According to ESPN.com, Doc Rivers’ run onto the court to call timeout before an eight-second violation was a critical moment of Game 2 (Forsberg, 2010). Certainly, it was an alert manoeuvre that saved a possession but why didn’t any of the players call timeout first? All five Celtics on the court abdicated leadership by doing nothing, like the Orlando Magic did in their series in the Conference Finals (J.J. Redick dribbled the ball up the court instead of calling timeout; Vince Carter had the attention of the referee but used the opportunity to raise his arms and complain about a …
The Right…What’s that Stuff?
Kobe Bryant said that if he’d been told in training camp that Los Angeles would have to win three straight games to claim the Association title, he’d take it for sure. On the other hand, Phil Jackson felt that the Lakers hadn’t grasped the significance of their situation between Thursday and Sunday. In a sense, both were right. Boston was laying their bodies on the line, playing through pain. Doc Rivers told them to play every minute of Game 5 like it was their last. The Celtics had bought into a season-long philosophy of team play and personal sacrifice for …
Experience Matters?
Like the 1983 Edmonton Oilers lost the Stanley Cup to the New York Islanders and the 1998 Brazil team lost the World Cup to France, it appears that the 2008 Los Angeles Lakes will lose the Association title to the more experienced Boston Celtics. The gifted Oilers and Brazilians won the subsequent championships in fairly dominating fashion; it remains to be seen whether the 2009 Lakers will do likewise. Thursday’s Game 4 was disastrous for L.A.: the first half the manifestation of every possible lucky bounce followed by the second half which showcased Boston’s outstanding focus. Often, older teams rely …