Lakers 102, Celtics 89 (Lakers lead 1-0)

Going into Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals, we knew a couple of things: 1) There would be plenty of celebrities in the Staples Center crowd, and 2) Kobe & Co. was on a mission and the Celtics had to be prepared for a fight.

Yes, out of all those celebs I chose Jason Segal

The Lakers held the lead for nearly the entire game thanks to a few disparities in style of play. Los Angeles was living in the paint. They not only scored a ton of buckets in the paint all game, but they prevented the Celtics from taking it inside. Their aggressiveness on the offensive and defensive ends proved to be the difference between these two teams on Thursday. Rebounding was huge too, as the Lakers had the edge 42-31.

The first half was dominated by defense and fouling. One may think that they go hand in hand or you can’t really have both. Well, if you watched this game, you will realize that both truly were the themes. There were 15 fouls in the first quarter alone. Ray Allen, Ron Artest, Derek Fisher, and Kobe Bryant each had two fouls, and Tony Allen had 3 fouls – all in the FIRST quarter! The game was very slow due the amount of fouls in the first half. The referees weren’t necessarily taking over the game, but they were controlling the pace and calling a lot of contact. I wonder if that was to make a statement that they’re not going to take any madness this series. As for defense, the Lakers ability to play help defense and swat some weak side blocks in the first half was helpful toward their ability to hold the Celtics to 41 points and a 50-41 lead.

Lakers led by 20 points after three quarters. The lead jumped up from just under to 20 within the blink of an eye. All game you felt like the Lakers were up by 20, but not until the end of the third did they actually hold that kind of lead.

The Celtics threatened to come back from the 20 points deficit in the fourth quarter. Was it the aggressiveness of the C’s that let that happen? Nope, it was the Lakers taking poorly judged jump shots. I knew Phil Jackson and Kobe wouldn’t let that go on too long. I’m sure the Zen Master let them continue to do it to show them how stupid that is.

A few big shots and a bunch of misses by the Celtics (including a couple point blank misses by Kevin Garnett) allowed the Lake Show to take control of Game 1. Kobe Bryant ended the game with 30 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Pau Gasol totaled 23 points and 14 boards.

Few things I noticed in Game 1 of the Finals:

- Ray Allen cannot guard Kobe.. he had 5 fouls in 27 minutes (including 4 in only 15 minutes). Something is going to have to give for Boston.

- Andrew Bynum stepped his game up. He hasn’t been able to make it this far in a season in his career, not that he’s not injured or anything. Despite his knee issues, he was able to finish fearlessly when duty called in the first half.

- 54 total fouls is a tremendous amount. I could see this continuing in each game too.

- Anyone who thinks the Lakers were getting an advantage in calls is simply rooting for the Celtics. The Lakers were incredibly aggressive and that is part of how refs call games. It’s not bias.

- I just love that focus that Kobe Bryant gets in his eyes. He is a man on a mission. It makes me want to play basketball (just not against KB). Not even Chris Rock could make him crack a smile. That’s serious.

Finally, this game was the complete opposite of the 2008 Finals. The Celtics were resorting to taking jump shots and the Lakers were taking it inside. If you recall, it was reversed two years ago when these two teams met and that was the recipe for Boston to win a title. If it stays this way, that will spell a reversed outcome too.

-Shooter