In 2008, the Lakers were bullied into submission and took their lunch money as they took the series in six games. With Trevor Ariza and Andrew Bynum out with injuries, Pau Gasol was forced to play center and was tossed around the paint like salad by Kendrick Perkins.
Lamarr Odom had to start at power forward and struggled with Kevin Garnette. That was not all of it. Paul Pierce looked like the best player to ever play the game because he had Vladamir Rodmanavich guarding him.
Two years later, the Lakers want their lunck money back. The Lakers came back to challege their bully with new addition Ron Artest and a healthier Bynum. Artest would show his new teammates the way early as he wrestled Pierce to the hard wood in pursuit of rebound positioning.
From there the "smack down" would begin. While Kobe was his usual 30 point scoring self, Gasol surprised many with his abuse of Garnette. Gasol finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Garnette had 16 points and 3 rebounds.
The Lakers as a team outrebounded the Celtics 42 to 31. That would lead to 16 second chance points to none for the Celtics. That is physical dominance.
Pierce had 24 points and 9 rebounds but wasn't much of a factor when Artest was on him. Ray Allen had the chore of guarding Bryant and that landed him on the bench with foul trouble. Rajon Rondo was good early but disappeared once Bryant was put on him.
Perkins looks to have been exposed by a gimpy Bynum. Bynum had 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting and 6 rebounds in just 28 minutes. Perkins had 8 points and only 3 rebounds in 24 minutes.
There were no real key shots or turning points in this game. It w...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
