9th
Boston wins Game 2 at home, 108-102, and leads the Series 2-0. With the second-by-second +/- graph, big swings in the score really highlight the matchups that work and don’t work.
For the second consecutive game, one thing that worked for the Celtics was PJ Brown. He stabilized Doc Rivers substition pattern in to and out of the Big Three plus Rondo. Leon Powe brought the firepower off the bench for Boston, but Brown set the stage, making enough shots to give Powe room to operate down low. Given Brown’s advanced age, more minutes might not yield much additional benefit. Call it an non-indicator of a Rivers-Jackson coaching mismatch, though credit here might better go to Boston’s front office for bringing Brown to the team.
Rajon Rondo, however, showed signs of cracking when the Lakers gained confidence in their big end-of-game comeback. Derek Fisher seemed to have him well in hand, though it may have been the decision by Doc Rivers to matchup with the Lakers’ small ball lineup. The Celtics with Rondo, Pierce, Allen, and Posey seem to have trouble sharing the ball and balancing the floor against the Lakers with Bryant, Fisher, Vujacic, and Radmanovic. Phil Jackson should get credit here for working to find a five that could highlight advantages for his team. It will be interesting to see if Jackson can use Odom, Walton, and Farmar in similar schemes with similar success. Walton, however, looks like he might not be getting much run, having been lit up by Powe on D and not doing any positive playmaking on O.
Game 3 on Tue means quick turnaround and short rest, a plus for the homecoming Lakers, especially if Rondo, Pierce, and Brown tire and any of them experience a major drop in productivity.
