No Offense, But Lakers Blame Themselves

BOSTON, June 5, 2008 -- If you choose to believe Kobe Bryant, the reason he missed 17 of the 26 shots he attempted in the Lakers’ 98-88 Game 1 Finals loss wasn’t the Celtics’ all-league defense designed to stop him, but rather it was just a matter of the way the cookie crumbled.

Or, more like, the way the rim rattled.

“I had some great looks, they just didn't stay down,” Bryant said. “I just missed some bunnies. I just missed some really, really good looks. I'll be thinking about those a little bit tonight.”

If someone was to go collect all those missed bunnies, they’d have enough inventory to open up a pet store.

Bryant started the night 2-for-8 from the field in the first quarter, wading into the offense by attempting midrange jumpshots rather than taking it to the Celtics in attack mode.

He righted the ship, hitting 6-of-12 over the second and third periods and keeping the Lakers within striking distance, down four headed into the fourth. The timing of Bryant’s turnaround from his first-quarter doldrums was critical because the Celtics were riding a dominant run by Paul Pierce who scored 15 points in the third quarter, including seven after emerging from the locker room in a Willis Reed-like return from an injury scare.

But when the fourth quarter rolled around, a quarter Bryant has owned in these playoffs, he couldn’t live up to the nickname Charles Barkley gave him during the Western Conference Finals -- “The Closer.” He did manage to match the last five letters of the moniker, however, going 1-for-6 in the final quarter and picking up his team-high fourth turnover while dropping Game 1 -- “The Loser.”

Derek Fisher, who finished the game with 15 points, six assists and three steals to serve as the Lakers’ lone bright spot, said that the poor shooting performance by Bryant might have more to do with Boston’s defense than the Mamba would like to admit.

“They're not going to give [Kobe] much of an opportunity to break down their defense off of dribble penetration,” Fisher said. “So, he's going to end up in a situation where he's taking more of catch and shoot opportunities when he's coming off of cuts and coming off of screens and catching and shooting the basketball. That's something that he's going to get used to as the series goes on. He's so great at breaking down defenses off the dribble. The Celtics' defense just doesn't allow that type of play.”

On the rare occasion when Bryant got a step on his man to get into the lane and kicked the ball to an open teammate out on the perimeter, it didn’t do much good as the rest of the Lakers shot 3-for-11 from behind the arc.

Bryant hasn’t played this poorly in the playoffs since Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against Utah when he shot 13-for-33 from the field. In that game he tweaked his lower back and was visibly hampered from the injury, falling to his knees in pain several times throughout the contest.

Even with the bum back, Bryant finished with 33 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, helping the Lakers force overtime before succumbing to the Jazz.

According to Bryant, Thursday wasn’t because of his back and it wasn’t because of how he was being defended, either. It just wasn’t his night.

“I think our rhythm wasn't there,” Bryant said. “Still, we played well enough to almost steal the game. Some balls bounced their way tonight.”

Most of those inopportune bounces ended up in the hands of Boston rebounders, who held a stranglehold advantage of 46-33 on the glass, resulting in a 12-4 lead in second chance points by the Celtics.

Like Bryant, L.A. swingman Luke Walton refused to credit Boston’s play for his team’s demise and placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of those wearing purple and gold.

“We stopped executing,” Walton stated matter of factly. “We stopped moving the ball. When you don’t move the ball their defense opens up on the ball carrier and it makes it tough to score.”

Lamar Odom, whose 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting and six rebounds look better in the boxscore than they did on the court, echoed Walton’s assessment.

“We just didn’t do a good job of moving the ball in the second half,” Odom said. “This game they played the right way, just for a little bit longer than us.”

The Lakers and their 105.9 points per game average on .478 shooting in the playoffs up until Game 1, took responsibility for the loss, but also almost embraced it as a wake-up call. Can some good actually come from an 88-point outing on .416 shooting by L.A.?

Several members of the Lakers think it can.

Bryant said, “It's a good experience for us. Nice little kick in the [butt].” Odom’s take was, “We probably needed that as a team. We were playing on a high horse a little bit.” And Walton added, “We got to soak this in and let it burn a little bit tonight.”