Game 3 recap
As expected, the Lakers came out very aggressive, attacking the rim. They out hustled, out attacked the Celtics throughout the first half and had 7 point leads multiple times.
Their aggressiveness offensively was half the story. In my opinion, more importantly, they switched up Kobe to play D on Paul Pierce whenever possible. No longer did Pierce have open looks, no longer did he have the ability to drive around defenders. Pierce had a horrible night, in all aspects. Horrible. No other way to say it. Kobe gets some credit as I mentioned. However, superstars are supposed to elevate other parts of their games when shots aren't falling, right? I cannot think of a single aspect of Pierce's game last night that I can say, "yeah, he did ok rebounding, or passing, or defense, or hustle"...none of the above from the Captain last night.
I have been extremely impressed prior to last night with Pierce in the last month. I was not a huge fan, never have been. I admit it. This playoff season though made me a believer in the man and player. Last night took something off that new image. Game 4 will go a long way towards my impression of Paul Pierce.
Kevin Garnett had a miserable night as well. He scored some finally in the 4th quarter but his game for 3 quarters was just as bad as Pierce's. When 2 out of 3 (of the big 3) fail, the team cannot hope to win.
In response to: Game 3 recap
ReplyDeleteComment from: bosfan [Visitor]
Both Pierce and Garnett are the types that
love an individual challenge, I don't see
that happening again. As bad as they played
they still had a chance to win, and that has
to make Phil shake his head just a bit.
Kobe played great as you would expect, and
he will the next game and the game after
that. When he's at practice today you got to
wonder what he's thinking, "who on this team
is going to help me win this series?" The
answer is nobody, there is no reliable night
in night out help from any of the other
starters that can put them over the top.
Just look a the math, they would have to
win 3 out of the next 4 games and half of
those games are in Boston. I like are chances!
Boy, did anyone expect such a low scoring game?
No more total score predictions for Thursday,
just Celtics by 6.
In response to: Game 3 recap
ReplyDeleteComment from: blmeanie [Visitor]
actually I thought it would be high scoring (high in today's world)
nobody is writing about the defense on Pierce, I think that was more important than the energy offensively the Lakers had.