The Celtics Head to LA with a 2-0 Lead—Is it Over Already?

The Scene: Some football game I was watching a long time ago. The setup: Jerry Markbriet, veteran official, is getting ready to make a penalty call. He turns on the mike and is approached by a defensive lineman. The nation hears "He's holding me Jerry." Markbriet leaves the mike on and responds, "He is not, he's kicking your ass!"

That refrain rings familiar after last night's game two of the NBA Finals in Boston. After outplaying the Lakers for three quarters, the Celtics held on for a 108-102 victory last night, sending them to a 2-0 advantage in the NBA Finals. Paul Pierce was the star again with 28 points and stellar defensive play, and Rajon Rondo chipped in 16 assists on the offensive end. 

Despite a lot of criticism of the officiating by Lakers fans, the Celtics are outperforming the Lakers and the officials have had little or nothing to do with it. Granted, Boston won't have an almost four to one FT attempt advantage every night, but if the series continues to go the way it has, they won't need to.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have to be thinking, what's it going to take to get back into the series? In every phase of the game, they are getting dominated or barely holding their own.

Rebounding? The Celt's are beating them on the glass.

Bench? Forget about it. Powe, Brown, and Posey are completely outplaying Farmar and Walton.

Big Three? Boston's three are getting their jobs done; only two of the Lakers three have shown up.

Phil Jackson has his work cut out for him. Doc Rivers is one step ahead of him in making adjustments and has his role players believing in themselves. Jackson seems lost as to what buttons to push.

But in the fourth quarter last night, the offense seemed to finally figure out how to play against Doc's swarm of bodies, giving him a slim reed to grab hold of. He will need to do a much better job of finding favorable matchups for his guys to have a chance.

Last night's game was a microcosm of what LA is up against. Pierce gets his shot seemingly at will. Rondo, even when he makes bad decisions, gets bailed out by guys hitting tough shots. Ray Allen has been enough of a pest to throw off Kobe's game for stretches at a time. And Boston's D is keeping everyone except Kobe and Gasol quiet on the offensive end.

Kobe has started to heat up. But as often with stars of his magnitude, the more he dominates the ball, the better chance Boston has. He can't beat the Celtics alone and they know that. Unless his teammates respond to the challenge, the Celtics will be dancing in the Staples Center this week.

Kobe is also starting to show some frustration, which he has contained all season. If Phil and the Lakers can't come up with some answers, Kobe's attitude with his teammates could well get worse.

On the bright side for LA, Kobe is working hard and had his team in position last night, coming from 22 down at eight minutes in the fourth quarter to almost winning it. But again, he can't do it alone. The Celtics I think would be content with the same scenario in games three and four and take their chances from there.

Although they may have straightened it out in Detroit, Boston's history in these playoffs has been to wilt some on the road. LA had better hope Boston wilts, or that their home court provides some sort of magical elixir. Otherwise they may need the real wilt and the real Magic to have any chance.