LOS ANGELES - There are seven All-Stars and two former MVPs between the Celtics and Lakers starting lineups. Yet it is a group of role players that can have a major impact in the NBA finals.

In game 1, it was the trio of Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar, and Shannon Brown gave the Lakers a spark off the bench. Odom crashed the boards while Farmar and Brown made major contributions with their hustle. 

The Celtics took notice. Not only do they have to contain the Lakers bench, their own reserves have to provide the same energy. 

“[The benches are] very important,“ Glen Davis said after practice on Friday. “You can see how Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown changed the game with their energy, just straight line drives and just being a pest out there for our players. So we’ve got to go out there and play the best of ability our bench can do, and that’s playing hard for 48 minutes.”

The role of the Celtics reserves was amplified when the starters got into foul trouble. Both Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were called for five fouls. Allen was limited to just 27 minutes. 

The C’s needed their bench to help ease the burden. Even though their reserves actually outscored the Lakers’ by one point, the Lakers had the edge with an aggressive attack. 

“I’m going to have to give them credit because they’re in the NBA finals,” said Tony Allen. “But we’ve got to match their intensity, those Jordan Farmars -- he did get to the basket and we’ve got to be more aware of him. Shannon Brown as well, we’ve got to be more aware of him. We’ve just got to do a better job of matching the intensity of those players coming off the bench.”

While the C’s bench looks to play better for longer periods of time, it took Farmar just 13 minutes to find his way into the lane during Game 1. The 6-foot-2 guard said he took advantage of the mistakes the Celtics bigs committed on defense. He was patient, waited for his spot, and then went in for the bucket. 

“I just think it was more off scramble plays,” he recounted. “A rebound, kick back out, I saw an opening. I penetrated once, it wasn’t open, I backed out and I went again, and it kind of opened up for me. So it’s just kind of re-attacking them, getting them in transition before their defense is actually set and ready to defend again.”

The impact of the Lakers bench was no accident. Brown noted the effectiveness of their communication and the payoff of their preparation. 

“We played together as a unit, knew our assignments, knew wherever we wanted to be on the floor,” he said. “We talked to each other if somebody got beat. We knew their plays pretty well, knew what they liked to do, knew the personnel, who liked to shoot the jumpshot, who can’t shoot the jumpshot, who liked to drive, who could find the open guy. So our preparation was pretty tight.”

In the case of both teams, reserves can often be in the same rotation as the starters. They are on-call the entire game and must be ready at a moment’s notice to fill a void created by foul trouble, fatigue, or an overall struggling performance. 

The Celtics bench has shown throughout the postseason they can make a difference. Davis said the effort was there in Game 1, but they have to do “a little bit more” in Game 2. They’ll have to, as the Lakers reserves have already proved they are prepared to do plenty when called upon. 

“I just think we stayed ready,” said Sasha Vujacic. “For us being in the finals for the third time, you kind of know what to expect from certain guys, and it’s not necessarily always going to be points for people to say he scored 20 or he scored 5. But I think that what we have is an understanding of basketball and an understanding of how to play together and doing those little things that make you a champion.”