You're Hot Then You're Cold; You Win Then You Lose

Is it because the bar is so much higher and the game so much more challenging in the Finals? Perhaps it’s because they’re too overconfident and therefore less focused after a big game. Whatever the reason, the X-factors – the stars in Games 1, 2 and 3 my earlier post discussed – severely underachieved in the game following their big performances. In Game 2, Kobe Bryant, Game 1’s hero, missed significant playing time because of foul trouble. Despite posting 21 points, he shot only 8 of 20 and couldn’t save his team from losing its first home game during these playoffs.

Ray Allen not only cooled after setting an NBA Finals record for 3s, he froze. Should we give credit to the Lakers for figuring out how to effectively defend Allen? Something knocked Ray Ray completely off his game – he went ice cold and shot 0 for lucky number 13.

Tonight, Derek Fisher was anything but heroic. In fact, he looked like someone who hadn’t nearly the amount of playoff experience that he possesses, taking poor shots and getting into foul trouble. The Lakers controlled most of the game until late in the third, when momentum started to swing. No one stepped up for L.A. tonight; instead, it was the Celtics bench stealing the show and another win to even the series.

A play symbolic of the Lakers’ second half meltdown was a baffling possession by Fisher in the waning seconds. Upon gaining possession with 31 seconds remaining and his team down 8, Fisher dribbled furiously up court, pulled up as if to take a tre, passed up the shot, drove to the basket . . . but then pulled the ball back out beyond the perimeter! He then made a layup, but let valuable second tick off the clock for only a deuce. And, granted the Lakers were in deep trouble at that point, but a quick 3 keeps them in the game. Who better to make that shot than the man who’s done it on that very stage so many times before?

After dominating Game 1 of the Finals, the Lakers have let the Celtics make a series of it. Now that Boston has found its rhythm, a Game 5 win by the Celts puts tremendous pressure on the Lakers to stand their ground at home. Who will step up next and give his team a 3-2 edge going west? The CPSN predicts it will be someone in green and white (Paul Pierce has been way too quiet thus far). Then Kobe shows us why he’s still better than LeBron because he wins games in the playoffs – namely, Games 6 and 7 in L.A.