Kobe Bryant went 9 for 26 from the field on Thursday night, 0 for 3 from behind the arch an only attempted 6 free throws. And Los Angeles was still within striking distance with two minutes to play in the fourth. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol chipped in with combined for only 29 points while Paul Pierce and Ray Allen bunched up for 41. Clearly the difference in the game when you only lose by eight points.
Its clear that Pau Gasol cannot phase Kevin Garnett, so he will have to put up the bigger numbers on the of offensive end. The key to that will be to run. The last two opponents were half court offenses that would prefer to grind out each possession as does Boston, but if L.A. can get into transition which will involve them having to get stops and de defensive rebounds, they should fare well against the best "half-court" de defensive team in the league.
Bottom line, if L.A. can knock down a few more baskets they will win. If they can get two players in double figures in point and at least one player with double figure rebounds they will win. And last but not least if Kobe does his usual and morphs into the "Black Mamba" or "The Closer" in the fourth, Boston is in big trouble. One loss on the road, the Lakers are not in any kind of trouble that a win in game two cant fix. Boston didn't hold L.A. to 88 points, L.A. just didn't step up to the plate when they needed to in the final few minutes. If i were Boston fan i wouldn't get too excited, this will be a long series.
comments (3) write a comment »
write a new comment
4 months ago
What the fuck you guys are talking about. Lakers is ma team they betta win. Boston is good because they have the money. They bought bunch of skillful players and stars. Boston is like an all star team. But LAkers is a real team. It's all about Kobe Bryant.
4 months ago
I totally agree with you. Everyone is praising Boston's defense in the second half when they limited the Lakers to only 37 points and 33% from the field. However, the Lakers just missed a lot of shots they usually make. Kobe had several shots rim out, Odom was in foul trouble and the bench had an off game. On Sunday, they will be more relaxed as only Kobe and Fisher have played meaningful minutes in the Finals before.
4 months ago
my point exactly. if L.A. shoots anywhere close to 50 percent Boston is in trouble!
write a new comment