I often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and
bloggers
are saying about the Celtics after playing the Celtics. Here's a dose
of 'enemy chatter' from Los Angeles.
The final period was neck-and-neck until those fateful last few minutes.
That's when the Laker offense bogged down in Kobe isolation play – what
happened to those beautiful pick and rolls? – while Rondo cranked his
game up a few notches. Over the final nine possessions he came up with a
block, a steal, six points and a crucial offensive rebound. Down the
stretch, he was the best player on the floor.
What's a bit more hard to stomach was an out-of-bounds call that awarded
possession to Boston with 1:59 to play and the Lakers down three.
Replays showed unambiguously that Garnett last touched the ball, but the
refs failed to reverse the initial call despite consulting those
exact replays.
I honestly have no idea what they thought they were
seeing. Would getting that call right have changed the outcome of the
game? Maybe, maybe not. Rondo finished that possession with a made
20-foot jumper that stretched the lead to five. That's a significant
difference with so little time on the clock. On the other hand, the
Laker offense was truly a hot, nasty mess in those final minutes. It's
very possible they'd have botched things anyway.
were just having their way on the inside. Doing their damage on only 20
FGA’s (and a combined 20-25 from the FT line), the Lakers bigs were the
rock that needed to be leaned on more in this contest than they were,
but instead were relatively forgotten men in the closing minutes where
their presence and production really could have made a difference. I
wish I had an answer on why this occurred, but alas I do not.
received the brunt of the calls guarding the the Celtics guard. Shannon
Brown, left to take over with Fisher and Bryant in foul trouble,
continuously left Allen all the space he needed to hit those quick
shots. As much energy as Brown provides for the Lakers when he enters
the game, his lack of decision-making acumen on both sides of the court
leave much to be desired.
After watching the replay of the Gasol/KG out-of-bounds play, I thought for sure LA was gaining possession. The decision only makes sense if the replay was deemed inconclusive.
Coming off a game with questionable officiating, I expected a ton of excuses and bitching from the Lakers bloggers. Not the case, at all. They did a great job analyzing the game.
For those interested in idiotic and immature commentary, we turn to LA Times columnist TJ Simers.
They waited until after Game 2 before e-mailing their obscenities and
asking, "What do you have to say about Boston now?"
A more confident lot would have e-mailed before the game, but no doubt
they didn't think this was possible.
Goes to show you Celtics fans aren't all that swift either, forgetting
the NBA motto "where amazing happens," as if there was any way the NBA
wasn't going to fix things and stretch this dream matchup out as long as
possible.
….
Now Boston probably thinks it has a chance, forgetting for a moment that
Kevin Garnett is averaging four rebounds a game and will be two
days older the next time the Celtics play the Lakers.
LA Times – Celtics fans are delusional
I'd expect to find this type of nonsense in a Lakers forum, authored by some teenage fan, not by a professional who is PAID for his opinion.
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