I agree with much of what the OP is saying. It's similar to our thoughts on why we like some trends from that game. The Lakers won, and yes they outplayed the Celtics, but this was on a night when the Celtics played an absolutely brutal offensive game (35% FGs against a not-that-good defensive team?) but still managed to defend the Lakers well and keep the game at a pace and tempo that suits them. Reminded me of the game in Phoenix this year - absolutely atrocious offensive night but we were still somehow in it.
The most disturbing thing to me, as a Celtics fan, is that our rebounding fell apart in the fourth quarter. They outrebounded us 15-10 in that quarter, after we had a 35-29 edge in that category through 3 quarters. That includes allowing 4 offensive boards in the 4th after allowing only 5 in the first 3 quarters. I think that's primarily a result of both Perk and Brown playing very poorly. It's too bad Davis hadn't been used at all - you can't put him in that cold but he might have helped us in the 4th to maintain control of the glass. Two fewer offensive boards, and we're up 1 or 2 instead of down 2 with 2 minutes left. Who knows what happens then. If we cement our control of the boards, we will win this series
And on the superstar thing, I think KG is a legit number 1, not because of his offense but because of his all around game (it's the same reason Duncan is a legit number 1). There are better offensive players, but those two guys absolutely control games on the defensive end. When Kobe and Lebron have bad nights, they still get at least 15 points and give their teams something because they're such incredible offensive forces. When KG (or Duncan) has a bad night like last night, he still gets you a lot of boards, and gives you great defense.
That's what makes a player a number 1 - even when they have off nights, they give you contributions. For Kobe and Lebron and CP, they always give you something offensively; for Duncan and KG, even when they're off, they always give you great defense and rebounding. That's what separates Kobe, Lebron, CP, KG, Duncan and probably Dwight Howard, Dirk and Nash from almost every other player in the league. They always give you something good, even when their shot's not going down. (Amare's inability to defend is why I wouldn't put him in that category yet.)
I think Pierce got closer to that this year, but he can probably be best described as a 1A. He's usually still good defensively but when his offense isn't going, he doesn't give you a lot. Last year I would have said he's a 2, now that he's matured (and he has matured A LOT this year), I think he's a 1A because all year when his shot wasn't going in, he still gave us something good. Last night might be the exception, though - I haven't seen him out of a game mentally like that in years. Hopefully he bounces back, I think he will.
Ray Allen is a 2, but he's playing at a much higher level than that in this series. He's been contributing on both ends every night of this series. If we had managed to steal that game last night (to me, stealing a game is when you win one on the road you don't really deserve, like San Antonio in Game 1 against Phoenix), I would honestly have him in the number one spot on my Finals MVP ballot both because he was the absolute only reason the Celtics were in that game last night, and because he's played outstanding defensively throughout the series including last night. His defense is a big part of the reason I give Kobe so much credit for his performance last night. Ray was in his face constantly, and Kobe still hit 6 of the 8 shots he took with Ray covering him. He was just awesome last night. You knew he had at least one of those games in him.
As is, the next few games will decide the MVP, obviously the leading candidates are Kobe, Pierce, KG, and Ray. And I'd be more than happy to see Kobe win Finals MVP as long as he wins it like Jerry West won it - Finals MVP for the losing team. If things go the way they've gone the first 3 games, the Celtics win in 5 or 6.
Topic: Game 3 observations from a Laker fan (Read 9455 times)