My Take:
Powe really did play out of his mind in game two. There has been so much talk about how the Lakers had the bench advantage, last night proved that the Celtics have a bench of their own. It’s also impossible not to root for Powe, his story is absolutely absurd. I’m sure most already know this, but for those who don’t, he grew up homeless after his house burnt down when he was seven years old, the eldest of 7 kids and a single mother in Oakland. He got a tutor, played basketball in high school, and then got a scholarship to Cal. Now he’s overachieving as a 6′ 8″ power forward in the NBA Finals. Plus, he made Walton look like he should go back to acting on a soap.
I feel like that there is a negative to this story though, with Powe being marketed as the American dream. It kind of teaches that the only real form of social mobility comes through sports, and utilizing other channels, such as education, art, music, etc. are only for those with financially secure lives. While this may true to an extent, success through sports being hailed as today’s American dream sets so many kids up for failure, for every Leon Powe, there are hundreds of others who try to succeed through basketball or some other sport who didn’t make the league, after sacrificing their entire lives for sport. But, let’s focus on the positive, Leon Powe is a baller and may have just won this series for the Celtics.
Beyond Powe, the Celtics have much to be happy about. They played arguably the best defense on Kobe, a star in his prime, that none of those supposedly much superior Western Conference foes could touch this post-season. Kobe did not get to the foul-line, nearly every shot he took was a jumper, and the Celtics did not let him take over the game. I have never really bought into Paul Pierce as an elite player until last night. I always though of him as jump shooter, who could dagger a team with a couple of three’s and then great defense. He’s so much more than that. He’s a creative force. Because his jumpshot is so respected, he creates for his team-mates the way a point guard usually does. He is LeBron-esq in his ability to do it all offensively and make his team-mates look great. Rondo also played extremely well, with only one turn over to a bevy of assists. I really feel that if the Celtics had won the game by 20 or, this series would have been completely over, with the Lakers going back to LA confused, frustrated, and demoralized.
Good news for Lakers Fans, the Celtics let the Lakers back into the game. Miraculously, through brilliant three point shooting, and the Celtics playing like the game had already ended, the Laker’s crawled back to within two and reminded the Celtics that they were messing with a team that is ridiculously potent offensively. That come back did not just let the Lakers end the game fairly respectably, but, may have actually let them back into the series. If the Laker’s win the next three games at home (they are undefeated at home in the playoffs), they have a shot at becoming the fourth team in NBA history to come back from a 2 loss deficit. In my heart of hearts (as if I have more than one), I really feel this series is gonna go seven games. The laker’s also might want to seriously consider telling Vujacic to take out Pierce’s knee with a bat. He would do it, the man calls himself the machine after all.
See you Weds for a wrap up of Game 3.
