Lakers As Good As We Thought? Before the NBA Finals began the "experts" all said – and yes, this writer among them – the L.A. Lakers were going to win the series. Many of them also said they would win fairly handily, with the unofficially most common prediction being Lakers in six. Given the fact the Celtics are now up 2-0 on the supposed favorite that obviously means the Lakers need to win four in a row. Of course, what do experts know anyway, right?

The fact is the Lakers, while definitely a very, very good team, have played in this series like a young team not quite ready to take the throne (officiating aside). In Game 1 they failed to take advantage after Paul Pierce went to the locker room with an apparent knee injury. With the Garden deflated and the Celtics looking a little worried for their leader, that should have been the point the Lakers increased the pressure on Boston. They had the lead, they had the momentum…and they let it get away. Once Pierce made his improbably return, the Lakers couldn't maintain control against the tide of emotion that swung definitively Boston's way.

Then in Game 2 they had their chances again. With the Celtics up big the boys in green relaxed a bit, allowing the Lakers back into the game. Playing loosely because at that point they didn't have anything more to lose, the Lakers hit some three-pointers and smoothly glided back into the game. After pulling within two points before two Paul Pierce free throws the Lakers couldn't take the next step, instead relying on a poor three-point attempt by Sasha Vujacic – blocked by Pierce – in the final seconds that effectively ended the game. On that series Kobe Bryant inbounded the ball and never touched it again despite being as open as he ever is, something that is absolutely inexcusable in the final seconds of a close game. There is something to be said for sharing, but in that situation your best player has to decide the outcome, make or miss.

These are small things to be sure, but these are the mistakes championship quality teams do not make. These little things could be the reason why the Lakers don't live up to the predictions, and mostly because they hadn't been faced with these situations before. People assume how they would react based on how the Lakers reacted to similar situations previously, but they aren't all the same. Chalk this up to a learning curve for the young Lakers, but will they learn the lessons quickly enough to recover in these Finals? Or will it simply make next year's title run, the one including Andrew Bynum in the mix, that much stronger?

Shaun Livingston: It what may not be a surprise, word is the Los Angeles Clippers will not make point guard Shaun Livingston a qualifying offer by the end of the month to make him a restricted free agent. This means Livingston will be free to sign with whomever he likes, though considering he is still recovering from that horrible knee injury it's doubtful teams will be lining up to offer him big money. Or maybe any money. What wouldn't be a surprise is if Livingston then re-signed with the Clippers, but at something much lower than the qualifying offer for a former #2 draft pick – think two years and $3-4 million. That's enough money to entice Livingston given the likely market, and also cheap enough for the Clippers to hedge against whether or not the young point guard will fully make a recovery and be productive.

Mayo Has LeBron's Agent: O.J. Mayo has inked a new agent and it's Leon Rose. Rose also represents stars like LeBron James, Rip Hamilton and Allen Iverson, as well as mid-level players like Eddy Curry and Andrea Bargnani.

Mayo was originally to be represented by BDA Sports, but cut ties with them after the revelation in ESPN's Outside the Lines that BDA may have been indirectly providing him with money and gifts while at USC. Both Mayo and BDA Sports have denied the claims.

Ratings Boost: Game 1 on Thursday averaged an 8.7 rating on ABC, the network said Friday. That's up 38 percent from the 6.3 during last year's Cavaliers-Spurs series. It's the highest Game 1 rating since Lakers-Pistons in 2004 drew a 9.8. Give credit for that to the fact it was Boston and the Lakers, but also because it was a fantastic game, one of the better Finals games in recent memory.

Wayne Simien: From the where-have-they-gone department, the Cleveland Cavaliers have given former Miami HEAT first round pick Wayne Simien an invite to play on their summer league team. Simien was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves last summer and then waived so the Wolves could comply with the 15-man roster limitation. Simien did not play last season as he recovered from knee surgery.