I'm a little embarassed how far this has gotten. A lot of the people claiming "the NBA is trying to screw the Celtics" are the same people who, along with me, called out LakerLanny for "making excuses" before the game for why his team would lose. Seems awful hypocritical, I must say.
I agree some 50-50 calls will go the Lakers way and there will be a stretch (like the third quarter of Game 6 v. Detroit against us or the second quarter of Game 2 in our favor) where every call seems to go LA's way. Maybe that stretch will be at the very end of the game and we won't be able to overcome it. If that stretch happens before then, say in the second or third quarter, then to me, the Celtics will have no excuse. And until the game is played, and until the referees actually screw our team, there's no reason to make excuses.
We have to be ready for this game regardless of who's officiating, where we're playing or who we're playing. Against Detroit, we showed we could play through bad calls. That's all they are. Bad calls that are likely influenced to some degree by the crowd. The Lakers couldn't play through bad calls and got blown out (that "comeback" was nothing more than the Cs sleeping on the game) which, in my opinion, shows mental weakness. The Celtics, particularly Pierce, showed tremendous mental strength in Game 6 against Detroit. My hope is that carries over to tonight. If they fold because of bad calls, I will question them. If they get some bad calls, fight back, but still can't win, I'll give them credit for persevering and at least know they're mentally tough. But I'll make those decisions after I see the game, not, like LakerLanny, make an excuse beforehand.