Final Thoughts From Series

[Lord_of_the17Rings]

- As disappointed as I am today, I can't help but be thankful for the last few years.  We won it all in 08, we got to game 7 of the finals this year, and we have had an opportunity to watch three hall of famers play together and bring the best out of each other.

- I will always have nothing but love for Paul, but he did not take his game to the next level last night the way a Hall of Fame Captain needs to.  Bird seized those moments.  Paul has in the past, but last night was not one of them.

- I refuse to blame Ray Allen for last night.  Was he abysmal on offense, yes.  But he smothered Kobe on D.  We gave Pierce a free pass on offense when he was guarding Lebron.  I think we have to do the same for Ray.

- Just the stark contrast in the way the two head coaches carry themselves.  Doc just oozes with class and humility.  Phil Jackson defines the word arrogant.  Forget his press conferences in this years finals, do you think Doc would ever wear a hat with the Roman Numeral X after winning 10 championships.  They say success humbles some people.  Obviously that is not the case with the classless Mr. Jackson.

- Giving ultimate respect to Kobe's talents as a basketball player, I can't help but thank the lord we don't have to root for this guy.  His comment in the postgame was embarrassing.  When asked if he now recognized the significance of the series, he smiled and said, "of course, I was just lying to you guys".  As if we weren't all seeing through his absurd charade the entire series.

- Has there ever been anyone who has changed the fortunes of the Celtics more than Chris Wallace?  I will forever remember him as the man that made two monumental moves - acquiring Vin Baker, and years later, handing Gasol to the Lakers (sorry, his little brother is a fine player, but Gasol is a franchise player)

Thanks for a great season C's.  If this is indeed the end of the road for this group as we know it, it has been well worth the price of admission.

[McHaleinthepost]

Agree on all points--well said LOT17R.

I desperately hoped that we would see a vintage PP performance last night, but sadly it didn't happen--on the contrary, Artest outplayed PP and that was the key to the win and the title for the Lakers.

I love Pierce and one of my happiest moment as a C's fan since '79 was seeing him hoist the trophy two years ago.  But he's lost several steps and when he went iso last night in the third I knew we were in trouble.  He is no longer a star player, pure and simple, but I don't think he sees it that way. 

PP talked a good game throughout the playoffs, but when it mattered he didn't deliver as we needed him to.  Last night in particular we needed his offense and rebounding and we didn't get enough of either.

Sad, sad, sad.

[OmarSekou]

We just gassed. Ray's legs had been gone since game 2 and he always struggles offensively in high tempo games, Rondo was working on fumes (he put in more work this post season than anyone in the league), and the Lakers played a solid game. Artest locked up Pierce, and our bench couldn't breathe in those thick conditions. Baby played well, but didn't have the same intensity since coming into LA.

That was the best defensive game I've seen in a Finals. 45 minutes of high aggression on both sides made it impossible for any guys to get comfortable in the offense. We couldn't even screen and roll because the Lakers sprinted to cover every passing lane. And everyone was gun shy to make the extra pass. We needed extremely crisp ball movement to get points last night, and couldn't adapt to that type of style. The only guys in the game who could score consistently were KG and Artest and it was completely out of rhythm.

As it stands Game 4 is my favorite game in Celts history (not as old as some of you).

A defining moment was at the end of the game where Pierce gave up a difficult 3 and put the ball in Rondo's hands for the last shot.

I can make plenty of excuses: Perk being out, our harder playoff schedule, the tight reffing which favored the Lakers throughout the series, but at the end of the day they beat us.

And I was way off on Nate Robinson. That guy can play on my team any year.