Lakers vs. Celtics Game 1: It's Already Clear, These Are Not the 2008 Lakers

It's only one game.

But the Los Angeles Lakers' 102-89 victory over the Boston Celtics in game one of the NBA Finals was actually more of a route than the final 13 point margin indicated.

Most people expected the Lakers to summon up a strong effort after their dismal showing against the Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals, but I'm not sure those same people were expecting such a dominant performance from Los Angeles.

It's only one game.

But the only time Boston managed to hold a lead in the entire game was at 2-0, and after halftime, the Celtics were never able to get any closer than 10 points and faced deficits as large as 20 points.

Each time the Celtics mounted a charge, the Lakers turned them back with the superior leadership of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol serving as an instructional model for the rest of the team.

Boston promised to bring the same physical presence and intensity they did in their 2008 Finals victory over the Lakers, and in the first 27 seconds of the game, they made good on their promise as Ron Artest and Paul Pierce were each assessed technical fouls when they became entangled and sprawled to the floor.

Instead of folding beneath the Celtics' brutal play, the Lakers stood firm, and eventually the superior talent and length of their roster began to take its toll on Boston.

Consider, the Lakers dominated the rebound category grabbing 42 to the Celtics' 31, and Gasol's 14 rebounds included eight of the offensive variety, which was the same number of offensive rebounds the Celtics grabbed as a team.

The Lakers' dominance on the boards led to a 16-0 advantage in second chance points and was another indication of Los Angeles' superiority in the paint, which leads us to a very interesting point.

Many people assumed the post players of the Celtics would overwhelm the Lakers' post players with their tough defense and eventually force them to succumb through sheer force.

In fact, most observers thought Boston's defense would be the difference in this series, but while people were proclaiming the greatness of the Celtics' defense, they forgot that the Lakers were a pretty good defensive team in their own right.

Maybe the Lakers' defense gets lost in the brilliance of Bryant and Gasol, who combined for 53 points, but the defensive unit was one of the best in the regular season and has been the best since the postseason began.

Los Angeles led all postseason teams in field goal percentage allowed, rebounds, and field goal percentage allowed from three point range, and in game one, their defensive efficiency showed.

Pierce did score 24 points, but most of them came late in the fourth quarter when the game was decided, and Artests's defense only allowed Pierce 13 attempts from the field.

Bryant and Derek Fisher shared duties defending Boston point guard Rajon Rondo, and they were equally effective in preventing Rondo access to the rim. On the few occasions he did breach the perimeter defense, the post players were waiting.

Gasol added three blocks to complement the rest of his superior performance, and Andrew Bynum's 10 points and six rebounds were an added bonus, as were the problems he caused the Celtics due to his length.

If the Lakers' defense was solid, then the offense was over-powering, because the Celtics had no answer for the relentless assault staged by Bryant and the rest of the Lakers on the offensive end of the court.

The Celtics prospered in 2008 with a defensive strategy which focused on double-teaming Bryant and preventing him from penetrating the lane, which basically limited him to outside shots.

Boston tried the same thing in game one of this series, but Bryant attacked the double teams instead of drifting to the perimeter, and the Celtics had no one who could cut off his penetration.

Neither Allen, Ray, or Tony, were up to the task of guarding Bryant, and their inability to stay in front of his dribble was the primary reason for the 10 personal fouls garnered between the two of them.

The Lakers' commanding performance was a direct answer to the many critics who have continued to doubt the will and desire of the team, despite their third straight trip to the NBA Finals.

Gasol's performance was an answer to the many people who disregarded the fact that he was the most talented big man on the floor and questioned whether he had learned any lessons from 2008.

It is only one game, but maybe the Celtics learned their own lesson in this first game of the 2010 NBA Finals, because this is not the same Lakers team they man-handled into submission in 2008.

In fact, the Lakers were the team doing the man-handling and appeared to be the more physical team, which leads me to another interesting point.

It is only one game, but Phil Jackson's history after winning game one in any series sets a very ominous tone for the rest of this one, because his teams have gone on to win 47 series in a row.

If the Lakers can manage to sustain this type of play throughout the series, it's hard for me to see the Celtics preventing Jackson from making it 48 straight.