Celtics’ Defense Wins Them Game 1

Boston Celtics won Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals.

Surprise! Surprise!

OR IS IT?

We all witnessed game 1 and we saw how good the Celtics defend. Of course, all teams have lapses but when it mattered most they shut down the Lakers. The people of Boston and all the other Celtics fans should also thank 2008 MVP Kobe Bryant for delivering game 1 to Boston in a silver platter. Kobe was at it again. He was hogging the ball and completely disregard setting up a play. If the play designed by Phil Jackson is to give to Kobe the ball at all times and let Kobe take any shot he wants then I have lost my confidence in Phil Jackson. That is why I don’t buy it. It was all Kobe.

Okay, to be fair to Kobe, he did made those shots most of the game (and I was in awe) but when it mattered most he faltered and forced the issue. Lakers could have gotten game 1 had they set up a fluid play to give Kobe more room and give him a higher percentage of making what ever kind of shot he has in mind. But they didn’t. When Kobe was missing, so was the whole team. Point blank shots by Gasol and wide open three point shots from FIsher and Vujacic all missed the bottom of the net. If it wasn’t nerves then maybe the spirit of Red Auerbach played a hand here.

Notes of The Game:

• Paul Pierce suffered an injury during the 3rd Quarter. It was a scary injury and Pierce mas grimacing in pain while holding his right knee. Luckily for the Celtics Paul Pierce shook it off and played one hell of a ball game with two 6-point swing on different occasion. Part of the first 6-point swing was a four-point play via a foul-counted three point basket by Pierce
• Kendrick Perkins also went off the court a few minutes after Pierce did. He never returned to the ball game. It was then reported as a sprained left ankle injury.
• Kobe’s unbelievable shots (fizzled out in the end game) including a dunk via a fast break play.
• Kevin Garnett’s hell freezing follow-up dunk over Pau Gasol. Go watch in YouTube NOW!
• Gasol’s block on Garnett early in the game. Gasol was called for a foul but as shown in the replay that it was a clean one but Turiaf did hit Garnett’s forearm. So there was actually a foul but called on the wrong man.
• Pierce and Odom competed on who will be fouled out first. Both players went into an early foul trouble.

-shooter’s bounce