The Moonball Blog

Friday, June 06, 2008

Feelin Good, Feelin Great



I am so pumped up after the Celtic's Game 1 victory. Of course I am worried about Paul's knee. . . I think he will certainly be having surgery after the playoffs end. But what get me so excited was how the C's won as a team. Pierce's heroics would have been a footnote is PJ Brown didn't get his hands on practically every loose ball in the second half, if KG didn't pour in 16 first half points, if Rajon didn't win his matchup with old man Fisher, if Ray hadn't been wettin his jumper. You get the point. Great execution of defensive rotations, bangin those LA suckers on the boards, closing the lane to the Kob-ster: All of that made Game 1 possible. That good news, cause that is simply the style Boston plays.

I was more pleased watching the post-game media session with a bitter, and almost petulant, Bryant. The best player in the League was pissed because he missed some 'bunnies.' When asked if he should be going more to the hoop, Bryant basically said that the Celtics' D made that impossible; he would simply just have to hit his shots. Now, we all know Kobe is capable of hitting most every shot he missed in Game 1. But if one of the best scorers the League has ever seen in conceding driving the lane (and getting himself to the foul line), I could not be happier. Further, his 'this is all on me' attitude plays exactly into the best case scenario for the Cetlics to prevail: The Kob-ster wants to fly like Superman and he forgets to play team ball. Finally, his weak comments about responding to the Celtics' physical play (we can adjust just like we did with Utah) tell me that L.A.'s leader has a bit of Charmin in his game.

Of course a hobbled Pierce could end my good feelings quickly. The Celtics' captain has been a defensive monster and an explosive scorer. I do think it would be possible for the C's to win without him, but only under the most magical of storylines. Tony Allen's quote about Pierce's dramatic return says much about Pierce's influence on the team: "I could see it in his eyes, he willed himself back. You know, that's The Truth, man! That's The Truth!"

I am moved to speak on KG for a moment: What an intro to the Game's biggest stage. KG was amazing. His scoring kept the Celtics in the first half. His rebound follow slam on Gasol's fugly mug shut the door in the 4th quarter. The defense, of course, was a constant. The Lakers are helpless to stop KG. Watching him dribble around Gasol like he was an orange practice cone means great things for Boston. KG can get whatever he wants the whole series.
In his post-game media session with Paul, KG made a comment (to Paul, not the reporters) about the importance of yoga breathing exercises during the game to calm his emotions. Dave and I had been noticing how during timeout, KG has been closing his eyes and sitting almost motionless. I thought it was the sleepness nights. But no. Like a Jedi waiting for the blast shield to rise, he rests in quite meditation, waiting to kick ass as soon as the action resumes. Winning without Paul would be near impossible. But as the ad says, impossible is nothing to KG.

Boston is winning this thing.

1 Comments:

  • KG done that for a long time -- at least in the past few MN seasons. I think his hyped game became one he has tailored for the long haul, and he keeps within himself most of the time on the bench.

    I started to notice it after his last few playoff series in Minnesota -- I passed him in the hallway after the Wolves got swept by the Mavs and lost their final game at home in '02. I didn't ever talk to him, but he did all he could, and I felt compelled to say, "Peace." Ever since then, I noticed the Jedi thing with him...and hoped that despite the circumstances, that he was able to find peace by continuing to play as hard as he could and not worry too much about things that were out of his control.

    In Minny, the past couple years, the prayerful focus on the bench felt like he was blocking out the fact that the talent around him was eroding further every year, to still go out and compete on every play.

    Yet it's funny that even though he seems to be saving every breath of physical and mental energy for the court that he STILL goes up and contests shots after the whistle. That the little edge of seeing your shot go in is denied the opposition, even if it doesn't count. The court is where he focuses every ounce of energy. I love KG.

    By Blogger TVDave, at 3:29 PM  

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