Tough ticket to come by

With the demand for tickets so high, the Celtics are curious to find out whether they will be able to take care of their friends and family.

The players will get two tickets for each game on the road in the Finals. "I know my girlfriend is getting one of those tickets or it won't be good for me," one Celtic said.

The Celtics will be staying at a separate hotel from the team hotel for wives, girlfriends, family, and friends in Los Angeles.

Pistons lean toward Curry

Pistons assistant Michael Curry is the front-runner for the Detroit head coaching opening, an NBA source said. The Pistons could announce a hiring next week. An NBA source said the firing of Flip Saunders was no surprise to Saunders. He figured his job would be in jeopardy if the Pistons didn't make it to the Finals.

An easy shot

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, just how bad does ex-Laker great Byron Scott hate the Celtics? "Ten. That's easy," said Scott, who is now coach of the New Orleans Hornets.

When asked what was great about the Celtics-Lakers rivalry, Scott said, "The fact that we knew in order to win a championship, we'd probably have to go through the Boston Celtics nine times out of 10. We couldn't stand them, and they couldn't stand us, but I think one thing both teams had was mutual respect for each other."

Scott had high praise for Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

"At the end of his career people will be putting him in the same breath as Michael Jordan, Magic [ Johnson], and guys like that not only because of his scoring, but also because of his winning. If he wins a championship without [Shaquille O'Neal], which is something I think he wanted to prove, then you have to put him with some of the greatest players to ever play this game.

"He will have four championships under his belt. And he still has five, six, seven years of basketball at a high level left in him. So he can get up to Jordan and Magic-type numbers, as far as rings are concerned."

Still true to his Laker roots, Scott didn't mention Larry Bird when speaking of some of the greats of the game.

Finals thought

Last night's Game 1 was the first Finals game in Celtics history without Red Auerbach, who died in October 2006. Auerbach's daughter, Randy, who lives in Los Angeles, attended the game. The Celtics were making their 20th Finals appearance.

Taking his best shot

Hall of Famer Dan Issel believes Big Brown will easily become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 by winning the Belmont Stakes tomorrow. Issel, who is nicknamed "The Horse" and owns horses, said, "I was at Belmont Park when Affirmed beat Alydar for the last Triple Crown. I'll see another one Saturday . . . I'm not worried about [the hoof injury]. He'll be fine. He's a $50 million horse. They wouldn't run him if he wasn't 100 percent." So, who is he picking in the Finals? "Simply because I drafted James Posey, I'm pulling for the Celtics."

Hero time

Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester will be honored as the "Heroes Among Us" during Game 2 Sunday night. Less than two years after being diagnosed with lymphoma, Lester was the winning pitcher in the clinching game of the 2007 World Series. He threw a no-hitter last month.

Sticking to his roots

eeeeDuring a taping of Spike TV's "Guys Choice" Awards last Friday in Los Angeles, actor and Cambridge native Matt Damon was booed after telling the crowd what he thinks the Celtics will do to the Lakers. "I'd like to let everyone know that categorically, positively, unequivocally, undeniably, we are going to kick your [butt]," said Damon. Damon also gave a shout out to the All-Star trio of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, and said, "I'm not going to switch teams just because I'm outnumbered."

Couch potato

Celtics legend Satch Sanders said he would likely watch all the Finals games at home. Why? He likes to be able to watch the game without distractions.

A Capital feast

There is an annual dinner of African-American sports journalists every year during the Finals. This year it was at The Capital Grille on Newbury Street. Among the attendees were ESPN's Michael Wilbon, Stephen A. Smith, J.A. Adande, and Michael Smith, WEEI's Michael Holley, TNT's David Aldridge, NBATV's Andre Aldridge, and longtime Los Angeles TV reporter-anchor Jim Hill, who is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "There was definitely a buzz in the room. We're used to the big buzz from Fenway Park and we used to see a lot of Red Sox. [Wednesday] night, there was the Celtics buzz in room," said Christopher W. Scott, managing partner of The Capital Grille.

Garnett on video

2K Sports will announce today that Garnett will be featured as the cover athlete and spokesman for the video game, NBA 2K9. "NBA 2K is where it's at. End of story," Garnett said in a statement. "It's the game I play, the game my friends play, and the game anyone in the league serious about video games plays. NBA 2K is the real deal, and until 2K Sports finds a way to plant an elbow in your chest, it's the closest thing to actually being there on the court. I can't tell you how pumped I am to be on the cover of NBA 2K9 - it's a real honor. Now watch out because this fall 2K Sports and I are going to deliver the best basketball video game out there, period."

The stars will be out

Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Jo Jo White, Dana Barros, Sanders, Glen Davis, Gabe Pruitt, Brian Scalabrine, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, NBA commissioner David Stern, and ex-NBA star Bob Lanier are among the celebrities scheduled to attend the unveiling of a new Reading & Learning Center at the Blackstone Community Center in Boston today.