Much like Lakers approached defending Rajon Rondo in game six, the Celtics took whoever was covering Ron Artest (in most cases it was Paul Pierce) and had them float on the defensive end of the court.  Unlike Rajon Rondo in game six, Ron Artest was able to make the Boston Celtics pay for this defensive strategy.  Eleven of Ron Artest’s twenty points came directly from Boston Celtic double teams.  Here is a look at these plays:

Play 1 (Two Points)

Above is a play from a sideline out of bounds set.  Immediately after Ron Artest inbounds the basketball and floats to the corner, Paul Pierce leaves him to float in the middle of the court.  Rajon Rondo, unsure of what to make of the situation decides to pick up Artest.  As the shot goes up, Artest uses his size advantage on Rondo to grab the rebound and put it right back in the basket.

Play 2 (Five Points)

In the play above, the ball gets swung around to Derek Fisher from the opposite sideline.  As this ball movement takes place, Paul Pierce leaves Ron Artest to defend Fisher and prevent him from shooting.  However, once he forces Fisher to take the ball into the paint he stays with him despite the two other Celtics in the paint.  Fisher finds a wide open Ron Artest, and he knocks down the three pointer.

Play 3 (Eight Points)

The play above is my favorite one of the four plays, so I am going to break it down with screenshots.

Here, Ron Artest gets the ball on the wing as Pau Gasol posts up.

Artest enters the ball into the post and then cuts off of Gasol, going along the baseline with Paul Pierce trailing him.

When it looks like Artest is headed for the corner (and gets out from under the basket), Paul Pierce leads him to double Gasol in the post.

When Ron Artest notices that Paul Pierce has left him, he curls around Lamar Odom and cuts right too the rim.  This is what I wanted to see Rajon Rondo do in game six and seven, but it never happened.  Nobody stops Artest as he gets right in the middle of the lane untouched.

Artest makes the catch, absorbs the contact, and finishes with the And 1.

Play 4 (Eleven Points)

This was the backbreaking play right here.  After a Celtics’ three, the Lakers came down and responded with one of their own.  It came from Ron Artest, after the Lakers left him open.  Kobe has the basketball here, and Paul Pierce settles into help position.  However, he sinks a little to far and when Artest gets the pass, Pierce isn’t able to get back to him and he knocks down the three.