The Will of the Big Four II

During last night's game you could just tell that when his team was down, Kobe Bryant was going to try and take over the game. This played right into the Celtics hands, as their team basketball mentality won them another crucial game. The Boston Celtics are built to defeat one man teams and when Bryant "takes over" this is what the Lakers become, a one man team. The first series, many moons ago, against Miami was the first practice test on a one man show. Then Lebron James, perhaps the current greatest one man team, was a true test for this Boston unit. This being said, when Bryant went on a torrid scoring streak you had to know it was a blessing in disguise for the Celtics.

The Celtics are such a deep and multi faceted team that shares the basketball, plays defense, executes under pressure, operates with great basketball IQ, and are well coached. When you are an opposing team you need to understand this, and if you have any hope of winning you'll need to work together. When Kobe took the game into his own hands the Lakers had already lost the game. A one man focused approach against the Boston Celtics will never win you a playoff series, let alone a Game 5 in which the Big Four combined for 75 points.

This team has come too far to turn back now, they are going to win the Finals. I loved the game plan of getting Ray Allen the ball closer to the hoop and letting him regain some confidence. With his struggles from three point range why not try for close range shots? Also, the perfect balance from all the Big Four was amazing to see, as the Lakers had no real chance to win this game. When even two members of the Big Four are playing well it is tough to beat them, let alone four of four. In fact, if it wasn't for seven free throw attempts in a row given to the Lakers, they never would have been close.

If you didn't trust in the Will of the Big Four when I posted about it in the Orlando series, then surely you must now. This Boston Celtic team has come too far to turn back now and the Big Four's Will has grown too strong. They are built to dismantle the Lakers lack of depth on the bench and tendency to become a one man team. If the Lakers were to win this series it would be by feeding Pau Gasol down low and getting Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum similarly close shots. This would allow Kobe, Artest (from the corners in L.A.) Walton, and LA's second best shooter,Vujacic open shots. The Lakers advantage in this series is their size and without exploiting this chance inside the paint, they'll lose.

The Big Four and co. will not let this happen and the Lakers will overly rely on shooting instead of team play. Pierce, Rondo, Allen, and Garnett coupled with the depth of the bench gives this Boston team the edge.


...Photos from this blog retrieved at SI.COM...