Celtics vs. Lakers

[chakfu]

And BTW - even if the Garnett trade were REMOTELY unbalanced, which it obviously is not, at least compared to the Gasol trade -

There is a bit of a difference in giving up your superstar to a 24 win team and letting them see if they can do better, versus giving your superstar to a contender that will clearly become the most talented team in the league after receiving your gift. One is letting somebody else roll the dice; the other is practically deciding the NBA title on your own whims - "Let's see, the top teams this year are Boston, LA, San Antonio, Phoenix - which one should we give Gasol to for nothing so we can put them over the top?"

[gingerbreadmann]

Sometimes teams make opportune trades and win championships. The Pistons did it in 2004 with Rasheed, the Spurs got significant help from Stephen Jackson in 2003 (especially during the Finals), the Astros made the 2005 World Series in large part to Carlos Beltran, and there are about a billion other examples of a trade putting a team over the top. It's part of good team management.

EDIT: Wait, you're a Celtics fan complaining about an unbalanced trade that got your team to the Finals? That's a laugh.

No, what is a laugh is anyone who even says a word about the KG trade being unbalanced after the Gasol trade went down. Have you ever seen Al Jefferson play? You know, the guy who is a 23 year old PF/C and averaged 21 pts and 11 rebounds last year???????????

The Celtics GAVE UP a guy who is as good as Pau Gasol to get Garnett. The Lakers gave up Kwame Brown.

Seriously, are you just talking absurd smack intentionally, or are you really that foolish?

Why did you mention Stephen Jackson anyway? He was a no-name player that the Spurs signed who wound up having a decent impact in the playoffs, what does that have to do with teams acquiring stars cheaply???

Beltran was a pending FA who was traded for several good prospects and promptly left after half a season with the Astros, I don't really see how that's relevant either.

Rasheed is the only one who is remotely close to Gasol's situation, but Portland had to dump him by any means necessary - Gasol had been complaining some and his stock was down, but that situation was nowhere remotely near Gasol's.

Anyway, it's teams often make trades to put them over the top, or in the Celtic's case, turn themselves around completely - they took young talent that hadn't gelled, traded it including a budding star big man - and acquired a star. THAT is an opportune trade.

The Lakers traded 2 late draft picks and a recent late draft pick who hadn't shown anything, and some salary cap ballast in Brown, and got a star big man in Gasol!!! The Grizzlies decided to erase Gasol's salary and get nothing of value in return (except a few late draft picks which are nearly worthless - and if you're going to complain that they're not completely worthless, well, the Celtics threw in just as many draft picks in trade for Garnett PLUS a star in Jefferson.) The Grizzlie's return for Gasol was the same as the gravy that the Celtics THREW IN along with a young star big man in exchange for Garnett!!! I know Garnett is worth more than Gasol, but come on...

The defense of the Lakers/Grizzlies trade is despicable, and anyone who even compares the Garnett trade to it is just a moron or someone being disingenuous who has an agenda.

Jefferson is not Pau Gasol. Yet. And as much as I long for Ryan Gomes every day and visualize just how good Al will be in two years, we completely won this trade. KG is completely irreplaceable and it was 100% to our side. (I am a Celtics fan)

But to compare it to the Gasol trade? That's just bull . At least we gave up half of our future; that trade was a donation.

[TFoA]

Let's just be real: The Grizzlies were idiotic to make that trade, especially when it was revealed that they had better deals, but their owner reportedly shot them down in favor of the one that they actually made. If that's true, then, well, the Grizzlies deserved to be fleeced.

[gingerbreadmann]

Let's just be real: The Grizzlies were idiotic to make that trade, especially when it was revealed that they had better deals, but their owner reportedly shot them down in favor of the one that they actually made. If that's true, then, well, the Grizzlies deserved to be fleeced.

Yeah, I read recently that they could have had Nocioni, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, and a few other guys from the Bulls.for Gasol and Warrick. Now that is just stupid.

[PeytonManningRocks]

Looks like the Lakers didn't bother even showing up for Game 2.... the Ceitics are just more hungry this series.

[Cujo]

Looks like the Lakers didn't bother even showing up for Game 2.... the Ceitics are just more hungry this series.

True, the Celtics are looking like the much better team in this series. However, I'm not going to count Kobe and the Lakers out until the Celtics can at least win one game on the road.

And as for Game 2, I'm pretty bored with it. I would like to thank ESPN for keeping me entertained by simultaneously showing the Cubs game this evening.

[NJTank]

Celtics almost blew it tonite there is a lesson there, when you have a 24 point lead keep playing until the game is over or you will be picking the jaw off the floor.

[PeytonManningRocks]

Looks like the Lakers didn't bother even showing up for Game 2.... the Ceitics are just more hungry this series.

True, the Celtics are looking like the much better team in this series. However, I'm not going to count Kobe and the Lakers out until the Celtics can at least win one game on the road.

And as for Game 2, I'm pretty bored with it. I would like to thank ESPN for keeping me entertained by simultaneously showing the Cubs game this evening.

Yuck why did you have to remind me of that result too?

[Cujo]

Looks like the Lakers didn't bother even showing up for Game 2.... the Ceitics are just more hungry this series.

True, the Celtics are looking like the much better team in this series. However, I'm not going to count Kobe and the Lakers out until the Celtics can at least win one game on the road.

And as for Game 2, I'm pretty bored with it. I would like to thank ESPN for keeping me entertained by simultaneously showing the Cubs game this evening.

Yuck why did you have to remind me of that result too?

Oh, you're a Lakers AND Dodgers fan?? My apologies! . . . . . . . for Sasha Vujacic and Chan Hoe Park

[PeytonManningRocks]

Looks like the Lakers didn't bother even showing up for Game 2.... the Ceitics are just more hungry this series.

True, the Celtics are looking like the much better team in this series. However, I'm not going to count Kobe and the Lakers out until the Celtics can at least win one game on the road.

And as for Game 2, I'm pretty bored with it. I would like to thank ESPN for keeping me entertained by simultaneously showing the Cubs game this evening.

Yuck why did you have to remind me of that result too?

Oh, you're a Lakers AND Dodgers fan?? My apologies! . . . . . . . for Sasha Vujacic and Chan Hoe Park.

Eh.. that's alright you have to take the bad with the good. It just so happens that the Lakers and Dodgers are a lot more bad than good right now.

[infrared41]

Did I say Lakers in 6? I meant Celtics in 5. So much for the hype, I've already lost interest in this series. Thank goodness for Sunday Night Baseball.

[NJTank]

Lakers will take 2 of 3 in La and make it interesting at least

[FiddySicks]

Beltran was a pending FA who was traded for several good prospects and promptly left after half a season with the Astros.

Beltran was traded in a three way deal that sent Octavio Dotel to the A's, Mark Teahen and Mike Wood to the Royals, and him to Houston. I think you can see the CLEAR winner in that one, which is a very similar case to the Garnett trade. Now of course Dotel bombed for the A's, Teahen is an average player on the Royals (and that aint sayin much considering he was a HIGHLY sought after prospect), and Wood is outta baseball after at best three starts in the bigs. Now I'm not saying the guys traded for Garnett are total junk as that trade turned out to be, but the initial set up is EXTREMELY similar.

And to the game, when the Lakers were up 24, the announcers were talking about how Bryant hasn't quite given up on the game yet, and Pierce was laughing at a travel call I turned to my dad and told him to watch the Lakers/Kobe storm back.

[Mac the Knife]

Lakers will take 2 of 3 in La and make it interesting at least

I have to agree with Tank here - the Lakers will probably take at least 2 games at home, possibly all three. I honestly don't have much faith that the Celtics can put them away so easily.

[Audiodrama]

Lakers will take 2 of 3 in La and make it interesting at least

I have to agree with Tank here - the Lakers will probably take at least 2 games at home, possibly all three. I honestly don't have much faith that the Celtics can put them away so easily.

I personally think it's a given that the Lakers will take 2 of 3 in Los Angeles. Problem is, the Celtics are 12-1 at home this postseason, and the Lakers would have to win Games 6 AND 7 in Boston. I don't see it happening. If Boston takes one game on the West Coast, I'd almost call this series over and done with.

[LMU]

Not coming as a Laker homer here, but I think that this postseason in general shows the need to look into discrepencies in officiating. The lack of road victories as a whole this year makes the "home team calls" phenomenon quite apparent.

Now, if the Celtics get into foul trouble in the next three games, I'd agree that they would have gotten hosed the same way that the Lakers got the shaft in a few situations in games 1 and 2. Home court should be solely an advantage in terms of home fan support and familiar surroundings, not in officiating as well.

[DarkJourney]

Props to Oakland's own Leon Powe for his performance last night

[Starchild]

Horribly lopsided officiating in Game 2. I'm agreeing with Phil Jax on this one.

As for the future of the series, given the problems Boston has on the road (at least when they don't have to win a road game to win the series, as is the case right now), the calls going LA's way at home, role players performances and of course, Kobe at home, it is entirely possible the Celtics could wind up going back to Boston down 3-2. Like everyone else, I see LA getting at least 2 out of 3 at home. Probably Games 3 and 4 with Game 5 being the all-imoprtant deciding game of the series.

But if Boston wins just one game on the road, this series is more or less over. I mean, I wouldn't count out the Lakers from winning both games 6 and 7 on the road, but the chances are so incredibly slim given everything we've seen from these two teams over the course of the season.

[See Red]

19 free throws to 2 at the half is completely unacceptable. I know there's other factors that go into that but the officiating was rather lopsided.

Lakers take at least 2 in LA, and could very well take all three.

[PeytonManningRocks]

I hate to be Tank-like on the pessimism levels, but the way the Lakers played throughout most of the game just proves that they (or really anybody else in the NBA not named Detroit) have no business being on the same floor with the Celtics. I mean they dominated us twice early when we didn't have Gasol, but it seems like it hasn't made a difference yet, and if anything's changed, it's that Gasol has replaced Kobe as the most productive player. If the Lakers had taken one of the two games I'd say we have an ok shot, but with the C's manhandling us twice I just don't see any way we win this series. I mean they have a Big Three, and we have a Big One, and our Big One is playing like the Big Zero.

I will, however, echo other fans' sentiments (as well as Phil Jackson's) in saying the officiating in this series has sucked, though it has sucked in every series, not just this one.