Finale of the finals : Game 7 of the playoffs - Preview

Can it get more exciting!! Its been five years since the Game 7 had to be played in 2005 and then Spurs went on to beat Pistons. One fact i would like to point out is last time when the Game 7 was played it was played in the home of the team from Western Conference and the team from the western conference won it!! It was a silly one but nevertheless if we would decide a winner from that fact it would be the Lakers!!!

Game7 NBA Final

Coming back to the topic that is the preview of the Game 7 lets look at how the teams may fare and their possible strategies.

First of all the one thing that the Celtics could not get over is loosing Perkins early in the first quarter and from then on they could not adapt specially in the second quarter where their defense was very much wayward and hence no ball rotation in their offense the only thing the Lakers could not cope up with. All this lead to a panic situation in the first half and after that it was very hard for them to come back out of it. So with Perkins out for the Game 7 there is lot of thinking to be done by the Celtics. Coming to the Lakers it was good to see Kobe Bryant get some much needed support with Gasol and Artest living up to the expectation with their points and also with the rebounds the things are getting better for the Lakers. With Bryant and Odom also helping out in the rebounds it gave them a lot of breathing space. Another advantage is that they preserved Bynum very well and he would be fit properly in this match and hence reinforcing their starting line up. The most important point for the Lakers will be that finally their bench fired up with Vujacic and Odom sharing 17 points between them.

With all the points pointing towards a comfortable Lakers win the Celtics have to bounce back strongly and in this playoffs they have shown what they can do. With 1-2 down against the Cavaliers who had the best record this season and after being trounced with 29 points in Game 3 they came back strongly in Game 4 to win by 10 points and oust them in Game 6. Same was the case in the conference finals where after leading the Magic 3-0 when the magic bounced back with two back to back wins and were thinking to upset the Celtics but then the Celtics showed them who the boss was and closed them back in Game 6.

But after a dismal show in Game 6 the C’s would have to rethink their game plan once again. With nothing going their way in Game 6 even the semi dunked balls coming out it was very frustrating for the C’s. They had funny turnovers, very poor rebounding, ball slipping out of their hands, bad luck at the ring and also the board shots. Davis who was a sensation till Game 4 could show his magic once again while the whole of Boston’s bench disappointed. With Perkins out of Game 7 they have to rotate Wallace, Garnett and Davis properly and try to use less of Scalabrine and Williams but then the foul trouble question also comes in. They have been very poor at it and still have not overcome it. If there is a case of foul trouble then it will spell Doom for the Boston Celtics. They also will not have the backing of the crowd at the Staples Center with the whole crowd urging for the Lakers to get the Celtics. Again the ball rotation will be important very much, it has helped them win a matches this playoffs and Lakers are not comfortable with it. So taking care of the above issues and also the major ones including the shooting, rebounding, turnovers etc then they will stand a chance. We have seen that rebounding has won matches in this series and it will continue to win Game 7. With Kobe Bryant on the other side there can be no room for error for the Celtics who would also be liking their bench to fire once again.

Meanwhile the Lakers do not have much problems. All they have to do is keep their calm, make space for Kobe and let him shoot. They have to keep their good work near the board going on by collecting those rebounds perfectly and getting in the shots off the glass well. They again should not panic against the rotation of the Celtics and have to push in regularly and keep on drawing the fouls. If they succeed in drawing the fouls all they need to do is to sit back and watch the match as it unfolds slowly in the direction of the Lakers. And then there is always the shooting star Kobe Bryant who will be there to help them out in the dying seconds. So all and all they have to pump themselves up and re-energize themselves and get ready for one heck of a match. With the Staples Center behind them there will be no stopping for them!!

So I go for a Lakers victory!!

Whoever be the winners we will have one hell of a match to enjoy with the players playing all out there is no lacking for entertainment. So gear up for the electrifying atmosphere at the Staples Center!!