After the Lakers’ Game 2 loss, where they seemed to just mail in the game, I started to get that lump in the back of my throat, the same one from 2008. The disappointment, the anxiety of following what many consider to be the most talented team all season, only to watch them get dismantled during a series where the stakes could not be higher.
All before Game 3, I had that same feeling. That feeling remained until about an hour before the game when I reflected again on Kobe Bryant’s comments from before the series. He said that the 2010 Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA Final re-match would be a good way to measure just how much the Lakers’ had improved since ’08. But, how exactly have they improved? Their bench seems mostly ineffective (aside from Lamar Odom). They are not as good a three-point shooting team as they were. How are the Lakers better?
After a historic three-point performance in Game 2 (a record 8 three’s), Ray Allen came down to earth as expected. He was ice-cold and shot 0/13 with 2 points in game 3.
Also, the Lakers’ core, including Lamar Odom, came to play. Bryant, Pau Gasol, Odom, and Fisher were all solid pieces to this Laker victory as they defeated the Celtics 91-84 late Tuesday night.
The victory also saw the Lakers out-rebound and out-shoot the Celtics, as they have done throughout the series thus far.
But, the end was like a fairy tale. Like Game 2, Bryant (29 points) could not find his shooting touch in the 4th quarter. It seemed as though the Celtics, who were behind all game (after their 6-0 start), would overtake the Lakers and the lead in both the game and the series. What made the difference was Derek Fisher.
Fisher’s clutch shooting performance in the fourth quarter may have been the best quarter, in particular the most important quarter, of his entire career. Fisher scored 11 points in the 4th quarter (16 total).
Sure, Fisher made the .04 shot to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Finals. Fisher drilled a pair of clutch 3’s in last year’s finals against the Orlando Magic. Those shots have been some of the most clutch of Fisher’s career. But what Fisher did in game 3 of the 2010 Finals was, personally, his best performance.
The highlight we will never forget came with less than a minute remaining in a close game. Fisher got the ball off the inbound and dribbled in a mad fury up the sideline and straight to the hoop. As he went up for the lay in, over the outstretched arms of three Celtics, he banked it just high enough to avoid the defenders. Count the basket and the foul. As the brilliant free throw shooter he is, Fisher would sink the free throw and the Celtics. When asked to describe his performance after the game, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson called it “will,” while Fisher called it “faith.” No matter what you call it, Fisher took care of business in the 4th quarter.
NBA Finals game 3: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300608002
With Ron Artest limited by fouls and Andrew Bynum limited by his injury (swelling in his knee), the new additions were not much help in measuring how much better the Lakers were physically (compared to ’08).
When we think of the ’08 Finals, everyone likes to emphasize the game 6 thrashing by the Celtics (a 39 point game). In so, people overlook that it was a close series (6 games) in which each game, aside from game 6, was decided by about ten points or less. The Lakers’ loss in 2008 was in part due to the Celtics’ physicality, but also due to the Lakers’ lack of mental focus. In games 4 and 5, especially, the Lakers built huge leads—historic leads in fact—only to see the Celtics either win (4) or make it a close game (5). Even though the Lakers could build a lead, they were almost incapable of keeping one.
This time, as close as the Celtics got (and they got uncomfortably close), they were unable to over-take the Lakers.
In game 3, what the Lakers’ starters, Fisher especially, showed is that they are much improved mentally.
As the Lakers take a 2-1 lead in these NBA Finals, we are reminded how well matched these two teams are. The Lakers have re-claimed home court by winning game 3, but they have 2 more games in Boston before the Lakers can return to the palm trees and sunshine of home for games 6 and 7 (if necessary).
R.S. De France is a College and University instructor of English Composition. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing. One of his life-long pursuits has been writing and covering anything related to sports, specifically the NBA. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.
