Pierce: "We ain't coming back to LA!"

[Cobb]

ESPN.com

 

Striking a similar tone as he did in Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals, Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce directed a bold prediction at Lakers fans in the final minutes of his team's victory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night in Los Angeles.

 

After Pau Gasol committed a hard foul on Kendrick Perkins with 1:12 remaining in Game 2 and the Celtics leading, 97-90, Pierce, as he helped his teammate off the floor along the baseline near the hoop was heard on video replays yelling, "We ain't coming back to LA!"

 

The Celtics evened the NBA Finals at a game apiece with a 103-94 victory on Sunday and can lock up their second NBA title in three years by winning the next three games -- all in Boston. Pierce, who grew up in Los Angeles, seemed to be referring to the possibility of the series not returning to the West Coast in his comment.

 

After leading the Celtics with 24 points in Game 1, Pierce struggled in Game 2, scoring 10 points on 2 of 11 shooting.

 

This isn't the first time during these playoffs that Pierce incited anger in an opposing team's fan base with a bold statement. After a Game 2 victory against the Magic in Orlando, which gave the Celtics a 2-0 series lead, Pierce looked into the camera during a postgame interview on ESPN and told Celtics fans "We're coming home to close it out."

I guess that means the Lakers will win all three in Boston?

 

Anyways, I doubt Boston can win all three. I have them winning at most 2 out of 3.

[Real Deal]

1) Kobe in foul trouble all game.

2) Artest in foul trouble all game.

3) Odom in foul trouble all game (actually, the first 53 seconds he was out on the floor, three fouls).

4) Allen sets an NBA record for threes in a Finals game.

5) Rondo gets a triple-double after Kobe stops defending him.

 

All of that had to happen last night, so am I worried about three consecutive games in Boston? It doesn't happen much, where home teams sweep the three middle games of an NBA Finals...and by the numbers, the Celtics are a better road team than they are playing at home.

 

With the bad out-of-bounds call on Gasol, and that pathetic loose ball foul call on Artest (please), all happening in the final minutes of the game...I don't see why I need to be panicking at this point.

 

Take one in Boston, even just one, and we regain home court advantage. Take two of those three, and the series is nearly over.

[Clutch]

good, no one is inviting u to the lakers championship parade anyways

[Warren2ThaG]

They might beat us in Boston all 3 times and he'd look like a genius. We'd be lucky to get a win there in this type of Finals situation. 08 all over again, especially if Nate Rob gets going with Pierce.

[Poe]

The way the schedule is set up, there is a lot of pressure on Boston to will all three at home, or else they'll have to close it out by winning one or even two more road games in order to win the series.

 

Ray Allen is not going to drop 8 threes again, nor will Kobe hit this kind of foul trouble twice. If I was betting money, I'm still using it on the Lakers.

[Nitro]

Even if the Lakers do win one in Boston, it's still a very difficult situation they are in with the 2-3-2 format. Both teams have proven they can win both at home and away, and winning two games in a row is not going to be an easy task regardless of where the games are played. I say that because if the Lakers win 1 of 3 in Boston, they are still going back to LA down 3-2 and will have 0 margin of error from that point on.

 

I still pick the Lakers in 7, but the way the Finals are formatted it's not going to be an easy road to the championship.

[kingfish]

I dont feel very good about coming back to LA down 3-2. The Celtics are a tough road team and they have shown they can beat us in LA. Facing elimination would be a huge pressure cooker to us, anything can happen (such as foul troubles, Ray setting records, etc) which could cost us to lose the series.

 

We NEED 2 win in Boston. Come back home up 3-2 is the only scenario which benefits us.

[Check my Stats]

All Celtics have to do is win 2/3 on their home court and they have a great shot at this, no chance they win all 3, I expect things will be ugly when the Celtics shoot 15 more free throws than the Lakers on their home court.

[Doc]

I like how people are really surprised Allen dropped 8 threes. This is Ray Allen, the best shooter in the game and if you gave him space he will hurt you. 8 is alot, I know that, but he is able to still give you about 4 or 5 a game.

[Real Deal]

I like how people are really surprised Allen dropped 8 threes. This is Ray Allen, the best shooter in the game and if you gave him space he will hurt you. 8 is alot, I know that, but he is able to still give you about 4 or 5 a game.

Not surprised, but it's BECAUSE we gave him the space. With Kobe out, Ray lit Farmar and Brown up. He actually torched Fisher as well.

 

Kobe came in to defend him, and he hit one three on Bryant. 27 points in the first half, just 5 points in the second half.

 

Unfortunately, with Kobe's attention on Allen, Rondo lit everyone up in the second half...had just six points on Bryant in the first, 8 total assists (most because of Allen). Hit LA up with 13 points and 2 assists in that second half.

 

Kobe was needed out there. Ron plays excellent defense, but Bryant's defense is extremely underrated.

[AboveLegit]

Not surprised, but it's BECAUSE we gave him the space. With Kobe out, Ray lit Farmar and Brown up. He actually torched Fisher as well.

 

Kobe came in to defend him, and he hit one three on Bryant. 27 points in the first half, just 5 points in the second half.

 

Unfortunately, with Kobe's attention on Allen, Rondo lit everyone up in the second half...had just six points on Bryant in the first, 8 total assists (most because of Allen). Hit LA up with 13 points and 2 assists in that second half.

 

Kobe was needed out there. Ron plays excellent defense, but Bryant's defense is extremely underrated.

But see that's the problem, Kobe has to choose between Rondo or Ray. Pick your poison.. And that's exactly why the Celtics have a great shot at beating the Lakers. Gasol can lock up Garnett, Ron can lock up Pierce, but as soon as you leave Rondo or Ray with room to work with, they will hurt you. And that opens up opportunities for guys like Perkins, Nate, Tony, Glen, etc.

 

But Laker fans shouldn't be too worried because Boston ain't a great home team.

[YugoRocketsFan]

1) Kobe in foul trouble all game.

2) Artest in foul trouble all game.

3) Odom in foul trouble all game (actually, the first 53 seconds he was out on the floor, three fouls).

4) Allen sets an NBA record for threes in a Finals game.

5) Rondo gets a triple-double after Kobe stops defending him.

 

All of that had to happen last night, so am I worried about three consecutive games in Boston? It doesn't happen much, where home teams sweep the three middle games of an NBA Finals...and by the numbers, the Celtics are a better road team than they are playing at home.

 

With the bad out-of-bounds call on Gasol, and that pathetic loose ball foul call on Artest (please), all happening in the final minutes of the game...I don't see why I need to be panicking at this point.

 

Take one in Boston, even just one, and we regain home court advantage. Take two of those three, and the series is nearly over.

 

You cant look at it like that, the Celtics did what it takes to win, teams have to play like that to steal an away game in the finals.

[YugoRocketsFan]

The way the schedule is set up, there is a lot of pressure on Boston to will all three at home, or else they'll have to close it out by winning one or even two more road games in order to win the series.

 

Ray Allen is not going to drop 8 threes again, nor will Kobe hit this kind of foul trouble twice. If I was betting money, I'm still using it on the Lakers.

 

True, there is no pressure on the Lakers to take one in Boston but all the pressure is on the Celtics to win all 3 at home. You're siding too much with the Lakers here and using the same strategy Real Deal does, I used to say this many times, MAN THE MAVERICKS BEAT US BY 1 POINT AND THEY DID GREAT FROM THE 3 POINT LINE, THEY WONT SHOOT AS WELL AS LAST TIME!, its not like that, teams do what it takes to win games, whether Allen goes 9/10 from the 3 point line, rondo gets a triple double, or Glen Davis gets 20 points the next game.

[Nitro]

Not surprised, but it's BECAUSE we gave him the space. With Kobe out, Ray lit Farmar and Brown up. He actually torched Fisher as well.

 

That was my biggest knock against the Lakers before the series started. Everyone was so sure about the Kobe-Rondo matchup, while forgetting that there is NO WAY Fisher can defend Ray and his constant off-ball movement. Ray Allen has been getting heat all year with people saying he's fallen off, but the man has been an All-Star 9 of the last 11 seasons. His 23PPG and 47% shooting from 3 last year against the Bulls is still etched in my memory, and for the last decade he's hit dagger 3 after dagger 3 against my favorite teams. He WILL kill you in a 7-game series, and the Lakers cannot let that happen.

[Need4Sheed]

Be vewy afwaid

[Real Deal]

You cant look at it like that, the Celtics did what it takes to win, teams have to play like that to steal an away game in the finals.

Boston didn't put Kobe in foul trouble, either...the referees did, with three pathetic calls. You keep Bryant on the floor for that extra 10 minutes (he played 34, the least among the starting five), and suddenly, the game changes in our favor.

 

If they were legit calls, I wouldn't have to sit here and say that...but they weren't. Boston did what it takes to win with Kobe in and out of the game.

 

Los Angeles is the better team. You stick Bryant and Artest on the bench, and give Odom three fouls in 53 seconds, and the Lakers turn into the Gasol-led Grizzlies.

 

Boston didn't even play well, outside of Ray Allen. Pierce shot under 20% from the floor, Rondo didn't shoot well, Davis was 4-13 from the field, and the entire team shot a collective .429 to win this game. Eight of their 11 threes were from Ray Allen (24 points, to be exact).

 

Ray Allen caught fire, Kobe couldn't stay on the court long enough to change it, and we lost even after coming back after being down by 14. You guys are acting like we were smoked.

[Poe]

True, there is no pressure on the Lakers to take one in Boston but all the pressure is on the Celtics to win all 3 at home. You're siding too much with the Lakers here and using the same strategy Real Deal does, I used to say this many times, MAN THE MAVERICKS BEAT US BY 1 POINT AND THEY DID GREAT FROM THE 3 POINT LINE, THEY WONT SHOOT AS WELL AS LAST TIME!, its not like that, teams do what it takes to win games, whether Allen goes 9/10 from the 3 point line, rondo gets a triple double, or Glen Davis gets 20 points the next game.

I never said there wasn't any pressure on the Lakers. There is a ton of pressure on both sides, it's the NBA Finals. It's just that there is quite a bit less pressure to win one out of three games versus winning all three.

 

 

Also, there were two unusual things that happened in game 2. One was the Celtics shooting 68% from three (11-16), and the other was Kobe Bryant getting in foul trouble throughout the entire game. Each are things that gave Boston the advantage, and each are things we are not likely to see twice.

 

As far as matchups and things of that nature goes, the Lakers have the clear advantage. It's been clear so far that the Laker bigs outmatch the Celtic bigs, and that Artest's defense cancels out Pierce's offense. What's left is the guard positions, where Kobe keeps Rondo in check while Fisher chases Allen around screens. If Allen isn't hot (at least not NBA Finals record-breaking hot), and Kobe isn't playing passively due to foul trouble, the fact that the best player in the league is on the Lakers team gives them that advantage.

Edited June 8, 2010 by Poe

[Nitro]

Boston didn't put Kobe in foul trouble, either...the referees did, with three pathetic calls. You keep Bryant on the floor for that extra 10 minutes (he played 34, the least among the starting five), and suddenly, the game changes in our favor.

 

Oh c'mon now...the Lakers shot 15 more free throws than the Celtics, KG played only 23min due to his 5 fouls (whether or not it helped or hurt Boston can be argued, but the refs still put a big-name player into foul trouble), and in game 1 Ray was hurt even more by the refs than Kobe was in game 2, playing only 27min. And as we saw in game 2, when Allen is able to get into a rythym early, something he wasn't in game 1 due to fouls, he can be as lethal as anyone. So if you're going to play the what-if game with Kobe, you have to do the same with Ray.

 

I understand your frustrations with the fouls on Kobe and that Gasol/KG play, but the fact of the matter is that Boston has been equally if not more screwed by the refs than the Lakers. If you're going to play the what-if game regarding the calls against the Lakers, you have to do the same with the Celtics (like for instance the 2 clean blocks by Pierce and Dvis that were turned into free throws for the Lakers).

 

Boston didn't even play well, outside of Ray Allen. Pierce shot under 20% from the floor, Rondo didn't shoot well, Davis was 4-13 from the field, and the entire team shot a collective .429 to win this game. Eight of their 11 threes were from Ray Allen (24 points, to be exact).

 

Ray Allen caught fire, Kobe couldn't stay on the court long enough to change it, and we lost even after coming back after being down by 14. You guys are acting like we were smoked.

 

The fact that Boston didn't play well outside of Allen yet they still won is ENCOURAGING to you? Allen may not score 32pts every game, but Pierce/Davis won't shoot sub 30% the entire series, KG will eventually produce better than 6pts/4reb, and you know very well that the refs will likely be more Boston-sided the next 3 games. And Ray scoring 32pts and hitting a ton of 3's is a lot more likely to happen again than Bynum getting 21pts and 7blks.

[Real Deal]

As Poe said, our bigs can handle Boston's bigs.

 

Pierce has yet to do anything against Ron, and I don't see that happening. Paul dropped 13 of his 24 in the fourth quarter, after Phil started jacking with our five and thinking that Game 1 was over (20-point lead). Then, he shot 2-11 with Ron in his face during Game 2. Durant even suffered the same way.

 

So it comes down to Kobe and Fisher/Vujacic, and Ray and Rondo. Seeing that not a single player on the Celtics can stop Bryant one-on-one, all the Lakers need to do is stay on the floor and execute the offense to win the game.

 

I'm making it sound simple, and it's not...but with our huge advantage down low, Ray Allen is going to have to go ballistic for the rest of the series if Boston wants the title, or Rondo will have to start dropping over 20 points each game.

[SRT Spidey]

or how about Pierce or KG actually come out to play like its the finals? That would be pretty important, i dont think anyone is expecting another repeat performance out of Ray or Rondo to carry the team himself again.

[Flight]

Yeah, and Shannon Brown said over FBook that Lakers are winning Game 3.

 

 

Players talk. Big whoop. I wouldn't be too surprised if Boston sweeps at home, but I expect LA to win a game there and go back and take it to 6 or 7.

[Real Deal]

Yeah, and Shannon Brown said over FBook that Lakers are winning Game 3.

According to a ton of LA fans, Shannon Brown isn't even a Laker anymore. He needs to shut his face.

[Flight]

According to a ton of LA fans, Shannon Brown isn't even a Laker anymore. He needs to shut his face.

He did leave Ray open a few times, and he shoots too much haha. He's got a bit of the JR Smith syndrome... just not as much, and not as good.

[moeroadkill]

According to a ton of LA fans, Shannon Brown isn't even a Laker anymore. He needs to shut his face.

finally people are starting to realise how much of a idiot this guy is

[Real Deal]

finally people are starting to realise how much of a idiot this guy is

He was alright for us until Kobe missed a few games in the regular season. Brown did well in a game or two, put up some very impressive scoring numbers, his head grew too big for his brain, and now all he does is run around the court, full speed and reckless, brain freely slamming against the sides of his skull because he thinks he can run an offense.

 

He is LeBron James without the scoring, passing, rebounding, IQ, or defense.