Celtics Up for the Task of Stopping Bryant

Couper Moorhead
Celtics.com
June 3, 2008

WALTHAM -- The Boston Celtics' No. 1 ranked defense has already schemed for Atlanta's Joe Johnson, Detroit's true team offense, and about as close to a one-man show as the NBA has in Cleveland's LeBron James. None of them have been shut down completely for a series, but all have been shut down enough for the Celtics to win the series.

Now for something entirely different: Kobe Bryant.

Not much needs to be said for the talents of the league's reigning Most Valuable Player. Bryant, averaging 31.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists in the playoffs, draws such lofty historical comparisons that he is often included in the top 20 players of all-time. What is relevant to the NBA Finals is that Bryant can do things that nobody the Celtics have faced in the postseason could -- namely, everything.

"He can hurt you in any and every way," said James Posey, who has an extensive resume of guarding the league's elite scorers.

Matchup-wise, the obvious comparison is James, whom the Celtics held to 35.5% shooting in the second round, including 20-of-78 from in field in Games 1 through 4. But both skills and running mates separate the Mamba from the King.

With Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins' help defense swarming all Cleveland pick-and-rolls involving LeBron -- almost all of them -- Paul Pierce and James Posey were able to force James into contested, fading jumpers or double-covered drives. But Bryant is a better shooter and, while the Cavaliers mostly used James on high screens and wing isolations, Kobe uses the entire floor, often using the post in Phil Jackson's triangle offense.

While new wrinkles are guaranteed, Doc Rivers -- who has until Thursday to tinker -- played his cards close to his long-sleeved shirt, leaving the LeBron defense as best current example of a potential Kobe-scheme.

"We're going to play our defense. We're not going to come out here and create some new defense. We haven't done that all year and we're not going to do it in this series," Rivers said. "We'll probably have a few wrinkles. [Kobe's] seen every coverage that everyone has, but I think the key is giving him different looks."

Those looks will be different even from the Celtics' two regular season victories over the Lakers -- when Kobe scored 22 and 28 -- because, while young center Andrew Bynum is out with a knee injury, the Lakers now have multi-talented center Pau Gasol (averages of 17.7 points, 8.9 boards, 4.2 assists in the playoffs).

What Gasol, veteran guard Derek Fisher and the rest of the Lakers have earned is exactly what makes their team so dangerous: Kobe's trust.

"You have to have guys around you with great basketball IQ that know where to be and [Gasol] definitely knows where to be on the court," Pierce said. "[Kobe] trusts Gasol. That's key."

While LeBron diligently found teammates for open looks with his rocket passes, Bryant is surrounded by strong shooters, passers and finishers. Though Rivers won't leave his players on an island with the league's most dangerous scorer, the talents of his Lakers teammates spreads the floor against the Celtics' help defense.

This only makes the duties of Ray Allen -- starting across from Bryant -- Paul Pierce and Posey that much more trying.

"[He's a] guy who's going to be mentioned at the top players as long as he's still playing," Pierce said. "Throughout the course of the game I'm going to find myself guarding him and he's going to find himself guarding me. A lot of people say [he] is unstoppable. I'm up for those types of challenges."

And maybe it's best to forget about Bryant's pedigree, about his three championship rings and scoring title, and focus on execution.

No. 24 won't average single digits no matter what the Celtics do, but the gameplan is simple: slow him down, make him take tough shots, and mostly, just make him work. Sure, it's what everyone else has done, but if the Celtics proved anything in the Cleveland series, it's that when it comes to defense, they can do what everyone else does, and do it much better.