It sure wasn’t pretty, but championships are earned more through sweat and willpower than anything aesthetic. When everything was said and done, the Los Angeles Lakers emerged from the Boston Celtics’ defensive furnace as champions, grinding out an 83-79 victory in the decisive seventh game of the series.
How the Lakers won was a surprise, coming back from a 13-point second half deficit to silence many of the conventional criticisms heaped on the Lakers.
The Lakers won with defense. Despite their offensive firepower, and despite their penchant of losing focus far too often, the Lakers were exceptional defensively throughout the season, especially in Game Seven.
The Lakers continued their tactics of sagging off of Rajon Rondo and essentially playing five-on-four vs. the Celtics. This neutralized most of Boston’s screen/rolls, plus the various curls for Ray Allen. Even when Rondo didn’t have the ball, Kobe Bryant simply sagged into passing lanes, disrupting Boston’s offensive rhythm.
When the Celtics did gain an edge, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Kobe Bryant provided outstanding help defense plugging up the paint, and d ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Erick Blasco
Celtics vs. Lakers 2010: Lakers Display Championship Heart
June 18th, 2010 by Erick Blasco Leave a reply »
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