No Heart

You could look at the free-throw disparity in Game 2 of the Finals and cry bloody murder. You could say that the Lakers were "this close" to ripping the Celtics' hearts out with a furious 4th Quarter comeback. You could even say that the Celtics played about as good a game as they could have. But all that is beside the point.

For two games in the NBA Finals, the Celtics have clearly been the aggressors. They have largely stopped Kobe. They have scored at will. Kevin Garnett and James Posey are the best defensive players on the court. Paul Pierce is the best offensive player on the court. Leon Powe absolutely schooled (with some help from the refs) Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, and Roni Turiaf.

But most important of all: the Lakers defense looks terrible. The Celtics shot open shot after open shot while all of the Lakers shots (until the 4th Quarter comeback) were contested. Phil Jackson, in his typical "let's play things out" manner, didn't call a timeout while the Celtics ballooned their lead from 9 to 20 in the 3rd Quarter. The Lakers looked like a bunch of soft Euros who can't play D versus a tough Celtic team that stitched together perfect passes, played tough D, and generally abused the Lakers.

Vladimir Radmanovic made some shots, but he looked terrible on D. Lamar Odom was lost--reverting back to his "cool breeze" mentality of previous years that earned him the title "biggest waste of talent in the NBA." Luke Walton looked stiff and useless. Gasol, though effective, did not get the ball. And Kobe looked tepid. He didn't shift into high gear until the end of the game.

In sum, the Lakers looked like they had no heart. You can't cheer for a team that looks soft and like they don't want it as much as their opponents. I fully intended on rooting for the Lakers in this series, but KG, Pierce, & Co. look like they want it more. Maybe injecting Vujacic and Farmar more frequently into the Lakers lineup will help, maybe a change of venue and more favorable officiating will, maybe the Celtics will crumble on the road (again). But it's hard to bet on the Lakers, down 2-0, at this point. Somehow they steamrolled the Nuggets, the Jazz, and the Spurs. At this point, it looks like the Lakers are at the end of their run.

We'll see what happens in L.A...........