LOSA ANGELES -- The NBA long ago discouraged the kind of rough stuff we saw in 1984, in a 500-degree Fahrenheit series between the Celtics and Lakers, when Kevin McHale sent Kurt Rambis flying horizontally. So Kevin Garnett has crossed that off his list of things to do against Pau Gasol.
But you get the drift. The Celtics intend to enter the Staples Center for Game 2 leading with their puffed chests, if not their bruised egos. Their toughness has been called into question, by the world it seems, and that's enough to turn a green team red.
"We've got to bring a little more," said Rajon Rondo, his clipped reply to a question.
What exactly must you bring?
"Energy and effort," he said, curtly.
OK, then. One game into the NBA Finals, and the Celtics are short tempered and testy. That happens when you get run out of the gym, and pounded on the boards, and your emotional leader gets elbowed out of the equation by a Laker who was never mistaken for an MMA fighter. Gasol didn't help matters when he unintentionally said KG should be fossilized (OK, Gasol wasn't that strong), causing KG to start cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Athletes search far and wide for slights and insults, either real or imagined, to use as motivation. As if being down 1-0 isn't motivation enough for Garnett and his teammates.
"I predict KG will be ready," said Glen "Big Baby" Davis, hardly concealing a sinister smile.
And what about the Celtics, as a whole? There's plenty of face-saving that must be done, and soon, for a team that took pride on being sturdy and strong throughout the post-season. They didn't back down from Dwight Howard or his flapping elbows in the Eastern Conference Finals, or the trio of 7-footers tossed their way by the Cavs in the round before. So this is especially perplexing to them, how they could be pasted by a Laker team accused of being more cushy than Phil Jackson's custom-made chair.
Well, one way or another, the truth will surface in Game 2. Does Gasol, confronted by an ornery KG, accept the challenge that's certain to come or does he turn and run? What about Andrew Bynum, can he continue to bring some bruise in the paint, as he did in Game 1, while operating on a knee that limits his leap?
Does Kendrick Perkins, one technical from a one-game suspension, wisely keep his emotions in check and his 'bows to himself in what could become a physical contest?
Can Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest, the toughest of Lakers, confine their concentration and energy to knocking out the Celtics on the scoreboard only?
And will both teams be mindful of the referees, who'll certainly be quick with the whistles at the first sign of over-the-top aggression?
What it really comes down to, as always, is performance, with all due respect to Rondo. Yes, the Lakers were harder on the glass and quicker to the ball in Game 1. But they also played wisely; the ball found the right people at the right time, Kobe took control when necessary, and their defense tightened in the third quarter, when the smackdown was applied.
Throughout the postseason, the Celtics used balanced scoring to keep defenses off-balance and guessing, and that didn't happen in Game 1. Especially with Ray Allen. He presents a dilemma for the Celtics. He's spending too much energy chasing Kobe around the floor and trying to do the near-impossible task of shutting Kobe down. And how much does that cost Allen on the other end? How much does his jump shot suffer? Allen didn't have a big scorer to check in the Orlando series, and against Cleveland, LeBron James was a team responsibility. Kobe? This is a whole other deal.
Allen made three baskets and was saddled with fouls. Just as well, Paul Pierce had little for the first three quarters, when the game was still a contest. Artest took on Pierce in an aggressive approach to his first-ever taste of championship round play.
"We know what they're capable of doing, and what they're going to bring," said Derek Fisher, who chipped in on the Allen defensive assignment. "Those guys are veterans. They've been through this before. They're smart, strong, well-coached and able to adjust. I'm sure they know the areas they saw that needed improving and they'll bring their best. We expect nothing less. We just have to be prepared for what's coming, and I think we will."
Fisher better make a point to tell that to Gasol. After a superb performance in the Eastern Conference semis, when he scored at least 18 points every game and tore through the Cleveland defense and rebounded with fury, KG hasn't made an impact. Six games against Orlando, he was mostly mild and missing offensively. Now the streak is up to seven games, counting his feeble effort on the glass against the Lakers, with one rebound in the game's first 27 minutes.
Garnett, you'd think anyway, will be fighting for the chance to show the basketball world that he's still alive. And his team, too.
credits: nba.com
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