Carry on Tradition: C's Take Game One

Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett have each spent over a decade playing professional basketball, labouring endlessly on good-at-best teams in a futile struggle to find the NBA's promise land. The allure of a title run brought them together, and they quieted nay-sayers by putting team before self and supplementing the growth of their inexperienced surroundings. After survivng a few close calls in the opening rounds, the "Big Three" as they're incessantly called, made it: a potentially once-in-a-lifetime shot at hoisitng basketball's most coveted trophy. Only a formidable foe and four victories stood in their way and one could assume the C's would be supremely motivated to take game one at home. Sure enough, Boston wasn't to be denied and took the opening contest after a close battle that the 98-88 final score belies.

The latest bout in the NBA's greatest rivalry was a back-and-forth slugfest for 44 minutes; the C's by-now-trademark defense forcing LA into questionable shots and preventing them from playing the up-tempo style they rode to the Finals. Kobe didn't look nearly as comfortable in this game and the Celts (word to P-Double) did an excellent job containing him. The Lakers' supporting cast filled the bill for the first 24 minutes, but disappeared in the second half. They bricked jumpers they've routinely buried and by the end of the game, you could tell Kobe felt as though he had to win this one himself.

The Celtics are to be saluted for their efforts, especially KG, who dropped 24 and 13 in his Finals debut, racked up an insane amount of hockey assists, and set the tone for a defense-oriented game whose pace played out to Boston's advantage. His back-court save in the fourth compeltely caught the Lakers off guard and led to a huge basket, just one of several momentum-shifting plays he delivered. Ray Allen shot poorly and passed poorly (still got his 19 somehow), Kendrick Perkins was a non-factor and the 15 and 7 the Kia Rondo gave them seems almost pedestrian at this point, but because Boston was able to slow this game down, and due to the hustle and toughness the whole team brought on D, they were able to win.

...And then there's Paul Pierce's Willis Reed moment in the third quarter, an instant classic that highlighted an exciting first game. Pierce left the game in agony after being mauled by a clueless Kendrick Perkins on a loose ball, hardly able to walk and leaving every Celtics fan's throat in a knot. He returned minutes later to a heroic ovation with a "we're not losing this game" glare on his face, then proceeded to bury two triples that cemented Boston's lead and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Though the Lakeshow never really got their offense grooving, what killed them in this game was defensive rotation. Whenever a body came over to help on KG, the opposite wing was slow to recover, which surrendered Pierce's 4-point play, his back-to-back jacks to close the third, and James Posey's dagger in the closing minutes. I mean these guys were wide fucking open, had all the time in the World to get a good look. When you're playing on the sport's most hallowed ground, you can't allow that shit to happen. Also, memo to Pau Gasol: body up on the glass. Your decision to let the best rebounder in the series (who had eaten you in particular on several occasions) waltz into the lane unopposed left your team in a hole too deep to rise out of, and your helpless mug on a poster shot so vicious your grandkids will clown you about it.

LA was just shook last night; they didn't look like themselves. The brick-laying, the unusual defensive lapses, the mis-cues on offense and eventual reliance on a one-man show; they played like the fucking Cavs. Nobody was really outstanding for them (Phil included) and you have to expect a better effort from them for Game Two. I don't want to call it a must-win but LA's better off leveling the series before they head back home. I've heard much about the Lakers "peaking at the right time", but Boston's grown stronger through their early bumps in the road this postseason, and are proving their timing, not to mention their play, ain't half bad either.