Punched in the mouth

[Spicoli]

That to me, is exactly what happened last night. The Celts came into that game expecting to see the same "soft" Laker squad of 2 years ago. When they realized that the Lakers were no longer that team, it was already too late. They looked shellshocked and didn't have a clue how to respond. Never in a million years did i expect to see the Lakers being tougher and more physical than the Boston Celtics. They beat us at our own game!

[Yugocelt]

The key is how we respond in Game 2.  If we come out flat with no spark, we might as well kiss the title goodbye.

[Spicoli]

The key is how we respond in Game 2.  If we come out flat with no spark, we might as well kiss the title goodbye.

Yes, absolutely. The Lakers dictated the pace from beginning to end in game 1. They got whatever shot they wanted on offense, pushed us around EASILY on the inside, and smothered us defensively to the point where we couldn't even get a quality shot off. If major adjustments aren't made by game 2.....

[Bankshot]

The key is how we respond in Game 2.  If we come out flat with no spark, we might as well kiss the title goodbye.

[Yugocelt]

I love how the national media is already ballwashing the Lakers for one game.  It's like they already won the whole thing. 


You won a game on your own court.

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

That to me, is exactly what happened last night. The Celts came into that game expecting to see the same "soft" Laker squad of 2 years ago. When they realized that the Lakers were no longer that team, it was already too late. They looked shellshocked and didn't have a clue how to respond. Never in a million years did i expect to see the Lakers being tougher and more physical than the Boston Celtics. They beat us at our own game!

I think that's reading a bit much into it. I believe it is a bit simpler. We haven't played in a while. Came out a little rusty. I don't think it was this psychological letdown or our expectations got the best of us. We have played this Laker team twice this year, we know they aren't soft. We came out poorly in games in both the Cleveland and Orlando series. Sometimes it happens but I don't think it had anything to do with expectations of The Lakers being soft.

[Roy Hobbs]

At first, this was my thinking, too:  the Celtics weren't prepared for the new, improved, less soft Lakers.

However, in hindsight, I'm not sure if I still agree.  The Lakers played a lot more physical inside, so they get credit for that, but for most of the game, the refs were whistling us for the softest of fouls.  It's hard to compete physically when you're not allowed any contact at all.

I do think, though, that the Celtics need to find a way to keep Gasol out of the paint.  If he's allowed to get position down low, there's no way we're going to be able to stop him consistently.  People can call him "Pau Ga-soft" all they want, but the guy is a proven playoff performer at this point.

[Who]

I don't think the Lakers did anything different in Game One than they did in the regular season. I don't think the Celtics were expecting anything else or were surprised by how LA played.

The C's just played like garbage ... no more complicated than that.

[kfdodgerfan]

I love how the national media is already ballwashing the Lakers for one game.

You know what's funny? Almost every national writer and certainly 90% of the posters here KNEW the Celtics were going to steal game one.

That the Celtics were pumped and the Lakers were scared and hadn't face a defensive team like the Celtics.

[Chris]

I love how the national media is already ballwashing the Lakers for one game.

You know what's funny? Almost every national writer and certainly 90% of the posters here KNEW the Celtics were going to steal game one.

That the Celtics were pumped and the Lakers were scared and hadn't face a defensive team like the Celtics.

Well, of course C's fans did, but were there really many writers who thought that?  Do you have some links?

[vinnie]

That to me, is exactly what happened last night. The Celts came into that game expecting to see the same "soft" Laker squad of 2 years ago. When they realized that the Lakers were no longer that team, it was already too late. They looked shellshocked and didn't have a clue how to respond. Never in a million years did i expect to see the Lakers being tougher and more physical than the Boston Celtics. They beat us at our own game!

I think that's reading a bit much into it. I believe it is a bit simpler. We haven't played in a while. Came out a little rusty. I don't think it was this psychological letdown or our expectations got the best of us. We have played this Laker team twice this year, we know they aren't soft. We came out poorly in games in both the Cleveland and Orlando series. Sometimes it happens but I don't think it had anything to do with expectations of The Lakers being soft.

Lakers also had not played in a while.

[Drucci]

I agree with the OP, the body language from the C's was kind of strange last night. They looked genuinely surprised and quite shocked. Hopefully now that they have got over the "hump", they will go back to their old dominant way and strike back in game 2. But they definitely looked like they didn't expect "this".

[SCBirdman]

That to me, is exactly what happened last night. The Celts came into that game expecting to see the same "soft" Laker squad of 2 years ago. When they realized that the Lakers were no longer that team, it was already too late. They looked shellshocked and didn't have a clue how to respond. Never in a million years did i expect to see the Lakers being tougher and more physical than the Boston Celtics. They beat us at our own game!

This is a different LA team, and a much better LA team that we defeated in 2008. I don't know if the Celtics are better now than in 2008 or not, but I do know the match ups this time around are not nearly as favorable for the Celtics.

Two years ago, Pierce was guarding Kobe and being guarded by Vlad Radmonovich. This series he is being guarded by Ron Artest.

Kobe is being guarded  by two smaller guys in Ray and TA, when last time it was PP and Posey.

Last time, KG punked Gasol and was the defensive POY. Now, Gasol is a better player than KG. The injury and grind of winning a Championship is wearing on KG. He gave us everything he had during that Championship run and it has taken a big toll on him.

Perk guarded Gasol last time, now he has Bynum. Again, advantage Lakers.

In 2008 we had Posey and House coming off the bench, both of whom stretched the floor, and forced LA to guard both wings behind the arc. Now, we sub TA who has never had a jump shot, so the Lakers can play off him and guard the post from the weakside much better, whereas two year ago, Posey killed them at times from behind the arc, as did House.

Yes, we have BBD and Sheed, but neither has an advantage. Last time, Leon had a big advantage versus their bench.

Yes, Rondo is a much better player, but Kobe is now guarding him. Ray should have an advantage on DFish, but he has to guard Kobe, who gets all the touch foul calls.

I am not saying we can't or won't find a way to win this series, but I think the Lakers have much better match ups this time around and C's have much tougher match ups than last time around.

Boston must force the Lakers to beat them with Jump shots, and not allow the penetration from Game 1. Our Bigs have to do a much better job of rebounding and getting the 50-50 balls.

We also have to do a much better job of finishing from in close, and keep Ray on the floor to stretch their D. Ray is going to have to carry a big offensive load if we have a chance to win this series.

I just don't like the match ups right now.

[Spicoli]

That to me, is exactly what happened last night. The Celts came into that game expecting to see the same "soft" Laker squad of 2 years ago. When they realized that the Lakers were no longer that team, it was already too late. They looked shellshocked and didn't have a clue how to respond. Never in a million years did i expect to see the Lakers being tougher and more physical than the Boston Celtics. They beat us at our own game!

This is a different LA team, and a much better LA team that we defeated in 2008. I don't know if the Celtics are better now than in 2008 or not, but I do know the match ups this time around are not nearly as favorable for the Celtics.

Two years ago, Pierce was guarding Kobe and being guarded by Vlad Radmonovich. This series he is being guarded by Ron Artest.

Kobe is being guarded  by two smaller guys in Ray and TA, when last time it was PP and Posey.

Last time, KG punked Gasol and was the defensive POY. Now, Gasol is a better player than KG. The injury and grind of winning a Championship is wearing on KG. He gave us everything he had during that Championship run and it has taken a big toll on him.

Perk guarded Gasol last time, now he has Bynum. Again, advantage Lakers.

In 2008 we had Posey and House coming off the bench, both of whom stretched the floor, and forced LA to guard both wings behind the arc. Now, we sub TA who has never had a jump shot, so the Lakers can play off him and guard the post from the weakside much better, whereas two year ago, Posey killed them at times from behind the arc, as did House.

Yes, we have BBD and Sheed, but neither has an advantage. Last time, Leon had a big advantage versus their bench.

Yes, Rondo is a much better player, but Kobe is now guarding him. Ray should have an advantage on DFish, but he has to guard Kobe, who gets all the touch foul calls.

I am not saying we can't or won't find a way to win this series, but I think the Lakers have much better match ups this time around and C's have much tougher match ups than last time around.

Boston must force the Lakers to beat them with Jump shots, and not allow the penetration from Game 1. Our Bigs have to do a much better job of rebounding and getting the 50-50 balls.

We also have to do a much better job of finishing from in close, and keep Ray on the floor to stretch their D. Ray is going to have to carry a big offensive load if we have a chance to win this series.

I just don't like the match ups right now.

I pretty much agree. Before the game started, it was the most nervous i'd been all season. Why? Because i was unsure about how things would play out, seeing as though the matchups were no longer clearly in our favor as they were in all the other series. I mean, the only clear matchup i thought we had was Ray against Fisher, but as we saw, Ray was quickly taken out of his game with cheap fouls. I totally believe that Ray is the key to winning this series. He has to exploit Fisher in any and every way.

[Spicoli]

I agree with the OP, the body language from the C's was kind of strange last night. They looked genuinely surprised and quite shocked. Hopefully now that they have got over the "hump", they will go back to their old dominant way and strike back in game 2. But they definitely looked like they didn't expect "this".

I feel as though they played with no energy and no heart because apparently they didn't think they would need to tap into that in order to defeat a "soft" team. Now they know they have to. The team they're playing is just as tough as they are. Time to punch them right back in the mouth boys!