CELTICS -at- LAKERS - 6/6 - Do-Your-Own Thoughts and :-(( Ratings Night

[Addicus]

First the props:
Pau, Drew and Sasha had wonderful games. Pau let a few rebounds slip through his hands this game but still battled.

Ray and Rondo played great. Ray hitting wide open shots and Rondo with his defensive plays at the end of the game. He has a nose for yhe ball and runs his team well in transition.

The demerits:
Shannon Brown forgot whom he was guarding.
Farmar forgot to put the ball in the post like we were doing all game. Too much hero ball from him.
Ron played fabulous defense on Pierce but played hero ball in the 4th on offense. Not good.
Lamar for not utilizing his mid range game. He doesn't have to shoot the 3. The 17 footer is there also. Offensively he is standing and watching instead of cutting. Our team suffers without him because he does such a great job on the boards.
Kobe for not putting his foot in the butts of Farmar and Ron. We needed him to be more vocal at games end because those guys simply panicked.
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The game was officiated terribly. Wild how the one time the Lakers actually are properly rewarded for pounding the paint with a large free throw margin the refs took Kobe out the game with 3 bogus fouls. What I am yet to understand is why a bigger, stronger Paul Pierce gets touch fouls in his favor, yet the same call for Kobe is a no call or offensive foul. Strange to say the least. A terrible missed call that was reviewed and missed agaim around the 2:00 mark in the 4th seemed to swing momentum in the Celtics direction as they took a 2 point lead and spread it to the winning margin.
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The Lakers had chances but didn't secure defense rebounds late in the 4th and it costs them. The poor offensive execution on the other end didn't help either.
_________________
Stop crying and start doing.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/addicusbrown

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[Gallofa]

Hey, DB! Don't do this, man. You can't lose heart!

We will prevail!

[DancingBarry]

[PopcornMachine]

[PopcornMachine]

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[DancingBarry]

[Gallofa]

[followwind]

Fisher: Didn't shoot the ball well. Getting blocked by Rondo in the 4th was a killer as well. Couldn't catch up to the screens they ran for Allen in the first half but got better at it in the 2nd half.

Artest: He was pathetic on the offensive end. Especially that possesion with about 1 minute left and he dribbled out most of the shot clock before throwing up a terrible shot. However he did play well on the defensive end.

Gasol and Bynum: Both of them shot the ball well. Bynum was especially dominating in the paint. But neither of them cracked double digit rebounds which hurt a lot - Rondo had 12 rebounds himself over Gasol's 8 and Bynum's 6. Need to secure those rebounds better.

Kobe: Got taken out of the game by fould trouble and was never really in rhythm. He defended Rondo for the most part but didn't do too good of a job defending him down the stretch.

Odom: For the 2nd straight game he got into foul trouble. While he was on the court he didn't played that well neither. That ill-advised 3 he took in the 4th made me facepalm.

Farmar: Mixed bag. He played ok on both sides of the floor. Though he needs to play much better on the defensive end.

Sasha: Played very well in limited action. He was able to catch up to Ray Allen much better than either Fisher or Brown. Made his only shot in the game and it was a 3 in the 4th. Expect more minutes from him in game 3.

Brown: That was about as bad as anyone in the NBA could have played. He was lost on both ends of the floor. He left Allen WIDE OPEN multiple times in the first half which really got him going while on the offensive end he jacked up terrible shots. He will probablly still get off the bench ahead of Sasha in game 3, but he will be on a VERY short leash.

Our team rebounding last night was one of the most pathetic showing this season.

[Luca Brasi]

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[Luca Brasi]

[JTS1]

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^^^
I have faith that Kobe will figure it out. Still, he did the same thing in the 4th quarter of game 1. The bottom line is that Kobe probing the Celtics D is a recipe for disaster. He's not going to find holes in Boston's D by pounding the ball at the top of the 3 point line and waiting for something to develop. Kobe needs to call for the screen early and make his move decisively.

[A Mad Chinaman]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[LakerLanny]

Kobe

3 of the 5 fouls called on him were completely bogus. That said, it wasn't his best game other than the fouls. He played some soft D that hurt the team and wasn't able to make some shots that he normally does. Pretty clear though that he is officiated by a different set of rules and not in a good way.

Pau

He played a good game, too bad the Lakers couldn't get him more shots. He did a nice job, but it wasn't enough.

Bynum

Much props to Andrew Bynum for a great effort with good production despite not being 100%. As I have been saying, the Celtics are a good matchup for him and he is showing he can be effective.

Fisher

He has been having a great playoffs, but last night was not a good one for him. Allen hit 4 three's on him before the seats were even warm, on several of those plays Fisher made poor defensive decisions. His offense was OK and he did do a good job on Allen in the 2nd half....but when a guy gets red hot on your watch, that isn't a good thing. He needs to do a much better job on Allen at the start of game 3.

Artest

Great D on PP. Absolutely horrid on offense with his 1-10. Beyond the bad shooting is the fact that the ball is stopping in his hands too long on offense and it is killing the team. After 95+ games, I find it hard to believe he still is "learning the offense". His ft shooting is also abysmal. Going 1-3 or 1-4 from the floor is OK, going 1-10 is death. Bad game, but at least his D is good.

Odom

3 fouls in 3 minutes, not playing smart or well. He could have redeemed himself with a big 3 late, but alas he bricked it. I have said all along, the Lakers are unbeatable when LO plays well. Unfortunately, him and Bynum seemingly never play well in the same game. If he doesn't start to play better, we aren't winning this series.

Farmar

I like the way he is playing right now. He is feisty on the floor, not afraid to attack and is making some good defensive plays. He had a "Sasha" (foul 80 feet from the basket) but obviously that was a bad acting job by Rondo that was strangely rewarded. I think he needs to get more run, but then I remember that he is a home only guy. Note to Jordan, time to step up on the road, right now. The team needs you badly.

Brown

After a very strong game 1, he laid an egg in Game 2. He wasn't as bad as many on LG would have you believe (Allen hit more 3's on Fisher and a few on Kobe and Farmar also) but he certainly did not get the job done. Good drive to the basket, bricked a jumper, did not provide good D. Doubling Perkins and leaving Allen open? Hmmmm.

Sasha

Very good game by Sasha. Made a 3 in the offense, got a great rebound and kicked to Jordan for a 3, made a scrappy play tying up Davis for a jump ball the Lakers got possession of. Strong effort.

Overall, the Celtics definitely played a stronger game. For the first time in seemingly years, the Lakers shot more FTs than the opponent in a playoff game and still lost. Of course, it took 3 phantom fouls on our best player that limited his minutes to make this happen, but still....the game was there for the taking at the end of three qtrs and the Lakers did not control their defensive glass in the 4th and allowed the refs to carry Boston home in the last few minutes with FOUR outrageously blown calls, all against the Lakers.

I see Game 3 as a must win. In fact, I think the Lakers need to win 2 of the 3 in Boston to win this series. A tall task to be sure with Bob Delaney, Bennett Salvatore, Scott Foster, Danny Crawford, Ed F Rush looming.
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Love, Laker Lanny

[PopcornMachine]

[MIMLaker]

[MIMLaker]

Kobe --
Solid job initiating the offense early, and turned up the offense at just the right time in the 2nd quarter and out of the halftime break. However, gummed up the offense badly by backing down in the post and eating up precious time off the shot clock in the 3rd and 4th quarter. When Kobe backs into the post, he is our 3rd-best option down low. Double-teams can find him there, and unlike Pau and Bynum, Kobe can't pass over the top of the bigs when they rotate down. Kobe needs to do his job and open up the perimeter to let our bigs rack up FGs and FTs.

Pau --
Not as dominant on the offensive glass, but asserting himself on the defensive boards. Kept us alive and in the game throughout the 1st half, found great position down deep and on the break in the 3rd quarter. Inexplicably got minimal touches in the 4th, even though he was clearly our best inside scorer. SIX blocks showed who the premier big in this series is.

Bynum --
Very quiet on the boards in the 1st half (3 rebs), but a monster on interior feeds from Pau and Kobe and on put-backs. And we went away from him in the 4th... why? SEVEN blocks shows the kid didn't come to play -- kid came to WORK, knee brace and all.

Fish --
In the cross-hairs the whole night with Allen going ESPN Classic on him. The thing is, Fish kept attacking on offense and on hustle plays, so I can't ride him too badly for Allen's performance. However, when he was switched onto Rondo, that's when the bloodletting got worse.

Artest --
All the defense we want, all the offense we fear. Stayed in-control on D, harassing pierce on the perimeter and helping out int he passing lanes without getting burned, but... some of the most horrible decision-making we've seen at the other end all year. Understandably tried to create a spark on offense, but settled for horrible jumpers rather than use his 6-7, 260-lb frame down low where it could have done more damage... to the Celtics.

Odom --
What can be said? If they're going to call them that close, then you need to find a way to stay on the floor and help the team.

Sasha --
Can't fault the effort at either end. Hit a timely 3, kept the ball moving on O, no brain-farts on D.

Farmar --
One step up, one step back. Hit a great end-around runner in the 2nd quarter, and followed with an ill-advised breakaway 3 attempt the next trip down. Makes a great pass to Sasha from the paint for a 3, then loses the ball a minute later in single coverage.

Brown --
Left Allen alone to double down on Perkins not once, but twice. Total lack of recognition as to who he was guarding. Couldn't draw net on any of his mid-range shots.

Walton --
Chained to the bench, in a game when we needed extra forward depth in light of Lamar's foul trouble, and at least a dozen more consistent passes into the post. You could see Pau more than once waving for the ball as he cut across the lane, only to have Ron-Ron work it around the horn, thus giving the defense time to set as Pau had to settle into the low block. Walton -- or Odom -- would have hit Pau and Bynum on similar cuts and kept Perkins and KG's heads on a swivel. Pierce may have then gotten a rhythm, but it would have at least shifted Boston's O away from the Ray Allen bombing runs.

Phil --
Excellent job keeping the ball flowing into the post in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Great job managing minutes for Pau and Bynum to keep one low-post threat on the floor at all times. Effective use of Sasha to at least keep energy on perimeter D. And negated almost all of it with 3 moves --

(1) Switching Kobe to Allen, thus allowing Rondo to use his speed advantage and create for others in the lane and in transition. 5 on 1, the team had a chance to get back in the game, and did early in the 3rd. but giving Rondo room to work got all cylinders firing for them late.

(2) Allowing Kobe to dominate the post touches late. Kobe was shooting under 40%, and was limited on drives by his foul total. Say what you will about the legitimacy of the calls, but Pau and Bynum were working in the paint, and Kobe was not. Kobe can be mroe easily-double-teamed in the psot than either of our twin towers. At least if Pau or Bynum are doubled, they can dish to Kobe for a 3-ball, or OVER THE HEADS of the 6-11 KG and 6-10 Perkins to a cutter. If Kobe is doubled, the defenders are far taller than he is, and he has no one but Fish to kick it out to.

In other words, the offense becomes predictable and eliminates all the advantages of a read-and-react offenseive system. Add that to Kobe not initiating the offense in the 2nd half until 10 seconds remained on the shot clock, and our bigs got flat-out, frozen tundra cold.

(3) Keeping Artest on the floor. Artest often dribbled or held the ball a good 10-12 seconds, killing our flow and giving the Celtics ample time to pack the lane or front the bigs. Using Walton, even just for 2 or 3 bursts of 3-4 minutes each, would have helped keep Pau and Bynum fed with high, out-of-reach-except-for-them passes and inside finishes. Instead, we got the direct opposite -- non-existent ball movement and perimeter prayers.

MIM
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Keep or Dump Power Rankings (4/12/23):
1 - Bron; 1a - AD; 2 - Reaves; 2a - DLo; 3 - Vando; 4 - Rui; 5 - Shroo; 6 - Christie; 7- Brown; 8 - Gabriel; 9 - Beas; 10 - Bamba; 11- Lonnie

[DancingBarry]

Well done, MIM, Lanny and others

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