The Celtics are in the same position that they were in 2 years ago with a 3-2 series lead. The difference is that it took those 5 games for the starters to play in unison. With Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett leading the way, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen stepped up to finally get the Celtics a win away from Banner 18.
When the Celtics have Pierce shooting elbow jumpers and KG active in the post, they are tough to beat. Look for Rondo to turn the ball over less and to create more in the paint.
I'm extremely interested to see Kobe Bryant's demeanor tonight. He's almost in a no-win position in that if he shoots too much, the Lakers aren't doing enough around him and if he defers too often, it's 2006 Phoenix Game 7 all over again. He can't shoot the ball much better than the other night and the Celtics have made it clear that they will not allow him into the paint. That combined with the thought that it's hard to imagine Ron Artest or Lamar "I'm Sick!" Odom suddenly producing against the Boston defense makes this Laker offense easy to figure out for the Celtics.
The key tonight will be Kendrick Perkins continuing to play straight-up defense on Pau Gasol. Without Gasol's inside scoring (drawing fouls) and rebounding, Los Angeles is one-dimensional.
I also expect the bench to provide more support tonight for the Celtics than Game 5. Glen Davis will have a big impact on tonight's game.
The Celtics will win their 18th championship tonight because the Lakers have given us no reason to side with them over the past 2 games. Celtics 95-Lakers 90.
No comments:
Post a Comment