Finals Overview

Man oh man. We were way wrong. The Boston Celtics performed a defensive clinic for most of the series, specially on Kobe, and just rough the series up taking Lamar and Gasol out of their games. The rest of the Lakers were just too young to know how to react and the leadership coming from Phil Jakcson never get through to those guys.

Ray Allen was a total surprise. He struggle in all first three rounds shooting like crap in all of them. Paul Pierce became a defensive stopper and maybe the most deserving champion we have had in a long, long time. He has being a Celtic for 10 years. He has seen everything. He was up, he was down, he was stabbed, he was in the comeback wins againts the Nets and the Lakers. His career belongs to the city of Boston. And know he comes with a ring.

What to say about KG. Perhaps to the most clutch player in the court at any time but he came through with that performance at game 6. You won't remember this series for KG's perfomance but you will because this was KG's first title, maybe the only one, but this guy has killed himself on the court for more than 10 years to reach this point. He needed lost of help, this is not tennis, this is a team sport and when KG is given a true team he comes through.

The Celtics' bench was terrific. Big shot after big shot.And they always entered the game with a poice the comes from someone that knows his role and knows he will do that job. Doc? I never talked trash about Doc - mainly because I never had a chance - but when you lost 18 straight games one might think their coach is a little predictable but after this series Mr Doc Rivers has prove himself to be a very good coach. I won't go as far as saying that he outcoached Phil Jackson, if Lamar Odom and the bench play with some balls the history would have different, but his team won. Game 4 and 6 were brilliantly coached from my humble perspective.

The Celtics won the championship with defense, hunger, great leadership and a helluva of a bench. LA lost the championship because their inside players were afraid of contact, their second team couldn't defend (outside Farmar) and thei top player got involve in a web of brilliant defensive schemes executed by a stronger and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay hungrier player and smarter team defenders.

Whose fault is it? Tom Thibaudeau. If all the talk is true. This guy is a effing genius.

NBA Finals Game 6

That was easy. The Celtics entered the game with determination and with that assasin mentality we have been praising Kobe for having. Plain and simple the Celtics never gave a chance to the Lakers in this game. The Lakers never gave themselves a chance. After a 10 -2 run in the middle of the second quater everybody but Gasol (probably because Big Baby was on him ) look defeatead.

After the first 3 minutes of the third quater and the lead was balloning Kobe and Co. called a night. The Celtics D was unbelievable. Really. Deflections, box outs, reading passing lines, taking balls straigh up from Lakers' hands. They did everything to win the game. The Lakers did nothing to win the game. The result: 131- 92.

I did the ref watch but outside a dubious call here and there, specially by Salvatore, there wasn't anything "fishy".

Just one final comment: Why on God's good earth was Lamar Odom pissed of in the final 5 minutes? Because the Celtics kept playing ? Because the Lakers never did? Because he wanted scare KG like KG has been scaring him all series long? Did he wanted to people to say: "Boy, did Lamar Odom played with passion tonight"? I don't know but Lamar, let me give you an advice, pushing and shoving is not your game. It's ok. There has been bunch of good players who are not too fond to contact and they have had great careers. Stick with what you got, ok? Thanks

Ref Watch

You need to read this.The refs for game 6 are: Benneth Salvatore, Eddie Rush and Joey Crawford.

It's pretty clear on Abbot's piece. Salvatore was the responsable for the "DWadre Free Throw Parade" and Crawford was the one that considered Fisher sit down on Barrys' shoulder didn't change his shot. I hope this game goes as smoothly -officiating wise - as game 5 was. I'll be on ref watch. I hate to do this. I don't want to think the league is going to fix this one to get the money from a game 7.

Let the Basketball Gods protect us all

State of the Finals

We are back to Boston. The Celtics achieve their goal stealing one in fron of Will Smith, Denzel and Jack. What can we expect for the rest of the series? The adjustements made by both coaches have worked for both of them. Jackson's decision to put Kobe on Rondo when he's on the floor and let him roam and screw Boston's offense has been the key to those opening huge leads. Last night he used Farmar to pressure House/Cassell when they are bringing up the ball. The result of that was Paul Pierce running the offense which takes a little bit more from their go to guy.

Rivers' adjustements aka Smallball has opened all kind of spaces for their big three. The diference last night: neither Allen nor Garnet sank those open jumpers they were going down in game 5. Specially Allen has we learned later that he have some family issues on his mind. (Good luck with that, Ray). House and Cassell were pretty effective last night.

The bad comes with the good. I think the Lakers failed to give a major role to Lamar Odom when he was guarded by Posey. I know he might be afraid of him but in the third quater - with KG in the bench - they went to him and good things happened for them. He's just to versatile to be roaming around without a north in the offense. What about Radmanovic's north? This guy can't defend nobody. He's a poor rebounder and his shot ain't falling. I know coaches can't start the game with their "adjustement line up" but playing him more than 5 minutes is just criminal. Mihm? Well, that was intersting. Who know, he could have been game 2's Leon Powe.

For my money, Rivers is playing Rondo too much.Unless he's driving to the basket at 250 mpg he's pretty much useless and apparently that ankle ain't allowing him that fifth gear. Again, I understand why he's seeing some minutes but when Kobe is running behind the ball like a 12 year old in a soccer match I think is time to put a shooter whose shot is not cheered by the Lakers. Another big issue that could have affected last night game: The Truth playing the entire game. I know this happens when you go down by 20 ( which happens when Kobe is everywhere where the ball is. Which happens when Rondo is in the game) but somehow u need to trust your bench and at least give him a minute off at the end of a quater or a couple of posetions after a TV time out.

This is also a players game. I've been saying all along that when Gasol and Odom stop shaking like little girls when KG is around them they can win any game (no matter state of the series) and that finally happened in game 5 (Actually it happened thanks to KG's foul trouble. By the time he got back to the game LO and PG where so pumped and their adrenaline were running so high that there was no fear ) Can they go back to that aggresiveness in Game 6? I really don't think but at least they saw what could happen when the play like big boys.

I can't believe I'm going to post this next paragrah: KG needs to cool down. Simmons wrote a piece some time ago about KG's lack of composure at crunch time. Totally truth. He has been playing subpar basketball this entire finals but somehow that lack of production hasn't directy affected any outcome so far.. until last night. He missed 3 free throws and two tip-ins inside two minutes to play with a 2 point game or 4 point game. He saids that he will play better but I ain't sure. For all the criticism that Gasol have received for being tissue soft he's not afraid of taking shots when the baskets matter the most. He came through last night (even when Kobe was looking in desbielf) . Sadly when can't expect that from Garnett. I can only hope and dream ( for history sake. I'm not cheering for the Celtics or the Lakers ) that KG comes with a huge 30 point, 17 rebound, 6 block game with the C's winning thanks to a KG's block shot or a couple of Garnett's free throws. Would that make 5 games of practically not showing up? Right away not. But in a couple of years the public will only remember that monster game . Take my word if happens but until it does I'm ashame to say that KG has become a reliability in crunch time.

Ps: What happend to Simmons' game 5 column? I hope his dad is ok. If something happened to his heart we should trial KG for murder.

NBA Finals Game 5

What set this two teams apart? It was another close game in which Boston came back to tie the game after letting LA getting a 19 and 14 point leads but this time couldn't get over the "hump". As Kobe said: "The series ain't over" and we are going back to Boston.

The diference for the Lakers this game was Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Easily. For the first time they were aggresive, they didn't back down to KG and they played like that -almost- the entire game. In the fourth quater the lack of poise of the Celtics cost them the game. I'm not taking anything here from the Lakers, they did a hell of a job going directly at Garnett and putting him in foul trouble early and often during the first half but when the game was on the line the Lakers didn't exactly went for the kill. They needed 2 missed put-backs and 3 missed free throws for KG to stay alive. There was also the Kobe "steal" as he reached from behind Pierce to poke the ball away but in that particualar point it should have been a tied game .

The Lakers again play like a desperate team. Like a team with nothing to loose and so far that mindset have worked for them twice at home. Can the bring the same intencity and desire outside to Boston? The question is not about the Lakers' psyque but about Odom and Gasol consistency because they might have found out that if they took it to the C's -without that fear of contact they have shown for most of the series- good things would happen. They know Kobe can't beat the C's by himself and they know they need to come through for their team. For all the talk about coaches and adjustements and strategy the major hole for the Lakers this Finals have been their inconsistency and lack for fire. This is the first series they need that ( Denver? Please. My dog has more fire when barking at fallen leaves. Utah? Outside DWill, Matt Harpring and Jerry Sloan they are softer than those fallen leaves my dog enjoys to roll over after awhile of barking at them mercylessly. The Spurs? They are not soft but they were more tired following the New Orleans series that my dog after a good half hour of rolling over a pile of fallen leaves). They don't need to magically create a defensive mindset. They just need some hustle.

This take us to the adjustement of the moment. The C's can't do anything if Gasol and Odom decide to be aggresive. They are not going to hack them every time they go to the rim that's just not Celtics' defense. The answer to that question might be scarier that most Celtics' fans think. The key is Mr Defensive Player of the Year. Garnett had another awful game and he - again - crumbled under pressure in the fourth quater. They are going to need a very smart and under control Garnett to control the paint ( specially if Perkins is out for the series) and keep both Odom and Gasol in check. He needs to make them pay for daring to attack him offensevely. He needs to make them work for every posetion without collecting fouls like the were trading cards. Despiste KG's offensive struggles the last couple of games he has gone more to his repertoire in the post. He needs to keep that trend but go up a notch or two or eleven and make them defend him and probably (given those two defensive "capabilites" ) put them in foul trouble.

This is Doc Rivers' graduation. Game 6 is all about Celtic pride. They can not afford to go to a game 7 and deal with the possibility of a 50 point game from Kobe Bryant. Their passion and desire can't be lesser that the Lakers'. The championship is one win again and Mr Auerbach is watching.

NBA Finals Game 4

Dear God, what a game! It was a tale of those halves. Amazing first half for the Lakers as Kobe made sure everybody from Radmanovic to Farmar get involve in the offense. Lamar Odom has his best half in years where he look like the Miami Heat version of him ( remember him? ). Great shooting, great passing, great basketball played by the Lakers.c

The second half was a defensive exhibition by the C's. Once again the adjustement war was win by Doc Rivers as he used Eddie House and James Posey instead of Rondo and Perkins (who got injured). With those matchups the C's created tons of space to operate and finally KG took his game inside and took it right to Gasol. I was really impressed with Boston' D. Really

Couple of sidenotes:

1. Why Kobe never took over? Celtics' D? I mean, he's better than that and we all know that he can get 40 any time (although that doesn't mean the Lakers are going to win )

2. The contribution that nobody saw coming is being a really factor in this series. Look back: Leon Powe, Sasha Vujacic, James Posey.

3. If KG continues to play inside like he did in the fourth quater the C's are winning in 5. Nobody can defend him there, nobody. She shouldn't be taking 17 footers all night long. Take it inside, school this guys. I want to see that.

4. What's up with Kobe? Seriously.

5. Is Phil Jackson really getting outcoached? Is that even possible?

Donaghy: I'm back!

Talk about bad timing! After a game 2 where the refs where very more than friendly to the home team Mr Donaghy dropped the bomb telling that his not the only crooked ref. He also said game 6 of the 2002 Western Finals between the LA Lakers and the Sacramento Kings was fixed. Not really a surprise there. He also testified the NBA protects superstars by "advicing" the refs to not call technical fouls on them. Not really a surprise neither.

The importantance of this matter is that this is a legal document in an US federal investigation, you can't get more serious than that. This allegations are not coming from the regular fan or the pissed off Kings' fanbase, this is coming from one of their own. This is coming from inside. If this is true how is David Stern and the NBA defend themselves when Suns fans present their case. When Spurs fans present their case. When any fan of any team that felt or had felft that his or her team is being targeted by the refs. They just can't. I don't know how are the going to control this or if they can control it at all!

I want to record something here: Being a basketball referee must be pretty damn hard. For any of you who had played basketball at any level you know there's going to be contact all over the place. Some of this contact might not affect what you are doing (shooting, dribbling, passing, running, whatever) and that type of contact is not a foul. All contact can't be called unless you want to made of basketball a 6 hour event with no flow at all. There's another type of contact which actually prevents your action to be executed in a proper manner or in the manner you meant to. That is a foul. BUT (yeah..big BUT) you as a player might understand why the ref didn't called it. Maybe it was a slight push, or just a little snake bite in your shooting arm or a moving screen that didn't moved that much. Should be foul but the referees are human and we know that.

And there are the totally-obvious-in-the-middle-of-the-action-in-front-of-the-referee type of foul. This are the type of fouls that enraged fans and teams. Refs are trained to execute their jobs as efficient as possible, some of them have been doing it for over 20 o 30 years and still they miss calls like that. There must be a reason and maybe Donaghy is giving us that reason. The league saids that don't want the refs to decided the output of the game but if a player lands on top of other player in tha act of shooting or try to grab him went attempting a shot that no-call is not deciding the result of the game. I don't see the point.

As I said, the timing sucks big time. Everybody was calling out on the refs for sending the Celtics 38 times to the line in Game 2 and then in Game 3- just after Donaghy allegations went public - the Lakers had their own free throw parade in the first half. Everybody, from the true NBA fan to the ex NBA fan, is going to have an eye on the refs for the rest of the finals. Another no call at the end of games or another huge disparaty in the free throws is going to trigger the notion that this entire postseason has been fixed. Am I being a little overdramatic? I don't think so. There were rumors 0n the street since the start of the playoffs that the league would love a Lakers- C's final (Stern said it outloud but at the time of those remarks nobody thought LA could get to the finals ) maybe a little too much. They got their finals. They are getting their big ratings. Let's just hope merchandising doesn't decide this year champion.


Update: He's not alone

NBA Finals Game 3

It wasn't a pretty game , so if u missed it don't worry I'm sure your had better thing to do with your time. Good call. Anyway, the game was pretty boring, until the final 40 seconds any team had a chance. The key of that game was Vujacic as he scored 20 very efficient points and played great defense against Ray Allen - the only Celtic finding the bottom of the net - in the fourth quater.

The Celtics lost by 6 despite having no production from Garnett or Pierce. They lost by 6 despite Phil Jackson making the first adjustement that could swing the series to LA's side: Putting Kobe on Rondo the entire first half giving him the shot. Kobe roam defensevely and double team on KG or anybody on the post. Rondo never figured things out and then he twisted his ankle and his night pretty much was over.

The Lakers won despite no production from Odom or Pasol until the final minutes where Gasol had a couple of putbacks that were created by Odom drives against Garnett. LA won despite Kobe missing 7 free throws. LA still won without any production off the bench, outside Vujacic.

Neither team can feel happy after that game (Well, maybe LA 'cause they are not 0-3 ) neither team could get in a groove at any moment of the game. That little sequence when the Celtics were down 2 inside a minute to play and House missed a short jumper and Vujacic hit a three in the other end was the dager of the game. Kobe had those one on one against Ray Allen but one got the feeling Mr 81 was going to score even if a young Scottie Pippen was defending him.

Game 4 is going to have the same relevance that game 3 had. There is little diference between being down 0-3 and down 1-3. Now the ball is on Doc Rivers' side . Everybody said before the series began that Doc Rivers was going to get his butt seriously overcoached but through 3 games he has made all the right moves and if it wasn't for a bad night of KG/Pierce he might have the Celtics one win away from a swept.

NBA Finals Game 2

Adjustments are a thing of beauty, don't they? Phil Jackson did his thing and kinda work out until de refs started to call every single type of contact (I know that every type of contact is technically a foul but normally some contact is not called just because it is a contact sport). Both Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom started very aggresive and the Lakers made the effort to get in the key which resulted in 16 early inside points. The moment that Odom was called for his second foul his night was over. Gasol continued to attack the defense but never managed to have a dramatic effect in LA's offense.

The adjustments continued and after Radmanovic picked his own second personal ( This guy has nothing to do trying to defend Paul Pierce. I mean nothing. The Truth could raise an eyebrow and Radmanovic would go for the block shot) Ariza come into the game but wasn't really a factor on neither end. LA bench was awful. Vujacic did a better job chasing Ray Allen but that was about the only good thing I could say about them.

Doc Rivers continued with his thing and Perkins' foul trouble could have been Doc Rivers' greatest moment so far. That prompted him to put Leon Powe in and we all know what happened. Which takes me to the officiating. I have only saw three games where the referees took central stage: Game 5 of the Utah-LA series, in favor or LA. Game 3 of San Antonio - LA series, in favor of SA and now Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Neither of those game fall in the category of game 6 of the 2002 Western Finals between LA and Sacramento. (Which has been one of the worst refereed game I've ever seen)

Referees at those three game didn't giftwrapped no game to nobody but most of the close call and normall-no-calls went to the home team. That was what happened yesterday. The calls did get LA out of rhythm and indirectly forced them to take outside shots - which makes kinda hard to force the refs to blow their whistles - and cut some playing time of their main guys (specially Kobe and Odom in the first half). But I don't saw like the game was stolen from the Lakers. Follow me here:

1. Leon Powe. Totally and inexcusable lack of preparation here. Nobody know how to guard this guy. Walton, Turiaf, Ariza and Odom, they all fouled this guy while he was attacking the rim . He is no Tim Duncan. He is not Dwigth Howard. He's a strong guy with quick feet that can be hard to guard if given space. That's it
2. Kobe second foul was a foul. He did stick out his elbow against Ray Allen. Maybe a no call but still a foul.
3. Lots of reaching are going to produce that. The Lakers did reach a lot against Pierce and Allen.
4. The Celtics did look for this fouls. Pierce and Rondo drive to the heart of LA's defense any time they wanted it.
   
5. Why LA's defense allowed this? You don't need to reach of bang somebody to stop them . Front the guy, anticipate , footwork. You know what I'm saying? LA's one on one defense have sucked for two games right now (If you think about it they maybe had one good defensive game against the Spurs. The Spurs offensive crashed and burned more by itself than LA's defensive schemes) I could put here a list of guys just not playing defense at all (It would start with a name that rhymes with Rastamanovic) and when they see a guy in green passing them by their resort is to foul him and hope to not get caught.
6. Kendrick Perkins played 14 minutes.
7. There were some make up calls in the second half going LA's way. Mainly Odom bringing down PJ Brown and then hitting him with the ball in a effort to mainting posetion
   

Lakers fans need to keep something in mind. They are a young team. I know Kobe and Fisher are there, I know Phil is their coach but outside of those names they are an inexperience and young team. They get easily taken out of their game. All season long their bench have been turnover prone and that have been minimized by playing Kobe extended minutes, and after the Pau Gasol trade, having a scoring threat with them at all times.

The bottom line is the most close calls when to the Celtics at the start of the game but you can easily blame the Lakers for being discouraged by that and not forcing the refs to blow the whistle.

NBA Finals Game 1

Pretty good game 1 for my perspective - as me not being an ultra fan of neither team - just because it wasn't a blowout and the teams fought pretty hard.

You can better insight from at Forum Blue and Gold or at Celtics' 17. This is my insight:

• Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol looked so different compare on how the performed againt Utah and San Antonio. That extra step and seemingly endless lenght wasn't there.
  
• Andrew Bynum is being sorely missed right now
• KG missed what it looked for Celtics' fans like 20 straight shots. Why KG game is based on 15 - 15 fadeway and turnaround contested jumpers? It was the same question I asked myself every time I see -or saw - Derrick Coleman, Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber play. They have the post moves and the body to live in the paint but they choose not to just because at some point the develop and mid range shot (Wich is not bad if the used as a way to confuse the defense or just some mix it up kinda of thing. Not as a first - and most times only - resource) This is why I love Duncan's game so much. He's 7'0 feet tall and he plays with his back to the basket controlling the game and creating offense with his post moves
• Cassell had a nice couple of post ups agains Fisher but outside that he looked like he was working for Donaghy.
• Kobe wasn't as agressive as everybody imagined it. Something happened there maybe he's just pacing himself.
• Ray Allen looked quick. I've never seen this guy dribble the ball that quick and being that active and aggresive since 2002. Maybe for the first time in his career he didn't rely on this jump shot to get him going. Nice!
• Paul Pierce injury and consequent return was a thing of beauty. I just hope the injury is not that bad so it becames an issue in this series for the C's.
• Doc Rivers need to learn fast. Very very fast. He showed some hope in the last couple of games against the Pistons but this is Phil Jackson looking for this 10th ring.

NBA Finals: Celtics vs Lakers

1. Celtics (66-16) vs 1. Lakers (57-25)
Regular Season Series: BOS 2-0
Point Differencial: BOS +16.0


Rusty was right all along. Somehow. The dream match up for NBA' PR people is here. The Lakers take their 14 championships to the new garden where The Celtics are waiting along with their 16 championships.

Besides the obvious rivalry and the stuff there are a lot of side histories right here. Kobe look for his first championship withot Shaq meanwhile KG looks to take his picture while crying and holding the ol' O'brien trophy. There's the Allen vs Kobe feud (that nobody where it comes from and as Bill Simmons said "its 100% possible that it is about a woman). There's Paul Pierce scratching the surface to be considered one of the C's all time greats. There's Phil Jackson looking to tie Red Auerbach' all time titles record ( Just a side note here: The biggest advantage the Celtics have is Red Auerbach. If you think Red's ghost is going to allow Phil to break his record AGAINST the Celtics then you don't know nothing)

Now to the series itself. I've been saying all alone that playoff series are win more by matchups than adjustments (adjustments create missmatchups and so on) and the Lakers have the better matchups sans two positions (Garnett vs Odom and Rondo vs Fisher) and they have Kobe who have been anything less than Jordanesque. Pierce can also dominate his matchup agains Radmanovic and Vujacic but he's not the cold blooded killer Kobe is and this is the finals. Where cold blooded killer happens. Now there's the passion and the fire factor. Who wants it more? KG? Kobe? The Truth? Gasol? My money is on KG. We all know he wants it more I don't think he's going to get it just because Kobe, wanting it like 2 grams less, is going to take from his hands at some point maybe as soon as Game 1.


X Factor: At the end I'm debating myself between Kobe and Red's ghost. Which factor is going to weight heavier in this series? Red is right now waiting for the start of the game at the Basketball Olympus and he seems happy to see his team back in the last dance. He's happy they are there but I don't think they are going to allow him to burn Kobe's left eye with his cigar. Too bad it would be something to see.

Basketball Gods' Prediction: LAL 4-2

Overview: Celtics vs Pistons

I give up. I don't know what to think about the Celtics. I don't know, I truly don't. Rusty saids one thing I think another and then Bill Simmons saids another completely different thing.

During two games in this series (Game 3 and 6) the Celtics looked like they were supposed to look. Defensively dominant. Good ball handlers - as long as they don't get pressured full court or somebody dares to trap them - and specially they didn't collapse in the fourth quater, au contraire, they actually played their best basketball of the season during those two fourth quaters.

Another conference finals appearence, another playoff run ended. That has been the life for Detroit Pistons and Pistons fans since 2004. Billups wasn't at 100% and most games Prince and Sheed' didn't quite looked there. Maybe the latest was the doom for this guys because Stuckey played great. There weren't matchups problems, there weren't bad officiating or questionable calls. This was a very close series and the final "X factor" was Pierce. He showed the ability - first of controlling himself - and then to take over a game. (Here we need to factor the Pistons as a group lowering their quality of defense over Pierce. He didn't mutated into Kobe Bryant). At least we can say the best Celtic team showed, hence, the best team won

Whose fault is it? It could be 'Sheed. Besides possibly game 2 he never matched up with KG and Garnett didn't played that great

Overview: LA Lakers vs Spurs

For the first time after a series I think my poor -and wrong - attempt to predict a series could easily have been true. San Antonio should have win game 1 and game 4. I believe the Spurs have a better team this season than LA but the New Orleans' series took so much out of them that the good ol' Spurs didn't have the legs to keep with the more rested Lakers. If San Antonio had had a 6 game series againts Chris Paul and Co the history would have been different.

Kobe played great and he was played great as well the Bowen and the Spurs' defense. Every Laker went for every loose ball, ofensive/defensive rebound and never let a themselves loose control offensively (with the posible exception of the last 30 seconds of game 4. Or Sasha Vujacic any given moment). You have to give lots of credit to Kobe and Phil for installing this team culture in less than a year and performing it for 7 straight games during playoffs games.

Bynum was out. Manu was as good as out. Duncan look tired every game past half time. Horry and Finley never showed up. Fisher didn't play up to it. Gasol wasn't an offensive force. This wasn't the best sample to measure this two teams but the tam with the best conditions won


Whose fault is it? Chris Paul