Hoops

NBA Finals Game 2, Refs

For all those complaining about the calls in game 2, they went both ways and had very little impact on the game (other than the fact Kobe was too focused on the refs and forgot to play good basketball).

Just one example was the foul Garnett got early in the 1st when KOBE ran into his CHEST while was STANDING STILL. There are dozens of these plays in every game and we all remember the ones we want to (especially the ones ESPN shows 300 times).

Why is anyone surprised that the Celtics shot a lot more free throws when they were the aggressors, attacking the basket all night long? Other teams did the same thing to Boston earlier in the playoffs.

Seriously, the Lakers played badly and were lucky to get so close. No way they deserved to win that game, refs or no refs.

Quagmire, you make good points about long rebounds from KG's top of the key jumper and that the Lakers should look to run more offence through Gasol. I think they will do that in game 3 and make a point of getting to the line.

I don't agree that Gasol will dominate (Perkins and Garnett will make life tough for him), but he will do enough to open up the Laker shooters a bit.

Pressure is on the Lakers (teams have only come back from 2-0 down in the finals 3 times in history - Wade and the Heat most recently) now to win 3 at home, but I think they will likely get two, with one game that could go either way.

I'm still liking my Celtics 4-3 prediction!

I thought that too hereschenes, just figured the TV was widescreen and stretched the image a bit...

Interesting comment from Brian Shaw
(can't type his name without hearing Marv Albert say his name)

Claimed that the celtics played two infront of Kobe and the rim everytime down the floor, Kobe had to pass or shoot contested jumpers, neither of which was really working.

The adjustment he offered was to play the offence away from Bryant, through Gasol and have Kobe be the guy the ball gets swung to after a double team. Hal-a!@!kin-luliah!

Radmonovic took 4 - 5 steps.
I don't care who wins the series, although I must admit, I was cheering for the Lakers to have the biggest comeback in the 4th. But for that to not be called in the context of where the game was at that moment, is a joke. AND it was Radmonovic....Kobe I could maybe understand the no call...

The officiating was horrible in this game. LA did play matador defence letting rondo and pierce into the lane where they both made smart plays, usually passing for easy buckets with and-1 outcomes.

What i don't understand is how you can have a player dominating inside, scoring at will with a high percentage, looking to pass if doubled- all the things coaches love, and you give him only 11 or 12 looks?

Gasol could be dominating this series.

LA needs to stop isolating Kobe and start flowing through Gasol, a guy that will provide Kobe with space and driving lanes. A guy that will provide Lamar the chance to crash offensive boards, a guy that will get shooters open looks...

One thing i did notice, Garnett when he takes those jumpers, gives his team a great chance at offensive boards.
70% of rebounds go long, thats a fact, so when you shoot from a corner, the defence can box the opposite side.
When Garnett shoots from straight on- that 70% range is out the window, board could go anywhere, this creates a larger range for rebounds, more space for the D to try to box out. Considering Gasol and Odom are the only Lakers who look interested in rebounding the ball (the others are trying to fast break) the Celtics have been crashing the boards and getting bonus looks and shots.

I think the commentators stated it best with the line "If the rulebook was followed to the letter, then 95% of offensive plays would be called travel.

The lakers defense was soft like butter until the 4th; when they actually turned it on. In all honesty; had that level of play been enforced since the 1st then the result would still have been the same, just without the 20pt+ margins.

If you're wondering why I said the D' was soft; you might recall the Powe Coast-to-Coast jam where he cut through 4 defenders (who stood and watched).

TC you are on the money. The refs were fine - not perfect - but they did a decent job and were not the reason the Celtics won this game.

Quite simply, the Celtics played as they are capable of for 3 quarters and the Lakers had a tough time matching up. KG had a bad game offensively and he still easily matched the output of Gasol. No-one on the Lakers looks capable of stopping Pierce and Allen from doing what they like and there is no-one to stop Powe and Perkins from getting to the basket and drawing fouls either.

As I thought going into this series, Boston is going to control the paint and shut down most avenues to the basket, so it really comes down to whether the Lakers passing game is good enough to get their jump shooters enough open looks.

The Lakers have managed to get their shooters going for one quarter, but boy was it an impressive quarter!

So does anyone else see the similarities between Boston vs LA and the Sixers grand finals against Goorjian's Magic and Titans a decade back?

Boston is like Goorjian's teams in the sense that they both play great defence and are known for their offensive droughts at times.

Whereas the Lakers, like the Sixers of old, are a team that can absolutely shoot the lights out and blow you out in a quarter if you don't keep them under pressure.

The difference is that the Sixers played good enough defence and Goorj's teams had the Bear and Jason Brickie Smith instead of Pierce and Allen!

I'm hoping Phil Smyth hasn't sent his namesake in LA the Sixers playbook from those two years! (Yeah, I know, what playbook).

Beat LA in LA
Beat LA in LA
Beat LA in LA
Beat LA in LA