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.
NBA Finals, Game 6: For Kobe And The Lakers, The Moment Of Truth Has Arrived
Against all odds, the Celtics have responded again and again. Midway through Game 4, Michael Wilbon said at halftime, "We're dangerously close to that point where both teams know who the better team is." And we were. By that point, the Lakers just looked superior.
Longer, more athletic, and with the best two players in the series, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant. The Celtics weren't out of it by any means, but they were "dangerously close."
Since then? Not much has changed. The Lakers are longer, more athletic, and with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, they've still got arguably the two greatest talents in the series. But the Celtics just keep winning. Despite their shortcomings, Boston has kept the pressure on with absurdly good defense, and just enough offense to get themselves over the hump in each of their wins, bringing themselves within one win of an NBA Title against the more talented, more athletic favorites from the West Coast. It's been unreal.
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.
For the first time all series, there’s real doubt about who the better team is.
With that, a few stories to keep an eye for tonight’s game...
Pau Gasol: Soft?
The first two games of this series were GREAT for all those basketball writers that scoff at anyone with the temerity to call Pau Gasol “soft.” If Gasol is soft, say his advocates, who is “hard”? What does it even mean if a player’s soft? It’s been a label that’s followed Gasol throughout his career, and it’s probably a little unfair.
What does soft mean, though? Err... Here. In my Finals Preview, I looked at the top five players in this series, and laid out the possibilities for Pau:
If he plays to his potential, he’s probably number two. If he plays close to his potential, he’s number three. If either of those things happen, the Lakers win this series going away. More likely? Pau gets beat up, defers to Kobe, and becomes a bit player in crunch time. If that happens, he’s fifth on this list. For now, he’s fourth based on talent alone.
In Boston, he went 16-36, repeatedly got knocked around by Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, and Big Baby Davis, and more generally, just looked like an above-average sidekick to Kobe. For someone as talented as Pau, that’s soft. And it may be how we remember Gasol, too, unless things change over the rest of the series.
Whether you credit Boston’s defense, call Pau soft, or blame Kobe for dominating the ball, there’s no getting around Pau’s regression during this series, and the Lakers’ simultaneous collapse. So that’s question number one: Can Pau Gasol answer his critics and fight back in Games 6 and 7?
It’s not a direct corollary to “Can L.A. win the 2010 championship?” but it’s... Well, “dangerously close,” as Michael Wilbon might say.
Can The Celtics Recover In Time To Make Game 6 Competitive?
Three things that beg consideration in advance of Game 6...
- The Celtics are old.
- The Celtics have been fighting nagging injuries throughout the playoffs.
- The Celtics have a tendency to get complacent.
After a cross-country flight on Monday, on just a day’s rest, and comfortable in knowing they’ve got two shots to beat L.A. this week, it’s not inconceivable to think the Celtics could come out flat tonight, get down by double digits early, and pack things in by the middle of the third quarter.
But... One More Win. One More Win. One More Win.
Ordinarily, this would be a textbook, “Celtics mail it in”-game, but this Boston team has been living for this opportunity all year. This is WHY they mailed in those other games. Because it was worth it to save the energy, and bide their time until they had a shot at the NBA Title. Now they do.
They can taste it now... One more win, and they rest all summer. It’s probably a little inconsistent with their track record, but it’s impossible to imagine the Celtics not killing themselves to win Game 6.
The Stakes For The Lakers
We know all of this intuitively, but anything less than a championship would be a pretty profound disappointment for L.A. fans and the team, itself. When SB Nation’s Lakers blog, Silver Screen and Roll, says it out loud, you get a sense for just how much the Lakers have working in their favor:
This Lakers team was built to win a championship now. It has the highest payroll in the league. It features Kobe Bryant, a hoops immortal, at the height of his powers. Pau Gasol has the talent of an All-World baller and the lavish salary to match. Andrew Bynum is a skilled and burly seven-footer that any team would love to have. So loaded is the roster that Lamar Odom and Ron Artest, who would be featured offensive options on any number of squads, are role players. When you step back and take it all in, it really is an astonishing pile of talent. And that's before you even get to the coach, he of the 10 rings and 12 milly in annual compensayshe.
Why is why anything short of a repeat championship will be difficult to stomach.
Do you think that team’s feeling any pressure tonight?
Can Kevin Garnett Keep Himself From Self-Combusting?
Prior to Game 6, Kevin Garnett had this to say about the anticipated atmosphere:
And with the severity of the game, it’s all out on both ends, for both teams. This will probably be the hardest game of the season, if not of the series, if not of everybody’s career, this game coming up.
We joke a lot about Kevin Garnett’s psychotic intensity, but jokes aside, he often comes into games just a little too fired up. He literally works himself into such a frenzy that he exhausts himself. And with Garnett’s performance on offense and defense closely intermingled with Pau Gasol’s performance—and the fate of the Lakers—it’s key for him to get off to a good start in Game 6.
It’s great that he thinks tonight is the biggest game of everybody’s career, but maybe we should temper the expectations. If he can just focus on improving on his first two names in L.A.—“not looking like a dead guy” would be a good start—that’s most important. Even as Garnett’s taken on a supporting role for Boston, he’s still as crucial to their success as he was in 2008...
...Hopefully he can avoid giving himself a heart attack during warmups.
This Will Be About Kobe Bryant
On paper, Kobe’s been as brilliant as ever this series. But watching the games, it’s hard not to look there and see a player that’s incredibly frustrated. By his teammates, by the Celtics defense, and, if the Lakers lose tonight, by living the failure associated with losing this series. Whether he scores 21 straight third quarter points doesn’t matter to Kobe, and it won’t matter to those assessing his legacy after tonight’s game.
If he doesn’t win, none of it matters.
That’s the universe that Kobe Bryant currently occupies. His talent, his physical and mental toughness, his desire to win—it’s all beyond reproach. We know he’s historically great. The only way for him to become greater is to win more championships.
Talking about Kobe—his legacy and his performance this series—probably demands more space than a little blurb in this preview, but for now, let’s agree that a significant storyline from tonight’s game will be Kobe Bryant, and how he responds with his team facing elimination. Win or lose, regardless of what Pau does or what the Celtics do, this will be about Kobe and his legacy as a great basketball player. That’s Kobe’s universe now.
He’s good enough so that we watch his every move, and hang on every shot, make or miss, and talk about every game within a much broader historical framework that defies any sense of perspective.
The Celtics have been facing do-or-die scenarios over and over through this series, but now it’s time for Kobe’s moment of truth. The spotlight. We’re all watching him, just like we watched Jordan. He’s here now. This is what he’s courted for his entire career. How will he respond?
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