Oh my, how one game changes the outlook of things! If you told me the Lakers were up by 20 in the 3rd quarter, then I would have assumed the series was tied up. But it’s not. It’s 3-1 in favor of the Celtics.

I think the biggest changes, in comparison to Game 3, were

1. Kobe got his teammates involved
2. The Celtics did not quit at any point in the game, unlike in the final seconds of Game 3
3. Doc Rivers took finally took the risk, which analysts, during Game 3, thought would pay off

There weren’t many other differences. Celtics D is still good, Lakers D is still not. Pierce is still the best Celtic. Kobe still isn’t MJ. Gasol is still a poor defender who provides no interior presence. Powe still isn’t going to score 20 pts every game and neither will Sasha.

First, Kobe needed to get his teammates involved and he did. It payed dividends big time in the first half. After that, no one really knows what happened (choke choke). It seemed his teammates disappeared in the second half (i.e. Odom), as though they thought they put up a big enough lead for Kobe to protect. Don’t get me wrong, Kobe deserves some of the blame as does Phil Jackson. In the final moments, how does Phil Jackson not set up numerous screens to ensure Kobe gets the ball in-bounded to him? At the same time, if that was the play, Kobe should have demanded Phil design a better play to get him the in-bound pass.

Second, I don’t know what Doc Rivers said to his team, but there wasn’t one second of quit in his team. They played hard on both ends of the floor for 48-minutes.

Last, if the game had been close, Rivers might not have experimented with the ‘small ball’ lineup, which consisted of the Big 3 plus House and Posey to spread the floor and limit the double teams on his stars. However, he did take the gamble and it paid off. Why Phil Jackson didn’t make adjustments after the lead was cut to 10, then 5 then to nothing, is a mystery. Perhaps he did and his team didn’t execute, or they just laid down like doormats.

Well the Lakers aren’t done yet and the series could still go 7 games, but it’s hard to fathom the Celtics losing two at home. Somewhere, Shaq is smiling.

sportsnut