NBA Finals-Game 5

After being shocked in game 4 the Los Angeles Lakers had a lot to prove to themselves, the Celtics, and to the world. They were shocked by the huge lead they had blown, and put themselves in a position to be eliminated by the Boston Celtics in game 5 of the NBA Finals. Kobe Bryant had shown the negativity that has haunted his career, Lamar Odom continued to play inconsistently, and Pau Gasol was so soft around the basket I thought that he was trying to acquire a Duncan Hines sponsorship.

On the Boston Celtics side of things, they continued to receive inspired play from Paul Pierce. With the Celtics it always remains to be a team effort. They take on the persona of the 1980’s Boston Celtics with their grittiness, and scrappy nature. It may not always be pretty, but it has been getting the job done. After walking off of the floor after the comeback win in game 4, the Celtics looked like a team that knew what was near and you could see the deflated faces on the Lakers sideline, as Kobe Bryant walked off the court with a few seconds left in the game.

The stage was set for Sunday night, the Staples Center in Los Angeles was a little more lively than it had been in the previous 2 games. The stars were out of course, but from the opening tip you could tell they were ready to cheer, and act like a semi-excited NBA crowd. The only change in the starting line-ups for either team was Leon Powe started for the injured Kendrick Perkins who was on the bench in street clothes after he sustained a shoulder injury in game 4. Since his 21 point outburst in game 2 Leon Powe has been a non factor in this series, and tonight was no exception as he only logged the first 5 minutes of the game, scored no points with 2 rebounds.

The same situation presented itself from game 4 as the Lakers came out of the gate aggressive, and forced the Celtics into early mistakes. Boston had 2 turnovers in their first 2 possessions of the game, one being forced by Kobe Bryant as he was allowed to roam off of Rajon Rondo. If Rondo plans to have a prolonged career in the NBA he must work very hard in the coming years at developing an outside jump shot. At this point it is entirely too easy for teams to just forget about him and leave him.

In addition to his defensive presence, Kobe Bryant came out firing on the offensive end. Bryant was 5-8 shooting, and had 2 assists to boot in the 1^st quarter while showing some of the composure that made him this year’s league MVP. At the 6:36 mark in the 1^st, Los Angeles held a 18-5 lead. But after the game 4 collapse, I could not help but think that it was too early, and that the Celtics had plenty of time to mount a comeback. Doc Rivers changed up his substitution patterns again and brought Eddie House off the bench instead of Sam Cassell as the 2^nd string point guard, and he rewarded that move by hitting an early 3 pointer. But the Lakers continued to pour it on, and ended the quarter leading 39-22.

The 2^nd quarter began with Phil Jackson throwing a monkey wrench in the game and bringing Chris Mihm off of the bench for his first minutes of the post-season. The move turned out to be unproductive as he only logged 2:45 minutes of playing time , 2 personal fouls and a turnover. The Lakers have struggled in this series to receive any continuity when their bench has entered the game. Ronny Turiaf has not brought the signature energy that has made him a valuable asset to the Lakers, and his minutes have suffered because of it, only getting 1:24 of playing time in game 5.

As many of the games in this series have found Kevin Garnett in foul trouble, this game was the rule and not the exception as he picked up foul number 3 at the 7:37 mark. But the Celtics were not affected by KG’s poor play as they went on a 15-0 run to slash the Lakers lead to 2 points. At this point in the game the frustration for Kobe Bryant began to mount as it showed on his face an body language. During this stretch, Pau Gasol continued to play very soft as he has the entire series. He went up with soft flip shots with his left hand, threw soft lob passes to Lamar Odom, and continued to have the ball taken from him on rebounds.

After a 7 minute drought for the Lakers, during which they let the Celtics climb back in the game, it seemed as if they got their offensive rhythm back. They were able to draw a few fouls, and get some shots that they are accustomed to that come out of the triangle offense. During the 2^nd quarter Kobe Bryant was held scoreless, and had only 1 assist. The Lakers continued to lead at the half 55-52, despite being outscored 30-16 in the quarter.

The 3^rd quarter brought much of what has made the Celtics successful against the Lakers this year. Rajon Rondo came out hustling for loose balls, getting deflections, and playing pesky defense. Kobe Bryant continued to struggle as he picked up foul #3 at 8:45, and foul #4 at 6:04. He was clearly frustrated at this point and some of the restraint he had shown in the first quarter was gone as he began to complain to the referees after every call, or no call. At 5:17 Derek Fisher completed a 3 point play, and next time down the court Vladimir Radmanovich got a steal and hit a 3 pointer in the corner. Both plays involved Rajon Rondo getting the foul on Fisher, and then throwing the ball away to Radmanovich.

Boston then switched to an unconventional line-up, and gave the Lakers a dose of their own medicine and went small. Doc Rivers inserted Sam Cassell, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, James Posey, and Kevin Garnett into the line-up. It was this unconventional, with 4 guards on the floor that allowed the Celtics to remain in touch with the Lakers. Although Los Angeles held the lead in rebounds throughout the game, watching the game with the naked eye would leave you to think otherwise. The Celtics were getting to all the loose balls, just generally getting to all the rebounds and showing more effort than the Lakers. The quarter ended with the Lakers leading 79-70, and winning the rare 3^rd quarter in the series.

The Lakers carried the momentum of the 3^rd quarter into the 4^th and started the quarter on a 5-2 run forcing Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers to call a timeout 1 minute in. It seemed early on that Los Angeles had picked up the hustling spirit of the Boston Celtics, but it was really all for naught as the Celtics began to whittle away at the lead that had grown to 12. By 2:30 the score was 95-93 in favor of the Lakers, and it seemed as if the Lakers might let another game slip through their grasps. But at 41.7 seconds to go Kobe Bryant stripped Paul Pierce then received a pass from Lamar Odom for a break away dunk. In the spirit of the dramatic Hollywood atmosphere the Lakers missed a few free throws and allowed Eddie House to hit a 3 pointer to close it to 101-98. After 2 more free throws from Derek Fisher the game was finally closed out.

From his huge first quarter when he had 15 points, Kobe Bryant had 10 points in the remaining 3 quarters. He was scoreless in the 2^nd, had 3 points in the 3^rd, and 7 to close the game out. Throughout the series the Lakers have found it difficult to find the balance between Kobe Bryant’s scoring and everyone else’s contributions. It has been all or nothing, as evidenced by the 1^st and 2^nd quarters.

Kevin Garnett has been unlike himself all series. Strapped with fouls managed a double-double, but is one of the most quiet ones I have ever seen, ending up with 13 points, 13 rebounds on 6-11 shooting. Ray Allen also struggled chipping in 16 points on 4-13 shooting and fouled out of the game. En route to his 16 Ray missed numerous open jumpers that were uncontested.

The lone bright spot, and most consistent player for the Celtics all series was Paul Pierce, and he shined again in game 5. Paul ended up with 38 points on 10-22 shooting, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. The series shifts back to Boston, and the TD Banknorth Garden, for game 6 Tuesday. The Lakers look to extend to a game 7, and the Celtics look to close the series out and celebrate in the streets of Boston.