Where Boston is and where they have to be

The biggest room for improvement has to do with Boston's transition on both defense and offense. Most noteworthy was Ray Allen stealing the ball and going 1-on-3 without any of his teammates hustling to support him. Going the other way, Kendrick Perkins was particularly at fault for not always busting his way downcourt.

Too often, the offense stagnated — especially when the second unit was in play.

Virtually every time the Lakers sprang a sideline trap, one Celtic or another had the ensuing pass pilfered.

Boston must find remedies to counter the Lakers overplaying Rajon Rondo on the screen-side, and also sagging off of RR to deny entry passes into Kevin Garnett.

Since points were so hard to come by, the Celtics must absolutely make all of their layups. Perkins, Glenn Davis and Ray Allen missed one each, while Rondo and Garnett missed two apiece, and Tony Allen blew three gimmes. What's needed is better concentration and much more aggression.

The Celtics had trouble defending the Lakers' speed cuts, a long-time staple of the triangle wherein a diagonal, cross-lane, down-screen is set for somebody positioned deep on the weak side (usually Kobe Bryant) that enables a quick up-cut, a catch, and an open shot from the stripe.

Boston was likewise susceptible to squeeze-cuts when the Lakers fed the ball into the low- and/or mid-post. In the same post-up and wing-iso situations, Boston's weak-side rotations were tardy and subsequently victimized by hard dive-cuts to the hoop.

If Ray Allen did a heroic job of denying the ball to Kobe, he was also guilty of frequently turning his head when Kobe was positioned on the weak side. Kobe's subsequent back-cuts led to lob passes and several easy scores. Once again, the baseline rotations here were spotty.

But the most costly rotation failures occurred in Kobe's wake as he drove toward the basket. That's why Pau Gasol was so open down the stretch and able to register seven consecutive, game-clinching points.

In sum, the loss proved what many NBA pundits have been claiming all season long: that Leon Powe and Davis are too undersized behind Perkins. And that the second unit needs a stopper as well as another perimeter marksman.

Without P. J. Brown and James Posey, this edition of the Celtics is not quite as good as last season's championship outfit.

Where L.A. is and where they have to be

The Lakers absolutely must tag the opponent's best perimeter shooters (Ray Allen) in transition situations. And in half-court sets they can't all sink into the middle and leave guys like Allen undefended. Similarly, the bigs must show high and wide and not leave Eddie House unattended on high screen/rolls.

When the defense overloads one side of the court, passes into the high post area must be denied.

The transition defense is sluggish.

Twice Pau Gasol turned his head and lost touch with KG, permitting easy lob passes and a brace of dunks. Trevor Ariza also turned his head when guarding Rondo, allowing a back-door cut and an easy layup. More than being individual shortcomings, these sequences indicate the failure of the Lakers' weak-side rotations.

Too often Andrew Bynum looks like he's replaying his rookie season. He repeatedly turned his back to the ball on defense, was beaten to the top of too many rebounds, and generally failed to establish a powerful presence in the lane.

Except for knocking down a crucial pair of treys, Lamar Odom was invisible.

Pau Gasol has to be tougher with the ball. Forceful dunks rather than flips should be his modus operandi when he's within reach of the basket.

As always, the precise execution of the triangle offense was a sometimes thing.

In sum, the victory went a long way toward proving the Lakers' character and resilience. But in order to return to the Finals and have a legitimate chance to succeed the Celtics, the Lakers need Bynum and Odom to step up on a consistent basis. Plus, the team as a whole must maintain their concentration and their discipline from the opening tip to the final buzzer of every game.

Only if all of the above flaws can be excised will the basketball public get to enjoy still another round of the historic Lakers-Celtics cutthroat rivalry.