So, What Happened?

I'm not going to sit here and tell you I thought the Celtics would win Game 1. I just hoped they would. I thought it would have been a huge confidence deflater.

That being said. I also didn't think the Celts would walk out and look so outmatched. Just a bad performance all around. The Lakers easily walked away with Game 1, and now, Game 2 is a must-have.

So before we get into what the Celtics must do to win the next game, let's talk about what went wrong. Here are some of my random thoughts that I typed in an email to my buddy Billy Brooks before it turned into a 20-point lead for the Lakers in the fourth:

-- Ray Allen needs a lot of touches in this series.
-- The Cs can't seem to rebound -- therefore they can't run.
-- The Cs can't get a shot in the paint without getting blocked.

-- Gasol looks like a different player than I have ever seen him be.
-- Tony Allen, once again seems like he is playing on two vials of crack.

-- The Cs are two steps behind every loose ball.

-- Jack Nicholson looks younger than Michael Finley.

-- Garnett does not seem to be himself -- he needs to get an elbow in the face from someone to fire him back up.

-- Their defense looks like shit...I swear every time I look up, the Lakers are getting another easy hoop.

-- The Cs have missed way too many open shots.

So that was my take during the game...and when I wrote those down, the Cs were only down 9. LA went on to go up 20, before PP made a mini-run and brought it back down to 9...None of it really mattered though.

The Lakers were the tougher, grittier team on Thursday. They got to ever rebound, loose ball and 50/50 play. The Celtics were out-matched, out-coached, and out-played.

So what do they need to do Sunday night? They need to start off being the aggressors and taking the fight to LA. They were too often on their heels in Game 1, and it showed in the stats and the outcome. They need to clean the glass. They need to make sure Gasol knows there are no easy baskets.

Let Kobe be Kobe...but stop everyone else. That is the key. Hard-core team defense, rebounding and pushing the ball.

Make sure Rondo can run and create...and the only way that happens is by making yourself known on the defensive end and eliminating second chance opportunities.

Game 2...in my opinion....is a must win. The Celtics cannot come back needing to win 4 out of 5. It is too big of a hill to climb against an opponent that showed it can play some pretty solid defense as well.