I don't really have a problem with the loss last night. I mean, there were tons of problems with how the Celtics played, and they very easily could have won the game. I was certainly upset last night, but things seem to make a little more sense today. While I have stated numerous times that I believe the Celtics have a big edge in this series, it is not a series that is so lop-sided that I would expect it to end in 5 games. The Lakers did win the Western Conference, both in the regular season and the post-season, so they are probably better than a 5 game defeat. And yet, it was right there. If a few things had gone differently, the NBA season would be over. Again, I was upset last night. But, today, in a weird way, I'm happy about the prospect of watching basketball again tomorrow. The only thing that makes me really upset about last night is Bill Walton being allowed to play a part in the broadcast of these finals games.
I'm with Shaq on this one. Shaq is one of the most dominant players of all time.
It has been over a week since the Celtics last played in Boston, and I think a trip home will be exactly what this team needs. While they weren't able to close out the series last night, they certainly accomplished what they needed to in Los Angeles. Heading into the three-game road stretch of this series, we all agreed that they needed to take one game. Obviously they did. On top of that, they didn't give the Lakers any reason to be optimistic as they head back East. The Celtics played one of their worst games of the entire post-season in Game 3, and yet the Lakers only won by 6 points. Then, the Celtics responded by spotting the Lakers 27 points and winning by 6 on Thursday night. The Lakers came out swinging last night, and they looked strong early. This was definitely the best complete game that we have seen from the Lakers offense. In particular, Pau Gasol was really able to take advantage of Kendrick Perkins being out. But that game could have gone either way until the final minute. The Lakers were the home team. They were the more desperate team. And, I can think of a number of two-play/call combinations that would have produced a different result. The most obvious is Kobe not stealing the ball at the end and KG not missing his three free throws down the stretch. But, certainly there were more. The point is, the Lakers never really seemed in control after the first quarter, and overall I think they had a pretty lackluster three game home stretch.
A few thoughts from last night:
- I'm sure that KG's poor play is going to be the biggest topic for the media. But, before we get to that, I want to highlight the performance of Paul Pierce. As we predicted, and as we have seen throughout the series, the Lakers have no answer for the Truth. Pierce wanted this game more than anybody else on the floor last night. He put the Celtics on his back at the start of the second quarter, and was the single biggest reason that they were able to stifle the Lakers' momentum. Throughout the game, whenever it seemed like LA might go on a run and pull away again, Pierce would find a bucket for his team. He simply refused to let the Celtics quit. Pierce played all 48 minutes (47:58) of this game. It will be interesting to see if he shows any effects from those minutes in game 6. To be honest, I don't see it having much of an impact. He only played 31 minutes in game three, very low for him. And, at this point, one win away from the championship, I think a competitor like Pierce is able to put fatigue out of his mind. A ridiculously loud Garden crowd will certainly help him by getting his adrenaline going.
- Here is a great piece on Free Darko about Pierce. As is usual with these guys, it's not your typical analysis, but they always capture an aspect of the game that I find nearly impossible to articulate.
- Garnett did not play well on either end of the floor. Certainly, his early foul trouble really took him out of his rhythm. He was finally starting to attack in the paint on offense when he got whistled for his third and had to sit down. But, he had opportunities to get himself right after that and he couldn't. His shots were off. When he was fed the ball in the paint, he often times took way too long figuring out how to attack, which gave the Lakers plenty of time to collapse and forced him to kick the ball back outside. His three missed free throws down the stretch are the kind of thing that kill a team in the post-season. On defense, he let Gasol the ostrich back him down a few times. Overall, it was just a bad performance. Of all the players on this team, I don't think any need to get back to home court more than Garnett. I'm not trying to be an apologist by any means here, but I would like to point out the one positive aspect of KG's performance. He was working extremely hard on the glass. This isn't me going back to the boxscore and looking for something good to say. In fact, I was surprised that the boxscore said he only had 14 boards (I guess because of his limited minutes). Particularly in the third quarter, Garnett came up with a number of big defensive rebounds. I'm not saying he played well, but those boards are big and helped the Celtics stay in the game. KG's frustration was palpable last night, and I expect a big performance from him at home in game 6.
- I won'tr claim to have been right about Tony Allen. After calling for him so often in the Detroit series and having him crash and burn, it would seem ridiculous. So, instead, I'll just point out that he reminded us all last night why he is a valuable asset to this team. He did a great job on Kobe Bryant, and turned what I thought in the first half was going to be a 40 point game into a forgettable 8-21 25 pointer. And, thanks ABC for showing us Kobe kissing his daughters as he left the tunnel for halftime (I bet he used tongue) and then having him take them out for the press conference. Do we really need to push this agenda that hard? I think a lot of NBA fans have put that whole Colorado thing completely behind them. All this does is bring it back because it makes them think "oh yeah, they're just doing this because they want to make him seem like a good family man because of that whole Colorado thing."
- Sam Cassell, not horrible last night. He did throw that pass off of Tony Allen's foot, and he did take a few shots that I would have liked him to pass up. But, not horrible. I'd still rather see Rondo spelled at the point by Eddie or Ray.
- Speaking of Rondo, he killed me a few times last night. The worst was in the first half when he drove to the basket, had an uncontested layup, and still made the decision to kick the ball out. Clearly the Lakers are going to stick with this strategy of playing off of Rondo, because he hasn't given them any reason to go away from it. If he continues to be passive, his minutes will continue to dwindle (only 14 last night).
- I realize that no team has ever come back down 3-1, and I really felt like game 4 was a dagger in the Lakers' heart. But, every time the Celtics allow LA to extend the series, things get a little more dicey. Before, the Lakers had to win three in a row. The Celtics only lost three in a row once during the entire regular season (West Coast road trip, Denver, Golden State, and Phoenix). Now, the Lakers head back to Boston only needing to win two games in a row. If the Celtics don't take this series tomorrow night, then it will only be one. I realize I'm overstating the obvious here. But, my point is that they need to play with urgency until this thing is over. I think coming home and playing before a rowdy Garden crowd tomorrow night will be the key. Tomorrow night is the night. I can't wait.
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