The Lakers opened the 2008 NBA Finals much like they finished the 2004 Finals. They were flat, they got out hustled, and just couldn’t knock down the big shots. It was a second half the Lakers will hope to soon forget.
The good thing is, the Lakers played pretty bad and still were within striking distance for the entire game, on the road. The Lakers as a team only shot 41% from the field and 21% from three point land. The difference in the game however, clearly was on the glass… the Lakers only had 33 rebounds all game, compared to 46 from Boston.
The Lakers played good defense tonight, but need to move the ball better and get to the rim more.
Now, the bests of the night…
Top 3 Laker Performers -
1) Fisher played great tonight. 15 points, 4 boards, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
2) Pau didn’t have his best game, but still the second best on L.A. tonight. 15 points on 6-11 shooting, 8 boards, 4 assists.
3) Even though Kobe’s shot wasn’t falling, he still kept us in the game. 24 points and 6 assists.
Lakers Smush of the Day (Note: STD denotes the Laker that played the poorest): Luke didn’t score and had 3 fouls. He got some bad luck, but still wasn’t contributing much.
Play of the Game: Kobe’s oop from Fisher on the break.
What to Look for Next Game: Look for better shooting from the Lakers. Lakers must crash the boards. At the same time, watch out for Sasha. He is due.
Game is Sunday night at 6PM PST.
Remember, you can watch the game at Staples with other Laker fans for $15!
TLN’s Finals Report: Lakers vs. Celtics [Game 3]
TLN’s Finals Report: Lakers vs. Celtics [Game 4]
TLN’s Finals Report: Lakers vs. Celtics [Game 5]
TLN’s Post-Game Report: Lakers vs. Bobcats
TLN’s Post-Game Report: Lakers vs. Celtics
The Lakers had a very disappointing second half, but I have confidence in their ability to bounce back as they have in previous games of the playoffs
Calm down everybody.
Lakers played really bad on the second half and it was just not our night.
We need to steal one in Boston. Next game Kobe will play much better. Guaranteed.
We learned a lot tonight. Pierce injury was fake in my opinion. He figure out going out of the game with all that drama and coming back would lift the crowd and the team. That trick won’t work again.
Hope guys, this is just game 1.
I believe on my guys.
Lakers in 5 or 6
^ thank you. im not the only one that thought that was a bs injury. lakers in 6.
yeah pierce’s injury was definately fake. hes a leprechaun drama queen. were def winning this. i hope in 5, so we can win it at home. but winning there might be pretty sweet too.
kobes gonna have a much much better night, and i also think one of the biggest problems we had was lamars foul trouble. wont be the case in game 2.
im glad we got our ‘bad half of basketball’ out of the way tonight. good basketball from here on out.
PLay Arizaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! goddamn how long is it going to be before phil realizes that luke cant defend cant dunk cant shoot or get rebounds. ariza is much more athletic on defense and i would take ariza over luke 0 points 3 fouls any time!
we will bounce back
plus
i hope trevor takes lukes minutes
please phill…
I second to that, Can somebody tell me why phil doesn’t play Ariza???? Laker MUST come out strong in everyway in game 2! It was a disappointed game
Next season we need to get rid of Luke and Vlad.
Pau needs to get on weights hard and put 10 pounds of muscle on that skinny body.
Play Ariza!!!!!!!!
Go Lakers! I believe.
yeah definately play ariza. i dont know what phil was thinking tonight. we need his defense. its invaluable.
Smush of the day should be Kobe. Gasol is too soft and Luke is just retarded. Phil is just a bad coach. As I was saying, they don’t win because of Phil, they win in spite of him.
[No. I dont agree with the "it wasnt our night" of course it was but the lakers didn't take advantage in the third quarter when Pierce and Perkins went out. In my opinion, Lakers should of been up by ten. But it was the good defense from the boston that won the game and DEFENSE win championships. I also think somebody besides Kobe needs to get aggresive like um, ODOM! Odom needs to be our very own version of boston's garnett!]
YEAH,PAUL PIERCE WAS FULL OF DRAMA….I DONT BELIEVE HE WAS HURT FOR ONE MINUTE…SO BOSTON GOT THIS ONE…WE’LL BE BACK….I TOO BELIEVE IN MY GUYS…THE LAKE SHOW!!!
da key play of the game was pierce comin out eventho he fake it
lakers next game for sure
what was that?
The Lakers lost this game because they couldn’t keep their aggression for the entire game. In the first half, the Lakers matched Boston’s aggressiveness, but in the second half, the Lakers stopped being aggressive and were settling for outside shots, instead of being aggressive and attacking the rim. Also, the fact that the rebounding edge went to Boston demonstrates that Boston was definitely the aggressor on the glass. Boston plays aggressive for the entire game. The Lakers have to match that.
Also, one thing that became very evident in this game is that the Lakers have no physical players. Boston is a very physical team, and the Lakers have no physical players to match that. Win or lose, in the offseason, the Lakers need to seek out a physical/defensive minded player (and no Bynum is not enough to be that physical presence, not yet anyways).
kobe = STD. his horrible FG percentage just, plain KILLED us. it was like watching someone taking a knife and cutting themselves till they bleed to death. whatever. i still have hope.
ya, this loss sucked, but im not worried. there is no way the lakers are gonna play a half that bad again in this series(im reffering to the second half). i think the lakers will win in 6 or 7 games. im so excited for next year already, when bynum is back and fully healthy and the team has a full ofseason together, i think the lakers will dominate the next 4 or 5 years
Kobe NEVER shoots poorly twice in a row…expect a slaughter
a lot of kobe’s shots were in and out! the rotations today seemed wierd, ariza cant do any worse than walton with 0 points and 3 fouls!
Yes, totally agree in regards to the the aggressiveness and physical side that the lakers need. In my oppinion I think in the offseason the lakers should look into trading Luke, Vladi, Mihm and/or Coby for an agressive player such as Ron Artest, Carmelo, Boozer.
The players of the game were the refs, they gave Boston all the calls from the Gasol over the back call which wasn’t to Garnett’s over the back non call which was to all the ticky tack fouls called on the Lakers down the stretch. How can the Lakers make a come back when Gasol drives to the basket and Garnett doesn’t get called for a foul in the fourth with so much contact or Kobe taking it to the hole with three guys around him and getting a no call yet Fisher puts his hand on Rondo at half court near the end of the 4th and gets called for a foul meaning two free throws. For almost the last five minutes of the game, Boston was always getting bailed out by the refs with a foul and getting free throws. Damn Fuke Walton sucked azz but the replay showed that Old Man Brown pushed off on the rebound yet nothing was called and then Fluke stripped him clean of the ball and was called for a foul. Gasol gets a clean block on Garnett and gets called for a foul in the 2nd, PJ Brown had like three moving screens that weren’t called, Cassell’s foot wasn’t even set and Kobe got called for an offensive foul, Radman got fouled on a three point shot very clearly in the first quarter and got a no call, Pierce was seen pulling Odom’s jersey very clearly on a replay going for a rebound in the 2nd yet Odom was called for the foul, Posey almost tore off Kobe’s arm after the whistle blew and didn’t even get a technical and I won’t mention how many times Perkins pushed off for a rebound and never got called for a foul. I can go all night but whatever….F U C K Boston and Garnett and Drama Queen Pierce!
WOW! I’m surprised nobody mentioned how the refs dictated the game once again! Was it just me or did anyone else notice how the refs called all the ticky tack fouls on the lakers and celtics got away with jersey grabbing to illegal screens! And what about that retarded logo of the trophy in the center? Can that thing be any bigger? You can’t even see the mid-court line and b/c of that we got a call against us when Pau was called for over and back. And when KG did it, no call! Seriously, it seems like the nba wants this to go seven games to generate as much money as possible! And whats up with space cadets defense on Pierce during the start of the second half.. 8 points for Pierce in a minute and half! That killed us! I hope to see Kobe take it to the hole more next game.
I think this is again another one of David Stern & the NBA setup! Stern and NBA want the LAKERS and the Drama Queens Cs to play all the way to game seven and that’s what it will be cause the want the $$$$! Of course I think everyone notice the ref were f-ing up all the way…I bet Game 2 will be all about the LAKERS cause David & NBA will say so. F- David Stern, the NBA, their Goons (the refs) and the Drama Queens Cs!! Bunch of Fakers!!!
i dont even wanna watch any sportscenter-espn stuff. imma say the refs called some bs stuff, pierce is a total inglewood p*ssy for all that drama-fake oh i got hit in the neck cr*p, gasol needs some agression in him, luke needs to get slap upside the head, and we just need an overall great game sunday.
i predict that kobe will light some thunder, everyone’s shootin, passin, and defense will be back up, and lets send it back to L.A.!!!!
i know the lakers didnt come this far to give it up to a bunch of wannabe-boston pride-only played one season with the celtics-no good-start to slap my head cuz im so tite-never should win a championship ray allen and never was a big ticket garnett.
This looks like its going to be one of those series that will be drawn out because the NBA is at a low point and needs the money. But it is the NBA Finals and it is Lakers vs. Celtics so there is going to be rigged games.
We can try and blame this on the refs, but we need to realize that our offense was horrible tonight. I’m a huge Kobe fan and I must admit that he played a stupid game tonight, for some reason he would not drive. He kept on shooting jumpshots over defenders. There was no ball movement and we got no production from Radman or Sasha. Another huge thing were the hustle plays that Boston dominated, they wanted this game much more than us and they deserved to win this game.
The play where garnett dunked off the miss, summed up the whole game. Gasol moved out of the way and assumed the rebound would come to his side and thought he didnt need to box out. Next thing you know he’s on a poster because he failed to Box KG out of the paint.
We played horrible tonight but were still within striking distance on the roard, which gives me hope.
I look for Kobe to facilitate much more in the next game and try to create opportunities for others, and for Lamar to be more assertive and drive to the hoop.
Luke only played 13 minutes and was 0-2. He doesn’t deserve the STD. Kobe was 9-26 and scored only 24 points with 4 to’s. He didn’t guard R. Allen that well either.. Ray allen had 19 pts. 8 rebounds and 5 assists. He deserved the STD.
Other than Fisher, the entire Laker squad deserved the STD for their lack of aggression in the second half.
I never like blaming it on the ref…but today is an exception. the refs were bleeding green tonite…so much bs calls…the bad officiating by the refs is what causes us to have a bad offense…these refs won’t let us play our game!!
bad ref = bad offense
The STD has to go to Kobe for trying to shoot himself into rhythm and thus shooting his team out of one. Kobe cannot attempt 25 fadeaways and expect to help his team. he can make all of them, but all that means is that they win one game and the Celtics force him to do it again. If he wants to win the series, he needs to take smart shots and trust his teammates.
Stay aggressive!!
i cant believe kobe played this bad in this biggest stage he has always dreamed of.
Drive the fuking ball to the basket!! stop taking jump shots when you are missing more than 2/3 of them……no one can stop you kobe!!! geeeez……
i still think lakers will win in 5 games!
by the way, wat sup with referees in 3rd quarters? everything is touch fuols for lakers. fuk that {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.} man!
hahaha… sup?! fakers… blame the loss again from the ref.. man you guys do really suck! underestimate these celtics are your biggest mistake and that is exactly how you get beaten!
celtics in 4
Come on LAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next year we’ve got to unload Smush Walton, but there is plenty of blame to go around. We did not get much from Jordan or Sasha. Lamar was not mentally in the game for most of the game with lots of plays where he was out hustled. Give Ariza a chance Phil!!! He can’t do any worse that Smush out there. He is so much more athletic. At least he can guard someone.
You sir, are a fkn moron.
Play Ariza!!!!
I know I might be the only one who feels this way, but I feel like the lakers got cheated out of this game by the officials. This is the FINALS and they kept calling ticky tac fouls. I say again this is the FINALS. This reminds me of the Laker,Detroit series when the lakers got cheated out of that one. True we didn’t play well, but we can’t beat them if the officials keep flat out cheating against our team. Who is this Al guy? What a moron, enough said about this guy. I agree play Ariza
Let’s see if this Joseph idiot is on this web site when the finals are over. We want hear from him then, but we will remember. Everybody else remember this idiot, we will try to contact him when the lakers win the series.
The MAJORITY of Kobe’s misses were in and out, he barely missed them and the shots wouldn’t stay down they would always bounce around inside the rim and pop out. Thats not happening again, not two times in a row and plus you saw Kobe he was PISSED. DON’T PISS OFF THE BLACK MAMBA. But yeah I would like to see him drive to the basket more but then he wasn’t getting that many calls. What’s up with the refs giving every loose ball to the Celtics to start the game, to keep the Lakers from blowing them open in the first quarter? BTW Pierce is injury is BS…but if you noticed he didn’t attack the rim at all and the majority of his 3rd quarter points after he came back were those 2 three’s, another 3 w/Radman fouling his @$$ for the 4 point play. So that might mean that he’s a little hurt, hopefully he breaks his leg for acting like it was a season ending injury. What a joke. BOSTON FANS ARE A JOKE, WHERE WERE YOU ALL LAST YEAR? F’ING BANDWAGONERS! CELTIC PRIDE MY @$$ WHAT ABOUT THE LAST 21 YEARS, WHERE THE F$@! WAS THE CELTIC PRIDE? NO ONE WANTED TO PLAY IN BOSTON UNTIL THIS YEAR, AND NOW THAT KG IS THERE THE PRIDE IS BACK? F’ING BANDWAGONERS!!!
KISS OUR PURPLE AND GOLD A$$ES WHO EVER YOU ARE!!!!!!!!!!!1
Celtics played great defense in the 4th quarter. Make adjustments, regroup and get back out there Sunday
Lane
http://LosAngelesSource.com
I thought RADMAN played good defense in the first half. I liked that he was so pissed when he had to leave the game. I wish he hit that long 3 going into half time. Let’s not forget he is 6′10″, so he closes well. Pierce had like 5 pts in the first half. Partly due to foul trouble, which is a great way to slow Boston, get their guys in trouble.
I think Offensively, Lamar should take it to Kendrick HARD. Perkins is bigger but cannot match speed and will pick up fouls. Lamar HAS to hit free throws.
I thought the offense worked best when Kobe utilized Pau in dribble penetration - hand offs, screen and rolls.
we got tapped on lot of kobes and sasha;s shots
They need to do something about these tik-tak fouls that bostom always seems to get. The same thing happend in the Detroit series where Boston won from the line.
If you look at this game objectively, you’d see that the refs were the ones who stopped the Lakers surge. How is it Rondo gets more calls than Kobe? How is it when Luke stripped PJ Brown, they call a foul but many times Odom, Gasol, and Vlad went in the paint and were hacked no wistle blew?
I’m sorry guys but that game last night was won by the refs.
hahahahaha phil said about injuries… some guy’s drawstrings fall apart… implying that pierce’s injury was fake. i like the idea of playing ariza.
all we need is a split in boston.
…with that being said. Boston HAD to win this game… this was as close to a must win for them as there is … so the more desperate home team won… its ok. It wasnt a blow out and it is the PERFECT game for Phil to make adjustments. If you ask Doc Rivers… he’ll say, “were gonna keep doing what were doing.” thus playing in Phil Jacksons favor.
We’ve adjusted well to every lost this playoffs and i see no difference in this one. The one week, hype and buildup really takes a toll on s fans, but in reality…. Boston didnt look scary at all… they look like a team that we will beat in this series.
Just not a sweep, thats all.
Faith and Confidence Guys.
Kobe took some awful shots in the second half. The Celtics stopped the pick and roll and picked up their defense. If I’m the Lakers I would have Gasol and Bohyah{Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.} or whatever his name is some more shots.
Pierce’s injury was fake indeed. I think he was watching Karate Kid part 1, before the game. Because, he experienced what Daniel Larusso did in Karate Kid Part 1. First he gets hurt by Johnny’s Cobra Kai teammate, people carried him out to the locker room, something magical happens in there, and all of a sudden he starts walking out of the locker room. Talk about over dramatic!
Yes, Lakers settled by shooting way, way too many jump shots. There was not a whole lot of ball movement, barely any fast breaks, not much driving to the lane. And please, Lamar please make ur free throws and don’t shoot from the outside…Lamar you are a terrible jump shooter. He needs to focus on passing and rebounding. And Pau was like a school girl out there. He was moved off the block and outhustled by a 38 year old PJ Brown. Pau needs to man up and go after rebounds. He has a tendency to wait for the ball to come to him. And again, when Luke got into the game…that’s when the decline started…it’s always the case cause he contributes nothing. The Celtics are too fast for him, that’s why they got open shots…he’s slow to react and move on rotations…PLEASE PLAY ARIZA!!! When Kobe gets double teamed … the Lakers should come to him and get the ball…I think Kobe’s poor performance also had to do with the fact that he got no help when he needed it…guys just stood there instead of rotating around to get the ball from him…so he ended up forcing some shots. AND YES…PAUL PIERCE SURE WAS DOING ALOT OF ACTING YESTERDAY.
YES WE PLAY BAD… kobe shots not stay down but he just sucked period. gasol was like a {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.} out there… odom was not mentally ready… fisher played great.. the bench sucked… now u should never blame refs but WTF happen in 3rd Q??????? THEY attempted i believe 13 or 15 free throws????? WTF…. STERN GONNA HAVE A TALK WITH REFS AND TELL THEM TO STOP MAKING {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.} HAND ON PERSON FOUL CUZ U KNOW WAT IF THATS A FOUL KOBE GETS FOULED EVERY SINGLE TIME DOWN THE COURT… POSEY SHOULDA GOTTEN A FLAGRANT FOUL FOR JUST HOLDING ON TO KOBES ARM AND SPINNING HIM REMEMBER TURIAF ON PRICE YEA SAME THING IT JUST WAY TO HARDER TO KNOCK KOBE DOWN… WE PLAYED TERRIBLE AND REFS HELPED OUT THEM IN 3rd Q AND THATS IT…
Game. 2 is almost a must win.
I was suspicious of the lakers being soft, and game 1 held true in that regard. they have no one who can get to the rack except kobe and boston isnt gonna let that happen often. I think the west was a little overrated, they certainly dont play defense like detroit or boston…or even cleveland.
also, kobe is so fake it kills me…you wonder why he has so many detractors. he tries to act ghetto when he’s a silver spoon boy! ‘i missed some bunnies’…please, spare me. when he was with the tnt guys watching the kenny-smith-gets-hit-by-a-car video, it seemed like he would only laugh when the guys in the studio laughed…and it was poor hollywood faux laughter. he reminds me of a-rods personna a little….fake!
hey, how DOES it feel to have an mvp who nearly destroyed the team before the season….methinks chris paul was the clear choice, you cant nearly destroy the team and get mvp in the same season.
anyways, if la is counting on knocking down more jumpers, then they had better prepare for a short series. in the first half, every one but kobe was hitting, and it didnt get them much. kobe may shoot better, but they need to figure out how to get inside more and get the celtics defense scrambling. thing is, they dont have the personnel to do it. la is just to soft
Why won’t people admitt more and say Kobe played horrible?!?!? Had like 20 fadeaway attempts, Kobes my boi but fucc, drive!!!! Get KG in foul trouble or in a situation that he has to help and then pass the rock, good thing is Kobe played like sht and we were up 5 at half, when
he was passing we were winning, fadeaway= Celtics win
Lakers in 5
Unbelievable!!! There was no clearer STD than KB this game. You have to be deep-throating KB pretty hard to not see that.
KB was lazy and impatient this game (on O and D) - dont expect a repeat performance . . . I’m sure hes studied his opponent and now sees his spots quite clearly (w/o the need for triple pump fallaways).
How can Walton be STD with 14 minutes of play?! ROFL
By the way - blaming refs is a cop out. As a highly critical viewer of PJ, I must say the game plan was quite brilliant - nullified Rondo and Perkins; in-game adjustment of nullifying Cassell; timely time-outs; impressed with PJ’s game and time management (Ariza not playing notwithstanding)
WHY WHY WHY does Phil insist on starting Radmonovic?
His main strength is offense, but has been inconsistent this whole playoffs..
and on defense, please don’t get me started.. he is a liability and he is guarding the Celtics best player Pierce.. does that make any sense?
especially on the road, we can NOT let the Celtics jump out to an early lead.. we need to hit them hard from the beginning..
the ANSWER: START ARIZA!!!!!!!!!!!
He is an effective all-around defender, lengthy, more agile, and will crash the boards.. offensively, he is constantly moving and a slasher which will make Pierce play “D” which will make Pierce expend energy and/or commit fouls
PHIL GET NEW GLASSES CAUSE YOU AREN’T SEEING STRAIGHT
p.s. Lakers match their intensity and aggression!!! Bring the pain!!!
Off the bench should be Walton since he doesn’t have to guard Pierce
gulp…. that was good. Luke should be the std. he brings nothing to the table. Did you see him getting man handled for rebounds out there? That is our weakest position on the floor.If we don’t win we definetly have to upgrade from luke and vlad and trade for someone who can play even if we have to include bynum for a star small forward unless we use LO as small forward next year. But it would be nice to get rid of vlad and luke and bring in a brotha who can ball.
Not quite sure why race is in play here . . .
Luke was guarding PP and/or Posey - both of whom had 0 offensive boards - so not quite sure that “manhandled” applies here
The fact that u believe Vlad (+1) and Luke (-5) dont bring anything to the table has nothing to do with game by game std status
Was it just me, or did u guys notice how soft Gasol and odom were attacking the basket! Man, Gasol is great but he was killing me with his softness, while attacking the basket! next game i swear he has to come out and pound it! Him and Lamar odom are vital to the Lakers Success and they arnt going to be handed baskets they need to attack attack attack! and I dont wanna say he has too cause its the phil master but dont u guys think Ariza should be on Pierce? Come on lets be honest Rad man is just not quick enough or strong enough i think ariza can slow and contain pierce! Any who LETS GO LAKERS! CRUSH BOSTON!
It just wasn’t our night. Gasol needs to be more aggressive. KG will own gasol if gasol doesn’t start hustling and rebounding! Kobe didn’t fire up in the 4th like he usually does. I think we were just out for too long but now we’re playing again, we’ll get back in the game!
I went to the home court advantage and we had a person with a pierce jersey. Reminded me of the guy who dared to wear the duncan jersey at the last home court adavntage game.
Paul Pierce is a worse actor than Kobe. Did u guys see him trying to almost cry of pain during the post-game? That was absurd!
U don’t play ball huh?
Kobe had a LeBron James shooting night. Most people didn’t believe LeBron would follow up his game 1 2-18 shooting with another poor shooting night, but the next game he was something like 6-24. Boston is a stellar defensive team and deserves a lot of credit for locking Kobe up.
Short Diezel,,,,my badd that was uncalled for anyway, i disagree….lol
Well all i know is that we lost and Paul is a good actor.
Well all i know is that we lost and Paul is a good actor.
KOBE NEEEDS TO FU CKIN DRIVE TO THE BASKET. F UCK, why does he settle sometimes with jump shots. the refs were pieces of sh!ts today. that block that gasol had on garnett which was called a foul was bullsh!t. same with that over & back call on the lakers. this joseph guy on the website can suck a dick. f*** him. The lakers know how important game two is. i hope its a massacre. i hate boston
NO NEED TO PANIC,but…….Gasol has to be more physical.Give props to Boston and their defense,especially PJ Brown,the different match ups on Kobe wasn’t that much trouble for him,I think they bumped him alot(Posey)but nothing he hasn’t seen before(remember Utah did it).
Luke needs to sit and ARIZA NEEDS TO START,NOW!
If this is only what the Celtics rely on to win games in the NBA Finals -an emotional motivation from a player who may or may not be injured- then they are in serious trouble when the Lakers get their offense and defense in order for the rest of the series.