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By C. Jake Williams. June 10, 2008
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The Game 2 diary didn't happen for a few reasons, most cripplingly the fact that I had to work during the last quarter and half of game time. Even with that inconvenience though, I probably could have eeked it out if a guest hadn't been watching the Food Network in the lobby.
I'm not allowed to kick her off the tele, unfortunately. Here are a few thoughts from what action I did see though...
Paul Pierce was not faking his hurt knee from Game 1, but he isn't injured either.
Pierce went down in a pile in the middle half of the first game in Boston and had to be carried off the court. Pierce obviously thought his series was over. He cried and screamed, but maybe these were mostly out of fear and frustration instead of pain and agony. We do know that Pierce heard a pop in his leg and had to be carried off the court.
We also know that he returned in the third quarter to hit back-to-back 3-pointers that broke the Lakers' backs. In Game 2, he did more of the same. He's turned into a set behind-the-arc shooter since the Big Scare, so something is obviously bothering him.
Still, he's a pretty lethal threat from 3-point range. The Lakers have to figure out how to stop Paul Pierce 2.0, who plays a lot like Ray Allen Jr.
Speaking of Allen, even though Boston squandered a 2o-plus point lead late in Game 2, I never felt the Celtics were in serious danger of losing the game. Worst case scenario, Allen was going to be called upon to hit some closing-minute free throws to secure the game for the greenies.
That didn't happen, of course, thanks in large part to Sasha Vujacic ignoring Kobe Bryant and taking a 3-pointer of his own with Pierces hand wrapped around the ball, but the game was one more Laker make from turning into an Allen charity stripe clinic.
Did anyone else catch Jeff Van Gundy hailing Phil Jackson as the 'greatest timeout taker in the league' during Game 1? Has there ever been another coach whose most famous coaching move is allowing his team to play through slumps, yet is known as a Legend? As my brother Shane says, "That's the opposite of coaching."
Anyways, Van Gundy outdid himself in Game 2. By logic which I cannot fathom, the former coach announced his belief that the NBA should abolish its rule that players can foul-out of games. We don't need to discuss this further, do we? No? No. Thanks.
Where has Kobe Bryant been during this series? Granted, Kobe lit the Celtics up during the fourth quarter of Game 2, but the other seven quarters have showcased Boston's defense keeping the MVP in check.
Kobe scored 24 and 30 points in the first two games, sure, but his team has only threatened to win for about 32 seconds so far. The defense has been dominant.
And the refs haven't exactly helped LA out. Whenever Leon Powe shoots more free throws during a game than the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers, I'm calling foul play. Yes the Lakers are settling for jumpers and threes (which, thanks to a hot streak, helped them threaten late in Game 2), and yes the refs are rewarding Boston for completely setting the pace of the action, but there's just no way you can believe the Lakers team doesn't deserve to get more freebies than Leon '90 percent of America doesn't know I exist' Powe. None.
At any rate, the Celtics are up 2-0 now as the series shifts to Los Angeles for three games. I don't believe the series will end in LA, and neither should you.
Expect Phil Jackson, who made press conference comments regarding the officiating discussed above, to receive a decent fine today from the league, but expect also that Kobe will get oodles of calls in the Staples Center. The Lakers might drop one game to the Celts at home (Game 4 being my guess) but I can't see two losses out of three.
On the other hand, don't discredit LA too much for losing two games in Boston. I can't stress enough that home wins do not decide a series; road wins do. The Lakers are one of the best home teams in the NBA and still have a chance to go into Boston next week up 3-2. Boston still has to steal a game on the road in order to avoid two elimination games at home.
I hate the 2-3-2 playoff format.
Game 3 tips off today at 7 p.m. MST.
On a less basketball note, I read Starship Troopers during the last two days. I've enjoyed the movie version for years and always wanted to give the novel a try. After Melissa bought it for me, I had no choice but to fulfill my desire to do so. Thanks Melissa, I loved all 279 pages.
You were there.