No-one on the LA Lakers team can guard Rajon Rondo right now. Rondo seemed to make play after play in the Celtics 92-86 game 5 win, and there was nothing the Lakers could do. The Lakers tried Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmer, even Kobe Bryant & Ron Artest at times tried their hand…but Rondo kept making big plays and big shots. Rondo’s tip in over three Laker defenders with 3:56 remaining would put the C’s up 87-75 while the Lakers were scoreless from the 6 to 3 minute marks in the fourth. Rondo finished with a solid 18 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds on 9-12 shooting. Whilst he was forced into 7 turnovers, it hardly seemed relevant considering how much pressure Rondo was putting the Lakers under. And the Lakers DID look under pressure. The Lakers looked overwhelmed on both ends of the court, but especially on the offensive end, where they shot a dismal 39.7% from the field. Kobe Bryant was the shining light for the Lakers again, pouring in 38 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. None of Kobe’s shots were easy, either. Ray Allen & Tony Allen made life difficult for Kobe all night, forcing Bryant into hard shots that kept finding the bottom of the net.
“I would say they were the toughest shots that I ever seen somebody hit while I was on the court,” Paul Pierce said. “He was shooting fadeaway 3s, fadeaway jumpers off the double team.”
It was an incredibly impressive display, but once again….Kobe had no help. Pau Gasol (12 points, 12 rebounds) was the only other Laker in double figures whereas the Celtics had Rondo’s 18 points, plus great games from Pierce (27pts), Garnett (18pts) and Ray Allen (12pts). And as a team, the C’s shot 56.3% from the field. All of this mounted up to a 92-86 scoreline. Only a 6 point game, but much like the Celtics game 4 victory, it looked a lot more convincing than that. It was the first time in the series that the C’s big 3 ALL had great games and they also had good bench support. Even Kobe putting on one of the best offensive displays in recent NBA Finals history couldn’t overcome the well-oiled machine that Boston have become over the past month.
Not to take away from the Celtics solid win, but attention LA Lakers & Boston Celtics!!! Just play basketball, will you? We’ve seen some great NBA Finals basketball, but it’s seemingly being scripted and at times overshadowed by aspects that the game can do with a lot less of. From Nate Robinson taunting every player on the Laker team, to Rasheed Wallace’s tantrums after every foul call, to Kevin Garnett continually showing why he’s the biggest jerk in the NBA, to Kobe Bryant abusing his team-mates and Sacha Vujacic being…well, Sacha Vujacic.
And let’s not get started on the flopping. Paul Pierce, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Ron Artest and Ray Allen have all starred in this award winning drama to the point now where the players have lost all credibility with the referees and we are seeing some physical, ugly basketball while the refs stand by and let the game play itself out. Some might argue that it’s all part of the big dance that is the NBA Finals. That controversy is somewhat unavoidable to an extent. But wouldn’t you rather see two teams battle it out on their own merits rather than headlines, technical fouls, flopping & poor sportsmanship taking the limelight? And it’s a shame that these parts of the game are dominating the headlines & seemingly influencing the referees when there have been some great performances in the first 5 games. Ray Allen’s NBA record 8 threes in game 2 and Kobe’s 38 point offensive explosion in game 5 are just the tip of the iceberg.
So………… 3 Man Weave is asking you, LA Lakers and Boston Celtics. Cut the rubbish out, quit flopping, think about what Bill Russell & Kareem Abdul Jabbar would expect from you wearing the jersey of the team that they built before you, and play the damn game.
Game 6 is Tuesday in the USA, Wednesday 11am here in Australia. Let’s hope they listen to us.
