THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ARIZA

Trevor Ariza just scored. Trevor Ariza is outscoring Lamar Odom at the moment, 2 points to 0. And he has just as many points as Kevin Garnett.

At the half I skulked around the courtside seats and found myself standing just a jab away from the world's best fighter pound-for-pound, Floyd Mayweather. Or make that world's best retired fighter. I wanted to say, "Floyd, there are some very nice people back at HBO Sports in New York who are quite flustered at the moment."

Mayweather, you may know, announced his retirement on Friday even though he is scheduled to fight Oscar De La Hoya in September. Mayweather is either walking away from an eight-figure payday (what the rest of us would describe as, "More money than we'll earn in a lifetime") or he's angling for a desperation offer from the HBO suits.

Also within knockout distance: Hillary Duff, Hugh Hefner and Brandi,the last of whom begs an "over-rated!" cheer when viewed in person.

Guys, by the way, if you're big enough to play freshman football, you're big enough to take down Duff's boyfriend. He looks like Matt Leinart, age 12.

They just did the celebrity-cam here at Staples (Dustin Hoffman, Eddie Murphy, Sly Stallone, Hef, Hillary and Spielberg). And early on, from among that august group, they included Byron Allen. And even he had a look on his face that registered, "Me? Ha! Right."

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At 4:14 of the3rd quarter, Lamar Odom is at last on the board. But the Celtics lead 54-52. Where was this Boston team at Atlanta and Cleveland earlier this spring?

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Odom is beginning to assert himself, which is absolutely vital since the biggest disparity in this game, in this series, is the Celtics' exploiting the Lakers' lack of size underneath. Gasol may be a seven-footer, and Odom 6-11, but Garnett and Kendrick Perkins are dominating them in the paint.

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