The Three Point Play 05.22.08: Kobe Sparks Laker Comeback, and Celtics Top Pistons In Game 1

Posted by Blake Lovell on 05.22.2008

The Lakers somehow find a way to steal Game 1 from San Antonio, while the Celtics have an impressive game of their own in Boston. And who should the Bulls pick with the first overall selection in this year's draft? Find out inside this edition of the Three Point Play!



Hello everyone and welcome to the Conference Final edition of the Three Point Play here on 411Mania! Several good games to start the Conference Final action, which was to be expected. These teams have worked hard to get to this point, and I wouldn't expect many blowouts in either of these series. But let's keep the intro short this time around, and jump right into the action.

1. The Tale of Two Halves

How the Lakers won that game, I really have no idea. The Spurs controlled the game early and often, as the Lakers never really had any type of convincing lead in the game at all, until of course they did finally make their run in the third quarter, which carried over into the fourth, which carried over into a victory. You expected a run like that as these guys were the top team in the Western Conference for a reason. The Lakers were down 20 points in the third quarter, then decided to make a 14-0 run to get them right back in the game. The Spurs had somewhat of a usual third quarter collapse in this postseason, which was something they did early in the series against New Orleans. Sasha Vujacic gave the Lakers a boost during that stretch, and Kobe started to step up and make shots, especially when Ime Udoka and Manu Ginobili tried to guard him. Neither one of them could really keep Kobe from getting off good shots, which was something Bruce Bowen did early in the game. Bowen gave Kobe fits at the start of the game, which is why #24 was held to only two points in the first half. You've gotta give the Spurs a ton of credit on the defensive end early in Game 1. They were able to hold the Lakers to only 43 points in the first half, which was a much lower than the Lakers had been use to seeing in the playoffs this year. Then again, I guess the Nuggets weren't exactly a defensive juggernaut. It's unfortunate for the Spurs though that there are two halves in a game. Because their defensive effort in the second half was not anywhere close to their first half performance.

On another note, we said coming into this series that keeping Tony Parker out of the paint would be key for the Lakers. They didn't do a really good job of that overall. Yes, they obviously did a better job of it in the second half for sure, but they need to try and do it for the whole game. Parker not only found ways to get to the basket and score for most of the first half, but he distributed the ball extremely well, and allowed other players to get open shots. Parker is continuing to prove how good he is in these playoffs, and the Lakers better change the gameplan to better defend him for an entire four quarters. He just quite a few opportunities to score, and had too many opportunities to get into the paint, and thus create a shot for someone else. Derek Fisher didn't seem to be the answer in trying to guard Parker, but when you think about it, there really isn't another guy on the floor that matches up with Parker. Kobe can't guard him for fear of foul trouble. And none of the big guys inside can guard him. So really, the only other options would be the guys off the bench like Farmar or Vujacic. Then again, maybe there just isn't anybody who can guard him. He's probably going to get his points and assists any way you look at it. The Lakers just need to try and not let him get doing early on, or the Spurs are going to have a great chance to keep every single game close. The Lakers got away with it for the most part in Game 1, as Kobe led them to a miraculous comeback, but stopping Parker has to be the key from here on out. The Lakers don't want to mess around and dig themselves a 20 point hole again. That's for sure.

I think Game 1 showed us what type of series this will be. Even if one team gains a big advantage, expect the other team to come back and make a game out of it. This is such a great matchup from top to bottom, although there are some clear matchup problems for both teams. The Lakers have to figure out how to keep Tim Duncan from touching the ball so much. Duncan had way too many opportunities to score, which is why he had a tremendous game on both ends of the floor. Plus, the Lakers have to figure out how to keep Tony Parker away from the paint. They've got to find ways to make him beat them from the outside. As for the Spurs, they need to find someone who can guard Kobe when Bowen is out of the game. Somebody has to step up and take the challenge, and at least try to contain the guy. They didn't do a bad job at all in Game 1 except for a couple instances late. But that is going to happen when you're guarding the MVP of the league. And the Spurs have to figure out how to keep a lead. Those kind of situations like last night call for some experience, and the Spurs clearly have that. However, that didn't show this time around though. They let the Lakers tie the game in the fourth quarter, and eventually steal the game from them. This loss really hurts San Antonio, as they could have competely controlled the series with a win last night. Now, that is not the case, unless they can win Game 2 in Los Angeles. And the Spurs have one more hurdle facing them. Oh yeah, we're going back to the scary Phil Jackson stat. His teams are 40-0 when winning Game 1 of a series. I'd say that's pretty good.

2. 9-0

In what has become to be expected in the Eastern Conference, a defensive battle reigned supreme on Tuesday night, as the Boston Celtics took down the Detroit Pistons 88-79. A lot of people, including myself, expected Detroit to take this first game of the series due to the lack of rest for Boston. However, that was not the case, as the Celtics looked much more energized than the Pistons did. While the game was close through much of the first half, the Celtics took control early in the second half, and really made their run in the third quarter, outscoring the Pistons by 11. The Pistons made it close for a few moments during the fourth quarter, but you kind of felt the Celtics had the game in the bag. Antonio McDyess and Richard Hamilton played well for the Pistons in the second half to get the game close, but no one else on the Pistons really had a huge game. Chauncey Billups was not as big of a factor in Game 1 as he could have been as he is the catalyst of this Pistons team, and if they want to have success in the series, he's gonna have to play huge each game.

What really pushed the Celtics to victory was their passing. They passed the ball incredibly well, as they had 27 assists on 36 made field goals. That's a stat that will win you games in this league. Guys were hitting the open man, and for the most part, the Celtics knocked down shots when they needed to. Again, while that's an important stat, here's another big stat. Ray Allen did not hit a three point bucket, and was 3-10 from the field. And you know what? The Celtics still won the game. Allen hasn't played well at all the entire postseason, yet these guys are still in the Conference Finals. Good players go through these kinds of streaks where they lose their confidence, especially if a person is an outside shooter, and this seemed to show in the game against Detroit. Allen got to the point where he wasn't taking open shots from outside the paint, and you could tell the fans didn't like it too much. If he wants to cure these problems, he's got to keep shooting. To his credit, he did start to take the ball to the basket more and try to score at the rim. That's what good shooters have to do when they are missing from outside. They have to find a way to get into some type of flow, and trying to score inside is a good start. The rest of the Celtics just need to hope that this guy get going again. Because if he does get back to his Jesus Shuttlesworth ways, this team is going to be hard to beat during the rest of this postseason. It would also give them an added scoring threat on the road, which is a problem they really need to try and cure.

The Pistons need to figure out some changes that need to be made heading into Game 2, as they really need to try and pick up a victory in Boston. They didn't shoot the ball particularly well in Game 1, shooting only 42%, but that type of thing comes and goes. While they weren't awful defensively, the Celtics got a lot of wide open shots which led to points. In a nutshell, it was just one of those games for the Pistons. They weren't terrible, but it didn't help matters that the Celtics shot the ball well, and really played at a high level. I like the decision by Flip Saunders to put Hamilton on Rondo at times, and put Billups on Allen. Billups is the best defender on the team, and even though Allen isn't the Allen of old right now, it's still a good move. Putting Billups on Rondo wouldn't really be necessary for the entire game, as Rondo isn't going to hurt you scoring-wise for the most part. This should help the Pistons in the long run, even though they lost the first game of this series. Detroit didn't find ways to lose that game as much as Boston found ways to win the game. The Celtics just made the extra pass and knocked down open shots. The Pistons are still in good shape, but will have to end the Celtics undefeated streak at home in the postseason if they want to advance to the NBA Finals.

3. WANTED: The Next Michael Jordan

The NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night, with the Chicago Bulls taking home the first pick in the upcoming draft. The Miami Heat wound up with the second pick, while the Minnesota Timberwolves rounded out the top three. There were really no other huge surprises in the draft order besides Chicago, as everything else pretty much held form. But Chicago's gain was the Grizzlies' loss, as they can't ever seem to get that top pick. And unless they make some changes, they will continue to be one of the worst teams in the entire league. Oh yeah, and the Pau Gasol trade didn't help them a whole lot either. As for the Bulls, they clearly didn't have the best chance to win the first pick, as they officially had a 1.7% chance at the beginning. Now the question will be who they take with the first pick. The likely top two will be Michael Beasley from Kansas State and Derrick Rose from Memphis. This topic will be debated by everyone leading up to the actual draft, so we won't examine it too closely at this time, as there will be a lot more discussion on it when we get closer to the draft.

But let's take a look at the best pick for the Bulls as of this very moment. Let me start off by saying that there seems to be a group out there who believes that Derrick Rose is the only safe pick of the two. I don't really agree with that. Both of these guys are safe picks in my opinion. Yes, the league is a point-guard driven league in this day in age. For example, Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, and Jason Kidd. These are guys who can change the course of an entire game by themselves, as they can score or distribute the basketball. On the other hand, the league is driven by guys who can slash through the paint and get to the rim as well be able to knock down a mid-range jumpshot. Kevin Durant is a good example of this type of player. Lamar Odom is another guy who has made a living of doing this same type of thing. And these types are what Rose and Beasley are. No, I'm not comparing them to these guys as far as talent goes. Because they aren't on these guys' level yet. Not even close. But they do have similarities in terms of style of play.

The only real point guard the Bulls have on the current roster is Kirk Hinrich. Chris Duhon is also on the roster, but he's not really a starting point guard in this league. He's good for backup minutes, but that's about it. The big question is, can Hinrich be an effective point guard for them? He has proven in the past that he has what it takes to be successful, and I think you can just throw out the struggles from last year. This was a team that went from being a favorite to win the NBA title, to getting the first overall pick in the draft. That says a lot right there. Rose could come in and make an immediate impact for this team, especially if Hinrich does struggle once again. Rose has all the moves, and is going to be a star in the NBA. And while point guard is a concern, they also don't really have one guy that is that slasher type, who can put up points in a hurry, except for maybe Luol Deng. They need someone who can sort of take over a game eventually, and be the go-to-guy. I think Michael Beasley can be that guy. Sure, he's got some areas of his game that he needs to improve on. But Beasley is beastly. He has a chance to be a great player in this league just like Rose. So given all this, who's the best pick for the Bulls? Personally, I don't think they can go wrong either way. If I absolutely had to pick one or the other, I would lean more towards Rose. He could distribute the ball to guys like Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, and also score as well.

The Bulls are a young team. They've only got four guys on the team over the age of 25 (Andres Nocioni - 28, Larry Hughes - 29, Kirk Hinrich - 27, and Drew Gooden - 26). They've got plenty of young talent. Now they just need a coach to come in and find the right lineup, and figure out what style fits these guys best. If they do indeed take Rose, they would play well in an up-tempo style of game. But we'll have to wait and see what happens. Like I said, I know they've got to pick one or the other. However, I don't think it'll be a mistake either way.

THE BONUS

- Carmelo Anthony to the Nets? The rumors are floating around right now that this deal could very well get done. Even if it doesn't get done, I can't see Carmelo returning to Denver. It's clear that they don't really want to keep this guy around. I listened to an interview a while back with Nuggets' coach George Karl on the Dan Patrick Show, and Karl seemed to really believe that Iverson and Anthony would both be back next season. I guess things have changed since then.

- Will somebody hurry up and hire Avery Johnson? I just don't understand why this guy doesn't have a job yet. It may just be me, but Chicago seems like a great fit for him. He could instill some discipline into that organization, and he'd be good for all the young talent that they have. If I'm the Bulls, I'm either taking him or Mark Jackson. And that's all there is to it.

- In returning to NBA Draft talk, and New York Knicks talk, is there an impact player available that the Knicks should take with the sixth pick? Granted, there's not one player in this draft that could completely turn that team around, but is there a guy they should take that would fit well with the D'Antoni system?

That's all for this edition of the Three Point Play. Tune in next time for more coverage of the Conference Finals.