Celtics Take Game 1 in Beantown; The Return of Selfish Kobe?
“Yeeeeeah boy!!”Stay tuned: we might be witnessing Paul Pierce using this national TV stage to act out a childhood dream of re-enacting a career’s worth of legendary moments in one NBA Finals. Last night Pierce pulled his version of The Willis Reed Moment (or The Daniel Larusso Moment depending on which one’s your favorite) when he hurt his knee early in the second half of Game 1 and had to be wheel-chaired to the locker room, then re-emerged a few minutes later to a thunderous ovation. Playing on a sprained knee, Pierce (22 pts) knocked down back-to-back threes that gave Boston a cushion going into the fourth quarter, and they never trailed again. With about 1:30 left, Kevin Garnett (24 pts, 13 rebs) delivered the dagger with vicious follow dunk where he may have actually eaten Pau Gasol … Before the injury, Pierce looked ready to go on a big tear. The Celtics were down five when the second half began before Pierce went an 8-2 run by himself — layup, four-point play, pull-up jumper — to give them the lead. The four-point play was crazy; Pierce maneuvered the puppet strings sticking out of Vlad Radmanovic and banked in a trey that scraped the roof before dropping. Vlad ate one more jumper before getting yanked so that Kobe could guard Pierce. Going to the bench, Radmanovic slammed his towel down and screamed something that looked like, “F***ing motherf***** whore!” … Why was Tony Allen, who’s already injured and reportedly could barely walk as recently as two days ago, one of the guys carrying Pierce off the floor? That seemed like a job for Big Baby or Scot Pollard …
T-shirts handed out in BostonKobe kept L.A. afloat initially after they lost the lead. He and Derek Fisher hooked up for a sick alley oop, then on the next possession Kobe drained a tough fadeaway J over two defenders with the shot clock running out. Overall in the second half, though, Kobe was forcing a lot of shots. He finished 9-for-26 from the floor for 24 points and six assists. Was Kobe gunning? You could say he was, but at the same time, you saw how no one else on the Lakers was producing when they had opportunities in the fourth quarter. If they weren’t missing shots, they were turning the ball over or blowing defensive assignments. It was quite clear in crunch time that Kobe and Fisher (15 pts, 6 asts, 3 stls) were the only two players on the squad with significant Finals experience … Preceding a four-minute stretch where the Lakers didn’t score, there was another killer fourth quarter sequence where Jordan Farmar threw an awful pass intended for Ronny Turiaf that resulted in a turnover, then James Posey knocked down a three on the other end to put the C’s up by eight with about 8:30 remaining. Phil Jackson took Kobe out of the game at that point, but even with the Lakers reduced to Ronny Turiaf taking fadeaway jumpers and Luke Walton trying to create his own shot, they kept the game within reach before Kobe came back in. They just couldn’t make plays down the stretch, and that goes for Kobe down to the last rotation guy … Kobe was good defensively, though. He had to switch often between guarding Pierce and Ray Allen (19 pts, 8 rebs, 5 asts), but whoever he wasn’t guarding was dropping buckets on Vlad and Sasha Vujacic … Two members of the Dime crew were at the TD Banknorth Garden for the game, and the atmosphere was summed up best in one e-mail sent during halftime: “This is not a safe place for a Lakers fan.” We can’t confirm or deny that our guys were among the Boston fans chanting “U-S-A!” at Gasol (15 pts, 8 rebs) when he was at the free throw line, but we have to claim one of our dudes was openly gawking at Bruce Willis‘ daughter (or was that his girlfriend?). Either way, doesn’t he know John McClain don’t play that s***? … Ask any C’s fan if they’ll take a 15-point, 7-assist, 2-turnover line from Rajon Rondo in every game of this series and they’ll answer “Yes” in a heartbeat. The Lakers weren’t even guarding Rondo to start, but he knocked down a few jumpers and made them respect him … The ridiculously huge championship trophy at midcourt is bad enough — it’s especially funny when you’re in Cleveland and the Cave are down 0-3 to San Antonio and this huge trophy is just staring at them like a joke — but we have some requests for the NBA with this Lakers/Celtics series: No “Sunday whites” when the Lakers play in L.A., and no C’s jerseys with the gold or black numbers. Keep this thing traditional. The short-shorts thing has been done already, but no one said we can’t require Turiaf to rock some James Worthy goggles, and make Brian Scalabrine grow a Bill Walton ‘fro … Which phrase has been used more this season: “Kobe Bryant has learned to play with his teammates,” or “Kevin Garnett has changed the culture in Boston”? … Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, our guys at the game saw Stephen A signing autographs in the Garden. Really? That was kind of sad. They also reported spotted Pau’s kid brother, Marc Gasol (property of the Grizzlies), at will call waiting for his ticket …
Celtic Nation getting readyPlay-by-play man Mike Breen caused a furious volley of e-mails amongst the Dime crew as soon as his face popped up on screen. “He looks like he’s been in a street fight,” was one. “He might as well have blood in that wack-ass goatee,” was another. Followed by “Did he and Van Gundy get drunk and Breen bit it on the concrete?” and “Maybe he got hit with a flying spork in the press room. You know how some media people can get when it’s feeding time.” Did Breen ever explain himself during the broadcast? If so, we missed it … Breen called Vujacic “likable.” How is that possible when Sasha’s basically a younger version of Manu Ginobili, and everyone hates Manu? Is it simply because he plays for L.A.? … Let’s just say Larry Bird and Magic Johnson’s “There Can Only Be One” commercial took up a lot more of the TV screen than the ones involving active players. Especially Bird’s side. We know those two are retired, but Bill Russell and Kareem are way older and they’re still at least close to the same shape — that’s why ABC was able to use those 12-year-old “NBA at 50″ interview clips of Russell and Kareem during the halftime feature … The Orlando Pre-Draft Camp combine results are in, and Michael Beasley was impressive, albeit a bit shorter than originally thought. Joe Alexander cranked out numbers that could make him the NBA’s version of Mike Mamula, and John Riek has REALLY long arms … And looking ahead to drafts of the future, the high school Class of ‘09 may have the next Carmelo Anthony in its ranks. Meet Jordan Hamilton over on HighSchoolHoop.com … Is there anything worse than these awful Yukon Denali ads with the player’s lot parking attendant? You know it’s not a good ad campaign when you’re causing e-mails like the one we got from Cass: “I will NEVER own a Denali purely because of how many times they’re going to run during this series.” … Are we really in an era where a Presidential candidate giving his wife dap is a national news story? Great … We’re out like Vlad Rad’s manners …
June 6th, 2008 at 2:07 am
Remy Nguyen says:
1st
June 6th, 2008 at 2:10 am
Remy Nguyen says:
If the Lakers lose this champion, My Kobe jersey is going to the Goodwill.
And the next time someone boasts Kobe is the greatest, I will be the first one leading the charge, Kobe sucks!
June 6th, 2008 at 2:16 am
Remy Nguyen says:
Those Lakers better get their head our of their asses and bring it.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:24 am
MoxWestCoastRep says:
Go kick rocks Remy. You shouldnt even have a Kobe jersey.
KB24 had a bad shooting night, but so did everyone else. I think its more a credit to Bostons D. Still, the Lakers were in it til the last minute.
Phil will make the necesarry adjustments.
There was one minor difference between Paul Pierce and Willis Reed- Willis was actually HURT!!
Daniel LaRusso is spot on- Both acting.
I love how he needs assistance off the floor then 5 minutes later hes skipping down the tunnel. Tool!
Big game coming for all the haters- Mamba goes crazy and Lakers steal home court Sunday.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:28 am
jackass says:
dude, it was an off night for the lakers. they were still in the game for the whole way. they gonna kill the C’s. it’s still the lakers in 5. i am not hating on the C’s or anything. You just know the way lakers are running the show, scoring easy buckets off of pick and rolls and shit. meanwhile C’s needed a heroic effort from the big boyz to get a much needed win.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Bobby B says:
I didn’t get a good look at the girl Bruce Willis was sitting with. However, I do know that his daughter has a HUGE, fucking GINORMOUS jaw. Kathy Ireland’s jaw is miniscule in comparison.
Kobe better step up his fucking game.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:42 am
Justin aka CP3 says:
The act that pierce put on was a joke. Wincing, pounding the floor in pain, the tv time out, pierce still pounding the floor in pain, carried off the court, wheelchair to locker room…..5 minutes later he is jumping up and down with an ace bandage ready to check back into the game. One word. Ridiculous
“bootleg willis reed”
June 6th, 2008 at 3:01 am
Fakers says:
Why yall hatin on Pierce I thought yall like entertainment, bunch of kobe jock-riders in here so far i see
June 6th, 2008 at 3:04 am
Jay says:
I don’t know how many of you kids have had a strained knee, but that shit hurts, as Vladi would say, like a “f***ing motherf*****.”
June 6th, 2008 at 3:08 am
Jay says:
BTW, is there any team in the NBA who flops in more possessions per game than the Lakers? From Kobe on offense, Pau on rebounds, Fish on screens, and Sasha any damn time, “Fakers” is actually a legit nickname for the team.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:55 am
kb24! says:
Kobe jock riders…lol Celtic fans are fuckin cock riders. they fuckin get 3 stars on their team and everyone jumps on their wagon…Kobe had a bad night..i was disappointed in him..he needs to step it up more and take it to the rack and shoot free throws…AND..its only game 1 Laker fans..don’t be so worried just yet. if it goes 2-0 then we can worry. but not now. Thats why its a series. We’ll take game 2.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:57 am
kb24! says:
oh yea.and FAKERS? cmon look at Pierce..faking that injury…couldn’t even walk off the court by himself..then magically comes running through the tunnel like nothing happened..
June 6th, 2008 at 4:05 am
Florin says:
i guess the best of all is that in a game where kobe was not himself, lamar was ugly, pau had zero rebounds somewhere close to halftime and sasha& jordan not helping too much, lakers were still in the game all the time. And it wasn’t for pierce’s clutch shots at the beginning and end of quarter 3 (which took the momentulm away from the lakers twice – first at 51-46, than at 71-69 and they never led again), lakers would still have been fine.
the negative is that celtics defense may be credited for all this and may repeat…however, they also have a productive night from all Big 3, which is highly unlikely to happen every other night…
so with phil’s adjustments, my money is on lakers take game 2, celtics win one of game 3-5 and then lakers close in game 6 or 7
June 6th, 2008 at 4:36 am
Jay says:
I’m neither a Celtic of Laker fan, but you’d got to be delusional if you believe that the Celtics defense wasn’t excellent in the 2nd half, particularly on Kobe. Yes, Kobe is phenomenal enough that he can often make some of the shots he took today, so it definitely wasn’t a game where Kobe was “on.” But he was taken out of his rhythmn because of a great job by defenders to crowd him and not allow him into the lane. He was forced to take tough jumpers and faders all night long.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:45 am
kb24! says:
@jay
True. but Kobe usually makes those jumpers even though contested. I think I saw about 10 in and out shots by the whole Laker team. They were shooting good in the first half but the 2nd half they weren’t dropping. The Lakers were still in it to about the 3 minute mark even with some poor offense in the 2nd half of the game. So Hopefully they bounce back and move the ball.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:55 am
Three Stacks says:
Lakers played sloppy in the second half. Gotta credit the Celtics defense.
No one mentions that Phil Jackson changed his rotation for the first time these playoffs. Farmar usually starts the 2nd quarter, but Fisher played the entire first half. Farmar didn’t even get any burn till the 4th, actually. What’s the deal w/ that? I hope he doesn’t plan on using Fisher 44 minutes a night.
I was hoping we’d get game 1, but Boston played w/ more urgency. Boston’s the more nervous team, the more nervous fanbase…stealing game 1 would’ve been nice, could’ve killed some spirit. We better at least get a split, though…winning three straight at home is gonna be tough. I hate the 2-3-2 format.
Sam Cassell shoots every time he touches the ball. I’m glad he shot well tonight, that only means he’s chucking the rock every time for the rest of the series. He’s gonna cost them some possessions.
There goes the sweep. We’ll get the next one.
June 6th, 2008 at 6:22 am
YOUNGFED says:
Man Pierce is such a Baby, with his fat ass. How in the hell do you get carried off the court, hauled off in a wheelchair, crying the whole way like his leg is broken, and come back better than when you left. GTFOH!!!@!
Two Words: DRAMA QUENN.
June 6th, 2008 at 6:32 am
Brazil says:
Kobe who ?
June 6th, 2008 at 7:17 am
shake&bake says:
I have hated Paul Pierce since he sucked on Team USA while Melo and Lebron were on the bench. However, when he 1st went down with what looked like a series ending injury, I was upset cause I wanted everyone healthy for the whole series so it’s not tainted in anyway. When he came hopping out 2 minutes later like a little school girl I just thought this guy was a complete joke. I would have given him a lot more shit if he didn’t come out and bang those two 3’s that changed the game. Nobody on the Lakers played well and they still had a chance, should be an interesting series.
June 6th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Illmatic says:
I loved it when Perkins tried to do pull the same stunt as Pierce, and came out to (as the announcers put it) “token applause”. Haha he just sat down on the far end of the bench and threw a towel over his head. I’m out like Kendrick Perkins’ dignity.
June 6th, 2008 at 7:31 am
OGN says:
Kobe looked shook last night…He was passing up shots not as a trust your teammates more like he didn’t trust his shot. A lot of in and outs. Never seen Kobe’s confidence take a hit like that. That is why he will never be GOAT. MJ had bad shooting nights but he ripped your heart out and showed it to you while still beating. He always found a way, that being said, its only 1 game lakers will rebound and get game 2 on Sunday.
June 6th, 2008 at 7:38 am
eric says:
Looking at the comments posted so far it looks like lakers fan rely a lot on kobe to take the series. Fair enough.
Not saying the celts have finals experience but come on! Lots of the lakers are just a bunch of young guys (vujacic, farmar, turiaf, walton). Kobe is really alone, lakers are overated (see espn, guys we are talking about a team that has radmanovic in the starting 5) facing 3 veterans that just want the title more
June 6th, 2008 at 7:43 am
djKianoosh says:
midway through the 3rd quarter I was thinking these teams are boring to watch if you’re not a fan of theirs. then it got kinda interesting with the kobe dunks and pierce’s drama.
radmanovic has zero chance to guard pierce. why even try? put kobe on him from the start.
I officially cannot watch stu scott and mark jackson anymore. i’m so damn glad i have DVR and can skip whenever these guys talk.
nba tv had some good pregame at least, with Russell and Dr. J…
June 6th, 2008 at 7:46 am
VQ says:
Kobe needs that killer instinct he had during the playoffs..because it seemed there for a minute neither boston or la wanted the game. bad shots after bad shots after turnovers. That wouldn’t fly with MJ
June 6th, 2008 at 7:50 am
djKianoosh says:
mj’s teams had that problem at times too, but pippen and horace grant/rodman and the others were just better than what kobe has.
kobe needed to have a night where he scores the last 15-18 points for his team. he does need to be selfish, like AI or Lebron, at least in the 4th quarter. He just didn’t knock down some j’s…
June 6th, 2008 at 8:20 am
YOUNGFED says:
BTW Everybody The CARTER 3 is FIRE!
June 6th, 2008 at 8:25 am
bronbron says:
Any of you Pierce-haters ever actually played ball. You roll an ankle, it hurts like hell, you can barely walk, then 5 minutes later you’re ready to play through it. Why would Pierce fake it? He has played through tons of injuries in his career and this is the moment he was waiting for – The Finals. He does NOT have a reputation of being soft. Y’all are just Kobe jock-sniffing haters.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:39 am
fallinup says:
Pierce was faking it when he was almost stabbed to death too!!! That faker!!!
June 6th, 2008 at 8:40 am
fallinup says:
Kobe was 9-26. Of those 26 shots, 2 were in the paint. That will be the entire focus of Boston’s Defense. If the other Lakers don’t step up, Kobe will be shut down again.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Soopa says:
How about the sequence were Sam I Am sprinted the best he learned down court, almost stumbling, before jacking up a shot with 20s left on the shot clock?
I mean damn, i counted and the entire time he was on the court he and 2 (2!!!) passes! Not assists, but passes! And one was a shot, were he changed his mind in mind air!
He had me sitting on the edge of my seat man!
June 6th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
@Youngfed
Dang dude, how you get the CD this early? What you do get the bootleg?
Peirce prolly did really hurt hisself. There are plenty of times like bronbron said where I have rolled my ankle and that ish hurts for a minute, but then I just tighten my shoes to stop the swelling and I’m straight, and then I might just start workin my defender, just cause he fouled me hard like that. so I don’t think he was fakin, the pain was prolly real?
June 6th, 2008 at 9:08 am
shake&bake says:
I’ve had one injury where I had to be carried off the court and that’s cause I broke 2 bones in my lower leg. Not one where I was carried off the court by 3 people and put in a wheelchair and then missed less than 2 minutes of game time and came out of the locker room skipping.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:10 am
word says:
well well what all the kobe dick riders think today?
where was your boy at in the 4th? sure looked non existent to me
KG for MVP
Boston in 6 or 7
lets go bean town stand up game 1 was a crucial win
we got this!
June 6th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
The question is
will Ray allen give you 19 everygame and will Rondo give you 15 everygame
5 for 13 isn’t really a good shooting percentage at all. That’s still less than 40 percent.
Ray was playing like crap the last 2 series and we’ll just see how aggressive he can stay throughout the series. He’ll be okay if he doesn’t settle for jumpers
And people Kobe is NOT gonna shoot 9-26 the entire series. So I wouldn’t get too excited if I were Boston fans
If phil Jackson can find a way to contain peirce, then LA is fine. Radmonavic CAN’T do it, peirce is TOO strong for him. I say let Kobe play peirce and let vujacic play allen initially and double on peirce during the switches because you KNOW he’s going to the rack most of the time. Garnett is gonna get his either way, double teams or not!
June 6th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Chuck...Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms says:
The lakers also aren’t going to shoot 21 percent from the perimeter the entire series either. They had 3 players shooting over 40 percent for the season in vujacic, radmonavic and farmer. When they shake off the jitters, it’s gonna be interesting, and trust phil got em in that dark room wtaching video like crazy. So Gasol will rebound better next game and the help D will be significantly better next game inless they b@tch up.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:33 am
word says:
best part was 2 of my favorite players dr. j and bill russell sitting together. you know I really hope Boston keeps playing that tight D and keeping Kobe off his shot, than the championship is theirs
June 6th, 2008 at 9:42 am
karizmatic says:
Those Denali commercials suck. Go Lakers.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:46 am
djKianoosh says:
i’m happily skipping all commercials and espn transition garbage. straight basketball for me. I love that DVR technology.
Dr. J has aged well, but Russell rambles on like a fool sometimes. he’s still the greatest though, just sayin…
June 6th, 2008 at 9:50 am
doc says:
If i was Lakers fans I like my chances.Everybody stunk and they were in the game until the end.KG still played like a pussy in the 4th quarter.And LO couldnt make a fucking layup to save his life.He too tall for that soft ass way he goes up.When The Truth went down I told my brother he faking he be back in 5 minutes.But all you Laker fans that disrespect Lebron game see its hard to master Boston D.I remember Bron had a bad game and kOBE KILLED kYLE kORVER and some dicksucker said thats how the master do it Kobe dont have bad games.Lets end that nonsense right now.But we all know if he go out and drop 50 Sunday which he might do yall be back talking about how he never stinks.All that being said I want the Lakers in 6 just on the strength Im from Philly and we dont rock out with Boston sports like that.And they need to cut out that Magic Bird commercial.I thought it was fake and my man Zohan was gonna pop up on there any second.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:54 am
isotope says:
I have to say though, that Adam Sandler and Baron Davis split screen was funny.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Instilling some DNA says:
@Dime:I’m gonna guess it was a lady friend of Bruce Willis that y’all were gawking at. Wikipedia says that Bruce has dated some ridiculously hot women since divorcing Demi, including two Playmates and a Victoria’s Secret model. Yeah, I’d prolly gawk too.
His daughter Rumer is…eh. Not ugly, but not worth writing about in Smack.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:00 am
DO says:
kobe’s got something to prove after his sub-par game1. that could be good or bad for lakers fans. it’s good if he comes out focused and scores 40, bad if he shoots 30 shots and ignores his teammates. either way, selfish kobe is back
June 6th, 2008 at 10:08 am
garbageman33 says:
Who knew that one of the side effects of HIV is that it gives you the same basic body shape as Rosie O’Donnell? Way to go, Magic.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:18 am
FK says:
Fakest knee injury ever
June 6th, 2008 at 10:20 am
DaPro says:
Lakers played bad family but the Celts D had a lot to do with that
It wasn’t like Boston was executing perfect basketball, they played bad as well but they came up with critical stops when they had too
Pierce wasn’t faking, he was scared and overacted, first time in the finals and he’s thinking “Damn, it’s over I just blew out my knee so he’s emotional”
June 6th, 2008 at 10:20 am
isotope says:
I guess its impossible these days to expect officials to not be partial towards the home crowd. They’re human too and are swayed by crowd noise. But it can be annoying if you’re watching from home.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:24 am
dana white says:
Yes,and FAKERS?
cmon look at Pierce..faking that injury…couldn’t even walk off the court by himself..then magically comes running through the tunnel like nothing happened.a friend said this on the forum on a tall celeb site http://www.tallmingle.com ,seems the topic is hot, many people posted their comments on that news.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:31 am
SWAT says:
Ok you know what i’m shocked that no 1 mentioned how ET (Sam Cassell) was schoolin these boys for a min. I mean damn they had to sick Kobe on him. Cassell is 40 something years old! LOL! That’s a damn shame and a bad sign for the lakers. I wonder if Phil would have asked MJ…”Hey I need you to guard this old ass man that’s out there killing us” Would he have done it or ripped his teammate for not doing his job and sticking his assingment? HMMM…
really though what the hell was Phil thinking sometimes…having Luke in the game late in the 4th? Taking Kobe out while you’re down…even though they made a small run…they need dude in there. Either way no excuses LA fans you boys got ate up last nite. Get your head out of Kobe’s ass and play suckas!!
June 6th, 2008 at 10:33 am
YOUNGFED says:
@Chuck
“Dang dude, how you get the CD this early? ”
Lets just say I’m well connected. BTW when you get it check out the track by Kanye that one is Bannas. Also Dave Banner got a hot one on there.
“A MILLI, A MILLI, A MILLI, A YOUNG MILLIONAIRE” LOL
June 6th, 2008 at 10:37 am
isotope says:
lol
that weezy has been leaked for over a week now.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:39 am
YOUNGFED says:
Oh the Jimmy Jones is alright to fellas.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:51 am
isotope says:
if you wanna hear the whole album, its all over youtube.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:56 am
YOUNGFED says:
Naw I’m straight on you tube that shits in the ‘Lac’ RITE NOW.
It’s
June 6th, 2008 at 10:59 am
rodnets says:
Here is a video of what does Sasha BooYahcic in his spare time:
http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=ls5KQEyw9uU&feature=related
Peace
June 6th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Kudabeen says:
If Pierce is faking he stayed in character the rest of the night… After the game he was wincing and limping. He couldn’t shower and change and was seen limping to his car with his warm-ups still on. But whatever…
KG did what he does and will be overlooked until Celts win in 6 and people really look at how really carries Celts through games. All guys on the team are important and KG allows that to be so…
As I predicted guys like Cassell and Powe are going to get life against the Lakers, because their D is no where near the Cavs and Pistons. Cassell is a gun though. On one play it really looked like the ball was stuck to his hand when trying to pass.
Boston’s D on the other hand has shown three games in a row that Kobe isn’t going to be allowed to do what he did to Utah and Spurs.
As I said, with every KG dunk Pau shrinks more and more. KG really has to get off the perimeter. I hate the Celts offensive game. Pick and rolls with KG is cool, but doing it 4-5 times a possession. Get KG on the Block!! Doc and his coaches are not focusing on getting Pau and Odom in foul trouble. If LA don’t have Pau on the floor Boston can really load up on Kobe.
Ray Allen looked determined on D. Also on Offense when Ray starts crossing cats up and going to the basket you know he will have a good game. He was going behind the basket too much, when he should have been attacking the rim.
ICU KG… 24,13… Celts will need him to really attack LA more though to win. There is no reason he shouldn’t get more touches.
I think Pierce should sit out Game 2 and get ready for Game 3 in LA if he is as injured as reported. Pierce can be Celts home court advantage for Celts in LA…
Rondo played very well…How was D Fish getting used by Cassell like that?!? Why didn’t Eddie House get burn. I try find redeeming qualities about Doc as a coach, but Powe was producing, then he was pulled. Cassell was clearly gunning, but he was left in the game too long. KG was working LA then he is put in the Pick n Roll too much instead of coming of a down screen into post position. Anytime Garnett’s feet touch the paint good things happen…
@djKianoosh
Bill Russell…”ramble on like a fool”? Blaspheme!!
Can’t let stuff like that slide… Respect that man. He has earned the right! All these other talking heads on TV haven’t. Shame on everyone for letting that go… Russell is the epitome of what a sports icon should represent. Don’t know how old you are, but catch up to what this dude has done on and off the court… I rather hear him ramble on than anyone else as far as BBALL/Life is concerned than anyone…Just not cool, but I guess it’s emblematic of this “respect nothing” culture…Not cool
Off my soapbox…
sorry…
June 6th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Phileus says:
I’m for the Lakers 100%, but I won’t say that Pierce was faking. Like someone said, one moment it hurts, five minutes later you’re good to go. Save the sore losing for if we lose the finals.
But we just lost the first one, who cares? The Celts lost as many games to the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs as the Lakers did to the Nuggets, Jazz, and Spurs combined. We won’t be off like this every night.
June 6th, 2008 at 11:39 am
YOUNGFED says:
It’s not whether he was hurt its all his antics
June 6th, 2008 at 11:46 am
schoops says:
NYK fan, so I don’t take sides…
-Willis Reed had a huge injury and came back to start a game to send a message to his teammates. PP was hurt, but the two incidents don’t compare. Mark Jackson saying they do was absolutely retarded.
-Kobe forced the issue somewhat, but his teammates besides Fisher were on their knees sucking like a whore. Plus he wants this to be HIS championship, which means he’s going to gun it a little more.
-Worst thing for the Celtics… Sam “ET” Cassell hitting his first few shots. All that does is encourage him to shoot more. Dude is a retirement home gunner. Easily the msot selfish player on the floor, most times down no other guy touches the ball. It didn’t hurt them this game, but could when he palys 15 minutes and goes 1-7.
-JVG didn’t talk about flagrant fouls for 20 minutes in last nights game, that was a nice change.
-I never want to see the bird/magic commercial again, just scary.
-”the machine” is never likable unless you’re a Lakers fan.
-Doc (whom I crap all over always) had some great defensive schemes and matched up very well against the Lakers. They had a plan that worked well.
-I hate stuart scott. He just blows.
June 6th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
parker says:
Lake show pounded everyone with Kobe playing out his mind(shooting 51%).Kobe’s a career 45%, so he has to keep elevating his game to MJ level(career 50%) if the Lakers are going to beat the statistically best defense ever.
If he doesnt change those 9 for 26 into 13 for 26 nights then this might end fast.
June 6th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
d16 says:
Okay YOUNGFED, you’re “well connected” …to the internet! You mofos heard of BitTorrent?!
June 6th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Kudabeen says:
Cassell did look better against the LA D then he has in the playoffs though. Against Detroit he looked like a guy the Celts pulled out the crowd to play… LA’s D needs to get serious. Kobe should NEVER be guarding Cassell, when Pierce, Allen are on the floor. That is a joke move. Cassell not a passer, so it’s not like putting Pippen on Mark Jackson/Stockton… Phil Jax was just playing around this game and had no choice, because on Kobe, Fish and Sasha was competing out there.
Eddie House has to get some spot minutes to knock down shots. They are going to need to hit from the perimeter to really separate in games. Lakers will have a great shooting game at some point and Celts can’t play their same weak offense. Good game 1, but it was only 1. Game 2 and 3 should be great. If Paul plays in game 2 he won’t be able to guard Kobe, not that he could anyway, but he will be feeling that knee…
June 6th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Sho-Nuff says:
They even leaked the “special edition” Cater III on the internet.
Naturally if the Recording Police who like to sue everyone for downloading music, I don’t know of any leakage and as a matter of fact, what were we talking about anyway?
June 6th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Celts Fan says:
all I’m gonna say about the Pierce injury is that 1. Perk hit him in the back of the knee (a teammate, so it’s not like he was trying to sell a foul call and Perk CLEARLY did hit him in the back of the knee) 2. He’s never been soft, injury prone, or a flopper (dude got stabbed and almost died one September and didn’t miss a game!) and 3. Why is it so hard to believe that that hurt like hell for a second then didn’t hurt as much. Anyone that’s played ball has rolled an ankle or something that hurts like hell, has to get off the court for a few, then, when the initial shock and pain wears off, they’re fine, limping a bit, but still able to play. Why’s it so hard to believe that he got hit in the back of the knee, it hurt like hell (he said he thought he felt it pop too afterwards,) but then it stopped hurting as much and he got a cortizone shot or something in the 10-15 minutes between him doing it and him coming back?
June 6th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
YOUNGFED says:
d16 I didn’t down load it off the internet as far as I know you can only here some of it on the net. But you probably know it all don’t you. SMH
June 6th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
GEE...I am so above you all says:
P. Dub wasn’t faking. There are plenty of times when you “think” you are more hurt than you actually are.
Sam I Am is just cold. Fisher was guarding dude the best anyone could aside from foulin dude, and dude was still wettin the nets.
I am enjoying the pg play with some cats who dont score a whole lot but actually play D. i have to call rondo and fisher a tie right now,.
i see this series goimg 7. its funny how cats get so hyped over one game lol. Some cats acting like Boston is 1 game away from winning it all. Boston fans should fall back and mainly be glad P wasnt hurt for good. Laker fans shouldnt just throw kobe away and know things will pick up.
i am just hoping for 7 and a dramatic last one.
Hey i was reading in a mag where Fisher and AK think the playoffs should be one and you are done. i am thinking one game for it all in a neutral place …. might be wild
June 6th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Goldman says:
Man, what a game, is Pierce a fu#*’n flopper now?!
What about Odom, that was a pretty quite showing wasn’t it?!
Kobe’s gonna go back to MJ mode on Sunday and everything is gonna be allright.
Go Lakeshow…
June 6th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
for real says:
Simmons on Pierce:
(Tangent: If you’re a Lakers fan, I fully support your right to be cynical about Pierce’s injury and return. If the roles were reversed, and this were Kobe, I would have taken 35 “He was playing the injury up just for the Willis comeback!” potshots at him by now. All I can tell you is this: Pierce has been a warrior for 10 years, he has never been seriously injured, and he’s not the type of player who would just randomly crumple into a heap like that as some sort of strategic ploy. After the game, he said he heard his knee pop, so maybe he was more scared than anything. Only a fool would compare the significance of the moment to Willis Reed, or even Larry Bird’s comeback in the ‘91 Indiana series, for that matter. At the same time, the crowd went from “My God, we are completely screwed!” to “My God, we are back in this series!” in the span of 10 minutes. So it WAS a significant moment, whether you like it or not.)
June 6th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Jay says:
@YOUNGFED
What “antics” are you referring to specifically? All he did was fall to the floor in pain, need help taken to the back, then come back when he felt ready…
June 6th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Jay says:
And also, people probably disgusted at all the Willis Reed comparisons, but (1) they were inevitable with the eruption of the crowd when he came back and (2) Pierce didn’t make that comparison himself.
June 6th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
RealBasketball Fan says:
Fact of the matter is, both of these teams are not as polished as they think they are. They are not the Spurs, Detroit, (who obviously have gotten older, slower and are probably done) and especially not the Lakers or Celtics of their previous glory years. So all in all, this series can go to either team. I think the Celtics have an advantage with a better bench and I feel that any game that Ray Allen produces also gives the Celtics an advantage.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
d16 says:
@ YOUNGFED: The torrent for the entire album has been available for a few days, already. And, no, you can’t “here” any of it on the net.
June 6th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
catdaddywhack says:
if what happened to pierce happened to kobe and the lakers won, celtics fans would be saying what the lakers fans are saying right now. but i’m damn glad it happened the way it happened. lol
June 6th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
K Dizzle says:
Good game. Rusty as shit but that’s what happens when you sit a week waitin to play. Now that the young guys got a taste of the finals and after Phillip makes his adjustments, I expect a smoother game. Props to the Celts for defendin the homecourt so far. Let’s see what’s up for game 2
and I’m cosignin with Kudabeen – Bill Russell has earned respect so anything dude does is unapproachable. If he wants to ramble, best thing to do is to shut your mouth, open up the ears and try to learn something. Dude’s seen some ish and more than paid dues.
Peace
June 6th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
rodnets says:
Who is the skinniest guy that ever played in the NBA:
1) Shawn Bradley
2) Michael Cooper
3) Manute Bol
4) Tashaun Prince
Ive just caught up a 86 Lakers Celtics finals and i saw that Michael Cooper was going to disappear…way too skinny.
Peace