace, who may have sustained an "old man injury" when he strained his back last night. Starting center Kendrick Perkins almost missed game six due to suspension after receiving his sixth and seventh technical fouls of the postseason, but the league earlier today rescinded one of the two techs Perkins received last night.

If Boston is without Wallace and Davis, that's two of the three players Boston uses off its been it would be without. That would mean Kevin Garnett and Perkins would need to log big minutes and stay out of foul trouble to contend with Howard.

Within a week, what looked to be one of the more boring NBA postseasons in a while (2003 and 2007 come to mind) may end with three of the best series in ages. I still think we're looking at a Lakers/Celtics final, with both squads getting there after finishing off six-game series.

That would signal the 12th time L.A. and Boston have squared off in the championship round, with the Celtics holding a 9-2 series advantage and a 40-27 record overall in those games.

Everyone with an outlet to talk about it says LeBron James will start the 2010-11 season with one of three teams:

-Cleveland (because it can offer him $30 million more than any other team)
-Chicago (because many people believe the Bulls, with point guard Derrick Rose and big man Joakim Noah, would be title contenders if they got James)
-And New York (because it's supposedly the "Mecca of Basketball, even though the squad that calls New York home hasn't reached .500 in nine years ... or won a title in 38)

Those three teams, along with the L.A. Clippers, Miami, Minnesota, New Jersey and Oklahoma City will have the most cap space this off season, meaning they can offer LeBron - and guys like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amar'e Stoudemire - maximum contracts, which would net each player about $20 million/year for 6-7 years.

Once teams start discussing sign-and-trade options, everybody becomes a player in the "Summer of LeBron." His best option, though, may be one no one has mentioned yet.

James should sign on to player with the Los Angeles Lakers for the rest of his career. It makes sense for so many different reasons.

The Lakers are my favorite team
Ok. Now that that's out of the way ...

Contract not a big deal
The contract aspect can be summed up fairly quickly: great athletes, namely NBA players, make the majority of their cash from endorsement deals. If a player is marketable, like LeBron is, since he had a $90 million deal with Nike before he played a game in the NBA, he can make 3-5 times his salary in endorsements EACH YEAR.

For the first 10 years of his career, Michael Jordan, the greatest pitchman in the history of the world, averaged about $3 million a year in salary from the Chicago Bulls. In 1992, Jordan made nearly 11 times that in endorsements. That was nearly 20 years ago. Think how much money LeBron could rake in playing for the Lakers now. The possibilities are endless: spots with Magic, spots with him playing pick up games on Venice Beach ... more puppet commercials with Kobe. Being in L.A. could also aid in LeBron's quest to become a "Global Icon."

So what if the Lakers have more than $80 million in contracts locked in for each the next two seasons. LAL is one of the few teams in the league not afraid to pay the luxury tax. And owner Jerry Buss is worth about $3.2 billion, which may have something to do with that.

Let's say L.A. signs James for the midlevel exception this summer, which will be about $6 million. His total earnings for the year would still top $40 million, if you go according to what James made in endorsements in 2008 ($35 million).

He wants to win titles, right?
Here's what LeBron will have around him if he goes to ...
New York: Eddy Curry, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas, maybe David Lee and/or maybe Chris Bosh
Chicago: Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, James Johnson, Taj Gibson, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich (assuming the last two aren't used as trade bait to bring in a bigger name)
Cleveland: the same sad squad he played on this year ... with the same absent-minded coach
L.A. Clippers: Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin, Chris Kaman and a lottery pick from next month's draft (Actually, that doesn't look like that bad an option until you remember it's the Clippers. LeBron would probably tear both ACLs and his Achilles at his introductory presser).
L.A. Lakers: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest (as a sixth man!!), Lamar Odom and Phil Jackson

That should say it all right there. Plenty of players have waited until they were on the downside of their career to latch onto a team in the title chase (Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, Bob McAdoo). Why not play the next decade for a perennial title contender? James would have a good start to that decade, too, as he'd most likely play the first 3-4 years with one of the seven best players of all time (Bryant) and the best coach of all time (Jackson). What's the downside to that?

I understand this happening is as likely as me paying good money to go see "Sex and the City 2," but I can dream, can't I?

For two years, writers, talking heads and radio hosts have crowned LeBron James as the best player in the NBA.

Yes, James is the most physically gifted player in the league and he deserves his two regular season MVP awards; but the best, most complete player still calls Staples Center home. And last night's 40-point outburst from Kobe Bryant was his way of saying, "Who's the real king?"

With questions abound regarding his nagging injuries, everything was working for Kobe last night in the Lakers' 128-107 drubbing of Phoenix in game one of the Western Conference Finals. The mid range game, buzzer beaters at the end of quarters while falling out of bounds, breakaway dunks and the three-ball; everything was on point for Bryant. It was almost like he took his bag of tricks and dumped it all over the Suns. Kobe looked like he was on a mission last night: Forty points in 35 minutes on 56 percent from the floor, including a career-playoff best 21 points in the third quarter. The 40-pointer was Kobe's 11th such game in the playoffs. Only five players in history have more 40-point playoff games.

Last night marked Bryant's 6th straight 30-point game this postseason. That's the most since an in-his-prime Shaquille O'Neal had seven in 2003. Phoenix had - and has - no answer for No. 24. Sure, Jason Richardson and Grant Hill have the size to contend with Kobe, but his skillset, and frame of mind at this time of year, make Bryant virtually unstoppable.

Kobe's body language last night was phenomenal, as well. He had a swagger I hadn't seen since the Finals last season - when Kobe won his fourth ring. If I had to bet my life on it, I'd say Bryant is on his way to his fifth championship. His numbers, and intensity, have gone up with each playoff series. After scoring only 23.5 points/game on 40 percent in the first round against Oklahoma City (where he was hounded by young, long, athletic defenders), Bryant has averaged 33.6 points on 53 percent shooting to go along with 4 boards and almost 6 assists/game.

I told a friend a few weeks ago that Oklahoma City series may wind up being the toughest for L.A. this postseason - similar to the Lakers seven-game second-round series with Houston last spring.

The playoffs are all about match ups. And as far as guarding Kobe goes, the Thunder had the most pieces to slow him down. OKC also had the size to contend with Laker bigs Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. Since that first-round series, Laker post players have put in 41.4 points and 32 boards a night. Those numbers are slightly higher than the 37 and 28, respectively they chipped in with in the first round. Utah wasn't able to slow L.A. down, as the Jazz went down, 4-0. Phoenix doesn't have the look of a squad that can deter the Lakers' run, either.

If the Lakers can keep this up, they could cruise to the franchise's 16th title. A fifth championship could also secure Kobe's place as one of the seven greatest players of all time.

It would also put Kobe up, 2-0, in an award category I'm sure James would be envious of: NBA Finals MVP awards.

I have a friend who lives in Chicago and works part time for the Big Ten Network.

On a number of occasions, I've told her the station is useless from mid-April to mid-August and that to draw viewers in those months, BTN execs should take advantage of the conference's video library and just run "Greatest Games" on an endless loop for the four-plus months nothing's going on - and by nothing, I mean no football or basketball, since watching any other college sport is about as interesting as watching Dexter Manley try to read "The Cat in the Hat."

My opinion on that hasn't changed all that much, but yesterday's Michigan/Northwestern baseball game did a lot to alter my stance.

I never watch college baseball. But yesterday, in between taking care of some things around the house, I flipped on to BTN to see the Wolverines being trounced by the Wildcats, 14-0, going into the bottom half of the third inning. Even though I admittedly don't care about Big Ten baseball, being a Spartans, I got a kick out of what was going on.

"Man, they suck at EVERYTHING now," I said to myself, with a huge grin on my face. From what I heard, a win would keep Michigan in the race for the Big Ten title. But from the looks of it, a Wolverine comeback seemed as likely as Jessica Simpson gaining membership to Mensa.

But comeback they did. Michigan scored in all but two innings the remainder of the game, while its pitching staff held the Wildcats scoreless past the second.

Michigan senior catcher Chris Berset capped the comeback with a game-tying two-run shot in the ninth before Mike Dufek delivered a walk-off solo home run in the bottom half of the 10th in a 15-14 Wolverines win in Ann Arbor.

The win keeps the Wolverines (31-19, 12-9 Big Ten) in the Big Ten title hunt, one game behind first-place Minnesota. Michigan ends the season next weekend at Penn State. Odds look to be in the Wolverines favor, as the Nittany Lions sit in the basement in the conference standings.

So kudos to Michigan for not folding when they got down two touchdowns. Now if they only fought that hard on the football field...

LeBron James is easily one of the most psychically gifted players in the history of the NBA.

Because he's won the last two MVP awards, James has been christened as the best player alive. His last two playoff performances have made me question that.

Sure, James had a triple double on the night his Cleveland Cavs were bounced from the playoffs by the Boston Celtics - for the second time in three seasons - but he shot less than 40 percent from the field and committed nine turnovers. At no point in last night's 94-85 loss did James take that game over.

Many people recognize the great things James does. I'm one of them; but you never hear - at least I don't - about aspects of his game he needs to improve.

If you look at LeBron's offensive game, how much has it evolved in his seven years in the league? Where's the post up game? The mid-range game? He should have a baby hook or some sort of "big man" move, too. Sure, LeBron gives you five "WOW" moments every night, but nobody really takes into the account the number of times he makes you scratch your head.

I know he's only 25, but James is going into his 8th season and he hasn't developed any of those things on offense. I understand it took Michael Jordan a while to perfect that post up game, but this is different because LeBron has Jordan, and Kobe Bryant, to use to study moves on offense and it doesn't look like he does it.

Every time down the court, James is 2-3 inches taller and 40-60 pounds heavier than just about everybody who guards him. When he catches a post entry pass, LeBron knows a double team is coming - from the baseline or from the middle of the lane. I see him find the open man from that double a lot. But rarely do I see him turn away from that double and look to hit a fade-away or make a move toward the cup.

LeBron still has to dribble to get his buckets, too. While me may be more efficient offensively than Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant, those three don't really need to put the ball on the floor to score. They can catch and fire, or catch and get the rip through move to work out of the triple threat position, draw a foul and get to the line. James, too, still relies on bowling his way to the rim and getting hacked to get to the line. As he ages, taking all that punishment could take a serious toll on his body.

Back to LeBron's size. How he hasn't developed some sort of big man move, at 6'9," 270 pounds, is mind boggling. Scottie Pippen, as his offensive game evolved, developed this little baby hook from 8 feet in that was money. He'd catch the pass in the lane, take a couple dribbles and go up with it and it seemed like it always went in. Like I said, LeBron is 2-3 inches taller and a small child heavier than damn near every guy who tries to guard him, so why is this not a part of his game?

For one of the 8-10 most psychically imposing players in the history of the game to not have any of these things in his arsenal is baffling to me. And until he develops them, the talk that LeBron is the best player in the league has to cease.

LeBron James last night picked a helluva time to have the worst game of his career.

He's had worse games, stat wise; but, overall, it looked like James didn't even wanna be on the court last night as he and his Cavs got dumptrucked by Boston, 120-88. The loss was the worst home loss in Cleveland playoff history. It was also very likely James' last home game as a Cav unless major changes are made in Cleveland this summer, as Boston now takes a 3-2 series lead back to Boston tomorrow night (This series is over, by the way. No way Boston, with all those playoff-tested vets, lets that series get back to Cleveland).

Scoring wise, James was awful. He made just 3 of 14 shots - most of which were jumpers that fell short. His first made bucket came halfway through the third quarter. James did get to the line 12 times - 10 in the first half. But at no point during last night's game did LeBron look like he wanted to take over and put his team on his back and try to lead them to a crucial win.

There's a reason for that. LeBron finally looked at that roster and all the guys who can't play and "Pulled A Kobe."

In game 7 of the 2006 first round against the Phoenix Suns, Kobe Bryant essentially played passive for the entire second half of a game the Lakers lost by 31. He scored 23 on 8 of 13 in the first half and took just three shots in the second. Bryant was doing the same thing James did last night: he looked at that Lakers roster - the team started Smush Parker and Kwame Brown for much of the 2005-06 season. It's a wonder they even made the playoffs as a second seed - and said, "OK, I'm gonna have off nights. I need to know there's guys on this team who can pick up the slack." No one did that. Not that game or the next season, when L.A. lost to Phoenix in the first round again.

A year and a half later, L.A. acquired Pau Gasol and has reached the Finals the last two seasons, winning the championship last year.

For the next day and a half, people will kill LeBron for what he did last night. If he stays in Cleveland and gets some help, and the Cavs go on to win three of the next five NBA titles, no one will remember what happened last night. Just like few people remember Kobe taking a half off against the Suns. But there's no guarantee James stays in Cleveland now.

If Cavs brass has been paying attention - to LeBron's no-show last night, to Mo Williams disappearing act in the playoffs for the second straight year, to Antawn Jamison having next to no impact on this series, to Mike Brown's inability to make in-game adjustments or work a rotation - a major overhaul will take place in Cleveland this summer, or LeBron will leave; and the Cavs will fold in five years.

I don't think anyone in Cleveland wants to be Witness to that.

I have a bet with a friend on the Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers series. I bet him a 12-pack (of Dr. Pepper, of course!!) that Boston will knock Cleveland out of the playoffs. My friend thinks I've been hanging out with Whitney Houston.

One of the main reasons I think the Celtics, who I hate being a Lakers fan, will beat the Cavs in this east semi is Cleveland coach Mike Brown.

Brown became head coach of the Cavs in June 2005 after spending two seasons as the associate head coach of the Indiana Pacers and three seasons as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs. For the past five years, he's had the pleasure of coaching one of the 15 most physically gifted players in NBA history in LeBron James. Brown has had success, leading the Cavs to the playoffs in each of his five seasons, including taking Cleveland to the NBA Finals in 2007 where it was swept by San Antonio in four games.

Brown is most known as a defensive-minded head coach.

He should be known as the absent-minded head coach.

Mike Brown is deserving of his position (he averages 54 wins a season), but there's no way the Cavs will win a title this season - or ever - with Brown at the helm. Too often, Brown has failed to do the things that make good coaches great and great teams champions. He doesn't make good in-game adjustments, doesn't utilize his timeouts correctly and he works a rotation as good as Craig did the first time Smokey passed him a J in "Friday."

Most championship coaches change up their rotation from the regular season to the playoffs. Coaches like Brown seem to believe the same things that work November-April work May-June, too.

Take second-year forward J.J. Hickson for example. Hickson started 73 games for the Cavs during the regular season, played about 21 minutes a night and chipped in with 8.5 points and 4.9 boards a game. Since the playoffs started, it's almost like Brown caught Hickson flirting with his wife because J.J. has barely sniffed the floor. Hickson's minutes have dwindled down to 8.9/game; and he's averaging a ROBUST 13 minutes a game in the east semis.

And has there been an APB put out for Zydrunas Ilguaskas yet? Ilguaskas was dealt to Washington in a mid-season trade that got Cleveland Antawn Jamison. He sat out a month before returning to the Cavs. Although he has bad feet, Z (I'm not trying to spell his last name again), at 7'3," can stretch the floor and runs a pick & pop superbly. For the playoffs, Z averages less than 8 minutes/game and hasn't played since game one of the Boston series.

Cleveland's best unit consists of Mo Williams, James, Jamison, Hickson and Anderson Varejao. The group plays together - but sparingly. It took Brown more than six playoff games to figure this out. When he did, that group was the main catalyst in a 124-95 drubbing of Boston Friday night - that and James 21-point first quarter. One Sunday, when the Cavs scored 37 less points than on Friday night, that unit together on the court - but sparingly.

Brown seems like a nice enough guy, but if I'm Cleveland brass and I wanna keep James, who come July 1, will be the most sought-after free agent in league history, I'm getting a new coach. The James/Brown situation seems similar to what Michael Jordan did following the 1988-89 season in essentially telling Bulls higher ups to oust then-Bulls coach Doug Collins.

Jordan's next coach? Phil Jackson, who the G.O.A.T. won titles with his last six full seasons in Chicago.

The Cavs still have a shot to win this series and the title, but I have my doubts about that (not enough guy's who come up in big spots before, misuse of Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams' playoff inconsistency).

If I'm right, and Boston does go on to bounce Cleveland from the playoffs, I'm splitting that 12-pack with Brown. He'll have earned it.

It was late August 2003.

I was interning in the sports department of a FOX affiliate in Lansing during my last year at MSU. On this particular day, I was conducting interviews following a Lansing Lug Nuts game at Oldsmobile Park.

The sports reporter and I were walking up to our seats in the press box, and when we turned a corner near our spots, we passed the booth where the radio broadcasts take place. This little man gets up, smiles as he looks at the field, and turns to leave. It's then that I realize it's Ernie Harwell - a voice I heard on my Granny's combo radio/7-inch black and white every day, every summer when I was a young'in.

"How you doin,' young man," Mr. Harwell said to me with a smile as wide as the grill of a '77 Cadillac.

I didn't know what to say. I don't remember, but I'm sure I had a glazed look on my face. I imagine I'd react the same way if I ever met Halle Berry - but for different reasons, of course.

He had to leave shortly after that, so I didn't have a chance to pick his brain like I would've liked to, seeing as though I had been trying to carve out my niche as a journalist at the time - a field I'm still in nearly seven years later.

The smile Mr. Harwell had on his face while he stared out at that field said more than any words ever could. What I took from that look was that Mr. Harwell enjoyed getting out of bed every day and going to do his "job."

I had always heard it isn't work if you love it, and Mr. Harwell loved baseball. What I got from that look, and from listening to him on the radio for so long, was that he had a passion for what he did.

If you have that passion, you can go a long way and be a success at anything because you'll dedicate your time to perfecting your craft. And that's what Mr. Harwell did.

That passion will also help you keep the love for what you're doing on the days where nothing's going right. And with the way journalism, and more specifically newspapers, have gone in recent years, that passion has done more to keep me going that anyone could ever know.

That's a lot to get from a smile, isn't it?

Some people just have a way of conveying thoughts without words.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Harwell.

Dear, Curtis,

I saw you pulled your groin late last week trying to get to third base. That sucks. But that's you, though, always giving maximum effort.

What makes it even worse is I won't get to see you next week (or for the month you're supposed to be out) when the Tigers and Yankees hook up for four at Comerica Park. I was really looking forward to that, too. Hopefully, you can come back 100 percent and try and improve on that .225 batting average and .311 on-base percentage because I know you're better than that.

I'm just gonna get to the point. I hated it when you left. I was upset with everybody who had anything to do with you being traded. It was an amicable parting of ways, but I was still upset. I vowed to stick by you no matter what, even going so far as to tell anybody I could that I wouldn't go to any Tiger games outside of when you were in town. Everybody kept telling me about this new guy, rookie center fielder Austin Jackson, and how good he's gonna be and that I'd be over you in no time. Nope, didn't happen.

At least not that fast.

Look, you were great while you were here. I remember the night I developed my man-crush on you: June 24, 2006. You went 4-5 with 3 runs and an RBI in a 7-6 win over St. Louis. I ran out of the park and into the shop to buy a Granderson T-shirt. Two months later, I got a jersey and wore it every time I went downtown for a game.

But now, there's somebody else. I tried to fight it as long as I could. But I was just in denial. I know it's early, but Jackson has played very well. He's had hits in 23 of 27 games on his way to an American League-leading 43. Every time I turn on a game, he's on base, which explains his A.L. leading .377 batting average. His .427 OBP is good for third in the A.L., too, and ninth in all of MLB. He's also third in the league in runs scored.

This isn't about me finding someone "better" than you. It's more so about me finding someone who's better for me. And my team. I know you're thinking this is the whole "out of sight, out of mind" thing, too. But that's not the case. I check Yankees' box scores every day. I watch New York whenever its on TV, too, just to see how you're doing.

But it's over. I had a friend recently say to me, "Tell me you're over Curtis and in with Austin?" I had to think about it for a while, but now I am. I still care about you and want you to do well, but I'm for Austin now. What it comes down to is he's better for my team. I know you were thrust into a position you're not fit to play, and you did well, but Jackson does everything you did and then some. Sure, he strikes out a lot - Jackson's second in the majors with 34 Ks - but we're gonna chalk that up as growing pains.

If you want, I'll get rid of my "GRANDERSON 28" jersey and the rookie card I got a few years ago. I hope it doesn't come to that, though. I'd still like to see you the next time you're in town, too, which won't be until next year now.

I understand if you're hurt and don't care if I see you or not, but let's try and be adults about all this, OK?

Take care.

Jason