I walked away from the computer during the Lakers comeback run. For one I could not believe it was actually happening. I also wanted to let it all soak in. Was it the Lakers playing well or the Celtics pooping themselves? Probably a combination of both. It leads to an intriguing discussion on what to talk about to summarize Game 2 in a tidy little box.
The obvious: Instead of taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the Finals, the Boston Celtics will instead settle with going up 2-0. Think about it. They had the Lakers in the palm of their hands. For once it looked as if the killer instinct they had lacked all season (minus Game 7 against Atlanta) was finally there. And they gave it up in the final 8 minutes. They could have left the Lakers bewildered on how they can beat them. Instead the Lakers can blame themselves for not playing hard, something they’ll be able to get over by the time they get to LA.
The obvious cont.: Leon Powe. To many tomorrow morning he will be the toast of the town. The story will be simple. They will see him as the kid who had a rough life from Oakland got drafted in the second round and is now playing out of his mind. To the educated: Leon Powe can play basketball and has always had something like this in him. Granted I never thought he’d drop 20 in the Finals but still he can hoop. When he was at Cal they didn’t call him Leon ‘The Show’ Powe for nothing. He’s one of six guys in Pac-10 history to lead the league in both points and rebounds, grab your head around that. Tonight…he was phenomenal. Many of you may have thought I was blowing steam when I talked about unsung heroes dominating the Finals. This is an example of what I was talking about. One of those “ordinary” guys doing the “extraordinary” things. Leon Powe is the reason why the C’s were up so big. His play early was huge and it just kept going until that firestorm of his in the forth quarter where he may have taken the rest of Turiaf’s heart. For a while everytime I looked up he was at the free throw line. Tonight he did what everyone thought Kendrick Perkins was going to do all series. Be beasty.
Rajon Rondo. What’s the answer to ‘Can they win with Rondo?’ It’s 16 assists and 2 turnovers in the Finals, that’s the answer. It was a quiet night for Rondo but one of his two buckets were huge..and you can’t take away the fact that the kid just had 16 assists in the NBA Finals. That’s 4 assists away from Magic Johnson territory people. Yes children Magic Johnson is not just some famous guy who eats popcorn and occasionally makes good points before trailing off into nonsense… he used to be the man.
Paul Pierce. Out of the Big Three, you are the one who is cementing his legacy. I can’t say it any better than that.
The Celtics. For 40 or so minutes they ran laps around the Lakers. I mean they made them look awful. Like ‘college basketball team going to the rec gym and beating up on Asians’ awful.
To the not-so-obvious. The Lakers. Do I applaud them for going on a 31-9 run over the last 9 minutes? Do I give them praise for coming back like that? Do I take back my text message to Coup saying they can’t respond to adversity? I’m not sure. I could do all that. But I could also ask this question: “Where was that sense of urgency and desperation the whole game?” It was present early in the first quarter and at the end of the fourth but that was it. In the beginning of the game the Lakers were locking up, the C’s looked so tentative that you wondered if they could score. They looked the same at the end of the game. In the middle the Lakers did was like the soft, white, mushy stuff in an Oreo. It’s not really that soft or mushy but you get my point. One part of me thinks they just happened to combine a bunch of threes with defense in that final period.
Until he made a couple shots in the 4th, Radmonovic looked terrible the entire game. Dumb decisions and a complete inability to resemble anything that would look like defense. The thing about tonight is the Lakers got a supreme effort from Pau Gasol (17, 10 and he was attacking), got 30 from Kobe (on 23 shots with 8 assists) and needed a gang of threes/near miracle to be competitive. Odom and Fisher took steps backwards. Until the fourth, Farmar, Vujacic and Walton were nowhere to be found. This is the series that Kobe cannot win by himself, unfortunately the Celtics are going to make him.
Also..how the hell does Kobe not touch the ball, let alone shoot the ball on the Lakers last chance. The one where Vujacic shot it and got blocked. Come on now Phil I know you didn’t write that up. These are not Toni Kukoc here buddy.
And that brings me to you Kevin Garnett. As good as Pau played and Powe played and Pierce played…who is going to call the Big Ticket out? Me. I am. It’s my duty to call him out for tonight. Kevin Garnett, you my friend laid an egg tonight. Paul Pierce, Leon Powe and your defense bailed you out. You cannot go to Los Angeles and play like you did tonight and hope to win a championship. Because you will look up and be headed home down 3-2 just like that. 17 points, 7-19 shooting? Really? Two shots in the paint? Really? Come on KG. You have to be better than that. Watch what Tim Duncan does in the Finals because right now you’re doing the opposite. Stop settling for stepback jumpers and fadeaways and jump passes and hesitating on open shots. Be the man for once. Just do it.
By the way..JA Adande did a great job of summing the Finals up. Above is what should be discussed about. Instead it’s going to be officiating. I’ll let you wrap it up JA
“The stories should be the Celtics asserting themselves and taking control of this series, the lack of production from the Lakers’ bench, the way the Celtics defense has prevented Kobe Bryant from turning the Finals into the victory lap for his MVP season.”