Shaq became more dominant than ever before under Jackson, when he posted his unmovable body lower on the block on a consistent basis. In Pao’s case, he and the team must adjust to the defense, so it is a little less simple.

Anyway, I watched the game in a straight celtics bar and I honestly could sense their fear when they were down and relief when they won. I hope and think we win game 2.

“When Pierce went down (cough, cough) and then Perking went out, the Lakers almost played as if they were sorry for them. They didn’t turn it up and pour it on. They are paying for it now.”

Comment by emh101 — June 5, 2008 @ 8:13 pm

for reals, man. that was major. we knew pierce was gonna come back and rile up the crowd like some sort of war veteran. but we should have given him something to walk back to and knock the brave grimace right off his face.

i also agree with 166 and 170 about playing ariza. i have real high hopes for ariza and bynum in particular next year. but i want to see some ariza now. we should talk about this.

i also think that if kobe should have started going earlier in the fourth quarter. he should not have been sitting, and i think he came in too late to work up a rhythm.

and i think i was yelling at PPierce all night. i could just kill a man.

i felt it was a close game up until mid 4th quarter, when questionable officiating start frustrating some of the lakers player… but the point is, we need to get one out of the first two, and therefore i m not too worry.

kobe couldnt shoot any worst than tonight (touch wood), and i would guess LO and pau start getting the usual De-reb. did any of you guys count how many in-and-out shots by kobe, sasha and the rest of the team?

all in all, i thought it was a good game, altho we lost, i thought its good competitive basketball, now with PJ and kobe on our side, i think they will make whatever adjustments for game two to make it even more competitive.

Should we sacrifice our transition game by having 4,5 people in the paint to corral the defensive rebound or should we just stick to our game even if it means continually allowing 2nd chance opportunities for the Celtics?

1. We all thought that if Cassell played instead of House, we would have an advantage. But Sam turned back the clock and played very well for the C’s, especially in the 2nd quarter.
2. I do not know if the Lakers can really win this series if they continue to get pounded on the glass. We can afford to give up many 2nd chance opportunities to teams like Utah, but the Celtics are just too dangerous if you give them multiple possessions.
3. Give credit to Pierce. He finished the 3rd quarter with a fury that even surpassed his start to open up the 2nd half. Those two back-to-back 3′s really fired up the crowd heading into the 4th.
4. And speaking of Pierce: we do not yet know the extent of his injury, but 22 points on 10 FGs is amazing efficiency and something I’m beginning to seriously worry about. If he is focused, I think he’s the biggest mismatch in this series, including Kobe.
5. P.J. Brown’s effectiveness. He and KG really turned the defense up a notch in the 4th quarter. I would be extremely disappointed if Pau or Lamar cannot take advantage of the legs of a 39-year-old (even though he’s going on 25.)

It’s safe to say I underestimated these Celtics. They are hungry and extremely poised for a group that was built on the fly. Winning on their home court will prove to be difficult than we expected and I think it’s going to take an A+ effort from us and a B+ effort from the Celtics because they are a different animal on their court. Can’t wait for game 2.