Boston caught Orlando off guard during the Celtics’ methodical 92-88 win to steal the homecourt advantage away from the favored Magic yesterday at the Amway Arena in Orlando, FL.
On the other hand, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers were just unforgiving in their continued quest to extend their stranglehold of the NBA championship following their clinical 128-107 demolition of the smaller Phoenix Suns at the Staples Center in LA.
Two contrasting victories between two legendary opponents, who has had NBA epic battles dating back to the 1960s during the Bill Russel-Jerry West era.
I’m sure NBA fans who are hoping for a Lakers-Celtics Finals face-off are happy to see the results after Game One.
Well, I’m quite surprised with the kind of energy Boston showed in Game One against Orlando and its youthful center Dwight Howard, who finished the game with a “quiet” 13 points and 12 rebounds, compounded by his game-high seven turnovers.
Considering that Boston had to turn back the time in its Eastern Conference semifinal showdown against Lebron James the Cleveland Cavaliers, I was expecting the Celtics to slow down a bit and try to pace themselves against the younger, more athletic Magic squad.
But Doc Rivers sure knows they can’t play relaxed basketball against an Orlando team that moves the ball well both inside and out of the perimeter.
Now, holding a 1-0 lead, Boston’s confidence is high, putting the Celtics within just three more wins that could bring them back to the NBA Finals and a chance to regain the title they lost last season.
Meantime, Kobe Bryant was all business from the very start. Though slowed down by various injuries throughout the season, Kobe was devastating in every way against the Suns’ best defensive effort against him.
His 40-point Game One explosion was his 11th in career-playoff games, while his virtuoso performance was perhaps, some kind of a proof that the Lakers are making a strong statement that the Suns’ dominant ways in the West are really over.
The Suns have eliminated the Lakers during the 2006 and 2007 playoffs when Kobe still had no strong supporting cast to lean on.
With that crushing 21-point Western Conference Finals series-opening defeat, the Suns will have to go back to the drawing board and see what major adjustment they can make in order to prevent Kobe from doing more damage in the succeeding games.
So, Boston and Los Angeles in the Finals?
Still early to say. I expect the Magic to come out strong Game Two onwards, while the Suns, I’m sure will find a way to make the series in the West “exciting”.
Photo Source: http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp
http://thelakersnation.com/