Foul x 1000

If you watched the last quarter, that was a hectic seven minutes. If you watched the other three quarters, you're crazy.

Game 2 of the NBA Finals was mostly a lopsided game, dominated by the Big Three and unexpected Leon Powe. It was frustrating game to watch for a Lakers fan. Why? Well:

A Laker has the ball, barely hits the defender... FOUL!
A Celtic has the ball, barely hits the defender... no call.

A Laker is defending, touches the ball handler... FOUL!
A Celtic is defending, touches the ball handler... no call.

The referees were inconsistent with their callings for the most part. It was extremely noticeable in the first two quarter. All the fouls bothered the Lakers tremendously. It seemed as though a Lakers' foul resulted in a turnover their next play. The Celtics took advantage of that, causing their lead into a blowout.

But with a little luck and with the Celtics slacking off, the Lakers were able to pull a twenty-four point deficit to a two point deficit. The Lakers' sudden magic suddenly disappeared though, never able to tie the game or even take the lead. It was likely because of the last play, Kobe Bryant never touched the ball. Without Kobe Bryant controlling the ball, his teammates struggled, rushing the ball and then taking a horrible shot. With plenty of time on the clock, all of that was unnecessary.

I suggested in my last post that Radmanovic should not play much. Almost two minutes into the game, he was benched with two fouls. I also suggested that Pau Gasol man up. In the middle of the first quarter, he dunked over Garnett. Things were looking good for awhile. But once the whistle kept blowing, everything went out of control.

Now the Lakers are down 0-2 in the series. The Lakers need to completely step up their aggressiveness and intensity at home. If they continue the style they have been playing the last two games, expect a sweep by the Celtics. It has been that ugly.