Before anyone reads this (assuming you are reading this and not crying in the bathroom as I was just a moment ago), I apologize if I come off sounding extremely sad and negative, but can you blame me? The Lakers were up huge in the first quarter, ending it ahead by 21 points, the largest lead in the NBA Finals through the first. But if you turned the TV off after the opening seconds thinking that the game belonged to us, you missed our meltdown. The Celtics broke a Finals record of their own by coming back from the largest deficit in NBA Finals history to win, and they were on the road. It was our first home loss of the Playoffs, and the first since we lost to Memphis on March 28 (I know, I know, sorry for bringing that game back up) where Kobe scored 53 points.

Tonight, however, Kobe scored only 17 points, shooting 6-19 from the field. But looking at the first half's stats, you probably would have been okay with that one because almost everyone else on the team was doing fantastic. That first half was undoubtedly the best half of these Finals for the Lakers – that second half from Game 2 was nothing in comparison – and if we had managed to continue it through the second half, this Game 4 would have definitely been the game that turned us around this postseason. Unfortunately though, it was not and the Lakers ended up blowing that huge lead and ultimately losing the game by 6.

I honestly cannot even say we put up much of a fight; those last few minutes were just terrible. Most of our defensive mistakes occurred because we didn't stay on our men. There were a couple times where Sasha or Jordan would screw up, causing Kobe to leave his man to rush to the shooter, or him not getting to the shooter fast enough. And that last Sasha defensive error against Ray Allen didn't help either. During Phil's timeout immediately after that play, while a Laker was tapping Sasha on the shoulder, he flicked it away in anger. Sasha was pissed. But it didn't keep him from stepping inside the arc to shoot a 2 instead of a 3 in the final seconds that he missed anyway!

Pretty much, there was nothing good about the second half. No one helped out with anything, at all. The wrong players were on the floor for most of the fourth, and none of our huge Lakers could stop their small Celtics. I don't want to get into specifics because frankly, I hurt with sadness. This was an agonizing defeat. When questioned after the game why the meltdown had occurred, Phil and the players all said the same thing, whatever it had been, they knew it was not due to laziness from having such a large lead. I cannot completely agree with that because I remember a couple of times in the third quarter where it was obvious that they just were not paying much attention to their offense as much as they should have been. This defeat was real bad, so bad in fact Greg Anthony of ESPN even compared it to two years ago when the Mavericks had a chance get back in the series against the Heat, but lost... "and they haven't recovered since". I really like Greg, but ouch. That line made me shake with fear.

But there is no way that same thing can come true for these Lakers, our Lakers. This series is not over, as Phil tried to explain to you when you got on this site. It is far from over. Game 5 is on Sunday, Game 6 will be on Tuesday, and the final game, Game 7, will be next Thursday, Insha Allah. All games will be played, and all games will be won by the Lakers. If there's only one team that can come back from being down 1-3 in the NBA Finals, it is these Lakers, our Lakers. Coached by Phil Jackson, captained by Kobe Bryant, and supported by the best cast in the NBA. If you're losing confidence, get the hell out of town because we don't need your negativity. The Lakers won't take this fight sitting down. They'll be standing up at the end of Game 7 hoisting the most beautiful basketball-shaped trophy ever created above their heads. Lam Lam will hold it up the highest, whose sweat-line will be shining brightly, and every Laker, and Laker fan, from all over will have the widest grin on his or her face.... These Lakers, our Lakers, are going to win.