I am pretty sure it wasn’t cortisone. That is an anti-inflammatory, not a pain reliever that takes a couple of days to work. Initially it makes the soreness worse, not better. Morphine is a powerful pain reliever, but is also a strong sedative. I don’t think you would give it to a professional athlete looking to come back into a game.

Don’t discount adrenaline. That is a natural response that is as powerful or more so than anything artificial that you can inject. Release of adrenaline is often triggered by bright lights and loud noises.

“They missed a ton of shots they make alot of the time, shots not affected by the C’s defense.”

All teams do that. Anyone who watches as much basketball as you do must realize that.

Look at Garnett in the 2nd half of the game. He missed a ton of shots he makes a lot of the time. It is a normal part of any basketball game.

“Well, if I’m not mistaken, I think Willis (Jackson’s former teammate) missed a whole half and three quarters and literally had to have a (cortisone) shot, three or four of them in his thigh, to come back and play,”

“Paul got carried off and was back on his feet in a minute. I don’t know if the angels visited him at halftime or in that timeout period, but he didn’t even limp when he came back out on the floor. I don’t know what was going on there. Was Oral Roberts back there in their locker room?”

I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit. I am sure everyone is a bit concerned about trailing for the first time these playoffs, but I think that we should all just relax and enjoy Sunday’s game. The Lakers will prevail.

What is weird to me is that both teams have players who uniquely and strangely matchup well vs. our key players. For example Gasol and LO have trouble against long, lanky, spry bigs who can alter shots (KG). Turiaf has problems with bigger & stronger energy players who can battle him for the boards (i.e. Powe, Glen Davis). Sasha has trouble with quick release shooters (Allen). Luke……well he has trouble with everyone!

In addition, they have the right mix of players to guard Kobe. A hard-nose tall defender (Posey), a bigger SF (PP), and a shooting guard who will tire Kobe out by just running around picks all day (Ray Allen). Remember, this is the first time Kobe has to actual guard someone in the playoffs instead of conserving his enery (Anthony Carter/JR Smith, Ronnie Brewer, Bruce Bowen).

That is why if we force them to play our tempo and less half-court offense….we have a shot. I think a lineup of Fisher, Kobe, LO (on PP), Turiaf (KG), and Gasol will do well. Also a bench lineup of Farmar, Ariza, Sasha, LO, and Vlad would work well too (intermittently having Kobe run with that squad).

I really feel that this particular series…..Luke is not going to help us much. He should not under any circumstance be paired against PJ Brown or Powe. He is just too small and will get outrebounded. I rather play Mbenga than Luke right now.

Game 2 will be really telling in terms of adjustments. I agree with Kurt that we really don’t know what we are getting out of Ariza with the long layoff and of course the staff knows better than we do in regards to his conditioning. But come on….he can at least give us some serviceable minutes. I don’t see how he can be as harmful as Luke or Vlad. The guy can flat out play! Its not like the guy forgot how to run or play basketball. He is what he is……..athletic wing who can fly and dunk! I can recall that these are exactly the type of guys that play for the Hawks (and we all know what they did to the C’s).

Espcially Pierce who was a stud. Hopefully it was just a sprain and he can play.

I agree on the Perkins call that it did look like Fish managed to get tangled in Kendrick’s feet – but one bad call in one direction doesn’t offset ten in the other. Not that I actually agree that the Lakers were the victims of awful officiating – I think it was, like Kurt, fairly close with largely the 50/50 calls going to Boston as one expects at home in the playoffs. I’m simply pointing out that one blatant missed call doesn’t excuse a litany of others the other direction (also known as the ‘Spurs game 4′ argument, heh).

I’m less worried about PJ Brown getting going than I am about Allen (obvs), and I actually do expect Posey to hit more often. I was simply pointing out that this series is unlikely to hinge on the shooting efforts of bench players, given the heavy hitters involved. Whereas for teams like Detroit ‘role’ players come off the bench, for LA and Boston the ‘role’ players are the ones surrounding the main trio (other two starters plus maybe 6th man) who will, I think, dictate the series.

Re: pundits, I think we’ve hopefully all learned to never trust what comes out of their mouths, yes? Anyway, the Lakers were such favorites because of how well they played in the first two rounds compared to Boston – I think that both teams played equally well in the conf finals, with maybe even an edge to the Celtics (given that two of LA’s wins involved double-digit comebacks in the 2nd half). Having said that, though, if Kobe shoots in Game 1 like he did against the Spurs, it’s likely the Lakers win. I’m not a fan of depending on a player – even one as great as Kobe – staying unusually hot in order to win. Nevertheless, when commentators saw how he cut down the Spurs from the midrange, they expected more of the same against Boston. If he hits another 4 or 5 shots (which would put him in the same ballpark as his efforts against San Antonio), the Lakers are possibly leading or tied going into the final couple minutes. One never knows – Kobe’s uptick in performance could have meant Tony Allen off the bench going crazy and knocking down 7 threes. Unlikely, but technically possible, so we’ll never know.

I think Game 2 will be awfully telling – not just because it seems so vital for the Lakers to avoid going into a 2-0 hole. It will also show how LA responds to adversity, how the Celtics handle a game with a bit less of an adrenaline high, and whether or not ‘bad’ Kobe has returned, or was simply making a cameo appearance to remind Lakers fans how lucky they are not to have to watch him nearly as often anymore.

Good chatting with you, sir. See you on Sunday.

A thought on Gasol: the few games I’ve seen of the Lakers these playoffs, I haven’t seen much of a post game from him. Is it the defense? (He’s facing Garnett now: check. Duncan: check.) Or the triangle? I know he’s not forcing it–his shooting percentage is crazy good since joining the Lakers, he’s getting lots of good looks due to body and ball movement.

And as the series goes on, can Gasol continue to get the ball in the post but always look pass first? Or is that normal (and good) for the Triangle?