Lakers-Celtics: Keys for Los Angeles in the NBA Finals

The Lakers are finally playing their hated rival Boston Celtics in the Finals again. Here are the keys for the Lakers to win the most unexpected championship in NBA history and 15th title overall in franchise history.

Lamar Odom:

Lamar is probably the most important player for the Lakers, as Kobe is always going to be dominant and Gasol will always play solid. However, Lamar is extremely inconsistent mainly due to his selflessness. He needs to rebound the ball well for the Lakers to control the series. He also needs to provide the Lakers with 15-18 points a game while being efficient and aggressive.

Taking Care of the Ball:

The Lakers are usually a great team, but when they aren't it is mostly due to their lackadaisical play with the ball, and poor decision making. If they can limit themselves to only 12-14 turnovers, they should be fine, but if it gets over 15 they will put themselves in  a troublesome position.

Their Bench Must Play Well:

The Lakers have had one of the best, if not the best, bench in the league. They get great energy from their young players off the bench, such as Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Ronny Turiaf, Luke Walton, and also Trevor Ariza. They are all inexperienced and the main key for them will be playing well on the road in Boston. They have played great at home but only average on the road so far in the playoffs.

Defending Paul Pierce:

If the Lakers can play good defense on Pierce and contain him, they will probably win the series. They don't have a great matchup for him defensively but Trevor Ariza may be the key for them as he is 6-8, extremely long, athletic, and quick. He should be able to bother Pierce and force him to take bad shots. Walton, Radmonavic, and Sasha will also defend him during the series. Sasha should also be able to bother him as he is a pest on defense.

Making Sure Role Players Don't Hurt Them:

The Lakers should be able to contain Ray Allen, and bother Garnett, but they can not allow the role players of Boston such as Kendrick Perkins, or Rajon Rando to have big games in the series. They must make sure Rando doesn't get any confidence, and they must avoid double double's in the series from Perkins who can play well if the defense doesn't pay enough attention to him.

Quick Starts:

The Lakers have been successful at putting themselves in a big hole (down 20 against San Antonio in Game 1, then down by 17 in Game 5) and coming back. They must not continue that trend as Boston will keep a lead better than San Antonio did. If they can get a good start and stay close in the game, then Kobe should be able to close the game for them. They also can't have their starters resting while being down 10 plus points as they did in Game 5 when Kobe, Gasol and Odom were all on the bench when they were down by 17 in the second quarter.