NBA FINALS GAME 3 RECAP:
Stud of the Night: Kobe Bryant. 36 points, including 10 points in the fourth quarter, and his Lakers are back in this Finals series down 2-1.
The Lakers should NOT feel comfortable with this win tonight. They play awesome in the first half, Kobe tore it up, but Boston had a big third quarter and had the lead for some time, but Kobe, realizing it’s his team, once again brought the Lakers back to victory. Sasha Vujacic had a good night as well, finishing with 20 points, and Pau Gasol hit some crucial shots down the stretch.
As I said before, for whatever it’s worth, when one of the Celtics Big 3 has a bad night, the team can’t recover. Paul Pierce had a rough night after having big games the first two games at home, KG hit some shots in the third quarter, and Ray Allen was on point all night. Eddie House provided somewhat of a spark off the bench.
Kobe missing 5 free throws in the first half was very uncharacteristic for him, as he is a good free throw shooter. You could tell he was frustrated about it.
Even though LA won tonight, Boston looks to be the better team so far this series.
Since I really did not expect Boston to win this game tonight, the only thing that could make me happier would’ve been if Boston had actually won.
This reminds me a great deal of Game 4 vs. Detroit. Boston played very poorly on offense, Kobe was off the hook, Vujacic had a career night, the refs darn near returned the favor from Game 2, KG and Pierce were largely MIA, the game was on the road where the Lakers are 9-0…
…and the Lakers won by six.
There’s still a lot of series left to play, but I’m beginning to suspect that, just like Detroit before them, the Lakers are going to have dig deeper and find a little something extra if they want to win the title.
Unlike Detroit, the Lakers actually have someone who just might do it, so Boston cannot rest on their laurels.
Still, after this game, I’m very optimistic that Boston can take at least one in LA before heading back home.
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
The Lakers should NOT feel comfortable with this win tonight. They play awesome in the first half, Kobe tore it up, but Boston had a big third quarter and had the lead for some time, but Kobe, realizing it’s his team, once again brought the Lakers back to victory. Sasha Vujacic had a good night as well, finishing with 20 points, and Pau Gasol hit some crucial shots down the stretch.
As I said before, for whatever it’s worth, when one of the Celtics Big 3 has a bad night, the team can’t recover. Paul Pierce had a rough night after having big games the first two games at home, KG hit some shots in the third quarter, and Ray Allen was on point all night. Eddie House provided somewhat of a spark off the bench.
Kobe missing 5 free throws in the first half was very uncharacteristic for him, as he is a good free throw shooter. You could tell he was frustrated about it.
Even though LA won tonight, Boston looks to be the better team so far this series.[/quote]
I’m going to have to disagree, to a degree. Boston struggles mightily offensively when two of their guys are out.
When only one of the three is firing, Boston can barely seem to get a shot off. They’re usually okay if two of the three are doing alright. Obviously, Boston is pretty tough to beat when all three of them are playing well and hitting their shots.
But tonight, Ray Allen was the only one with a pulse offensively.
It was eerily symmetrical though. Boston was missing production from KG and Pierce while LA was missing production from Odom and Gasol. Both teams were shooting miserably, but maintaining pretty solid defense, as well both teams had some awful turnovers.
Foul calls went in the Lakers favor for much of the first half, but balanced out a bit.
Something LA did really well was keeping Boston from shooting uncontested threes. With the exception of Ray Allen. They never let Boston get into a perimeter rhythm.
Ray Allen’s ability to launch a really quick three and connect is incredible and rivals Kobe’s ability to literally move through 3 defenders for an and-1.
Kobe shouldered the load tonight, and he was bailed out by a strong performance from Sasha. Kobe can’t win this series alone, he needs Odom and Gasol to produce.
I’m thinking, LA or Boston, this series will be over in 6.
lakers are still playing like shit, boston is the better team so far, yet they nearly lost it at home with 20+ lead in game two with like 5 min left and lost tonight with two of the lakers best players doing nothing. This series is just odd, Kg was doing offensive fouls all game though hopefully they start calling it.
Kobe was Kobe tonight and won the game for them, its not surprise though he can do that every night and has to really in order to contend if his team is not going to step up.
[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
I’m going to have to disagree, to a degree. Boston struggles mightily offensively when two of their guys are out.
When only one of the three is firing, Boston can barely seem to get a shot off. They’re usually okay if two of the three are doing alright. Obviously, Boston is pretty tough to beat when all three of them are playing well and hitting their shots.
But tonight, Ray Allen was the only one with a pulse offensively.[/quote]
KG had 13 on 6-21 shooting, Pierce had 6 on 2-14 shooting, so that’s why I said both struggled. Even though KG hit some clutch shots in the third when the Celtics made a push, he still had a bad shooting night, as did Pierce. Either way, Ray was the only one on point tonight.
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
tGunslinger wrote:
I’m going to have to disagree, to a degree. Boston struggles mightily offensively when two of their guys are out.
When only one of the three is firing, Boston can barely seem to get a shot off. They’re usually okay if two of the three are doing alright. Obviously, Boston is pretty tough to beat when all three of them are playing well and hitting their shots.
But tonight, Ray Allen was the only one with a pulse offensively.
KG had 13 on 6-21 shooting, Pierce had 6 on 2-14 shooting, so that’s why I said both struggled. Even though KG hit some clutch shots in the third when the Celtics made a push, he still had a bad shooting night, as did Pierce. Either way, Ray was the only one on point tonight.[/quote]
I agree. Above, you said that when one of Boston’s Big 3 had a bad night, the team can’t recover.
I was disagreeing, saying that two (not just one) of Boston’s Big 3 needs to struggle for Boston’s offense to really hit a bump. When two out of three are going, Boston’s offense is still solid. It was a small quibble.
I don’t disagree at all with the notion that KG and Pierce struggled offensively tonight. In fact, merely saying that they “struggled” is quite generous, in my opinion.
as celtic fan I would worry about the following: pierce looked injured, KG never goes to the post even when his jump shot isn’t falling, rondo hurt his ankle, celtics played great D on kobe and sasha-yet they still played huge- and doc rivers is a moron when the game is close.
As a laker fan I know that kobe will always be great, phil is a better coach, and odom and gasol are healthy and when they find their rythem will be huge. The bench is starting to play better also. We missed double digit free throws and two of best players were non existent yet still won pretty easily.
I’m sorry, the Celts are still getting away with murder, and the Lakers are still playing like shit. If the Lakers don’t pull their heads out of their asses, Boston is gonna win this thing.
[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
tGunslinger wrote:
I’m going to have to disagree, to a degree. Boston struggles mightily offensively when two of their guys are out.
When only one of the three is firing, Boston can barely seem to get a shot off. They’re usually okay if two of the three are doing alright. Obviously, Boston is pretty tough to beat when all three of them are playing well and hitting their shots.
But tonight, Ray Allen was the only one with a pulse offensively.
KG had 13 on 6-21 shooting, Pierce had 6 on 2-14 shooting, so that’s why I said both struggled. Even though KG hit some clutch shots in the third when the Celtics made a push, he still had a bad shooting night, as did Pierce. Either way, Ray was the only one on point tonight.
I agree. Above, you said that when one of Boston’s Big 3 had a bad night, the team can’t recover.
I was disagreeing, saying that two (not just one) of Boston’s Big 3 needs to struggle for Boston’s offense to really hit a bump. When two out of three are going, Boston’s offense is still solid. It was a small quibble.
I don’t disagree at all with the notion that KG and Pierce struggled offensively tonight. In fact, merely saying that they “struggled” is quite generous, in my opinion.
[/quote]
Ahhhhh I see where you’re coming from. I misread what you wrote the first time. But yeah, you’re right, I get what you’re saying.
My bad, hopefully no hard feelings, just a misread on my part.
[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
the refs darn near returned the favor from Game 2,[/quote]
I didn’t see the first half but in the second half it looked like if anybody was getting an edge it was the Celtics. A couple of plays got me a little ticked off. One where Kobe gets elbowed in the face by Pierce to get seperation, fights through an illegal screen, and then gets called for a foul for touching somebody’s shoulder. I mean, I thought it was a foul but he had just gotten fouled worse two times just before that. The other one that ticked me off was the Odom play at the end. I didn’t get to see a replay but it looked like a fould on the other guy…no idea how he got called for a foul. It didn’t end up mattering, though.
I get frustrated with Gasol, he gets great positioning but man he has weak hands. He needs to be more agressive in the low post and driving in the paint. I agree the Celts got away with more crap, Kobe’s 3rd technical and 4 more will see him exit the series. Sacha impresses me however he needs to learn patience at times.
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
Ahhhhh I see where you’re coming from. I misread what you wrote the first time. But yeah, you’re right, I get what you’re saying.
My bad, hopefully no hard feelings, just a misread on my part.[/quote]
No biggie. The internet isn’t always the most effective communication tool.
RAY ALLEN IS THE SHIZNIT!
Fuck L.A.
NBA FINALS RECAP GAME 4:
Stud of the Night: James Posey. 18 points off the bench, including four 3’s, and Posey was a nice compliment to the Big Three’s big performance tonight, and the Celtics are one win away from a 17th NBA championship.
FUCK
Its over that was the worst game I have ever watched.
This series is over
Only thing I have to look forward too is that we will have baynum next year, and a young team that is growing.
lakers will be back
Wow, what a game!!! Fantastic job by the Celtics tonight with a huge comeback, after being down 21 points at the end of the first quarter. The Lakers started looking shaky in the second half when the C’s went on a run, and the third quarter was all Celtics.
The Lakers made it interesting in the fourth quarter, but the Celtics knocked down crucial free throws at the end of the game to seal the deal.
Lamar Odom had a good first half, but basically did nothing the second half. Posey was HUGE off the bench with 18 points for the Celtics.
Where was the Lakers D on that Ray Allen drive to the basket at the end of the game? After Ray went past Sasha, it looked like Sasha slowed down intentionally and thought one of his guys would pick him up, but Ray went in untouched and hit the layup.
Even if the Lakers would have won, it wouldn’t have been a solid win, just like Game 3. Boston’s D is stifling, and even when the Lakers get some open looks, they aren’t knocking them down.
Lakers fans must be frustrated with the way their team is playing. They are a better team than what they are showing, but the Celtics are the better team so far this series.
T-Gun: looks like there will be no debate about who “struggled” because all three were on their games tonight.
[quote]shizen wrote:
FUCK
Its over that was the worst game I have ever watched.
This series is over
Only thing I have to look forward too is that we will have baynum next year, and a young team that is growing.
lakers will be back [/quote]
Kick rocks, shizen. HA HA HA HA HA HA.
This series is over. Great comeback by the Celtics. You could sense the shift late in the 2nd quarter, even though LA went back up by 18 at halftime.
Lakers were too stagnant in the 2nd half and Boston played really good D, especially Pierce.
Lakers may win Game 5 but this thing isn’t reaching a 7th game.