Let me start today with a little background on myself. I have been an NBA fan for as long as I can remember. I have always watched any game that’s on, especially in the playoffs. In all my years watching basketball, I’ve never really had one team that I’ve rooted for more than any other… I’m simply a fan of the game. Currently, I have certain teams that I do and don’t root for- the Wizards are the one team that I support more than any other, and if asked who my favorite team is, I’ll say Washington. I generally root against the Spurs and Cavs. But almost any other team is fair game, and during the regular season, and even in the playoffs, my allegiances change from game to game. Although I hadn’t picked a team to root for in these finals ahead of time, I ended up on the LA bandwagon, mainly because of Kobe, but also because I enjoy the more uptempo, West coast style that the Lakers play with. That said, I try not to have any bias when discussing, covering, or writing about a game. The reason that I never cheer too hard for any one team is because I’m more interested, and always have been, in seeing a good game of basketball, where both teams are playing to win, it’s generally close, and it’s being officiated fairly on both sides.
The biggest disparity in free throws in one game that I’ve seen was the famous Game 5 of the Heat-Mavericks series 2 years ago, when the Heat went to the line 49 times, compared to 25 for the Mavs. In that game, a superstar, Dwyane Wade, had the same free throw stats as the entire Dallas team (21-25). Last night, however, made that game look fair. Sticking strictly to numbers, which no matter how you look at it, can’t be used for bias, last night’s game was not fairly officiated. The Celtics took 38 free throws, while the Lakers only managed 10. In an even more ridiculous stat, reserve forward (and star for a night) Leon Powe shot 13 free throws in his 15 minutes of play, three more than the entire Lakers team over the whole 48 minute game. None of these are typos. I’ll get into all of this a little more later, but first a little recap of the game last night. I recorded my thoughts in the same fashion that I did for Game 1, but am going to try to report it a little differently. Please let me know what you think.
First Half-
The first thing I noticed at the start of the game was the body language of the two teams- the Celtics were in rhythm right away, playing efficiently on both ends of the floor. The Lakers came out aggressively, punctuated by the big dunk early by Odom, but they also seemed very anxious on both ends, acting like they needed to establish a big lead early, but failing to do so.
Phil Jackson got a lot of press for his ability and history to make changes in Game 2 of a series. The first sub off the bench, after 2 quick fouls on Radmonovic, was to bring in Trevor Ariza, a player most people haven’t heard of until this point. I’ve always been an Ariza fan- he’s a very good defensive player, and probably the best guy to guard Pierce that the Lakers have. He hasn’t played up to this point because he just recovered from a broken foot. I loved the Ariza move, even though they didn’t end up sticking with it. My book on Ariza is that he won’t really do anything on offense, but he’ll really contribute defensively, both as an individual and team defender. He’s also fast and athletic, can run and finish on the break. On an interesting side note, those early minutes were all Ariza got all game. Playing Ariza, basically a defensive specialist, is a difficult move for Phil Jackson to make- does he want to go with a strong defender while sacrificing an offensive threat, or does he want to stay with someone like Vujacic or Radmonovic, not as strong of defenders but space the floor better offensively? Something to look for in Game 3.
I noted this early, but really no injury issue for the Celtics- Pierce and Perkins both looked fine. Even though Perkins was once again a non-factor, I think that has more to do with his tendency to pick up cheap fouls and also the fact that he’s generally the slowest player on the floor in this series, and an athletic big like Powe is a better fit.
Gasol was the best player for the Lakers in the first half. He was calling for the ball, making moves on offense with authority, and finishing aggressively.
I made this note early in the first half, and it ended up holding true. It seemed to me like Kobe was on edge from the beginning, even when they had a lead, he was getting very frustrated, and ready to blow at any second. There were several possessions on offense where the Lakers took (and usually missed) a shot before Kobe even got a touch. This is not a selfish thing for Kobe, that is simply the best player needing to touch the ball on offense if your team wants a chance to win. Notice that I said “touch,” not “shot.” There’s a big difference. To end the first quarter Kobe drew two quick, cheap fouls; both of them were fouls (one on offense, one on defense), but I didn’t think that either of them were fouls that should have been called in the Finals, especially on the MVP.
Just for the record, my last note of the first quarter from last night read “I really don’t like the way the game is being called so far.” And it only got worse from there.
I’m really happy to see Ray Allen playing so well, on both ends. It’s as if the slump never happened.
Something interesting to note which I noticed last night, is that you never see the Lakers with the ball so late in the shot clock as you do against the Celtics. Their defense, which despite their regular season numbers, left me skeptical, really is as good as advertised.
Even if the numbers were consistent on both sides, but a game with lots of fouls really favors the Celtics, mainly because it suits the Celtics style of play (half court defense, ability to play efficient half-court offense). The bigger issue with the fouls calls, and this is still in the first half, was the bad body language from Lakers after foul calls. You can tell that they were feeling like they couldn’t play defense without fouling, which can really get into a player’s head.
Obviously he goes on to become the story of the game, and everyone will be talking about how much they love Powe, but I really like how he understands his limitations. He’s very undersized for someone who plays the 4/5, but he plays within himself, brings as much energy as possible, and when he’s in the game, good things usually happen. Which leads me to my next point…why didn’t he play against Detroit at all?
Once again written in the first half: “Pierce & Allen really feel like they can’t miss”
It’s interesting how Sasha Vujacic, once Jackson’s favorite bench player, has been a complete non-factor on both ends, and his minutes have been dramatically cut.
There was one sequence, which all happened in less than 30 seconds, which really showcased the complete package of what Rondo can do. He blocks the jumper of a 6’10” player (Radmonovic) and then dunks it on the other end, then on the next Celtics possession, grabs an offensive rebound in traffic before getting to the free throw line.
The two major stories for me in the first half were the fact that it played out basically the same as Game 1- the Celtics can’t play any better, the Lakers can’t play much worse. The other, of course, was the free throw disparity. In the first half, the Lakers shot two free throws; one was a technical free throw, the other was an “and-1” free throw by Gasol. Even if the Celtics hadn’t shot 19 free throws in that same half, the fact that the Lakers only had two is ridiculous.
Second Half-
The Lakers needed to come out in the second half with passion, but control. The key should have been efficiency on both ends, which immediately wasn’t happening, as the Celtics collected 2 offensive rebounds in their first two offensive possessions.
I wrote this as soon as it happened, that the Kobe technical was inappropriate. To me, and this is probably taking it a little too far, but there were times where I felt that the refs were almost enjoying calling fouls on Kobe, which you should never see. Of course, the fact that it’s in Boston makes it even worse, because their fans are relentless, especially when they have the lead.
I really liked seeing James Posey talking to Perkins after picking up his 4th foul early. They cut to this several times, and it illustrates that Posey is a real leader.
“The game is getting hard to watch. I hate conspiracy theorists more than most, but during games like this one, it’s hard not to raise your eyebrows.” I wrote this when the free throw stats read like this- Celtics 26, Lakers 2. That should never happen in a regular season game, let alone the NBA Finals.
Gasol gets beaten for offensive boards more than he should. I mentioned this in my pre-series analysis, saying that his physical abilities let him get away with poor timing, but players like Garnett, Powe and veteran PJ Brown don’t let him get away with that.
Radmonovic is so frustrating to watch. Clearly he’s a good player, because Jackson trusts him and there are times when he’s great to have on your side. But he really hurt the Lakers when they were trying to make a run midway through the third. He took 2 bad shots in a row on offense, gets beaten by Pierce on a backdoor cut, and then the Celtics reel off a Powe-led 11-0 run. And of course, Boston thrives at home when they get any kind of momentum, which is really being showcased here.
The charge call on Odom, which was his 5th foul was just a snowball type of play, but it really reminds you how crisp the defensive rotations have been for the Celtics all game and all series.
I was watching an interview before the game with Phil Jackson, saying that he was afraid of playing Farmar against veteran Sam Cassell (who has more tricks up his sleeve than anyone else in the league). Farmar must have heard this type of criticism and taken it to heart, because I thought he played a great game. He was playing with confidence, even when the game was a blowout, and I hope he can carry that back to LA, where he generally plays better anyway.
Speaking of point guards, I am convinced that Rondo is going to be a star. He has so many physical gifts (watch how easily he palms the ball) and is still only scratching the surface. Without much fanfare, he simply had a phenomenal game, collecting 16 assists while only turning it over twice, and was the primary ball-handler and decision maker for the Celtics in the 2nd half.
It’s like the Lakers bench, except for maybe Farmar, shouldn’t have even traveled to Boston. They had received so much praise before this series (from me among others), but nobody has even come close to making an impact on this game.
Paul Pierce is just fun to watch. Even though he traveled on this specific play (and laughed it off afterwards), its amazing how Paul Pierce can make 3s after contact. Pierce and Kobe are probably the biggest threats to have a 4-point play in the league.
Just as I was writing that Radmonovic hadn’t helped the Lakers all night, and that his minutes should be dramatically cut, he comes back and leads the charge to cut the lead to 4, making plays on defense and in the open court. He’s really a maddening player to watch, and must be even worse as a player or coach on his team, and that’s always been the story with him.
It’s important to note that Kobe gets fouled on almost every play, especially when he goes into the lane. You don’t want to see a star get escorted to the foul line by the refs, but at the same time, there really should have been more fouls called on the Celtics, especially against Kobe.
There’s a lot to be said for the Lakers not quitting on the game. Sure, it’s the NBA Finals, so you should never see a team completely throw in the towel, but instead of simply playing the game out, the Lakers really got mad and tried to win it late. Kobe’s body language really impressed me as well, because nothing was going in their favor, especially the foul calls, but they just tried to brush it off and go to work. A 2 point game with 38 seconds left, following a furious 31-9 run by the Lakers, is basically all you can ask for if you’re the Lakers. In that situation, was there any way Pierce wasn’t going to get the ball? The guy is clutch, and immediately finds his way into the lane, draws contact (a legitimate foul) and sinks the two free throws to seal the game. Which leads me to my next point. When you have a game this close within the last minute, it really makes you wonder what could have happened if there wasn’t such a big free throw disparity. Even 10 less free throws for the Celtics (or 10 more for the Lakers) would have still been a clear advantage for the Lakers (not sure anyone would even be happy with a 38-20 disparity, for instance), but those 10 points would have most likely resulted in a Laker victory. Really has to leave a sour taste in your mouth, especially if you’re a Lakers fan.
Not sure what to say at the end of this one. Congrats to the Lakers for coming back from such a large deficit, but a loss is a loss, and for the Celtics, a win is a win. Also, congratulations to Leon Powe, who was seemingly close unstoppable. Turned out the Celtics needed every one of his 21 points in this one.
And now onto my rant...
I want to try to stress, as much as possible, that the last thing I want is conspiracy theorists. The NBA, probably more than any sport, attracts tons of conspiracy talks every year (interesting debate- in which major sport can the officials have the biggest impact on the game? I say baseball). Anyway, my point is that the last thing I want to see is people turned off from my favorite sport, and I'm sure the league feels the same way. So what happened last night? I went to sleep upset about how the game was called, and when I sat down to write this morning, I still felt the same way. I have already pointed out the critical facts, mainly with the free throw difference, and also some interpretation- basically that when the fouls pile up on you as a team, it makes playing with confidence a lot harder. If you're the Lakers, and you're seeing so many fouls being called, you're wondering how you're supposed to play aggressive defense without fouling. What ends up happening is you get lots easy baskets and trips to the free throw line. The fact that they almost made it a game is amazing.
All that said, I'm hoping that the league doesn't try to make up for this in Game 3 by sending the Lakers to the free throw line four times more than the Celtics (which once again, as ridiculous as it sounds, is what happened last night), because that just isn't good basketball. My frustration here doesn't come as a Lakers fan, or even as a casual Lakers supporter, but as a true basketball fan, one who didn't enjoy watching the game last night because, to me, it seemed like one team had an unfair advantage over the other. I'm looking forward to seeing how the media from both sides of the country responds to this game, and also how the teams respond in Game 3.
Either way, Game 2 is in the books, and the Celtics are up 2-0 in the NBA Finals, 2 games away from winning the title. I'll write more about the game side of things either tonight or tomorrow.
Quick plug before I go: Just wanted to thank everyone who has been reading the blog so far, it really does mean a lot to me. Almost a week in now, I've really been enjoying writing it, and love getting feedback. I am reading all of the comments, so please feel free to send me criticism or compliments in any form, I'm extremely open to them. Also, if you like reading this, spread the word. My goal is get as many regular readers as possible, and I can't accomplish that without all of your help.
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