Tag: 2010 NBA Playoffs (Page 4 of 32)

      The Finals, Game 3: The Lakers regain control

      June 8, 2010 /

      Check out Ray Allen’s line from each of the last two games:

      Game 2: 11-20 (8-11 3PT), 32 points, Celtics win, 103-94
      Game 3: 0-13 (0-8 3PT), 2 points, Celtics lose, 91-84

      I wondered how the Celtics would handle the long flight and quick turnaround from Game 2 to Game 3 and it appears that Allen didn’t handle it well. Kevin Garnett kept Boston in it, hitting 11-of-16 shots for 25 points and six boards in what was easily his best game of the series. Generally speaking, the Celtics played well enough to win, but they had trouble scoring largely due to Allen’s struggles from the field. However, he did play good defense on Kobe Bryant (29-7-4 on 29 shots), but it still wasn’t enough.

      The reason the Lakers won was Derek Fisher’s excellent fourth quarter. He went 5-of-7 from the field for 11 points in the period. In essence, he gave the Lakers what Kobe usually gives them in the fourth quarter.

      In Finals history, ten series have been tied 1-1 after the first two games and the team that won Game 3 went on to win all 10 series. That, coupled with Phil Jackson’s amazing record in series where his team wins the first game, would seem to make the Celtics big underdogs. They absolutely have to win the next two games and hope that they can steal another game in L.A.


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      The Finals: Lakers look sharp in Game 1

      June 4, 2010 /

      You know it’s not much of a game when Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy are talking about Scrabble with 4:45 to play in the fourth quarter, and that’s exactly what happened on Thursday night.

      If there were any lingering concerns about the Lakers’ toughness or focus, they were answered (at least for now) in Game 1. LA outrebounded Boston, 42-31, and looked every bit as determined as the Celtics an a decisive 102-89 win to open the series.

      Kobe Bryant was brilliant (30-7-6, 10-of-22 from the field) and Pau Gasol (23-14, 8-of-14) was the second best player on the floor. When those two guys are really going, the Lakers are tough to beat. Ron Artest (15-4) and Andrew Bynum (10-6) were the other Lakers to finish in double figures.

      Paul Pierce (24-9-4) finished with a good line, but did a lot of damage in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided. Ray Allen (12 points) was saddled with foul trouble the entire game — he has enough trouble guarding Kobe without the refs calling ticky-tack fouls like they did Thursday night — and he could never get into rhythm. Rajon Rondo (13-6-8) played pretty well, but he needs to control the game if the C’s are going to have a chance in the series.

      Lastly, the lack of lift in Kevin Garnett’s knees was very noticeable tonight. There were a couple of plays in the third and fourth quarters when the Celtics were trying to make a run where he missed a couple of bunnies right at the rim. Boston wouldn’t have its defense set, so the Lakers would go down and score, essentially making it a four-point swing. Two or three of those and you’re talking 8-12 points, the difference in the game. KG has played well in these playoffs, but he’s going to need a spring in his step if he’s going to get over the length of the Lakers down low.

      Game 2 will tell us whether or not the Celtics will make this a series. I mentioned in my Finals preview that the C’s needed to win one of the first two games to have a realistic shot at winning the series and they didn’t look very good on Thursday night after plenty of rest. They won’t play again until Sunday, so fatigue shouldn’t be a concern, but the two-day-plus-travel turnarounds between Game 2 and Game 3 and between Game 5 and Game 6 are going to take their toll on the Celtics’ old bones.


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      How will the Lakers defend Rajon Rondo?

      June 3, 2010 /

      Look for the Lakers to use Kobe Bryant extensively on Rondo, or so says Basketball Prospectus:

      There’s been some debate in the last few days about whether the Lakers will deploy Bryant or point guard Derek Fisher to defend Rondo, but to me it’s not even a question. I suspect Jackson was being coy when he told reporters that Bryant would spend some time defending Rondo. Other than the second head-to-head meeting during this year’s regular season, when Bryant was injured, the Lakers have used the same strategy against Rondo the last two years. The belief in backing off Rondo is so strong that Minnesota’s Kurt Rambis, a former Lakers assistant, even employed a similar philosophy when the Timberwolves faced the Celtics this season.

      Here’s the funny thing about Rondo’s rapid development over the last two seasons: It has little to do with his shooting. According to Hoopdata.com, Rondo shot 43.0 percent on long two attempts in 2007-08, which is actually pretty good. This year, that percentage plummeted to 33.0 percent. Yes, Rondo is now a tiny bit of a threat from downtown, but really what has happened is that Rondo has learned how to work around his weakness and get into the paint anyway, creating shots for teammates and boosting his assist rate.

      We certainly saw that in the game between these two teams at the TD Garden this season. Rondo was 1-of-5 on long twos, but he still shot 9-of-16 from the field and dished 12 assists thanks to his ability to get into the paint. Transition will be big for Rondo in this series, since he can create easy shots in the early offense when the Lakers haven’t yet had a chance to wall off the basket. He can also take advantage of switches that put slower defenders on him on the perimeter.

      I’m not sure that Jackson and company will make a switch defensively, because the way they’ve defended Rondo brings other benefits–as Gary Collard pointed out on Twitter, Bryant doesn’t have to chase Ray Allen through screens this way, and his ability to give help can be disruptive to the rest of the Boston offense. Still, don’t expect the strategy of backing off Rondo to be nearly as effective as it was in 2008.

      Rondo has a way of making teams pay for playing off of him on the perimeter. His jumper is shaky, but when his defender is off of him, it’s very difficult to box him out, which is why he’s so good at retrieving long offensive rebounds. Playing off of Rondo also allows him to get into the paint with relative ease, which puts pressure on the defense and opens up passing lanes to open shooters or to guys cutting to the basket.

      With the “Big 3” all two years older, the onus for the Celtics is on Rondo. If he has a great (Finals MVP-type) series, the Celtics have a good chance of winning their second title in three years.


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      Your quick & dirty NBA Finals preview

      June 2, 2010 /

      WORKING IN THE LAKERS’ FAVOR

      The “Big 3” are two years older. (So is Kobe, but he doesn’t look it.)
      Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are 34, and Paul Pierce is 32. They’re not over the hill, but they aren’t spring chickens, either. The way that the schedule is set up, Game 2 is on Sunday and then both teams will have to fly to Boston on Monday for Game 3 on Tuesday. There is also just one day of rest between Game 5 and Game 6. These are going to be tough turnarounds for the 30+ crowd. In terms of play, KG is playing as good as he has in the last two seasons, but he’s still not in ’08 form. After a substandard regular season, Ray Allen has played well in the playoffs. Only Paul Pierce is playing at nearly the same level as in 2008.

      The Lakers have home court advantage.
      Last time around, the first two games were in Boston. This time, the series starts in L.A., where the Lakers were 34-7 on the season and 8-0 in the playoffs.

      They’re starting Ron Artest at SF instead of Vladimir Radmanovic and Luke Walton.
      Artest may be a little crazy, but he definitely makes this Laker lineup tougher. Radmanovic, Walton and Sasha Vujacic got major minutes in ’08, but are now either gone or relegated to spot duty. We can debate Ron Artest vs. Trevor Ariza all we want, but there’s no doubt that Artest is an upgrade over the Radmanovic/Walton combo that faced the Celtics two years ago. He’ll also make Paul Pierce work for his points, which will allow Kobe to worry about Ray Allen.

      They want revenge.
      The Lakers were embarrassed after losing Game 6 by 39 points. Their win over the Magic last year was nice, but if they had any heart, they wanted to face the Celtics again. A win over Boston would squash any talk about how the C’s would have had a dynasty had Kevin Garnett stayed healthy.

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