LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are playing as one. Do the Boston Celtics have an answer for the Heat duo./AP

The Boston Celtics are old and hurt.

This is their Big 3′s last stand.

The Miami Heat are going to the close the final chapter on the Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce era of the Celtics, but the truth is, they should put them away.

Miami has the game’s best player – three-time MVP LeBron James – and Dwyane Wade has reemerged. The two are working in unison and everyone else is falling in line.

Just don’t see how those aging and aching Celtics get past them.

Boston struggled with the Atlanta Hawks, but won. Got pushed to a Game 7 by the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, but won.

Now the Celtics got Miami.

They shouldn’t win, should they?

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(1) Chicago Bulls (50-16)

1st round foe: (8) Philadelphia 76ers (35-31).

Biggest concern vs. 76ers: Don’t have a true superstar, but enough good players to make you have to compete to beat them.

Last 10: 7-3 (Won 3)

Strengths: Defense. The Bulls lead the NBA in fewest points allowed (88.17 per game). They have front-court depth, great team chemistry and a closer in Derrick Rose.

Weaknesses: Key injuries to their two best players – Rose and Luol Deng – make them vulnerable. Although they’ve had success without Rose, in the playoffs, he’ll need to be close to 100 percent to reach NBA Finals.

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Here guarding NBA All-Star forward Paul Pierce, Mychel Thompson (right) started three games for the Cleveland Cavaliers./AP Photo.

Being waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday didn’t stop Mychel Thompson’s pursuit of making the NBA.

Just altered it.

Before returning to the Erie BayHawks for today’s 7 p.m. game against Maine at Tullio Arena, Thompson talked about being back with Erie, what he learned in Cleveland and guarding the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-point shooting — Ray Allen.

How are you feeling about coming back to Erie? “My goal is to get back into the NBA. So I felt this gives me my best opportunity. By coming back, I hope I get another chance.”

(A third-round pick in the 2011 D-League Draft, Thompson averaged 19.8 points in five games with Erie to start the 2011-12 season.)

How was your experience in Cleveland? “It was good. I learned a lot. The last few games, I got to play. It was great being out there. I felt like I finally adjusted well to the game. Got a lot of experience. Was able to start some games. Just hoping for another opportunity like that.”

(Thompson played five games for the Cavaliers. Averaging 3.6 points a game, Thompson started three games for Cleveland. He made the final 15-man roster after the Cavaliers invited him to their training camp.).

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He's in a new uniform, but same foe awaits LeBron James in the NBA playoffs - the Boston Celtics./Photo by AP.

Goodbye Shield. Welcome back logo.

With the NFL Draft ending today, let’s talk NBA Playoffs.

The first round was good. Correction. It was great.

The Memphis Grizzlies stunned everyone except Charles Barkley in beating the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in six games, the Boston Celtics posted the only sweep in a first-round series and Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant has been the best player in the playoffs so far.

Now the conference semifinals are here. We’ve got the match up everyone wants (Miami Heat vs. the Celtics), the one we didn’t expect (Grizzlies vs. Thunder), the one that will end quickly (Atlanta Hawks vs. the Bulls) and the one that will last longer than it should (Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Dallas Mavericks).

Let’s do this:

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Glen Rice could light it up.

Boy, not putting Wilt Chamberlain on my greatest 1-on-1 players in NBA history caught me some flak.

Good.

Not putting the greatest of all time,  Michael Jordan, atop that list caught me even more flak.

Even better.

I’m trying to make you all think out the box a bit. So today, I’m talking about the guys who jump shot I envied. The guys who when they shot it, you thought it was going to go in 10 times out of 10 because it looked so good coming out of their hands.

Now before I go any further, these guys are not only list: Dennis Scott, Allan Houston, Rick Barry, Pistol Pete Maravich, Peja Stojakovic, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Stephen Curry, Wesley Person, George Gervin, Alex English, Hal Greer, Michael Redd, Michael Jordan or Chris Mullin.

Trust me, I want to put Mullin on this list. Sorry Chris.

Here we go.

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Sometimes you need the entire team to guard Kobe Bryant.

In the aftermath of the report of Kobe Bryant saying he’d beat LeBron James in a game of 1-on-1, I figured I’d begin my NBA greatest of the greats list naming the 10 best 1-on-1 players in NBA history.

The video you’ll see by clicking on the link above dates his comments back to May 2, 2010 in London. So this is old news, but let’s get back to the list. I’m going to go from 10 to 1.

Just so it’s known right now, these 10 guys didn’t make the final cut: James, Dwyane Wade, George Gervin, Paul Pierce, Dominique Wilkins, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

Had to cut somewhere.

Before revealing the list, I ask that you voice your opinions on the list by leaving comments. Tell me I suck. Tell me I hit the money. Tell me I look sharp of silly in my blog photo. Let’s get some chatter chatter going here.

Here we go.

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Jordan Farmar served up a facial on Kevin Garnett. Ouch.

The Los Angeles Lakers showed up tonight.

Well, the real Los Angeles Lakers showed up and put a hurtin’ on the Boston Celtics, 89-67, in Tuesday’s Game 6 to force and seventh and deciding game Thursday in Los Angeles. 

They clamped down defensively, Ron Artest showed up and Kobe Bryant set the tone. Couple that with Boston center Kendrick Perkins going down with a knee injury in the first quarter and that was the beginning of the end for the Celtics tonight.

Now Perkins did walk out the arena on his own, but if he can’t go for Game 7, Boston is done. 

Coming into the game with a 3-2 lead, the Celtics had a chance to close out the series, but also realized they had a game to play with. So you didn’t see them come out with the emotion needed to win on the road.

No need to talk too much about this because there isn’t much to discuss.

The Celtics played poorly (shot 33 percent for the game), the Lakers played better and Bryant was the best player on the floor (26 points, 11 rebounds).

So what are keys for Game 7?

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With Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers are still the favorites to win this year's NBA Finals. Game 5 is tonight.

2-2.

The NBA Finals has gone as I expected and with the series being tied heading into tonight’s Game 5 in Boston, look for the Los Angeles Lakers to upend the Boston Celtics in a close one.

Besides, I picked the Lakers to win the series in six games so they got to win tonight, right?

The key to this series has been when the Celtics makes it a physical, defensive game, the game favors them. Boston coach Doc Rivers preaches that to his team and when they follow accordingly, the Celtics are tough to beat.

When the game has a flow to it and players are allowed to play with freedom and display their skills, the Lakers have the advantage because they have the best talent.

They’d rather play that way than grind it out. With that being said, here are three things Boston has going in its favor tonight.

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Kobe Bryant has lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the last three NBA Finals and become more of a leader during this stretch of success. He has a chance to win a fifth NBA championship ring this year.

Let’s get it on.

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are going to do it again. I know everyone wanted to see two-time NBA MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers (for now) and Kobe Bryant go at it, but hey, seeing two teams renew their rivalry is the NBA Finals isn’t too shabby.

In 2008, the Celtics took the Lakers out in six games and in the series-clinching Game 6, they just ran them out the building with a 131-92 victory.

Two years later, the Lakers and Celtics meet again, but this time, Los Angeles comes in as the defending champs and unlike 2008, it has the home-court advantage this time.

The two teams are essentially the same from when they faced each other in 2008. You’ve got the Big 3 for Boston and Kobe Bryant is still the best player between the two teams.

 Here are the differences.

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The big man of Boston's Big Three, power forward Kevin Garnett remains the emotional leader of the surging Celtics.

People can blame the coaching, the lack of effort and the inability for one player to take over a game, but the Orlando Magic’s biggest problem can be narrowed down to one thing: The Boston Celtics.

Playing the best defense I’ve seen in a long, long time, Boston has had an answer for everything Orlando has thrown out, which truthfully hasn’t looked like much, but that’s beside the point.

Boston has won every match up, its bench is playing better, its coach Doc Rivers doing a number on Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy and its veterans – Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace – have raised their level of play.

They remind me of old guys at the YMCA that turn it up when stiff competition comes into the gym. Trust me, the Magic were stiff competition coming into the Eastern Conference finals after sweeping their first two playoff opponents, but the Celtics are taking care of them.

With all that being said, I think Orlando gets this game tonight even though it’s in Boston. Can’t see how a team that talented can get swept.

Pride has got to kick in at some point so they’ll get Game 4 and might get Game 5 at home, but it s not going further than six games.

Do I hear “BEAT LA” chants coming from the TD Garden?