Intensity. Fire. Desperation. These are the building blocks of an NBA Game 4.
Well, unless the seven foot All-Star for one team is out for the rest of the playoffs with a hairline foot fracture.
Still, the Rockets and Lakers will still play Game 4 in Houston today, and it's still an opportunity to size up the Lakers in these playoffs. Not to mention the main event, as Orlando and Boston touch gloves and prepare for a must-win for the Boston Celtics. And in case you haven't been paying attention, the Celtics do pretty well in must-win situations.
So what should you be on the watch for today? We've got you covered.
1. Houston, We Have an Absolute Catastrophe: Pau Gasol has been averaging 16.3 points in this series, which is only three points less than his season average, but has felt like a gulf. Gasol has been unable to make a serious impact on this series because Yao Ming has kept him in check with a size and talent advantage. With the Dynasty out, Gasol will have a field day. Luis Scola lacks the length and Carl Landry the body to put up as peed bump to Gasol, and all of this is before we run into the fact that Andrew Bynum will find his leash taken off. I'm as big a fan of a plucky underdog as anyone, but losing Ming is an outright disaster for a Rockets team who lacked viable consistent scoring options to begin with.
2. A Math Equation: RA+BIS=KGT. That's Ray Allen plus number of Boston Illegal Screens equals Kevin Garnett taunts. Illegal is too strong a word. Kind of. It's just been noticeable that a there's been a ton of shuffling by Glen Davis once contact is made (versus Dwight Howard's dance before and after contact which is just as illegal). But the central point here is that in order to get Ray Allen free for all those buckets he's put in, the Celtics have been running Allen though muliple screens, sometimes the same screen twice. The issue against the Magic has been the ability of J.J. Redick and Courtney Lee to burst around those screens and cut off Allen at the point of release. If the Celtics can adjust and find a way to spring Allen and get him going, they can even this thing up.
3. Pride and Prejudice: Ron Artest feels he's been singled out by the officials. The Rockets are playing without Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutumbo. They're in front of a homecrowd. How will the officials respond after tagging Artest with an ejection for a foul that Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson both agreed wasn't flagrant, even if there's a new zebra crew in town? Will the Rockets be able to rise enough energy to overcome the missing pieces? We're about to find out how far heart and feeling slighted goes against height, talent, and athleticism. And how Ron Artest reacts on the biggest stage with nothing left to lose.
4. Waiting for the Juggernaut to Stomp: We've been waiting for Dwight Howard to have a monstrous playoff game offensively against a solid opponent for some time. And while defensively he was an absolute eraser in Game 3, we're still waiting. Now there are those in Boston that think going right at the Defensive Player of the Year is the best answer. Conversely, if the Magic want to push the Celtics to the ledge in Game 4, Howard needs to take advantage of the biggest mismatch in this series. Him against anyone on the Celtics. Kendrick Perkins is neither big enough, nor strong enough, nor fast enough to contain Howard's moves and power, and Big Baby is finding himself getting worked over by Howard's hook. If Howard gets a higher than normal number of touches and starts to convert, the problem can exacerbate itself. If Howard gets going, he gets more aggressive. Which draws more fouls. Which depletes the Celtics' depth. Which helps Howard getting going even stronger. Howard holds the key for Orlando putting the Celtics in dire straits.
5. Point (Guard) Counterpoint: Derek Fisher returns for the Lakers, and Rafer Alston returns for the Magic after both serving suspensions. Both teams won in their absence. The decisions by both coaches on how much to play them will have a huge impact. Aaron Brooks on the Rockets is a rare player for Houston that can score, especially when Fisher is trying to check him. Similarly, Rafer Alston's missed layups are less a factor in his game as they are a recurring theme. Jordan Farmar's speed and athleticism, and Anthony Johnson's willingness to work within his boundaries were huge factors in each series' Game 3. The coaches would be well served to elect not to dance with the one that brung them, but with the hot thing in the corner that just transferred in from out of state.
