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Adam Sweeney's Recap of Game 1
A single play. That is all it took to have Celtic Fans go from euphoric to deflated, and that is precisely what happened when Kendrick Perkins fell onto Paul Pierce’s leg. The NBA Finals, for all its hype, seemed to turn from a resurrection of the golden age of basketball into what would be known as the Boston Massacre. The great games between the Lakers and Celtics would be relegated to ESPN Classic. (And lord knows we have seen enough Magic and Bird highlights this week. Watching a replay of the 80s unfortunately gives us enough short shorts action to qualify us for credit in a male anatomy class)
Then a funny thing happened. A minute and a half later Paul Pierce, the man who was the target of so many critics in his career, decided to play the part of Superman for a night. As he walked out of the locker room tunnel it was clear that the Boston fans were seeing a miracle, and the Laker Lex Luthors surely felt defeated for that moment. Had Pierce simply come back and done his best mannequin, or Robert Horry, impersonation analysts still would have applauded him for his guts. (Can we stop the Horry belongs in the Hall of Fame talk, by the way?) Instead, Pierce went off for 15 points in the third quarter on 5 for 5 shooting, in comparison to Kobe’s 12 in a 5 for 10 third quarter effort, and saved the game for Boston.
“Everybody was rejuvenated,” Kevin Garnett said afterwards, and how could they not be? As great as KG and Jesus Shuttlesworth are, and Ray Allen definitely deserves credit for finding his shot again, the fact is that Paul Pierce is the Celtics’ main man. His presence and newly found intensity, fueled by dribble penetration and confidence in his shot that takes us back to the days of Antione Walker (when he used to know how to shoot) are what won Game 1 for the boys in green. His heroics in the game will certainly be remembered for years to come, but there were other reasons the Lakers fell on Thursday.
For all of the Celtics success it is important to remember that the Lake Show had weathered the opening game homecourt intensity of Boston, and for all purposes looked poised to steal Game 1. But they had a few kinks in their armor.
One, Kobe Bryant was not Kobe Bryant. A 9 for 26 shooting night is certainly not what the Mamba had envisioned, the missed shots a case of missed bunnies as he explained it. This is to the credit of Boston’s d, a combo of Ray Allen (who has kept Kobe to a 33 percent shooting percentage in their last three encounters) and James Posey, easily one of the top four defenders on Boston.
Second, the defensive abilitiy of L.A. is far inferior to the Pistons team that Boston had fought against a series before. Is it me or did Pau Gasol look like he was competing in a Pop and Lock Robot contest on defense? I can’t recall a time that Garnett has ever looked so fluid, and in the 4th quarter he offered a dunk over Gasol that may very well land Gasol on posters and trading cards everywhere. (Although it will be a closeup of his mug placed in Garnett’s crotch as KG hangs on the rim.) Finally.
Finally, and perhaps this was to be expected, Boston had a dominant night on the boards, picking up 46 to L.A.’s 33. Much of the Lakers’ success comes from getting second chance offensive opportunities, something they weren’t able to do in Game 1. With Kobe unable to hit on the first shot it created fast break chances for Boston, ones in which E.T., make that Sam Cassell, was able to take advantage of. Cassell looked far more comfortable matching up against Derek Fisher instead of Detroit’s Lindsey Hunter. And Rajon Rondo did what Rondo does best, showing flairs of brilliance along with boneheaded moments that that made you wonder how he would even make a developmental league squad. Such is the life of a young point guard, they can’t all be Chris Pauls.
Looking to Game 2 we can expect a much better effort from the Lakers, a team that has an uncommon resiliency. If there is one thing Kobe thrives on it is pressure, and there is no question that the Lakers can not afford to go into L.A. down two games. The question is if Kobe will start to abandon the triangle offense and take matters into his own hands. There were moments where Bryant looked frustrated, yelling at teammates. If this continues then the Lakers are in trouble. Also, Pau Gasol and company must do their part to even the score in the battle of the boards.
The hurt ankle of Kendrick Perkins leaves a big gap in the rebounding ability of the Celtics. Perkins has played like a man possessed, particularly in the Eastern Conference Finals, and he offers a physical style of play that the finesse Lakers hate. The most critical question, however, lies in the knee of Paul Pierce. Playing on adrenaline is one thing, but now that Pierce has had time off the court it will be compelling to see how much he can do in the rest of the series. A strained meniscus was the initial diagnosis, which implies ligament damage. Anyone who has suffered a knee injury can tell you that Pierce will be dealing with significant swelling and pain running through his knee. It will limit his ability to jump and have any lateral quickness. How much it will limit him is the question. While we saw the resurrection of Willis Reed for a night, it may very well be an instance where the superhero wins the battle but loses the war. A single play is what may very well determine the fate of the NBA Finals.
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Cory Elfrink's Recap
Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals did not disappoint. The game was close throughout and the home team’s captain was heroic. In the end the Celtics proved to be the better team.
Paul Pierce took over in the second half despite tweaking his knee midway thru the third. The captain was carried to the bench by his teammates and subsequently sent to the locker room to diagnose the damage. Not long afterwards, he returned to the loudest cheers of the night.
In that decisive third quarter he poured in eight points during the opening minute finished the period hitting back-to-back threes to put the Celtics ahead by five. Pierce finished the game with 22 points. His knee will no doubt be stiff throughout the weekend.
Kobe Bryant, the NBA’s leading playoff scorer, made a variety of impressive shots from fades into the corner to turnaround jumpers from the elbow. His emphatic finish on Derek Fisher’s alley-oop pass will be seen repeatedly throughout the weekend. Still, he finished just 9 of 26 for 24 points.
As expected the Celtics dominated the boards and it proved the difference in Game 1. Led by Kevin Garnett’s 13, the Celtics pulled down 46 rebounds to L.A.’s 33. Ten of the Celtics rebounds came on the offensive end.
The Big Ticket set the tone for the home team. He shot 8-11 from the field in the first half and played first class defense. However, KG went cold as the game neared its end. At one point he had missed nine shots in a row before an emphatic put back with a minute and a half left served as the proverbial dagger to the heart of the Lakers.
Boston head coach Doc Rivers wasted no time attacking Vladimir Radmanovic and Sasha Vujacic. Ray Allen posted five points against Vujacic on his first three defensive possessions. Radmanovic was in foul trouble all night as he proved too slow to keep up with Boston’s front line.
The Celtics bench was a major factor in the victory. P.J. Brown played clutch minutes and pulled down a number of big rebounds. Sam Cassell, Leon Powe, and James Posey all were effective with their minutes.
Rajon Rondo came out willing to shoot and that helped the Celtic’s offense dramatically. The Lakers were still willing to use his man to double-team Pierce and Garnett regularly.
It was Cassell, not Eddie House, who was called upon to back up the young point guard. Cassell hit three tightly contested shots in the first half and proved to be the boost off of the bench that Danny Ainge expected whenever he signed him in March. He drew a key charge on Kobe and also was enough of a decoy to draw the all-defensive first teamer’s attention on a number of possessions in the first half. However, he did take a number of questionable shots and one could dispute that Doc Rivers left him in the game too long.
The game took a turn for the Celtics with ten minutes left in the fourth. What looked like a certain backcourt call against the Celtics, was saved by a leaping Garnett and converted into a twenty-foot jumper by Sam Cassell. The Lakers next two possessions resulted in turnovers (steals by Garnett and Posey) and Posey hit one of the biggest shots of the night – a three pointer assisted by the Big Ticket.
Derek Fisher showed why he is one of the all-time best finishers in the NBA Finals. He generated 15 points on only nine shots, many of them to keep L.A. within reach.
Of the three different defenders (Pierce, Allen and Posey) to guard Kobe, Posey stood out. He had two steals from the MVP and his long arms were enough to keep Bryant from catching fire.
The Lakers were effective most of the game using the pick-and-roll with Gasol He proved a capable ball-handler and Boston let him slip open too often. Look for Phil Jackson to expand this element of the Lakers offense throughout the series.
Something else to keep an eye on for the remainder of the series is the ankle sprain of Kendrick Perkins. He left in the third quarter and was held to just 23 minutes and one field goal attempt.
Finally, the Celtics were able to hold the Lakers to just three of fourteen behind the arc showing why their perimeter defense ranked first in the league.
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