Now I say preview, but what I mean is my predictions on how the C’s should/could adjust the game around Rondo’s injury. I have no idea if the Lakers are even thinking of ways to improve other than to just allow Kobe to go nuts, and hope someone, like Vujacic, can step it up.
My main crazy idea is to start Pierce, Allen, KG, Perkins, and Powe. Use the toughness on D, and ridiculous edge on the boards to take the crowd out of the game early, and cause havoc in the paint on almost every offensive possession the C’s have. The Lakers could take advantage of this by getting good looks at 3’s from Vujacic and Radmanovich, but if they start hitting them Posey/House are available on the bunch to quickly shut that down. Now this is completely reliant on Rondo’s ability to play at his best. Rondo without his quickness could be a liability for the C’s especially if they put Kobe on him again. If that’s the case the Celtics best ball handler is Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, with three bigs on the floor the trap should not be an issue…3 quick passes and Powe has a dunk and Odom has his third personal foul.
I doubt Doc would put these five on the floor at once, but I believe attacking the Lakers weakness (toughnes/boards) the Celtics could easily steal one on the road. What we’re much more likely to see is random substitutions of all three “PG’s”, Rondo/House/Cassel (Rondo is the only true PG on the team). While each player is a gamer and possesses a unique aspect in their game, they can’t give the Celtics a flow on offense, because each one plays such a dissimilar game from the other! Rondo looks to pass and create off the dribble, House just tries to get the ball across mid court, dish it off to someone else, and get open for a three, Cassell does whatever thought happens to pop into his mind at the moment. Shouldn’t PG’s compliment each other to run the same offense? Basically if Rondo isn’t able to play his game why settle for a House/Cassell tandem eating up the minutes when they aren’t even true PG’s. I mean with my lineup foul trouble would be sure to hit the C’s sooner rather then later, and that’s when Doc could play a more conventional rotation. Until then why not aggressively dominate the boards and try to pound the Lakers into submission?
This game is a true wild card, and I wouldn’t bet against either team tonight. Will Kobe go off for 40+, will KG put up a 20-20, who will be the hero of the bench? I’m just hoping for a well officiated game, because I have Friday off and the beer will be flowing, but I’d prefer to be a happy drunk tonight.
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