That noise you heard was every Boston fan dropping their drink/hot dog/chowder after Paul Pierce went down in the 3rd quarter. With his Willis Reed like entrance from the locker room to the floor in the 3rd, he helped the Celtics surprise the Lakers.
So now we have gone through Game 1. What happened, many of you might ask. Well, the Celtics played some pretty good defense in the 2nd half of the game. Garnett came out and carried the team in the 1st half, but the Celtics allowed the Lakers to shoot 51% (I think) in the 1st half. You're not going to win games like that.
Kobe - He played badly, but part of that the Celtics helped him play badly. He tried to get his teammates involved early (like he has been doing in the playoffs) and he tried to pick his spots, but the Celtics made him hit tough shots. They didn't let Kobe get into the lane and break down their defense. The few times that he was able to get to the middle, he had to pass the ball out for a 3 or a deep jumper.
KG - Talk about showing up. It looked as though KG was able to focus his intensity and score. I am upset with the Celtics a little because he was on, and they stopped going to him. I mean KG was really stroking the ball, but Doc didn't call his number more often. You're supposed to dance with the girl you brung, and they went away. In the 2nd half, either he was tired or his nerves got to him. You could tell because he started short arming his shots and at one point missed 9 in a row. Doc, when KG is hot like this, ride him,.......
Ray Allen - I love it,.....Kobe still gets Ray excited to play. Ray came out and played well. Hit his shots, put the ball on the floor to create for other people, just wonderful. I'm almost going to say that Ray can play some point to extend his career. Now he did dribble the ball off his foot on a 3 on 2 fast break and Odom ended up taking it the other way, but I liked Ray's energy.
Perkins - That was ugly. I mean real ugly. 1 point, and 4 fouls. I picked Perk as the player that can help the Celtics turn this series in their favor. He's got to get in there and rebound and get some put backs. His fouls were silly fouls, reaching in on Gasol when he already has his back to the basket, don't go for the steal,...play Gasol straight up. He got a dunk blocked, but again,...maybe the sprained ankle will slow him down a little and let him play the game. Perk is still my pick to do damage against the Lakers.
Celtics Bench - They showed up. First Cassell off the bench lighting it up, then Leon Powe showed up and hustled and made some plays, then you have the old vet, PJ Brown. PJ didn't fill the stat sheet but his hustle and some of the plays he made were critical to the Celtics winning.
Paul Pierce - 'Willis Reed'. It's gotta feel special to go down and then come back and hit those two back to back 3's. The building was crazy when he did that. He gave his team a lift and he didn't look like his knee was hurting him that bad. The big question is, what happens tonight when he gets home and that knee tightens up? Will he be ready for Sunday? I might even be crazy, but even with a hampered Pierce, I see them winning this all in 7 games.
Go Celtics!!!!!!
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