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Let the two teams play, let them bang around and beat each other up. This is the Finals, the NBA fans deserve to see these two teams compete without significant referee interference.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...s.37bc0e8.html
Lakers looking to home cooking
By Tom Withers
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Frequent flyers, the Los Angeles Lakers were allowed an unlimited number of carry-on items for their trip home.
It remains to be seen if any of them contained momentum.
After losing two games in Boston, the Lakers returned to California on Monday in a hole as deep as Topanga Canyon. Over 96 minutes, they have looked nothing like the team which pulverized Denver, pushed aside Utah and swatted away the Spurs with ease on the way to winning the Western Conference le.
With the exception of an eight-minute stretch at the end of Game 2, Kobe Bryant and his crew have looked sickly in the finals.
However, there's no truth to the rumor they were taken from their charter plane at LAX in Paul Pierce's infamous wheelchair.
Though down 0-2, and facing history along with the league's toughest defense, the Lakers felt good about their comeback — they whacked a 24-point deficit to two over the final 7:55 — and are confident they can swing the series tonight at Staples Center in Game 3.
They are 8-0 in the postseason there and unbeaten in 14 home games since March 28.
“All they did is protect their home court,” said Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, who made two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 108-102 loss and had a potential go-ahead 3 blocked by Pierce with 14 seconds left. “All they did was protect their home court, so it's going to be a different story in L.A.”
It had better be.
Only three teams: Boston against Los Angeles in 1969, Portland against Philadelphia in 1977, and Miami against Dallas in 2006 have overcome an 0-2 deficit to win it all. The Lakers have some work to do if they intend to be the fourth.
Through two games, they have been outhustled, outmuscled, outeverythinged by a Celtics team two wins from a 17th NBA championship.
After Sunday's loss, Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson was asked if the team can carry the momentum from its failed, frantic fourth-quarter comeback into Game 3.
“No, no,” said Jackson, who has been delivering one-liners like Rodney Dangerfield during the series. “It's 2,500 miles away. It's too far to carry it.”
The purple-and-gold, though, have been a different club while playing before superfan Jack Nicholson and Hollywood's glitzy crowd.
Like the Celtics, the Lakers will try to feed off the energy of being back in familiar surroundings.
“The duration of three games on one court, those have always been tough to maintain,” said Jackson, tied with Red Auerbach with nine NBA les.
“I've had teams that have been on the road and won three games in a row, but I can't ever remember winning three the other way around as a home coach in the finals.”
Jackson's Lakers lost in the 2004 Finals when Detroit became the first team to win the middle three games at home. Miami did it two years later en route to its championship over the Mavericks.
The Lakers are capable of doing it, but they'll need Bryant to start being himself and make some shots.
He was 20 of 49 in the Lakers' two losses in Boston.
Let the two teams play, let them bang around and beat each other up. This is the Finals, the NBA fans deserve to see these two teams compete without significant referee interference.
Tell that to the Jazz
Laker fan expects the Wade treatment for Kobe in every series after seeing him get it in that one.
If the refs let the two teams play, the Celtics would beat the Lakers azz. The Lakers are the much softer team.
You should instead pray for the whistle.
I think the Celtics near loss after having a 20 + margin in game 2, was a blessing in disguise.
It'll keep them from that "let down" that comes would two good wins and being up 2-0.
Let 'em do that; I'd love to see Gasol looking like the victim of a Basque bomb squad
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