Title showdown pits Lakers offense against Celtics defense

BOSTON (Reuters) - The ability of the renowned Boston Celtics defense to limit the high-scoring Los Angeles Lakers is likely to decide the outcome of the NBA finals starting in Boston on Thursday.

Although Celtics coach Doc Rivers says his team will not change their overall defensive strategy for the best-of-seven series, he paid tribute on Wednesday to the all-round quality of the Lakers offense.

"They're a great offensive basketball team, the toughest we've played clearly in the playoffs," Rivers told a news conference. "They spread the floor and they have the best scorer on the planet (Kobe Bryant).

"With (Pau) Gasol and (Lamar) Odom posing problems with their size and quickness and their shooting that they put on the floor, it's a tough challenge for us defensively, there's no doubt about it.

"We're not going to change our defense," Rivers added. "Obviously you have to stay home more with Gasol, there's no doubt about that, because he not only is a great post player, he can shoot the ball as well, and so does Odom.

"That's part of what makes them so difficult, their ability to spread the floor with the fours and fives. Most teams spread it with their ones, twos and threes shooting."

Celtics forward Paul Pierce felt his team had the ability to adapt against the Lakers but that water-tight defense would remain their top priority.

"Our whole mindset is going to key in on being defensive-minded, keeping them out of transition," he said.

"They're a great transition team and they get a lot of opportunities, shooting a high percentage. So it's our job just to try to do a better job defensively.

ANY STYLE

"But we feel we can pretty much play any style, whether we want to slow it down and grind it out or get out on the open court and run."

Boston were the NBA's most successful team in the regular season, posting a win-loss record of 66-16 before clinching their first NBA championship appearance since 1987.

Although NBA Most Valuable Player Bryant is likely to be marked by Ray Allen in Game One, the Lakers captain prefers to react to the overall on-court situation.

"I look at it as a quarterback, really, because the defenses that I face are always support defenses," he said.

"Not necessarily looking at an individual but just looking at where the help is coming from and where my wide receivers are going to be."

Bryant, who helped the Lakers win three consecutive NBA championships from 2000-2002, acknowledged Boston's defensive prowess.

"They really don't do anything special against a particular player," he said. "They just play solid defense all the time and they have principles that they stick to and they support each other extremely well."

The Celtics and the Lakers will be meeting for a record 11th time in the NBA finals and the build-up to Game One has been dominated by continual flashbacks to previous meetings between the teams.

"I've watched more Laker-Boston games over the last three days on NBA TV, on ESPN," Rivers said. "It's been great and it's just fun to watch.

"But I think our guys are focused on their goal and the process of it, not the results or not the fanfare around it. We've had great focus in practices and we have a job to do, and that's all we're focused on."

(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Justin Palmer)