The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics showed the NBA that their rivalry is still very much alive. In a game where offense from both teams was slow - and when I say slow, I really mean painstakingly awful - the Lakers shot 6.7 percent from beyond the arc and neither team was able to break 40 percent on field goal percentage. I mean, heck, this is an NBA game that went to overtime and neither team scored more than 90 points.
It certainly was the interior play and rebounding that would dictate the winner of this game. The Lakers out-rebounded and out-played the Celtics inside the paint crashing the boards for 55 rebounds - 15 of which were offensive and led to 24 second-chance points for the Lakers. Probably the most emphatic point made during the game was on the final play, when Pau Gasol, rejected Ray Allen's putback attempt as time expired.
This win improved the Lakers to 2-2 on this road trip and 4-9 on the road for the year. While a 4-9 road record is clearly not indicative of a team that has the ability to win an NBA title, the Lakers still have time to improve. Despite their bad shooting performance, this victory will help the Lakers continue to adjust to the Mike Brown way of doing things - by playing solid defense and staying physical inside. This isn't Phil Jackson's triangle offense anymore; it's much more defensive based game.
A big part of the win was the involvement of Pau Gasol, who put up a double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Not to mention, of course, his critical block to end the game. Gasol has definitely stepped up for the Lakers despite their disappointing road record. It's nice to see him combat the claims that he is "soft" by playing strong, physical basketball.
While Gasol deserves a lot of credit for his play against the Celtics, so too do Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant. Bynum put down 16 points and 17 rebounds, while Bryant added 27 points to lead the Lakers, grabbed five rebounds, and had four assists.
The Lakers will now face the streaking New York Knicks on February 10 at Madison Square Garden while trying to keep their momentum moving in a positive direction.
David is co-founder of wrapupp sports blog where they post fresh content daily and present sports blogs and sports opinions - all with a West Coast bias. Growing up in the Bay Area, David is a huge supporter of all the local sports teams; the Giants, Athletics, Warriors, Sharks, 49ers, and Raiders. His one fault, admittedly, as many of his friends and family would say, is his love for the Los Angeles Lakers. Growing up, Magic Johnson was his favorite basketball player and he fell in love with the team. He chalks it up to, "Not knowing any better". Now his love for sports has turned just as academic as it is intuitive and he follows most all sports all over the nation.
You can follow David on Twitter: @officialwrapupp
Sources:
NBA.com. Lakers vs. Celtics Recap. NBA 2012.
More from David Mehrwein and the Yahoo! Contributor Network:
Lakers and Celtics: A Rivalry Rekindled: Fan Reaction
Golden State Warriors vs. Denver Nuggets: Fan Preview
Sharks Fall to Flames 4-3: Fan Reaction
San Francisco Giants Add Mota, Theriot to 40-man Roster: Fan Reaction
There are no comments yet