Second Squad Wins Game Four For The Celtics

To start the fourth quarter in game four, Doc Rivers rolled out this line-up: Nate Robinson, Ray Allen, Tony Allen, Big Baby, and Rasheed Wallace. It was time to rest most of his starters.

But Phil Jackson decided that he was going for it. He started Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Pau Gasol.

Two different strategies in a two-point game heading into the fourth quarter of an NBA Finals game. Jackson had already lost Andrew Bynum for the game because of that balky knee of his. He probably figured that they could get a quick jump on the second team before Doc would be able to bring back his starters.

Doc usually tries to rest Garnett for a good amount of time late in the third quarter and Rajon Rondo does need a rest every now and then. He gambled by allowing his second squad plus Ray Allen go toe-to-toe with the Lakers' top two players and Odom, who is as good as any player Boston had in the game at the time.

And somehow, it worked. The five-some played for over nine minutes straight and outscored the Lakers 25-15 in the quarter. Then KG, Pierce, and Rondo came back in the game to put it away.

When Jackson went for the kill, it was with Bryant and Gasol already having played heavy minutes, and Bryant especially looked lethargic at times. He bounced back to hit six threes to keep the Lakers going, but we haven't seen that one great Kobe game yet in this series. Gasol hasn't looked peppy since game two and here he played 44 minutes. Bryant played 43.

The Celtics won in spite of two technical fouls in the fourth quarter - one by Rasheed Wallace, a usual culprit and one by Nate Robinson. Wallace's was the result of reacting like a 2-year old child after he was called for a foul. Nate's was for staring at Lamar Odom's neck.

Nate Robinson provided a spark off the bench for the Celtics, who seemed to be in slow motion offensively. No one in the starting line-up, save for maybe Paul Pierce, played particularly well on offense. But when Robinson came in, he gave them a little hop in their step with 12 points and two big three-pointers. Nate is like "The Facts Of Life". You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have Nate Robinson.

Nate was called for a technical after he was knocked to the floor by Lamar Odom. Rather than dust himself off and walk away, he decided to man him up, except Nate is 5'7'' and Lamar is over 6'9''. All Nate did was really size up Lamar's neck. Thankfully for the Celtics, it didn't hurt them.

But Nate wasn't even their best bench player. That title goes to Big Baby. Big Baby is listed as 6'9'' and 289, but he looks 6'6'' and 300. He doesn't jump well and it looks like he's going to get his shot blocked every time he shoots down low. But there he was in the post with quick steps, pump fakes, and good body control to the tune of 18 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes. He was the best Celtics' player on the floor when he was in the game.

Even though the final scores haven't really dictated it, every game in the series has been really close. With it now tied at 2 wins a piece, it's for sure going back to LA. But there is one more game in Boston. Will LA be able to overcome tired legs and possibly losing Andrew Bynum? Will Boston's starters produce enough so that Doc doesn't have to rely on his bench to play so well?

To me, the big question is going to be about Kobe Bryant. When are we getting his best game? He's the best player in the series, yet I'm not so sure he's been the story of any game yet. I have a feeling he's going to become the story soon.