Finito

It's just not their year this year. 

Easily the worst loss I've experienced as a Laker fan....easily. All year we've talked about this team's inability to put teams away and this time it bit them in the ass. 

I'm physically sick to my stomach after that one. 

I'm out. 

A Win is a Win

And in playoff format, I'll take any win. This was a fascinating game in a couple of respects - first, the Lakers probably should have won that game by about 20. Second, Boston probably could have easily won that game as well. Let's look at some of the key factors here:

• Pierce and Garnett struggled mightily in this game and the Celtics were still ahead for much of the second half
• The Celtics' bench continues to run circles around the Laker reserves - this is not even close in terms of comparison. If the Celtics win this series (more on this below) this will be a primary reason why
• It's official: the Lakers have no big bodied, physical players who can hang with the Celtics. None. Gasol was awful, Odom was awful and Turiaf is Turiaf - he's a third stringer for a reason.
  
• Free throws - certainly a better called game all around this time (although there were a few instances where the calls against both teams were outlandish at best - when Gasol chunked the ball over the backboard, clearly trying to draw a shooting foul, it's plain as day that PJ Brown had his arm wrapped around Gasol's - how did the ref not see that). BUT, Lakers have to make their free throws - unacceptable shooting by both Kobe and Gasol. I'm still shocked that Kobe missed 7 of 18 free throws.
  
• Intensity - Boston continues to out-hustle the Lakers from top to bottom. This coupled with the play of the reserves/role players will be the deciding factor in this series.
  
• One little note for Kobe - STOP GETTING TECHNICALS!!! Seriously, stop it!!!
  

If I'm LA I look at this as a bitter-sweet win - it's great because now it's a series again (if only for one more game) and they can relax just a bit. It's bitter because Boston played a terrible game and damn-near won the game. When I watch these games it's very clear to me that one of these teams wants to win this so much more than the other - can you guess which team it is?

I think I realized why I've been so hard on Pau Gasol of late - he's a plateau player. By this I mean, you know exactly where his ceiling is in terms of what you're going to get - 12-14 points and 10-12 rebounds..and if we're lucky a half-dozen assists or so. But that's it - that's the peak performance you're going to get from Gasol. If you're looking for someone to step up and play above themselves and their averages, he's not the guy. Not necessarily bitching about those numbers - not at all, but it's a worse feeling knowing that he certainly won't step up beyond that and there's a decent chance that he'll disappear like he did last night. He was beyond horrible last night and the bad thing is they've got nothing on the bench to fill that role. I'm SHOCKED that Mihm hasn't gotten anymore playing time if nothing more than to just have a bigger body in there and maybe even commit some hard fouls.

And don't get me started on Lamar Odom - he has absolutely killed us this series and I have no idea what his issue is. He's trying WAAAY too hard. It's like he's completely and utterly forgotten how to play for this team in the last week. Talk about a frustrating player - when you look at his size and his skills, it's absurd that he's not a better player in this league. And he's just getting destroyed down low on defense...yea Odom, remember, we play defense half the time too? I'd rather have Ariza in for the entire game than have Odom play one more second. If I'm Jackson, I'm keeping this guy on a tight leash with very little leeway.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Sasha Vujacic - for saving this game for us. I fully expected Kobe to have this kind of game, but if not for Sasha, we would be talking about a Celtics sweep right now.

Again, I'm still scratching my head and trying to figure out if I should be optimistic or not about this - Lakers, as a team, still aren't playing worth a poop, but managed to eek one out. It also would appear that Boston has reverted back, at least for that game, to their old selves on the road - streaky.

I picked LA to win in 6 and I'm officially back tracking on that. Honestly gang, and this will kill my fellow Laker fans, but Boston simply looks like a better team right now. The only concern if you're a Boston fan is will Boston ever play with a sense of urgency on this road trip? If they go through these next 2 games in LA with the attitude of we've got 2 more at home then they may be in trouble. The only chance I'm giving LA to win this series is if they win all three games in LA and go back to Boston up 3-2. I picked LA to win game 3 in a hard, tight game and then blowing out the Celtics in game 4. If they have a similar game from Kobe (hitting 5 more free throws at least) and the rest of the gang steps up, even just a little, they should win game 4 handily, but they're going to have to continue to play solid defense the entire game. They had lapses in the 3rd and 4th quarters last night that allowed Boston to maintain a lead for the bulk of that time. In short, this Laker team needs to learn how to put their foot on the opponent's throat and end it - they've never been good at this and last night was no exception.

Odom, Gasol and Walton - it's time to sack up and start playing like have an ounce of pride in your contribution to this team.

Given what I've seen thus far, ALL of the games are must-win games for the Lakers. As I mentioned, if they drop 1 game here in LA then they're done. The only hope is that Boston simply runs out of gas, but let's be honest, if we're looking at that then we're in trouble.

I know it's waaaaay too early to be talking about this, but if I'm Mitch Kupcheck, I'm looking at how I can acquire a big, physical player in the offseason who can add some muscle down low. Bynum will be a HUGE lift in this area, but it's clear as day that LA needs another bruiser - get rid of Mihm if you have to (how does that guy continue to get a paycheck in the NBA??) and hell, if you can pull a decent trade then put Odom on the block - he's been the same story his entire career. I like him, but he's giving me a freaking ulcer. We don't need more shooters/offensive performers, we need a muscle guy - think Ben Wallace-type player. Just a thought....

Memo to Donaghy - no one believes what you say. Let's see, this is about the 3rd or 4th allegation that you've thrown out since you were outed and everyone (including media...which is saying A LOT) has discounted your claims. Now you're pulling the "game 6 of Lakers/Kings series in '02 was rigged to ensure a game 7" claim? Folks, for those of you who don't recall that series, it was (like game 2 of this series) one of the worst officiated games in the last 10-15 years of playoff basketball, no question. Was it rigged? No, of course not. I'll say this once and only once - refs suck and are inconsistent, but these crazies with their conspiracy theories on why the outcome of the games are pre-determined need to get a grip. Of course people have a tendency to only bitch when bad calls go against their team, but that's the problem. Was game 2 of this current series lopsided? Of course it was, no question. Were there quite a few bad calls that went against Boston? Of course - there were several. Typically refs are bad on both ends of the court and that's a fact.

Outmatched

Now it gets interesting...I mean desperate. Lakers head back to LA for some much needed home cooking. I'll be honest, I'm a bit concerned about these Lakers and won't lie about the fact that I was doubting whether this team could win a game in this series. It was looking pretty grim there for about 98% of the game. Here are my thoughts (and fears) on the remainder of this series:

• Here's why the Lakers are getting killed: No defense, poor shooting, not playing aggressive or with any sense of urgency. The Celtics simply want it more.
  
• The Laker reserves are also getting completely out played by their counterparts - so much for those deep lakers.
  
• Let's not read too much into that late run - yea they pulled it close, but you gotta be more discouraged about what they did for the first 7 quarters of this finals.
  
• I'm not sure how he's going to do it, but the Zen Master has to get this team playing more physical and more aggressive.
  
• Probably the worst officiated championship game of the last 10 years or more. The biggest complaint I had was the fact that they didn't let the game get into any rhythm - tic-tac fouls on both teams. BUT, that free throw discrepancy is absurd. No doubt that the Celtics were more aggressive and probably would/should have shot more free throws , but to have a backup shoot more free throws than the entire Laker team? Ridiculous. The crappy thing is you just know there's going to be at least a game or two where the pendulum drastically shifts in LA. Refs suck.
  
• Here's a thought: someone just follow Paul "Pele" Pierce around the three point line because all he does is roam up there waiting to bomb. Knee injury my ass.
  
• Odom is out of control. He's been pretty frustrating this series and has contributed next to nothing.
  
• Game 3 is a must win and bench players typically play better at home than on the road so I gotta go with the Lakers here. But if they lose, I don't think they win a game....but we won't go there. If they can find a way to win this next game I think they blow them out in game 4, making it 2-2. From there? Who knows. Lakers in a semi-close game tonight (10 points or less).
  
• The net-net of this series is the Celtics are starting to peak at just the right time (last couple of games of the conference finals and now) and the Lakers are slipping at just the wrong time. LA played so well throughout the conference playoffs, but now seem to be losing their mojo which is very common in sports as we know. Here's hoping the Celtics revert back to their ways of sucking on the road.
  

Something other than the NBA:

• First off, someone needs to slap the crap out of Cedric Benson...then do it again. He should also probably NOT spend any more time in Austin than he absolutely has to. With that said, the Bears releasing him may be the best thing that happens to him - he hasn't fit in there from day 1 after a lengthy hold out. You just have to think he's capable of performing physically if he can just find the right fit and get his act together. He can go and sign a 2-year, very low deal with a team that needs a backup RB, establish himself as a serviceable back and then move on. I can see Chargers, Texans, Chiefs, Lions, etc. We'll see - I imagine he'll miss a few games due to suspension.
  
• So I watched the Belmont with a buddy who is big into horse racing and was interesting (I know nothing about it). He bet on the horses that got 1st and 2nd - 38-1 on the horse that got first. Impressive.
  
• Unless Nadal gets hit by a bus, Federer will never win on clay. Too bad because he'll get hit for that, but still one of the best ever. Either way, he got his ass handed to him. Not even close.
  
• Should be a great US Open this weekend - Phil and Tiger paired together. I'll have the DVR going.
  
• Let me see....nope, still don't care about baseball yet.
  

Non-Sports Thoughts for the Week:

• Watched Juno last weekend - great, great, great movie. One of the better ones I've seen in a while (which isn't saying much).
  
• I'm about to experience one of those "firsts in life" things - buying a new air conditioner for the home....NOT good times.
• Which brings me to my next point - anyone got about $8-$10K lying around? Yea, me neither. Perhaps I could raise the money by making the Sports Rant a subscription-based blog? You guys would pay to read this dribble wouldn't you? Please?
  
• Here's one way to make purchasing a new air conditioner a bit easier - sleep in your house without one for a night or two.
  

That's all I got folks - HUGE game tonight in LA. Don't expect the crowd to get into it until the second half for 2 reasons: 1) the game is in LA and fans don't show up until then, and 2) the game tips off at about 6:15 California time.