Wow, what happened to Boston? Did the wheels fall off that quickly? Are the Lakers just that much better? Did Kevin Garnett's doppelganger, one that hasn't ever touched a basketball, suit up for the him instead?
To say that the Celtics looked different out there Thursday night would be like telling me that three day weekends are great. That smothering defense? Gone. Kobe was getting to the rack, sure. Gasol was getting his now signature put-backs, fine. But when Jordan Farmar gets uncontested lay-ins, something is going very, very wrong. The Celtics simply looked unprepared for the Lakers physical play. And not running back on D, guys? Seriously? Unacceptable. You do the NBA Finals, a place reserved for the highest level of play, a fat disservice by being lazy in the open court.
Abysmal passing, too. Perkins or Garnett would curl to the foul line looking for the ball, and the Celtics on the wing, vainly, stubbornly, would attempt the entry pass. Against that Laker length? No way. It was clear from the first 7 minutes that it wasn't working, and yet they soldiered on, blindly, turning it over or having plays broken up on what felt like every other possession.
The box score only shows the Celtics turning it over once more than the Lakers (13-12), but those tipped passes were hugely disruptive, causing havoc that a stat can't explain. A broken pass, especially in those Celtics offensive sets, means a broken play, most of the time. And because of that, Boston was left to force bad threes as the shot clock expired. The result of that? A 1-10 performance for Boston from downtown.
I don't get it either, KG.
Garnett looked gawd awful, missing Ray Allen in transition, whiffing on a wide-open two footer (absolutely baffling), and looking like a 5th grader playing with 8th graders out there. I don't get it; this doesn't feel right. Garnett is the one that's supposed to be making guys afraid, not vice versa. Ray Allen's normally money stroke didn't look properly calibrated for West Coast time, and Rajon Rondo's abysmal free throw shooting (1 for 4) continued. Win or lose this series, one thing is clear, Rondo should, nay, NEEDS to work on that in the off-season. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
The rest of the bench looked terrible, too. Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen? All no shows. Ironically, Nate Robinson, who went 0-3 from the field, somehow managed 4 dishes and a +/- of positive ten in only limited minutes. Who knows how that works. Paul Pierce, as always, showed up ready to play. Truth did what Truth does best, getting to the line, working that helter-skelter mid range game, and finding guys when the Lakers threw doubles his way. All against Artest, mind you, which is damn impressive. Too bad no one else on the Celtics cared to play.
On the flip side of the coin, oh my goodness.
Los Angeles, my dear, you looked fantastic. Have you lost weight? LA couldn't have turned in a better statement performance. Reading passing lanes a second ahead on the defensive end, diving for loose balls, grabbing every offensive board in sight, and really just wanting it more. And not just "wanting it" as in wanting to win the game more. I literally mean they wanted to physically hold onto the ball more. I know that's a cliche we hear coaches throw out on "Wired" during timeouts all the time, wanting it, but it's true; every loose ball seemed to be engulfed by a yellow jersey.
And those engulfed balls? Those led to quick, smart, outlet passes. And those outlet passes? Those led to perfectly heaved down-court lobs to guys leaking in transition.
Bynum looked fantastic as well, totally schooling defensive stopper Perkins on his way to 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting, which really went a long way to establishing the tone of this game. Knee injury? What knee injury?
Artest also played expertly, being in multiple places at once, bullying people up, getting his hands in plays, being a physical son of a gun, and basically just making life a living hell for every Celtic who had the misfortune of (literally) running into him. Meanwhile, Fisher was busy seducing the hoop, kissing the ball of the glass so well you thought he was making love to the backboard. And Kobe? Well, yeah, the kid played well. I don't need a degree in astrophysics to tell you that.
But the true secret to the win? Pau Gasol. Sorry Kobe lovers, but Pau Gasol won this game for the Lakers. One thing is exceedingly clear: Pau Gasol is the 1b to Kobe's 1a on this team, and perpetually serves as the Lakers safety-net on plays. He's there to mop up missed shots, salvage bad plays, and corral Kobe air balls. 23 points on only 8 of 14 shooting is unconsciously good. He was responsible for so many offensive put-backs and tip-outs (8 of his 14 boards came on the offensive end), that this alone fundamentally altered the outcome of this game. Defensively, he undressed Garnett while totally negating most of Rondo's quick drives, registering 3 blocks but disrupting countless more throughout his stint of pure dominance.
Why are Laker fans so afraid to admit that this dude is their best player?
It's as simple as this: Pau was born to play the pivot in the triangle. He has everything that the triangle requires of a big man--offensive potency, quick feet, and superior court vision. He won't get finals MVP, but if the Lakers win this series Pau, not Kobe, should get the nod.
And yet, given all this, it was only a ten point game until Kobe's three-pointer with under five seconds left. Somehow, someway, the Celtics managed to keep it close, most of the time in the single digit range, when it really felt like a 25 point blow out. The Celts aren't some collection of scrubs, even when they are getting punked. The Celtics should play better in game 2, yes. Garnett won't play like that again (count on that), Ray Ray's threes will start dropping, and they certainly won't get swept. Does any of that really matter, though?
Hard to say, but it's looking very, very, very bleak for Boston right now. These guys are vets, so don't expect them to go quietly into that good night, even if they have history working against them in a big way (Phil Jackson is 47-0 career in series after winning game 1). Time to dig deep, boys in green.
And if they can't, if they won't, dig deep? Let's just call this series now and start our summer breaks early.
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