NBA Finals Game Three

Some quick analysis as Game 3 comes to an end, with LA taking back home court by stealing the first game at the TD Garden. This series has been great to watch, as the stories are coming from different places every game.

Let's not focus on the negatives from todays game. We all saw Kobe's cold shooting night, Ray Allen's non-existent shooting night, more questionable officiating, etc. But there are some major performances that merit mentioning.

Formerly in Absentia.

Each team seemed to pick up a free agent between games 2 and 3. Whoever was wearing number 5 for the Celtics must not have been in LA. Kevin Garnett was moving like he had a week off, when in reality this was his shortest turnaround between games. The Celts got him involved early with easy buckets. KG took that confidence and added an increased agility in the low post to put together a huge night when the Celtics needed it. Lamar Odom finally showed up for the Lakers. He shot 5-5 from the field, adding some rebounds and solid defense.

Tighten it Up.

Defense was the story of this game. The Lakers played great defense all game long. Everyone on the floor was involved. Not only Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol were affecting shots, but Kobe Bryant had multiple key blocks, and Shannon Brown and Lamar Odom were altering looks. Derek Fisher also drew a couple of offensive fouls, and Ron Artest once again played great defense on Paul Pierce, and made a big play late stealing poking the ball away twice, leading to a turnover. The Laker length crowded the floor, giving the Celtics little room to operate, as Boston once again longed for the threat of outside shooting. The Lakers even jumped out to block multiple three point attempts. The Celtics also played magnificent defense while coming back in the second half. They were tremendously disciplined, squaring up the Laker ball handlers one-on-one. Tony Allen was great against Bryant in the 3rd quarter. Although I still think the Lakers underused Pau Gasol in the second half, I thought the Lakers did a much better job denying him prime position. If there was a stat for average distance from the basket, when receiving the ball in the post, Gasol's ADFTBWRTBITP was probably a foot further, at least in Game 3. Rasheed Wallace was especially strong denying post positions, and Kendrick Perkins was excellent defending upon post entry. The Celtics also made several deflections on attempted entry passes. Overall they were much improved defending the Laker bigs.

Fresh Off the Bench.

I thought Luke Walton did a great job in the first half for the Lakers. Ron Artest got 2 quick fouls and had to sit. This could have been a spectacular opportunity for Paul Pierce to finally get something going offensively. But Walton was very disciplined defending him and adjusting on pick and rolls. Pierce later piled up his own fouls, and thought hitting 3 3s and a big bucket late, he still is struggling to find a rhythm from the get-go of these games. Walton added a few points, but more importantly kept Pierce off that rhythm. Glen "Big Baby" Davis, again, was a key contributor for the Celts. He was incredibly tough in the post, using power moves to work through position against the longer Laker defenders toward the basket. He also, once again, brought high energy play to the floor. Big Baby brought down all of his rebounds emphatically, working the crowd and scrambling for loose balls.

Ice in the Veins

The main story of this game, however, was Derek Fisher. Fisher showed why he's not the only Laker guard that has won 4 championships. On a poor shooting night for Kobe, when the Celtic defense was holding strong, Fisher used the pick and roll to continually drive hard left and either push to the rim or pull up and bank a tough shot home. Fisher has never been afraid to take a big shot. He took many today. Fisher finally sealed the game running the floor against a Celtic transition defense who seemed half-hearted (despite there being plenty of time), turned hard around Kevin Garnett, drove strong to the hole, and despite getting clobbered by Glen Davis AND Ray Allen, softly dropped the ball off the glass, and confidently completed the three point play.

Note

There is one play that I wanted to bring up. The referees were able to use instantly replay multiple times in this game to correct out of bounds calls on the floor late in the 4th quarter. However, one in particular leads me to question the specifics of the rule. On a rebound of a missed free throw, Lamar Odom went up with two hands to corral the ball. With the ball already in Odom's hands, Rajon Rondo went up for the ball and ripped away Odom's left wrist forcing the ball to spill out of bounds. The referee initially called the ball out of bounds off Rondo, which was completely inaccurate. The officials went to the replay, where they are allowed to change the call of which team last touched the ball, but not anything else. So in this case, it was obvious the ball was last touched by Lamar Odom, it was blatant that Rondo fouling him is what caused the play. The referees had to award the ball to the Celtics despite this, at a big moment in the game. It troubles me that this is the case. Even if they can't call a foul after the fact, I feel like you have to be able to recognize the course of events and give the correct team the ball.

The Big Three

As we've done the previous two game, we will give the Celtics three things to work on for Game 4.

1. Obviously they need the threat of the long jumper. They didn't have it with Ray Allen on the bench in foul trouble in game one. They had it with Allen hot as hell in game two. And they didn't have it with Ray Ray cold as Ice in Game 3. I imagine you'll see Allen somewhere between his 8 3s and his 0-13. If Pierce can get free at all, that would help.

2. The Celtics need to be better on the Defensive boards. As impressive as Rondo's rebounding ability is, he cannot lead the Celtics in rebounds. Kevin Garnett needs to be stronger on the boards. He won't pull down 20 anymore, but he needs to be strong when he has the opportunities. Jeff Van Gundy has pointed out several instances of Garnett going up with one hand tipping the ball instead of pulling it down with two hands. The Celtics need Garnett to be a presence, with help from Kendrick Perkins. Big Baby has been great but he doesn't have the height to compete for the ball with the Laker big men.

3. The Celtics need to find a go to guy for late in these games. Paul Pierce has been off his game, thanks to Artest. He still might be a candidate to find the baskeball one-on-one late. He showed some signs of a late game surge tonight. Rondo doesn't have the ability to hit tough jumpers, so he is stuck trying to drive and kick. Ray Allen hasn't shown the ability to create his own shot. KG is now a candidate after a strong showing in Game 3. He was good down low and strong with the jump shot. He might be the guy for Boston to go to late. He can post up Gasol and pull Bynum out of the paint and either shoot over the top or dribble around him. The Lakers are going to have Kobe most games and showed that they have other options as well. The Celtics need to have a counter to that.

-APT