NBA Finals - Lakers vs Celtics - Game 1 (SLOW CPUs BEWARE!)

[Trifecta7]

Ugh, most definitely a wasted opportunity. Got to take Game 2 and accomplish the goal of at least one road game.

[theman]

Two calls that stuck out from the first half:

1. They called a backcourt violation on Gasol when it was not

2. They called a foul on Gasol when it was a clean block

Make no mistake, the Celtics won, but Lakers were right there with the momentum at the half and the lead. Second half was another story.

Game 2 is a must IMO.

2a. Gasol got ball AND wrist. That will (almost) always get a foul.

3. From the second half. PJ Brown clearly had both feet planted when he was called for a block on Odom on what should have been a charge.

[hermes]

it was there for us, we just couldn't get baskets in the second half when we needed them
kobe will shoot better in game 2, and i think that will be the difference
he knows what will be effective now

[The Laker Kid]

Even with Andrew Bynum I don't think we can beat Boston... they are THAT good, unfortunately.

[BigAkers]

I still stand by my prediction that the Lakers will win game 2. This team has responded to losses in the postseason very well...

[Darth Celtic]

the reason u don't see ariza is easy to tell. Career 20% 3pt shooter, luck career 34% 3pt shooter. If ariza was in, pierce would be 20ft off him in the paint taking away any drives. With luke, he at least has to stay honest.

And lets face it, lakers didn't make it here because of their awesome defense. They made it on offense, over 100 a game.

They scored 108 a game and gave up 101 a game in regular season

They held the celtics to 98. Below the average. They only scored 88. 20 down.

Only way ariza would help lakers offense was if u were running in open court, and i think the lakers had what, 4-6 fast break pts?

Hard to bash on Phil Jackson as a playoff coach in my opinion and bash his rotations. He knows a lot more then any of us.

[magicfan4life05]

-= original quote snipped =-



2a. Gasol got ball AND wrist. That will (almost) always get a foul.

3. From the second half. PJ Brown clearly had both feet planted when he was called for a block on Odom on what should have been a charge.

Congrats on the win.

[tlifeset]

Some very good points.

Yeah, you have to play Luke over Ariza ... even Phil said as much. They need shooters to create spacing.

Look, I'm not going to blame Kobe or Odom. They had good looks and the shots didn't fall.

They had a chance to win the game in the end, but there were some stupid fouls and the ball just didn't bounce their way.

You saw the complete potential of the C's offense and defense. I don't think you've seen the potential of the Lakers on offense or on defense. They will be fine. You could see that they were trying to feel them out.

And Pierce's fake injury really threw a wrench into the game. It ruined the rhythm and everyone's flow. It also mangled the substitution pattern because everyone got an extra break. I think you're going to see the Celts pull some stuff like this because they want to play Pierce and KG 40 minutes a game if they can. Don't be surprised when they start pulling the NFL tactic of laying down a little bit longer to stop the other team's momentum and catch their breath.

By the way ... Doc isn't smart enough to figure out that Perkins is going to kill the C's in this series. When he was out there, the ball movement was great and they got some easy open looks. The second he got injured is when the C's when on their run.

[hermes]

Some very good points.

Yeah, you have to play Luke over Ariza ... even Phil said as much. They need shooters to create spacing.

Look, I'm not going to blame Kobe or Odom. They had good looks and the shots didn't fall.

They had a chance to win the game in the end, but there were some stupid fouls and the ball just didn't bounce their way.

You saw the complete potential of the C's offense and defense. I don't think you've seen the potential of the Lakers on offense or on defense. They will be fine. You could see that they were trying to feel them out.

And Pierce's fake injury really threw a wrench into the game. It ruined the rhythm and everyone's flow. It also mangled the substitution pattern because everyone got an extra break. I think you're going to see the Celts pull some stuff like this because they want to play Pierce and KG 40 minutes a game if they can. Don't be surprised when they start pulling the NFL tactic of laying down a little bit longer to stop the other team's momentum and catch their breath.

By the way ... Doc isn't smart enough to figure out that Perkins is going to kill the C's in this series. When he was out there, the ball movement was great and they got some easy open looks. The second he got injured is when the C's when on their run.

denfese i think your right, but i'm not so sure on their offense garnett missed a lot of shots that he had been making earlier, he looks like he could have a bigger game, but then some other bench players could have smaller contributions if KG does score more, i agree they are a more limited offensive team though

[Andrew Bynasty]

3. From the second half. PJ Brown clearly had both feet planted when he was called for a block on Odom on what should have been a charge.

Watch the play again... PJ clearly moved his body sideways to initiate contact.

Seriously... Go watch that play again.

[Slava]

Where the hell was SUper Kobe and why is Old man Cassell still scoring 10 pts against us?

WHy was KG left open for dunks?

Why didn't Kobe get back in transition to stop those Pierece 3s?

Game 2 is must win! Lets get back and move ahead!

[Slava]

Looks like Ariza is not going to play any part in this series.

Disappointing and that makes us severely shorthanded.

[shobe_81]

And what's with the machine taking turnaround jumpers, If I were Phil I'd give him the green light only on open shots!

I hate when he gets a pick from Gasol and he's running full speed off the pick and suddenly stops and takes a leaning jumper which HE ALWAYS misses.

Kobe's Shot selection was BAD, even though some Should've gone in, he took some crappy ones where he pump-fakes like 3 time and the defender doesn't bite.

[blix]

Pierce is a drama queen.

That is all.

Go Lakers.

[Celts17Pride]

Pierce is a drama queen.

That is all.

Go Lakers.

This coming from someone who follows Kobe. Did Kobe ask to be traded today?

[blix]

I didn't say Kobe wasn't a drama queen...Kobe's drama got us to the finals. Pierce's drama got him much-needed attention.

[Erik Eleven]

the reason u don't see ariza is easy to tell. Career 20% 3pt shooter, luck career 34% 3pt shooter. If ariza was in, pierce would be 20ft off him in the paint taking away any drives. With luke, he at least has to stay honest...

... Only way ariza would help lakers offense was if u were running in open court, and i think the lakers had what, 4-6 fast break pts?

That's exactly why Ariza must play. With him defending, we'd get way more fastbreak points. He's a top notch, fierce, athletic, quick, long and very smart defender. Every time he plays, he creates turnovers, steals, he contests shots extremely well and would force the Celtics to take tougher shots. Tough shots lead to fast breaks. Ariza is a very good finisher on the fastbreak. Bringing him off the bench as opposed to Luke would create a tempo that's favorable to the Lakers.

But you're right, it's very hard to make the case that you know more than Phil when it comes to playoffs basketball. Personally, I just can't wait until Phil is forced to play him in this series so I can see with my own eyes that playing Ariza over Luke is wrong.

[YiYaoYue]

The Walton that showed up for Spurs is fine over Ariza.. but the way Walton played... looked like he didn't want to beat his dad's team or something... he just didn't show up... we can't have a hole in the roster like that..

[snaquille oatmeal]

-= original quote snipped =-



It's a good thing that never gets old.

neither do you,

but don't worry, I still love you anyway in a very homoerotic way..................pause..............!

[semi-sentient]

Where the hell was SUper Kobe and why is Old man Cassell still scoring 10 pts against us?

WHy was KG left open for dunks?

Why didn't Kobe get back in transition to stop those Pierece 3s?

Game 2 is must win! Lets get back and move ahead!

Super Kobe?

You mean the one that averages the following in 20 NBA Finals games?

Code: Select all

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42.9 MPG, 41% FG, 27% 3P, 86% FT, 5.1 REB, 4.9 AST, 1.4 STL, 1.1 BLK, 3.1 TOV, 22.3 PTS
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He was there alright.

Kobe has got to figure this out or we are not winning anything this year or for the foreseeable future. His shooting percentages have got to get better, and that's the bottom line. What chance do we have if he shoots that poorly?

Defensively, Kobe has always been spectacular in the Finals, but offensively, he stinks it up.