The Top Five Pre-Finals Playoff Games of 2008

A Daily Babble Production

So far as 'ways to pass the time while waiting for more basketball' are concerned, list-making has long been a favorite of mine.  With so much still left for Celtics fans (and fans of basketball in general) to look forward to over to in the next two weeks, it likely couldn't hurt to take a few minutes to look back at some of the more dramatic events in what has been a very enjoyable postseason -- particularly for the green faithful.

These playoffs have already set a rather dubious and anti-climactic record with a whopping 30 games having been decided by margins of 15 points or greater.  But that certainly doesn't mean that there weren't a few tight ones packed into another roller coaster post-season.  With honorable mentions to Game 3 of the Orlando-Detroit second round series and the Celtics' clincher over Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals, let's get going with our top five.  As always, we welcome you to submit your own lists -- or just rant about mine, if you so choose -- in the comments section below.

5.   Game 4, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Cleveland Cavaliers 100 at Washington Wizards 97 -- This one may have special significance to Celtics fans as it was a former green point guard who played the hero: Delonte West.  West's trey with 5.4 seconds left won it for the Cavs and capped the best game of what may have been the chippiest series of the first round.  The goofy guard shot an excellent 7-for-12 (5-for-8 from deep) for the game and calmly stepped up when his team needed it most.  In the process, he wiped out an acrobatic baby banker from Gil Arenas that had tied the score for Washington in the final half-minute, and he helped prevent a 34-point, 12-rebound, 7-assist effort from LeBron James going for naught.  Speaking of LBJ, he further reinforced his reputation as the athlete in who seems to be able to say absolutely anything he wants without any sort of interrogation.  This time around, it was in his on-floor post-game interview that he gave us the gem that "It means more to him than it does to us" regarding West's clutch trey.  Seemed a little odd, given that the trey had just won the game for the Cavs' and given them a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.  Either way, competitive all the way through, some early chippiness (DeShawn Stevenson committed a flagrant foul against LeBron) and some huge shots at the end.  Very solid contest.

(Courtesy of YouTube user 'NBA')

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4.  Game 6, Western Conference Semifinals: Los Angeles Lakers 108 at Utah Jazz 105 -- It's truly rare that you'll see the "good effort even though it wasn't enough" card broken out in this space in describing a playoff game, but that is above all what set this game apart from so many others this post-season.  While it is likely of little consolation to the Jazz fans who saw their team get eliminated in this game, the Utah run at the end of this contest was simply amazing.  The Jazz trailed by nine points at the 1:13 mark of the fourth quarter in this game and managed to get themselves a possession with a legitimate shot to tie the game before all was said and done.  A Memo Okur trey was followed by an Andrei Kirilenko blocked shot, and then AK47 managed to trade the Lakers three points for two not once but twice.  One beautifully drawn-up play later, the Jazz got a dunk from Paul Millsap off of a perfect feed from Kyle Korver, and Derek Fisher missed one of his two ensuing free throws, thus giving the Jazz the ball with nine seconds to play, only trailing by three.  Utah got two looks at the basket on the final possession and sadly missed both  They may have fallen when all was said and done, but they epitomized the meaning of 'going down fighting' late in this game.  Throw in an inordinately difficult continuation and a 34-8-6 game for Kobe to go along with Deron Williams going for 21 points and 14 dimes, and we've got ourselves another wonder of a game.