2010 NBA Finals: Why B’s, Not C’s, Beat the Lakers

Last night’s Game Four of the NBA Finals found the Boston Celtics beating the Los Angeles Lakers to tie the series at two games apiece. On the surface, it appears that Boston’s bench was the key reason for the victory. But that is only one of a multiple of B’s that were the Lakers’ undoing. Four B’s actually sank the Lakers: Big Baby, Bench, Boards, and no Bynum.

And, the loss of Andrew Bynum ranks as the biggest B of last night’s game, but we’ll hit that one last.

Obviously, Big Baby Glen Davis was that in name only, as he was a man among boys throughout Game Four, especially in the fourth quarter. He scored in the paint literally at will and over much taller defenders. 

He took the ball hard against Pau Gasol, but what was more surprising was that Davis actually had a few blow-bys on Lamar Odom. How Odom got beat off the dribble by Big Baby is a mystery.

Isn’t Lamar the one with the superior quickness? But time and time again, Big Baby got around Odom and scored. And, scoring wasn’t the only area Davis hurt the Lakers. 

The Celtics hit the Lakers where it counts: the Boards. Remember the all-important equation. Rebounds equal Rings. The C’s had that one humming.

The Celtics pounded the Lakers on the boards last night. And, this wasn’t just Rajon Rondo getting a ton of offensive boards. The C’s got a litany of second shots and put them back, especially Big Baby.  

The boards are where the Lakers have been excelling and they must have a return to excellence in this area if they want to take this series. The Lakers simply can’t let the Celtics, especially the undersized Davis, do this kind of damage again.

The other B that nailed the Lakers was the Bench. The Celtics Bench went crazy time last night. Between Davis and Nate Robinson, Boston got a massive boost in the offensive depar...