Enemy Chatter: The Lakers were a hot, nasty mess

I often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and bloggers are saying about the Celtics after playing the Celtics. Here's a dose of 'enemy chatter' from Los Angeles.

The final period was neck-and-neck until those fateful last few minutes. That's when the Laker offense bogged down in Kobe isolation play - what happened to those beautiful pick and rolls? - while Rondo cranked his game up a few notches. Over the final nine possessions he came up with a block, a steal, six points and a crucial offensive rebound. Down the stretch, he was the best player on the floor.

What's a bit more hard to stomach was an out-of-bounds call that awarded possession to Boston with 1:59 to play and the Lakers down three. Replays showed unambiguously that Garnett last touched the ball, but the refs failed to reverse the initial call despite consulting those exact replays.

I honestly have no idea what they thought they were seeing. Would getting that call right have changed the outcome of the game? Maybe, maybe not. Rondo finished that possession with a made 20-foot jumper that stretched the lead to five. That's a significant difference with so little time on the clock. On the other hand, the Laker offense was truly a hot, nasty mess in those final minutes. It's very possible they'd have botched things anyway.

Silver Screen and Roll

Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum combined for 46 of the Lakers 94 points and were just having their way on the inside.  Doing their damage on only 20 FGA’s (and a combined 20-25 from the FT line), the Lakers bigs were the rock that needed to be leaned on more in this contest than they were, but instead were relatively forgotten men in the closing minutes where their presence and production really could have made a difference.  I wish I had an answer on why this occurred, but alas I do not.

Forum Blue and Gold

Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant, historically most effective against Allen, received the brunt of the calls guarding the the Celtics guard. Shannon Brown, left to take over with Fisher and Bryant in foul trouble, continuously left Allen all the space he needed to hit those quick shots. As much energy as Brown provides for the Lakers when he enters the game, his lack of decision-making acumen on both sides of the court leave much to be desired.

The Lakers Nation

After watching the replay of the Gasol/KG out-of-bounds play, I thought for sure LA was gaining possession. The decision only makes sense if the replay was deemed inconclusive.

Coming off a game with questionable officiating, I expected a ton of excuses and bitching from the Lakers bloggers. Not the case, at all. They did a great job analyzing the game.

For those interested in idiotic and immature commentary, we turn to LA Times columnist TJ Simers.

The Celtics stink, and their fans pretty much know it.

They waited until after Game 2 before e-mailing their obscenities and asking, "What do you have to say about Boston now?"

A more confident lot would have e-mailed before the game, but no doubt they didn't think this was possible.

Goes to show you Celtics fans aren't all that swift either, forgetting the NBA motto "where amazing happens," as if there was any way the NBA wasn't going to fix things and stretch this dream matchup out as long as possible.

....

Now Boston probably thinks it has a chance, forgetting for a moment that Kevin Garnett is averaging four rebounds a game and will be two days older the next time the Celtics play the Lakers.

LA Times - Celtics fans are delusional

I'd expect to find this type of nonsense in a Lakers forum, authored by some teenage fan, not by a professional who is PAID for his opinion.