Its only a choke if they lose, they won. All the switches on Bostons D are useless, and arent working, they need to stop letting the Lakers get so many easy buckets. The help D was almost non existent. Great job by the Lakers for making it a game, but they should have played that way the whole game.
The Celtics have more to do with the Lakers comeback then the Lakers do, the Celtics got complacent and lazy which led to the Lakers cutting the deficit to 2 points. This isn't the first time during the playoffs the Celtics have done this either so I am putting full blame on the Celtics for the Lakers cutting the lead down to 2.
Well Boston aslways has that issue, once they build on a huge lead they tend to let up and not play as agressie that was shown. I bet it Boston's lead was no more than 12 LA wouldn't have scored 41 points in the 4th. Also Phil Jackson is an ***. He said the Refs favored Boston because they complained about KG's Tech. They got the calls because they were more agressive. You wont see a jump shooting team get the calls.
I agree that Phil is an ***, and I am a Lakers fan. However, he is right. When one team shoots 28 more free throws than the other, it is clear that the refs were horrid and one sided in their officiating. Even if you take out the last four free throws the Celtics had (when L.A. had to fould to stop the clock), you are looking at 24 more attempts for Boston in what turned out to be a 6 point game. That doesn't look good for the league in my book. Yes L.A. settled for jump shots, but they also did their fair share of driving to the basket and were hacked many times without a whistle going off. Pau was robbed of some and ones, Kobe was fouled clearly on at least three or four plays that went uncalled for as was Lamar. I expect it to even out in L.A. especially with the media already jumping all over this and the players and coaches drawing attention to it. I also like how Kobe's third fould came, not from the ref standing right in front of the play, but from the ref on the far side of the court, or how Ray Allen was able to look over at the ref, ask for the foul and then get it. Oh well, Celtics still played great. I did however, vote for the refs as player of the game for game 2. I expect L.A. to probably win game 3 handily as it is on shorter rest which favors them, at home where they haven't lost and probably better officiating (one can hope).
The Lakers were hacking though, but then so were the Celtics a bit....your always gonna have "homecourt calls" but I dont think the ref's cost them the game by any means. BTW Gasol has become a full fledged cry baby, not only this game but others aswell he just crys......and crys and crys and crys! Go Celt's.
Sorry Laker fans across the world but your team is 0-4 agains Boston this season because they are a jump-shooting, soft team. They're not gonna get the calls if they are too afraid to drive the lane. Blame the refs all you want but all you are doing is making excuses. Sorry but the truth is the truth. They're weak. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/rumors/...-simply-aren-t-tough-enough-to-?urn=nba,86810
I don't know its hard to justify a 20 something difference in free throws, especially if the team getting 20 more free throws is the home team. The NBA always has officiating problems in the playoffs, its embarrassing. Honestly I've been steadily losing interest in the NBA ever since that Heat finals a few years back. The refs need to put the whistles away and let teams play. Its easy to explain it off as a team being softer or taking more jumpshots, but if you go to the hole early in the game, get hacked and get no calls you're going to stop doing it early. On the other side if you go to the hole early and get calls you'll keep doing it all night. Getting a 20 something edge and winning by 6 at home is actually really pathetic and telling.
I think its more telling that they didn't finish strong and got ahead of themselves, as well as the Lakers didn't just go away like they thought they would. Not so much pathetic as just a dumb move by the Celtics.
Actually its not. Sometimes its human nature to play with your guard down when there is 7 minutes left to go in the fourth Q, up by twenty-something. The adreniline wears off when your comfortably ahead. Instead of making it a negative, it would be wise to look at it as a positive for LA. A testament to a never give up/never out of it attitude by LA. Fact is, Boston won. Boston hunkered down when they needed to. How pathetic and telling will it be when Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics hold up the Championship trophy sky high and bring yet another Championship title to Boston. Also how pathetic is it that a coach with no Finals experiece and virtually zero playoff experience is out-coaching the coach w/the supreme resume? Where are the 2nd half adjustments? Boston has owned the 3rd quarter of these two games. Owned. How pathetic is it that Rondo was 3 or something assists shy of the amount of assists that the entire Laker team had in total. Oh, let's blame the refs right? That's whats pathetic.
Where was all this *****ing when the Hawks and Cavs were getting 30+ free throw attempts a game vs Boston? IF I recall they even got the calls in Boston because they played more agressive. The Officiating was bad this game but it wasn't one sided at all. Boston was just more agressive.
THAT is just funny. LEON POWE had 13 free throws to ALL of LA getting 10??? Seriously? 30+ free throws is not that big of deal when the other team gets ~20. Now 38-10? 4x as many free throws in a game that was ultimately decided by 6 points? I am sorry but when the Refs have THAT much control over a game, that is a HORRIBLE league. When you call two ticky tack fouls on the two best players on one team in the first quarter... Sorry, but this is why the NBA will always be behind the NFL. Even a good story on this... http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8225612/Free-throw-disparity-crucial-in-Celtics'-Game-2-win Edit: Oh and for the record, I Hate the Lakers. I am a Bulls and Heat fan. However, to see that kind of officiating in the Finals? It just sealed the fact I will NOT watch another game.
Maybe the Lakers should be more agressive then? Or just maybe the Lakers should play defense and attack the basket and not get *****ed around and blame the game on the refs. The refs were bad that game but their going to favor the agressor everytime.
They did. And got hammered. Eventually, it wasn't worth it to keep driving in the lane, getting arms grabbed and pushed around with no call.
Your kidding right? They got hammered? Lakers are soft they feel when you blow on them its a foul. Lakers aren't physical and certianly not agressive. I'll admit they got involved rather early considering they let both teams play for the first quarter that way the Refs feel out but they got involved early. Its usually the 3rd QT is heavy. Besides the C's do what they always do when they get a big lead they tend to play lazy. I bet 500 bucks that if the C's only were up by 10 or 12 going into the 4th they would have continued to play the way they did. I'm surprised no Laker fans even mention Vlad walking on that fast break steal. What a joke that was.
If getting pushed behind the back, having arms slapped at isn't hammered, then this is football. Lakers did play a little too soft but I thought they were taken out of their rhythm in the 2nd when they weren't getting calls for physical fouls but the Celts were. Eventually, all that contact led to a lot of turnovers and they dialed it back.
What are you talking about they got Perkins twice for pushing. C fans can say the samething, they weren't consistent with the calls because Lakers hardly attacked the basket like the C's did. There were alot of missed calls once the 4th Quarter came about. The Refs turned the other way for Boston because Boston had such a lead. Odom got away with so much in that 4th QT, what normally would be a foul the previous 3 quarters for Boston turned to be a no call. Now I really think people are putting to much into the comeback, the C's slouched with 8 mins left in the game and was playing different. They have done that in everygame they had a huge lead. I see LA beating the C's in game 3 by 11, LA's bench comes up huge in game 3. Btw still perpelexed at the walking Vlad did on that fast break.
By haters of all things "miami" and especially the north eastern bias against Miami teams is what started it and that ******* Bill Simmons was the one that started it with his article calling the Heat win an abomination. I am dissapointed that you even bought into that since you are a Dolphin fan and experience this bias all the time. as an aside...Donahey rigged at least 2 games against the Heat and the Heat had a 1-7 lifetime record with ole' Timmy reffing games. of course..we won 59 and 52 games during the two years we had that 1-7 record with him.
Kobe elbowed Allen, how is that a horrid call? The first one he ran over Pierce...looked like a foul to me.
Lol, I'm not watching it. I don't know why. Not too big of a fan of either teams. I think this is the second year in a row i have failed to watch the finals haha.
Its nothing but pathetic to lose a lead like that, particularly when you're getting to the line all night. Theres no justifying it, it was very close to being a historic choke. Only a total homer would laugh it off and act as though it was actually positive, it was embarrassing. The Celtics have been awful on the road. The Lakers could very well win 3 on the road. All they have to do is steal one at on the road, which they damn near did. Justify it all you want, but getting that much help from the refs and hanging on for dear life after having a 20 point lead is just pathetic. And I hate the Lakers.
On another note.. this just in.. After the Celtics landed in LA, Kendrick Perkins was immediately tagged with 2 fouls right as he walked out of the gate... It's gonna be a looooong night.. oh yes
Sorry, you're looking at it too seriously. The outcome is all that matters. The C's had the stones and the prowess to hold it down. It's the way they've played thru 66 wins in the season and thru 14 wins in the playoffs. The C's thrive when the intensity goes up and slack off when its too easy. Period. End of debate.
Well if you have nothing more to add then we can stop debating, I have to laugh at a fan that actually believes his team taking it easy with a lead is 'understandable'. Its pathetic, in the finals. Yea against Memphis in the regular season sure why not, but the finals against the Wests best team? Thats poor coaching, leadership and a pretty dumb team. You are going to relax with Kobe on the court? Wow, this take is rough to figure out, its just ridiculous. Whew.