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Throughout the playoffs, to get a little insight into playoff opponents for the Lakers, we’ve hit up bloggers who have spent the season writing about the team. For the Finals, we talked to Jim at Green Bandwagon to get some insight into the Celtics, specifically three ways to beat them, and three ways to get beat. If the Lakers win, do we get a ring for providing the insight?

Three Ways to Beat the Celtics

1. Keep Rajon Rondo out of the lane and force him to shoot jumpers – It is no secret at this point that the Celtics are a jump shooting team. Only three guys on the roster consistently take it to the hoop. Garnett could but chooses not to, which is a touchy issue. Believe me. So that leaves Boston with Tony Allen (doubtful for the series and not playing much in Doc Rivers’ rotation anyway), Paul Pierce and Rondo. And while Rondo’s jump shot has come a long way since he came out of Kentucky, he gets the Celtics going by getting into the paint, finishing or finding open teammates. Furthermore, the Pistons bigs did a great job bothering Rondo’s shots and forcing him into a woeful shooting percentag (34.9%). Odom, Gasol and company will have to bother Rondo with their length and height.

2. Get the starters in foul trouble– Not to be Captain Obvious here, as any team can struggle if its starters get into serious trouble with personals. But at this point the Celtics are susceptible because outside of P.J. Brown and James Posey, Boston’s bench players have logged sporadic, inconsistent minutes during the playoffs. That’s a bad combination. In fact Rondo and Ray Allen are the only guards that get regular burn. Interestingly, though, it’s not a good idea to foul Brown. Doing so might lead to Doc Rivers lifting Leon Powe’s exile to the bench, which would be good for the Celtics.

3. Pass, pass, pass– I don’t want to dive into the Kobe as a selfish scorer vs. Kobe as a good teammate discussion that has been going on for the last three seasons. The fact remains that Joe Johnson, LeBron James, and Rip Hamilton have at different points this postseason alternated between scoring binges and offensive struggles against Boston. Two of those gentlemen are All Star shooting guards that are simply not on Kobe’s level. For all the talk about Odom’s versatility, Gasol’s fit in the triangle/ability to run the floor, and the role players’ (Radmanovic, Farmar, Fisher, Walton, Vujacic, Turiaf) contributions, Kobe looms large. Still, now is the worst possible time to abandon the triangle. Even the passing challenged Atlanta Hawks disrupted the Celtics rotations at points. One has to assume the Lakers could do the same. I’ll be ecstatic if Los Angeles dusts off Cleveland’s offensive playbook. Scratch that. Offensive play.

Three Ways to Lose to the Celtics

1. Let Paul Pierce Explode on Offense– Of all the story lines and subplots heading into Thursday night, I’m most intrigued to see how the Lakers match up defensively in general and against Paul Pierce in particular. If the Truth gets rolling – finishes at the hoop, gets to the line, makes plays for his teammates, hits fall aways, knocks down foul line extended jumpers, and gets in a rhythm from deep – he becomes a nightmare to defend. Furthermore, given the struggles of Boston’s back up point guards, Pierce can take the pressure off his teammates when the offense runs through him. And I’d love to see Pierce and KG play a two-man game. I’d also be surprised if whoever guards Rajon Rondo does not take runs at Pierce whenever he gets the ball.

2. Benches play to a draw– Right off the bat Farmar makes me nervous as young aggressive back up point guards create match up problems for Sam Cassell and Eddie House. On top of that the Celtics may or may not use their energy guy (Leon Powe). And to be honest it is unrealistic at this point to expect Boston’s bench to open up a lead. However, if the second unit can keep it close I’ll feel great about Boston’s chances.

3. Get the best out of Kendrick Perkins– I’m confident that KG and Pierce will play well and hopeful that Ray Allen will. But someone has to step up from the Rondo, Perkins, Posey, Brown group. It could be Perkins’ time. He averaged 14 points and eight rebounds in Boston’s two games against Los Angeles this season and was instrumental in bouncing Detroit. More importantly when Boston’s defense is at its best Perkins is right in the thick of it, protecting the paint, rotating effectively and even defending the pick and roll. Finally, Perkins does have some Rasheed Wallace tendencies (technical foul prone) and hopefully he’ll keep his emotions in check. As a side note he’s a card-carrying member of the “Never Fouled Anyone” club.

Thanks again to Jim at Green Bandwagon for his help. For SHLA’s response, click here.

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