Lakers Lose 2008 NBA Finals

Congratulations to the Boston Celtics.

The Los Angeles Lakers franchise suffers another defeat from their rivals in the 2008 NBA Finals. Some people said it's a lucky day to win the Celtics' 17th championship in June 17th and at this point, Lady Luck smiled on the Celtics.

Well, not only luck, but it helped that the Lakers just wilted to the stingy team defense of the Boston Celtics. Kobe Bryant was held to below-level production and the tandem of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom have failed to capitalize again. The Lakers defense looked listless against Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, thus the anti-climactic blowout in the Finals.

Congratulations Boston. The Lakers will be back.


Tags: Lakers

Lakers Hang On for Game 5 Win

The Los Angeles Lakers staved off another comeback by the Boston Celticsto survive Game 5 of the 2008 NBA Finals.

The final score was 103-98, but at one point during the game, the Lakers were up by 19 points. Again, the Lakers have demonstrated that they have a difficult time holding on to leads. When you think about it, had the Lakers maintained their 24 point lead in Game 4, the Lakers should be up 3-2 in the series instead of the Celtics.

It's always good to avoid elimination at the hand of the Celtics, but the Lakers have not convinced the whole basketball world that they are the rightful champions with the way they have played in the Finals. They got outplayed in the clutch in Game 1, they missed on a comeback of their own in Game 2, and fumbled leads in Games 4 and 5. In order to force a historic Game 7 in Boston, some points must be met:

1. Lakers not named Kobe Bryant must step up - It's pretty clear that the Celtics are letting the other Lakers beat them. It was Sasha Vujacic in Game 3 and Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom in Game 5. Gasol and Odom must exceed whatever they have done in the Staples Center to give the Lakers a fighting chance.
2. Check Paul Pierce - Game 3 was the game Paul Pierce managed to score only 6 points and the Lakers won. Go figure.
3. Defense Please - As much as I'd like the Lakers play an elegant game, defending the basket has brought them tremendous success so far. And this interior defense relies so much on Gasol and Odom. I do hope the win has galvanized the defense.

The win in Game 5 was very nice. The series is far from over. We will see a Game 7 with a good performance from the Lakers in Game 6 in Boston.


Tags: Lakers

Lakers on the Brink

If you surf the internet and look for the words used by most journalists to describe the Los Angeles Lakers' 97-91 loss, two words come up: collapse and meltdown.

But as a fan, the game was just a disaster. People can breakdown the game any way they want but the fact of the matter is the Lakers faded and the Boston Celtics were more than happy to get the win and take a 3-1 lead.

Make no mistake, a two game deficit is not impossible to overcome for the Lakers-- provided that Tracy McGrady is playing for the Celtics. But all signs indicate that the Lakers as a team have not been able to respond and play their brand of basketball in the series to get a convincing win. Game 4 may be the turning point in the Finals-- the one people will remember as how the 2008 NBA Championship was dramatically shaped by the Celtics.

As for Game 5, I'm just hoping the Lakers will give one big fight-- no collapses, no meltdowns and no disasters.


Tags: Lakers

Kobe Bryant and Sasha Vujacic Lift Lakers over Celtics

The Los Angeles Lakers finally won a game in the 2008 NBA Finals over long-time rival Boston Celtics. In a very defense-oriented game, only two Lakers scored over 20 points in the 87-81 win.

Kobe Bryant and Sasha Vjuacic.

Yes, that Sasha Vujacic. Not Pau Gasol; not Lamar Odom and definitely not Derek Fisher. It's "The Machine", baby!

Bryant scored a game high 36 points and Vujacic scored 20, with key three-pointers down the stretch. While everyone else in the Lakers roster s(t)unk, the two Lakers made a series out of the Finals that everyone dreamed of. Being down 2-0 after the Boston games, the Finals was fast becoming a nightmare for Lakers fans. But thanks to "The Black Mamba" and "The Machine," there's hope to a 6-game series for the Lakers.

I pointed out in my last blog post that the Lakers needed to do three things, and based on Game 3's outcome, they succeeded in doing those three to a certain extent:

1. The Lakers got to the line - 34 free throw attempts ain't pretty bad (Boston had 22 free throw attempts).
2. The Lakers played out of character - I kinda wanted the Lakers to stick to what worked for them, but they went toe-to-toe with the Celtics with their gritty brand of basketball.
3. The Lakers had a sense of urgency - Yes, I thought the Lakers were out of it in the third when the Celtics mounted a comeback, but they didn't take things for granted in the fourth. The last two minutes was not exactly pretty basketball, but the Lakers had enough to win it.

What should the Lakers do in Game 4 to tie the series? Here's my take:

1. The Bench Mob must show up - Thanks to Vujacic, the Bench Mob was represented but contributions from Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton is needed to win confortably over the Celtics.
2. Use the 3's Wisely - With good long-range shooting, the spacing on the floor for the Lakers improve dramatically. Fisher, Vujacic and Vladimir Radmanovic should not shoot in bulk but should look for good looks often.
3. Defend! - Yeah, this sounds much of a cliche, but the Lakers succeeded in giving the Celtics a hard time shooting the ball in Game 3.We should see more contested shots, but also avoid making useless fouls.
   

Those three points should ensure a 2-2 series by the time Game 5 begins.


Tags: Lakers

Can the Lakers Bounce Back?

The Los Angeles Lakers are down 0-2 against the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals. Suddenly, people who picked the Lakers to win now look more stupid than ever. (Myself included.)

But the question now is: "Can the Lakers make a series out of the Finals?"

I say "Yes" in reply to that question but the Lakers need to do three things first:

1. Get to the free throw line - Yeah, people (including the Lakers) have complained about the disparity in free throw shooting. Why is Kobe Bryant not going to line? Is this another case of non-calls similar to the ones in the series against the San Antonio Spurs? Perhaps the Celtics defense is THAT good that the Lakers all of a sudden become very lame. The key here is to show the grit and aggressiveness shown in the fourth quarter of Game 2.
   
2. Play "Their Game" - and that game is offense-- smart basketball characterized by crisp passing and easy baskets. The triangle worked for them against physical teams like the Spurs and the Utah Jazz in the playoffs and the Lakers must regain their composure despite being down two games. The Lakers will definitely find their confidence back in the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
3. Don't get too overconfident - Almost all NBA Finals previews handed the Lakers the Larry O'Brien trophy, similar to the Finals series against the Detroit Pistons in 2004. The Lakers should stay with their upstart mindset that needed to prove something to the world. Yes, the Celtics did have the better regular season record, but people don't give them credit because the play in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers dethroned the Spurs and beat teams like the Denver Nuggets (who would be a good Eastern Conference team) and the Jazz. This is the time Phil Jackson should dig deep into his Zen Bag-of-Tricks and get the Lakers motivated again.

So, if the Lakers do these three things, we will see a 6 game series with the Lakers winning in Boston. Otherwise, we may see a sweep of the team that should have won the NBA Finals.


Tags: Lakers

Dream Finals Come True: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics

The Los Angeles Lakers versus the Boston Celtics.

Now that's what a Dream NBA Finals come true.

No offense to the San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons, but another Spurs-Pitsons finale might have killed the league from an enjoyment point of view. Even when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers met the Spurs last year, there was no sparks flew-- nobody cared even when they were playing basketball.

But "Lakers versus Celtics"? Everyone's already anticipating the Finals even before the games start. That's what 21 years of waiting does usually.

1987 was the last time the two storied franchises met in the NBA Finals and the Lakers won it six games and the series defining moment was Magic Johnson's "Junior, Junior, Junior Sky Hook" in Game 4. Now it's up the new generation of Lakers and Celtics to create their own mystique and add to the fabled Lakers-Celtics rivalry.

The Lakers lost both their meetings in the regular reason and I wonder how Pau Gasol will affect the outcomes of the games as he did not play in those two games. At those times, the Lakers had yet to get their swagger and groove in playing as a team. Their current playoff record of 12-3 shows that they have jelled together better late in the season.

Kobe Bryant also has a chance to brand 2008 as "Year of the Kobe" as he has won the MVP for the first time in his career and a championship ring would be the ultimate piece to complete his stellar season.

So how do I think the series will play out? Lakers win NBA championship in five.


Tags: Lakers