Lakers-Celtics Game 2 Preview

The Lakers will look to continue their success and go up 2-0 in the NBA Finals. Meanwhile Game 2 is Boston's last chance to steal a game in LA and take homecourt advantage. After a 13 point loss, they have multiple things to improve upon if they want to go back to Boston tied at 1-1.  Look for the Celtics to make some changes to try to get back into the series.

Changes for the Celtics

Keep Ray Allen on the floor

Why?

They need Ray on offense because he creates problems for LA when he comes off of screens. Since Rondo is unable to penetrate, Ray creates shots for himself and teammates on curl screens into the key. Paul Pierce also creates but mostly from the high post.

What happened?

Ray was in foul trouble because he picked up fouls guarding Kobe. If Kobe's going to have a big game then that's fine; but Ray can't also get into foul trouble.

Lisa Blumenfeld / Getty Images

Solution?

Ray needs to play less aggressively on Kobe since the help defense is coming. Doc Rivers must also find ways to trap Kobe so that he's not attacking Ray so much.

Defending Kobe

What happened?

In Game 1 Kobe had 30 points and was able to score or create at will. Too often he came around screens and was wide open. In the third quarter the Celtics did a better job of trapping Kobe. This forced Kobe into a couple of turnovers and unsuccessful drives into the Celtics' help defense.

Solutions

1) Make Kobe dribble further out in the perimeter where his options are more limited. Perkins needs to come out on Kobe until a guard rotates back. Or he can double Kobe. Sometimes Kobe will try to drive and score over big men helping in the key. If you're the Celtics, you'll take your chances with this rather than having Kobe make easy passes that lead to open shots. Also, when the Lakers watch Kobe drive into multiple defenders they lose rhythm and have a tendency to make mistakes.

2) If you're going to double Kobe you might as well try putting Rondo on Kobe. Rondo will do a decent job of harassing Kobe around the perimeter and also rotating if he loses Kobe on screens. The Lakers will probably counter by putting Kobe in the post. This works in the Celtics' favor since they can get the ball out of Kobe's hands by sending the double team.

Attacking LA

The Celtics could run more screen-rolls that involve Pierce and Garnett or Allen and Garnett. Either of these options will create a mismatch that the Celtics can exploit. In Game 1, the Celtics ran mostly post plays. This works in the Lakers' favor since they have the length of Gasol and Bynum to make things difficult for anyone in the post. The Celtics can counter this by forcing Bynum and Gasol away from the hoop where they have to run around and find a guy to defend.

Mix it up!

Nate Robinson poses problems since he can hit the outside shot. On screen-rolls he has multiple options that will break down LA's defense: shoot the three-pointer, drive into the paint, or pass to an open teammate. The Lakers will be in trouble if Bynum or Gasol has to come out and cover Nate on a high screen.

Changes for the Lakers

Defending curl screens
The Lakers did a poor job of defending Ray Allen when he comes around curl screens from the baseline.

Solution
The Lakers can counter this by preventing Ray from getting the ball. Ray is curling on one side of the floor and the pass is coming from the top of the key or three-point line. If the guard defending the passer knows which side Ray is on, he can step to that side at an angle to prevent an easy pass to Ray. Yes, the defender gives up the lane but the Celtics might not be able to exploit this. This video (at 1:25) shows what happened in the third quarter-

Derek Fisher could step to his right at an angle if he knows that Ray is curling off a screen on that side of the floor. This would open the lane to Nate Robinson but the help defense (Shannon Brown and Gasol) may prevent Robinson from scoring or creating a shot. Brown could leave Rondo out on the perimeter to guard Robinson.

The same exact situation occurs at 1:39. This time Rondo is entering the pass so Brown has two options that involve leaving Rondo open. He can cut the pass off if he knows where Allen is or he can drop towards the free-throw line to double Ray Allen.

Pau isn't getting good post position
Pau allows defenders to push him too far from the high or low post. In the low post this is a problem because his post game is best at 8-10 feet from the hoop. At 10+ feet from the hoop he has to dribble towards the hoop (which invites help defenders) or is limited to face-up jumpers. His deadly right and left jump hooks are not an option that far from the hoop. At 1:58 in the video you can see one instance of this:

Solution

When posting Pau allows defenders to easily push him in his back and away from the hoop. To counter, Pau needs to find ways to prevent defenders from having an angle to simply push him. The easiest solutions is to face his defender for longer periods of time until the ball gets to him.