Just an observation...

One of the stats from last night's game as Ray was going all Jackie Chan on LAL that was missed by those in the media who put it up

Most 3's in a playoff final game

1995 Kenny Smith Houston 7
1997 Scottie Pippen Chicago 7
2008 Ray Allen Boston 7
2010 Ray Allen Boston 8

Pretty select list given the first three all resulted in a banner. Couple that with my KG/Russell interview theory and I think you have Ray's contribution to the battle cry. I'm pretty sure Ray won't let this go down as an empty, hollow stat now that it's on the books.

Something else revealed in Ray's post game interview. Ray didn't even know the record he broke, but now that he broke it, he thought that was pretty amazing. Leads me to another mind stretching theory.

The Celtics goal/vision is not winning a championship. The Celtics goal/vision is already having won the championship and looking back. Very subtle difference. Their vision is next season after the banner has been raised while they are singing the National Anthem and this is just another regualr season game. Then, staring up in the rafters saying or thinking to themselves, "We did this together". (Ala Doc in timeout v. ORL)

They can say all they what they want about loving the playoffs, the challenge and blah, blah, blah. But even as an athlete, it can't be enjoyable. Way too much crap. I don't think even Kobe enjoyed last night. This vision is alot safer and far removed.

dbrown,

I think it's safe to say Kobe did not enjoy last night. I have a sneaking suspicion he passed on his discontent to his fellow Lakers in the locker room afterwards too.

It's like the Oscars. Everybody says it's a privilege just being nominated, but once they're nominated they want to win and aren't happy when they don't.

bob

.

Is Ray Allen still on this team? Damn, didn't we trade him earlier this year?
Trade him, I say! Trade him!!!

The rest of the Lakers are so deferential to Kobe when things are going bad that it makes Kobe look selfish (he shoots cause nobody else wants the ball) and it makes the Lakers and easy team to guard. Past Kobe they really need to man up when things are going bad. Kobe has to be very frustrated.

5 guys beat 1.

jeb65 wrote:The rest of the Lakers are so deferential to Kobe when things are going bad that it makes Kobe look selfish (he shoots cause nobody else wants the ball) and it makes the Lakers and easy team to guard. Past Kobe they really need to man up when things are going bad. Kobe has to be very frustrated.

5 guys beat 1.

jeb,

Artest and Fisher were 3-18. Do you really want those guys shooting when they're that cold? Artest's brain had definitely cramped up and wasn't working right last night. That sequence where he went into the corner and all but dribbled the shot clock out before launching a ridiculous shot was unbelievable. I understand he was being a bit more passive than usual due to foul troubles, but that was indefensible.

The Lakers bench shot 5-13 in 50 minutes of total play. The only one who looked like he "felt it" was Sasha. No, this is not the punchline of a joke.

Still, the Lakers had Gasol, Bynum and Kobe all shooting pretty high percentages. When you've got 2 players dominating their position (4 and 5) and you've got another one contributing very well to theirs (2) at both ends of the court, that should be enough.

Hell, we won with just two players, Ray Allen and Rondo. Pierce and Perk barely crawled into double digits and Pierce at 2-11 was just a whisker better than Artest's eminently forgettable 1-10.

If I told you we'd beat the Lakers in LA with:

1. KG playing only 24 minutes and scoring only 6 points and grabbing 4 rebounds
2. Pierce shooting 2-11
3. Rondo being the top rebounder in the game
4. The Celtics, as a team, shooting under 43% for the game
5. The Lakers getting 15 fta more than us
6. The Lakers frontcourt of Gasol and Bynum scoring 46 points between them on 13-20 shooting and 20-25 fts


you'd laugh at me.


bob

Bob

I'm laughing!!!

Really nice to know how deep we are and how the proverbial "wack a mole" line is so true with this team.
SO KG and PP struggled but BB, Sheed TA and even the 6 minutes by Nate were huge.

beat

bobheck

Fair enough but I maintain my opinion that nobody but Kobe and fish want the ball when the chips are down. Odom cant wait to get rid of it and Gasol is deferential to kobe to a fault. It hurts them. They are so much harder to guard when they are all involved.

Jeb

I'm beginning to think this Celtic team is part of the perfect storm.

1) All the regular season crap of losing players to injury and surviving with effed up line-ups on the floor at the wrong times is being replaced with foul trouble, although foul trouble is not as detrimental as an injury. This is paying off in spades right now. Doc got/gets a 100 on this test.

2) Having the experience of knowing how to shut down a team with a superstar, game after game, round after round. (Jeb's point above) I'm pretty sure we've learned this lesson and are applying it once again to Kobe and Co. Actually, I think this is must be in the Celtic DNA all the way back to the 60's.

3) Coming together at right time...The Playoffs. Credit Doc and Danny with this. Doc said he had this feeling about this team way back in training camp. To him, they looked and performed even better than the 2008 team. That's saying something. Every franchise starts the season wanting to win the championship. Big deal. What sets this organization apart is all those who came before this team. No other organization barring the Lakers has this rich history, past and present. The Lakers are reticent to say they have something similar for fear of the ensuing dreaded Minneapolis/LA split argument, so rather than delve into that black hole, most of their rhetoric will stay in the here and now, failing to realize the answers to beating this current Celtics team strangely lies with the Magic-led teams of the 80's, the only Laker teams to beat the Celtics. Unfortunately to date, they are tracking the methods of Laker 60's teams, not Magic's 80's teams and insisting this Laker team can beat the Celtics on its own, as is. They may very well do that. But all I honestly see to this point is history repeating itself.

4) The individual heroic efforts coming from a myriad of players all at random times, the most recent of which falls to Ray Allen. It appears the Wac-a-mole theory has some legs. And maybe Ray's effort goes in a category by itself. I'm referring to the supporting cast, which actually maybe the whole team. These short, micro-bursts of effort that in and of themselves don't look like much but massed together result in victory are our key to the championship. This has to make the opposition's game planning and strategy a total nightmare because you just can't throw a blanket on the Celtics trying to cover everybody and expect to win.

I'm sure there are more examples and reasons. Feel free to add on.

All of this, of course, doesn't change the fact that tonight is Game 3 in Boston and it's 1-1. Lakers will be pissed. Kobe will go off for 40+ and no fouls. And that may be enough to beat us if we don't show up again. It would be awesome to see him seething on the bench with more foul trouble again tonight, but alas, this won't happen.

Get ready for the KG/PP show driven by Rondo now appearing at the TD Garden through Sunday.

If Kobe is forced to guard Ray or Rajon he may well face more foul trouble. What I want to see is KG with the home crowd behind him have a good enough game to fade the very fadable pau gasol. I hope the crowd really gets on Gasol as I still question his heart when the chips are down. He is goin to have to SHOW me.

I'm hoping the Lakers will have to deal with another problem they have yet to face in these playoffs and that is playing from behind, and from behind I mean 2-1. That can only be brought about by a victory tonight. Does Kobe have any other choice but those two, Jeb? Either way he is screwed. The proverbial pick your poison. Pick Ray and all the picks, Rondo 3D's. Pick Rondo and Ray 3's over pinballed Fisher. I guess he could move over to Paul, but that's about it. To date, Paul hasn't shown any reason for anyone to guard him. But that's about to change. It would be nice to see a game where the substitutions all come in when they are supposed to instead of this fouling malaise for the first two games. Also, to hold and expand a 20 point lead would be nice as well, going back to the ORL series.

Celtics better be ready for a huge Laker point run up to start the game. I hope the crowd is a factor as well.