One Game Will Decide It All: Lakers Run Away From Celtics To Set Up Game 7 Showdown

There were a lot of reasons for the Celtics’ failure to even compete in Game 6, but none were bigger than Rajon Rondo’s inactivity. The Lakers did a great job neutralizing his strengths, to be sure, but Rondo himself was also very disengaged. Naturally, the Celtics, who rely so heavily on Rondo’s contributions, followed suit.

This makes Rondo the key to Game 7 for the Celtics. He has to play significantly better for the Celtics to have any chance to pull off the upset. How does he do that? NBA Playbook has some answers:

Over at SB Nation’s Lakers blog, Silver Screen and Roll, the spirits are understandably high after Tuesday’s night blowout victory. The Lakers were fantastic on offense, but even more so, their defense is what won it for them. Again, we go to Silver Screen’s Dexter Fishmore:

Now, I don’t mean to rain on L.A.‘s parade here, but let’s not go too crazy.

After the hometown Lakers put in one of the best defensive performances in NBA Finals history, Silver Screen and Roll, SB Nation’s Lakers blog, points out that the defending champs are capable of doing it again in Game 7.

Kobe Bryant made sure of it, with plenty of help from the rest of the revitalized Los Angeles Lakers.

Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 17 points and 13 rebounds, and the Lakers emphatically extended the NBA Finals to a decisive seventh game with a 89-67 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 on Tuesday night.

Greetings, fellow NBA fans. I’ll be providing live updates and snarky commentary on Game 6 of the NBA Finals tonight live from my home in [town redacted] Maryland. Currently, Christina Aguilera is signing the national anthem on my TV, and Albert Haynesworth has just demanded a trade. Both of these things are bad news for me right now. The former is bad news because it’s Christina Aguilera. The latter is bad news because I also am the editor of SB Nation DC.

Luckily, both situations are under control and we can get this live-blog going. Andrew already previewed this baby, and I already talked enough about this series here. I’m just ready for some basketball. BASKETBALL!

Coming into the NBA Finals, we knew that the Celtics had to win one of the first two games in Los Angeles, and two of the three home games in Boston. They managed to do both.

Every step of the way, we’ve expected L.A. to take control of the series. First in Game 2, two Sundays ago, and then in Game 4 this past Thursday, and even in Game 5, this past Sunday. Now it’s Tuesday, and it’s the Lakers who have to respond.