Look Who Showed Up

Every now and then you get that wow-this-guy-could-be-really-good performance from Lamar Odom and last night was the night.

Give the Lakers credit - they played defense (12 blocked shots, Denver shot 38%) and Kobe (8 assists) passed the ball to guys who made plays (Odom 19 pts, Ariza 12 pts, Fisher 12 pts).

Denver may have enough to win Game 6 at home, but I can't imagine them taking a Game 7 in LA.

Referees are taking a beating for their performance in the playoffs, and rightfully so. The league office isn't doing them any favors by over-turning their calls or non-calls.

Here's a list of the most recent calls made by Stu Jackson and co.:

• NBA Rescinds Technical on Dwight Howard
• Dahntay Jones Gets Flagrant Foul for Tripping
• Flagrant Foul by Magic's Anthony Johnson Rescinded
• Artest Not Suspended, Foul Downgraded

The goal is to "get it right," but the league is going overboard with these reversals. And how can a player (Jones) get a flagrant foul when a foul was never called on the play? What's next? Giving technicals after the game?

In defense of the refs, it's been a rough and tumble playoff season. We've seen Howard elbow Dalembert, Rondo slap Brad Miller and squaredance with Kirk Hinrich, Derek Fisher forearm bash Luis Scola, Ron Artest vs Kobe Bryant, Dahntay Jones trip/push Kobe, and Anthony Johnson elbow Mo Williams to name a few.

Philly has interview Dallas assistant Dwane Casey for the second time for their head coaching job. I guess that's good news for anyone who wants Tom Thibedeau to stay with the Celtics.