LAKERS -at- CELTICS - 6/8 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Home Court... The Celtics defended home court and now the Lakers have to do the same. Three straight times.

Down by 24 with more than 7 minutes left, the Lakers went on a frenzied rally to cut it to just 2 points in the final minute. Just 2 points, despite how badly things had gone for them. Unfortunately, that was as close as we came. The Lakers fell 108-102 after a 41-point fourth quarter.

You could focus on a lot of cheap baskets we gave up before that rally. You could dwell on a number of no calls (Kobe being obviously held as he hit a late-game runner). You could look at the call that got Pierce to the line with 22 seconds to push the lead back to 4 (no way we get that call). You could focus on that dunk that we gave up to Powe, who ran down the middle of the court all the way to the hoop with no one stopping him. You could go back further to a second-quarter lineup that didn't include a single one of our impact players. Whatever you want, there's plenty to gripe about.

The Celtics out-shot the Lakers 19-2 from the freethrow line to start the first half. They ended up shooting 38 to the Lakers 10. Ouch. I guess that's why they call it Home Court Advantage.

Asked what struck him the most, Phil looked at the stat sheet. "I'm more struck that Leon Powe gets more foul shots than our whole team does in 14 minutes. That's ridiculous." He pointed out the difference in the first half. "I've never seen a game like that in all these years I've coached in the Finals. Unbelievable."

Powe ended up with 21 points, going 9-13 from the line.

...Oh, and Paul Pierce looked fine.

Defensively, the Lakers were a wreck. The Celtics shot 53 percent from the floor, 9-14 from three. You get that kind of efficient shooting and that big a difference from the freethrow line and you are in for a long night.

Offensively, we saw several things that did work, but we didn't milk them consistently. After scoring just 61 points in the first three quarters, we scored 41 in the fourth.

Throughout the game, guys would find themselves out of position in the Triangle or not ready to make the quick pass. You could especially see it when we tried to post Kobe. The timing was off and players weren't on the same page. We looked to post up Pau a little more and had plenty of success, but we went away from it.

Phil eventually scrapped the Triangle to go with more Kobe two-man game sequences. Not unusual late in games, but this resulted in quality and efficient scoring...something we have lacked throughout our games with the Celtics.

The goal on all this is getting into the middle of the D and working from there. Kobe in the post. Pau in the post. Penetration off the two-man game. We need to have more of it. Whether you get scores in the paint or collapse the D for inside-out sequences, you've got to continue to do it.



Kobe -- -- Asked about the foul issues being lopsided, Kobe grinned and said, "Didn't notice." Heading into the game, we planned on putting Kobe in the post a little more. We were very out of sync trying to get the ball to Kobe whenever he had good position. Kobe kept trying to get back there and get those passes, but our offense got lost in the process. They've got to execute that much faster. Anytime he gets the ball with low position, it is an instant double team. Later in the game, we started working the two-man game with Kobe and got a lot of success. I really thought this would be our bread and butter heading into this series. The Celtics would overplay and we would make that extra pass for an easy score. Kobe would end up with a lot of hockey-assist type of plays. We just haven't executed this like we can. On the sideline, Kobe was ripping into the team trying to get things turned around. Asked what he said, Kobe replied, "It was beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Eddie Murphy 'Raw' times 10." The Stats: He scored 30 points on 11-23 shooting (1-3 from three, 7-7 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 8 assists, 3 steals, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 40 minutes. The Action: He missed a pull-up jumper on the break. He missed a layup after pulling down an offensive board, he wanted the foul. He attacked with speed and and scored a layup. He threw a pass out of bounds trying to hit Gasol under the hoop for a dunk. He drew a moving pick on KG, easy call (KG got a T). Kobe made the FT (his only trip to the line of the first half). He missed a fade, shooting over two defenders. He posted up and drew a foul on Allen. He posted up and drew a double team. He picked up his second foul trying to shed Allen's arm with a couple minutes left in the first quarter, extraordinarily cheap call, especially for an MVP. He had to sit. Van Gundy was all over the poor quality calls. Back in, he posted up Posey and hit a wing jumper to end a Celtic 10-0 run. He lost the ball with no call and wanted the hold foul a second earlier. He hit an elbow turnaround off the midpost entry. He hit a top-of-the-key jumper on the next possession. He missed a 16-footer. He missed a three out of a timeout. He missed a turnaround from the post (he should wait until the cutters clear out before turning and shooting). He attacked and kicked to Vlad for a three. He was then called for his third foul (with 1:53 left), pushing Pierce trying to get through a screen. He had to sit as we trailed by 9. He had 9 points on 4-10 shooting and 2 assists in the first half. Second Half: He posted up, drew a double and it resulted in a good look for Fish. He shot a 15-footer and missed. He attacked off the dribble, spun and scored a layup and was immediately hit with a T when yelling for a foul. He hit a tough running bank, probably should have passed that one, amazing shot. He finally got to the line, attacking off the two-man game, he made both FTs. He hit Lamar off the Pau screen and Lamar hit Pau for a dunk (these are the two-man combos we need to see more of). He hit an elbow jumper off the two-man game. He airballed a wing jumper and wanted the foul. He overthrew Pau on a lob attempt. He lobbed to Ronny for the dunk. He lobbed again to Ronny off the two-man for a dunk. He swished a 17-footer. He picked up a token foul on an attack, he made both. He couldn't finish a lob and stared at Delaney for the foul. He attacked and kicked to Vlad for a three. He missed a scoop in the post, but Vlad cleaned it up. He hit a three in transition. He attacked off the high screen and cut the lead to 9 with a runner. He was totally grabbed by Celtic on a drive and hit a runner, that should have been an And-1. He drew a foul with 38 seconds left, trailing by 4, he made both to cut it to 2.

Gasol -- -- Good first half by Pau as we went to him in the post. That was the only thing that seemed to be working with any consistency early on. He even threw down in KG's grill on one of them. We went away from it, however. Why? And why not run him with the second unit when we have Kobe and Lamar on the bench? In the second half, we worked the two-man game with him a little to set up others. Defensively, again a reasonable job on KG, who scored 17 on 19 attempts. Pau didn't block a shot. In fact, only Farmar had a shotblock credited in this game. That's not anchoring the D. We definitely lacked that throughout the game and gave up a number of dunks. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 8-12 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 40 minutes. The Action: He deflected a pass for a turnover. He iso'd on KG, beat him with a quick first step and had his layup goaltended. He posted up Perkins and hit a short lefty hook in the lane. He posted up KG, spun with speed to lose him, then dunked on his face (that was sweet, more please). He hit Luke with a bounce pass for a layup after he had sealed Pierce. He faced up on Perkins and drew his second foul. He scored an oop with his left with KG all over him, should have been an And-1 as the replay showed. He went down hard after getting undercut while contesting a shot. He kept a Kobe miss alive. He posted up Pierce, stepped around him and powered up an And-1, he made the FT. He took a post feed, drop-stepped and scored with his left. He missed on his next post possession and wanted the foul. He missed under the hoop off a scramble at the end of the half. He had 13 points on 6-8 shooting and 3 boards. KG had 8 points on 3-11 shooting. Second Half: He got tapped on a short jumphook to start the half. (Seemed like Phil wanted to make a point of getting it to him here, but we didn't return to it.) He missed a layup. He set the screen for Kobe, Lamar to took the pass and hit Pau rolling for the dunk. He swished a FT jumper to cut the lead to 9 points.

Lamar -- -- "He looked like he was a confused player out there tonight," Phil said. "We'll try to get that straightened out." Lamar suffered from foul trouble in this game, which then led to Phil running Luke or Vlad at PF at times. Eventually, he watched from the bench as the team rallied back. There's really no purpose to Lamar's game out there. We had been using him and Pau well off the Kobe two-man game. Both would be in on a number of extra passes or scores and we just aren't setting those sequences up. We had an early attack for him off the weakside pinch post that got him into the paint. We didn't look for that again. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-11 shooting to go with 8 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 32 minutes. The Action: He dunked off good ball movement and attacking the middle of the D for our first score. Perkins pulled an offensive board from him and then hit Pierce for a three. He attacked with speed off the pinch post handoff and missed a layup. He tipped an offensive board in over KG. He missed a runner over KG. He was called for a charge, trying to create off the dribble. He then picked up his second foul on the other end with 16 seconds left in the first. He missed a long runner. He took a pass and hit the shorter jumphook a few seconds later. He tipped in a miss. He missed a 15-footer. He had 8 points on 4-9 shooting and 5 boards in the first half. Second Half: He threw a ball off Rondo out of bounds, somehow it went to Celtic and they said Rondo must have still have been in bounds (or they just missed it, which is more likely). He swished an elbow jumper. He missed a dunk. He fouled Rondo hard on the block attempt, Lamar's fourth midway through the third. He hit Pau off the Kobe/Pau two-man game and Pau dunked (only sequence like this in the two games we've played). He pulled an offensive board away from Brown and chucked it off him. He picked up his fifth foul charging over Brown on an attack, he had to sit with a minute left in the third.

Fisher -- -- Rondo got 16 assists in the game. Some of that came off us doubling and overplaying elsewhere, allowing him to get the pass and attack. Some of it off penetration and collapsing to help. We've got to do a better job there. I was wishing we went to a Hack-A-Rondo at one point, his freethrows were looking brutal, but Fish was in foul trouble. Fish came up with several big plays in our stretch run, getting steals and scoring a few points. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 assists, 3 steals, no turnovers and 5 fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He drew a moving screen on Perkins on the first defensive stand. He swished an elbow jumper in transition. He nailed a baseline jumper, taking a dribble in after losing his man on the rush out. He was hit on a jumper with no call and missed. He missed a wing jumper next time down. Good help D rotating on the double to deflect a pass. He hesitated, then missed a three on a kickout. He didn't box out Rondo and gave up an offensive board, he then picked up his third foul. Second Half: He missed an open three. He swiped a pass and pushed the ball up. He attacked and earned FTs, he made both. He sank an open wing three. Big steal to ignite a break and a three.

Radmanovic -- -- Very Space Cadet-ish game from Vlad. I'm glad he didn't get called on that travel after the great steal late in the game, but that would have typified his night. There were some very curious sequences from Vlad in this game and some very weak D. He was in on a key Celtic rally on both ends at one point in the second half after we had chipped away at their lead. At the end of the night, however, he was in at PF and helped spread the floor during our near comeback. Even though he had a great rebounding stat night, there were still some boards that went right past him. Despite the double-double, not a great night from Vlad The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-12 shooting (3-7 from three) to go with 10 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. The Action: Vlad picked up two quick fouls within the first two minutes and had to sit. He drained a three on a drive and kick from Kobe. He got blocked on a three and it led to a dunk the other way. Second Half: He swished a rainmaker three. He missed his next attempt at a three. He bricked a jumper out of a timeout when we had been milking the Kobe two-man game. He then had a pass swiped on the next play. Meanwhile, Pierce scored back-to-back hoops. Uggh! He hit a three on a Kobe kickout. He tried to trap in the backcourt and Powe took the ball the distance with no help D and dunked out of a dead ball. He missed two straight threes. He gave up an offensive board and layup. He put back in a missed Kobe scoop. He swiped a pass, pushed it up (traveled with no call, thank goodness) and dunked to cut the lead to 4 with just over a minute left.

Luke -- -- Leon Powe taking you off the dribble? Are you kidding me? Uggh. Pretty worthless game from Luke again. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting, had 1 board, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 13 minutes. The Action: He didn't shoot off a kickout and it resulted in a shotclock violation. He sealed Pierce, took a pass from Pau and scored a layup. He fouled Powe on the post D (Phil running Luke at the PF spot). Second Half: He missed an open wing jumper. Lousy pass to Sasha and it was picked off for a dunk in transition. Powe took him off the dribble for a layup.

Turiaf -- -- If you look at the stat sheet, you see a whole lot of zeros. Sure he got a couple dunks off the oops from Kobe, but where are the boards, blocks, assists, steals? Anything. P.J. Brown and Leon Powe seem to have found a way to make an impact off the bench. Ronny should be crashing the glass and causing problems with that energy of his. Unfortunately, it's not translating. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting and had 2 fouls in 9 minutes. The Action: He was called for a foul after swatting Powe in transition. Second Half: He dunked off a lob from Kobe. He dunked again off the two-man game with Kobe.

Farmar -- -- More minutes for Farmar in this game and he responded. It's funny. Phil let him go on Cassell and on the first defensive possession Farmar blocks his shot. So, we then switch Farmar to Allen. We're very concerned about Cassell in the post and Farmar's barely gotten a possession or two against him. At least it didn't limit his minutes because of it. Like I said last time, Farmar stepped up at the NCAA championship game and he's stepping up a bit in the Finals, too. Sure wish he had Bynum out there in that second unit with him, though. A few miscues from Farmar defensively, but it was par for the course tonight. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-6 shooting (3-4 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 block and 1 foul in 18 minutes. The Action: He swished a three at the end of the first quarter. He blocked Cassell's turnaround in the post. Phil then switched Farmar onto Allen for a play or two. He attacked the lane, turned in the air to flip it over his head, missed and was looking for the foul. Second Half: He missed a reverse layup in traffic. Ill-advised double on Pierce, leaving Rondo to penetrate and dish for a dunk at the end of the third. He drained a wing three to start the fourth. He hit a wing three.

Vujacic -- -- I didn't like some of the shot selection by Sasha in this game. There were sequences where he forced a jumper while we had someone else open. We need him to have more of those quality catch-and-shoot looks. Obviously, he and others are going to get better looks if we execute our offense like we can and have more inside-out sequences. But give some credit to the Celts for not letting that happen. Sasha was in on the late come-back attempt and sank a couple big buckets. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-6 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. The Action: He missed a long wing jumper. He was called for a travel on a similar offensive sequence. Second Half: He swished a pull-up 18-footer. He forced a jumper over a man when he had an open shooter to his right and he missed. He swished a three on a kickout from Pau. He swished a three in transition to cut the lead to 6 with 1:28 left.

Ariza -- -- Vlad got in foul trouble early and Phil went to Ariza. Offensively, Pierce was sagging off him, making the post entries difficult. So, we had to be careful with how we established the sideline Tri. Phil thought the offense got stagnant because of that and we said we struggled to recover. I think there is some truth to that. It's going to be very hard for Ariza to get into the flow against a smart defensive team like the Celtics. There's no doubt his athleticism and D would help us, though. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting, had 2 boards, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 7 minutes. The Action: He came in the game after just two minutes for Vlad. He missed an elbow 18-footer, left alone. He lost the ball in the backcourt. Second Half: No action.

Phil -- -- Phil let the refs have it after the game. He was not happy with the way this game was called and showed it... Early on: "Stay in control," Phil said in the locker room to the team before the game. "Don't let the crowd get you doing stuff on the offensive end that's outside what we are trying to do." Unfortunately, we saw a lot of confused offensive sequences throughout the game... Vlad picked up two quick fouls and Phil went to Ariza. Ariza seemed to have some difficulties on the two-man D and in setting up in the Tri... Good tempo in our favor to start the game. We went to Gasol to establish the post early and he responded with a series of scores. we led 15-12 at the first timeout midway through the quarter. He subbed Ariza out for Luke at this point... Kobe, Lamar and Vlad picked up two fouls each in the first quarter. We led 22-20. Both teams shot 50 percent... Key sequence of the game: Phil wanted to get Kobe back in the game after 3 minutes into the second quarter. He hoped the second unit of Ronny, Luke, Ariza, Sasha and Farmar could hold the line. None of our three impact players on the court in that unit. You've got to run Pau if Lamar and Kobe are in foul trouble. They got outscored 10-0 and Phil had to call a timeout... Phil brought back in Kobe and Lamar out of the timeout... We trailed 54-42 at the half. The Celtics shot 51.5 percent (6-9 from three and 14-19 from the line). The Lakers shot 46 percent (2-5 from three and just 2-2 from the line). The Lakers had 8 assists, the Celtics 15... Phil told the team to relax at the half... The Lakers got the Celtics in the penalty with 7 minutes left in the third, but, of course, couldn't milk that... Trailing by 16, Phil went to the two-man game with Kobe. We cut the lead to 9 before the Celts called timeout. Another key sequence: The Celtics went on an 11-0 run out of that timeout to lead by 20. Some horrid play by Vlad on both ends (he then got benched for Luke)... We trailed big, 83-61 to start the fourth. Dunks right and left for the Celts at the end of the quarter... Out of a timeout, we let Powe (Vlad's man) just run down the court and dunk with both hands. What was that?... Down 24 with more than 7 minutes left, you could actually sense a change in the Lakers. I made a note of it to track this run. They played with that sense of urgency and that certain sense of fury that Phil mentioned in the past. The Lakers cut the lead down to 13 in the next 3 minutes. They ran Kobe and Pau with shooters in DFish, Sasha and Vlad. Vlad was still a weak link defensively. A three by Kobe then cut the lead to 11... We continued to get some stops and hit. We trailed by 2 with 38 seconds left. We couldn't get one last stop and Pierce got to the line with 22 seconds and put it back to a 4-point lead. He got the kind of call Kobe had been getting mad about all night... Phil called a timeout. Sasha was blocked on a three and we fouled Posey. Ball game... Phil on going back home: "I'm not worried about which Celtic team shows up. I'm worried about what Laker team shows up at Staples."... Asked about whether it was an aggression issue or the refs, Phil said, "I have no question that my players got fouled and didn't go to the line."...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Lamar with the -13 for sitting during the big fourth. The bench +/- numbers look bad on our end, but look at P.J. Brown with a game-high +20. That was a big late-season pickup for the Celtics.

[SweetP]

First
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“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[OscarWang]

I like mine more
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"Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise."

- Kobe Bryant

[SpunkieLakerCat]

second and it sucks. Dang I can't even come in second place

[Siguy]

Kendrick Perkins does not help them. Yeah he's doing okay, but the Celts go on a run every time PJ Brown enters the game. His long arms in addition to KG are a defensive nightmare.

Again, I never say the refs stole a game, we were out played, but this was the worst officiated finals game in history, and that's including the hideous Dywane Wade free throw apocalypse that was the Miami Heat championship.

Everyone is obsessed with saying "Oh yeah, the Lakers fouled a lot, so that's why the Celts had a lot of free throws, big deal."
No one is paying attention to how somehow we only took 10 free throws despite numerous obvious blown calls. If this edge were 38 to 25, we win the game and no one cares about the free throws. Instead it's 38 to 10 and it sticks out like a sore thumb.

PS: If anyone else blames Kobe for this loss after he refused to give up and carried the team the whole second half ... I mean, my god people, KOBE IS NOT THE PROBLEM!

[Sister Golden Hair]

Sorry, DB. That was all refs. They took the heart out of this team, starting in the mid-first qtr. I'm surprised this team was resilient enough to even try and come back after a public gang-raping by the refs. As crooked a game as i've ever seen and I've been a fan of the NBA for a long time.

Literally, that was the worst officiated gae I've ever seen. Systemetic bias ahgainst one team that was unprecedented.

You can't expect a young team, or even a veteran team, to keep its composure when it's that blatant out there. That explains the third qtr, IMO. They realized they were being robbed publicly and got down on themselves. Even when they came back valiantly the refs still jobbed them on the pierece call and the no-call on Sasha's three.

Highway robbery. The league is officially corrupt from where i stand.

SGH

[limchrc]

I'm still sad until now, even after the game has ended for a few hours already. Hope we play better in our home court.

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB.

One thing that has really irked me in these two games is that the Lakers start-off looking pretty good.

Then, for whatever reason, something happens and the whole damn thing just falls apart.They never get back into rhythm and just play ugly basketball for the rest of the night. Really frustrating to watch. The Celtics are probably that good. But the Lakers cant possibly be THIS bad.

They gotta sweep the next three, hell the next four, whatever it takes.
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*sighs*

!...

[DancingBarry]

[Vadorojo]

As painful as it was to watch us lose, I'm glad we can leave this game with some dignity. It's still staggering to think that we were down by 24, yes, -24- with about 7:40 left and got it down to 2. Thank you, Lakers, for showing some pride and heart out there, especially during a game that was ludicrously, blatantly, 8-5.
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"I like looking at a guy's face when he realizes that even his best moves aren't going to work on me all night. They look depressed." - Ron Artest

[BigE32]

Very disappointed about the outcome tonight. Great rally at the end and I agree that we would not get the call that Pierce got when they were up two. I thought the officiating turned after KG got his technical in the first half. From there to the end of the half, the game wasn't being called the same on both ends of the floor. 38-10 in FTA is just a joke. That being said, I want to see our bench do a good job of contributing right away. Hopefully, they will at home. Second, I hope LO gets it going and produces the way he's capable. I just hope that we focus on one game at a time. Focus on Tuesday night and nothing else. Honestly, I'm not optimistic about the series, but you never know. We have to win Game 3 and go from there. We can only hope. Thanks, DB.

[DancingBarry]

[Luca Brasi]

[Vadorojo]

On a side note: Rondo's assist total is totally bogus. I'd love someone to examine his assists play-by-play.

The most blatant example: Rondo got an assist for Powe's coast-to-coast dunk. Powe took at least 4 dribbles during that play, and yet Rondo is credited with an assist? Are you kidding me?
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"I like looking at a guy's face when he realizes that even his best moves aren't going to work on me all night. They look depressed." - Ron Artest

[bchang2001]

plus the score keeper ran a good total of 5 secs off the clock during the last 1 min of play.

[8750]

thanks, DB
it's frustrating to watch a robbery like that...
talking about basketball:
1- we definitely need to play transition, but it's almost impossible to run with a line up with rad or walton as sf... rad can sometimes be effective at pf... we need to play kobe at sf and sasha at sg...
2- we need to put pressure on their guards, it's the only way to get the chance to play transition...
3- i hope that our coach will understand that our desperation strategy should be our regular strategy... play much more pick and rolls... their defense is perfectly ready to play against this version of triangle, while they can't defend p&r...
4- let's play man on man defense, never never let their shooters wide open...
5- please, let's make some screens for kobe...

[ReaListik]

This was one of those losses that you can walk away from with a moral victory. It looked awful for the Lakers throughout the 2nd half, and if I were the Celtics, I'd be on edge because the Lakers brought the game to within 4 at around the 2:30 mark. From that standpoint, I agree with one of the ESPN broadcasters when he said that the Lakers pulled that kind of comeback in Boston, where the Celtics have been nearly unbeatable at home.

This series is far from over, and although it seems eerily similar to the 2004 NBA Finals, I don't think it's the same thing. The major reason for the 2004 breakdown had nothing to do with the Pistons, and everything to do with the inner-struggling that those Lakers, even with 4 HOF's, had. That team had constant fighting and immaturity going on behind the scenes, and the way they played on the court was a direct reflection of it.

The Celtics made a huge mental mistake tonight, when they had the chance to drive the nail in the coffin, the Lakers came back and stuck it to them in a very short amount of time. Once that happened, the crowd silenced and got scared because they realized that this series is going to be extremely tough... as did Doc Rivers.

The Lakers have life again like Jeff Van Gundy said, and it couldn't have happened at a better time, heading into 3 home games and a Staples Center crowd that's gonna be as lit up as it's been in a long time.

The Lakers have the best player on the planet, and the drive and determination that he showed in the 4th quarter sent a clear message to the Celtics, "You've got your two at home, now it's my turn."

[tw-lakbfan]

Why didn't Phil call a timeout when the Celtics went on a 11-0 run at the 3rd qtr?

[Klone_dd]

Hard to win a game playing 5 on 8.

DB - I'm glad you mentioned the non-call on Kobe's leftie floater late in the game. Looked pretty obvious to me. Maybe that's why the refs allowed Vlade the extra couple of steps on his dunk. I'm not surprised the Celts had the FT advantage, but it shouldn't be such a wide margin.

It was amazing that the refs actually called the travel on Drama Queen after he got Fish to jump on a 3 pt attempt. In game 1, DQ did the same thing to Vlade and got a 4 point play out of it.

I still don't understand why the Lakers spend the 1st half establishing Pau in the post and then go away from him in the 2nd.

Now we know Vlade can't hang with DQ so why not switch Vlade and LO on the defensive assignment?

The high P&R with KG and Rondo hurt us as KG stuck a number of wide open 15 ftrs.

[DancingBarry]

[nikehair]

I'm really annoyed that Ray Allen and Sam Cassell are getting rings...yuck. I don't mind so much for the other players...however the fact that it's the Celtics...yuck.

[Rek]

[X56]

Hi DB,

Any chance PJax go with the Kobe, Pau, Rad, Sasha and Fish starting line up? Wouldn't that help de-clog the line offensively? I know defensively, we might have some issues but as it is we already do.

The calls are a flashback of the 04 finals. Boston gets credited for tough defense because allows them to. Such a shame.
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Game 7 2010 NBA Finals - Lakers 83, Boston 79

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB.

This has to be the most disgusting Laker loss I ever witnessed. If the game was called fairly - and the Lakers still lost - I would be ok today. As it stands, I am going on about 1.5 - 2.0 hours of sleep (early commute) because I couldn't let that loss go. When they called the game the way it should have been called - we dropped 41 points on that "Celtic defense" -- 41 points in one quarter!

There were countless momentum killing fouls called on LA. Most idiots will say "LA (28 PFs) only fouled 7 more times than Boston (21 PFs) did" and swear the game wasn't fixed. It is when fouls are called - not how many. They are allowed to be physical but we are not. I mean come on - Leon Powe shoots more FTs (9/13) than the entire Laker team (10/10)? WTF was that ish?

The sad part is we can sweep the home games and still come out on the short end of the stick.

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

I blame Phil for the loss

-lineup to start the 2nd killed our momentum
-not calling timeout and letting the celtics push the lead to 20 in the 3rd
-his lovefest with luke and putting him on Powe.
-numerous questionable substitution patterns






refs were pretty bad too
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu