108-102 doesn't begin to tell the story

I don't care that the Celtics only beat the Lakers by six points in game two of the NBA Finals. I don't care that Los Angeles made a nice comeback at the end when Doc Rivers had his reserves on the floor and Boston had gotten complacent. The fact is, the Celtics handed the Lakers a good old-fashioned thrashing last night, dominating them in nearly every facet of the game.

As I have said over and over again, Boston is simply too physical for Los Angeles. The Celtics' bigs trumped L.A.'s all night, including Leon Powe, who finished with 21 points off 6-of-7 shooting while hitting on 9-of-13 free throws in 15 minutes. That's right; 21 points and 13 free throw attempts in 15 minutes. Where in the world was that Laker defense?

One play in the fourth quarter pretty much encapsulated Los Angeles' defensive effort last night. It was when Powe picked up a loose ball and sped down the court past several Laker defenders for a vicious tomahawk slam that prompted the crowd at TD Banknorth Garden to chant his name. No, but seriously; he literally ran right by the entire Laker team without being even the slightest bit contested. Sorry Laker fans, but this is a fact: the Los Angeles Lakers are soft.

So soft that Boston attempted 28 more free throws than them (38 to 10, and don't pin that on the refs because Los Angeles simply wasn't being aggressive at all). So soft that Powe, who, again, played only 15 minutes in game two and played in only 56 games during the regular season, out-shot the entire Laker team from the charity stripe by three.

Another big problem for Los Angeles is that Rajon Rondo has made Derek Fisher look old this series...very old. The 22-year old Rondo racked up 16 assists last night compared to only two turnovers and simply wore Fisher down by getting out on the break and darting down the court to receive outlet passes to start them. Where was Fisher? Eating Rondo's dust.

And, once again, Paul Pierce out-shined Kobe Bryant (a joke of an MVP), connecting on all four of his three-point attempts and finishing with 28 points and eight assists. Sure, Bryant also scored 30 and dished out eight dimes, but most of his points came in garbage time and when Boston had all of its bench players on the floor during the rout. Not only that, but if you were watching the game and didn't see either players' stat-lines at the end, you would think Pierce out-scored Bryant by 20. He just meant that much more to his team and has been the clear-cut MVP of the Finals so far.

Of course, Phil Jackson has reverted to blaming the officials for the Lakers' ineptness to get to the free throw line or figure out the Celtics, and that is ridiculous. Anyone outside of California (and even they should see it) knows that Los Angeles has simply been out-worked, out-hustled, out-smarted, and out-played by Boston. The Celtics have taken advantage of their opponent's lack of physicality, and that is the main reason why they are up 2-0 heading to the Staples Center.

Boston better take one last, long look at TD Banknorth Garden before departing for Los Angeles, because I don't even think the Celtics are going to have to take the trip back there later in the series. Boston will be crowned the 2007-08 NBA champions on the Lakers' home floor.