Lakers Choke; Pierce, Posey Step Up

Paul Pierce has been around a long time -- but only now has he gained my respect and admiration.

Pierce requested the opportunity to guard the greatest basketball player in the universe, Kobe Bryant, during the second half of tonight's game 4 of the NBA Finals. This was likely the most important game of the season, and quite possibly, the biggest game of Pierce's life.

And what did he do with the opportunity? He didn't meet expectations -- he convincingly exceeded them. Pierce put the clamps on Kobe (although the 4th was the most prolific scoring quarter for Bryant) and forced him into one difficult attempt after another. Kobe was frustrated by the looks he was getting, pissed that none of his shots were dropping, and visibly agitated that no one else on his team could step up and make a big play under the bright lights.

Give most of the credit to Pierce, and surprisingly, some to Doc Rivers for making sure that a help defender was always available to Pierce if necessary.

Not only did Pierce prove that he's one of the league's premier perimeter defenders when determined and dedicated, but he also stepped up on the offensive end. "The Truth" made a slew of tough lay-ups in the third quarter, and a couple of contested fadeaways in the fourth. Unlike the Pierce of old -- the Pierce that choked back to back years against the New Jersey Nets earlier this decade -- he made his clutch free throws this time around.

Pierce played with guts, heart, grit, and fire. That's exactly what it takes to get the best player in the world off of his game. Much love to you, Paul. I promise I'll stop calling you a choker in front of all of my friends. Unless you choke three games in a row and you let your team blow this series; in that case, all bets will be off.

And how about James Posey? The man has no conscience in the clutch. All he knows is catch, shoot, and knock it down from the corner -- and that's exactly what he did tonight. It goes to show you how previous NBA title runs (his came with the Heat) can ease a guy's nerves when it matters most. Ice water in the veins. Much credit to you as well, James.

Also have to shout out my boy Eddie House (former Net that I wanted to keep, but of course, we let him go). House, who has seen his playing time decrease significantly since the regular season, showed that no matter what the circumstances, he's always prepared to jack up critical shots. This time around, he knocked them down -- including a pull-up two-pointer that gave the Celtics their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter.

On the other end of the court, the Lakers were an absolute disaster in the second half. It goes to show you that no matter how great a coach's credentials are (and Phil Jackson's are incredible), sometimes there's nothing they can do to stop their team from driving off the road and crashing into a big ass tree. That's what the Lakers did tonight: crash and burn.

The biggest culprit? I'm certainly not surprised, and I hope you aren't either -- it was Pau Gasol. Gasol's countless weaknesses have been totally exposed this postseason. Tonight he literally dropped 5 easy passes that would have led to uncontested lay-ups or dunks. He also missed a lay-up, dunk, tip in, and one crucial free throw.

But above all, he failed to help out Sasha Vujacic on the most important defensive possession of the game. With less than 20 seconds remaining, Ray Allen was isolated in a one-on-one with Sasha at the top of the key. Ray Ray let the shot clock run down to 6, at which point he drove right and blew past Sasha without breaking a sweat. With between one and two seconds left on the shot clock, Allen had a clear lane for a lay-up. He continued his explosion to the hoop and finished with a right-handed lay-up, as Gasol slowly and weakly pretended to help from the weak side.

Why wasn't Gasol cheating toward the rim as soon as he saw Allen isolated with Vujacic? In the absence of Andrew Bynum, Gasol has played nothing but center. As the center, it's Gasol's job to clog the lane and protect the rim when his teammates are in need of a bail out. So where was Gasol here? He was cheating over to the left concerned about the Celtics' three-point shooters in the corner.

If he knew anything about basketball, if he had any basketball instincts whatsoever, Gasol would have seen that Allen was completely intent on taking the ball to the rim and getting an easy bucket and/or going to the foul line for two. He wasn't giving the ball up, no way. Besides, by the time he left Vujacic in the dust, there was less than 3 seconds on the shot clock -- odds were against a pass to the corner, catch, and shoot in that period of time. It would have taken a completely clear passing lane to the corner, a perfect pass and a quick release.

Could it have happened? Maybe.

BUT YOU CAN'T LET A GUY WALK RIGHT DOWN THE LANE AND GET AN EASY LAY-UP WITH THE GAME ON THE LINE!!!

Step over and block the damn shot. At least foul the shit out of Allen.

But no, typical Gasol. Gutless, spineless, mindless basketball. A lazy attempt to save a season.

Other problems for the Lakers: Jordan Farmar, Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Phil Jackson.

Farmar missed a wide open, potentially game-changing three off a beautiful reverse dish from Kobe. A shot he was taking with confidence, and making throughout the regular season. Here? Clank. Obvious choke job.

Odom dominated the first half and allowed himself to be invisible during the Celtics' frantic second half comeback. There is no reason for him to be totally uninvolved in the offense after going 7-for-7 in the first half. Sure, some of the blame can go to his teammates and Jackson, but how about demanding the ball a little? How about bringing some energy and making plays like he did from the opening tip all the way up to the buzzer sounding at the end of quarter 2?

Nah, not Odom. What does he do? Disappear. Not too surprising.

Radmanovic perpetuated the Celtics run by jacking up a contested three-pointer from the corner, three seconds into a Laker possession. Boston was making its run, and the "space cadet" gave them a boost and fueled their transition offense by producing a long rebound off a long shot.

Jackson had the wrong guys out there for the fourth. I thought Derek Fisher was having one of his cleaner games of the playoffs -- he made a number of big plays. But there was the inexperienced Farmar for the first 9 minutes of the fourth, only when Phil got desperate (with 3 minutes remaining) did he throw Fisher back out into the fray. Too little, too late Mr. Zenmaster.

Also, Trevor Ariza was phenomenal in the first half -- rebounding, defending, hustling, knocking down threes, dunking -- but Vujacic was out there instead, undersized in his match-up with Allen and cold with his own jumper. Go figure.

Hey, what do I know? Phil has 9 championship rings and I have...hmm...I don't know, do fantasy sports count?

Regardless, sometimes I think I know about the Lakers' personnel than Jackson.

Don't we all feel that way about the coaches/managers of our favorite teams sometimes?

Either way, this was an excruciating loss for Los Angeles. I just can't see the Celtics allowing the Lakers to win three in a row. Not the way they play defense -- they clamp down when they need to.

So what does that mean? Well, if I had to guess, I'd say it's safe to assume the Lakers are finished.

NBA Finals Prediction

It's been a long, entertaining season in the NBA, and it's finally time for the Big Finish. Commissioner David Stern must be ecstatic about the return of the Lakers/Celtics rivalry, and I'm sure he's expecting a viewing audience improvement over the conference finals. That said, let's get into the match-up itself: Kobe Bryant and his Lakers against the "Big Three" and the rest of the Celtics.

Throughout the year, I've felt the Lakers were going to win it all. Kobe was playing at (arguably) the highest level of his career, and head coach Phil Jackson had Los Angeles playing a beautiful style of team basketball. However, the Lakers haven't been as pretty to watch in the postseason. Sure they battled through the deeper Western Conference to get to the finals, but most of the credit has to go to Kobe. His supporting cast has failed to maintain its regular season efficiency.

Specifically, Pau Gasol hasn't been the No. 2 option that the rest of the media expected him to be, but I can say "I told you so." Don't get me wrong, Gasol is a nice player and I was actually very impressed with his defense against Tim Duncan last series, but Pau's not a true No. 2 scorer. He hasn't even been attempting his short-range, face-up jumper from the foul line, and his back-to-the-basket moves have been soft and ineffective. Virtually all of his buckets have resulted from Kobe dishes.

On the perimeter, Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar haven't had their usual consistency from beyond the arc. Fellow bench player Ronny Turiaf has failed to leave his mark on the postseason, as well.

On the other side of the court, the Celtics also know a few things about disappointing playoff performances -- enter Ray Allen. On the whole, Allen has been absolutely horrific in the postseason; however, and fortunately for Boston, he began to pick it up in the final few games of the Pistons series. The Celtics will need an effective Allen in this series, because if the Lakers' shooters manage to settle in, we know they can score in bunches.

In reference to defensive talent and awareness, the Celtics have a huge advantage. Without a shadow of a doubt, Kevin Garnett is the best defensive player on either team -- he's perhaps even the best defensive player in the entire NBA. Paul Pierce and James Posey have defended the perimeter well, and Rajon Rondo picks up his share of steals.

Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), Pierce, Posey, Allen and Rondo haven't had to deal with Kobe yet. Yes, as a unit, Boston was able to contain LeBron James in the Cavs series, but Kobe is a whole 'nother level. LeBron may be stronger and more explosive, but the threat of Kobe's outside shot is much greater than that of LeBron's.

Unless he's double-teamed from the opening tip to the final buzzer of the final game of the series, there is absolutely no way to stop Kobe Bryant. He can only beat himself.

I've had the past few days to ponder this series, and my gut keeps telling me the Celtics are gonna find a way to win. Maybe it's the homecourt advantage.

But every time I'm almost convinced to give the nod to Boston, I'm reminded of Kobe's repeated fourth quarter dominance. It's really very simple...if the Lakers can just keep it close for the first three quarters of these games, they have a distinct advantage in the fourth against the Celtics. Kobe gives them the advantage over everyone.

The final verdict? Lakers in six. You know I can't bet against my boy. If it does go to seven games, the Lakers will be in severe trouble in Boston, but I'm sticking to my guns -- there will be no game 7.