Final thoughts on the Finals

The more I think about it, a real key to the Finals was Boston beating LA to loose balls -- something the Celtics did the entire series. I believe the game is won or lost when the "ball is in the air," not when ball is in a player's hands.

And Boston clearly out-reacted LA to the ball when it was loose or in the air. That's a credit to Boston's athleticism and mentality.

Another key was the small forward position where Boston had the MVP while the Lakers have role players at SF and no true starting three-man.

During the long regular season, players like Radmanovic and Luke Walton are not exposed as much as in the playoffs. The Laker bench might have been overrated. Plus, injuries to Bynum and Ariza really hurt.

Rondo has developed at a quicker pace than Jordan Farmar, who was drafted just five spots behind Rondo.

[As a side note, Farmar was actually in the D-League and, at one time, played in a D-League game and, that night played in an NBA game against the Kings. As the D-League develops, I think you'll see more of this, by the way.]

Rondo had a major impact on two of Boston's wins. In Game 6, he was off the charts, pushing the tempo and creating steals. He also developed as a distributor.