Lakers, Celtics take it to Game 7

By Jimmy Sirody | Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Here it is, another NBA Championship Odds to be decided by the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7.

Boston had Los Angeles backed up against the Pacific, but made the mistake of letting the Lakers breathe on Tuesday. The Celtics took a licking because they played like a team that thought it was safe.

Boston will have to make some major adjustments on Thursday night at Staples Center to sneak out of Los Angeles with their 18th title because the Lakers grabbed the momentum of the series back without much resistance.

Guaranteed NBA Picks

This series has been marked by amnesia from start to finish, unfolding in an entirely unpredictable fashion. So the lopsided win by the defending champs in Game 6 could be totally meaningless.

This will be the first Game 7 in the NBA Finals since San Antonio beat Detroit in 2005, only the second in the past 15 years and the 17th overall.

The Celtics are 7-0 in Game 7's in the NBA Finals, the Lakers just 3-5, including 1-4 since they moved to Los Angeles.

Los Angeles improved to 10-1 at home this postseason, with the only loss coming to Boston in Game 2 when Kobe Bryant spent a good deal of time on the pines due to foul trouble. The Celtics fell to 1-8 in road closeout games over the last three years and Doc Rivers fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 in such games in his coaching career.

In some respects, the seventh game comes down to who has a better bad right knee, Kendrick Perkins or Andrew Bynum.

Perkins had to be helped off the court with a sprained knee after he was sandwiched by Bynum and Bryant with 5:30 left in the first quarter. With Perkins out, the Lakers dominated the boards, 52-39, and drove to the basket at will.

While Boston has not announced anything regarding the status of Perkins, ESPN.com quotes an unnamed team source as saying that the injured center is "done."

Lost in that injury was a large slice of toughness, grit and a defensive presence the Celtics cannot reproduce if Perkins misses Game 7.

Bynum has been hampered throughout the finals because of torn cartilage and he had to leave Tuesday with more trouble for his right knee.

Bynum's importance decreases, however, when Pau Gasol is outstanding and Ron Artest and Lamar Odom are productive in the Lakers' frontcourt.

It will be all about rebounding in Thursday's deciding game. The Lakers led 51-31 at the half on Tuesday largely because they dominated the boards, 30-13. The winner of each game in this series is the team that has had the rebounding edge.

Scores and Lines

Boston has bounced back to cash four straight following a double-digit drubbing and the Eastern Conference champs are 7-1 ATS on the heels of a SU and spread setback. The Celtics have also ‘covered' 15 of 22 as postseason pups.

Los Angeles is 5-2 as home favorites of between five and 10 ½ points and 7-3 ATS off a SU win. However, the Lakers have floundered in seven of their last eight ATS when toiling on Thursday.

Most offshore books opened Los Angeles as seven-point favorites in Game 7, with the ‘total' set at 187.