NBA Finals- Game 7 Recap

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 83-79 to win the NBA Championship on Thursday night. It was a grueling defensive battle for both teams as the Lakers overcame shooting 32.5% from the field to win the game.

Thoughts from Game 7

In a defensive battle like the one that occurred in Game 7, it seemed like Kendrick Perkins absence was a major factor. The Lakers absolutely controlled the boards. Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis played well on the offensive end of the floor, but neither of them were nearly as physical as Perkins in boxing out Pau Gasol and the rest of the Lakers. LA took advantage and dominated the glass.

In fairness to the Lakers, Andrew Bynum was also extremely limited in Game 7. They simply did a better job of taking advantage of the match ups that were available than the Celtics did.

Pau Gasol should have been the Finals MVP. Kobe Bryant won it based on his reputation, not his actual performance. Kobe had one "great" game (which was really just a great 3rd quarter) and the Lakers actually lost that game (Game 5). Check out their stat lines from Game 7 when the series was decided:

Gasol: 6/16 FG, 19 PTS, 18 RBS (9 offensive), 4 AST, 2 BLK, 1 TO.
Bryant: 6/24 FG, 23 PTS, 15 RBS, 2 AST, 0 BLK, 4 TO.

Anyone who watched Game 7 realizes that Kobe came indescribably close to shooting his team out of the game. If not for a couple of timely three pointers from Ron Artest and Derek Fisher, this article would have an entire different direction.

Once the Lakers took the lead with 6 minutes left in the game, the game was essentially over. The Celtics didn't have enough fire power to come back and the Lakers are a much, much better team with the lead.

I think that it is necessary to acknowledge the discrepancy in free throw attempts for both teams. The Lakers attempted 37 free throws to 17 by the Celtics. Were the Lakers THAT much more aggressive in Game 7? Take a look at the three point attempts for the game: 20 for LA and 16 for Boston. How about points in the paint? 36 for Boston and 38 for LA. It was really disappointing to watch the Lakers win the game at the line. Even if they earned their trips to the line, there is nothing as dull as watching a team win a game in a dead-ball situation.

Regardless of how the game was officiated, the Lakers earned home court advantage by their play in the regular season. Someone should tell that to Rasheed Wallace. The regular season actually does matter. Write that down somewhere.

In the end, only one team can be declared champion. Like it or not, that team for 2010 is the Los Angeles Lakers. They made the clutch shots that had to be made, seemed to get every loose ball, and played great defense the entire game.