This is where you jump to the comments and make the snarky “just show up” comments. But we’ve seen the Celtics struggle when they try that mess. This is Kobe’s big night… maybe his biggest of the season aside from his home finale… and the Celtics can spoil it by following this plan.
1: Expose Roy Hibbert
Remember when this guy was a game-changing max-salary player? Well, the game can pass you buy quickly, and Hibbert is pretty much a liability out there. I’d consider starting Kelly Olynyk and putting him in there whenever Hibbert is in. Not only does Olynyk get the added minutes that I’m pushing for, he gets Hibbert out of the lane, thus removing the only reason he’d be out there… to protect the rim. The most damning indictment on Hibbert is the opponent’s offensive rating of 115.6 when he’s on the court. It’s by far the worst on the team. This is easily the worst season of his career and the Celtics should make his life hell whenever he’s out there.
2: Attack the rim
The Lakers are allowing 61.6% shooting within 5 feet of the basket… second-worst in the league. They allow 46.6% shooting overall… good for third-worst in the league, but they’re middle-of-the-pack when it comes to defending the 3… so the Celtics should feel confident in attacking the rim. Throw those small lineups out there as often as possible, spread the floor, and attack. The Lakers are 16th in the league in personal fouls but eight-worst in opponent free throw attempts.. which shows you they’ll foul on those drives to the basket. There’s no reason to settle for jumpers tonight.
3: Let Kobe get caught up in the moment
This is a big game for Kobe Bryant. Beating Boston in Boston one… last… time… would be so sweet. He’s going to try to muster up everything he has to come up with one more big game on the parquet. So… let him try. Let him ignore everyone on offense and try to do it alone. Throw Avery Bradley at him… then mix it up and send Jae Crowder his way sometimes.. and let everyone else sit back and wait for him to throw a wild pass to bail himself out of a poor decision. Pick those off and run run run.
That’s really all it should take. It’s not a complicated game plan. If I could have a guy hyping Kobe up all day long about how huge a game this is for him, I would. Yes, he’s capable of finding some magic and hitting a few shots (he’s got a couple of 31 point games this month), but I’ll take my chances (they’re 2-7 when he takes 20 or more shots). The Celtics defense is too good for the Lakers… provided the guys show up and put in the effort.
I give Kobe the respect he deserves as a legend of the game, but man will I be pissed off if the Celtics screw this up. I want to wear this with pride tonight
Stats via NBA.com & Basketball-Reference
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