LOS ANGELES, June 15, 2008 -- The Celtics are one win away. The
hunger has reached its peak and you know they were having visions of holding the Larry O'Brien trophy as they went to bed last night. But they must remain focused on the task at hand: winning Game 5 tonight at STAPLES Center (9 p.m. ET, ABC). Here are five keys to getting it done.
1. LET KOBE DO HIS THING
The first half of Game 4 was a Lakers' clinic in ball movement. Double-teams on
Kobe Bryant out top turned into brilliant high-low action from
Pau Gasol and
Lamar Odom resulting in easy buckets. Odom and Gasol were both given room to operate and combined for 25 points. Bryant went without a field goal, but his team shot 50 percent from the field and assisted on 15 of their 19 field goals.
The second half was pretty much the exact opposite. A lot of that was the Celtics turning up the defensive intensity, but they also single-covered Bryant more (using a longer and more physical Paul Pierce) and didn't give Odom and Gasol as much space.
If you let Bryant play one-on-one, he's going to score a lot of points. But as long as you make it somewhat tough on him and don't allow his teammates to get comfortable, you'll be in good shape.
2. HEALTH ISSUES ... ONCE AGAIN
Rajon Rondo played just 17 minutes on Thursday, less than five minutes in the second half, and spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench. He says he's fine, but his ankle is likely still an issue.
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