Why a 2010 NBA finals stock watch? 

Well, because there was nothing else to write about on Monday. There, I said it. Both teams were flying back to LA, and I didn't feel like putting myself to sleep with a 1,200-word blog post on what D.J. Mbenga could bring to the table should Andrew Bynum miss Game 6 or 7. 

So here we go. Who is up, down or about the same after five games ...

Stock Up

Doc Rivers: No higher riser in this series, right? A win away from taking a 2-0 NBA finals edge over a guy with 10 rings and the owner of the signature coaching move of the 2010 postseason. Not too shabby. I'm not sure any other coach in the NBA today would have had the grapefruits to basically put the season in the hands of four reserves and a starter exactly one game removed from shooting 0-for-13, but Doc is the rare guy that knows he has the trust of his stars and isn't going to lose it by leaving a couple of them on the bench in one key spot. That takes a lot of confidence, as does playing the bench guys for nearly 10 minutes in the fourth quarter of a must-must win Game 4. The easiest thing in the world would have been to go with Rondo, Pierce and Garnett at the seven or eight-minute mark. No chance for a second-guess (think of how badly he would been toasted if they lost Game 4 because of the move). But he went with the five he thought, for that game, gave the Celtics the best chance to win. 

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Glen Davis: Sure he did nothing in Game 5 (zero points, one rebound) but come on. The guy was (Doc aside) the biggest reason the Celtics won a game in the NBA finals. Raise the hand if you thought that would be the case before the series started. Pretty sure he wishes he had signed a one-year deal in the offseason, he'd be looking at $8-9 mil per year this summer.

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Derek Fisher: Gotta be consistent. If I've got Big Baby here, Fisher has to be here also. Reason No. 1 why the Lakers won Game 3.

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Nate Robinson: Guess it was a good trade after all, huh? I sure didn't think so at the time, or for the next couple of months after, but hard to believe that Eddie would have done more than Nate has since Game 6 vs. Orlando.

Eddie House (2008 finals): 18.5 minutes per game, 35.7 FG, 8.0 points, 2.5 assists

Nate Robinson (2010 finals): 10.4 minutes per game, 47.6 FG, 5.6 points, 2.0 assists

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Tony Allen: Finally, a solid role player. Took a long time, but he got there. And a certified Kobe stopper, or at least Kobe slower (is that right? Kobe container? Nah, that actually sounds like it could be evidence). I can't think of three guys in the league right now that give Bryant so many problems. If Tony was even a competent offensive player he'd be on the court 40 minutes a night for a really good team. Here's hoping the Celtics can re-sign him in the offseason, which a year ago would have shared the top spot with "Hey, why doesn't Stuart Scott have his own talk show?" on the Things That I Will Never Say List.

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Rasheed Wallace: He has been, in this series and the entire postseason, the player we all expected when he signed here last July. Adds some toughness, isn't afraid of any situation, hits the big 3-pointer (a huge one in each of the last two games) and, yes, always seems to be about a pitching wedge away from an epic meltdown. 

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Andrew Bynum: Look, I can't get too worked up about the future of a 22-year-old who has missed 100 games over the last three years and has apparently managed to steal Bobby Orr's knees, but you have to think this at least could be a turning point of Bynum's career. We all knew the talent was there, but always there was a question of toughness. I don't think that can be raised any longer. I never quite understood the fascination Laker nation had with Bynum, but I'm beginning to get it. If he can stay healthy (huge if, obviously) it's hard to imagine the Lakers won't be a consistent 60-win team as long as Gasol and Kobe are still close to vintage.

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Stock Neutral

Kobe Bryant: He's first up here because he just missed the "Stock Up" group. It's hard, though, to be better than what we thought he was, which is one of the dozen or so best players in the history of the league. But the show he put on in the third quarter of Game 5 almost moved him up. Just incredible stuff. And I don't want to hear about the ball hog stuff, either. That was true in the past and might be true in the future, but tell me what choice Kobe had in Game 5. Who else was stepping up? Gasol melted down, Artest was brutal, Fisher has come back to earth, Bynum was hopping around like Gary Sinise on a shrimp boat. Who else? Luke Walton? Sasha? Nope, Kobe decided the best chance to win a game that they had to have was to try and take it over. Every single shot. And it worked, except it didn't. Meaning he scored enough, but the defense wasn't there. But to me it was clearly the right call on his part.

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Kevin Garnett: Would've been a "Stock Down" before Game 5, of course. It's strange, Garnett really hasn't had that one defining Celtics moment in his three years. I guess you could go with that circus shot in Game 6 of 2008, but they were up about 90 points at the time. For me that doesn't qualify. I wonder if we might finally see one this week.

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Paul Pierce: I think he'll end up finals MVP. You can tell when Pierce is feeling good, and he loves the Artest matchup. Pierce -- like all great scorers, I suppose -- is best when he knows he can get to his two or three scoring spots on the court without a lot of trouble. That's why Larry Bird always killed Dominique Wilkins, for example. Larry loved that spot in the post where he could go right into his fallaway, and 'Nique didn't think to argue. And Pierce, right now, is able to get to the spots where he likes to take those pullup jumpers. And I'm more than a little surprised that Artest is allowing it to happen. 

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Rajon Rondo: Some huge peaks (Game 2, much of Game 5) but for a lot of minutes in this series he's kind of just another guy. Seems a little intimidated at times by Kobe, though I didn't think that was the case in Game 5. Still in the MVP hunt, though, and hasn't done anything in this series to dampen the idea that he's the breakout star of the 2010 postseason. Just hasn't done a whole lot to enhance the image is all. And I'm not sure the best point guard in the NBA --whoever he is-- would be on the bench watching Nate Robinson play 10 fourth-quarter minutes with the season on the line in a Game 4.

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Lamar Odom: Should he be a "Stock Down"? Maybe. Eh, he's been pretty good the last three games -- has hit 14-of-21 shots. It's close, but I'll keep him up here. If he tanks it in Game 6 and the Lakers lose, though, then there is no arguing that it's been a lost series for Odom and the bench. 

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Pau Gasol: In this series, Gasol is averaging 18.8 points and 10.0 rebounds, shooting 51.7%. Garnett is averaging 15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and is shooting 50.8%. So a healthy edge for Gasol, but yet there is no question that the balance of power in this matchup has shifted back to KG. Impossible to even consider after Games 1 and 2. 

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TD Garden fans: The good? Best crowd volume since 2008, maybe even louder at times (The Rondo tip in Game 5 and the six straight points from Garnett to start Game 3 were 14,890 Garden loud). And I liked some of the chants. I can even live with the "Ugly Sister" at Odom. Listen, when you agree to be on a reality show, that's how it goes. The bad? We don't need to go to the "No means no" chant ever again, and we sure don't need to see vodka bottles flying onto the court. On more thing -- "Kobe sucks" is not an insult. I can't believe that this is even a quasi-story. Don't these people watch sports? It's about the highest compliment you can give a visiting athlete, strange as it sounds. Don't we all know this by now? That's why you never hear 15,000 people chanting "Scalabrine sucks", for example. 

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Stock down

Kendrick Perkins: Too harsh? Maybe. I don't think that there is any question he's hurting. Just has not been a factor in this series at any point. We know he's not a 16-12 guy but there has be some level of impact, right? Hasn't been the equal of Big Baby (not even close) or 'Sheed.

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Ray Allen: His son is sick and I'm sure that thigh is a factor, so this is a very mild "Stock Down". But stats don't lie. And if you take away the record-setting Game 2 Allen is 0-for-18 on 3-pointers in this series. But watch Allen hit six 3-pointers in Game 6. That's how it's always been with Allen. And you know his confidence hasn't been injured at all during the last three games. Just another chapter in the life of a shooter. 

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Ron Artest: Shaping up to be the fall guy. When this series is over Kobe and Gasol will have pretty good numbers, Bynum will be hurt and Fisher will be Fisher. Everyone of consequence will be able to hide behind something. Not Artest, though. They brought him in to stop guys like Pierce and chip in on offense. And with two games left in the series (at most) Artest is shooting 30 percent and Pierce is a big game away from being MVP.

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Lakers Bench (Minus Odom): And you could easily toss Odom in here as well. I didn't, because I felt bad that he wound up with the ugly sister. Kidding.

You know how over the life of a series there is usually some guy on the other team's bench that turns out to be better than you realize? In the 2010 playoffs for me it's been the J.J.'s -- Hickson and Redick. Point is that there is nobody on the Lakers bench that I feel that way about. Luke Walton has done nothing. Sasha is shooting 37.5%, Jordan Farmar 36.8%. Shannon Brown played 19 seconds in Game 5. That's it. Adam Morrison does a mean Jack Haley impression. Does that count?

Ask the question from a Lakers' fan perspective. Probably Big Baby is better than they thought, Tony Allen, Nate Robinson, maybe 'Sheed. Huge edge for the Celtics in bench play, and as we know they'd likely be down 3-2 if not for the reserves.

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Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson: Yes, I still think they are the best NBA announcing team I've ever heard. But the act wears a little thin when we get them for six weeks straight. Too much cute stuff, too much schtick. And Breen tries really hard to show Van Gundy and Jackson that he knows basketball. Once a week they are terrific. For the life of the playoffs they begin to work a nerve or two.

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Phil Jackson: His legacy absolutely takes a hit if he loses a second series to Doc and the Celtics. A Mount Rushmore coach should be able to beat a team the second time around, especially when he has the clear-cut best player in each series.

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