Lakers 1 million, Celtics 0

Okay, okay, the actual score was Lakers- 89, Celtics 67. This game was ugly, early and often. The Celtics came in with a chance at winning a second ring in three years. The Lakers had a lot of pressure facing them in this game, but you would have never known it considering this game was over at intermission.

Boston scored 31 points in the first half, while the Lakers scored 51. I give the exact score because if it had been a 20 point Laker lead where the Celtics had 40 or more points, than I wouldn’t have ruled them out. But when you only score 31 points in the first half and you’re down 20, then you’re going to lose every time.

The Lakers played great defense, and hit the Celtics with a defense typical of the Celtics. Every other play a Lakers’ player was on the ground for a loose ball. Kendrick went down early with a knee injury and with his absence also went the Celtics toughness. Rondo, Pierce, and Garnett shot a combined 17 for 43 (35 points). Ray Allen added 19, which means the highly touted Celtics’ bench had 13. The Lakers only shot 41% from the field, but they showed so much effort defensively that they were able to turn that defense into offense.

A main change I noticed defensively was that the Lakers completely sagged off Rondo. This made sense because he has such a poor jumpshot, yet he is amazing at getting to the basket. But still at the end of the day, the Celtics just didn’t come to play tonight. With a team full of veterans, this type of game was the last I expected to see. Game seven will be better, but the pressure is now much more on Boston. Keep an eye out for a Game 7 preview along with other news.

LeBron Watch:

Because this game was so boring, reports show that Izzo has turned down the Cavalier’s offer to become their next head coach. What does this mean? It probably means that Byron Scott will be coaching in Cleveland next year. What does this mean in terms of signing LeBron? I have NO idea.

-G