1) Your team, the L.A. Lakers, was picked before the season by a majority of NBA general managers to win the title in June. Many were influenced in large part by your return to the team after last January’s knee injury.

2) The Philadelphia Phillies destroyed Tampa like Daniel vs. Cobra Kai in game four the night before your b-day to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Beast Cole Hamels is set to pitch game five at home. The last time a Philly team won a championship was in 1983 when Dr. J’s 76ers beat your Lakers.

3) Illinois Senator Barak Obama could become the nation’s first African American president just eight days after your birthday, should all recent polling prove accurate on November 4, 2008. This will be the first election in which you can vote for your candidate of choice.

4) One of Wall Street’s worst months in history is about to come to a close, but now’s a good time to buy some real estate, ‘Drew!

5) Pop star Christina Aguilera is debuting her new music video “Keeps Gettin’ Better” on the internet, not MTV. Music videos actually existed when you were born.

6) Kim Kardashian celebrated her 28th birthday just six days before your 21st, though she was mostly at the hospital caring for her boo Reggie Bush, who was recovering from minor surgery on his knee.

7) I figured out a great combination of Subway and McDonalds that I’d like to share with you personally: Grab the five-dollar foot long “Oven-Roasted Chicken Breast” with spinach leaves, olives and salt only, then swing by McDonalds and grab some Buffalo sauce. Spread the sauce on the meat, and don’t mention a thank you. It’s a birthday gift to you.

8) Amy Winehouse had her photo taken yet again while leaving a hospital, a picture for which you should not search on your special day.

9) Just wanted to remind you of a few older posts who were drafted ahead of you for when you face them this year: Andrew Bogut, Marvin Williams, Chuck Villanueva, Channing Frye and Ike Diogu. But don’t get too frustrated, because after all … You’re a Laker and you wouldn’t rather be anywhere else (still … punish them).

10) You just watched game tape of your single-handed dominance of the Oklahoma City Thunder in L.A.’s final preseason game and are feeling pretty good about what you have in mind for the rest of the league.

Happy birthday.

On Sunday before the Lakers beat the Kings for their first preseason win, Spero and I discussed what Laker fans should know about the team heading into the season, how Dedes prepares for games as a broadcaster and which player he thinks can out dress him with regularity.

Earlier in the off-season, General Manager Mitch Kupchak had commented that the team hoped to be in contact with Sun about this upcoming season.

The Lakers drafted Sun Yue in the second round of the 2007 NBA draft at #40 based on his size and ball handling ability. Click here for an interview with Mitch Kupchak following the 2007 draft or you can watch Sun’s pre-draft workout from 2007.

Since that time, Sun, 22, has continued to play with his club team Beijing Aoshen and with the Chinese national team. The Chinese National team played in the 2007 Las Vegas Summer League and will participate in the upcoming Olympics, playing Team USA this Sunday.

This off-season the Lakers have also signed guard Dwayne Mitchell and drafted guard Joe Crawford, who remains unsigned.

Sun Yue would join Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Kobe Bryant, recently re-signed Sasha Vujacic and Coby Karl in the Lakers backcourt.

• Aside from his outstanding 36 point Game 3 effort, Kobe struggled throughout parts of the Finals with Boston throwing two and sometimes, three defenders at the regular season MVP. Still, Bryant averaged a team-high 26 points on 41% from the floor.

• Sasha Vujacic came through with the biggest game of his young career in a must-win Game 3 at STAPLES Center, scoring 20 points and proving himself an X-factor in the Lakers’ first victory of the series. For the Finals, the guard averaged eight points per game–fifth best on the team.

• Jordan Farmar also came through during stretches of the Finals, compiling seven points per game on an impressive 48% shooting from the field, including 53% from beyond the arc. Moreover, Coach Jackson trusted the sophomore guard down the stretch of the final games of the series, utilizing a smaller lineup that featured Fisher at shooting guard and Bryant at small forward in place of the ineffective Radmanovic.

What Went Wrong:
• Paul Pierce officially made the jump from great player to one of the all-time great Celtics after carrying Boston throughout the Finals, with a gimpy knee no less. For the series, Pierce averaged a team-high 22 points, five rebounds and six assists, earning his first Finals MVP award.

• The vaunted Celtics defense won out of the Lakers prolific offense as Boston held the Lakers to just 94 points—well below their season average of 109 points. As a team, L.A. shot just 44% from the field.

• The Lakers’ lanky big man duo of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom struggled with inconsistency and ineffectiveness throughout the series, with their strong Game 5 performance serving as the lone highlight of an otherwise lackluster first Finals experience for both players. Gasol tallied just 15 points while Odom put up only 14 with the pair seeming incapable of handling Boston’s more physical front line.

• While the final totals on the series dictate that Boston only outrebounded the Lakers by a slim 42-37 margin and 11-8 in offensive boards, the rebounding deficit was much larger as the Celtics repeatedly were the more aggressive team on the glass throughout the series.

• Even though the Celtics’ own star big man Kevin Garnett wasn’t always at his best in the Finals, appearing to tire as the series progressed, the Lakers had no answer when they needed to stop him the most, as KG came through with a dominating 26 point, 14 rebound effort in the series clincher.

• For as much star power as Boston’s lineup has, it was often the Celtic’s surprisingly potent role players that ignited the team, both at home and on the road. James Posey, Leon Power, Rajon Rondo and Eddie House in particular played some of the best basketball of their careers with Posey and Rondo stampeding through the Lakers’ defense in Game 6 and Powe coming through with the game of his life in Boston’s Game 2 win.

• Another Finals first: the purple and gold won the third quarter battle 24-18 and the second half overall by a 48-46 margin. However, the Lakers were up by as many as 19 points in the second quarter so Boston deserves credit for making another comeback to cut the deficit to just three at halftime.

• Once again, Boston’s bench outscored the Lakers’ reserves, 28-17, but unlike in Game 4, the Celtics were without a surprise breakout performer as was the case with James Posey in the previous game. This time around, it was the Lakers’ own Jordan Farmar who provided the game’s biggest bench spark, chipping in 11 timely points.

• L.A. did a great job of stopping the other members of the Celtics Big Three outside of Pierce, holding Garnett to just 13 points and Allen to 16. KG did grab a game-high 14 rebounds though.

• For the second game in a row, Rondo didn’t give the Celtics much of anything on either end of the floor, only playing 15 minutes as Doc Rivers opted to go long stretches without his starting guard.

What Went Wrong:
• Bryant led the Lakers in scoring with 25, but once again the Celtics defense did a great job of making it as difficult as possible on the MVP, as evidenced by his poor 8-21 shooting night.

• Radmanovic continued his non-factor status in the Finals, finishing with just seven points in 19 minutes of play. Moreover, Vladimir was the only Lakers starters to fail to score in double figures. Coach Jackson obviously took note, opting to play a smaller lineup at times with Farmar and Fisher in the back court and Kobe at the three spot.

• Pierce continued his dominating Finals run, scoring 38 more points while also managing to grab six rebounds to go along with a team-high eight assists.

• Turnovers were a factor for both teams in arguably the most physical game of the series, with L.A. finishing with 17 and Boston, 18.

• Odom finally showed the tenacity the Lakers had been waiting for all series…for 24 minutes anyway. Lamar was a force to be reckoned with in the first half of the game, winding up with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds.

• Thanks to a dominating first half on the boards, the purple and gold came away with a rare 41-40 overall rebounding edge against Boston highlighted by 10 boards a piece for Odom and Gasol. L.A. also came away with the edge in assists, dishing out eight more than the Celtics, 23-15.

• Derek Fisher finally emerged from his Finals slump, successfully making 4-5 shots for a total of 13 points. The veteran guard was one of five Lakers starters to reach double figures in a balanced scoring effort for L.A.

What Went Wrong:
• The Lakers were outscored for the fourth consecutive third quarter against the Celtics, this time by a decisive 16 point margin that cut what was an 18 point halftime lead for L.A. down to two entering the fourth quarter.

• Although Pierce’s 20 points led Boston in scoring, it was Ray Allen’s 19 that set the tone for the Celtics as the guard followed up his strong effort in Game 3 with a slow, but steady attack against L.A. in Game 4. Moreover, it was Allen’s layup with under two minutes to go that effectively iced the game for the green and white.

• After scoring 58 points in the first half and finally showing signs of coming to life, the Lakers’ offense went completely dry in the second half, with the team only managing to put 33 points on the board.

• Kobe resorted back to poor shooting ways against the Celtics, following up a strong Game 3 effort with a forgettable 17 points on 6-19 shooting from the floor.

• As has been the case for much of the series, the Boston bench badly outplayed the Lakers reserves, putting up 35 points to L.A.’s 15. James Posey in particular came through with an enormous 18 points, joined by 11 timely points from Eddie House.

• While Bryant’s effort was important, Boston Coach Doc Rivers said that Sasha’s 20 point outburst was the key to the game. Vujacic was similarly clutch too, making the biggest three pointer of his life with just under two minutes to go to create some distance from the Celtics.

• The Lakers played stellar defense on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, holding the star duo to a combined 8-35 shooting and 19 points. After the game, Coach Jackson singled out Kobe for his defense on Pierce in particular, holding the forward to a series low six points.

• After dishing out 16 assists in Game 2, Rajon Rondo suffered an injured ankle that is threatening his status for tonight’s Game 4. In Game 3, the young Celtics guard only scored eight points to go along with four assists and wasn’t much of a factor on offense.

• The massive free 38-10 free throw disparity in Boston’s favor in Game 2 finally evened itself out a little at STAPLES Center with the Lakers going to the line 34 times compared to 22 for the Celtics. However, L.A. was largely unable to capitalize on the extra trips to the charity stripe, only making 22.

• While noted for their offense, the Lakers’ defense finally showed its teeth in Game 3, with Gasol and Kobe coming up with strong defensive efforts against Garnett and Pierce. Pau led the Lakers with 12 rebounds, including a series of late offensive boards that helped preserve the purple and gold’s slim lead. Overall, Boston shot just 35% from the floor.

What Went Wrong:
• While the Lakers did a great job of stopping KG and Pierce, they weren’t able to keep every member of the Big Three down as Ray Allen broke through for his best game of the series with 25 points on an impressive 8-13 from the field.

• Odom and Gasol continued to struggle on offense, only making a combined 5-18 field goals for 13 points between them. However, despite their inefficiencies, both came through with clutch plays when it mattered most, providing hope for an improved effort from each big man in Game 4.

• The Lakers’ offense still wasn’t at its usual sharpness level despite the team making 44% of their field goals. Overall, Boston dished out two more assists than L.A. for a 19-17 edge.

• While much of the post-game talk centered around Lamar and Pau’s sub par games, two other Lakers starters–Radmanovic and Fisher–also had poor Game 3’s with the pair scoring three points and six points respectively on a combined 2-10 from the field.

• After being badly outrebounded by 13 in Game 1, the Lakers did a much better job on the boards in Game 2, muscling down 36 rebounds compared to 37 for the Celtics. Pau got his usual 10 boards, but it was Radmanovic who surprised on Sunday with 10 of his own.

• Kobe was still hindered by Boston’s superb defense, but he had a much better effort in Game 2 after a dismal 9-26 shooting night in Game 1, chipping in 30 points (11-23 shooting) in Game 2 to fuel L.A.’s near monumental comeback.

• Although he didn’t impact the game much after Boston’s defense closed in on him in the second quarter, Gasol’s stat line for Game 2 still shows that he had a solid night, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

What Went Wrong:
• Little known reserve Leon Powe had the game of his life on Sunday, scoring 21 points on 6-7 shooting, including an array of momentum changing dunks that effectively put the Lakers in a seemingly insurmountable 24 point whole.

• Responding well to his knee injury, Paul Pierce broke free for 28 points to lead the Celtics, once again winning his individual matchup against Kobe. Through two games of The Finals, it’s Pierce, not Kobe who has been the more valuable player to his team.

• Boston’s Big Three once again outplayed the Lakers core trio of Bryant, Odom and Gasol, scoring 62 points, led by Pierce’s 28. Kevin Garnett provided a great secondary effort with 17 points, including a dominating 14 point rebounding night.

• L.A. did an exceptional job of taking care of the ball in Game 1, but was unable to duplicate the effort in Game 2, turning the ball away a costly 13 times.

• All the massive 38 to 10 free throw discrepancy between the two teams raised all kinds of questions regarding how this series is being called, the Lakers still need to do a better job of driving into the lane instead of settling for outside shots.

• Rondo hasn’t been much of a factor in the series as far as his own scoring goes, but he played a big hand in helping the Celtics to their big lead, dishing out a team-high 16 assists to go along with his four points.

• Although Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar sprung to life during the Lakers’ late comeback, L.A.’s bench was still outplayed by the Celtic’s group of reserves, with Boston continuing to get strong contributions out of veterans P.J. Brown and James Posey, in limited minutes no less.

• As been the case for most of the post-season, Ray Allen struggled to find his shot, only making five of 13 field goals. However, he made some big shots down the stretch, absolving him of his poor shooting night.

• Despite shooting just 42% from the field, the good news for the Lakers is that Boston wasn’t able to do much better, matching the poor shooting number. The difference? The Celtics shot 35 free throws, nailing 28.

• The Lakers successfully weathered Boston’s early adrenaline onslaught, leading their rivals by five going into the locker room at halftime. Unfortunately, by the end of the third quarter, the Celtics flipped the script and pulled ahead by four.

• While the offense wasn’t always crisp in Game 1, the purple and gold can’t blame turnovers for their problems as they only gave it away eight times.

What Went Wrong:
• Paul Pierce’s emotional return from a third quarter injury to his knee ignited the Celtics just when it seemed like the Lakers were ready to seize control of the game. Overall, the longtime Boston forward had 22 points.

• Deja vu for L.A. as Boston outrebounded them by a hearty 13 boards (46-33) much the same way Utah did in the Second Round.

• Kobe knocked in 26 points, but the Celtic’s swarming defense held him to just 9-26 shooting on the night.

• Although the stat sheets says that the Lakers bench was outscored by only a single basket 17-15, they were not much of a factor in the game, with only Vujacic’s eight points having a temporary impact on the game. The opposite was the case for Boston as Sam Cassell chipped in a timely eight of his own to keep Mr. Momentum firmly on the Celtic’s side in the second half.

• Lamar Odom never really found his groove in his first Finals game, mustering just 14 points and six rebounds while displaying the inconsistency that has plagued him throughout this year’s post-season run.

• The Lakers had no answer for Kevin Garnett as the former Timberwolve got pretty much whatever he wanted down low, resulting in a team-high 24 points and 13 rebounds.

• Pau Gasol’s offensive woes in the playoffs continued as he finished with only 15 points despite a strong start to the game. Moreover, Gasol was unable to match the physical play of Kendrick Perkins and KG.

• The Lakers were unable to break the century mark for the third consecutive meeting against the Celtic this year, only managing to score 88–a clear sign that Boston’s vaunted defense won out over L.A.’s proficient offense, for Game 1 anyway.

The Lakers second NBA Finals victory over the Celtics in the 1987-1988 NBA Finals officially began the downfall of a once glorious Boston team. With Larry Bird bowing out to injury just six games into the 1988-89 season, the Celtics were forced to play through an uncharacteristic 42 win season.

Although the Celtics improved in the following two seasons, buoyed by the addition of rookie guard Dee Brown and the return of Brian Shaw, they were eliminated prematurely in the playoffs both seasons, first by New York and then by Detroit in 1991.

Despite serious injuries to Bird and Kevin McHale, the Celtics won their division the following year, but again were unable to come through in the playoffs, losing to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

While the signs had been there for years, the Celtics’ downfall really began when Bird retired before the start of the 1992-93 season, signaling an end to a remarkable streak of success for the team.

After losing in the first round in the following two seasons, the Celtics only managed to win 33 games in 1995-96, one year before going down in defeat a franchise-record 67 times.

Improvement was on the horizon though as Antoine Walker, Chauncy Billups and Paul Pierce joined Boston’s youthful team, bringing them back into the national spotlight with respectable seasons the next three years. However, it wasn’t until 2002 when the Celtics finally regained their edge in the playoffs, fighting their way to a near NBA Finals bid before losing to the Nets in the conference finals.

After ceding to the Nets once again the following year, the new Danny Ainge-led Celtics made their biggest trade of the decade so far, trading away longtime star Walker, resulting in a first round exit to Indiana.

With Doc River assuming head coaching duties, Boston clawed their way to a seven-game defeat at the hands of the Pacers in the 2004-2005 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Last year saw the Celtics only win 24 games, leading to the dramatic franchise-altering trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen prior to this season. The results have been nothing short of miraculous as Boston was an NBA-high 66 games this year en route to their first Finals appearance since their fateful series against the purple and gold 21 years ago.