The Los Angeles Lakers are on the brink of losing to the Boston Celtics in the Finals for the second time in three years. With Game 5′s win, the Celtics took the series lead away from the Lakers and head back to Los Angeles with a 3-2 advantage.
Team Basketball is Key for Celtics
There will be no duels in this series because of Boston’s unwillingness to do so. The Celtics know that it was team basketball that has brought them to the Finals. They trumped Dwyane Wade in Miami, LeBron James in Cleveland and Dwight Howard in Orlando. And now they’re on the brink of taking out the biggest superstar of them all in Kobe Bryant. Watching the Celtics unselfish play makes it possible to believe that NBA all stars have no ego at all. In the three victories of the Celtics in the Finals, they were led by different players. Ray Allen exploded in Game 2, Nate Robinson and Glen “Big Baby” Davis boosted the Celtics in Game 4 and Paul Pierce trumped Ron Artest in Game 5. Every game, there’s been a different hero. How do the Lakers prepare for that? Meanwhile, Los Angeles has become very predictable. Cut off Kobe’s supporting cast and you have Kobe scoring 30 plus points in a loss.
Bryant Still Has It
Many were quick to say that Kevin Durant was a better basketball player than Kobe after the Oklahoma City Thunder gave the Los Angeles Lakers problems in the first round. But it’s been a month after that series and Durant is home eating popcorn while Bryant is in the Finals playing for his fifth ring. One thing’s for sure, Kobe is still king despite the many commercials of LeBron James Nike forces us to sit through. Bryant is still a scoring machine but he needs his supporting cast to beat the Celtics.
The 2010 Finals Are Unpredictable
Despite the Celtics moving into one game within the Larry O’Brien trophy, this year’s finals are one of the hardest to predict in recent memory. The Lakers entered as the favorite to win it all after their performance against the Suns and Jazz, but that has changed since the Celtics won Game 5. Who would’ve predicted that Doc Rivers would outcoach Phil Jackson? Or that Big Baby’s play would determine an outcome of a game?
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