I mean he has the threat of taking him down one-on-one), and what is scary is that Rondo has played really well against the much-better defensive point guards in the Eastern Conference ( Delonte West & Chauncey Billups ). Farmar is going to have to come to the rescue, but if you have to send a backup in to quell a starter who is 4th/5th on an opposing team’s scoring chart, what does that say for your defense?What will probably happen is The Gundy Trap might be employed on occasion to keep Rondo from coordinating the offense correctly. The Celtics have gotten away from the pick & pops and pick & rolls and more towards isolation and perimeter passing, but the Lakers can utilize the trap that the Celtics have folded under so many times in these playoffs ( especially on THE ROAD).Kobe, like I said above, is going to be Kobe. They will put Allen on him, they will put Pierce on him, the will put Garnett on him, they will place ACNE magnets around the court and will slip metal nails secretly in his soles. He can be stopped, but there hasn’t been a gameplan yet that has done such a thing. Kobe’s offense will be created / stopped based on how much pressure the Celtics want to push on him or his teammates.

Either plan will be a positive disruption, since Kobe has yet to face this team and do well this year ( 15-46 from the floor, an average even Chipper Jones is passing up these days ) But with Kobe, anything can happen. He won’t have Tony Allen coming in to pester him much this series, either. The ball is in his court on the offensive end.Everyone is pointing out that the Lakers’ bench is better than the Celtics bench, and this is where I point to my laugh track, and ask those critics to push the red button.Celtics Bench vs. The Lakers BenchThe Lakers have four people coming off their bench Four Just four Not five Not a defensive energizer. Unless you count Trevor Ariza, who has barely played in the playoffs Just four guys who can shoot and make plays They make amazing plays.

Luke Walton is a budding youngster whose impact for the Lakers in the future will be prominent He makes his shots He guards well He rebounds well. His court intelligence is very good regardless of who’s around him. But he is their best player coming off the bench.The critics who harp on the inconsistencies of the Celitcs bench, albeit they are correct on that matter, do they believe that James Posey, the guy who helped Dwayne Wade & Co. win in Miami, the guy who ( I gotta find the reference, but cross-my-heart I read this somewhere ) Wade said was the MVP in the playoffs for that year, is worse than Luke Walton?And for Ronny Turiaf, no way you can say this guy somehow is going to matchup with P.J Brown or Leon Powe ( even though in the end he could since Powe has been struggling defensively). Regardless, Turiaf automatically would get blown away by Big Baby’s smile alone.The prowess of Farmar and Vujacic to hit those jumpers and make good offensive plays offset the fact that they are not good defensive players. Their transition game will quickly get stifled by the likes of Posey & PJ Brown, and the quickness of Rondo, Cassell ( haha, I take that back ), House and Allen will impede them to have any jump to an area to open up their offense.The Celtics backcourt 2nd team in defense is weak.

Cassell can run for maybe two minutes at a time, House is solid at best, and Allen is hurt. But their quickness, and the veteran knowledge of the 1st two gives them enough talent to keep opposing teams at bay.On offense, the 2nd team is really strong, and Doc Rivers keeps an offensive flow going by usually leaving Ray Allen or Pierce to help out the second squad. They have no true scorers like the Lakers, but Rivers hybridizes the 2nd team with starters so much that they are rarely lacking in the ability to make a basket. the Lakers also do the same, but at the same time they don’t use their bench as often as the Celtics do.

The fatigue factor becomes more of a problem for the Lakers, whereas the Celtics’ bench is deeper, and more players have contributed on both sides of the court throughout the regular and postseason. Although the bench has been inconsistent, it has been more apparent because they play more minutes. Let’s see the Lakers fare when the Celtics’ defense tires out their starting squad.Oh yea, I forgot! Sam Cassell comes off the bench. In the West Coast, he is sort of a big deal.The CelticsRay AllenRay Allen has been heating up, and he has gained his confidence to shoot the ball in the Detroit series. He is going to be played by Kobe Bryant, and this may be ideal for him on the offensive end since he will have him do the run-around until he finds his shot.