Celtics 97, Lakers 91: Instant Analysis
Kevin Garnett (photo. Gary Land)Why the Celtics won: Selective amnesia. In the second half, the Celtics — in particular, guys like Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, James Posey and Eddie House — played like they didn’t remember what had happened in the first half. They say the key to being a great man-to-man cornerback in the NFL is having a selective memory and forgetting whenever you get burned, and that’s what the C’s did tonight.
Why the Lakers lost: They couldn’t sustain their first-half energy. The Lakers went into the locker room at halftime laughing and joking and really feeling themselves, but got lazy along the way and never recovered when Boston blasted them in the third quarter. By the time L.A. semi-got it together, their huge lead had shrunk to zero and Boston had all the momentum.
Key numbers: Paul Pierce (20 pts, 7 asts); Ray Allen (19 pts, 9 rebs); James Posey (18 pts, 4 threes); Kobe Bryant (17 pts, 10 asts, 4 stls); Lamar Odom (19 pts, 10 rebs).
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June 12th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
fallinup says:
One more!!
June 12th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Duke says:
I haven’t seen choking like that since Pamela Anderson.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
fallinup says:
BTW, Ray Allen’s reverse was butter. LOL
June 12th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Amar says:
EAST conf!
June 12th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
yallallreadyknow says:
wow…
i guess philip jackson aint gonna get his 10th ring this year either.
might be 0-2 in his quest
June 12th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
yallallreadyknow says:
oh yeah…
for all em punks who swore up and down all year long that the west was better….
…the beantown boys gonna win the chip
…but this series still might go 7
June 12th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
srb says:
the truth
and ray gave them the business
June 12th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Gerard says:
Just because Boston wins the championship that doesn’t negate the fact that the West was better. Just that the best team came out of the east.
June 13th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Duke says:
Oh, who laughed when they saw Sasha “The Rusted Machine” Vujacic’s whiny **** face on the bench after he let Ray Allen blow past him?
June 13th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Austin Burton says:
Who is Kobe screaming at right now?
June 13th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Marian says:
JESUS F****** SHuttelsworth
June 13th, 2008 at 12:05 am
Soopa says:
Might be high after this win. But does it seem like Doc has the Celts looking good after halftime each game? The game 2 Laker comeback was deep into the third.
Anyway… OMFG! In Denmark where im from the game starts at 3 in the morning and plays on til 6 (and i have to be a work at 8…). I was tempted to just go to sleep, but seeing the Cs didnt quit, who was i to quit?!
The Posey 3 was a poisoned dagger that got twisted inside a Laker stomach. Again, props to Doc for keeping him on the floor with 5 fouls.
June 13th, 2008 at 12:06 am
fallinup says:
Duke, I did…loudly. Because Jesus broke him down and won the game. HAHAHAHA
June 13th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Wikipedia says:
The Lakers are just sorry. No team looking to win a chip should give up a 24 point lead. Lakers in 7!
June 13th, 2008 at 12:07 am
yallallreadyknow says:
if doc rivers wins the chip as the coach this year….i wonder if george karl will congratulate him…
they’ve been having a rift since doc was coaching the magic men in orlando
June 13th, 2008 at 12:09 am
yallallreadyknow says:
i dont think kobe is yelling at anyone.
them la boys just got beat. plaiin and simple.
lucky for them they got 1 more game at home…
…but this loss gets put on the whole squad; not kobe
that dna he put in his teammates aint working out too well is it?
June 13th, 2008 at 12:14 am
Amar says:
Soopa — I want some haapsdogs! (spelling?)
June 13th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Soopa says:
Amar – LOL! We actually call them “hotdogs” in Denmark, but theres a kinda of hotdog called Hapsdog
(After this legendary comback, im sure its comments like these you come here for)
June 13th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Myrie says:
I am a Knick fan (no shame here), so I really do not have a preference as to whom wins this series. I just want to see a good finals series; unlike last year.
But…I do have some questions about the Lakers for LA fans.
What is the normal lineup for this team? Even without Andrew Bynum. The lineup appears suspect to me. It seems everyone is out of position.
Gasol is playing the 5, Odom is playing the 4th and then I see times when Sasha is in the backcourt with either Farmar or Fisher; thus, it forces Kobe to be playing the 3.
What’s up with the lineup? Thats the reason they’re having scoring droughts. Not very good balance on either end of the court.
June 13th, 2008 at 12:22 am
Myrie says:
..and without Rajon Rondo playing in the 2nd half, the Lakers should have been pressing the Celtics.
I was on the couch screaming that you have to apply backcourt pressure on Eddie House. He can shoot…but he can’t dribble or see the court to pass. Why didn’t the Lakers pressure the Celtics since they had no point guard? Especially since they had Jordan Farmar and Sasha in the game laste in the 3rd.
June 13th, 2008 at 12:22 am
alex says:
the comparisons of kb to mj should just stop. there’s no way mj is going to lose a game like this (and he didn’t)
9 out of 10 times, hardwork pays over lazy talent
June 13th, 2008 at 12:24 am
yallallreadyknow says:
alex
the kobe mj comparisons will go on until forever.
but mj played 13 seasons….he had games where his teams blew big leads at home too.
the only common denominator btwn then and now is that phil was the coach
..i aint no kobe lover…but ur just plain foolish and stupid if you are referring to kobe bryant as a ‘lazy talent’.
turn over your keyboard and go to bed
June 13th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Tim says:
i have no respect for paul pierce, eddie house, or james posey anymore…
lets just pop our jersey all day and be cool……
June 13th, 2008 at 12:28 am
Amar says:
back when I was in your part of the world in ’96 we just ordered ‘Hapsdogs’ (with, uh, remulade (?)) from those guys on the street. good times . . .
June 13th, 2008 at 12:33 am
Blue says:
dude…i’m from la and a laker-hater and my phone was blowin’ up all game long with my boys giving me hell! it all pretty much stopped in the 4th!
haha…great game man! posey learned all that while he was with the heat! haha
heat ’09 champs…you heard it here first!!!!
June 13th, 2008 at 12:51 am
Hugo says:
Man … What a game!! I almost gone sleep in the first half. And honestly I didn’t believe it was possible. But as always, Odon will never let you down, he’ll always be lost when his team needs him … I’m a mavs fan, but rooting for the Celtics.
The name of the game was Ray Jesus Allen. What a game! Full 48 minutes played for him … 2 BIG buckets from him and he almost made Sasha cry! God, i loved that!
And just for the matter, stop comparing Kobe and MJ. Kobe is big and all, but I don’t think he could be on the same sentence of Bird and Magic, much less Jordan. Just try watching some of his videos on youtube and that comparison goes away. I watched most of his games and please, stop … Kobe is fantastic but no way he compares with Jordan.
As a writer says, we watch sports waiting to see something special happening, tonight was one of those nights …
Mavs 09 champs …
June 13th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Soopa says:
Watching the press confrence right now and Kobe’s reaction to handling with a loss like this:
“Lots of whining tonight. Lots a beers. Couple of shot – maybe 20 of them. Come in tomorrow and get to work.”
Had that last sentence not been there, its straigth out of a Will Ferrell movie hehe.
June 13th, 2008 at 1:05 am
hahns says:
who do you give the finals mvp to…?? pierce or allen?? i dont think kg deserves it at all btw
June 13th, 2008 at 1:12 am
GEE...Somebody gettin pregnant in Boston right now says:
LA deserves to it lose. Jackson kept Fisher who was having a nice game out to long. He also had Pau out at the wrong times. Lol sashas d on that clear out for ray was the worst d i have seen all year. Kobe is giving dude the business.
its ova. Boston can print the shirts, make the hats, plan the parade and put the bubbly on ice. Even if, a big if now, LA does win the next one, when they get to Boston its ova. You know the crowd and home cooking will all be for Boston and LA falls apart when things aint going there way…see tonight.
the state of California is really sinkin.
June 13th, 2008 at 1:13 am
krip says:
all I can say is, WHAT THE FUCK
so pissed
June 13th, 2008 at 1:14 am
krip says:
and for MVP, Ray Allen
June 13th, 2008 at 1:15 am
Three Stacks says:
@ Myrie
The usual starting lineup for the Lakers is Gasol @ 5, Odom @ 4, Radmanovic @ 3, Kobe @ 2, and Fisher @ 1. Their bench usually comes in late toward the 1st, or the beginning of the second, and the lineup usually consists of Turiaf, Odom, Walton, Vujacic, and Farmar.
Kobe almost always sits to begin the 4th, comes back in around the 8 minute mark. Phil has been using Kobe @ 3 pretty often the entire year, especially after the Gasol trade. Radmanovic rarely plays the 4th quarter, only if they need 3s to make up a deficit, and Vujacic usually plays in the 4th, the crunchtime lineup being Gasol, Odom, Kobe @ 3, with Vujacic and Fisher in the backcourt.
This has been our consistent rotation since February, and throughout the playoffs. But it’s changed in the Finals, though, and I’m not sure why.
June 13th, 2008 at 1:18 am
fallinup says:
I know it was great to see “Manu Jr.” (
June 13th, 2008 at 1:19 am
fallinup says:
get burned but really, Fisher was supposed to be there with the help. Sasha thought he had it, but was left with a stupid look on his face when he noticed that there was no one behind him. All in all, it was a total collapse. Kobe, somewhat disappeared. Odom and Gasol became background scenery and Phil was sleeping.
I feel like the schwami how I’ve been calling this damn series. Too bad I haven’t been placing bets but here we go, one more time….
Lakers win the next one.
Boston wins the chip in Beantown. Game 6 baby!
June 13th, 2008 at 1:19 am
Austin Burton says:
When Bynum comes back next year do they change to Bynum at center, Gasol at PF, and Odom at SF? How will Odom react to yet another change in his role? Is Gasol better at the five or the four?
June 13th, 2008 at 1:25 am
GEE...Somebody gettin pregnant in Boston right now says:
yea bynum at the 5 odom will be straight and Pau will do better.
June 13th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Three Stacks says:
Yes, that was a self-implosion of epic, biblical proportions, but it’s not over yet. Boston fans know better than anybody that a team can be dead in the water, down 3-0 even, and still come back and win.
That being said, there doesn’t seem to be much hope. This game was, I think, the most emotionally devastating game I’ve watched as a Laker fan since the game 6 loss to San Antonio in 2003.
I haven’t gotten a haircut since March, not since Gasol came back from injury, and we hadn’t lost at Staples since then. I didn’t wanna do anything to jinx it and end the streak. But I’m thinking I need to buzz that shit off tonight.
June 13th, 2008 at 1:34 am
Three Stacks says:
I would prefer if Odom took a Manu-like role and came off the bench to beast on the other team’s 2nd unit, and they start a frontcourt of Bynum, Gasol and Radmanovic, especially since the triangle works best with at least three good 3point shooters on the floor.
But having seen him play for the last four seasons, I know for a fact that Odom plays his best ball when he’s the 3rd or 4th best player on his team on the floor, and that there’s no way he’s “beasting” on anyone. If he plays as the focal point of the 2nd unit, he’s not gonna play well. So we gotta start him.