Lakers-Celtics. Game 7. The 2010 Rebirth of NBA Rivalry. Boston has the rivalry's Game 7 history on its side, the Celtics have plenty stacked against them after an embarrassing 89-67 loss in Game 6 Tuesday night. Most glaringly, Boston won't have starting center Kendrick Perkins, who sprained multiple ligaments in his right knee in the first quarter.
The Celtics' starting five has never lost a playoff series, but that five must change for Game 7. Although Perkins is a role player next to Boston's Big Three and point guard Rajon Rondo, the Celtics must hope veteran Rasheed Wallace and youngster Glen Davis can make up for Perkins' inside defense and rebounding.
The Celtics have more experience in seventh games than the Lakers over the past three years, playing in two deciding games in 2008 and two more last year. Boston coach Doc Rivers thinks his club's big-game toughness mostly grew from those high stakes.
Pierce is usually the only player in this series who embraces its history, yet it's too soon to say where these finals will fit in the rivalry's annals. Although the games had been uniformly competitive before the Lakers' blowout win in Game 6, they haven't been spectacularly played, with gritty defense trumping offense in most of the major moments.
Los Angeles is in just its second Game 7 of the past three seasons, but that's because the Lakers have been better at avoiding trouble while winning 10 playoff series since Pau Gasol joined them in 2008. When faced with elimination Tuesday for the first time in these playoffs, the Lakers responded with determination at least partially born from fear, according to Gasol.
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