Finals, Game 1

For Game 1, I keep notes as the game went on here and am going to post them as they were initially written (and expounding on some of the points). The first half of the first game of the finals (and almost any series) is all about feeling out the other team, seeing if either side can establish themselves and the style they want to play, looking at matchups, etc. I had a few quick thoughts from the first half before getting more detailed as the 2nd half went on. Remember, these are all thoughts that I had at the moment, without the benefit of hindsight. I wrap everything up briefly at the end. Enjoy. 

1st Half

Gasol matched up on Garnett early, which might not be the right approach. Perkins will really be able to body Odom. 

Ray Allen is a pure shooter. It was only a matter of time before he shot his way out of the slump. The real Ray Allen is back, hitting 3s, and playing some pretty good defense on Kobe as well.

Both sides revealing some interesting things to start the 2^nd quarter- Fisher, Cassell and Powe all out on the floor, all guys who haven’t been starting the 2^nd quarters throughout the playoffs.

Powe really plays well when given the chance. Still not sure why he was sitting most of the Detroit series, but he’s making his presence known on the glass. And Cassell, really never seen a shot he didn’t like.

At this point (in the 2^nd), Gasol, Turiaf and Odom have all hit at least one outside jumper. The Lakers get much harder to defend if their bigs are hitting from outside.

Gasol really has good shot-blocking instincts, and isn’t afraid of Garnett. Should be interesting if they remain matched up on each other.

2 big dunks by Gasol- he really finishes well around the basket, knows how to use his length.

Interesting that Farmar didn’t get a single minute in the 2^nd quarter- wondering if that’s a matchup that Phil didn’t like, or just wanted to give Fisher more minutes….

Kobe passing up a wide open 3 to give Gasol a look inside was one of the more interesting moments of the first half

Know I’ve said it already, but Radmonovic & Fisher played much more in the 2^nd than they usually do. Is Phil just shortening his bench or trying to go with the hot hands?

Garnett was really phenomenal in the first half, but he had to be with Pierce in foul trouble

Not very original, but it's kind of sad that Eddie House's son has been on the court more than his dad...

3^rd Quarter

Pierce making up for his missed time in the 2^nd quarter- quick basket, 4 point play, then another jumper. Not sure that Vlad can guard him when he’s on

In the mean time, Garnett is ON FIRE

When Kobe gets that look, it seems like he’s just maintaining, not using too much energy. Celtics playing with so much emotion, especially Pierce.

Kobe switches to Pierce at the first sign of trouble, immediately forces a turnover. Shows you how good Kobe can be when he’s locked in on defense.

DOWN GOES PIERCE! The Celtics simply cannot survive without him… and this looks serious…

Rondo has been very aggressive, really outplaying Fisher

Bad foul call on Perkins, and then they lose him too. Interesting to see how the momentum shifts here.

Ray Allen with a huge 3 to keep the fans in it and not disheartened by 2 starters going to the locker room

And here comes Paul Pierce. This series really means too much to him, really not that surprised to see him back so soon. Should be interesting to see how effective he is though...

I guess Paul Pierce is feeling OK. Quickly nails two 3s. The guy is a warrior, really loves the game and loves Boston. The fans here are really getting into it, LA needs to keep it close or this could get out of hand.

The Celtics in general seem to be faster to loose balls, really feeding off that home crowd, but they’re working pretty hard, I wonder if they can keep it up.

That dunk by Kobe was just ridiculous. Bad pass by Fisher to go along with bad timing by both of them, but Kobe just stayed up there until the ball got there. Not too many guys in the league who could have thrown that down.

4^th Quarter 

Leon Powe has really given them good minutes tonight, it’s good to see a guy not getting discouraged by a lack of minutes and making sure he’s ready when his number is called.

Phil has Farmar in to start the 4^th, it should be interesting to see how he does here.

I just assumed that the errant Celtics pass was going to be a backcourt violation, what a save by KG. He’s still among the best athletes in the league, not many can match his combination of size, speed, length… guy’s the complete package.

Cassell is really hurting the Celtics here, with Rondo playing so well Cassell shouldn’t be getting any 4^th quarter minutes. Doc seems to insist on playing him, but it’s clear that he’s a liability. And still no signs of Eddie House, who is at least a threat from deep. Cassell isn't doing ANYTHING right, on either end.

Posey just knows what it takes to win a championship. It’s just one of those things that some guys can say and some guys never will be able to.

The Lakers don’t mind playing from behind, but playing the bench deep in the 4^th quarter on the road (and no Kobe?) is asking for trouble.

Without Kobe in, the offense really got stagnant. We all know the guy can play all day without getting tired, not sure why you even let him sit for a minute in the 4^th.

The Lakers just have trouble scoring when their jumpers aren’t falling, it’s been the case all playoffs. They really need to stop settling and someone needs to go to the basket. Lots of passive basketball on their end, and I guess we’re really seeing that vaunted Boston defense.

This game has really gotten ugly here down the stretch, and I’m not convinced that it’s even that good of defense on either end- seems like just bad offense on both sides. 

Pierce really is doing a great job guarding Kobe, and the scheme seems to be working. Kobe just hasn’t been Kobe here in the 4^th, for whatever reason.

Just one example of how important every call can be- Odom either fouls out on a charge, or gets the 3 point play to cut the lead to 5 with 3 minutes left. See if that makes a difference in the end.

I’ve already said it, but Kobe really hasn’t been too impressive down the stretch.

PJ Brown is exiting as both teams go small (with Posey and Radmonovic coming in), but he gave them some great minutes. The “Big 3” aren’t the only ones looking for their first championship.

You have to put a body on Garnett…. KG makes them pay with the big dunk. Kind of telling of the whole game, Celtics just seemed to want it more and nobody from the Lakers responded with a big performance.

The Fisher in-and-out pretty indicative of whole game for the Lakers, they just couldn’t get the ball in the basket.

Post-Game Thoughts

Like I said many times, Kobe really didn’t play that well. Looking at his shot chart, the ONLY shot he made in the paint the entire game was the alley oop on the break. He finished up shooting 9/25 for 23 points, which really isn’t efficient at all. In the postgame interview, Phil made an interesting point- Kobe was shooting pretty well, there were times where it looked like he couldn’t miss, but some of them just weren’t falling. The Celtics seemed to stick with their early-season strategy of making a jump shooter (he only got to the line 5 times, making all of them). Also, he only had 4 points in the 4^th quarter; he really just didn’t seem comfortable for whatever reason. The Celtics did a good job of mixing up hard doubles, soft doubles, and sending a variety of defenders from different angles at him late in the possessions.

It ended up being a very quiet night for the Lakers big men; Odom finished with 14 points, 6 boards, and only 1 assist. He seemed to be doing fine, but he was too passive most of the time. He needs to be aggressive and make his presence known, especially since Garnett wasn’t even guarding him the whole time. Gasol had his moments, but he only finished with 15 (on 11 shots) and 8 boards. This is interesting to me because his jumper was falling early, and when that’s the case it usually leads to a 20+ point night for him. Once again, the Lakers just seemed uncomfortable out there.

Garnett started out really hot, but cooled off late. Still, 22 points and 12 rebounds in Game 1 of the Finals works for me any day. I thought he also did a pretty good job, relatively, of keeping his emotions in check and not letting the energy get the better of him. Ray Allen was a real difference maker as well, scoring an efficient 19 points on only 13 shots. He also played strong individual AND team defense, and did a good job of handling the ball as well. Glad to see that the real Ray Allen is back.

Obviously, the heard and soul of the Celtics proved his worth again. Paul Pierce just knows how to play basketball, and has always been one of the toughest players in the league. That injury really looked bad (still might come back to haunt him, as I assume he got by tonight off pure adrenaline), but Pierce has come too far to not seize the moment. Should go down right away as one of the more impressive individual Finals performances. 

 

Looking Ahead

I think the Celtics have to proud of themselves for gutting out a win. But it’s important to remember that they’ve only held serve so far. The really enjoyed the environment that the home crowd provided, and there were several times where things would have been very different had the game been in LA. Of course, they earned home court with their phenomenal regular season, so it’s definitely not anything to criticize. That said, The Lakers had a pretty awful game, and there literally wasn’t one single player who really stood out and seized the moment, which might have something to do with them being the younger of the two teams, and also with them playing on the road. Despite all that, they were fairly close until the last two minutes, which is not a good sign for the Celtics. The emotional lift that Pierce gave them when he came back in really carried them, and the defense was as good as billed.

 

What's next from me...

In the next few days, I’ll be offering some more extensive thoughts on Game 1 as well as what we should look for in Game 2. Also, I’m going to offer up some final regular season thoughts, as well as look ahead to the upcoming NBA Draft and my initial scouting of the most highly regarded prospects.

Also, please give me feedback. If you liked or didn't like the style in which I covered tonight's game, let me know. As much as I enjoy writing, it doesn't do me much good if people don't like reading it.