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That loss is probably over 9000 times more painful for the Lakers than it was when the Spurs blew that 20 point game 1 lead.
Be A Man! Suck it up and take responsibility!No way I want this guy on the Spurs now.
C's One Win Away From Proving Defense Wins Championships
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
(Archive)
LOS ANGELES -- Defense wins championships, and the Celtics played D like the champs they almost are.
Sasha Vujacic's defense? Well, let's just say if we knew the Slovenian word for matador, we'd be typing it right here.
Whether you call Boston's 97-91 victory Thursday night in Game 4 of the NBA Finals an epic comeback by the Celtics or an epic collapse by the Lakers, there was one play that encapsulated the night-and-day difference between the defensive capabilities of the two teams.
It came late in the final minute of the fourth quarter, long after the Celtics had erased every last bit of an early 24-point deficit. The Lakers needed a stop, the Celtics needed a score, and Ray Allen found himself with the ball at the top of the key, isolated against Vujacic, with Kevin Garnett starting to come out top to set a screen.
"Paul [Pierce] was exhausted, and you could see it. He didn't want to come to the ball. It was really supposed to be a middle pick-and-roll with Kevin and Ray, and Ray waved Kevin off because he liked the matchup that he had, so he didn't want to bring in another defender to help," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "It was a great call by Ray, and then him getting to the basket was huge. The layup was just tremendous."
The layup wasn't merely tremendous, putting Boston ahead 96-91, it was practically uncontested.
Vujacic simply allowed Allen to drive around him, waving a hand toward Allen's midsection but failing to move his feet to deny Allen the lane, and no help defenders came over in time to seriously contest the shot.
"The whole game, from the minute I came in, they called fouls on me. He fell down, foul. I was trying to find a way to guard him for 48 minutes, and everything I did was a foul. He got me. He went to the basket, and it was a good basket. I don't know what else to say," Vulajcic said, half-forlorn, half-disgusted as he stood in front of his locker in a morose Lakers dressing room.
Did he expect Allen to drive left instead of right? Did he expect stronger help to come?
"I wanted to stay with him, I wanted to stay aggressive, but again, there would be a foul. So I kind of stood back, I gave him the room to operate, and he went to the basket, so that was a bad defensive decision on my side," Vujacic said. "It doesn't matter, help or not, we came out and were supposed to be more aggressive, and not let him breathe at the top of the key. It's a tough loss, it hurts, but we're not done yet."
Well, the Lakers will be done -- perhaps Sunday, perhaps back in Boston next Tuesday or next Thursday -- if they don't find a way to get their offense back into whatever gear it was they found in the first quarter in opening a 35-14 lead, scoring two more points in those 12 minutes than they would in the entire second half.
Lamar Odom was 6-for-6 in the opening period and 7-for-7 at halftime when Los Angeles still held a 58-40 lead and was dominating virtually every statistical category (outshooting Boston 50 to 35 percent, outrebounding the Celtics 26-16, outassisting them 15-4 and holding a 14-1 edge in second-half points.
But Boston outscored the Lakers 31-15 in the third quarter (for the series, they've outscored Los Angeles by an average of almost 11 points in the third quarters) to cut the deficit to two, then went ahead for good when Eddie House knocked down an 18-footer with 4:07 left.
From there, Boston held Los Angeles to three buckets, the last of which -- a dunk by Pau Gasol with 40 seconds left -- preceded the key possession on which Allen was isolated against Vujacic.
"Kevin ran up to set a screen, and as he was setting the screen, I told him: 'Let me take him one-on-one,'" Allen said. "I made my move, and I looked up and he was behind me, and I had the whole basket free and clear."
The layup gave Allen the last of his 19 points on a night when the Celtics also got 20 points from Pierce, 16 from Garnett and a totally unexpected 18 from James Posey.
But the numbers that really made the difference for Boston were reflected in the second-half totals: holding the Lakers to 33 points on 33 percent shooting, outrebounding them 24-15 and knocking down four 3-pointers to the Lakers' zero.
"We let a huge opportunity slip away, so I'm upset, hurt disappointed. It's a huge loss, no doubt about it," Kobe Bryant said. "It was terrible."
Yes it was, unless you were watching that game clad in green and white. For Celtics' fans, there was nothing terrible about it.
And with one more win, we'll be talking all summer about how defense -- and Vujacic's lack thereof -- was a major, major reason why a 17th banner will be hanging from the rafters at the new Boston Garden.
That loss is probably over 9000 times more painful for the Lakers than it was when the Spurs blew that 20 point game 1 lead.
Vuja
After everything, THIS is what it took for Spursfans to realize Vujacic should never have even been on THE LIST?
That was a HILARIOUS play. Let's face it, you can't give Ray-Ray room because he has a money jumper, but you don't overguard him left? You give him his right hand?
Actually, Sasha is a little , but Gasol should've been there to help if Ray drove and was nowhere to be seen... sure, he stuck to KG, but is a layup by Allen or a 20fter by KG a better option on that play? Sasha and Pau both ed up, and the Faker defence was exposed for the sham that it is.
Can't wait to see Manu rip Sasha in two when he plays him healthy next season.
... so that was a bad defensive decision on my side," Vujacic saidI don't get this thread at all. He took responsibility. He ed about the fouls, but most players do.
You can not want him on the Spurs, but this is a weird reason not to.
When the spotlight burns bright, we finally get to see a person's true character. He's definitely got a lot of growing up to do. Then, he throws a temper tantrum fist into the chair next to him when a teammate comes over to pick him up.
Ray Allen - for all of his great years - hasn't embarrassed anybody like that since he was at UConn.That was a HILARIOUS play. Let's face it, you can't give Ray-Ray room because he has a money jumper, but you don't overguard him left? You give him his right hand?
I don't think that comment should determine whether or not the spurs sign him, but...
You can not want him on the Spurs, but this is a weird reason not to.
I don't really see it as taking responsibility either. If you're making excuses and blaming the officials, you're not really accepting blame just by dumping one sentence on the end of it. It's a little too much "I confess, he did it" for my taste.
I wanted to stay with him, I wanted to stay aggressive, but again, there would be a foul.
You can not want him on the Spurs, but this is a weird reason not to.
This is the part of the quote that I was looking at. I don't know him personally and I can only guess what he was thinking. But in my opinion, he only said he took responsibility, but with all the whining about they probably would have called another foul, that's just not owning up to the fact that he messed up when his team needed a stop.
***And by the way, I forgot to highlight the large paragraph before this quote, which I think better illustrates my point.
"The whole game, from the minute I came in, they called fouls on me. He fell down, foul. I was trying to find a way to guard him for 48 minutes, and everything I did was a foul.
He should have only said this...
He got me. He went to the basket, and it was a good basket. I don't know what else to say,"
How would any Spurs fan think they have a shot at signing Sasha Vujacic?
People say Bowen hacks and grabs but Vujacic is an effective defender when he literally has his body on the other player. You could call a foul on him legitimately on virtually every play when he's playing his tight defense. It all depends on how the refs are calling the game. When they aren't letting him bump he has to back off. When he backs off he's not even close to effective as a defender. He was playing the bump and grind D against Manu and the refs were swallowing the whistle and Manu was on one wheel. On that last play in the Celitics game when the refs were calling the fouls he backed off Allen and he was toast.
Careful, now! You're giving poor Mr. Stern even more reasons to lie awake at night.
No offense intended, but I'd be more inclined to ask why you ever wanted him on the list in the first place?
i always laughed at the ppl jumping on his bandwagon after one lucky series. I knew the guy was fool's gold in the beginning.
No offense taken.
This thread was more of a response to his name being tossed around as a possible free agent pickup. Like in MrBottomTooth's thread:
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99047
What he said in his quote listed above combined with his hitting a chair reaction to a teammate trying to console him makes me want to say "No thanks" to him coming to our team.
+1
I'm just waiting for the inevitable moving.gif file of the blowby and then the chair assault!
Must be something about putting on that yellow uniform that causes a huge amount of estrogen to be produced, then as a result, causes the wearer to put on a display of hormonally imballanced emotion.
Does anyone know if Sasha requested any chocolate while he was on the bench or after the game?
I wouldn't mind him!!
Boy can shoot!
You can teach D! It's tough to teach shootin'---ask Chip!!
Yeah if I hear "Harassing defense by Vujacic!" from Mike Breen at all on Sunday I'll probably cry and punch a folding chair too. All he does is body up and try to hump his man like a dog. Henceforth it shall be called the Discovery Channel defense.
Dude, its funny you say that. I actually started calling him "The Human Humping Machine" a while back.
well he got the scissors legs, he fits right in the spurs.
anyways, hey LAKERHATER i'm sorry but the chic on your sig is trying way too hard. She was probably hot 20 yrs ago though.
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