We have just about hit critical mass!
Before I give the Lakers their due, does anybody else feel like we're watching a glorified version of the Memphis Grizzlies? There's a flock of mediocre players surrounding Pau Gasol. The only difference is that Kobe Bryant is a couple levels above Rudy Gay.
With just a little more consistency in Game 3, the Celtics may have swept this series already. In that game, the Celtics were in it the entire time. But none of the Big Three seemed eager to step up and with 2:09 and the Celtics down by two left Eddie House took a contested shot that hit the back of the rim. Sasha Vujacic's three on the next possession gave the Lakers breathing room.
Those possessions were symptomatic of the lack of aggressiveness the Celtics lacked all game. But the Lakers were not too stellar for a full 48 minutes in any of the three games at Staples and are lucky that the Celtics did not celebrate on their hardwood.
Nonetheless, we did say we'd give the Lakers their credit. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom were a combined 14-20 for 39 points. As ShotsHeard pointed out before, that is really the key to the Lakers winning. The Celtics will keep Kobe in check. And they did in Game 5 as Kobe had 25 points, but on 8-21 shooting and with six turnovers.
But going forward, do the Lakers really have the depth to compete with the Celtics, who are featuring a multiple heroes on every night? The Lakers bench only score 17 points, and 11 of those were from Jordan Farmar. Farmar is not a player that should get many minutes in Boston since he see is having a hard time keeping up with Rondo.
Although the Celtics look like the better team, they do have one big concern. Due to a shoulder injury, Kendrick Perkins did not play in Game 5 and is questionable for Game 6. With Perkins out, the Lakers were able to go inside much more. Kevin Garnett was also not able to play the defensive rover, in the way that Larry Bird used to do for the Celtics.
The Celtics will have to come out in Game 6 and leave nothing to chance. Perhaps they may want to finally play 'Big Baby' IE Glen Davis. Davis has not yet played in the series and is still unrefined. He may never be a stellar player. But he could be the big body on defense and the boards in Game 6 that the Celtics need to relieve PJ Brown and Kevin Garnett.
The Celtics cannot worry about 'what if'. What if Pierce did not lose the ball with 40 seconds on Kobe reach around steal. The replay showed that Kobe got much more arm than ball. But Celtics fans are used to sloppy ball handling from Pierce, even at inopportune times.
KG needs to put his own personal choke out of his mind, even knowing that the media is saying see he can't win the big one. KG missed three free throws in the final four minutes and also missed an easy tip shot with 2:03 left in the game and the Celtics only trailing by four.
The Celtics should come out blazing in Game 6. The ball movement will be more crisp. It will be up to the Lakers to counter and to buckle down on defense. That will be hard since the Lakers are not known as a great defensive team. But they need to do it, because if the Celtics get momentum it could be over fast.
Right now the Celtics view themselves as the reason this series is not over. If the Lakers can pull of Game 6 in the New Boston Garden, then the Lakers will finally be in the Celtics heads!
Other 2008 NBA Finals Postings
2008 NBA Finals Predictions
2008 NBA Finals Posting #1: Reflecting on the first two games between the Celtics and Lakers2008
NBA Finals #2: Game 3 Analysis2008
NBA Finals #3: A Tale of '24'
No comments:
Post a Comment