LAKERS -at- CELTICS - 6/13 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Final Stand... They have prodded you with sticks for days as you sit tied up inside your prison in this wretched jungle hell hole. You've suffered insult and injury. And the stench of Leprechauns grows worse by the minute.

As the Horsemen attack again and again, the Leprechauns keep them away from the heart of their temple. They put up a feisty perimeter defense with a sharp counterattack. Once again, they neutralize the effectiveness of the biggest of Horsemen. This is not going well at all.

You use this moment to free yourself from your binds. You kick at the bamboo bars, which bend but do not break. Still, you squeeze your way through the bars until free. Bleeding, you drag yourself to your boat, crawl in and start the engine.

Spears and arrows whistle over your head as you turn the boat around and begin the return trip home to make a final stand. DancingBarry has left for you in the log book:

"The Horsemen were here. They took one victory and that will have to suffice. They retreat home, dangerously close to disaster. Victory or death. They must refuse to lose.

I will continue to track them..."

They play all season for home court advantage in big games. With a 92-86 loss, the Lakers will need the roar of Staples and the confidence that goes with that to carry them to two straight home victories.

It is Do or Die time. For the first time in these playoffs, the Lakers face an elimination game.

The Celtics had shot 65 percent in the first three quarters of this game. They had absorbed a huge, 19-point third quarter from Kobe by scoring 28 points. Too many layups. Too many easy hoops. The Celtics scored on 11 of their first 14 possessions of the third quarter.

"Last game was the fourth quarter, this game was the third quarter where we didn't get any stops," Kobe said.

The Lakers buckled down in the fourth, holding the Celtics to 7-20 shooting and just 16 points until some intentional freethrows in the final seconds. They could never sustain a two-way game.

They missed 9 freethrows on the night, including two by Ron with 43 seconds left, which could have cut it to a one possession game.

The Lakers have lost three of their last four games. Granted Kobe was strapped with phantom fouls in game two, but they have not played with any rhythm offensively.

Asked about the pressure his teammates will face in an elimination game, Kobe said, "Just man up and play. What the hell's the big deal? I don't see it as a big deal. If I have to say something to them, we don't deserve to be champions. Down 3-2, go home, win one game and go on to the next one."

The Celtics have won two straight at home and now the Lakers must match that to take the championship. The Lakers rarely lose three in a row, but the Celtics aren't going to roll over for them. As Kobe says, man up and get it done.


Kobe -- -- Kobe was the only Laker to impose his game on the Celtics. Although he had some kickouts to teammates and a couple nice passes to Bynum in the first half, Kobe struggled to get his complete game going early on. He was taking a lot of contact with no calls, but his shot selection was poor. In the third quarter, he went off. He had 19 points on 7-9 shots (the rest of the team was 0-2 at that point). The defense, however, gave up everything the Lakers were getting. Had they contained the Celtics defensively, it might have been a new game heading into the fourth. "They got layup after layup after layup," Kobe said. "You can't survive when a team shoots 56 percent." It was nice to see an illegal D call finally against the Celtics. That came in the second half. The team needs to point those out more. Kobe mentioned the D. Rondo got 18 points on 9-12 shooting and 8 assists. Those are big numbers. Too many layups and easy shots (not to mention a great offensive board putback in the fourth). "They just got to every ball. They played with more tenacity than we did," he said. Kobe tweaked his ankle in the game, but had it re-taped and it didn't seem to affect him. The Stats: He scored 38 points on 13-27 shooting (4-10 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in 44 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a wing pull-up jumper. He curled around a screen and lobbed to Drew for a dunk. He set up Drew for a layup off the screen roll. He airballed a three with the shotclock low. He easily took a charge on Perkins what was foolishly leading the break (Perkins second of the first quarter). He sank a three coming off the screens on a play out of a timeout. He missed a three, not getting squared up. Horrible, long fading wing jumper miss after a pumpfake with plenty of clock left. He kicked out to Sasha for a three. He hit a runner in the paint. He got caught in the air and threw the pass away (should have lobbed to Drew at the rim). He missed a fade in the lane. He made a tech FT. He attacked and kicked to Ron for three. He crossed over and hit a fading floater next time down. Bad possession, ball stopping with the dribble all possession, not even trying to work the screens, then pumping before heaving a long jumper and missing (Phil would call a timeout next time down). He missed a wing jumper, followed it, got it back and sank the baseline jumper. He was mugged in the paint on a drive with no call. He had 10 points on 4-12 shooting and 4 assists. Second Half: Finally an illegal D call when Kobe was iso'ing, he missed the tech, however. He sank a tough turnaround, spinning away from the double on the baseline. He sank a tough wing jumper next time down. He got a kind bounce on a three on his next attempt. He sank a one-dribble three on his next shot. He was called for an offensive foul trying to shed Allen who was holding his arm. He posted up and hit a quick step-back elbow jumper. Pierce on him, he spun and finished the lob with one hand. He sank a 30-footer on a kickout from Ron, wow. He missed a tough, fading corner jumper in early offense. He was fouled on a jumper after grabbing a blocked shot, he made both FTs. He missed a tough, double-clutching 20-footer, not a good look. He had 19 points on 7-9 shooting in the third. He muscled past Tony Allen and hit a fade across the lane. He swatted Allen on the other end. He missed a long three. He swished a step-back wing jumper. He was stripped for a layup the other way (he wanted the foul). Sloppy pass on the perimeter, it forced a KG/LO jumpball. Rondo tipped in an offensive board behind him and LO. He picked up his fifth foul on a Pierce flop. Down 12, he attacked and drew FTs at the rim, he made both. He drew a rare undercut foul on Ray Allen on the high split play with Fish while shooting the three (same play we've run for game winners this season), he made all three to cut the lead to 5 with 1:30 (some idiot in the stands tried to throw something at him on his third attempt). Some chucks in the last few seconds: He missed a three. He missed a leaning three. He missed a tough twisting three.

Gasol -- -- He is getting pushed off the block too much. The Lakers aren't able to get him the ball in low position. Meanwhile, KG is able to give the Celtics some low-post scores. The Celtics have turned Pau and the Lakers into the donut team. If Bynum was healthier, he'd probably be the guy battling down low and scoring while Pau searches for his game. If he can't go, Pau has got to give them their low post offensive hub. Pau had just 2 points in the first half, before getting 10 in the second. This isn't the one-two punch the Lakers must have. When they got that in the second half, the offense was able to hang with the Celtics. The team is also missing Pau's passing game. Limited touches in the post or off the two-man game will affect that. Earlier in the series Pau had KG backing up in the post, trying to pull the chair. They need to see that Pau fighting for good position and going after it (not the Pau getting swatted three times and not setting up teammates). Meanwhile, KG had 18 points, 10 boards, 5 steals and pretty much dominated Pau on both ends. Another game like this and the Lakers are toast, and people will be putting a lot of the loss on his shoulders again. On the good side, Pau was working the offensive glass well. When he's not getting the ball, it is mission critical that the team get their bigs imposing their size inside. The Lakers actually won the offensive glass 16-7. Only real positive sign of anything working. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-12 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 12 boards (7 offensive), 2 steals, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a putback attempt, fading in the paint. He tipped in a Farmar missed layup. Bad double when Ron switched on KG and Pierce hit a three when Pau tried to rush back out. He missed a wing jumper, short. He missed another wing jumper, short. He had just 2 points on 1-4 shooting and 5 boards (3 offensive). Second Half: He blew past KG but was blocked by KG and Perkins. He fumbled a defensive board, then threw it away. He gave up a layup to KG (why front when Kobe is sagging off Rondo, let Kobe sit in KG's lap to deny). He fouled KG twice on iso D, the second an And-1 make. He was rejected at the rim by KG. He let KG step around him to steal a pass. He saw an open lane, attacked and threw down an And-1 dunk, he made the FT (first points for someone other than Kobe after 9+ minutes of the third). He was blocked by Tony Allen on a layup. He grabbed a Lamar miss and hit a short jumper while falling away. He had 5 points on 2-6 shooting in the third. He sank a wing jumper to start the fourth. He threw a pass in the backcourt on a drive, Sheed hit a three on him on the other end (big sequence as the Celtic lead could have gone down to 4 instead of up 9). No challenge on Nate's penetration. He was called for a push off. He drew FTs when Ron attacked baseline and set him up, he made one. He scored a putback off a missed three.

Bynum -- -- All his stats came within in the first few minutes of the game. With a second knee drain, Drew suited up to try to give the Lakers some much-needed impact ball. He had a team-worst -10 in his 30 minutes and just 1 rebound. That's not the healthy, active Bynum that the team needs to get over the hump against the Celtics. If the refs are going to let Perkins push our bigs while the ball is in the air, only Bynum will likely be able to hold ground (even then, he was having issues with the shoving). Drew had some good moments early when the team was looking for him. He was also able to keep balls alive on the offensive glass. After that first stint, he was setting picks and unable to get to the offensive glass. We didn't give him the ball after that. Phil went with Lamar on Perkins down the stretch and we struggled to control our defensive glass. The Stats: He had 6 points on 3-6 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 1 offensive board, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He airballed over a double team to start the game. He missed a short turnaround in the lane. He grabbed an Artest miss and powered in an And-1, he missed the FT. He tapped an offensive board to Fish for a score. He dunked off the lob from Kobe. He powered in a layup, slipping the screen and taking the Kobe pass. He missed a jumphook, then was called for going over the back. He had 6 points on 3-6 shooting in 10 minutes. Second Half: He did not get a shot or post touch in the third. He was called for an offensive foul trying to free himself from being held in the post. Great D to swat Pierce after flashing to the lane twice, recovering, then returning to challenge at the rim.

Artest -- -- Not at all a pretty game on either end for Artest. "Ron had an opportunity," Phil said. Ron missed both freethrows with 43 seconds left that could have brought the Lakers to within just 3 points. He had missed another one earlier in the quarter, too. Got to make those. The Laker missed FTs cost them bigtime in this game. Defensively, Ron had trouble keeping Pierce contained as well as the team had done in previous games. Pierce had 27 points on 12-21 shooting. Ron had to deal with foul trouble for the first three quarters. His three shooting was a little better in this game (the 40 percent three shooting, they need more consistently), but he gave them little else on that end. When he's not locking up, we've got problems. At one point Kobe wanted to D-up Pierce, but that would cause issues with Rondo. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-9 shooting (2-5 from three, 1-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a wing jumper off the screen. He missed an open corner three. With the shotclock low, he tried to create and lost the ball. He drained a three, not hesitating on the LO kickout. He dumped KG on a foul (Rondo shoved him for a tech, Artest helped flop to draw it). He sank a sideline three on a Kobe kickout. He missed a reverse. He had position and was called for a loose ball foul trying to get the offensive board, he then sat for Luke with a minute left. He had 6 points on 2-7 shooting (2-3 from three), but 3 fouls. Pierce had 15 on 7-10 shooting (a lot of Laker switching). Second Half: He picked up his fourth foul on a perimeter reach on Pierce with 5:52 left in the third. He had to sit. He missed an open sideline three. Not close on a three on iso. He deflected a pass to get a stop. He attacked and set up Pau for FTs. He drew a loose ball foul on Perkins while battling on the defensive glass, he made one FT. He was fouled on a breakaway with 43 seconds left, he missed both, however. He and Fisher switched, Ron was beat down court by Rondo who took a pass from Pierce to score a layup (Ron slowed up instead of catching up).

Fisher -- -- He and Ray were in a feisty battle all game, complete with lots of talking, holding, pushing off, and even a double foul. After Allen's big second game, he hasn't hit a three. Hopefully, he doesn't pick up where he left off last time at Staples. Fish drew a couple of moving screen calls and probably could have drawn a couple more fouls on Allen at times on that end of the court in this battle. Allen looked like he fouled Fish twice on defensive boards that gave the ball back to the Celtics. Allen finished with 12 points on 5-10 shooting. Unfortunately, the cross match couldn't hold Rondo down. Offensively, Fish put together a strong first quarter to keep the Lakers hanging in there, but did little after that. Had Ron converted his two FTs to cut the game to the single possession, maybe DFish could have worked some magic with his jumper. On that play, he somehow won a jumpball against KG on the defensive end. Just a huge play, but we could not capitalize. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 2-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards (2 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed an early offense, corner three (transition layup the other way). He pushed it up aggressively and drew FTs, he made both. He drew a moving screen on KG on the other end. He missed a drive, Drew kept it alive to him and Fish hit the fade in the lane. He banked a wing jumper over Rondo with the shotclock low. He was fouled on a corner three, he made all three FTs. His breakaway pass was stolen for a layup the other way. He missed a fading baseline jumper. He missed a corner jumper. He had 9 points on 2-6 shooting. Second Half: Great recovery in transition to help knock the ball off Rondo. He was hit hard from behind on a rebound with no call and we lost the ball. He hit Kobe with an off-the-mark lob, but Kobe still guided it in on the backdoor play. He missed an open toe-on-the-three line jumper. He was called for a double foul with Ray as the two were banging in the post. He then drew a moving screen on Perkins. He somehow won a jumpball against KG, getting it before KG could, wow. He missed a corner three.

Lamar -- -- After an early 8-2 start for the Celtic bench, the Laker bench outscored them 12-5. A better game from Lamar and his fellow bench mates on both ends. Lamar led all Lakers with a +8. However, the team couldn't get key stops and boards in crunch time. No Big Baby to worry about in the fourth quarter tonight, but Perkins was able to push Lamar around and pull down a couple offensive boards in the fourth. It would be nice if they called some of that in L.A., but Lamar is just going to have to keep moving his feet and keep a body on Perkins when the shots go up. "We just didn't get enough stops," Lamar said. Got to stop the easy shots, but we also have to get the key one-and-out possessions. Both he and Kobe mentioned the D, but Phil said he was fine with the 92 points the Celtics got. You can't let the Celtics score at the high percentage they did. But, you also can't have 39 points in a half and survive very often. The Celtics were able to beat them at both ends when they needed to. One noticeable change in this game was the Lakers didn't put the ball in his hand much to walk it up court and run down shotclock. Nice to that was not an issue, but it took several games. LO missed both FTs he took. If the team can't get more out of Bynum, the Candy Man simply has to elevate his game. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-6 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. The Action: He was called for a charge trying to attack to his left. He cleaned up a Sasha missed three with a good crash and putback (more please). He was blocked by Sheed, it led to a bustout. He cut off of Kobe, drew the pass and D, then hit Artest for a three. He had 2 points on 1-2 shooting, 2 boards and 2 steals. Second Half: He attacked, took contact before putting up the shot and drew FTs, he missed both, however. He missed a drive left. His man back-screened Fisher and Lamar ball watched as Allen scored a layup under the hoop. He iso'd and scored a layup. He grabbed a missed three by Ron and hit the short baseline jumper. He couldn't secure a brick by Ray Allen with 1:05 left down by 5 and Perkins got it after shoving Lamar in the back. He grabbed a missed Kobe three and hit the floater.

Brown -- -- Just a brief stint for Shannon in this game as Sasha took most of his minutes. I'm not sure if we will see much of him in L.A. as Allen went off on him there. But getting a timely throwdown or some big play could spark the team on the home floor. Shannon's hoop IQ against the tough Celtic D, however, may just keep him benched. The Stats: He was a -1 in a few seconds. The Action: Brief stint at the end of the first quarter. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Farmar -- -- He didn't make anything he took (just one of his two attempts from the freethrow line), but he played some decent minutes. He got his hands on a couple of passes. Nate Robinson didn't go crazy. Maybe Farmar can deliver a big game now that the team returns home. Bench's struggle on the road. Hopefully, this aspect of the home court advantage comes to play for the Lakers. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-4 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 steal and no fouls in 13 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: Nice drive, he missed the tricky layup, but Pau tipped it in. He bricked a drive, didn't hit rim with his left. He deflected a pass. He deflected another pass, pushed it out and drew FTs, he made one. Second Half: He missed a quick-fire three.

Luke -- -- With RonRon in foul trouble, Luke got some key minutes in a couple of stretches. After having to deal with Artest, Pierce looks forward to this match up. (You'd almost wish it was Pierce getting hot on Luke, then Artest being the fireman. Because if he's got it going against Ron, it's doubtful Luke is going to make things better.) Offensively, Luke does give the team a much better dynamic. He's not as stagnant and can set up our bigmen, which has been a problem. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot, but had 1 assist and 1 turnover in 6 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: In briefly for Ron with a minute left in the half. Second Half: He kicked out to Sasha for a jumper.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha came in to help spread the floor and push up the ball to get into the offense earlier. He pretty much took Shannon's minutes. So, instead of a Farmar/Brown unit, we had the Farmar/Sasha unit. He hit a three and another long jumper. With Phil's emphasis on the offensive being the main problem, perhaps he runs this again in the next one to get the spacing and passing better. Sasha also attacked some of the paint on a couple of sequences. The Lakers need to get more penetration like that. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (1-2 from three) to go wtih 1 board, 1 steal and 1 foul in 10 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He airballed a wing jumper, got it back and missed a corner three. He swished a three on a Kobe kickout. Second Half: He made a 22-footer. He missed a layup on a drive.

Phil -- -- Bynum looked strong to start the game and the Lakers got him the ball. At the first timeout with 4:58 left, Phil left him in rather than sub for Lamar... Trailing 18-15 with 2:39 left in the first, Phil sat Drew for Lamar at the timeout. Kobe, Pau, and Ron were a combined 0-7... The Lakers trailed 22-20 after the first quarter. The Lakers shot just 7-21, but had 4 offensive boards. The Celtics made 11-19, but had no second chances... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Artest, Sasha, Farmar lineup... He sat Ron for Kobe as Pierce rested... The Lakers trailed 30-22 and called a timeout at the 8:46 mark. An 8-2 advantage to the Celtics bench at this point. (The bench would push it back to 8-6)... Down 6, Phil went with his starters and LO instead of Pau. They forced a Celtic timeout cutting the lead to just 1... Down 4 with the crowd going nuts, Phil called a timeout. He didn't like the last offensive possession from Kobe... He had to sit Ron with his third foul with a minute left in the half... The Lakers lost the second quarter 23-19... The Lakers were down 45-39 at the half. They shot a poor 33 percent (14-42, 4-8 from three, 7-9 from the line). The Celtics hit 65.6 percent (21-32, 1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line). The Lakers had an 8-2 advantage on the offensive glass and just 4 turnovers to the 11 by the Celtics... Phil wanted better ball movement and for the team to be ready to shoot when they had opportunities... The Lakers quickly trailed by 11 after 2 minutes... Phil called a timeout at the 7:37 mark, down 60-49. Lakers giving up too many layups... Ron picked up his fourth foul with 5:36 and Phil brought in Luke... Kobe had 19 points on 7-9 shooting, the rest of the team was 0-2, but they couldn't get any stops during this Kobe run... The Lakers lost the third 28-26. The Celtics made 12-19 in the third and were shooting 64.7 percent for the game... The Lakers trailed 73-65 heading into the fourth. Phil started a Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Sasha, Farmar unit... Down 10 after 4 minutes, he brought in Bynum for Pau, Fish for Farmar and Ron for Sasha.... They cut the lead to 6 after a couple of minutes and forced a Celtic timeout. The Celtics scored twice to push the lead right back up out of that timeout... Down 87-79, after two Perkins missed FTs (he'll never go for a hack-a-Perkins or hack-a-Rondo...but it might not have been a bad idea), Phil called a timeout with 1:40 left. The team would have a chance to cut it to 3 with 43 seconds left with Ron streaking down court for a layup. He was fouled and missed both FTs. That would have allowed the Lakers to lock in for a possession on D and a chance to tie it... After 4 turnovers in the first half, the Lakers had 10 in the second half... The Celtics made just 7-20 in the third. The only quarter the Lakers played any worthwhile D... Heading into the game, the Lakers had a streak of 14 straight wins when the series has been tied. Normally, with the series tied 2-2 this would be a home game, but the 2-3-2 format changes that...


Game Flow -- LINK -- Three unanswered runs by the Celtics between the second and third quarters, but the Lakers in a hole. Only a couple brief leads for the Lakers in this one.

[uberzev]

first

thanks DB
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Lakers Gonna Lake

[BROW GOAT 23]

Lakers are one of the best home teams in the league. These 2 games should be easier than anybody thinks.

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB.

This team has been hurt by its tendency to screw itself over. Yet again there was a sequence in the fourth where they had possessions with consecutive turnovers and had 5 turnovers in the fourth. That coupled with the Missed FTs (Really LO and Ron? 0-2? Geez) that lakers robbed themselves of a chance to win this, again.
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*sighs*

!...

[Sister Golden Hair]

I want LO gone from this team.

His attitude has infected several teammates. I want him gone.

He's a cancer. I don't make that charge lightly. He's a cancer and a loser. The lakers are in a hole and he's one of the primary reasons. he just refuses to be consistent or show up for big games.

I can't wait until the team trades him ... for whetever they can get.

SGH

[THE_DANIMAL]

Tues the test starts!

the test of heart, determination, and pressure

I'm Confident!

Bring it!

D.

[Fleur-de-Lis]

[sonimala]

Thanks DB. Kobe and Sasha/ Fisher should just do the pick and roll all game in offense. . Boston's D had evovoled against the Triangle offense.
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Miami police will not arrest Dirk for stealing LeBron's ring. The victim never witnessed the crime since he left 12 mins before the theft. As tweeted by: The Bill Walton Trip

[ABynum17]

Will Phil allow us to go down with our best lineup? I mean, if we're going to allow Kobe to jack up those "desperation shots," then it seems pretty easy to me. In theory, they could hard-double Kobe, but that would allow Odom wide open paths to the baskets.

Furthermore, we can substittute for offense, when there are timeouts and free throw stoppages. We've definitely gotta do a better job on Pierce. Ron cannot guard Pierce at an adequate level at all, unless Pierce is tired.

Let's say we went with that lineup defensively, then you have Odom on Pierce, Kobe on Rondo, Artest on Allen, Bynum on KG(I think we have to make this switch now, especially if they allow us to play physical), Pau on Perkins. Tell Odom to play up on Pierce, and if they run any type of screen, either-on-ball-or off ball for Pierce, then we can just simply switch.

The biggest problem would probably be Allen, but we can just switch out and play basically a "domino-style" defense. Then whoever guards Perkins runs to the basket, Artest stays with KG, just in case Allen decides to drive on the big.

Now there are probably a ton of other fun things you can do with this lineup, but unfortunately, without seeing it in action, it's tough to think of them, especially offensively. However, if we do switch out for offense, whenever there are stoppages, then it's probably not urgent anyway.

[coop-a-loop]

Outrebounded today. Coupled with bad defense at some stretches. We are never going to beat the Celtics if we get outrebounded. Bad defense and turnovers in the 4th quarter just compound our problems.

Usually benches don't play well on the road, and I hope this will happen to Boston in Games 6 and 7. Glen, Davis, Rasheed, and Nate Rob outplayed out bench in the 3 games at Boston.

Celtics proved that they can win 2 straight homes games. If we can match that, we win the finals.

[Sister Golden Hair]

[Fleur-de-Lis]

Yep, LO is done. Ron is Ron. Kobe, Gasol and Fisher will have to be the guys who carry us. Bynum will help, but you can't expect a guy with one leg to do everything.
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Winning recipe: Effort, Intensity, Focus, Composure, Patience, Execution, Attention to detail, Discipline & Persistence

[deadwood24]

Lakers were outplayed the last 2 games however that was in Boston and the Lakers held there own in my opinion. They stole game 1 and if you watched the other 2 games you felt them on the verge of possibly stealing either of those other 2 games as well. They kept there composure and didn't get blown out at boston like what happened in 2008. Keep in mind the celtics were able to take care of both the Cavs and Magic who both had better records than the lakers so they are the best contenders from the Eastern Conference and arent going to roll over easily and go away. Thats what home court advantage is for. Although the lakers are down 3-2. You can count on Kobe still be consistent offensively as he's been the whole series and a whole roster of team mates who have played short of there potential last 2 games and are definatly going to step it up!!! GO LAKERS!!!! Staples center is going to erupt!!

[ABynum17]

[Sister Golden Hair]

[deadwood24]

Everyone is so ready to right off the lakers. I hope thats not the vibe at staples come tuesday. Lakers stole 1 game at boston and that is alot if you ask me. Celtics won game 4 by the crowd feeding off of big babies game play and game 5 through shear will and determination. Game 5 was a must win for boston. Lakers at home will turn it around and they will be more than happy to have the crowd behind them

[Fleur-de-Lis]

Right on the money as always SGH
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Winning recipe: Effort, Intensity, Focus, Composure, Patience, Execution, Attention to detail, Discipline & Persistence

[Jeffs]

[PopcornMachine]

Bad game by whole team.

Lamar will be fine. Don't think he had that bad of a game, but people need their voodoo doll to stick pins in.
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I'm with COCO!

[Sister Golden Hair]

[ElginWorthy]

I know this sounds like sour grapes, but does anyone else think that Pierce gets away with murder on offense? I think he constantly fouls on the offensive side of his game. He dips into the defender constantly, uses his elbows, etc.

And that two step drop back and shoot thing he does? That looks like a travel to me every time. They should call it as such. No pivot foot. He moves both.

. . .

As for the game. The Lakers looked lackluster. It's probably the worst I've seen them play defense all year. Far too many easy buckets for the Celtics.

Again, the Lakers need some beef to stop up the middle. They have let that part of the roster go to waste for years now. They should have a real back up center and power forward they aren't afraid to use in playoff games. Their own version of big baby Davis. How hard could it be to find someone who can give them some decent minutes, banging the boards, blocking a few shots?

This team still isn't tough enough. It's still too finesse, even with Artest. And Ron isn't a scorer.

The Lakers need a roster overhaul. They need real support behind Kobe, Pau and Bynum for next season.

[lakers0505]

And this point the Lakers need to rest on the fact, they have the best 2 players when they are cooking.

They need to carry us home.

If any of the other schmucks want to show up, great.

[8750]

thanks, DB
once again we find ourselves playing the game that our opponents decide: once again our coach doesn't have countermoves. it's obvious that thibodeaux doesn't have any problem with the triple post offense, but we never try to play transition, and we never try to play p&r trying to find some room for kobe and to involve gasol.
biggest problem is our mental attitude, and once again it's evident that our coach's legendary motivational power is history. you can play badly, it happens, but you can't play with the weakness, the cowardice, of gasol and lamar, especially with kobe playing not only as a superhero but with such heart and pride

[followwind]

For my life I can't understand why Pau for the most part was at the high post position instead of fighting for position at the low post.

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB

now we have to regroup and win on Tues
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"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."