Game 3 Loose Balls

Last night was the perfect atmosphere for a Laker rout. The NBA sent Bennett Salvatore to LA to make sure the Lakers got to the free throw line (the Lakers took 34 free throws). Kobe Bryant played like the early '90s Jordan, scoring 36 points on 12-of-20 shooting. Sasha Vujacic shot the ball like Reggie Miller and added 20 points off the bench. The crowd at Staples Center was into the game. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce combined to shoot 8-for-35 from the floor. Rajon Rondo hurt his ankle at the start of the third quarter and played very little in the second half. Final score? 87 - 81, Lakers. That tells me that the Celtics are the better team. On a night that they should have been blown out of the building, they hung tough and had a real chance to win the game. If the Celtics come back Thursday and Sunday with the intensity they had last night and get solid shooting nights from both KG and Pierce, this series will not return to Boston... Seriously, how amazing is Kobe when he decides that he is going to score... I am a little concerned that Doc Rivers turned the game over to Pierce in the final minutes. Pierce did not have a good game last night and I don't like when he gets the ball 20 feet from the hoop and tries to create, more bad things usually happen than good things. I know this is how the C's did things all season but on a night when Pierce was off and Ray Allen (25 points, 5-for-7 from behind the arc) had it going, I would have liked to see Allen and KG play a two-man game on the left side -- which they played to perfection during the third quarter when the Celtics tok control of the game -- with Pierce, Eddie House (a very good effort in relief of Rondo; nice move by Doc to finally sit Sam Cassell in favor of House) and James Posey on the weak side. The Lakers could not stop the Allen-Garnett tandem in the third when Doc went to this set because they had to respect the shooters on the weak side... Let's hope Rondo is back to at least 75-80% health by tomorrow night. He admitted after the game he was at about 50% in the second half... Gasol is a force on the low block when he chooses to be but he gives the Lakers next to nothing as an interior defender... I'm still sticking to my Celts in 6 prediction...