Boston plays tough, physical defense and the officials let them play (I imagine if I were a Laker fan, I might have phrased that slightly different).I fully expect the Lakers to come out as aggressive as possible in Game Three and force the officials, with their play, to blow the whistle when beforehand there were no calls.The Laker coach said after the game he had never seen anyting like what he just watched, in reference to the free throw differential in the game where Boston made 28 more attempts than the Lakers. The Laker coach’s memory obviously isn’t what it used to be, as it was just back in Game Two of the Laker-Jazz series when L.A. The Celtics led the Hawks 2-0, but still needed seven games to close out the series. That pattern repeated itself the following series against the Cavs.The Celtics are playing much better now than they were earlier in the playoffs, but Kobe and the Lakers are a far superior opponent than the Hawks or Cavs.Free throws received much attention after the game last night. then went on a 31-9 run and were within two, 104-102 with 38-seconds to play.Looking back now, knowing the Celtics survived, I am glad it happened. For the Celtics to hang on, they still have the benefit of the win, but they also saw with their own eyes just how explosive this Laker team can be. Almost blowing a 24-point lead in the fourth quarter should eliminate the possibility of the Celtics becomg overconfident with their 2-0 lead.Had Boston lost, it would have been the greatest collapse in NBA playoff history. Blowing a 24-point lead might have been too demoralizing to ever come back from (see the collapse of the 2006 Dallas Mavericks after blowing Game Three of the finals against the Heat).Boston can also look at its own recent history if it needs any more assurance that this series is far from over. Following a Powe dunk and a KG jumper, Boston led 95-71 with 7:54 remaining L.A. Banknorth Garden.Although, if the Celtics have the attitude they only need one in L.A., they will lose all three.
They definitely can take four of five. If Boston thinks for one second this series is over, as quickly as the Lakers got back into the game last night, this series can be tied 2-2.Watching the Laker comeback last night nearly gave me a heart attack. Boston must remain hungry and approach each game as if it is a must-win.Entering the finals, the Lakers had won 12 of 15 playoff games. That would be a factor more on the defensive end than on offense. Pierce benefits though because for majority of the time, he only has to guard jump shooters in Vladimir Radmanovic and Sasha Vujacic.In addition to Pierce, the Celtics had contributions from a number of places on their roster. KG had his 13th double-double of the post-season with 17 points and 14 boards. Ray Allen added 17 points and Rajon Rondo dished out 16 assists against only two turnovers. As a team, Boston had 31 assists on 36 field goals made.And of course the name everyone was talking about afterwards, even if the Lakers’ coach feigned as if he didn’t know how to properly pronounce it, was Leon Powe. Powe is one of my favorite Celtics’ because of how hard he always plays. It will be tough to win Shaq over.Will Porter change the system? This is doubtful because the type of system they run is perfect for Steve Nash.Why weren’t the Pistons interested? I think theyviewed Curry as a future star as an NBA coach.It will be entertaining to see how he handles the team next year.. 17.Last night, Boston led 83-61 after the third quarter.The Lakers, who only scored 42 points the entire first half, responded with a furious rally scoring 41 points in the fourth quarter alone. Boston, though, survived.Paul Pierce had 28 points and eight assists I think his knee is limiting his mobility slightly. Two words describe my feelings right now about the NBA Finals: cautious optimism.After the 108-102 Game Two win, the Boston Celtics have taken a 2-0 series lead over the Los Angeles Lakers and are now half-way to achieving the goal of capturing Title No. But when their target, Flip Saunders, went elsewhere they had to settle on Terry Stotts.How will he get along with Shaq? O’Neal hasn’t played for such areputable coach ina while.
He has spent the last decade with names like Phil Jackson and Pat Riley. Heactually got them to the playoffs and they haven’t been back since.Porter spent this last season with the Detroit Pistons, who made it to the Eastern Conference finals. He is a coach who knows how to connect with his players and will be an asset to the organization.There are questions, though. Why did the Bucks fire him? Easy they thought with the No 1 overall pick they could draw in a bigger-name coach. How do you know Terry Porter is the right guy for Phoenix? Think about the last team he coached, the Milwaukee Bucks. With constant bad finishes, incomplete races, and just plain bad handling cars, Casey Mears is definitely the “bottom of the barrel” at Hendrick.If he wants to keep his ride he will need to pick it up throughout the season and try to resurrect the Mears name in NASCAR.Just from the names, you could say that Hendrick Motorsports is NASCAR’s “Dream Team.” However, when you look at the numbers it seems as if they have lost that title to teams such as Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush-Fenway.We will just have to see how the season plays out for NASCAR’s once acclaimed “Dream Team.”. didn’t win again today at Pocono, he was close and still leads the Hendrick drivers in points as he maintains the third position in championship points.Jimmie Johnson, being the only Hendrick driver to see victory lane, has had nowhere near the start to the season the he had last year.And of course there is the last (and yes I do mean LAST) of the Hendrick drivers: Casey Mears Casey has had about as much bad luck as one could have.
would, for the first time, be on the same team.When the Daytona 500 came, the high expectations that were set by fans, analysts, and fellow drivers were not met. Hendrick managed to get only one car in the top 10 and the other three finished 27th or worse.With Hendrick’s one win this season by Jimmie Johnson, the Hendrick camp doesn’t seem to be on track for its previous record of 18 wins in a season. Jeff Gordon has been close on some occasions, but just doesn’t seem able to get the job done.My favorite (along with many others) Dale Jr., has been oh so close at what seems like every race this season it seems he always gets stuck with the worst luck.Although Jr. Not saying that the East Coast has better water, women, or music (which I have come to the sad realization the West Coast sweeps these three), but our time-zone gives us the ability to watch both our games and your games.While the Celtics are winning games by 20, the west coast is just getting done watching Seinfeld. Celtics: Game 2, Preview and Prediction ESPN Article on the disparity of fouls:Lakers Chafe at Fouls in Game Two. At the beginning of the season, all of the focus and attention was on one team NASCAR’s mega team, Hendrick Motorsports and one driver in particular. Hendrick received even more attention (if you can get any more attention after having two of finishing No 1 and No.
2 in the standings, plus having a repeat champion) when they announced the newest addition to the Hendrick Motorsprts’ stable, Dale Earnhardt Jr.Not only did this just add another superstar to Hendrick’s team, but it also turned the NASCAR world upside down. Fans of Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr. That game was at home against the Utah Jazz in January.I wish I could say this isn’t true, but when the Celtics have played their game and don’t fall asleep during their leads, they are unstoppable.As an East Coast fan, I have more leverage to compare this with the Lakers talent than a west coast fan. Shame on you for not watching the Celtics:If anyone, anyone by a spark of random motivation, ever sat down to watch at least three Celtics games this season, they would’ve been proper to understanding the ONLY reason the Celtics ever lose: They lapse.The Lakers were finally witness to the most dangerous achilles’ heel a championship-caliber team has, and the Celtics demonstrated that this psychological lull can kill them during its appearance in the 4th quarter in Game 2.For you fans who thought this was five games let me give you some advice about the Celtics: They have only lost one game, just one game, this entire season that didn’t have anything to do with their psychological lapses. This really isn’t anything, considering the Rondo offensive foul, and the Lamar Odom going over PJ Brown’s back.Also, the Celtics were shooting two to four foot shots on half of their possessions, which was way more than the Lakers.
