There were many heroes on each side of the Lakers 103-98 win over the Celtics in Game Five of the NBA Finals—but many goats as well.
The biggest hero was Kobe Bryant, who made the crucial play of the game. The key goat was Kevin Garnett, who choked away several teammates' valiant efforts.
The Heroes
Kobe Bryant was painfully mortal after a 15-point outburst in the first quarter that featured four three-pointers. Ray Allen, Tony Allen, and Paul Pierce each took turns contesting Kobe’s jump shots, staying down on his pump fakes, and fighting through LA’s various screens designed to create air space.
On defense, Kobe was routinely bested by Paul Pierce on screen/rolls initiated well beyond the three-point line.
However, with the Lakers up two and only 40 ticks on the clock, Kobe took a blind and desperate swipe at Paul Pierce’s dribble from behind after getting nailed by a screen.
Kobe’s hand somehow missed Pierce’s arm, Lamar Odom picked the ball up and launched it down the court, and Kobe slammed it in to give the Lakers much-needed breathing room.
Pau Gasol was generally aggressive near the basket and on the offensive glass, and finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists.
With Kendrick Perkins out of action, Lamar Odom was extremely assertive in posting James Posey under the basket and cutting off Boston's penetration. Most importantly, Odom went up strong and converted six of his seven going 8-10 form the floor, and finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists.
Jordan Farmar put a lot more pressure on Eddie House’s ballhandling. When the Lakers didn’t force a turnover, they took precious seconds off the Celtics' shot clock. Plus, Farmar was in attack mode on offense, eager to get to the hoop rather than settle for jumpers.
Paul Pierce was The Truth (10-22 FG, 6 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL, 5 TO, 38 PTS), and aside from Kobe’s two strips, the Lakers couldn’t handle him. Whenever the Celtics needed to score, a simple isolation or screen/roll with Pierce and Garnett generated gaping lanes to drive to the basket.
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And Pierce was a tough as he was talented, routinely stepping in front of Kobe's drives to the basket to take the charge, while getting to the rim 19 times—and converting 16.
Pierce’s scoring, playmaking, defense, and rebounding were all at a championship level. If Kevin Garnett had joined him, Pierce would already have his championship ring.
James Posey seemed to lock down the Lakers defense all by himself, taking charges, swooping in for rebounds, and giving his all on every possession. Like he did in 2006, Posey played with a warrior’s courage.
Sam Cassell mustered up enough quickness in his 38-year-old legs to torch Jordan Farmar for nine points and two assists.
Tony Allen made the most of his time in the daylight, finishing with six points on 3-4 shooting.
However, the game had many more goats than heroes.
The Goats
While Kevin Garnett owned the offensive glass (seven offensive boards, 14 total), he made numerous poor decisions on defense leading to foul trouble. He also gave up far too many defensive boards to Gasol, and was often outplayed by Gasol in one-on-one situations.
In total, Garnett only scored 13 points to Gasol’s 19, tallied no assists to Gasol’s six, and committed four turnovers to Gasol’s none.
And in the clutch, Garnett missed two simple tip-ins—one over Jordan Farmar—and missed three straight free throws.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record—how many times can this man fail to produce in big time situations?
Ray Allen had an off-day with his jumper and missed a pair of layups. He finished 4-13 with 16 points before fouling out.
Rajon Rondo was a mess (1-7 FG, 1-2 FT, 3 AST, 2 TO, 3 PTS). Once again, Kobe Bryant simply sagged back eight feet off of him and roamed into the passing lanes, disrupting passes and limiting spacing.
To sum up Rondo’s day—early in the first quarter, Rondo had the ball and jetted to the basket. A half-hearted Vladimir Radmanovic lumbered in from Rondo’s right. Since Radmanovic was never going to beat Rondo to the hoop, the youngster had the easiest of layups—had he the guts to shoot.
Instead, Rondo leapt in the air and kicked the ball out to Pierce—who missed a three.
From that point on, the Lakers approached Rondo like a mother does when her son pleads for a flashy, but insubstantial toy. They ignored him.
P.J. Brown tried hard but didn’t get much done. He finished with four points and five fouls.
Vladimir Radmonovic, Luke Walton, and Kobe Bryant played terrible screen/roll defense. Kobe would try to fight around screens nowhere near the three-point line, while Radmanovic and Walton frequently allowed Paul Pierce to reject the screen and blow by them on the opposite side for unimpeded layups. On a different day, that flaw would have proved fatal.
Derek Fisher had a surprisingly unclutch day, missing a couple of important free throws and a wide open three.
Chris Mihm was rusty, and embarrassed himself.
Sasha Vujacic never stopped shooting and never stopped missing (2-10 FG, 0-5 3FG, 4 PTS).
In reality, the Lakers only won because their key second and third players didn’t come up empty, while the Celtics' second and third options did.
The unavailability of Kendrick Perkins to muscle Lamar Odom into submission was a factor, as was the fact that the Celtics once again spotted the Lakers a early 17-point lead and spent too much energy to catch up.
The Lakers have shown that they can get Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom on track in Los Angeles—but they made too many deplorable defensive mistakes to expect to be saved in Boston.
The Lakers deserve credit for their win, but it’s hard to have confidence in them on the road unless the team undergoes a radical defensive personality shift. Their best hope, again, lies in Kevin Garnett’s routine habit of folding under pressure.
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5 months ago
Great job Erick!
5 months ago
Thanks!
from 5 months ago
Erick I would love for you to read my article I published about Garnett's legacy which I wrote in part in response to the harsh criticism you have given the Big Guy.
Obviously we are entitled to our opinions, but since I have a great deal of respect for your basketball opinion I would love to get your take on this situation...although I am warning you, my favorite player is Garnett, always has been, and I love the Celtics, so I can't promise an unbiased opinion.
5 months ago
I'm just not a Garnett guy. I appreciate his energy and his ability to motivate players. He definitely has a spirtual impact on his team when he plays. But his actual impact on a game is overrated beyond belief because of his unwillingness to play in the post.
Plus, he's always failed to produce in big moments in the playoffs. Fortunately for his case, he's faced flawed teams, or flawed opponents with their own problems (Rasheed Wallace's cowardice, for example). Even though Gasol's hardly been a powerful presence, he's had success attacking KG on his own for scores, whereas Gasol's points in previous series came mainly on ball or player movement.
Plus, aside from a solid second half in Game 4, KG's been nowhere in the Finals, and flat-out lost Game 5. If you still like him, no problems. He's definitely a charismatic, talented player. But I'm not compared to list him anywhere near the All-Time greats.
5 months ago
Cmon Erick. I understand what you are saying. KG did not have a great game the other night. I agree, he missed the key free throws, committed some questionable fouls and Gasol and Odom had a good game against him in the middle. In addition, he has a tendency to take the outside shot vs. commanding the low post.
With all of that said, this guy has been tremendous for the Celtics this year. He has come up big for them all season. He played a pivotal role in the Game 4 comeback (see 1st possession 2nd half taking the ball to the hole).
I disagree that KG is a "choke artist". Not quite sure what you are expecting from him. 13 pts, 14 rebounds a subpar effort for him agreed. Everyone can have a down game...Kobe has had a few this series. Where was he during the Game 4 comeback?
The man has been an inspiration to his team this season. I've never seen a player that plays with so much intensity and passion as KG. It rubs off on his teammates. This is no small thing in this day and age of "the superstar". Definition of greatness includes making those around him play better and KG rates very high there in my opinion.
When he is on, he knocks down the jumpers like layups. Would I rather have him manhandling guys inside the low post-YES BUT I have every confidence in him when he takes the 17 footer. He is a tremendous defensive player (defensive player of year) and can rebound with the best of them. He is quite a passer too.
If playing a crucial role in helping his TEAM win 66 regular season games, 15 playoff games to this point and inspiring those around him to the brink of a championship is considered choking again....I'll take him all day long. Give the man a break and some credit.
I believe that Kevin Garnett will bring his A game tonight and will be kissing the trophy tonight. It will not be easy as the Lakers have a solid team and one of the best players of all time on their side.
Kevin Garnett has played a crucial role in molding this TEAM. After all it is still a team game and KG one of the greats. Defense + Team spell championship!!!
5 months ago
Yea, Garnetts putting up 17 and 13 in tyhe finals...He doing terrible. I understand what ur saying but cmon....everyone was ready to write Ray Allen off in the Cleveland series....Shit, even Kobe's not shooting well this series. He has 13 and 14 last game on above 50% shooting. Sure he's missed some free throws, who cares...He never shows up in big situations...We just judging this based on this year alone or what? I dont get it....
from 5 months ago
Don't look at the numbers, look at the impact! Great players force opponents to make radical adjustments. What has Garnett forced the Lakers to do defensively?
Also, how many of those points and boards came in key moments?
With Allen, long jump shots are streaky and can go at any time. This is why playing close to the basket is so important for a superstar player. KG played close to the basket in Game 4---Boston won. He didn't in Game 5, Boston lost.
He missed free throws, who cares? You might as well write, he helped lose the game, who cares. And then we end up judging a player based on appearances instead of actual impact. Of course external glances are the best way to critique something or someone! Garnett looks like he plays well, therefore he must be great!
And no, KG has a history of disappearing in the playoffs, so this isn't all about one year.
5 months ago
He had a solid second half which I've given him credit for, both in my comment, and in my Game 4 article: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/29341-Celtics-Lakers-Game-Four-Boston-Perseveres-In-Comeback-For-The-Ages-120608
But doing it in the regular season and doing it in the Finals are two different animals, especially when teams don't have as much time to prepare for your tendencies.
And I'm sick of this notion that because nobody screams and yells like Garnett, those players don't play with as much passion. Do you think the Spurs or Jazz don't play with passion or get lifts when their best players make great plays? What about the Hornets, or the Suns? Amare Stoudemire plays with passion, but that doesn't mean he has any basketball intelligence.
You know what passion is?
Passion is making the right play over and over again, even under intense circumstances, and proving to your teammates that you aren't going to let up and neither should they.
Kobe had a subpar Game 4 and was criticized. Name another bad game Kobe's had this postseason where he was making uncharacteristic mistakes, and had an overall down game. Kobe, however, won game 5 for the Lakers, and has had an impact by drawing defenses and passing to teammates. Plus, his defense on Paul Pierce has been pretty good; Pierce has just been spectacular.
It's different when Kobe is stopped by Ray Allen and a help defender, compared to Pau Gasol limiting KG himself. Plus Kobe has a history, stretching back to the San Antonio series, of single handedly lifting his team to incredible victories.
Has KG made Rajon Rondo, or Sam Cassell, or Leon Powe any better in this series?
You know who else knocks down 17 footers like layups when he's on? Dirk Nowitzki. You know who routinely decimates double teams when he's on? Tim Duncan? You know who else finds other ways to contribute when he's not on? Tim Duncan. You know who else, much more often than not makes crucial plays late in games that don't even include scoring? Tim Duncan.
Throw in Kobe, Paul Pierce, even Pau Gasol's had more of an impact with some assertive drives, passing, and offensive rebounding.
Getting on the brink isn't enough to justify the hype KG gets. If this was some scrappy overachieving team, then yes, getting close is nice. That Sixers team that went to the Finals in 2000 should be proud of their accomplishments. Last year's Cavs team too.
But if this Celtics team has championship expectations. If they don't win, they fell short of expectations and that isn't something to be proud of. If they lose, they've played worse in the playoffs than they have in the Finals, another sad trait.
And what exactly is Garnett's assist to turnover ration in the Finals since he's such a great passer?
If Garnett brings his A Game tonight, it will be 1.5 out of 6 games he's brought it in the Finals. If Garnett was a great defender, Pau Gasol would be helpless instead of driving on Garnett and dunking in his face.
Garnett cost his team a win in Game 5, and he better bring his A-Game in Game 6.
5 months ago
He sure choked in Gm. 6, huh?
from 5 months ago
He had a great game 6. That's only the 2nd good game he's had in the series. A great redeeming performance after a miserable Game 5.
5 months ago
26 POINTS, 14 REBOUNDS
"A GAME" BABY
WHEN IT COUNTS THE MOST.GAME 6 NBA FINALS
3 STRAIGHT HOOPS WITH HANDS IN HIS FACE (watch the replays) GOT THE CELTICS GOING IN GAME 6
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE IN THE MIDDLE SLAMMING THE BALL DOWN ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY'S THROAT
AN UNBELIEVABLE HANGING THREE POINT PLAY IN THE LANE.
ALL WHEN IT COUNTED THE MOST.
THE CELTICS DO NOT WIN THE NBA TITLE WITHOUT KG.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS.....HE THE LEADER OF THE DEFENSE AND ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE NBA like it or not!
THE BOSTON CELTICS ARE ONCE AGAIN WORLD CHAMPIONS, KEVIN GARNETT MADE US PROUD!
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