Welcome to Game 3

Welcome to TD Garden, where the Boston Celtics will take on the Los Angeles Lakers at 9 p.m. The best-of-seven series is tied, 1-1.

As was the case in 2008, the media area of the Garden has been completely transformed to handle the increased coverage for the Finals (you can peep the credential list on the right). Unlike in 2008, there’s no giant Larry O’Brien trophy hovering over the expressway near the Zakim Bridge. And additionally from 2008, there are banners of Rajon Rondo joining banners of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett lining the streets around the Garden. The Big Four marketing has already begun.

The parquet is closed to everyone except the players and coaches right now as the Celtics go through their pregame walkthrough. Allen, Pierce, and Glen Davis have all come and gone from early warmups.

Saw a stat on ESPN today that said the team that wins Game 3 in a best-of-seven series tied at one has won that series 10 out of 10 times. Read that sentence over and digest it, then put it out of your mind. A statistic based on 10 games is a meaningless, contrived attempt at trying to pin a pattern on a series of events that can’t possibly have one. If the Lakers win Game 3 and Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum all go down with broken legs, I’m taking the Celtics, 10 out of 10 be damned. If the Celtics win Game 3 and Ray Allen goes 0 for 174 the rest of the series, I’ll take the Lakers.

Just had to get that out of my system.

Real story lines to watch from this game include, among other things, Kevin Garnett’s effectiveness and the Lakers’ ability to make threes. Glen Davis and Rasheed Wallace looked very good in place of Garnett during stretches of Game 2, while Garnett again appeared a step slow. Meanwhile, the Celtics packed it in on the Lakers in the post and didn’t allow Gasol or Bynum to dominate as they did in Game 1. Pierce said after the game that the Lakers weren’t a very good 3-point shooting team. If the Celtics are to continue packing it in, they better hope Pierce is right.

Back with some real, uncontrived updates shortly.