No-mentum

I don't really know what to make of Game 3.

It was a frustrating loss but not a devastating one … you felt like the C's were on the verge of stealing the game in the fourth quarter, rather than letting a winnable game slip away. The Lakers didn't seem to play as well as you would expect from a team desperately needing a win. And the Celtics certainly didn't seem to play as if they thought this was a pivotal game in the series. Maybe they were nervous with all those famous people in the house. (Hey, did you know L.A. has celebrities?)

Yet even though the Lakers won the game, you don't get the feeling that they will be carrying an incredible amount of confidence into Game 4, as the Celtics carried theirs from the Game 1 win into Game 2.

And the playoffs are all about momentum. You can lose two in a row, and turn the series in your favor in one game, if you dominate. I don't feel the Lakers did that.

Game 3 felt like no one had control of the game for any reasonable amount of time, and more guys wilted than stepped up.

The C's were awful on offense, great on defense. KG and Pierce couldn't hit the ocean. Gasol and Odom played like the 11th and 12th guys off the bench. Ray Allen shot as good as he has all season, before missing two late threes that may have allowed the C's to steal the game. Kobe got to the line at will, and then proceeded to miss 7 of his 18 free throws.

In the end, the C's suffered some untimely turnovers and missed quite a few "bunnies," as Kobe would call them. The Celts didn't deserve to win the game in the end.

So, it's one game to the Lakers. But the Celtics have to feel they won't duplicate their Game 3 showing in Game 4. If they do, it will be a huge surprise.

More quick thoughts on Game 3:

• Paul Pierce looked like he was either half asleep or his knee was finally starting to bother him, but he was a half-step slow the entire game. Maybe he was lacking the adrenaline that carried him through the first two games, or maybe mom's home cooking was weighing a little to heavily in his belly, who knows. But I'm sure he'll be the first to admit that his game was awful. And aside from the horrible shooting (2-14 shooting, 0-4 on three-pointers), he had 3 pretty bad turnovers and committed 5 fouls. The Celts can't win with game like that from the Captain.
• Is there a reason that Vladimir Radmanovic starts over Shasha Vujacic for the Lakers? If there is, I haven't seen evidence of it.
• Despite the fact that Kobe got to the line about 430 times in the first quarter, I thought the C's defense was fantastic early on. They were contesting every shot, getting some blocks, and not allowing the Lakers any easy looks. Unfortunately, Kobe is a tough guy not to foul when he gets to the rim, and he took advantage. But the C's really took Odom and Gasol out of the game early, and it allowed them to hang in the game longer than perhaps they should have, given how bad they were on offense all game long.
• Biggest play of the game: Eddie House missing an open 15-footer that would have tied it with 2 minutes left. He did a nice job faking the three to get an open closer look, and I'm sure it's one that falls 19 out of 20 times in practice. But the shot doesn't go down, Vujacic hits an open three-pointer on the next possession, and that's that.
• P.J. Brown has been a fantastic presence off the bench the entire playoffs, but he put up a stinker in Game 3. After getting into a little face-to-face confrontation with Jordan Farmar early in the second quarter, P.J. had two turnovers on consecutive possessions that helped contribute to the Lakers building a big lead. He also had only 2 rebounds in 17 minutes.
• Either Sly Stallone is angling for the leading role in the next Hulk movie, or he left his shirts in the dryer for about 4 hours too long.
• Another under-the-radar great game from James Posey. Is there ever a loose ball he doesn't get his hands on? He has the quickest pounce I think I've ever seen. I bet that in his free time he just wanders around whatever city he's in, waiting to jump from the sidewalk and save unsuspecting pedestrians from speeding cars. In his Celtics uniform, of course.
• I agree with Van Gundy and Mark Jackson … there's no reason for the Celts not to foul down 6 with 21 seconds left. I mean, what else to you have to lose? Was Doc afraid of losing by 8 instead of 6? I hate that. Unless you're down double digits with less than 10 seconds left, you play every moment with the goal of trying to win the game. Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Eddie House, and Posey can all hit quick threes. The Lakers were missing free throws all game. Why not foul and see what happens?
• On a related note, how stupid was it of Odom to try and dunk with 7 second left, leading to an offensive foul and giving the C's the ball back? If he just dribbles it out, it's over. Again, what's the different between winning by 8 instead of 6? Overall points scored don't matter, just the final result. This isn't Euro 2008.