Playoff Pit Stop #13: Game 1 Preview

Enough has been written here about the most important player in this series--Kobe Bryant--so it's only appropriate to focus on the other factors--and there are many.

With the Stanley Cup trophy now resting in Detroit, the NBA Finals take center stage (as they were planned to, given scheduling). Game 1 tomorrow night in Boston is the city's first NBA Finals game at TD Banknorth Garden, and definitely not the last. It will also feature the NBA Finals debut of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. After 35 combined years of NBA service, they three have finally made it to the mountain top.

As relevant as they are to the fate of this Celtics team, the play of Rajon Rondo will be perhaps the most decisive of any Celtics player. If he elevates his play and forces Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar to expend extra energy on defense, he will give the Celtics an unanticipated advantage. But if he struggles against the stronger, more physical Fisher, he puts the Celtics in the ultimate quagmire. His back-up, Sam Cassell has played poorly. Pierce, Allen, and Garnett have logged monster numbers in 20 playoff games. Someone needs to step up.

Here are the total minutes leaders for the 2008 Playoffs:

1. Kevin Garnett, Celtics 760
2. Paul Pierce, Celtics 758
3. Ray Allen, Celtics 742

The closest Laker?

9. Kobe Bryant, 607

This is the situation the Celtics planned on avoiding. Especially with their 66 wins and home-court advantage. However, the plan failed and here they are.

That's not to say that the fatigued Celtics are toast. They have a great chance in this series, especially with Kevin Garnett--who guards him?--but they desperately need their role players to step up in a way the Lakers do not.

In essence, the big pressure in this series is on the Celtics reserve players. Not the Big 3. Not Kobe. Not anybody else.

If Boston's role players kick it into another gear and support the Big 3, Boston will roll. If they--and especially Rondo--do not, the Lakers maintain a decided advantage. They have the best player in Bryant and a much more fluid flow, system, and approach: let Kobe create.

So out of all the factors in this series--the Big 3, Phil Jackson, Bryant, home-court advantage, etc.--the ones that really matter are the Celtics role players.

Watch how Doc Rivers employs them. Who does James Posey guard? How many minutes do PJ Brown and Big Baby get? Can Kenrick Perkins avoid fouling Pau Gasol? How does Rondo play?

The anwers will probably determine the 2008 NBA Champion.