NBA Finals Game 1 Live-Blog: Celtics vs. Lakers, 1st Half

Game: NBA Finals, Game 1
Teams: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Start Time: 6 PM PT/ 9 PM ET
Network & Announcers: ABC: Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Doris Burke ESPN Radio: Jim Durham, Jack Ramsay, Hubie Brown, Ric Bucher
Misc: I might have to listen to ESPN Radio just to listen to Hubie and Dr. Jack. Both guys use incredible hyperbole while announcing games.
Favorite: Los Angeles (-6)
49er16's pick: Boston

I'm going old school with this live blog. Old school Awful Announcing with a mix of a Bill Simmons running diary. I'll be commenting on the game while posting reader comments, photos, possibly videos, and announcing quotes. There will be a thread for the first half and a thread for the 2nd half. Enjoy the game and leave comments.

Pre-Game

Do comments about Hawk Harrelson count as spam? (Via RJBO)

And we are live from the Staples Center. Didn't take Stuart Scott long to piss me off. Why does he have to speak so loud? We can freaking hear you, stop screaming. Also there are so many bald heads on the set.

If Stu Scott (sounds like he's mimicing GusJohnson) pushes the hype much harder for the Finals, he's gonna blow out that glass eye of his. (Via Don Geronimo Show Twitter)

Great find by RJBO of Magic growling while talking about the Celtics-Lakers. Garrrrrrrr



Rasheed Wallace's outfit while warming up. Sweats Don't Lie (Via Beto Duran)


I can't stand the creepy holograms/virtual playbook ESPN uses now. They don't work even in HD.

Picks:
Wilbon: Lakers in 6
Barry: Celtics
Magic: Lakers, of course........

And finally Stu Scott is off my screen. On to the game.

1st Quarter

If "Grown-ups" were a team, they'd be the 2007 Detroit Lions. (Via RJBO)

I blame the 90's Chicago Bulls for the overblown player introductions. Now every team has to dim the lights and blow off fireworks before every game. Damn you Michael Jordan! Let's welcome the announcers, Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy. Tip off is next.

12:00 Celtics win the tip and immediately score. I'm happy already.

11:33 Pierce and Artest get into a skirmish. Los Angeles fans boo Pierce and show off their knives. (I'm only kidding about half that sentence.) Of course Joey "Technical" Crawford T's both guys up.

Breen: "Lakers vs. Celtics. It just sounds right this time of year." (Via RJBO) Not if you don't like either of these teams.

9:58 Derek Fisher with two fouls. Sasha Vujacic enters the game for the Lakers. I thought I really hated Kobe, but Sasha has taken the crown away from Kobe since these playoffs began.

7:16 Rondo is blowing by Kobe for two easy baskets. I'm not going overboard like Simmons calling Rondo the best PG in the league, but he's definitely second best. Chris Paul holds the crown as the best point guard.

"What happens if the Lakers don't make the finals?"-Mike Breen
"Then Scalabrine would have gone into that crawl space and retrieved the money."-JVG taking about the money the Celtics left at the Staples Center during a regular season game.

3:50 "Rasheed Wallace enters the game."-Mike Breen. Just what every Celtics fan wanted to here. BALL DON'T LIE!

3:03 Between the fouls and turnovers, this game has been very boring. This is expected though with Joey Crawford reffing the game. Meanwhile Jackson and JVG are hungry.

"Did you know Ray Allen has not eaten a cheeseburger since he was 19?" - JVG

Who cares?

"How about today we met a lady who never had a shake. I felt sorry for her." - Mark Jackson (Via JFein)

Like I said, JVG and Mark Jackson are hungry.

How relevant was this rivalry when Dino Radja faced off versus Nick Van Exel? (Via RJBO) Dino's wife doesn't appreciate that.

3:10 "A dumb pass by Tony Allen"-Mike Breen. Every Celtic fans just did a facpalm because they see one dumb Allen pass a game.

1:15 I bet Big Baby Glen Davis has ate a hamburger since High School. Just a guest though......

59.1 Two fouls on Kobe. At least we know the refs aren't biased tonight. /bitter Kings fan

Outlaw the freaking M-V-P chants! Only douche juices yell something that dumb! /Bissinger'd(Via RJBO)

I couldn't agree more with that statement. There is nothing more old and played than the MVP chants at basketball games. Especially when Rasheed Wallace receives MVP chants. Lakers 26 Celtics 21 end of the 1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

The between quarter interviews are the worst and uncomfortable. The coaches don't want to speak and the sideline reporters are just trying to get their job done.

11:30 Luke "Ladykillers" Walton makes a sweet pass to Farmar for a basket. Then Rasheed makes a basket. It's funny just typing that sequence. Computer Don't Lie!

10:34 Odom picks up his third foul. I'm hoping for more fouls in the hope Adam Morrison sees some playing time. Can't a boy dream?

8:20 Shannon Brown has six points off the Lakers bench. He's also preventing me from seeing Adam Morrison play in the NBA Finals. Damn you Shannon for ruining my dream and the Slam Dunk contest.

7:11 Nate Robinson and Paul Gasol take a tip-off. Live JVG, I thought for sure Nate would out-jump Gasol. We were both wrong.

6:11 Ray Allen makes a stop-and-pop off a screen. When he was in Seattle, I hated him because he thrived on those shots and would always make them against the Kings. I love him now though for draining those shots in Kobe's face.

Seriously ABC? Hotel California? If it wasn't bad enough that 98 Rock plays that song every day, now you have to play it. Meanwhile JVG finally gets his World Cup point out of the way. JVG just had to get that out there, didn't he? JVG: "USA is gonna beat England." THERE'S the half-assed soccer take! (RJBO)

3:30 The Celtics can build a house with the bricks they're throwing up.

2:44 Ron-Ron makes a 3 and that is immediately followed with a steal and a layup. 9-point Lakers lead. Then Gasol blocks his third shot of the night. Bizarro world right now.

56.6 11-point Lakers lead. Boston's old legs can't keep up with the Lakers fast break at this point. This could get ugly in the 2nd half.

Rondo makes a jumper right at the buzzer. The shot should count. Los Angeles 50 Boston 41 end of the 1st half. Too many fouls in the 1st quarter ruined the first part of the game. Then the Lakers fastbreak just out-ran the Celtics old legs. This could become a bloodbath in the second half.

Jump to the 2nd half thread right now.