Aside from the Shiny Gold Staples Center Stadium, Shimmering Fans in Gold Shirts, Emmy Award Winner Jeffrey Osborne Singing the National Anthem,The Numerous Hollywood Stars in attendance.
One thing was eminent right from the start. The Talks of How the Boston Celtics wouldn't be the same team the Los Angeles Lakers Faced on 2008, well.. they were exactly how they were. Strong, Focused, Active and Bringing Their Renowned Defense and Draping it all up on the Lakers Faces.
But it was not how Boston brought their same Finals Groove from 2008 that impacted the outcome of Game 1 of the NBA Finals but how the Lakers changed their own Groove. They Brought in their new rendition of defense and it was a whole lot tougher. Stacked Up in the physicality and Trusted More on their Offense. Their Triangle Offense that is!
It Was Physical Right From The Start! with Paul Pierce and Ron Artest Being Called for Double Technical Fouls at the Very First Possession of the game after getting tangled up trying to go for a rebound. How do you Like That? Well.. That is How Lakers - Celtics Rivalry Should really look like, Right?. Most of the First Half was Trading Baskets. With the Lakers having Just a very Slight Edge over the Celtics. for the Reason that Everyone and i mean everyone on both sides was present. I'm Talking about the Bench Getting it done. for both teams. on both sides of the court. The 1st Half ended with a Long 2 point Buzzer beater from ronda at the finals seconds. keeping the celtics within range, just behind by 9 points(41-50). and satisfyingly, both teams shot well at the end of 1st half.
And We all know Bryant likes to set off his bombs in the 3rd quarter. and he did exactly that! Draping in 13 of his 30 points in the 3rd quarter. Pretty impressive but his explosion was more like of a Big Fancy Fire Cracker rather than the usual hundred pound C4. Credit Tony Allen and Celtic Defense for that. Celtic Head Coach Doc Rivers' Game Plan in Halftime was to Focus on Kobe . but Kobe was just part of their problems. Even brought another technical for Rasheed Wallace out of Frustration. when the Renowned Phil Jackson Triangle Offense Kept the Whole Laker Team Scoring. and their scrappy defense helped blew the game open, snatching a 20 point lead by the end of the 3rd quarter.
The 4th Quarter was like watching a Prey stuck on a Cobweb Fighting to untangle himself as the Spider Kept throwing up more cobwebs to tie em' up. Exactly how the Boston Celtics Fought to get back in the game while the Lakers trying to maintain their intensity to keep the lead until the buzzer sounds. and in this scenario, The Lakers was Just too much for the Celtics. Answering Every Boston Run With their own Run. and stopping any momentum building up for Boston right at its tracks. and Eventually Putting Game one in the Bag with a 102-89 Win.
This Game Never Lacked Excitement Though, and it had its Fair share of physical play.
Both teams came out strong, The Celtic Big Four Stamped Double Figures in Points led by Paul Pierce with 24 Points, and coming down with 9 Rebounds. Ron Artest had a Great Game in his Finals Debut with 15 points and 1 Blocked Shot but the Story for the Lakers is their 1-2 Punch, Kobe and Gasol. Combined they contributed 53 points. with Gasol Coming down with 14 Rebounds, Kobe with His Stelar 30 Points. and it was just a matter of who would play their game better. and with the Celtics Big 3 getting into Foul Trouble Early. The Lakers Had a Slight Edge. An Edge they would Recognize and take advantage on to win the game.
