Lakers-Celtics: A reminder of what's missing in today's game by Thomas Johnson

Originally published with Playerspress Sportscaster Network: http://playerpress.com/articles/lakers-celtics-a-reminder-of-what-s-missing-in-today-s-game


Watching Thursday night’s epic hardwood punch-up between formerly bitter rivals reminded me why I fell in love with the game in the first place. Gone were the typical nonchalant exchanges between players on opposite sides that we constantly see now in most midseason games.

Instead, there was no short dosage of hard fouls, constant jawing well after plays were over, and of course the stray elbows and menacing stares; basically all the characteristics of 80’s and 90’s-era playoff basketball.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ll always take this type of atmosphere and level of competition over the current flagrant-fearing, friendlier basketball; albeit if there isn’t always squeaky-clean ‘sportsmanship.’

My early basketball experiences involved watching the yearly, suspension-guaranteeing Heat-Knick playoff encounters. The outcomes of these games mattered so much more to both sides, not simply because it was win or go home time, but because of how much built up animosity there was between the two teams.

The personal history between feuding players on opposite sides ran deep (Alonzo Mourning vs. Larry Johnson, P.J. Brown vs. Charlie Ward, Jeff Van Gundy vs. Zo’s knee, etc), and made the overall game that much more of an intense experience for the players and fans.

There were a number of similarly fiery moments on display in last night’s game. In the first half there was Rondo shoving Kobe’s shoulder when both players were near mid-court attending to fallen teammates, punctuated with young Rajon telling Mr. Bryant to ‘F--- off’ a couple times before the two were separated.

Then there was the odd series of events between Lamar Odom and Kevin Garnett. After a few minutes of both players trash talking back and forth, we see Garnett turn away from Odom and apparently say something unflattering to him in the process. Lamar responds not by shoving or yelling something witty at him, but by smacking KG in the butt with a little extra ‘love.’ This led to one of the more awkward face-to-face confrontations in the game that probably went something like:
Garnett: “Aye, what the- don’t smack me that hard on the ass again, man.”
Odom: “I’ll smack whatever ass I wanna smack man. Back off me.”
Garnett: “Don’t…”

(On a side note: I’m someone that watches a solid amount of basketball, and because I live in Miami I tend to watch a lot of Heat games that air on local TV. That being said I wish every game I watched had the same production quality as these nationally televised TNT and ESPN games. The close-up shots of players interacting at key points after a play is over, generally right when something extracurricular is going on gives me a much better idea of what’s happening in the trenches. It’s for games like these that multiple camera angles and high quality close-ups are a big plus.)

Anyways, back to the game. The hostility grew as the game went on, with commonly overlooked details carrying more significance to the players and the fans.

As usual, KG was in his ‘protect-the-basket-after-a-stop-in-play’ mode, only this time he was smacking the ball off the backboard with enough force to send the ball flying back to the three-point line. Whenever there was a change in possession KG was not avoiding contact, instead he would bump into the closest Lakers player. Garnett was basically jumping at any opportunity to assert alpha dog status on his home court.

While the hard-nosed play went back and forth both ways, it just seems that it is a style that the Celtics thrive in, while the Lakers have to adjust to it.

Starting with KG and moving down the chain of command, there are a number of players (Pierce, Perkins, and Rondo for instance. With KG, 4/5 of their starting lineup) that seem to relish this gritty, playground style of play.

In comparison, on the other side of the court there’s obviously Kobe and his fearless competitive drive, but with Bynum now out there does not seem to be a plethora of players that enjoy the tough, physical nature of these games. Keep in mind this is more an observation of the Lakers' temperament and not of their ability to succeed in a highly competitive environment.

Gasol for instance seems to be the type of player that does not like to involve himself in any of the jawing, but would rather keep the focus on his own play. To his credit, this year he has played far better against the C’s than he did in last year’s Finals, when he seemed to shy away from the physical play near the basket and was somewhat taken out of his element.

The stats for both teams illustrate the vastly different styles of play. While this may no longer be the Showtime Lake-show, this Lakers team is finessing its way to first place in the league in scoring (averaging 108.9 points per game), while the Celtics stringent D gives up the second fewest points in the league (Right behind Cleveland, allowing the opposition 91.9 points per game). From my perspective it’s fascinating to watch this battle of contrasting styles, and see who can really establish their will and execute in crunch time.

While L.A. has now swept the season series, if I was a Lakers-fan I would not be feeling overly confident about the possibility of running into Boston for the second straight year in the Finals. Kobe is still yet to prove that he can score efficiently against this Celtic defense (He was 10 for 31), as he seems to become almost strictly a jump shooter.

The other concern I have is in regards to the possibility of Bynum not coming back this season (Remember how his return date for the knee injury last year kept getting pushed back). Should the Lakers be in this position, it comes down to whether they can get the same performances they got last night out of Odom and Gasol in a seven game series against the Celtics, something that definitely didn’t happen last year.

Regardless of how things play out, the dramatic ending to this latest battle will only add to the intensity of their next encounter, one that might very well take place this June.