Jun

6

Slam Dunk Central Columnist Kyle Stack Analysis Of NBA Finals Game One

Posted by Kyle Stack under NBA PLAYOFFS, SDC COMMENTARY 

It was a well-played first half for a first game of a Finals. Both teams came out playing hard and neither squad allowed many easy points around the basket. The lack of nervousness and establishment of tough play around the hoop will set the tone for this series.

Derek Fisher (13 points) and Pau Gasol (12 points, 4 assists) each started off strong and Gasol’s start was especially promising. He’s had problems with physical play during the playoffs, but if he can get in a rhythm offensively, then the Lakers offense will be truly unstoppable.

Kevin Garnett was outstanding in the first half with 16 points and six rebounds, but don’t believe anyone who says this is best Garnett has played in his playoff career (Michael Wilbon noted this at halftime). Garnett played like a monster during the 2003-04 Western Conference Finals against the Lakers, averaging 23.6 points and 13.5 rebounds and generally playing like a man on a mission. He had that same look in his eye in Game 1, knocking down jumpers, playing his typically stellar defense and, most importantly, managing his emotions and intensity.

Paul Pierce was nonexistent, accumulating as many fouls (3) as points. At least three times, by my count, Pierce would receive the ball inside the three-point line near the baseline and the Lakers would run a second defender, usually Lamar Odom, from underneath the basket. The first two times, Pierce was taken by surprise and passed the ball out. The third time, Pierce recognized the double dribbled closer to an open spot on the baseline and passed to Kendrick Perkins underneath the basket, who had a dunk blocked by Gasol.

The tide turned completely in the second half as the Celtics came out motivated, as Pierce made three straight shots and a free throw to start the second. After going down with a knee injury a bit later in the third, it looked like a torn knee. I figured he was out for the series. There will be a lot of Willis Reed comparisons, as Pierce, like Reed, came out of the tunnel and knocked a shot down right away. His two threes toward the end of the third quarter is what really turned the tide, though. Even though the two three pointers, both hit from the right wing, gave Boston just a four-point lead, the momentum and confidence the home team gained was priceless.

The Celtics won the boards, 46-33, and the Lakers couldn’t get stops down the stretch. Boston kept challenging the Lakers’ interior defense and Paul Pierce dropped 19 points in the second half. Boston played hungrier and with more confidence in the second half. They played like champions.

The Lakers must get more consistency from Gasol and Odom. Forget Kobe, he’ll get his. Gasol scored three points in the second half and he is the one to be blamed for Garnett’s emphatic tip-in dunk near the end of the game that put the Celtics up eight, 94-86. Gasol stood on the opposite side of the basket from where James Posey was shooting, waiting for the clanked shot to carry its momentum over the rim and into his hands, but he never bothered to pay attention to Garnett, who was lurking in front of the basket. The ball bounced off the rim, nearly straight up and toward the front of the hoop, where Garnett met the ball in mid-air and two-hand dunked it home. That play was a microcosm of the second half. The Lakers were flat-footed and lazy. The Celtics were fired up and quicker to land the first punch.

The Lakers will come out with more energy in Game 2 and the Celtics will surely match that. The opportunity to go up 2-0 before heading to the West Coast is one the Celtics must take advantage of, given their struggles on the road in these playoffs. I can’t wait for Game 2.


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