Lakers Down Two, but Not Defeated!

As the Lakers lost their second of the NBA Finals games to the Boston Celtics, a lot of people are beginning to doubt their championship potentials. But I think that the Lakers are where they are supposed to be, even though they could have avoided it.

In game one of the finals, the Lakers lost due to lack of shots falling for them in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter. They made some careless mistakes and turned the ball over at critical points. Subsequently, they lost the game by ten points.

Game two was a different story. I feel that the referees took the Lakers out of the game from the very first quarter. Fouls after fouls were called on the Lakers while the Celtics were let to push and shove Kobe Bryant and other Lakers players with ease. Vladmir Radmanovic got his first two fouls with less than five minutes played in the first quarter. Kobe's first two fouls were so ridiculous; you could see the disbelief in his face when he realized the fouls had been called on him. The frequency of the fouls on the Lakers broke their rhythm and a chance to set up any kind of good offense until late in the fourth quarter. The Celtics went to the free throw lines 38 times while the Lakers only had ten free throw attempts. That is an obvious disparity signaling a partiality to one team.

But not to dwell on the past. What had happened had happened. Tomorrow night, as the Lakers take on the Celtics at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, things are going to work better for the Lakers. Although the Celtics beat the Lakers 108-102 last night, it wasn't without Lakers putting up a fight against all odds. The Celtics' big lead of 24 points with about eight minutes to go shrank down to two points with less than a minute to go. The Lakes can feel proud that they gave it a shot and came close. They have Mr. Momentum on their side.

As they play the next three games at Staples, where they have not lost a home game since as far back as March 28, look for the Lakers to come out more confident and hopefully with better shot selections. I hope the officials review their tapes from last night and realize their foul calls were with biases.

Only three teams in the NBA history have come back from a two game deficit. The Celtics did it in 1969, The Portland Trailblazers did it in 1977, and the Miami Heat did it in 2006. I believe the Lakers are capable of doing the same thing. The Celtics of this year have been great, but not on the road. They have played two seven game series in this playoffs against teams that they should have put away earlier. I believe this will be in Lakers' favor. The Lakers have defended their home court and have won important games on the road. It is possible that they will win the next three in Los Angeles and take the championship in Boston. Call me a dreamer. But that is what I am. And yes, my dreams do come true. GO LAKERS!

Sources:
www.nba.com
www.lakers.com