The paint is always a good place to start for the Lakers considering they have two 7-footers with incredible footwork occupying it. Jumpshots…. not their forte.
Lakers.com: Perhaps the biggest discrepancy between L.A.’s play at STAPLES Center and at the TD Garden was how effectively the Lakers were able to execute in the paint.
As it turned out, the Lakers averaged 37 points in the lane in L.A. thanks largely to a powerful 48-point performance in Game 1’s 102-89 win, while Boston came in at 33 paint points on the other end. L.A.’s average might have been considerably higher had Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum not combined to take 25 free throws in Game 2, making 20, while Boston’s bigs attempted only nine foul shots.
But in Beantown, it was an entirely different story, the Celtics averaging 50 points in the paint through three games, and L.A. only 34.7.
The specifics:
FINALS POINTS IN THE PAINT
Game 1: L.A. 48, Boston 30
Game 2: Boston 36, L.A. 26*
*Not including the 25 FT attempts by Bynum/Gasol.
Game 3: Boston 50, L.A. 38
Game 4: Boston 54, L.A. 34
Game 5: Boston 46, L.A. 32
In short, the Lakers were +4 at home, and -15.3 on the road.
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