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The
Lakers are trying to become the first team to win the
last two games on the road in the National Basketball
Association (NBA) Finals since the league installed a
2-3-2 format in 1985.
A challenge? Definitely. Impossible? Not at all.
This is
definitely the biggest test of Phil Jackson’s coaching
career, but it’s not an unfamiliar one. Just look back
at Jackson’s previous championship teams. Their title
runs were loaded with pressure postseason road
victories.
His
Chicago teams earned key wins at New York, Detroit and
Utah en route to six NBA titles, and his Lakers won big
games at
Portland,
Sacramento, Indiana and Philadelphia in their three
championship runs.
These
Lakers will have to win back-to-back at TD Banknorth
Garden, starting with Game Six Tuesday. But here’s a
rough blueprint on how they could do it:
Start
strong—The
Lakers won playoff games at Denver, Utah and San Antonio
by getting an early lead and making the home team play
catch-up. That has to happen again against the Celtics.
And this
is where Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanovic needs to
step up and earn his paycheck.
Boston
will be trying to keep Kobe Bryant from taking over
early. The key for the Lakers will be ball movement. If
they are patient and willing to make the extra pass from
one side of the court to the other, the Celtics’ defense
will be vulnerable to Radmanovic’s long-range shooting.
But the streak shooter will have to make every shot
count.
Don’t
get Pierced—If
there were any questions about the heart and skills of
Boston’s
Paul Pierce, they’ve been answered in the Finals. Pierce
has dominated the Lakers, who have tried at least five
defenders against him with limited success.
By now,
the Lakers should know that even though Pierce is
right-handed, he loves to go left on quick drives to the
basket. Somehow, that part of the scouting report has
been lost on Radmanovic, Luke Walton, Trevor Ariza,
Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom and even Bryant.
Whoever
defends Pierce in Game Six has to be determined to play
straight up and not cheat over to his right hand. That
means the Lakers have to move their feet on the
perimeter and stop reaching for steals.
A tough
job, for sure, but it’s something the Lakers must do to
force Pierce to shoot from the perimeter early in the
game. The Lakers simply cannot let Pierce find his
rhythm with drives to the basket.
Have a
backup plan—The
Celtics’ PJ Brown, James Posey, Leon Powe and Eddie
House have been difference makers in the series,
outplaying Lakers reserves mainly through consistent
determination.
The
Lakers’ bench has to win this battle in Game Six.
Sasha
Vujacic, Jordan Farmar, Walton and Ariza have had their
moments in the Finals, but their overall contributions
have been limited. Jackson even dusted off seldom-used
Chris Mihm in place of backup big man Ronny Turiaf for a
couple of minutes in Game Five.
Lakers
reserves need to play smart and remember not to mistake
activity for production—a key point specifically for
Vujacic and Walton, who have occasionally hurt the
Lakers with ill-advised moves on both ends of the court.
Summary—The
Celtics have proved that they can play shut-down
defense, but the Lakers’ offense has still made several
impressive runs during the series. As usual, the key is
Bryant, who has averaged a team-high 26.4 points and
shot 42.2 percent, but also has 19 turnovers.
The
turnovers should be a reminder to him that it’s better
that he complete passes within the triangle offense
rather than freelance on his own. If Bryant picks his
spots and gets balanced contributions from his
teammates, expect the Lakers to push the Finals to seven
games. |
