Blessing in Disguise?

[ScoobyDoo]

Part one:
we completely dominated the Lakers, going up by 26 at one point.

Part two:
WE nearly gave them the game by packing it in.

Question:

Had we won by what should have been thirty points, would we be more likely to go inot LA over confident and lackadaisical?

Or...

Having nearly lost the game, scaring the bejeesus out of us, does it refocus us and we now go into LA tightly wound, focused and determined? Pull out a win because of that extra focus created by the lapse?

And if it's the latter, was last night's game therefore a
blessing in disguise?
In 

[Bahku]

Only time will tell, because trouncing a team also has the advantage of taking their hearts out of the game, and can be a huge psychological advantage. This could go either way, though I hope you're right!   

[angryguy77]

In a way it was a good thing. I say that only becuase we have all seen what this team plays like when it dominates in the playoffs. Atlanta and Cleveland are the cases I point to. We win 3 out of those 4 gams with solid wins and then don't show up for the game three in each series. This should light a fire under their buts and hopefully it will keep them focused and keep their intensity up. If we match LA's intensity, then we sweep, if we let down, its going back 3-2 in our favor.

[Redz]

Here's how I look at it.  The Celtics beat the Lakers senseless for most of the game.  All else failing, the Lakers basically went to the basketball equivalent of scoring a touchdown, then going for an onside kick.  They were successful at this, then repeated the process over and over again.  This method worked, but it is by no means a high percentage plan of attack - it was desperation and it worked because they hit threes quickly and without missing all but a couple at the very end.  Under normal circumstances - or over the course of a 48 minute game - this method would not have worked. 

I don't know what to take from the game, except that the Celtics dominated the Lakers at their game, and almost lost still, due to a freakish string of shooting by the LA.