Guest analyst Mike Dunleavy is the former coach of four NBA teams namely Clippers, Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers. He said that Lakes bag game 2 because of Defense and Derek Fisher. The last quarter of the game was when Fisher was so impressive.
Fisher made three big ones at the final stretch to win one for the team. He has the ability to play through tough situation. Los Angeles Lakers really played up on defense especially against Ray Allen who made 8 three pointers in the last game. He came up short in this game and it was attributed to the defense of Lakers.
In Game 2 Lakers let Boston have a tempo however in this game didn’t get a chance to get on the open court. Rajon Ron wasn’t putting in the rim and make passes like what he did in game 2. Celtics didn’t have time to get their game going and put on shot. The only negative thing with Lakers is the fact that they drift away from Gasol. It was hard to ignore Gasol because of its length and very timely footwork. The Lakers would want to give him the ball especially his field-goal percentage. For Boston, they need to have a formula like defend better, push the ball, control the tempo. They also need their three big players to work — Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Allen.
In the first two games in the NBA finals, Pau Gasol has put in the board 48 points, 22 rebounds and 9 blocks. According to Chip Schaefer the Lakers’ athletic performance director, the Spaniards player is hustling out there during the practices. Gasol’s play can be described as blando or soft which he was trying to get away with this kind of game. According to him, blando is trying to avoid contact and when you get to him, he wants out of the game. There is no competitive aspect in the player. The series is now on the side of Boston because they won the 2nd game.
Remember the National Basketball Association (NBA) 2008 series with the Lakers losing badly to the Celtics with a 39-point difference? Everyone thought the Celtics had massacred the Lakers in Game 6 with a 131-92, thus bagging its 17th NBA title that year. This year, the Lakers have entered back into the NBA Finals together with the Celtics. Now the Lakers have got the chance to get back at the Celtics.
Just a couple of days ago, Kobe Bryant was asked by a reporter his thoughts regarding the upcoming LA Lakers and Boston Celtics final. Kobe didn’t look that excited about it and said “I don’t give a damn about it. It’s for other people to get excited about. I get excited about winning.”