Tag: Pau Gasol (Page 2 of 11)

      The Finals, Game 7: With a little help from his friends…

      June 17, 2010 /

      Kobe Bryant played a miserable offensive game, going just 6-of-24 from the field, 0-for-6 from long range and turning the ball over four times. But the rest of the Lakers stepped up. Whether it was Pau Gasol’s travel layup with 1:30 to play, Ron Artest’s timely three-pointer with 1:00 remaining or Sasha Vujacic’s clutch free throws to seal the game with 0:11 to play, Kobe’s supporting cast came through when they needed to.

      Lakers win, 83-79.

      Kobe finished with 23-15-2, which looks pretty good until you realize that he missed 18 shots and forced some terrible attempts. Gasol added a gritty 19-18, and had nine of the Lakers’ TWENTY-THREE offensive rebounds. (The L.A. absolutely pounded the C’s on the glass, which was one area where Boston desperately missed Kendrick Perkins.) Artest had 20-5 and five steals. He wasn’t terribly efficient offensively, but he hit some important shots and bothered Paul Pierce into 5-of-15 shooting. Artest no longer has to live with the specter of Trevor Ariza circling his entire existence in Los Angeles. In his own weird way, he has truly become a Laker.

      For the Celtics, Kevin Garnet (17-3, four blocks) played well offensively (8-of-13), but he just didn’t get it done on the defensive glass. Rajon Rondo (14-8-10) had a very nice game, but wasn’t able to push the ball enough to take it over. Paul Pierce (18-10-2) and Ray Allen (13-2-2) combined to go a dreadful 8-of-29 from the field.

      It wasn’t a cleanly played Game 7, but it was tight the whole way and it was one of the best defensive Finals games I’ve ever seen. To put this in perspective, the Lakers shot 32.5% from the field and still won the game…and the title.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Kobe’s excellent third quarter goes to waste

      June 14, 2010 /

      The third period in Game 5 was the best offensive quarter of the night, with the two teams combining for 54 of the game’s 178 points (~30% of the game’s points). The first half of the third quarter was particularly entertaining, as Kobe scored an astounding 17 points in six minutes. He added two free throws with 4:52 to play, so until Pau Gasol’s bucket with 2:15 to play in the period, Kobe was the only Laker to score.

      While this tremendous run kept the Lakers in the game, it took Kobe’s teammates out of the flow of the offense. It’s tough for a team to find an offensive rhythm when one guy shoots every time down the floor.

      For their part, the Celtics withstood Bryant’s onslaught by scoring 19 points of their own in the first six minutes of the period. Here’s how the scoring broke down: Paul Pierce (9), Kevin Garnett (4), Ray Allen (2), Rajon Rondo (2) and Kendrick Perkins (2).

      So in total, there were 36 points scored in the first half of the third quarter. To put this into perspective, if the two teams had played at that pace the entire game, the final score would have been 152-136.

      Kobe was en fuego, but he was visibly frustrated about the fact that the Lakers couldn’t get a stop. It doesn’t do much good to be on fire if the other team is on fire as well.

      The series moves back to L.A. for Game 6 on Tuesday, which is a quick turnaround for the older Celtics. How will the 30+ crowd react to the cross country flight and just one day’s rest? The last time the two teams traveled like this, the Lakers looked fresher and won Game 3 in Boston.

      My prediction? I think the younger Lakers regroup in Game 6 and even the series at 3-3. In a deciding Game 7 in L.A., I have to go with the Lakers, even though I’m (grudgingly) rooting for the C’s.

      The key is Ray Allen — since hitting eight of his first nine threes in Game 2, he has gone 0-for-18 from 3PT. For a career 39.6% three-point shooter, that streak is pretty astounding. The Celtics are going to need him to find his touch if they hope to close out the series in L.A.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals

      The Finals, Game 5: Celtics up 3-2 heading back to L.A.

      June 13, 2010 /

      Here’s where the 2-3-2 format in The Finals gets really interesting. With a 92-86 win in Game 5 behind a big 27-point effort from Paul Pierce, the Celtics are in position to close out the Lakers, but they’ll have to do it at the Staples Center.

      Pierce was amazing offensively, hitting 12-of-21 shots from the field, which mostly offset Kobe Bryant’s 38 points. The Lakers only had one other player in double figures (Pau Gasol, 12-12), and Kobe grew visibly frustrated as the fourth quarter wore on.

      Along with Pierce, Rajon Rondo (18-8-5) controlled this game for Boston. He made four huge plays late in the game, including two steals (though curiously, he was only credited for one in the game), a timely tip-in on an offensive rebound and a very nice catch and layup on a late pass from Pierce. Kevin Garnett (18-10-3) and Ray Allen (12-3-2) also played well for the Celtics.

      Heading back to L.A. it will be interesting to see if the Lakers can turn things around. So much momentum swings with one game, and now that the Celtics have won three of the last four, the Lakers will be feeling the pressure. If they can rally together and win Game 6, they’ll regain control of the series.

      A couple of other random thoughts from the game:

      – Jeff Van Gundy had a great line about Derek Fisher’s propensity to flop. Mike Breen said that Fisher did a nice job of selling the call. Van Gundy responded, “If I never hear ‘selling’ and ‘basketball game’ together again, I’ll be happy.”

      Breen: “Veterans know how to sell.”

      Van Gundy: “How do you fool…these guys have all refereed this guy for 14 years. They know every time he goes up it looks like there’s sniper fire in the building.”

      Classic.

      – There was a weird sequence between Pierce and Rondo at the end of the first half. The Celtics were running the clock down and Pierce felt that Rondo “looked him off.” As Rondo started to penetrate into the lane (and looked to pass the ball to Pierce again), Pierce was already walking towards the Celtics’ bench in frustration, wiping his hand away at Rondo in dismissal. When asked about it moments later by Doris Burke, Pierce said he wasn’t upset when it was very obvious that he was.

      That play was the opposite of ubuntu. What if the Celtics had lost by one point and that play could have made the difference between Boston winning and losing? Why is Pierce pouting about not getting the ball on a play like that?


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals

      The Finals, Game 4: The C’s bounce back

      June 10, 2010 /

      Celtics 96, Lakers 89

      I have to hand it to Doc Rivers. How many coaches would have had the balls to play a lineup that included Nate Robinson, Tony Allen, Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis deep into the fourth quarter of a tight, must-win game against the Lakers? Ray Allen was the fifth Celtic on the floor, and at times he looked a little like Kelly Leak playing with the Bad News Bears.

      That group started the fourth quarter, trailing 62-60, and slowly but surely built an 85-74 lead with 3:57 to play. There were points that Rivers sent Garnett/Pierce/Rondo to the scorer’s table only to pull them back to the bench after the aforementioned fivesome made a nice play to continue its run. This is not something we see often in the NBA because most coaches are afraid of their stars, but these Celtics don’t mind riding the wave with the bench when they are outplaying the other team’s starters. Ubuntu.

      When Garnett/Pierce/Rondo did re-enter the game, Mark Jackson was concerned about their readiness to shoot when open, but these guys are pros (not to mention champions), and they answered the call. Well, Paul Pierce (19-6-5) answered the call. He scored five quick points, including a very suspect three-point play where he drew a block on Kobe. It looked as if Kobe got his feet set outside of the circle before Pierce left his feet, but the call went Pierce’s way. That’s why there’s such a thing as home court advantage.

      With their backs to the wall, the C’s did what they needed to do in Game 4. Now they have to prevail in another must-win game to put the pressure back on the Lakers as the series heads back to L.A.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals, News

      The Finals, Game 2: We have a series.

      June 6, 2010 /

      The Lakers withstood a lights-out shooting clinic by Ray Allen in the first half (7-for-7 from long range) and only trailed by six at halftime. They actually led by three with 5:20 to play, but the Celtics rattled off 11 straight points to take an eight-point lead with just 1:12 to play. They went on to win, 103-94.

      The Boston backcourt was the key to the game. Rajon Rondo posted his fifth career playoff triple-double (19-12-10) and Ray Allen poured in 32 points on 8-of-11 shooting from long range. Nate Robinson also came off the bench to score seven points in a crucial six-minute stretch early in the fourth quarter. His play gave Doc Rivers an opportunity to rest a winded Rondo, which made him fresh for the stretch run (where he made several key plays to win the game).

      Kevin Garnett (6-4-6) didn’t play very well but had a few nice assists in the second half. Likewise, Paul Pierce went 2-of-11 and scored just 10 points. In the pregame, Mark Jackson stressed that the C’s had to outplay the Lakers at the forward positions, but it was the Boston guards who decided the game. When the Celtics were able to get stops, they were really pushing the ball via Rondo, and that led to open shots.

      Kobe finished with 21-5-6 but shot just 8-of-20 from the field and was saddled with foul trouble the entire game. His fifth foul, a charge drawn by Glen Davis, was a bad call. Davis was not even close to set when Kobe was in the air. The announcers get so caught up at looking to see if the feet are outside of the restricted area that they ignore the fact that the player’s feet are still moving.

      Pau Gasol (25-8, six blocks) had another nice game and was incredibly efficient, scoring all of those points on just 10 shots. There was some media-created controversy over some comments he made about how both he and Garnett have lost a step, but Gasol clearly got the better of KG again tonight. Andrew Bynum posted 21-6 and had seven blocks, so how did the Lakers lose?

      Well, Ron Artest shot 1-10 from the field and had a couple of bad plays down the stretch, including a terrible post feed that rolled out of bounds and a possession where he dribbled the ball around and forced up a double-clutch three-pointer. He did play good defense on Pierce, however. Lamar Odom was a no-show, scoring just three points in 15 minutes. He finished with five fouls and Bynum’s fine play kept him on the bench.

      You have to hand it to the Celtics. The chips were down and their backs were up against the proverbial wall, and they pulled out a much needed win. Now the series heads back to Boston for Game 3 on Tuesday, and I’m a little worried about how the Celtics’ old bones are going to deal with the cross country flight and quick turnaround.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals, News

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑