The NBA The Way It Was Meant To Be

Thought's on tonight's first half between Boston and LA:

• Kobe Bryant doesn't panic, he waits...
• Gasol's talent as a low-post scorer could really hurt KG's ability to rotate and protect the rim from the weakside because it's harder to rotate another defender to cover him as the Celtics did against Rasheed Wallace. Key stat for Garnett from the first half: zero blocks.
• Pierce cannot get into foul trouble in this series, he's far to important to Boston's offense. They really struggled to score with Pierce off the court.
• Rebounding the ball and holding it above your head for the outlet pass is really a lost art in the NBA and dramatically reduces the effectiveness of team's transition offense. Compare the way Odom, Gasol, Garnett, and Perkins rebound the ball to the way Kareem, McHale, Bird, and Rambis rebounded the ball.
• Rajon Rondo is completely outclassed by Derek Fisher in this series. It really isn't even close.
• Score at halftime: 51-46 Lakers. Another fiercely competitive game between the Lakers and Celtics for the title. Does it get any better than this?