The 2010 NBA Finals were a joke. The officiating sucked in every game. Especially noteworthy was the NBA's use of Joe Crawford, a referee that has helped the league's 'popular' teams in the past. The NBA inserted him into the biggest games, Game 1, Game 5, and Game 7. He was able to give the Lakers the spark that Andrew Bynum could not give!
But Crawford has been screwing over teams for years. Just watch him inexplicably run into the players and call against Chauncey Billups in the closing seconds of a close 2005 Eastern Conference Finals game between the Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons. The Heat would have to wait a year before they made it to the NBA Finals. Until 2010, the 2006 Finals was considered the worst officiated Finals in NBA history.
Forget Joey Crawford! What did you think the F stood for? You may be right.
Undoubtedly DS. You did your best to block the highlights of Game 7 of the 2010 Finals (at least for now). But this amateur video of the end of the game made it through your grimy filter. This video is also dedicated to the media whores who are supposed to be a watchdog against corruption. Yet they never once reported that a controversial official, Joey Crawford was the NBA's point man for Game 1, Game 5 and Game 7. Nor are the media whores bothering to report the shady officiating in the deciding quarter of the championship.
From this video, I do see Rajon Rondo get his face pushed by Pau Gasol who is able to then get the rebound instead of Rondo or Pierce. Unfortunately the replay is limited (as Tim Donaghy has pointed out in the past) and the commentators do not bother to even point it out.
Then we see Rasheed Wallace fouled out on a blocking call. Yes he was in the circle. But no he was not going for a charge. He was holding his ground to contest the shot. I thought the point of the circle was to prevent players from quick slides to take charges. Apparently it has the dual purpose of allowing superstars to recklessly slam into the lane and get a blocking call.
Actually, these complaints though are somewhat tame compared to the officiating in the first six games. It is just that there is added magnitude given the timing of these calls. David Stern and the media. You have relegated scrutiny to fringe blog sites like this. Follow the money though. We know what is going on. Fans need to demand more. Unfortunately, they likely will not. And until the next Tim Donaghy scandal breaks, this is what we can expect from the NBA.
Note: This post is dedicated to Michael Wilbon, who used to have journalistic integrity. But all series long he was too busy kissing up to Magic Johnson (to put it politely) to care about fairness. Even in the post game show, he was quick to disregard a huge no-call (Gasol traveling) with 1:30 left in the game and the Celtics down four. We used to be able to count on you bud. Where's the outrage? You gone soft. You do not work for the people any more. You are just another enabler.
It was obvious to anybody that is not a Los Angeles Lakers homer or bandwagoner that the fourth quarter of Game 7 was called completely different from the first three quarters. All of the calls and no-calls went the Lakers way (as SH has documented).
In an effort to prevent any serious dialogue on this matter the league is hiding behind 'copyright infringement' claims and has blocked highlights of Game 7 for the time being. Undoubtedly, those highlights will get released at a time when the topic of the day is no longer the NBA Finals. But this is beyond suspicious. Highlights were immediately available after each of the first six games.
David Stern, who is the biggest weasel on this planet has overseen the blocking of the Game 7 highlights. You can see the trophy presentation. You can see a post game press conference of Ron Artest making a fool of himself. You can even see something posted by lakersmedia.com that has selected non controversial highlights of the Lakers baskets in Game 7. Of course the replay of Pau Gasol coming down on a shot and traveling is not shown. But the play is shown and interestingly enough Joey Crawford is looking out into space not doing his job. He was likely thinking about what he would do with all the moola that was surely coming his way after being chose to interficiate Game 1, Game 5 and Game 7 of the pretend championship series.
The refereeing in the 2010 NBA Finals was putrid. I almost felt silly having to come up with terms like 'points in the taint and 'interficials' to explain the officials' impact on games. But they were accurate terms and they were terms that reciprocated David Stern's lack of respect for serious basketball fans.
Joey Crawford had a history of bad calls (and in pivotal games). He has faced intense scrutiny from disgruntled fans and media members. But that was not going to stop David Stern from plugging him in as the lead referee for Game 1 (opening game), Game 5 (pivotal game) and Game 7 (the deciding game). Is he really that much better than the other referees?
The interficials took their warm-ups off and got into the game in the fourth quarter of Game 7. And that was the difference with all due respect to the crucial three that Ron Artest made late in the fourth quarter.
The first two quarters were about as fairly officiated as the Celtics were going to get this series. The Celtics had a few calls not go their way and perhaps that helped the Lakers to still be in the game at halftime, despite the Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant shooting a combined 6 for 26. But the officiating was not attrocious even through the first three quarters and I was willing to call it a fair (enough) game had the officiating continued to hold up. At least the interficials were not calling silly fouls and putting people in needless foul trouble in a deciding game. There was at least two bailouts where Kobe just missed and the refs gave him free throws. But again, I was just happy that the officiating was not as atrocious as the first six games.
But the interficials stepped up big for the Lakers in the fourth quarter. On the very first play of the quarter, Pau Gasol went across the lane and made a shot. There was no foul and the refs gave him the and one (which he missed).
Late in the game, up 74-70 with a minute and a half left, Gasol went up for a shot and the defense was great and forced him not to shoot until his foot came down. But there was no travel called despite the obvious nature of the call.
The Celtics defense was great all night long. Down 76-79 late, they forced Bryant into a long three. Gasol was allowed to push off of Rondo's face as they both went for the ball. The play was big. Kobe got the ball back, took it to the rim. I have not seen a replay but I suspect that a fake foul was called on Rasheed Wallace. In any event it beats the time tested philosophy of not allowing the officials to decide the outcome. But Joey Crawford was more than happy to decide it!
The play was huge. It gave LA two points and it took away a possession for the Celtics to tie the game and force overtime.
But the Celtics still came back. Rajon Rondo hit a three after hustling to get an offensive rebound on what would have been Ray Allen's second three in a row. And it looked like they would have a chance to tie or win Game 7 when Rondo hit the ball away from Kobe! But Kobe was allowed to push off on Rondo as he went for the ball! There were two interficials standing there looking at the play. Joey Crawford looked at the play from straight down the line and refused to call the foul! That is literally two plays in the final seconds that the interficials helped the Lakers! Like I said all series long, the Celtics were playing five on eight. The Celtics would have likely won it in five game with fair officiating!
Most pundits will call the game 'classic.' But trust me, that is the equivalent of calling a rusted out 55 Chevy that no longer runs, classic. Sure it was the Celtics and Lakers. Sure the players put forth great effort. And sure it was Game 7 (though the league had to rig that). But there is nothing classic about David Stern handpicking officials each game of the playoffs to make sure he gets the results he wants. That is not classic where I come from.
Mark my words. Some day there will be a big scandal involving David Stern and/or Joey Crawford. Until then I'll have to settle for being called a conspiracy theorist or what have you. But like I said before, I have two eyes and a brain. I see what is going on. I see the smoke. When will we see the fire? How many untold victims are there in the meantime?
Joey Crawford ran off the court as soon as the finals ended. Cowards always run. Besides, why would he risk cracking a smile for the camera? Stern got what he wanted. The league is richer when his Lakers win and even richer when they do it in seven games over the Celtics.
The league (NBA) heard the heavy criticism. Joey Crawford heard the criticism. The interficials were calling too many fouls in the first three games. But if you look at Game 5, particularly the fourth quarter of Game 5, you will see that there is more than one way for the Lakers to win the points in the taint. The calls that are not made can be every bit as important as the fallacious calls that are made.
The Boston Celtics had outscored the Los Angeles Lakers in each of the three quarters. They had even weathered Kobe Bryant's third quarter outburst (19 points). But an eight point lead is just a cause for the interficials to go into overdrive and put their stamp on the game.
4th Quarter Breakdown of Game 5
At the 11:11 mark with the Lakers down 67-73, Pau Gasol drove into the lane and threw his body into his defender before throwing it into the back court for a violation. I personally was shocked that the interficials did not manufacture a foul. But that is the type of call I expect the interficials to waive their wands and make in Game 6. Seriously, just give these interficials wands. Because they are just making stuff up like it was magic on so many plays.
At the 10:10 mark, down 67-76, Kobe buried his forearm into Tony Allen and drove. Allen did not reciprocate any contact (appear to foul), slid his feet and made Kobe make a running fade away jump shot. It was the forearm that allowed Kobe to get the space. On many plays he is allowed two, three, four elbows and forearms to make sure he gets his play. The interficials call it once in a blue moon so that they can appear to have control on that matter. (It is always sad to see the L.A. fans and media marvel that Kobe got into foul trouble like in Game 2).
It is noteworthy that Kobe went back on defense and petitioned Crawford for a foul on the play even though there was no foul! I won't go into that game within the game though.
Pierce had 26 points through three quarters but he was not going to get the 'star calls' to finish the game. He would not even get the calls that should be made in any scenario. The interficials would not be denied their impact. At the 9:00 mark, up 78-69, Pierce went to the baseline against Bryant's defense. Kobe fell for a pump fake and went into Pierce's rightful shooting space. Kobe pulled a classic Bill Laimbeer (What? I didn't foul?) undercut, cutting his legs but keeping his arms up as though his body had no impact. Pierce took the foul, missed the shot. Two points in the taint for the Lakers.
Up 81-73 (6:11), Pierce drove to the hoop, got all the way to the tin and besides Bynum's late ditch attempt to stop the shot, it was essentially an uncontested lay-up. Bynum came over and hit Pierce's arm. I noticed that in game speed. On the replay of the game (naturally there was no replay during the game), I saw that Bynum got him with the body. And Bynum was in the circle too. It was a trifecta foul. But Crawford ignored it and the ball squirted off of the rim.
On the very next possession, Ron Artest missed a three pointer. On the offensive rebound, Lamar Odom pushed off of Kevin Garnett. So not only did Odom gain a rebound on the possession, but when he got the ball, he had a wide open eight foot chip shot, which he made. It was a four points in the taint swing! The interficials would not appear to be not calling that call. They called a push-off foul against Gasol at the 9:21 mark. Right? No. The Odom foul was clear as day. Kenny Smith might go so far as to call it a 100 percent call.
Heading into the last two minutes, the interficials were likely disappointed that the Lakers had just not showed up to play. They had given them plenty of tainted calls and tainted no-calls. But they clearly keeping their points in the taint down. They wanted to guard against the perception that they were influencing the game. But like a little kid needs a push to get going on a swing, so did the Lakers need a gift. Down 79-87, Kobe put a forearm into Ray Allen to create space on a screen. Ray Allen countered by putting his arm lightly into Kobe's back (for but a brief moment). Kobe continued through his run and hoisted a wild three attempt with Allen not contesting it. He did not want to relive the agony of Game 4 in which the interficials gave Kobe three controversial late free throws. But Crawford would not be denied and made perhaps the signature interficial call of the championship series (to this point).
On the next possession, up only five now (87-82), the Celtics used all of the play clock. At the last second Ray Allen got open for a three on the right side. Kobe came from the top of of the key three area and raked Allen on the arm as he shot the ball. Jeff Van Gundy yelped how the ball was not even close to going in while ignoring Kobe's swipe on Allen's arm. But the call was not made. Six points in the taint in 25 seconds! Do you see how easy it is for the interficials to make their presence felt?
Crawford gives the Lakers a jump ball that they never had any business getting
At the 46 second mark with the score still 87-82, there was a jump ball between the 7'0" Kevin Garnett and the 6'1" Derrick Fisher. It was reminiscent of an earlier jump ball in the series between the 7'1" Pau Gasol and the 5'9" Nate Robinson. The one very notable difference would be that Robinson is a three time dunk champion and has mad ups. Jeff Van Gundy called Robinson to win the jump. Mark Jackson called him crazy and Gasol easily won the jump.
KG does not have the explosion he once did, but Fisher can barely dunk the ball (if he still can). Fisher has a few years on KG for that matter. But conspicuously Fisher won the tip. Also conspicuous, was the lack of a replay.
If you examine Crawford's technique, you will see the subtle things he did to make hit happen. All but the left half of his foot are on Fisher's side. First he throw his left hand in the face of KG as to distract him. It did not work and for the life of me I do not know what Crawford was pretending to regulate. There was a lane position issue with Ray Allen and Lamar Odom that had been resolved. They were no longer jockeying for position, so it was not that. He was actually talking to Pierce who had both arms up with Artest being illegally allowed to intrude on his space. But Crawford's distraction did not seem to break KG's focus. It was merely an attempt to leverage his position of power against KG.
Next, Crawford did not seem to wait for both players to brace themselves. After putting his hand into KG's line of sight, he only shot Fisher a look to indicate that the tip was coming.
Then instead of holding the ball out for both players to have the ball in their vision, Crawford shot the ball from his right hip. THAT IS NOT HOW OFFICIALS ARE TAUGHT TO THROW JUMP BALLS. That is merely how interficials throw jump balls! Officials are taught to place the ball evenly between the players and throw it straight up when both players are ready.
You will noticed that Crawford does not throw the ball from an equidistant position between KG and Fisher. Only the tip of Crawford's left foot is on KG's side so that when Crawford throws the ball up, even if he appears to throw it straight up, it is already going to be six to eight inches on Fisher's side! The ball did seem to end up eight to ten inches on Fisher's side!
But besides the corrupt throw, the final slap to the face comes via the fact that Fisher hits the ball as it is still going up! That is a clear violation!
I was kicking myself when I saw Crawford would throw the ball. You could have offered me a two to one odds on KG and I would not have taken that bet! The fact that KG was much taller, merely gave me hope that even Crawford could not interficiate on this one. My hope was destroyed!
Game 6 and Game 7 (if played) will be strongly interficiated
Celtics fans, if those unscrupulous dealings of Crawford in the 4th quarter makes your blood boil then you have not seen anything yet! Expect the worst! Perhaps we will see Rondo commit a foul with his face against Bryant's elbow like we saw in 2002 with Mike Bibby.
Especially in the case of Game 6 expect the interficials to do their worst! The league desperately wants a Game 7. Even the established media has no shame coyly stating that all of the calls will be going the Lakers way. How bad will it be? It might compete with May 31, 2002.
The Game 6 Interficials announced
Joe Derosa (Game 1), Monty McCutchen (Game 2) and Ken Mauer will interficiate Game 6. It is noteworthy that none of the May 31, 2002 interficials (Dick Bavetta, Ted Bernhardt and Bob Delaney) have not yet interficiated this series.
A Solid Watch (Warning Explicit Lyrics) - Kobe Bryant - A notoriously dirty player
The 2010 NBA Finals have been so terribly officiated (and 'wonderfully interficiated') that the Elias Sports Bureau should create a new statistic. It would be called points in the taint. The statistic would measure points given or taken away from teams due to terrible officiating. I personally am getting annoyed by hearing that the team that wins the rebounding battle wins the game. That is a stat that generally goes to the winning team. But we all know this series is not about rebounding. This is the worst officiated series in league history.
The Boston Celtics are clearly better than the Los Angeles Lakers. They go nine deep while the Lakers try to play one on five. That formula (along with the interficials in their corner) may have worked against the inexperienced OKC Thunder, injured Utah Jazz and the soft Phoenix Suns; but they are playing the Boston Celtics now, a championship pedigreed team that takes care of the business on both sides of the ball.
Essentially the inept 2008 Lakers are playing a much improved version of the 2008 Boston Celtics. I am talking about the same 2008 Lakers that lost to the Celtics 131-92 in the final game of that series. I realize that games are not won on paper, but this is not merely a paper argument. The Boston Celtics have looked much better than their counterparts throughout this finals. The league knew that the Lakers did not match-up well with the Celtics going into the series, so they went about circumventing fair play. It's "the ole reach around," as Gob Bluth would call it.
Sadly, the Celtics main nemesis in this series has not been the Lakers, with all due respect to Kobe's masterful individual performances (at times). The Celtics nemesis has been the officials. The league was so desperate to give the Lakers a kick-start in this series that they put Joey Crawford (the greatest interficial of all-time) to work right away (Bob Delaney might argue that). The terrible officiating continued throughout the first three games. But the Celtics overcame it in Game 2 thanks to the hot shooting of Ray Allen. Ironically they did not overcome the interficiating of Game 3 due to the cold shooting of Ray Allen.
After three games, it was infuriating to realize that NBA corruption prohibited the Celtics from being up 2-1 or probably 3-0 in the series. It was just flat out sickening that the Los Angeles Lakers title and their subsequent propensity to draw ratings was valued so greatly that the NBA would dishonor the game and cheat. Yes, I am using the c-word. I have no proof besides my eyes. I do not have the smoking gun, but I do know that where there is smoke there is fire. If I woke up strapped to an electric chair, I would not be overly concerned with wondering who did it and when, I'd just know that it happened.
Game Four was more of the same. Although, with the Celtics down two games to one, the league ratcheted down the bad calls and we probably had about the closest thing to a fair game that we will see this entire series. Referring to the bad officiating in the first three games, Charles Barkley said, "this was the first game (Game 4) that was like a game." Still, Kenny Smith reviewed four Game 4 calls that went against the Celtics that were call incorrectly. Smith called them 'one hundred percent calls,' meaning that there was no excuse for the blown calls. But even his analysis disregarded many other bad calls in that game.
Game Five was a joke. I am not referring to the bad officiating. Although there were plenty of bad calls, it was not nearly as poorly officiated as the first three games in which the league felt compelled to give the Celtics a handicap. What was particularly sad about the game is how it symbolized the NBA's complete and udder disregard for the fans.
Joey Crawford was the lead interficial. Does David Stern think that the average NBA fan is a peon? Let's assume he does and that he thinks he is getting away with something on that level. He would still have to believe that a certain segment of the audience has some moral fiber and reasonable intelligence and he is basically bitch slapping them. I feel so strongly about this issue that I am willing to use the b-word for the first time in this website's history. Stern has no respect for his audience to be using the most controversial active interficial of all-time in the most pivotal NBA game in years! To counter the protests of fans, he loves to go with the logic that if he has nothing to be ashamed of then he can do what he wants. But we all know that is a boat load of dung and that he thinks we should accept his cheating as long as the smoking gun is nowhere to be found.
In Game 5, Crawford made a large amount of bad calls that went in the Lakers favor. The Lakers went to the free throw line 26 times while the Celtics went to the line 13 times despite the fact that the Celtics were the more aggressive team. Pierce who was the Celtics point man for the attack went to the line all of two times. Derrick Fisher barely touched the ball all night and he went to the line five times. But once a series is tied two to two the interficials generally keeps the interficiating to a relative minimum and Game 5 was still tame compared to the first three games. It is Game 6 that the league will be willing to commit a higher volume of egregious calls in an effort to force a Game 7 and make millions of dollars.
Still, there was a Game 5 call that symbolizes the great lengths that the officials will go to keep a game close and build the drama (and ratings). Ahead 92-83 and with the game in check, the Celtics played wonderful defense on Kobe Bryant. Bryant went around a screen and hoisted a fade away three that had no chance of going in. It was reminiscent of the Lakers chances of winning a fairly officiated series. Crawford called a foul on Ray Allen. The call was made despite the fact that Allen was called for a controversial call on a similar play in Game 4. This time, Allen reigned himself in so that as Jeff Vangundy said, "he did not even appear to foul." But Crawford had no problem just making a call completely up.
So the Boston Celtics head back to Los Angeles to try and close out the series (up 3-2). They must be bitter about the fact that the interficials prevented them from winning the championship in front of their hometown fans. They must lament the fact that were it not for the interficials, they could have stamped their supremacy with a sweep. They must dread the fact that they know they have to play five on eight in a hostile environment to win a trophy that they already should possess.
Mister Stern. You can hide but we know what you are doing. You could not even find the audacity to give one of your patented six figure fines to the Boston Celtics owner when he confronted you after Game 3 and told you how you should be embarrassed by the terrible officiating.
In the immortal words of 'Animal House,' "Hold my mount mister. Mister hold my mount." I only want to reciprocate your actions.
As for Crawford. He could not pull of the victory. But give him credit. He did his best to get the Lakers a victory on a night in which the Celtics shot 56 percent and the Lakers shot 39 percent (FGs).
The following Tainted Love videos are dedicated to David Stern and his hired goons:
This article is dedicated to Lakers fans that think this series is on the up and up. You are enablers.
Sickening! That is the best word I can think of to discuss the the 2010 NBA Finals. I should be considering the buzz words like rivalry, great or exciting. But none of that applies quite frankly. The NBA has inserted their company men and they have literally had an impact on almost every play of this series. Even in Game 2 (the one of three games that the Celtics won), the Lakers out shot the Celtics 38 to 19 from the free throw line before the intentional fouls at the end of the game (41-26 was the final tally).
Game 1 and Game 3 of the NBA Finals were the two worst officiated games I have seen since the 2002 Western Conference Finals Game 6 when the Lakers were going for a three-peat. And I know it is no coincidence that it is the Lakers receiving the benefit of the calls. It is no coincidence that Joey Crawford (ref) was officiating in Game 1. It was no coincidence that Bennet Salvatore (ref) was on the floor in Game 3. It will not be a coincidence when we see Bob Delaney (ref) make an appearance or when we see Crawford come in to play again.
This is not the National Basketball Association. This is World Wide Basketball. The only thing missing is microphones and the referees throwing in hoops at key times themselves. And Doc Rivers could stand to throw a chair now and then when those terrible calls are made. As it is, he has just smiled gratiously at the myriad of bad calls. To his credit, he understands the politics of it all. He is not going to give himself a coronary over this stuff.
Also it is no coincidence that referee crews are not announce in advance. After all, Stern needs to use his go to guys in the right situations. And it is no coincidence that the refs are paid per diem in the playoffs. After all, the refs that rig the games right should be rewarded.
The officials have called love tap fouls and and phantom calls for the entire series. I watched on one play, where Kobe Bryant ran into the lane, had an easy seven foot shot, but he wanted the and one or free throws in case he missed it. And knowing the ref's propensity to give his team calls, he faded back, shot the ball as he neared the ground and acted like he got hit and banked it in. And one!
The refs successfully pulled Ray Allen out of commission in Game 1. In Game 2 it was Garnett. Game 3 it was Pierce. I counted seven bad calls in a row at one point in Game 3 (and then I stopped counting!).
At one point in Game 1 when the Celtics were trying to make a comeback in a game that was already never a game thanks to the officials, the refs called two bogus call in a row and gave the Lakers four free throws instead of two misses.
I do not want to see Derrick Fisher slide in after Ray Allen has already jumped on a two on one break (with KG) and the refs call a charge and reward that type of bunk. I do not want to see charges on guys that run in and throw it out and a guy flops. Those after the fact charges have no place in basketball. We never dreamed of trying that crap in the eigtees. You would get laughed at for even trying it.
It is truly sad. The Celtics could be up three to zero in this series. But they are too busy playing five on eight that we will never know how it would have went down. I do believe that the Celtics have been the better team. That is clear. They are solid one through five at all times on the court. But while the Lakers have had improved efforts from the supporting cast (guys like Gasol and Bynum), it is clear that Kobe's one on one mentality would not trump the Celtics team play in a properly officiated series.
But it is clear that the NBA is salivating to pimp Kobe's five rings. To this day, they love the fact that the flashy Dwayne Wade has a ring instead of the goofy German, Dirk Nowitzky. It's much better that the slick hair Riles got a ring instead of the goofy Mark Cuban. And I say this as a guy that rooted for the Heat that series. And yes Wade had one of the greatest championship series, but its hard to truly evaluate its value, knowing that the officials gave him so many bogus calls.
Bogus calls put people in foul trouble, they alter how players get guarded, they alter momentum, they alter stat sheets. They alter results!
If this was not Celtics vs. Lakers I would have turned the television set off after the second bogus foul called on Ray Allen in Game 1. The officiating is flat out offensive. I cannot even call it officiating. Altering maybe? Interferring? In fact. I'm not going to call them officials anymore. They are but interficials. That's right. I'm making up a word to describe the despicable nature of the NBA interficiating (officiating). The Company Man moniker simply does not go far enough.
Congratulations on your two to one series lead Interficials.
Picture: Although many of the interficials are quite well known. The way they conduct their business is more reminiscient of the Smith clones in the Matrix.
There is a pathology that invades the minds of fans and 'experts' alike. If the sexy Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees or Montreal Canadiens make it to the championship round in their respective sports, then inevitably just about all of the 'experts' (who are generally financially motivated) and fans are seduced into their fantasy ending and pick. We saw this in 2008 when something like eleven of the twelve 'experts' at ESPN picked the Los Angeles Lakers over the Boston Celtics even though the Celtics were clearly the better team that year.
And what happened in 2008? The Celtics defense and deeper bench prevailed. Here we are in 2010 with essentially an identical situation and the 'experts' and fans are all too happy to ride the Lakers jocks once again. But just like 2008, it might be the Celtics who will likely deliver the salty goodness. That is they'll be the salt of the NBA. What did you think I meant?
Sure the Lakers could win the series. The Celtics do not have it in the bag. But aside from home court advantage what has changed from two years ago when Kobe tried to beat the Celtics one on five?
Changes for the Lakers
- Ron Artest was added. He can play the three well on defense. That was a source of frustration from when they depended on Luke Walton or even Slava Medvedenko. Although Medvenko was more of the four usually and was more of a liability guarding the four (though he was still a liability when guarding the three). But Walton saw limited action and Bryant and Trevor Ariza generally guarded the twos and threes. I can't say I see Artest as any major upgrade on defense or offense from 2008. I'd even argue that the Lakers should have resigned a prime Ariza instead of the aging Artest.
- A healthy Andrew Bynum was always going to be an upgrade for the Lakers. However, he is obviously just a big body out there. The mere fact that he has split his playing time with D.J. Benga at times should be a red flag for the Lakers. In my opinion the Lakers should have shut him down. I actually believe that he is a liability and maybe worse they are gambling with his future in a move that is not working anyhow. The Celtics were in a similar situation last season with Kevin Garnett and they did not screw with it. That is why they are back in the championship at full strength this season.
- Lamar Odom has some composure that he did not have two seasons ago. However, he still can be immature at times. He still can be inconsistent. The Lakers still cannot count on him to be that difinitive third guy. In fact, they have counted on the old Derek Fisher to be their number two guy at the end of the Phoenix series despite, Gasol having a size advantage on the Suns.
Changes for the Celtics
- The Celtics bench is completely different. It is difficult to say whether they are better, worse or the same. I believe that comparable is the word and I quite frankly lean towards better despite the greatness of the Celtics bench in 2008. You may remember that in crunch time of the 2008 Finals Game 4 comeback it was bench players Eddie House and James Posey on the floor. In fact, Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo were nowhere to be found in the fourth quarter of that game! Some of that was due to Perkins's shoulder and Rondo's ankle. But it was mainly due to the performance of the the aforementioned bench players.
P.J Brown, Leon Powe and even Sam Cassell all made significant bench contributions during that NBA Finals and the Celtics bench went ten deep. Incidentally do you know who the eleventh and twelfth men were on Doc Rivers bench that series? It was Glenn 'Big Baby' Davis and Tony Allen! Allen's first Finals appearance was in Game 4, partly due to an achilles injury during the conference finals. But late in the seaons, Rivers took him out of the rotation as it was. Glenn Davis was only a rookie and he only became a part of the Celtics winning formula in last year's playoffs when Kevin Garnett was out with his knee injury.
Doc Rivers has been going with a shorter rotation through the playoffs. He has consistently went only eight deep. That is due to Rondo and Perkins progression as players. But also the House trade likely necesitated it, as Nate Robinson was not acclamated to the Celtics system yet. But the bench that has played has been stellar! Davis would be a starter in most rotations. Allen has accepted his role as a defensive stopper and his limitations on offense (and he drives to the basket for scores at key times).
Rasheed Wallace was going to make or break the Celtics. One ESPN columnist wrote a brutal column about how he was out of shape and selfish. And during the Heat series, Wallace was only validating his words. But he has layed off the fast food (assumedly) and his killer instinct has returned. He was a key component in their series against the Cavaliers. His defense against Dwight Howard in the Orlando series was brilliant and his shot selection (and execution) was much improved. With Wallace (and Davis's progression) improved performance, the Celtics are not feeling a loss when Perkins or Garnett sit on the bench.
Lastly, Nate Robinson did not get enough playing time in the Orlando series (or the playoffs) to be a true x-factor. But after his Game 5 and 6 performances against Orlando, Doc maybe consider a true nine man rotation. Robinson's ability to make threes and his speed to push the tempo could both be big keys for the Celtics. I would even go with Robinson and Rondo on the court at the same time at times if I was Doc Rivers. I would even consider going with a small line-up at times to force the slower Lakers into a running game and to stretch them in the half court. I would consider the use of a Rondo, Robinson, R. Allen, Pierce and Garnett line-up.
The improved bench play is important since in last season's playoffs, with KG injured, the Celtics were over relying on guys like Brian Scalabrine! Though he played well, the Celts simply had to expect too much out of him.
- Perhaps the biggest change for the Celtics is the development of their young players. Rondo, Perkins, T. Allen and Davis all are bigger parts of the puzzle than in 2008. Rondo was showing signs of being great in that 08 Finals, but the truth is he was like a young Tony Parker. Parker was the starter in 2003 but it was often Speedy Claxton playing the point at the end of games. So was the case in 2008 in which House got more crunchtime minutes than Rondo. We all know how Rondo has blossomed since then. We all are aware that it is not the Big Three anymore (Garnett, Pierce, R. Allen). Rather it is the Big Four (Garnett, Pierce, R. Allen, Rondo) or as Magic Johnson likes to say The Big One and The Little Three. That is how far Rondo has came. There is talk that Rondo is the best point guard in the league. I would still put him behind Chris Paul and Deron Williams. But based on performance in the playoffs over the last two years, the case can be made!
OK Then
So we see that if anything the Celtics have improved more than the Lakers and yet people are once again convinced that Kobe will thrive. But Kobe is not convinced. You will notice how measured his response is when asked about this series. He has essentially said that they will find out whether the status-quo has changed. I am not knocking that either. That is wise. But if Kobe himself is unsure then why would the fans and 'experts' be sure. Do they (you) really think he's masking his true feelings? Because I certainly do not think that is the case. He has a Steve Nash mentality (refering to the last series). He does not know who is better and he hopes whether they are better or not that they can play better at the end of the day.
So to all you bandwagoners
To all you bandwagoners, I have written a parody of Larry Pratt's 'Pants On The Ground.' It was written to the tune of 08, 10 Sharp.
Kobe On The Outside
Kobe on the outside Kobe on the outside
Lookin' like a fool With Kobe on the outside With the bandage on his finger Bynum's kneed turned sideways Kobe miss the shot on the outside
Call yourself champs With Kobe on the outside
Losin' downtown with Kobe on the outside Celtic Pride!
Hey! Get Kobe to the outside Lookin like a fool! Playin' one on five with Kobe on the outside!
Hey! Kobe missing the shots Jacking up bricks With Kobe on the outside With the bandage on your finger Bynum's knee turned sideways Call yourself champs?
Kobe's on the outside!
Picture 1: When Kobe goes into the teeth of the Celtics defense he is often getting blocked. Consequently he will go to the outside shot frequently. If this happens and the Lakers do not get a team effort, the Celtics will likely prevail. ,
