Tom Brady Caught at Lakers Game Not Wearing Celtics Jersey and Red Sox Hat Like He Should Be Wearing

I love when people's little worlds are shattered when they see their town's athlete from Sport A socializing with an "enemy" athlete from an enemy town from Sport B.

The jock sniffers on Obnoxious Sports Fan and Masshole Sports decided to give Brady fashion advice, even joking about Gisele dressing him. I'm sorry, but anyone whose idea of formal wear is their silver Patriots jersey shouldn't be giving attire advice to a guy married to a model.

And how dare he speak to Kobe Bryant. Doesn't Brady know that Kobe is the enemy?

Unfortunately, people don't want to realize that Tom Brady has more in common with Kobe Bryant than he does with any Celtics fan. Or any Patriots fan. Us paying hundreds to see these guys play doesn't make them like us more, it makes them less like us.

I'll stick to criticizing Brady for his mistakes on the field, not for any fashion faux pas or for chatting with a fellow millionaire athlete.

THE WRONG KIND OF HISTORY

The Celtics had never lost a Game 7 to the Lakers, or in the NBA Finals until last night. But the series wasn't lost in Game 7 alone. It was lost in Games 1 and 6, when the Celtics put forth lackluster efforts, were inexcusably flat, and allowed the Lakers to walk all over them.

Let's get one thing straight: the Celtics didn't choke. The Lakers were the favored team in this series. And the fact that the C's advanced so deep into the playoffs is commendable. Despite the disappointing Games 1 and 6, the Celtics gave their maximum effort in Game 7. They simply didn't execute as well as the Lakers.

I'm going to rip Ray Allen for a bit. Defensively, he had an exemplary night. But offensively, he was a cancer. 3 for 14 from your biggest shooting threat is shameful. I know shooters can have off-nights, but he had 5 off-nights in this series. He was 33 for 90 (36.7%) from the field and 12 for 41 (29.3%) for three. Exclude Game 2's record-setting performance, and he was 22 for 70 (31.4%), and 4 for 30 (13.3%).

The Celtics couldn't find offense, and that's one of the big reasons they lost Game 7. And Ray Allen's offensive contribution was negligible. Certainly not worth $18.8 million.

The most glaring Celtic deficiency and Laker proficiency was rebounding, particularly LA's offensive rebounding. The Lakers hauled in 23 offensive boards. That's 23 times the Celtics could have triggered their breaking offense, 23 times that LA got an extra shot.

The Lakers didn't shoot well (32.5%), but were allowed to shoot often (81 field goal attempts).

The Celtics also put the Lakers to the line far too often. I've already heard grumblings from Celtics fans about the officiating, but it was a superbly refereed game. Very few mistakes. They let the players play. The Lakers actually struggled at the line, but they got there more often. 20 times more often.

The Celtics bench didn't do much, but neither did LA's. Then again, the C's bench was a matchup that favored the Celtics, so a draw serves as a win for LA.

The defense was excellent, especially the help-defense that clamped down on Kobe Bryant. Unfortunately, he got help from his friends. Ron Artest had the game of his life with 20 points, Gasol had 19 along with his 18 rebounds, Fisher's 10 points all seemed to come at key moments. Bryant finished with 23, but only 12 of those came from the floor. The other 11 came at the line. He did have 15 rebounds.

Maybe the Celtics missed Perkins in the paint, and perhaps that contributed to the Lakers' getting so many offensive rebounds. Then again, Perk was averaging only 5.8 rebounds per game this series, 3.5 of which were defensive. His replacements, Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis, each had 9 and 8 rebounds, respectively. So excuse-mongers, look elsewhere.

The Lakers played better; in Game 7 and in the series as a whole. There's nothing to do right now but mourn and look ahead to 2010-11.

Photo Credit:
Getty Images

CELTICS DROWNED BY LAKERS

I don't think the 89-67 pounding the Lakers gave the Celtics was as bad as the score suggests. But it was still pretty bad. The Lakers dominated the inside game, outrebounding the C's 40-28 (the ratio was much worse before garbage time). The Celtics missed 2 dunks and 3 lay-ups in the 1st half alone. LA's bench outshined Boston's, scoring 25 points, compared to 13 from the C's. The difference was 24-0 at one point in the 3rd.

Then again, Perkins only logged 7 minutes before leaving with a sprain. Then Sheed got himself into foul trouble. This allowed the Lakers to really pour it on. That being said, even a healthy Perkins and the Celtics still lose this game convincingly.

We've seen this kind of game before. The Celtics offense depends on defensive success in order to really get going, particularly Rondo. But the Lakers seemingly hit every shot. Hell, Ron Artest was 6 for 11, and 3 of 6 beyond the arc. When Ron Artest is making jumpshots, it's just not going to be your night.

But the rebounding also killed the Celtics. 5 of Gasol's 8 rebounds came off the offensive glass. Those kind of second chance opportunities kill both the Celtics defense, and slow down their offense.

The Celtics only attempted 10 free throws. The Lakers had 19. To me, that demonstrates the Celtics forfeiting that inside game. And without your starting center, you can't really blame them. But the Celtics need to get to the line, and need to get key Lakers in foul trouble to disrupt LA's defensive scheming.

The Lakers played about as good as they can. Although Kobe is capable of more than 26 points, as we well know. And the Celtics played almost as poorly as they can. 33.3% from the field, 21.7% for 3. No bench contributions, mediocre defense, no rebounding. All the ingredients of a blowout loss. But they can improve. And they must.

Ironically, the regular season comes into play here. All post-season, we've repeated the following mantra in Boston: "See, the regular season doesn't matter." Now it does, with Game 7 on LA's court, where they've won 10 of 11 playoff games.

Game 7 Thursday night. Will Perkins play? Will Bynum? Lots of questions to be answered, but that's what Game 7s invariably do.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

GOING GOING BACK BACK TO CALI CALI (WITH A 3-2 LEAD)

Last night the Celtics became the first team to win consecutive games in this series, as they outlasted the Lakers 92-86.

The best player of the game was undoubtedly Kobe, who scored 38. But the best team was the Celtics, who had 4 players in double-figures, and three who scored 18+. Meanwhile, Kobe's 38 was complimented by only 48 total from the rest of the Lakers. And despite amassing all those points, Kobe was -6 on the night.

Paul Pierce had his best night of the post-season, dropping 27, but more importantly his play down the stretch was sheer desire and heart. He ripped a rebound from Kobe, he leaped in the air to catch Garnett's Hail Mary inbounds pass (into double coverage), he incessantly did the "little things," that champions do.

Meanwhile, KG scored 18, with 10 rebounds. Rondo came close to another double-double, with 18 points and 8 assists. Ray Allen had 12, despite missing all 4 of his 3-pointers. Nate Robinson only played 10 minutes, but in those 10 he scored 4 and had 4 assists. He's really fit in with the Celtics' team concept.

So the series shifts back to LA, and rather quickly. I'm surprised the NBA didn't want to stretch this out and play Game 6 on Wednesday, then a possible Game 7 on Saturday. Oh well.

But this was close to a must-win for the Celtics, because needing to win back-to-back in LA is a tall task. The Lakers were 34-7 at home, and 9-1 at home in the playoffs. Then again, that 1 loss came against the C's.

Game 6 Tuesday night at 9.

Photo Credit:
The Canadian Press

TIE LA!

The Celtics rallied around Glenn Davis and Nate Robinson to pull away from the Lakers in the 4th and tie the NBA Finals at 2-2.

The Celtics' bench outscored the Lakers' 36 to 18. The C's outrebounded the Lakers 41-34, including 16 offensive rebounds. And they outscored them 54-34 in the paint.

What was most enjoyable was when the referees contained themselves and let both teams play. They still called fouls that were clearly fouls, and they laid down the law with technicals when appropriate. But the 3rd and 4th quarters were some of the best basketball of this series, thanks in no small part to the officials being officials, and the players allowed to be players.

The Celtics starters couldn't buy a make. They were generating quality shots, but bricking like crazy. It spoke volumes that in a close 4th quarter, Rondo, KG, and Pierce were all on the bench well into the period.

Paul Pierce woke up. He scored 19 points, but was also hustling for rebounds and driving for fouls.

A mammoth Game 5 will comes Sunday night in Boston.

Photo Credit:
Getty Images

ESCAPE FROM LA

This game was book-ended by two individuals on the Celtics. Ray Allen commanded the 1st quarter and into the 2nd, Rajon Rondo dominated the 4th.

Ray Ray scored 10 in the 1st, then 17 more in the 2nd. He tied an NBA record for successful 3 pointers with 7 before halftime (he'd break the record in the 2nd half).

Rajon Rondo might get 2nd billing behind Allen's record-breaking, 32 point night. But he had a triple-double himself, with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Allen's 3 point orgy was a team-effort, not just an individual taking charge of a game. Through screens, picks, and passing, Ray was given 10+ feet of space to set and shoot. Ray Allen may have drained the shots, but the shots were devised by the whole team.

In fact, when Allen tried creating his own shots, it helped give momentum back to LA.

The Lakers ended the 1st half with a 7-0 run, thanks in no small part to some sloppy play by the C's. The Celtics don't seem to fully respect how good the Lakers are, and at times, either play flat or play comfortable. LA started the 2nd half with a 5-0 run, and eventually took the lead.

It was Rondo who won this game at the end. He scored 8 times in the 4th, and was all over the court, blocking shots, flying into the paint for an offensive rebound.

Everyone will be touting Ray Allen's night, but Rondo was the Celtics' man-of-the-game last night. And he also did it when it counted most, in the 4th. Then again, the Lakers had to assign Bryant to Allen, which freed up Rondo.

In other words, this was a team win, not just a Ray Allen or even an Allen+Rondo win.

Paul Pierce only made 2 field goals, but was solid defensively, and was one of many who helped set-up Ray Allen's 3 point bonanza.

Kevin Garnett had one of the worst playoff games I've seen him have. He got into early foul trouble, had to be benched, and was frequently a non-factor on offense and defense. Thankfully, Rasheed contributed 18 solid minutes, scoring 7, hauling in 7 rebounds, and only committing 4 fouls.

This game is more indicative of how this series will go. It will be close, hard-fought, and closely contested. Hopefully, however, the refs call some looser games. Because I don't watch basketball to see Kevin Garnett on the bench, and Kobe Bryant forced to ease up because he has 5 fouls.

Game 2 Tuesday night in Boston. With 3 in a row at the Garden, the Celtics have an opportunity to really take command of this series. And that's at 9pm local time. Thanks, NBA!

Photo Credit:
The Canadian Press

THE C'S AIN'T THE B'S

The parallels were eventually inescapable. Although the National Sports Media did bandy the story about quite prematurely (they talked about a 3-0 collapse after the Celtics won Game 3, a bit early, don't ya think?). But the Celtics aren't the Bruins. Nor are the Magic akin to the Flyers.

And beating Orlando, the 2nd seed in the East, is an accomplishment that should be appreciated. The C's won 2 games down in Florida. And guess what, it's taken them fewer games to get to the Finals than it did in '08 (17 to 20).

Game 6 was a team-effort-victory, something the individually oriented clubs in the East (the Cleveland LeBrons, the Miami Wades, the Orlando Howards) simply couldn't match.

Dwight Howard did have 28 points. But none of his mates had more than 20. Only two others scored in double digits, as the Celtics' defense stuffed the Magcis' vaunted 3-point offense, challenging the deep shots, and forcing the Magic to play a professional offense.

The C's, for their part, hit their shots, especially their 3-pointers (10 for 22 as a team). Pierce was still on fire, scoring 31 points, including four 3-pointers. Ray Allen quietly amassed 20 points, KG somehow managed 10.

Rajon Rondo "only" had 14, but they all came early, when the Celtics' offense was still struggling. He was a one-man fastbreak and aggressively penetrated the Magics' defensive core. Then he fell awkwardly on his butt, and it was Nate Robinson time.



Have you ever seen anyone as fired up as Robinson got? It was borderline obnoxious, especially his post-foul jubilations. But he got the job done, allowing Rondo to lie belly-down on the sidelines without jeopardizing the lead. In 13 minutes, Robinson had 13 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.



All this being said, Kevin Garnett had a forgettable game. The only thing memorable was one of the dumbest fouls you'll see in NBA Playoff history. Just chopping down on a guy's arm. Twice! Right in front of the referee. Although why didn't the ref call it the first time? NBA refs are cowards.

KG needs to improve if the Celtics want to beat LA. But how much can he improve? How much of his recent mediocrity is due to his health? That's a question which will need to be answered on the court starting Thursday.

Celtics vs. Lakers



Photo Credits:
AP Photo

CELTICS BEAT L.A.

I hate being cynical. That's a lie. I love being cynical. And while normally an 87-86 road win against the Lakers would be monumental, I'm not going to throw a parade for beating a Kobe-less Laker team.

Granted, LA was 4-0 without Kobe. The Patriots once went 11-5 without Tom Brady.

The Lakers aren't the real Lakers without Kobe. The Celtics played a solid defensive game, which is made easier without Kobe.

But wins are wins are wins. And those wins are at a premium right now. The Celtics, Hawks, and Magic are separated by 1.5 games. And the Celtics have lost many more games because of their injuries than they've won because of their opponents'.

Ray Allen led the C's in scoring with 24 (10/15 from the field, 4/6 for 3). KG had 14 with 8 boards. Kendrick Perkins had a great night, with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Rondo also had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The bench only scored 12 points, which will hopefully change once Robinson arrives.

Celtics @ Portland tonight at 10:30.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Lori Shepler