It’s just like any playoff series Game 2. Both teams have been in them a hundred times.
Except losing this one cripples your chances for winning the series. No pressure.
Even with LA completely dominating Game 1, and prompting a ton of media to abandon the good ship Boston and run towards the “S.S. Lakers In Five” (yes, they’re running on water in this metaphor, roll with it), there’s still a lot for both teams in this game.
A Boston win pulls a gutwrench stop on the momentum, leading to the Celtics having a chance to get a 3-1 series lead with a fifth game in Boston. A Lakers win is going to set off panic alarms in Beantown. So what adjustments need to be made? Here are three big ones, before we get more specific as the day goes on.
1. Time to double Gasol: Yeah, I know, doubling Pau Gasol is suicide. Doing so opens up everything on that Laker offensive juggernaut and creates more space for You Know Who. But not specifically targeting Gasol is just the hanging alternative to the doubling form of drowning. Kevin Garnett was swallowed alive in Game 1,and if he can’t commit, the Celtics need to resolve to a quick double to force the ball from his hands. Open Derek Fisher and Ron Artest threes are things you can live with. Gasol domination is not.
2. Maintain pressure on Ray Allen: The Lakers were blessed in Game 1 that Ray Allen found himself in foul trouble for the majority of the game. Without that tweak, there would have been more options for the rest of the team. Slicing that leg off the Celtics offense is like taking a three legged table and sawing it in half. You don’t even need to worry about the legs because the table is in freaking half. If the calls don’t get him pined, though, the Lakers need to be ready to continue challenging him on the perimeter, and shutting off those quick shot opportunities. They can’t afford to have Ray Allen show up as Jesus Shuttlesworth.
3. Sustain momentum: Whichever team gets it needs to ride it. The Lakers are reticent to call time during runs because.. well, Phil Jackson rolls that way. The Celtics have been hesitant to do so because there’s only so much you can stop the bleeding before you have to hope it clots itself. The Lakers blew the doors off the hinges in the third quarter against the C’s. Similarly, whichever team is going to take Game 2 is going to ride a surge of momentum that may be enough to bury the opponent. Neither of these teams is likely to make a big comeback against the defenses they’re facing.