LOS ANGELES — Playing under the bright lights of the NBA Finals is tough enough. Try shooting into them.
And don’t waste time hoping for a lucky bounce when you haven’t taken the time to study which way the ball will bounce — off the floor or the rim.
In a tight series between Boston and Los Angeles Lakers, where the Celtics brought a 2-1 lead into Game 4 on Thursday night, some of the most important adjustments happen long before the games start.
Like an outfielder sizing up the overhead lights in Minnesota’s Metrodome or the caroms off the Green Monster in Fenway Park, the veteran players anticipate the challenges a building can present.
“Things change all the time,” Lakers guard Derek Fisher said, “and you have to be able to kind of roll with it and adjust to it.”
That’s why Boston’s Ray Allen was so much better in Game 3 than the Lakers’ Sasha Vujacic was in Game 1.
Known for his attention to detail during a lengthy game-day routine, Allen recognized that the Staples Center lighting could be a problem when shooting from certain spots. Turned out to be no problem as all, as Allen made five 3-pointers and scored 25 points, keeping the Celtics in the game when fellow all-stars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett struggled.
“I just made the assessment when I was shooting how in the corners, the lights in the corner were real bright,” Allen said. “When I followed the arc of my ball I was looking into the lights, so it kind of blinds you. That’s why I go to the gym as early as I do, so I can adjust to what I’m doing out there on the floor, and it didn’t affect me at all.”
Vujacic scored 20 points in the Lakers’ 87-81 victory Tuesday night. He managed only eight in each of the two games in Boston, missing five of his seven shots in Game 1, when he said his problem was the basket was too far away.
Huh?
“The baskets here are different than in any other arena,” Vujacic said. “You can see that they are much farther, but that’s not an ex-cuse. We’ve just got to get used to it and make those.”
What Vujacic meant was the base of the backboard stanchion in Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden is set farther away from the baseline than in some arenas, with the goal hanging from the end of a longer neck than he was used to.
