Celtics weathered the early storm by the lakers and are playing them even, despite virtually no offense from the big 3

Celtics looked terrible in the 1st quarter and are still tied. Looks like they'll have to overcome the refs just as I suspected. 14 FT attempts for the Lakers and just 2 for the Celtics. That's a pretty big margin to ignore if it continues. Will the NBA do everything in its power to extend this series just as they did in 2002?

celtics needed the break here to figure out what the lakers are doing different on the defensive end so they can start driving and scoring

enuf of sam cassel

This is funny on so many levels

and now the C's are in trouble...

the offense is just not clicking at all

and yet only down by 6

Apparently Kobe has decided that he doesn't want to shoot FT's at an acceptable rate

Celtics lead (although Pierce has 4 fouls)

C's with a nice comeback here in this game. One possession game

It's really painful to watch Eddie House bring the ball up the court.

I would have never have thought that Sasha Vujacic would ever turn into a productive player. He's turning into one of my favorite players

Doc needs to take Rondo out. Good attempt to come back, but he's just a step too slow

c's aren't going to be able to pull it out - but at least they kept it close which is really what was important I suppose

Kobe Dagger :/

So....why aren't the Celtics double-teaming Kobe again? Especially with the shot clock winding down with under a minute to go.

Thank goodness Sasha showed up

Ugly game, I didn't think the score would be that low in LA

Ended up caving in and watching the 4th Q. Ugly basketball from both teams, but the Celtics in particular looked bad on offense, mostly due to House taking 12 seconds to get the ball across court and start running a play.

Solid finish from Kobe too.

Game 4 now becomes very important for the Celtics.

I think the fact the celtics were in it till the end will put them in good shape for game 4 -- better than if they were blown out

It was an ugly game. Game 4 is not very important for the Celtics, it is for the Lakers though. The Lakers have to sweep at home or they're finished. Remember, the Celtics have home court advantage not the Lakers. Pierce won't go 2-14 again and KG didn't play that well either, but the Celtics were still in it to the end.

Why can't Kevin Garnett post up Pau Gasol? This really baffles me.

3 games in a row on the road isn't much of a home court advantage. Very easy to drop three in a row on the road.

FREE THROW ATTEMPTS 34-22 HOW HOW

Just ask yourself this question- Who's in more trouble if they go down 3-2, the Lakers or the Celtics? The Lakers absoutely need to sweep at home. And they just said on tv that sweeping games 3,4,5 doesn't occur very often in the 2-3-2 format.

KG doesn't like to post anybody up in general. He needs to though

I never said FTs should be even, or that fouls cost the Lakers Game Two. I challenge you to find where I said that. Anywhere.


And since I never did that (pin the loss on the refs), I am hoping you will man up and apologize. Frankly, I doubt you will.

It's not really Garnett's game, and Gasol is a pretty sound defender too. Garnett falls in love with those turn around fade aways far too often.

Agreed. Game Four is still relatively meaningless for the C's. If they lose Four, then Five will have a little bit more tension for them, I think, but even that not so much. Those two home games in their back pocket are huge right now. Every game at home is a Game Seven for the Lakers right now, while the Celtics have deservedly placed themselves inside a comfort zone.

Heh...like me trying to figure out Odom.

Actually, I was wondering that very thing as I was watching the game. KG is certainly not as flighty and inconsistent as Odom (in fact, he is generally frighteningly consistent), but there seems to be a certain softness to his game approach that I recognize from watching Odom's game. He's almost European in play style.

I liked how Odom tried to dunk the ball at the end of the game but missed anyways. It was quite fitting

Did Kobe just say shit on live TV?

Actually, Odom missed so many dunks, I think they're considering creating a new stat category for it.

He's a very unusual player, that's for sure. I can't think of anybody with Garnett's same set of strengths and weaknesses.

Even with the all the Donaghy hoopla, and the other conspiracy theories, I'm enjoying watching this series so far. I think it'll get much, much better.

Paul Peirce really has a knack for spiraling into awfulness when he's having a bad night. You can see it coming every time - he misses some early shots and then he spends the rest of the game taking terrible shots and wildly dribbling into people. It's really surprising to me how many people are trying to elevate him into the list of Celtics greats.

Not everything from my venting yesterday was directed towards you specifically. I disagreed with your quotes that "And if that game is called straight, maybe the Lakers go back with a split right now. Lakers' fans have every right to complain", and "they clearly benefited from referee calls tonight. Really, it's unbelievable that that is even in dispute when the FT discrepancy was almost four to one". That's all. I don't think I need to apologize for disagreeing. You felt I implied things that I don't think I did, and I feel you implied things that you're claiming not to. We'll agree to disagree and move on.

Really, I have to pull your quotes for you? Noting this above was a response directly quoting me and specifically states my argument was supposedly blaming the refs for the loss and claiming FTs should be equal, neither of which claim could be further from the truth.

How far will you go before you man up and say you screwed up? Now you're just flat lying. Honestly, at this moment, I don't think there's anyone in this forum's history I could muster less respect for.

Removed my response as molson apologized.

"And if that game is called straight, maybe the Lakers go back with a split right now. Lakers fans have every right to complain"

I don't get why you're so worked up over this. How is this quote not blaming the refs on the loss? That's how I took it, and your other 8 posts bringing up the FT disparity. If that's not what you mean, fine, I believe you, and apologize for the misunderstanding.

You accused me earlier of making "inferences" that I wasn't intending to make at all. I understand how you could have thought that, so I clarified. This is the same thing.

If's and maybe's don't mean I am saying that's what I believe. To believe that also directly contradicts at least three or four posts where I specifically stated that the Celtics won on merit. Surely you read those?

I only said the above as a framework for how Lakers fans would have a right to complain. I still believe the idea they somehow don't have the right to complain is ridiculous.

Since you have apologized, I will go back and amend my previous post.

Good game for the Lakers.

On defense, they moved to a wierd zone defense where they double-team less than when they did on man-to-man. I didn't think they'd be able to pull it off.

They came out strong offensively and were constantly attacking the basket. Vujacic was excellent for the Lakers tonight.

Similar to how the Lakers lost Game 2 due to horrible defense, the Celtics lost Game 3 due to horrible offense. Paul Pierce was just a non-entity due to foul trouble and Luke Walton simply riding him like a madman whenever he was in the court.

A couple of notes:

- Lamar Odom has YET to show up in this series. As aggressive as he has been tonight, he certianly looks too relaxed.

- I am starting to hate PJ Brown's smirk. I noticed it during his altercation with Farmar, and I couldn't get my mind off of it since then. It's like he's constantly amused at something.

- Someone remind Radmanovic that he is not a dribble-drive player. For the LOVE OF GOD.

- I am almost 100% sure that Doc Rivers does no actual in-game coaching and is just a motivational speaker and a human hand towel.

- Thank you, Danny Crawford. You are my favorite pro-Laker ref. :)

Lakers need to ditch Luke Walton this offseason. Get some scrub post player

I actually think Walton put in a very good 11 minutes during the game. He had did a decent job of manning Pierce while Kobe was resting and even cleanly blocked a shot from PP.

Celtics lost this game because Pierce AND Garnett both dissapeared and were non-entities offensively. They were in the game right up until the end, but getting basically nothing from those two players all night killed them. It would have been amazing had they managed to pull it out, but frankly i'm not surprised they didn't. If there was ever a game the Lakers were "supposed" to win (by virtue of it being the first home game of the series) this was it.

1) Who is Jeffery Osbourne?
2) What the hell was he singing?

Go Green!

Ok, the refs aren't exactly NOT taking attention away from the Donaghy accusations so far.

Celtics - blowing chunks early

ballgame

I wonder if the Celtics pussies are hurting

Welcome to the NBA Finals LO. Glad you finally found the arena

No way Phil Jackson allows Doc Rivers to deny him his tenth ring. No freakin' way.

Well, Doc did a good job in the first two games to get halfway there

Still got two more to get, though.

Nah. I'm betting the home team wins every game.

Paul Gasol is so soft. I can not stand the way he plays.

Interesting.

2 point game at the end of three. Who the hell saw this coming?

David Stern

Can't watch the game right now, they cut away because there are tornadoes in the area. About 45 minutes from me, we don't seem to be in the path of the storms. Hope that remains true.

Stay safe, man.

the C's need to be going with the big 3 every possession.

I don't understand why Boston isn't giving the ball to Garnett every single trip down court. He is unstoppable.

What a meltdown by LA. Had to see it coming, but..still.

Gasol = Waste

There is no way L.A. wins this series. Kobe is playing like utter crap and refuses to drive to the basket and his supporting cast thought the game was over in the first half. The refs have been calling this game slightly in favor of the Lakers too and they blew it.

Yes, yes, yes. This is awesome.

Seems like you're right. What do the Lakers need? Seems like his supporting cast has too many kids in it or guys who can't deliver at critical times. The Celtics are far more experienced as a whole, deeper and seem more balanced. That's a lot of poise to come back from down that much to be able to take a lead now.


Who's a free agent this year? Is Gasol just a rental?

I'm sure Stern wanted the Celtics to win this game and likely end the series in 6. No way that he would want an exciting 7th game.

I hope this ends the Kobe-Jordan comparisions. No way that Jordan in his prime lets this game get away from his team like Kobe did.

very true

I was being sarcastic

My bad. I'm tired and it flew right over my head. :)

Also while Jordan lived for big moments he knew how to put the hammer down.

HYOOOOOOGEEEE BY POSEY!

I'm on the verge of a heart attack...hold on C's!!

Hell, I don't even think LeBron James would let a game get away like this one did.

That said, Red Sox win the World Series, Pats lose the Super Bowl and Celtics win the NBA title maybe? When was the last time that happened? I mean, for a city to have 3 of their major league teams in the finals?

The Laker's defense let Allen in way too easy there.

Yes he would and I consider him one of my favorite players.

Here's the answer.

Link

It's never happened where a city won 3 in the same year, but Boston wouldn't have 3 since the Pats lost. In 1980-81, Philly had all four of its team make the league finals..only the Phillies managed to win though.

Game. Series. Biggest choke job in sports by a team in a championship game I have ever seen.

What an excellent game. We have just witnessed the greatest choke job in NBA Finals history. The Lakers lost the series tonight.

You should watch more sports

Seriously

Hell, the Patriots might beat this, just from this year.

But just wow.

Good win for the C's, not so good second half by the Lakers. I can't wait to hear the sports talk in the morning. Series is done

I do and this is the biggest period. The Lakers blew it big time man.

Bug, I wouldn't be surprised if they put a few extra patrols on the bridges out there after that one.

Pats didn't choke they got beat but they did not let a huge lead slip away.

In 1986, the Patriots, Celtics, and Red Sox were all in the finals, but only the Celtics won.

No. I can think of five without actually thinking

Yes, that was always preposterous. The media just needs stuff to talk about sometimes. Kobe is a great player, but he is not Jordan, has never been Jordan, and will never be Jordan. Regardless of how this series has gone.

The Oilers-Bills game from whenever that was...92? That was the biggest choke job I've ever seen.

DC, something could be said for the Mets winning in 1969, Knicks winning in the 1969-70 season and Jets winning the Super Bowl played in 1969.

Well, it might be counted as two years, but Lakers, June, 2002, Angels, October 2002, Ducks Stanley Cup losers, June 2003.

I think your bias given the situation.

BTW, great job by the Celtics D on Kobe..

Also, reading all the Hatorade on ESPN's conversation factor right now is fun.. they're all convinced tat Stern somehow rigged the game for the celtics :)

Dodgers over the A's in 1988. It was a bigger choke job in 2004 when the Lakers lost to the Pistons when Kobe shot them out of the series.

Lakers are toast. Celtics are the better team, particularly defensively. Lakers have to address the fact that they have so many inconsistent players next year.

I didn't watch the Dodgers game. As for the Pistons series I think that is subjective just like my opinion is subjective. It has nothing to do with me not watching sports and it has everything to do with the fact L.A. stopped playing after half time. They let Boston come and then decided not to play defense while the league MVP was settling for his jump shot.

This game was their's and they lost it. Gasol is soft and a total waste.