Tidbits from game one

• As expected, Paul Pierce shredded Vladimir Radmanovic whenever he was defended by him. I marked this as one of the biggest keys to the series. With Kobe Bryant busy covering Ray Allen, the Lakers have no one that can keep up with Pierce all game, and this was evident in game one, as Radmanovic committed five fouls in 17 minutes.
• Boston will do everything in its power to keep Bryant from getting to the rim. Bryant finished with 24 points, but off 9-of-26 shooting. Why? Because the Celtics kept him out of the lane and forced Bryant to become a jump shooter, something he is not. Allen played phenomenal defense against the MVP, as did Pierce and James Posey whenever they were assigned to cover #24. Oh, and Bryant also attempted only six free throws.
  
• The Celtics' veterans may turn out to be the biggest difference-maker in this series. P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell both stepped up in big ways for Boston off the bench, with Brown collecting six rebounds and a big block on Bryant in the fourth quarter and Cassell finishing with eight points.
• The Celtics kept Los Angeles in check from behind the three-point line. The Lakers, widely considered one of the better outside shooting teams in the league, shot just 3-of-14 from beyond the arc Thursday night. Boston shot 6-of-19.
• The Celtics dominated the glass, out-rebounding Los Angeles 46-33. They also had 12 second-chance points compared to four for the Lakers.
• Rajon Rondo got to the free throw line 10 times yesterday and went 7-for-10 from the stripe. This was another key I pointed out before the series started: Rondo is too quick for Derek Fisher, who, despite finishing with 15 points, scored only two points in the second half. Clearly, Rondo was wearing him down.
• Ronny Turiaf took some jump shots from behind the free-throw line last night. That's not his job. Boston's physicality obviously bothered him.
• Lamar Odom was pretty much invisible. Yes, he had 14 points and six boards, but they were scattered. Other than a three-point play that brought Los Angeles to within five with just under two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Odom was A.W.O.L. in game one.
• Allen did not just play well defensively, but he is also back on the offensive end of the floor. After a big uphill battle in the first two series' of the postseason and even at the beginning of the Eastern Conference Finals, Allen has re-discovered himself, averaging 21.7 points and 5.7 rebounds over his last three games.
• Do the Lakers really have a better bench than Boston? One wouldn't know it by watching the game last night. Sasha Vujajic, Luke Walton, Turiaf, and Jordan Farmar were essentially rendered useless in game one. Walton didn't even have a point.
• There is some good news and some bad news for Los Angeles. The good news: they turned the ball over only eight times while the Celtics committed 13 turnovers. The bad news: they still lost by 10.