NBA Finals: Celtics vs. Lakers - Game 1

The Celtics' hopes of winning their 17th World Championship seemed in jeopardy when Paul Pierce was escorted off the court in a wheelchair, but when Pierce came back in the game the Celtics fought back to beat the Lakers, 98-88. The Lakers struggled against the Celtics' tough team defense in Game 1 to go down 0-1 in the series as Boston held Los Angeles to their second lowest score of the 2008 playoffs with just 88 points.

The Boston PGA (Pierce, Garnett, Allen) Tour played excellent as Garnett scored a team-high 24 points, Pierce knocked in another 22 and Allen added 19 to combine for 65 of the Celtics' 98 points. The veterans coming off Boston's bench (Posey, Cassell, Brown) were a pleasant surprise as they outplayed the Lakers' bench with excellent defense, limiting Gasol to just 15 points and Odom with 14 while Perkins was on the bench most of the game with foul trouble.

Although Pierce's return back to the game with a strained knee and score 22 points in 31 minutes was impressive, what really impressed me in Game 1 was how Boston slowed Kobe Bryant down to 24 points and shoot just 9-26 (34.6%) from the field. In the Lakers last round against San Antonio, Bryant only had to worry about one defender the entire series (Bruce Bowen) and when Bryant has to worry about just one defender, nobody can stop him one-on-one.

The difference with Boston's defense is they can throw three different styles of defenders at Bryant, with the quickness of Allen, the strength of Pierce and the defensive intensity of Posey off the bench. Bryant was uncomfortable the entire night with the Celtics tough defense because throwing those three guys at Bryant really affected him during Game 1. Bryant got the shots he can usually make, but Boston's tough, physical play got to his mind a little.

Expect Game 2 to be a closer game because Boston knows Bryant is going to put on quite a show and do whatever it takes to get a win after not playing well in Game 1. I still think Boston will win the next game with another great performance by their defense and the Boston PGA Tour, but the Celtics have to focus even more on Bryant. There is a good chance he might drop 40 points and go back to Los Angeles for three straight home games tied up 1-1, so Boston better come ready to play in Game 2.