As I wrote after Game 6, I thought Artest and Odom were the keys for the Lakers. Well, Odom was largely invisible, but Artest shined with his best overall game of the series. With Kobe being double-teamed and forcing shots, and Gasol struggling at time on the offensive end, Artest delivered 20 points. He also added 5 steals, and played the best defense against Paul Pierce he'd played in the seven games. He played like the Artest of old.
Gasol, though sometimes shaky on the offensive end and playing a little matador defense on KG, rebounded like a man possessed. Eighteen boards, including 9 offensive.
Kobe played poorly. If the Celtics had won this game, he should have shouldered much of the blame. While getting double-teamed, he forced up too many bad shots. He did rebound well (15), but this was not his game.
KG is a shadow of the old KG monster. In a game without Kendrick Perkins, he had three rebounds. Three? This guy average double digit rebounds for ten straight seasons. He couldn't manage a big rebounding game for an NBA title?
Ray Allen didn't lose the game (it's more complicated than that), but 3-14 shooting is unbelievable. His defense on Kobe was very good in this series, but after game 2, his shooting touch disappeared, and that will haunt this team for a long time.
Rajon Rondo is awesome. His playoff line: 16-6-9. His Finals line: 13-6-8. When the Celtics run, they are nearly unstoppable. I think, with the right cast, Boston could be a contender for a long time with Rondo at the helm.
Doc Rivers is a good coach, but not a great one. Jeff Van Gundy had it right: Artest had proved during this series that Pierce could not go iso, but Rivers let Pierce do that too often. They needed more pick and rolls, more movement for Pierce off screens to get open looks from Artest's suffocating D. Artest was too good.
The officiating did not lose the Celtics this series, but it did get frustrating that Pierce shot 8 free throws in the final three games, while Kobe shot 31. The discrepancy is too much. Pierce drives a little less, but I've never seen anyone get so many calls on three point shots since Reggie Miller, and not one but Dwyane Wade gets as many calls going to the hoop.
I'm tired of floppers and whiners, and both teams provided shining moments of this annoying behavior. Just stop it, Rasheed, Pau, Fisher, Duncan, everyone! You occasionally do commit fouls and you sometimes tip the ball out of bounds. Shut it!
Finally, I would say congrats to the Lakers, but I wouln't mean it, so I won't.
No comments:
Post a Comment