Kobe Bryant (photo. Mannion)

* You know how everyone says you don’t want the refs deciding games? It’s on the verge of happening here. Kobe‘s two early fouls were both were ticky-tack at best, bad calls at worst, and it completely changed the flow of the game when he had to take a seat. We know a lot of Lakers fans; they’ve already got a huge asterisk in their pocket in case they lose this game.

* And the foul situation is only going to get worse for the Lakers as the game goes on. Kobe has three, Derek Fisher has three and Lamar Odom has two. As a team they keep burning fouls on guys they don’t need to worry about, making it more likely one of their key guys will foul out if L.A. needs a late comeback. Also, they’re conditioning the refs to blow the whistle whenever Boston gets the ball underneath.

* However, one of those guys — Leon Powe — is playing out of his mind. With this first half performance coinciding with the halftime feature telling his life story, he’s about to become famous.

* Who awakened the monster in Pau Gasol? He’s demanding the ball in the post, dunking on KG, getting defenders in foul trouble, waving teammates off so he can go to work on the block, and — believe it or not — even gave Kobe the stink-eye when Kobe didn’t give him an entry pass he liked. The Lakers need to continue going to him in the second half and not forget about him if they hope to steal this game.

* If you blinked after tip-off you probably missed Vladimir Radmanovic, who picked up two fouls in two minutes and was banished to the bench. That forced Phil Jackson to dust off Trevor Ariza, who is more athletic and better defensively than Vlad, but his jumper is awful.

* Should the Lakers go at Paul Pierce more? Doc Rivers is having Pierce guard Ariza and Luke Walton, almost daring L.A. to let those guys try and beat them.

* So nobody could get the conductor of the Boston Pops a jersey that fits? That thing came down to his knees.

* Does anyone else think it’s kind of cruel to have these guys doing commercials where they’re posing and interacting with the championship trophy? Or on another note, how do guys like Gary Payton or Clyde Drexler who chased that title until their bodies almost gave out feel about cats who haven’t even won it getting to cradle it?