I bet the Lakers to win this series, and I am surprised as to why their backs are against the wall at this stage. I seriously expected this series to be over by the 5th or 6th game, of course in my favor. Although the series isn't over yet, here are some reason why I think we have reached the point of no return.
1) Terrible rotation by PJ
- In the game 2 loss by the Lakers, Sasha was used sparingly against Ray Allen. In game 1, Sasha was used if I remember correctly in the first quarter to shadow Allen, and was seemingly effective. I'm not saying Sasha would have stopped Allen, but come on, he's got 6 fouls to spare, and didn't really do bad the previous game to merit being benched with Allen making 7 3s in the 1st qtr. Also, in game 5, I don't understand why Shannon Brown wasn't even made to play. The rotation really baffles me. I would've put Brown as sg, with Kobe defending Pierce. No way i the world Walton could defend Pierce, plus the fact that by putting Walton as your sf, the court becomes way smaller for Kobe. Walton has 0 scoring talent, and the only time I think he can be effective is when Kobe is being rested, and having Bynum and Gasol on the court.
2) Bynum's injury had a bigger effect than I thought. It was evident in game 4, a game I thought the Lakers should have won. With Bynum out, softy Odom gets to play 30 mins thus being abused physically, spiritually, and yes, metaphysically by the Celtic bigs.
3) Here's my favorite part. Why can't Kobe or PJ tell Artest not to shoot the ball even if he's open?? This guy is attempting 10 shots in some games and making 1 or 2. The sad part is, his misses lead to long rebounds and eventually to a fast break by the Celtics. I know he was a let down defensively in game 5, but he's played pretty well defensively against Pierce from game 1 to 4. As long as someone tells him not to shoot the ball even with a gun pointed to his head, then I'm fine with it. At this stage though, someone from the coaching staff should have realized this already but Artest still shot 9 times in game 5, most of which were bad misses.
* To potential bashers here, I'd like to concede that Boston played very well in game 5. However, games 2 and 4, I believe were games the Lakers should've won but let slip away. I seriously don't think the Lakers will still win it although for the purpose of winning a bet I made, I'm hoping but with the way they lost in game 5, I am no longer expecting.
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