Monday, June 7, 2010

Ray erupts from beyond the arc


As ABC analyst and former NBA player, Mark Jackson, would say, “Hand Down, Man Down.” This was the story in the 1st half of Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals as the Boston Celtics, Ray Allen, couldn’t be stopped. The Los Angeles Lakers threw several different defenders at Allen, but none could stop one of the prettiest jump shooters in the league. The Lakers tried to trail screens and even cheat and jump over them at times, but Allen read them perfectly each time as he made seven 3-point shots in the 1st half alone, which surpassed the teams amount in Game 1. Allen ended the game with eight 3-point shots setting the new NBA Finals record and led the Celtics with 32 points.
The Celtics’ offense was in rhythm and had a lot of shots falling for them in the 1st half, but got extremely sloppy with turnovers towards the end which allowed the Lakers to climb back into the game. Coming into the 3rd quarter, the Lakers used that momentum and tied the game back up, coming back from down 14 at one point in the 1st half.
The Lakers seemed they were going to pull away as the Celtics were falling apart on defense and then the Rajon Rondo we’ve seen throughout the playoffs played like himself again. Rondo, who ended with a triple double, was all over the place in the 4th quarter. Rondo wasn’t just dismantling the Lakers with his passing, but by scoring and more importantly: rebounding. Rondo feared none at his size as he took the ball straight into the teeth of the defense and had key defensive plays which caused turnovers for the Lakers.
Boston played a good game despite their star players, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, combining for only 16 points. Kevin Garnett has been in a funk lately and it’s affected his team as they’ve been getting killed on the boards. The Celtics will need the heart and soul of their team to break out in Game 3, as the Lakers will look to make adjustments to contain Ray Allen from having another shooting display.
The Lakers, Kobe Bryant, had a quiet twenty-one and was limited due to foul trouble throughout the game. Some other players stepped up in his behalf such as Andrew Bynum, who ended w/ 21, but it wasn’t enough for the Lakers to take Game 2. I’m sure that Phil Jackson will go back to the drawing board and make necessary changes as the Lakers could have played better on both sides of the ball. The scary thing about this series is both teams haven’t played too their full potential. Look for an epic battle that will come down to the wire in Game 3.

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