There’s a certain feeling Rajon Rondo has as a point guard. It’s like a radar that allows him to detect the hot hand on the court.

“Whoever is putting the ball in the hole,” he said before practice on Saturday. “It’s just a feeling, it’s obvious. It’s not brain surgery. The crowd can tell it, you guys can tell it, whoever has it going. If you make two shots in a row, you’ve got to give him the ball the third to time to see if he has it going. When he hits the third one, he’s pretty hot and you keep going to him.”

But it hasn’t always been easy to identify the player with the hot hand during the NBA finals because it has not consistently been the same person. Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have yet to put together strong offensive performances on the same night. Rather, it could be an unexpected contributor like Glen Davis or Nate Robinson who steps up on any given occasion.

The familiarity between the two teams that is developed over the course of the series plays a major role in taking away offensive weapons, Pierce noted. The Celtics and Lakers have had weeks to study game film, read scouting reports, and learn the strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies of one another.

“You just can't predict it, man,” Paul Pierce said. “You can't predict how guys are going to shoot. You can't predict how guys are going to play from a night-in, night-out basis. … I mean, it's a different type of game. Teams have their scouting reports and some of the things they want to take away from us each and every night. Some guys more than others. So it's hard to predict the other team's game plan and what they want to give and what they want to take away. As far as having a great game from all of us, it's real unpredictable.”

Pierce is speaking from firsthand experience. His point totals have ranged from 24 points (6-13 FG) to just 10 (2-11 FG). He has shrugged off the Lakers defensive efforts as an explanation for his ups and downs and offers a solution for Game 5.

“Just get me the ball, like Keyshawn Johnson,” he suggested.

That’s where Rondo comes into play. While he can sense who is rolling on any given night, he also trusts his teammates’ past accomplishments and potential to hit a game-changing shot at a moment’s notice.

Like Pierce, Allen has yet to find a consistent rhythm. His record-setting 3-point shooting performance in Game 2 has been overshadowed by his 0-for-12 slump in Games 3 and 4. But that doesn’t deter Rondo from getting him the ball.

“He’s Ray Allen,” Rondo said. “Regardless, he’s one of the guys we built the team around. Regardless of what he’s shooting during the game, you always think he’s going to make the next one.”

As the Celtics and Lakers enter Game 5 tied, 2-2, both teams will continue to make adjustments in anticipation of who will have the hot hand. After scoring 18 points off the bench in Game 4, Davis understands the Lakers may play him differently on Sunday. And if they happen to stifle him offensively, he’s OK with that. It means the defense he is drawing will create better looks for his teammates.

“It’s not my job to go out there and score points,” Davis said. “So [when people say] he’s not going to do that again, if I have to do it again, I will. But I’m not the primary scorer on the team. I’m not the go-to guy in the clutch. I’m just a guy that goes out there, don’t have no plays called for me, just goes out there and plays the game like it’s supposed to be played, and that’s all will and determination to get the game won.”

The Celtics have proved they don’t need Allen, Garnett, and Pierce scoring 20-plus points a night in order to win. (Garnett, for example, scored six points in their Game 2 victory.) But with two wins -- or two losses -- standing in the way of a championship, any extra buckets are welcome.

“Absolutely it helps to have two, three other guys who can take the scoring burden and carry it and you just focus on two or three other things,” said Garnett. “It’s definitely a joy, I can say that.”