The Los Angeles Lakers put away the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 last night, setting up another NBA Finals matchup with the Boston Celtics.

Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest let the Suns down comfortably in front of the home fans, by making shots all night to keep the Phoenix crowd from ever getting too excited. Kobe in particular made an array of insane shots that fully redefined the term contested. One of those nights when Kobe is so good you find yourself just giggling at the absurdity of the hoops genius.

So once again, to no one's surprise, the loaded Lakers head to the Finals to take on the equally loaded Celtics. As Mike Wells points out today, these teams remain in rare air as consistent title contenders while teams like the Pacers are desperate to find their way into the playoffs which is a long slog in the NBA for outsiders looking in.

Here are a couple of other items of interest:

• A New Hope in Indiana?
  Levy pitches in at Wages of Wins to recap the Pacers' season based on Wins Produced.
• Kentucky says Eric Bledsoe was cleared academically by NCAA
  Kentucky claims no problems with any of the issues recently raised surrounding Eric Bledsoe's road to Lexington.