In Game 6, the Lakers didn’t even come close to breaking a sweat.
Los Angeles trounced the Boston Celtics, 89-67, to set up an epic Game 7 battle at the Staples Center on Thursday night.
Let’s take a look at why the Lakers won tonight, using T Lamont’s “Lakers Survival Guide” as a reference.
1. Put Bryant in a Bottle - The home team desperately needed to get some of Kobe’s teammates involved early and often, and they were able to do that in grand fashion. While the Boston bench has been applauded for its game-changing effect, it was L.A.’s reserve unit that pumped up the the atmosphere in Staples tonight. Eight points and ten boards for Lamar Odom. Eight points (including two three’s) for Sasha Vujacic. Four more points for Jordan Farmar. Four big points from Shannon Brown on two breathtaking, highlight-reel dunks.
What about the Boston bench you might ask? It didn’t score its first points until about nine minutes were left in regulation.
L.A. also got a couple of good performances from its starters not wearing #24 (Bryant finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds in a little over three quarters of action). Pau Gasol was near triple-double status with a line of 17-13-9 (and 3 swats). Ron Artest had eight first quarter points and finished with 15.
2. Dictate the Tempo- The Lakers ran at every opportunity that was presented to them. By pushing the ball, it helped them improve upon their miserable Game 5 shooting (39% on Sunday). Los Angeles also extended its defensive pressure to force the Celtics to pick up their pace. In doing so, the Lakers were able to tip many passes and generally disrupt the Celtic offense. L.A.’s defensive effort was exemplary, holding the visiting team to 67 points on 34% field goal shooting. The 67 points represents the second lowest team total in NBA Finals history.
3. Take Away Pierce’s Mid-Range Game - L.A. took away just about all of Paul Pierce’s game. Pierce went 6-14 for 13 points. He had zero free throw attempts. Pierce never found a rhythm, and neither did the Celtics.
4. Start “The Goods”- Jackson still gave the starting nod to Artest at the small forward spot, and Ron-Ron played a great game. Lamar played 28 productive minutes for Los Angeles. With Andrew Bynum’s exit from the contest, Odom naturally played more of his minutes alongside Gasol in the frontcourt and his boardwork reflected that. But with his finesse game, Odom can play big in the paint, and he even contributed two rejections on the night.
Artest and Odom provided Bryant with the support that he needed to give the Lakers a Game 6 win.
Despite the lopsided outcome of Game 6, a tough, physical Game 7 will be played in two nights. And even though the game is going to be held on the floor of the stadium with some of the most boisterous fans in the NBA, I’d have to say that Game 7 is a complete wash.
Two big obstacles stand in each team’s path. And when I say big, I mean Andrew Bynum and Kendrick Perkins. Both bigs left the game with injuries, and the Finals’ participants will hold their collective breaths to see if their team can come into the classic showdown with their full roster in tact.
On one hand, you have the Lakers – who always play like world champions on their home court. On the other hand, the Celtics have demonstrated that they can play with more focus on the road than at home.
So, both teams will be in comfortable situations.
One thing is for certain: Whichever team comes out of Game 7 victoriously will have earned it.
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T Lamont is an administator and author covering all sports for Ball or Nuthin'. Send T Lamont a question or comment for future discussion (tlamont@ballornuthin.com). 
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