I'll Admit It
I'm as a big a Laker hater as anyone, but if they play like they did last night, they will win and win easily. The Lakers have created serious match up problems for the Celtics with Artest on Pierce and Kobe on Rondo.
The only way I see the Celtics winning is if Rondo can figure a way to go off and play Kobe straight up. Does anyone actually see that happening?
Garnett is a lunatic and so high strung in the 4th quarter, it is almost painful to watch. Missing two or three easy put backs and launching that outlet pass 150 MPH out of bounds.
For the Celtics to win, Garnett needs to outplay Gasol (won't happen) and Rondo needs to play Kobe straight up (not happening).
In 2008, the question was whether Kobe - as the best player in the series - could defeat a superior team in the Celtics. He couldn't. The goal for the Celtics was for Pierce to play Kobe straight up. Which he did - at least - I would argue he outplayed Kobe.
But the Lakers no longer rest on Kobe. They rest on rebounding and points in the paint and it frees up Kobe. You can see it on the guy's shoulders - he's not so high strung and weird right now.
2 comments:
Couldn't believe Garnett's play last night. This is an all-star and potential hall of fame player. He hurt his team, rather than strengthened them. Does anyone remember that he used to be an offensive threat? He averaged a double double a night of at least twenty points, and ten rebounds. He missed at least four layups in the fourth, and was miss-timing rebounds.
Also, do you recall that easy bunny that Garnett missed? That, to me, symbolized the geriatric play of the Boston Celtics perfectly.
I would like to see the following, though:
-- Ray Allen out of foul trouble, which means the Celtics will have better spacing on the floor, thereby allowing Rondo some more freedom to drive.
-- Rasheed guarding Gasol. Rasheed has had success against Gasol several times in the past (though, admittedly, that was when Rasheed was with the Pistons).
In the limited time I watched Rasheed guard Gasol, I thought he did a good job. He has a bigger body than Garnett which seems to give Gasol some trouble in the low post, and Sheed's footwork is better -- probably due to KG's bum knee more than anything else.
I also think the 2-3-2 format (which I don't like, by the way) gives a slightly unfair advantage to the road team in the Finals, and thus, I don't think the Celtics are out of it -- unless they lose Game 3.
But yes, if the Celtics continue to get dominated on the boards, and if Ray Allen can't contribute anything meaningful (c.f. Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2008 Playoffs), the Celtics will struggle and, ultimately, lose.
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