Boston point guard Rajon Rondo and his coach, Doc Rivers, are doing work against the defending NBA champions.

Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has been the best player in the NBA playoffs and he showed why in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Rondo had two steals, an amazing tip in over the much taller Lamar Odom and a game-sealing lay up in helping the Boston Celtics take a 3-2 series lead with a 92-86 victory Sunday.

Game 6 is Tuesday in Los Angeles. If the Lakers are able to win that game, there will be a decisive Game 7. It will be Thursday night in Los Angeles.

With it being a 2-3-2 format, the Lakers host the last two games because they have home-court advantage. All that will go for naught if Rondo and the Celtics win the series.

In his fourth season out of Kentucky, Rondo has emerged as one of the top point guards in the NBA. He really made his splash in leading the Celtics past the top seed in the playoffs – the Cleveland Cavaliers – and is at it again against the defending NBA champions.

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If the Lakers can't figure out the 2-3 zone, Suns coach Alvin Gentry will stick with it.

Did Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry seek advice from Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim about this or what?

The Suns’ 2-3 zone has made life miserable for the Los Angeles Lakers as they have tied the series, 2-2, after losing the first two games in Los Angeles. Game 5 is tonight in Los Angeles.

 I mean, we all know Boeheim is the master of the 2-3 zone on the collegiate level. Syracuse’s nickname is Orange and the Suns wear orange, too, right?

Phoenix gave up an average of 126 points in its two defeats against the Lakers. In their two wins, the Suns haven’t allowed more than 109 points in either game.

 Now the Lakers are still scoring a ton of points and Kobe Bryant can guy any defense, but here’s the problem.

1. The Suns are resting on defense, so to speak, in that zone, which helps their offense.

2. Since the Lakers don’t have a point guard that can penetrate and break the zone down, they just swing the ball around. The triangle offense is designed to go a man-to-man defenses, not zones. So Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown have to make open perimeter. Derek Fisher and Bryant can, but those other guys I just mentioned are not as money from deep.

3. The Lakers are an inside team and the zone allows Phoenix to help more in defending Pau Gasol. Even though the Suns are smaller, more bodies Gasol discourages the passer from throwing the ball in the paint.

The NBA Finals is here.

So to help preview the 7-game series (2-3-2 format) between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic beginning tonight at 9 p.m. on ABC in Los Angeles, I talked with Erie BayHawks coach Ben McDonald about it. Check it McDonald’s series prediction and more. It was fun.

Kobe Bryant is ready to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a world title.

1-for-2

That’s how I fared in predicting the Eastern Conference and Western Conference finals.

Darn Cleveland.

Like most people, I figured NBA MVP LeBron James and the Cavaliers would face the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals, but Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic defeated Cleveland in six games to come out of the East.

Denver gave the Lakers a tough series, but L.A. has too much talent, skill and Kobe Bryant is just too good to let his team fall to the Nuggets.

So here we are.

Lakers vs. Magic. Superman vs. the Black Mamba.

Not Kobe vs. LeBron, but it’s not chump change either.

Orlando has versatile big men Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu that can shoot the 3 while L.A. has a Hall of Fame coach in Phil Jackson and the best closer in Bryant.

In the end, Kobe will finally win a title without Shaquille O’Neal against the franchise that drafted O’Neal when he came out of college in 1992.

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Kobe Bryant only took 13 shots, but he trusted his teammates in leading the Lakers to a Game 5 win.

Kobe Bryant did more than just scored 22 points in Wednesday night’s 103-94 Game 5 win as the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-2 series lead against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.

He got mental.

Bryant let his teammates know during the first timeout what he expected of them. He took the clipboard, started shouting instructions and that is what his teammates needed.

So what happened?

Andrew Bynum scored nine points and was a physical presence. Lamar Odom had a double-double (19 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks) and the Lakers outworked the Nuggets.

Game 6 is Friday in Denver. If the Lakers play the way they did tonight, they’ll win the series Friday.

Ron Artest let Kobe Bryant know he's not the one to mess with Wednesday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets turned the intensity up a notch in Game 2.

High volume.

From late in the third quarter to the end of the Lakers’ 111-98 win to tie the series Wednesday night in Los Angeles, the following plays happened in this order.

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