We had some great discourse happening under the comments section of Foil in the Oven. They are certainly worthy of being posted. Continue commenting under Foil in the Oven, and we'll paste your comments into here.
MFerrante said...
A couple quick thoughts:
1) I really hope they played the Jack Nicholson "you can't handle the truth" video on the jumbotron. It works on so many levels.
2) Can somebody please pull a Tanya Harding on Sam Cassel? They'd be saving about 100 people in the Boston area from dying of heart attacks when he's in the game. Doc left him in WAY too long last night.
3) The reason why the Lakers beat the Spurs is that Kobe hit the shots he was missing last night. Not sure if he will do it all series, but there will at least be a game or two when he is unstoppable because of that jumper. Loved how they stopped him from getting to the basket, though.
4) The Larry O'Brien trophy at midcourt is hideous. Its like a cartoonist from the Simpsons drew it.
5) The Cassel, Allen, Posey, Powe, Brown lineup to start the 2nd was ridiculous. Though not quite as bas as it was in the last three series when Ray Allen was shooting medicine balls.
6) Finally... really liked your comments to Shea. I've found myself getting so into the games this postseason that its almost tough to enjoy them (probably in large part due to some of the atrocious games they've played). Last night I think I was able to enjoy the game for what it was: a great and exciting game. As a sports fan for a team for which you have really high expectations, sometimes you forget to enjoy the ride. Thanks for reminding me.
June 6, 2008 10:18 AM
Casten said...
Yesterday was one of the most anticipated sports days of my life. I could feel it coming when my girlfriend decided on Tuesday that it would be best for her to not be around me for the game. When she does that, I can tell things are getting intense and she might legitimately be scared of me when my teams play big playof games. I had to leave my office at 3:00 yesterday because I was unable to function in my job. I went home and watched game 4 of the 1984 finals, which I recorded from Classic. When I found myself getting off my couch and yelling at the biggest cry baby of all time(Kareem) I knew that it was going to be a great night. When the brawl broke out during the Red Sox game, I was fired up on a KG level.
That game last night was GREAT on so many levels. It was nice to finally see good basketball. The Pistons and Cleveland series were miserable to watch because the Cavs and Pistons both play defense by fouling on every posession and hoping the refs only call it half the time. It was a grind. Last nights game was a breath of fresh air and an honorable chapter to the greatest rivalry in basketball.
I loved the way we played defense in the fourth quarter. That was one of our best defensive quarters of the season and this bodes very well for the series, especially in relation to how we defended Kobe. We didn't let him get to the rim and he settled for tough jumpers. It was perfect. Kobe chalked it up to "a few lucky bounces" in his post game interview, but that was great D. I hate Kobe.
The scary thing is that we played pretty inconsistent D through 3 quarters. We gave up too many offensive boards and missed a lot of rotations. If we tighten that up, we have an even higher ceiling and can create more offense of turnovers like we did last night. There will be plenty of adjustments for Thibideau to make in film study. The Lakers, on the other hand, really didn't play so poorly and just missed a lot of shots. If we can play better D all game, their improved shooting the rest of the way shouldn't matter much.
The one thing that terrifies me is that KG had another shaky 4th quarter. I'm sorry, and I know Nick disagrees, but he panics when the game is on the line. There were some key posessions in the 4th quarter where he simply didn't want the shot and actually chucked it out to Rondo when he was in the paint at one point. He simply cannot have the ball in his hands in big situations. He should be crashing the boards, as evidenced by that sick dunk to ignite the crowd.
My only other complaint is that Doc insists on playing Cassell. I know he helped in the first half, but he almost cost us the game at the start of the 4th. We need House.
Game 2 is huge. If we win we have them where we want them.
June 6, 2008 11:37 AM
LaRocque said...
Great comments guys. I was obviously writing on adrenaline last night and riding some serious emotion.
In thinking a little more clearly and evenly today, you both make some good points.
- yes casten, it was good to force kobe into taking jumpers. But, as Mike says, I think he and Vujajic had some really good looks. They did everything perfect, and yet I still feel like they normally hit a lot of those shots. The Celtics could feasibly play that well and lose a game.
- Cassell had a chance to work his way back in to our good graces last night and he failed. After he came out and hit his first three, he should have just stayed within himself and kept playing. But, instead he turned into that retarded spider monkey that fires shots up in any situation. He can't be trusted. If they are going to keep doing this thing where they put Kobe on Cassell (or House) to try and simulate the Lindsey Hunter pressure, it may be good to start the offense with Pierce up top again (Obviously I love that, I talk about it all the time).
- I do agree that KG goes cold a lot of time in the fourth, and I'd like to see him attack the basket more when this happens (for example, that dunk putback on which it looked like a lightning bolt hit the hoop). I guess I just didn't like the negative tone of Simmons' article. He still plays great D at the end of games. But, I can't argue with the fact that his jumper was cold in the fourth. BUT, he played a great game.
- Great point on the basketballjones.net today about how anti-climactic it was to have James Taylor after all of the intense introductions.
June 6, 2008 12:43 PM
LaRocque said...
and, worth mentioning that he (KG) was a little more aggresive at the end last night after he was missing some jumpers. But, obviously we'd rather have the ball in Pierce or Allen's hands in those situations.
June 6, 2008 12:45 PM
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