Eagle-Tribune Blogs: Burt Talks Sports

It was remarkable the Celtics even had a chance to win this game.
Paul Pierce was not himself and Rajon Rondo’s strength, this speed and quickness, were gone with his twisted ankle.
Still, the Celtics hung tough.
Here are some observations from the Lakers’ 87-81 win:
*Kevin Garnett needs open jumpers to be dominant. He had too many shots where he forced a shot with a guy, usually Pau Gasol, in his face. He is “money” if alone at the top of the key or along the baseline. Other than one wide open jumper on the baseline in the fourth quarter, eveyr shot he took was contested.
*Eddie House can shoot, but he can’t run the offense. The only benefit was that he was left alone, probably because the Lakers ran the same defense it ran when Rondo was in the game. But the Celtics had a hard time getting in their offensive sets as Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar contested every dribble.
*Rajon Rondo needs to be healthy for the Celtics to dominate this series. He is the only threat to go to the basket at point guard. Sam Cassell and House are shooting guards who playing backup point guard. Rondo will need a lot of rest and medical attention the next 48 hours.
*Paul Pierce needs a day of rest. He settled for jumpers early in the game, compared to his attack mode in Boston for Games 1 and 2. When he wasn’t running he was limping. He also committed a couple of stupid fouls, especially a reach-in with 2:43 remaining in the half.
*Kobe Bryant answered the challenge. He is unstoppable one-on-one. Unfortunately, Doc Rivers decided they were going to try to slow him down with Ray Allen covering. Allen did the best he could, but Kobe scored when he wanted to with Allen the only defender in front of him.
*Other than James Posey, probably the most consistent player on the Celtics, the Celtics bench was a mess. Eddie House made two 3-pointers, but they came over 20 minutes. They could have used a Sash Vujacic performance from him. But it wasn’t there last night.
*Phil Jackson’s complaining after Game 2 worked to perfection. The Lakers got every call in the first half, allowing a 20-2 free throw descrepancy at one point in favor of Los Angeles.
*Lamar Odom is still struggling, which increases the chances of the Celtics either winning it all in Los Angeles or coming back to Boston with a 3-2 lead. Odom scored only four points. He committed five turnovers. He just doesn’t like the physical play.
*The Leon Powe love-fest has already ended. His game on Sunday night was magical (20 points). If he scores 10 points in any other game that should be considered incredible. It probably won’t happen. He missed all three shots he took and scored only one point.

If you have any other key observations, thoughts or questions from Game 3 leave it here and I’ll answer it tomorrow.

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