The Lakers have certainly looked very good tonight and have played well. It was certainly brutal watching the first half, primarily the first quarter though. I thought the refs were calling everything on everybody and it was a little annoying to watch in my opinion.

How much a year do you think Jack pays for those tickets? lol

 

P.S. I don't think I'd want to sit there in front of Doc Rivers walking back and forth in front of me all game.

Not the way I'd hoped this game would go... But kind of what I expected at the same time.

This series has some of my favorites...but also to players I can't stand (Pierce and Gasol). I do not enjoy watching them play basketball at all.

This series has some of my favorites...but also to players I can't stand (Pierce and Gasol). I do not enjoy watching them play basketball at all.

 

I really don't like watching Gasol, the slighest little touch and he is flopping around like it was a beatdown, just stand tall and play.

This game was hard to watch. Gasol is great, but it's sickening to watch him. He plays a weak brand of basketball, just flopping and crying all game. He's too good for that kind of Vlade Divac garbage IMO. Kevin Garnett went back to regular season form, those missed layups were pathetic. Rondo has to shoot the basketball when he goes to the rack, passing out for a jumper to Big Baby or Tony Allen isn't going to get it done.

 

It looks like the teams have reversed roles this year. LA out toughed Boston tonight and brutally beat them in the paint. I expected the Lakers to take game 1 and I think it could be a good thing for the Celtics.

Boston came out pretty flat in the second half and when they finally decided to play, it was too little too late. The foul trouble killed Boston with Allen being on the bench for the majority of the game. Also, I've never seen KG play so bad in a 5 minute span than the last 5 minutes of this game.

 

One bright spot, Nate Robinson looked pretty good off the bench. I know Rondo is their guy, but it's nice to know that they can get Rondo a breather while still putting a solid guy out there.

 

I expect the Celtics to come back with vengeance in Game 2.

Very nice game for the Lakers. 47-0 when winning the first game of the series.

Very nice game for the Lakers. 47-0 when winning the first game of the series.

 

That is a crazy stat.

Very nice game for the Lakers. 47-0 when winning the first game of the series.

 

Is that the Lakers stat...or is Phil Jackson's teams 47-0 when winning game 1? I thought it was the latter.

It's teams coached by Phil.

Very nice game for the Lakers. 47-0 when winning the first game of the series.

 

I think it looks like the Lakers have the upper hand in the series matchup wise, but I don't buy much into that stat. I guess I just think it could be broken at some point, it is very impressive though no doubt.

 

And would it kill Kobe to smile a little bit? I love the drive and determination but he's turning into MJ right now and not in the good way. I usually like to hear him talk about the game but he's just been a grump lately. Have some fun man.

Lakers beat the Celtics at their own game. Artest getting tangled up with Pierce set the tone early. The Lakers were more physical and the Celtics pride themselves on their defense and physicality. I expect this to still be a good series but the Lakers were too long and physical for Boston last night. And as far as Kobe being serious, I would rather not see him smile until after it's all said and won. Look what happened to the Celtics and the Magic series. Boston clearly let up and got a nice scare from Orlando. I don't think it will happen, but Kobe wants to absolutely slaughter the Celtics in this series with a clean sweep. He's determined to win this one.

I'm sorry 5Wide but this was the only season that LeBron failed to play well in the postseason, and he still put up great numbers. There was nothing more he could have done in 2007, 2008 or 2009. What more could he have done? There wasn't a better individual player in any of the last 3 postseasons before this year IMO. Kobe brought Gasol, Pierce got Garnett and Allen, Duncan had Parker and Ginobili, and James brought a butcher knife to gun fight. It's not an excuse it's the truth. And I don't want to hear the crap about the regular season, it means nothing. How many titles did the Suns bring home when they were at the top of the Western Conference standings in the Nash MVP years?

 

LeBron won't get defended by me for this years performance, it was sad and pathetic. But to act like he's not a great player year in and year out in the playoffs is ridiculous.

 

Are you sure you're talking to the right person? I'm trying to figure out where I said Lebron wasn't great. All I could find was something along the lines of Lebron is and has been the best player in the league for 3 years.

 

You can discount the regular season if you want, but it doesn't change the fact that the Cavs have had the top record in the league two years in a row and didn't make the finals.

 

Lebrons's performance against Orlando in the playoffs last year was amazing. But, he's not always that good. Everybody remembers that 45 point Game 7 where he singlehandedly push Boston to the brink. What you don't hear about is that through the first 4 games of that series, Lebron shot 25.6% and averaged 18.8 ppg. Ironically enough, Cleveland won two of those games. He played better in the final three games. But, I can only wonder if Cleveland might have won that series had Lebron not gone 2 of 18 in a 76-72 loss in Game Two.

 

Certainly, he's had some great playoff moments. But, he's also had some perplexing performances, IMO. As I said, Kobe's post-season success and ability in the clutch brings this argument back every year. And, there's some validity to it in a league that has so many games decided in the final 5 minutes.

I was interested in this first game to see if LA would be ready for a physical team that actually plays defense. I was afraid they'd need time to adjust and let Boston steal Game One.

 

The Lakers came out focused last night, and most importantly, came ready to play defense. I'll stick with my belief that if the Lakers will stay committed to playing defense, Boston cannot score enough to beat them 4 times.

 

Bynum looked tough last night. I think the announcers need to move past the '08 matchup...this Lakers team is better and the Celtics aren't as good. Artest at the 3 and Bynum in the lineup are huge upgrades. Combine that with Garnett not being at the same level as 2008 and that's a big swing in LA's direction.

 

I think Boston has to win Game Two.