Lakers-Celtics: News, Notes, and Observations from Game Two

Game 2 of the NBA Finals is in the books. It almost turned into the kind of game that makes you never forget where you were or who you were with, but the Lakers came up short.

The Lakers now have to win four out of five games in order to win the series and they have no chance of winning the series in Los Angeles. It definitely sounds like an insurmountable task, but it's possible.

1) Free throws

The Celtics out-shot the Lakers from the charity stripe 38-10. Even though there were many overlooked fouls against the Celtics, the referees were not the reason for the huge disparity.

The Celtics shot 28 more free throws than the Lakers because they played a much more aggressive game. They frustrated the Lakers into settling for jump shots instead of taking the ball into the paint. The Celtics also missed 11 free throws, so the Lakers can't blame the refs for this one.

2) Fouls

On a related note, the Lakers got into early foul trouble for the second game in a row.

I don't know if this was a conscious attempt by the Celtics, or just bad rotations by the Lakers. It's changing the way the Lakers are playing defense. When the Lakers weren't in early foul trouble, they were able to play aggressively and managed to get two big steals that turned into baskets.

3) Assists

The other major disparity in the box score was in the assist column. The Celtics had 31 assists on 36 field goals. That's amazing.

The Lakers countered with 20 assists on 41 field goals. The Celtics beat the Lakers at their own game. They were the team that rotated the ball and found the open man. The Lakers looked like a team that was stagnant and old.

4) Leon Powe(r)

Leon Powe scored 21 points in 15 minutes. Normally, the Lakers would be fine holding Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen to 62 combined points. But when Leon Powe scores 21 of the bench's 35 points, that negates the positives that come with preventing two of the big three from scoring 20 points.

It's cool to hold the big three to 62. It's not cool to hold the big four 83 points.

When Kendrick Perkins got into foul trouble in Game 1, I had a feeling that it would help the Celtics. As good as Perkins has been in this postseason, you'd much rather face the unproven youngster than a savvy veteran, like P.J. Brown.

It happened again in Game 2. This time it was Powe. The Lakers should try to keep Perkins out of foul trouble in Game 3

5) Rajon Rondo

What can I say about the Celtics' sophomore point guard other than the fact that he was amazing tonight? Sixteen assists to only two turnovers is as great as you can expect if you're a Celtics fan.

The Lakers tried to make Rondo a scorer in the first game. Rondo wouldn't fall into the trap in Game 2. He used his speed to drive and kick and it worked to perfection. Kudos to him.

6) Forget the Fourth Quarter

In my column about Game 1, I wrote that even though the scoreboard said the Celtics won by 10, it was more like a six point win. Today's game was a six point win that was more like a twenty-point victory.

If I'm the Lakers, I watch every quarter except the fourth. They can't expect to make seven three-pointers a quarter in the next game. If they focus too much on the fourth quarter they'll have a false sense of security in Game 3.

The Lakers transition offense has been nonexistent, for the most part. The only way to get your transition offense going is to make plays on defense. If you're going to allow the Celtics to get easy layups and dunks or timely offensive rebounds, you'll never find your rhythm in transition offense.

7) What half-court offense?

The Lakers half-court offense has been atrocious. They're settling for way too many jump shots and forgetting to run the triangle. They had 11 offensive rebounds and only a couple seemed like hustle boards.

The rest just seemed like lucky bounces. It's incredible that they outscored the Celtics in the paint. It seemed like every trip inside the paint resulted in a bricked lay-up or a blocked shot.

8) The Third Quarter

I hate to keep harping on this, but it seems like today was the first time the announcers brought up the Celtics third quarter domination. If you add up the four games between the two teams this season, the Celtics have outscored the Lakers 120-93 in the third quarter. Tonight's game was no different. The Celtics outscored them 29-19 in the third quarter.

9) Vlade Bad-man-ovic

Even though Radmanovic scored a couple big baskets down the stretch, at what point does Phil Jackson realize that having someone who can better defend Paul Pierce is much more valuable to the Lakers at this juncture than whatever spacing Radmanovic's shooting ability gives them?

The Lakers best lineup seems to be when Kobe plays the small forward position and Sasha Vujacic plays the two. He shouldn't play as many minutes as he did, especially when his shot isn't falling.

10) Lamar Odom is the key for the Lakers

The Lakers don't really have anyone outside of Kobe that can take the ball from the perimeter and drive into the paint.

Sure, Jordan Farmar has the ability to penetrate, but he won't determine whether or not the Lakers win a game. Lamar Odom has to penetrate. Perhaps it's because of the foul trouble he's found himself in in the first two games that explains his lack of aggression in the series. Unless Lamar can find a way to get into the paint and either make easy buckets or find the open man, there might only be one team returning to Boston next week.