The Boston Celtics have a nice 3-1 series lead going into tonight’s game 5 action against the Los Angeles Lakers. If they win, it’ll be Boston’s 17th NBA Championship in franchise history. If the Lakers lose tonight, they’ll be looking back to game 4 and wishing they could take that one back. (I mean, how do you blow a 24-point lead? Before their historic meltdown, Los Angeles led, 70-50, with 19 minutes to play only to be outscored 47-21 the rest of the way.)

But enough about why the Lakers lost. Let’s talk about what they need to do tonight in order to win. According to Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, that means getting into the right mindset by watching something truly inspiring: the movie “300″. For the third time.

“It fired me up a little bit, and forced me to come to the gym,” said Vujacic, who came to the gym during his day off on Friday to work on his shot and defense by himself. “I wanted to watch that movie because I was in that kind of mood. It always gives you some kind of power.”

And what about Lakers All-Star Kobe Bryant? Well, it seems he’s taken a more relaxed approach to tonight’s do-or-die matchup. Bryant spent the last two days with his family.

“We’ve got to take care of business on Sunday,” said Bryant. “So what are we going to do? How am I going to get my teammates in the right frame of mind, make sure they’re energetic, and that’s what it’s been all about.”

Get all your NBA basketball betting!

Derrick Rose will likely get picked first on NBA Draft Day

You have to know that the entire Chicago Bulls management is looking forward to June 26th: NBA Draft Day in New York. See, the Bulls won the NBA’s draft lottery held on Tuesday night and that gives them first dibs on the cream of the college crop. My thinking is that they’ll either go with Kansas State forward Michael Beasley or Memphis Tigers point guard Derrick Rose.

“We’ll have an opportunity to get close to those guys. We’ll really take a long look at what makes the most sense for our basketball team,” executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson told ESPN on a conference call. “Having the pick puts you in a unique position to make your team better. I certainly understand this was pure luck. Now it’s our job to make the most of it.”

The Miami Heat gets to pick second, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who will pick third. Seattle gets fourth pick; Memphis gets fifth; New York goes sixth; Los Angeles Clippers get seventh; Milwaukee gets eighth; Charlotte goes ninth; New Jersey gets the 10th pick; Indiana gets 11th; Sacramento goes 12th; Portland goes 13th; and Golden State gets 14th pick. The remainder of the first 14 picks are determined by the teams’ records, with the first-place team picking last.

If you like betting on the NBA playoffs you should check out these cool NBA player props.