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		If the Lakers expect to catch up, they need to find the hole By David Zizmor June 8, 2008

	The Celtics took game two to take a 2-0 lead in this series as they beat the Lakers 108-102. That score seems like it would be close, like this was a close fought game. The Celtics were in control in this one almost for the entire game. The Celts let the Lakers back into it a little bit in the second and towards the end of the fourth quarter. Boston was able to hold on but this game was kind of a story of Boston's defense and how good a job the Celts did frustrating the Lakers. Kobe had 30 points in this game and was 11-23 from the floor; he wasn't hitting everything and he wasn't hitting everything from three point range. Kobe did not go to the three point line seven times, but for the Lakers to win, Kobe has to get to the free throw line a lot. One of the things that we have been talking about is the Celtics keying on Kobe, forcing him to take too many shots, forcing the shots especially shot from the outside. That's exactly what the Celtics have been doing; they excelled at it. The Celts played straight up defense, man to man, and they get right in Kobe's face. They try not to let him dominate. When Kobe can't drive against good teams like the Celtics, he has to set up for outside shots. While Kobe certainly can hit those shots, he's not going to hit them as consistently when he's got a guy in his face, harassing him every step of the way, and that’s exactly what happened and so far, the Lakers have had trouble when Kobe can't dominate. As good as Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are, they're not going to be the dominator; it has to be Kobe. Even with the 30 point, 8 assist performance, Kobe was not in control for most of this game. He became alive in that fourth quarter where the Lakers scored 41 points and put themselves within a few points of the Celtics. If you have to score 41 points in the fourth quarter to even be in the game, there is already trouble brewing and the Celtics can throw so many guys at Kobe; they throw Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett; those guys can clog up the lane when the Celtics need them. P.J. Brown off the bench has been absolutely fantastic for the Celtics, not to mention James Posey whose defensive presence a couple of years ago for the Miami Heat helped them win the title; he's been playing the similar role here for the Boston Celtics. With these guys stepping up and getting in Kobe's face, he's not playing comfortable and as a result, the Lakers aren't performing as well. Meanwhile, the Celtics are taking advantage. The Lakers have a lack of team defense. The Lakers are obviously a good team, they can score, but this isn't a team that is known for its D. Kobe is obviously a fantastic defender, but the rest of the guys on that team are not known for their defense and the Celtics were able to capitalize. You see Garnett with his classic 17 point, 14 rebound line; Pierce led the way for the Celts with 28 points, 17 for Ray Allen. Then they get Leon Powe off the bench who is absolutely fantastic in 21 points in 14 minutes; that is exactly the performance they need from their bench in Boston. Rajon Rondo had 4 points and 16 assists. Rajon plays great defense and was outstanding and was way better than anyone on the Lakers. What it comes down to, the Celtics are playing good defense, and the Lakers are not. The Celtics are in Los Angeles on Tuesday night with a game three tip at 6:00PM PDT. David Zizmor is covering the NBA Finals with Jeremy Kahn and Daniel Dullum for Sportstalk.