The Celtics and Lakers, last year’s finalists are on the brink of early exits.
So which of last season's defending conference champs are in bigger trouble? The Boston Celtics are down 2-0 to the Miami heat and the Los Angeles Lakers trail the Dallas Mavericks by the same margin. Only three teams in NBA history have recovered from such a start to win a seven-game series so it is not fun to be a Celtics or Lakers fan right now.
The Mavs most recent win over the Lakers, was particularly disturbing for Los Angeles as they once again surrender a lead and similar to Game 1, L.A. saw its bench outscored by Dallas' reserves. So far, the Mavs' substitutes have outscored the Lakers by 33 points (70-37).
To make matters worse, Andrew Bynum said after the Game 2 loss that the Lakers have "trust issues". That's not a good sign for the Lakers as those kinds of things should be discussed in the locker room and should not be out there for public consumption. It will only serve to fuel Dallas' confidence as the next two games will take place on their home court and the perception might be that the Lakers are cracking.
So what could Bynum be referring to with those comments? It could be any number of things but there was chatter after the Game 1 loss that perhaps Kobe Bryant was trying to do too much. Bryant scoffed at the notion but maybe he felt he had to do more to make up for the subpar play of some of his teammates.
One of those having a tough time in the series is Ron Artest and he will miss Game 3 after being suspended for his foul on J.J. Barea at the end of the game Wednesday night. You can hear NBA Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson discuss the suspension here.
Just curious, what was more egregious, Artest's foul or Dwayne Wade delivering a forearm in running through a screen in Game 1 of the Heat-Celtics series?
The other player that has not played well is Pau Gasol. Sometimes labelled as "soft", Gasol has tremendous physical tools but the "soft" rep may come from the lack of mental toughness to fight through adversity on a consistent basis. Is Gasol just tired after almost three straight seasons where he has played during the summer following trips to the NBA Finals? Quite possibly but, regardless, he'll have to get it together if the Lakers plan on sending Phil Jackson out with a title.
Boston can lean on the fact that they are heading home and all Miami has done is hold serve so to speak. But the serves have been "aces" by the Heat with Wade playing well in both wins as opposed to the four regular season games when he was held in check.
Remember last year when the Celtics disposed of the Heat with ease in the first round and Wade vowed this wouldn't happen again? Well, he's got back-up this year and so far it's going according to plan for Miami.
The Celtics need to get consistent play from everyone. They need to play as a team since Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett at this stage of their respective careers no long have the ability to carry a team the way Wade or LeBron James can. It will be interesting to see if the insertion of Shaquille O'Neal in Game 3 will materialize. If so, depending on what kind of game shape he is in, it could be a welcomed addition for the Celtics. But if Boston can't keep Wade under control, it doesn't matter.
So which team is in more trouble? Both looked old and a step slow in the final quarter in their losses.
From here, it might be the Lakers having dropped the first two at home, but you would never know it from the attitude of their leader Kobe Bryant. Despite his team putting up 35 total points in the final period of two games on 33 percent from the floor with no second-chance points, Bryant doesn't seem to be overly concerned.
I'll tell you one thing, neither of these proud franchises is going down without a fight and if you thought things were a "chippy" in the first two games of these respective series, just wait until Games 3 and 4 take place.
