Finally, Kobe got some help from his teammates in this rough NBA finals series for the Lakers. Last night, five Lakers were in double figures with Odom contributing with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks and Gasol finally playing somewhat aggressive with 19 points and 13 boards, and 6 assists. This is what the Lakers need to do to win, play as a team because depending on Bryant is not going to do it. The Celtics are too good... defensively they play lock down D with veterans like Posey and Brown, offensively they are balanced with a warehouse of three point shooters, and they definitely have the intensity for a whole team in just Pierce and Garnett.
The Lakers won last night, but it was not convincing at all. There are a myriad of problems for the Lakers as they are very inconsistent with stretches in which they look unbeatable to glimpses of a lackadaisical squad lacking mental toughness. Defensively, there are too many mismatches as they can't put Kobe on Pierce or else he will get in foul trouble and Garnett is just too talented for Gasol. The only way Gasol can survive in this series is by getting Garnett into foul trouble on the offensive end.
I made a post at the beginning about my favorite in the NBA Finals (Lakers in 6) and I was wrong. However, not all my predictions were that bad, I had Ray Allen being an X Factor in the series because of match up problems and that has been the case unlike the Celtics-Pistons series. Allen was the best player in Game 1 and 2 and made a crucial play in Game 4 as he drove past Vujacic and used his body to block off Gasol to make a lay up that sealed the victory. Game 5 was a different story, Allen scored with 16 points but they did not come easy as he shot 4 for 13 with two turnovers. If the Lakers want to come back in the series they need to work on checking Allen.
Well, it's Showtime now with the perfect stage for the Big Three to make history and get their first championship rings at home in Boston. However, it is also the perfect state for KB24 to make history and stage the only comeback in NBA Finals history by winning three straight. Bryant struggled in Game 5 as he was not able to score at will against the smothering defense of the Celtics, but he never gave up on D with a key steal that lead to an emphatic dunk to seal the game. I'm guessing it will probably be over in Game 6, but you never know...
EDIT:
Lol I had to add this gif after seeing it on Elitaste.com. Shout out to Weiss.
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