I would look at Kobe's track record and rethink that he sucked because of pressure. Kobe was just off plain and simple, "pressure" does not get to him. The guy is as clutch as they come, he just wasn't feeling it last night.

Reading is fundamental. Mr. ICU said "the pressure of team defense"..

If Pothead doesn't get a lot more rebounds and inside points, then it's not gunna happen for the Lakers. You already saw that if KOBE slashes to the basket, then they aren't gunna call fouls on the Celts. So, it's Lamar and Gasol getting their act together, or else it's gunna be Green. There had to be a huge discrepancy in foul shots per team. 4 out of the 7 games are gunna be there. So, they get the 2 inside players to step up, or it's gunna be ugly.

Understanding is fundamental as well. I get that he said pressure of team defense, but that doesn't affect Kobe. His shots weren't dropping, I don't care what defense they had, it doesn't stop Kobe. The only thing that stops Kobe is when his shot is off, NO DEFENSE can stop the guy and it has been shown.

I was saying this to myself before the game, and even more now. DO NOT play Luke Walton, instead let Trevor Ariza get his minutes and put his ass on Pierce. Ariza is capable of shutting Pierce down, he needs to be in these games!

35 free throws by BOS, 28 by LAL, and two of Boston's were by Walter after the Lakers fouled intentionally. So 33-28. I wouldn't call that a huge discrepancy.

It's cool to foul Kobe twice, do it once get called for it, then continue on and foul him even harder 2 seconds later after the whistle already blew and the refs let it slide. :zz:

He took very bad shots 1st quarter.
Hogged the ball late.

I expect him to right the boat if this season is
any indication of how much he has learned.
He did not get the easy jumpers he is used to.
And he did not get to the hole. I expect that
to change.
As far as Odom. He is your 3rd or 4th guy.
If he has to be a go to guy, or your 2nd guy,
he is a complete and utter choke. He is a talented,
dumb player. A great junk man that can pop a jumper.
He needs to clean up after Kobe, Gasol and Fisher
shoot the ball. And then finish on breaks. Thats what
Odom is best at imo. He will not win games for you
handling the ball trying to produce on his own.
Especially late in games. And he needs to rebound
by hanging on the the flppn ball. His hands were horrible
last night.
Another interesting change was Vuya (whatever)
handling the point duty when Fisher was in, in the 4th.
They need to get Fischer his jumper. He cant get his
own at point. Has to come off a pass.

And finally, even though Gasol did not have a great game,
the Lakers would not be in this spot without him. He has
helped on rebounding, defense, and scoring. Praise Memphis.

It's interesting the way people view these games. I keep hearing that this game was not typical of Kobe. To an extent, that's true. But then again, consider that he's played Boston three times this year and he's now shot 9-21, 6-25, and 9-26. That's a total of 24 of 72, 33.3%. As bad as he shot yesterday, he actually RAISED his percentage against them this year. Now, he's a great player and I do expect him to be better but last night wasn't as atypical as many people think it was. I'm reading about rim tricks and such. Amazing. As was pointed out, they do switch sides at halftime. I guess it could be possible that the entire arena emptied out at halftime and nobody noticed the leprechauns adjusting the rims during the break. The Lakers shot 41.6% from the field last night. Let's see. They shot 42.2% when they played in Boston earlier this season so maybe the rim tricks theory has some merit. Wait, wait. I'm reading that they shot 35.4% against the Celtics when they played in LA. There goes that theory.

So now, Boston has played the Lakers three times and won by 13, 19, and 10. Garnett has went 20-11, 22-12, and 24-13 against them. Pierce has gone 20-33-22. Allen has gone 18-19-19. The Celtics have held them under 43% shooting all three times and outrebounded them by 5,8, and 13. Yet last night was simply a lucky win for them because they toyed with the rims and because Kobe won't continue to shoot like that.

At the same time they adjust the rims, they also changed the floor so that the visitor always has old boston garden planks on the offensive end. Notice how many balls were mishandled?

These are so much diff. than regular season games they are not comparable.
82 games... Guys have to take nights off. The regular season is way too long.
And the playoffs are played at such a diff. level of intensity.
Look at the Celtics playoff record and compare that to their regular season record if you want stats...

Having said this, the Celtics played better and won.
I think the Lakers will win more than one game in this series
without Kobe going off and getting high 30's or 40's.

Fiddling with the rim is ridiculous I agree.

I think that regular season and playoff games are comparable when certain trends can be seen. What the regular season showed is what matchups can and can't work. One that I think is in the Celtics favor is one I think they picked up on in the regular season and that's making Odom be more of a scorer than a playmaker. They back off of him and take away the passing lanes and make give him opportunities to shoot more. He's shot 28 times in the last two meetings, with two assists. I think that you learn how to play guys in the regular season so that if you meet in the playoffs, you have a blueprint of what you want to do. Some of the parts may change (ie Bynum was there earlier and now Gasol is and Tony Allen is not playing now and Rondo missed one of the games) but a basic idea is learned about how you want to attack certain matchups.

I thought the game came down to a few basic things
1. The Celtics kept the Lakers from playing at their pace (the Lakers only had 5 points off of turnovers)
2. The Lakers simply dont rebound very well and the refs were consistent in letting the play be a little physical under the boards which was key as the shooting %'s were so poor. Physical play absolutely favors Boston. When the game is fairly close and one team gets outrebounded 46 to 33 it kind of sticks out.
3. The Lakers shot 3's very poorly. Hitting those shots stretches the defense which is something LA needs to do to counter Boston's help defense.

Could be.
But the Celtics had not a clue how to cover
Joe Johnson of the Hawks. They went 7 games
with an under .500 team, mainly due to Johnson.
And they played Atlanta more than they did the
Lakers in the regular season. Did not learn anything
about this matchup. (They had Ray Allen???on him most
of the series and then tried Pierce). Could not stop him.
And he aint Kobe.

Guys play at diff. levels during this time.
Some step up, others look like they want
to leave the building. The best way to find
this out is in the playoffs imo.

The Celtics know how to win. The Hawks although it went 7 were never in the series...no game in Boston was within 20 points or remotely close to a loss. Although the road losses kept piling up against Cleveland, they played great defense on LeBron...he started to get untracked by game 5 and he went off in game 7...but Boston found a way to win the game when LeBron went off. They lost game 2 in the Detroit series...meaning they HAD to win a road game to get to the finals...they proceeded to win 2 of their next 3 in Detroit. Ray Allen was completely invisible all 7 games of the Cleveland series, and they found a way to win...they finally had to win a road game in the Detroit series and they did.

For some reason, this Boston team that won 66 games seems to be underestimated by most everyone. They're a darn good team though. Should be a really good series.

The difference between winning and losing a championship is rebounding plain and simple. More rebounds = more shots = more points which is still how the game is won .

Since the NBA played double headers Boston has been about team defense as the key to winning 16 rings. Kobe will get his eventually but Boston wins the ring.

Kobe can be rattled into bad shooting as history has shown. The defense his wife played in Colorado left him limp and lifeless. It was months before Kobe got a shot off at all under the suffocating defense of the Mrs.

the lakers need to put the ball in the basket more:zz:

...... p.p. that whole wheel chair act was great:rolleyes:

It would be nice to get a few calls. How many calls can go the Celtics way??

I was crying.
It was a Willis Reed moment.

I thought acting was the realm of Los Angeles.

Lakers have no energy.

I agree that we've gotten a bunch of calls tonight, but that will be more than made up for when the series goes to L.A., at which point Kobe will go to the line whenever breathed on.

I think that's pretty typical when the opposition is shooting that well, and the whistle keeps getting blown constantly.

Okay here's the most important sequence so far the Lakers have a little streak going do they build on it do the Celts bitch slap them to a middle double digit lead again. As soon as the defense slacked even a foot the whole thing changed. Look for a healthy dose of PP and swarming defense again. Let's see if Kobe wants to drive down low to pick up fouls worthy of being sent to the line instead if the BS jump shot game he's been content with.

And there's your answer folks....

CELTICS 79 LAKERS 59 after the lakers drew within 9

that didn't take long.

In 208 playoff series of the modern NBA era where a team won the first 2 games of a 7 game series 202 of those teams won the series........draw your own conclusions about this one.

This very year that trend was not followed.
This is a very homer year for whatever reason.

Doesn't the team with home court get the first 2 games of every series and thus the stat holds.

San Antonio lost the first two to New Orleans this playoff year
and won the series. I may have misunderstood you stat.

I think it is highly possible for LA to go back and win two.
Then we are back to a 3 game series essentially.

Vulvachic for 3? Really, Phil?

Minus the refs and the Lakers win this game, I can handle when they get outplayed and lose, but the way they came back and had to overcome that huge free throw margin pisses you off. Kobe had atleast 4 shots he made and got fouled on that were not called. That was a pathetic officiated game.

That was ****ing embarrassing. Props to the Lakers for forging that comeback, but this team has had problems closing out games all season, and it reared its head again, almost turning into the most humiliating loss in Finals history. The foul call that let Pierce hit those two free throws was bullshit too. Terrible fourth quarter after a great finish to the third.

With all of that said, 2-0. POWE!

Ateam I thought you were a Timberwolves fan?
Way back? Maybe I mistake you for someone else.

Pierce got bailed out all night, and Kobe didn't get ONE call.

Long story, but after a while, I couldn't bring myself to support idiots like Taylor and McHale anymore. It was something I hated doing, but being about as close to Minneapolis as I am to Mars made it a little easier. Still wish the fans the best though.

It's cool, you know that the refs will give the Lakers a game in L.A. this week.

Lets look at a few plays Ateam. Kobe drives to the basket at the end, it's obvious he is getting his fricken arm pulled off, and the refs apparently don't see it. Yet, these same refs see Fisher tap Pierce at the end? I know you admitted to that being a whack call, but how does a guy like Powe go to the line 13 times and the whole Laker team 10???? Gasol not at the line once?? This is mind boggling.........:zz: :zz:

Powe isn't good at very many things, but two of them are getting to the line and rebounding. He shoots a lot of free throws in general.

Like I said, I'm not denying that the Celtics got a lot of calls, but if you don't think the Lakers will be getting the same treatment on Tuesday, you're lying to yourself. I wish it wasn't that way, but home teams get gifts in the NBA way more than in any other league.

In Game 6 against Atlanta, the Hawks shot 47 freaking free throws. And I'm sure you saw the absurd charge call on Pierce in Game 6 against Cleveland.

If the Lakers get these same calls and a free throw margin of 38-10 it looks like the Lakers will be back in Boston up 3-2. That is when the refs in Boston somehow outdue themselves again and the Lakers shoot 1 free throw to Bostons 50.