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View Full Version : Celtics vs Lakers - Xmas Day



Billy Dat
12-24-2008, 09:42 AM
For those of you in hoops withdrawal and not inclined to watch the professional product, I encourage you to dip your toe in the NBA waters tomorrow to watch the Celtics play the Lakers.

I know that a common complaint about the NBA is a lack of passion and meaning behind every game - this one should be different.

The Celtics are defending their title with a vengeance! They are 27-2!!!! They remind me a lot of the 1991-92 Devils in that they take everyone's best shot and play with a huge chip on their shoulder. Paul Pierce, who earned a spotty rep for his perceived slefish play with the 2000 World Championship team and his involvement in a nightclub incident where he was stabbed (let's remember that he was the victim), is really an amazing player and the heart and soul of the team. Garnett and Ray Allen have been playing lights out and Rajon Rondo has been a revelation at the point. I never would have pegged him to be this good out of Kentucky. The rest of the supporting cast (Kendrick Perkins, Eddie House, Leon Powe etc.) is championship experienced and tough! The play a gritty, defense-based game that wears opponents down.

The Lakers, on the other hand, are a nearly as impressive 23-5 but reflect their Hollywood setting - star power, glitz, and drama. Kobe and Phil Jackson are the headliners with a finesse-based attack that is offensively potent - Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Derek Fischer, etc. With Andrew Bynum back in the middle (he missed the playoffs last year), they are that much better on the frontline. But, a recent two game losing streak has them squabbling amongst themselves about PT, effort, you name it. Some teams, though, play ok with that kind of drama.

Anyway, if you watched last year's finals, you know these teams well and know that the favored Lakers really bent to the will of the mentally and physicially tougher Celtics. This is their first match-up since the deciding Game 6.

I think the NBA, as a product, is really great right now, a far cry from the bogged down isolation featured game that turned so many off in the post-Jordan era. Check out this game - and any of the other 4 games that will be televised tomorrow. It's a much better set-up then the Lions on Thanksgiving.

BlueintheFace
12-24-2008, 10:38 AM
Should be a NCAA tournament caliber game on Christmas. I like the Lakers this year. Last time these teams danced the Lakers couldn't keep it close enough to let Kobe win it at the end. This time they seem a bit more evenly matched. Should be a fun one...

Ben63
12-24-2008, 04:39 PM
This is honestly the first NBA game I have any excitement about in the last 2-3 years. I NEVER have gone out of my way to watch an NBA game. Sure I watch it, but only when I sit down to watch TV and it happens to be on. I plan on sitting down and watching this one start to finish, and I am very excited about it.

I think the Celtics will continue to win, there have been no signs to pick against them anytime soon. This team has the potential to finish with a better record than the 72-10 Bulls.

SilkyJ
12-24-2008, 06:25 PM
Should be a NCAA tournament caliber game on Christmas. I like the Lakers this year. Last time these teams danced the Lakers couldn't keep it close enough to let Kobe win it at the end. This time they seem a bit more evenly matched. Should be a fun one...

Not an NBA playoff caliber game? I guess we're a little biased here :D

I agree that its a little more even matched this year, but really the teams are largely the same. The Lakers have a healthy Bynum as others have mentioned and the Celtics lost Posey. Other than that, seems largely the same. (I'm not discounting Bynum's presence/ability, but he isn't a "game changer" in my eyes. Though with two teams that are so good, every little advantage helps...)

I'll be watching but being from Philly and living in SF, I'm not sure who I'm rooting for...I dont like either team

heyman25
12-25-2008, 07:37 AM
Rondo and Perkins are highly improved. The Lakers have gotten better with Gasol and Bryant having played 3 months together this season.Trevor Ariza is a talent off the bench.Walton is better. They don't need much from Odom as much as last season.It will be a good matchup. I think the Lakers may prevail because they play very well on their home court. Celtics have the travel time variable.


If you don't like the NBA, watch LeBron James and if you aren't blown away then you have a bias against professional basketball.

Ben63
12-25-2008, 12:59 PM
If you don't like the NBA, watch LeBron James and if you aren't blown away then you have a bias against professional basketball.

Or Dwight Howard

BlueintheFace
12-25-2008, 01:06 PM
really the teams are largely the same.

I disagree. Boston lost Posey and Brown (two pretty big contributors in the post season last year). The Lakers have Bynum back but Farmar is now out. Ariza has a much increased role and Odom is coming off the bench.

The Lakers are about as much the same team from last year as this
Duke team is the same as last year. The same might also be said to a lesser extent about Boston. Both teams have young kids who have grown up a lot and taken on a bigger role. Plus, The Lakers have finally gotten to a point in which they are actually familiar with Pau Gasol since he came in pretty late last season.

DukieBoy
12-25-2008, 08:31 PM
For those who watched, this was an amazing game. Missed the first quarter and a half, but it had a college game atmosphere to it. The fans were into it, the teams played with intensity, and it was a highly contested game. Pau Gasol came up absolutely huge in the end with six of the last eight points and a key block under two minutes that led to a fast break dunk that put the game away for good. I can't wait for the June rematch :)

dukeballer2294
12-26-2008, 12:57 AM
my lakers came through! everyone here in LA is ecstatic

Clipsfan
12-26-2008, 10:50 AM
I find it strange to hear that Bynum isn't a game changer in this matchup given that the largest weakness last year was the inability to contain Boston's front line due to lack of size/toughness. Bynum solves a lot of that problem, as evidenced yesterday. Odom just wasn't capable of doing that last year.

HoopsFan
12-26-2008, 11:40 AM
For those who watched, this was an amazing game. Missed the first quarter and a half, but it had a college game atmosphere to it. The fans were into it, the teams played with intensity, and it was a highly contested game. Pau Gasol came up absolutely huge in the end with six of the last eight points and a key block under two minutes that led to a fast break dunk that put the game away for good. I can't wait for the June rematch :)

Actually the regular season rematch is Feb 5th in Boston.

tommy
12-26-2008, 12:07 PM
I find it strange to hear that Bynum isn't a game changer in this matchup given that the largest weakness last year was the inability to contain Boston's front line due to lack of size/toughness. Bynum solves a lot of that problem, as evidenced yesterday. Odom just wasn't capable of doing that last year.

While Bynum's size does help in that it makes it tougher for guys to post up and certainly helps in the rebounding department, I still found the number of layups, dunks, and other easy inside shots that Boston got to be quite disturbing for the Lakers. I didn't see the stats, but I'll bet the points in the paint heavily favored the Celtics. I saw a lot of mistakes in help defense by the Lakers inside guys which led to a lot of easy inside buckets for Boston. If that doesn't get fixed, it will likely come back to bite the Lakers big time.

dukeENG2003
12-27-2008, 05:43 PM
it was a great game, but the one thing that has started to aggravate me about pro ball (college ball too, but to a lesser extent) is that home court so clearly means "officiating advantage". The calls to me seemed pretty blatantly slanted towards the lakers.

And people wonder why the home team only lost 3 games in the playoffs last year. Seems pretty obvious to me. . .

This is not to take anything away from what was a GREAT hard fought game though (second of the day, Suns Spurs was a GREAT game too). As I said, it happens in all levels of basketball, just needs to be brought under control a little bit.