Ecstatic Basketball

    It appears that the Lakers have taken Phil Jackson’s and Kobe Bryant’s criticism to heart. They were soft in the first two games. They didn’t match the physicality, intensity, or hustle of the Celtics in the first two games. They didn’t get the foul calls they wanted in Boston because they didn’t attack, their offense was stagnant, the ball movement slowed, and nobody was willing to attack the basket. The first quarter of game three has been a different story altogether. Bryant, along with the rest of his team, have been moving the ball quickly, and then powerfully taking it to the rim. They’ve gotten some loose balls and have forced turnovers, and then capitalized on those turnovers and the many missed shots of the Celtics.

The Celtics need to get their big 3 involved more. Rondo has been aggressive offensively to start things off, since Bryant is giving him plenty of space, but he needs to continue to involve the better offensive players on the team, else it may be tough to finish things out with a rhythmless Allen or Pierce. The Celtics need to watch out for foul trouble. Pierce and Allen already have two fouls apiece, and Perkins is sure to pick up a couple of silly fouls in the coming quarter. They need to continue to push the ball on makes and misses and get some easy transition buckets.

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