Ten thoughts following a Game 1 that saw Tony Allen make huge leaps in his quest to be known as the Worst Shooter in NBA History.

1. I know this sounds dramatic, but Game 2 is a must win for the Celtics. Road teams that fall behind 2-0 with the 2-3-2 format have no shot of coming back to win the series. Don't you think the Lakers are going to find a way to win one game in Boston? Me too. That means, if the Celtics lose Game 2, the realistic best-case scenario is to be down 3-2 heading back to LA. And teams down 3-2 don't win Game 6 and Game 7 on the road. It's just not how the NBA works. 

2. And for the Celtics to even the series on Sunday they need Kevin Garnett to stop the Willie Mays with the Mets stuff and at least look something close to the guy that played so well vs. Miami and Cleveland. If the two headlines of this series end up being an easy LA victory and the Big Three* showing their age, is there any doubt the defining moment will be Garnett's missed dunk and follow-up in the fourth quarter of Game 1? Again, the Celtics don't need the Garnett of 2008 to win this series. But they need the Garnett of three weeks ago. 

3. It took a couple of years for Phil Jackson's Bulls to get past the Pistons back in the early 1990s. But I can remember the moment when I knew it was going to happen. It was early in the Eastern Conference final in 1991, Scottie Pippen drove to the basket and was blasted by John Salley and Bill Laimbeer. In years past this would have taken Pippen -- mentally if not physically -- out of the game for at least a quarter. But Pippen just laughed it off. I'll never forget the look on Pippen's face. Smug, sure -- he knew that he was better and that the Bulls were better -- but it was the look of someone who knew the changing of the guard was taking place. Always remembered that. And I saw that look on Pau Gasol's face in the first quarter of Game 1. For him, the ghosts of 2008 were wiped out on Thursday. He may turn out to be wrong, of course, the Celtics could bounce back and win this series and Garnett could be a key reason why. But right now Gasol believes he owns Garnett. He did whatever he wanted with Garnett on both ends of the floor on Thursday. I've always thought the two stats that best measure how aggressive a player is in a game is free-throw attempts and rebounds. Gasol's combined total for those two stats in Game 1 was 24, Garnett's was six. 

4. I'm not sure that Doc Rivers would have signed for 30 points on 10-of-22 shooting from Kobe Bryant before Game 1 began, but I think he would have been OK with it. Bryant played a vintage 1998 Michael Jordan game on Thursday, picking his spots in the first half before sensing a strangely apathetic Celtics team coming out of halftime and putting the game away with 14 points in the third quarter. Just a perfect elder statesman performance from Kobe in Game 1, the kind we did not see in 2008.

5. Oh super, the "When will Kobe smile?" angle is going to be joining us all series. Is there a deleted scene floating around from that halftime story with Jackie MacMullan where Kobe studies video of former greats not smiling? 

6. Anyone still have faith in Ray Allen guarding Kobe? Worked in 2008 at times, but Allen has lost at least a step since then. It seems now that Bryant can get to the basket whenever he wants with Allen defending. But Paul Pierce shut Kobe down in Game 1, held him to 0-for-6 shooting and was able to stay in front of him, keeping him away from the basket. I get that Doc doesn't want to waste all of Pierce's energy on the defensive end, but he has to get more minutes on Kobe in Game 2. It also helps Allen, who can shift over to Ron Artest and not worry about falling into the foul trouble trap that he was in for all of Game 1. I think you'll see both Tony and Ray Allen as well as  Pierce basically spilt time on Kobe on Sunday. Safe to say that Michael Finley won't be part of the mix, though. How brutal was it watching Jordan Farmar blow by him twice for layups? In the battle for "Worst Minute and a Half on ABC Thursday Night" I'll give Finley's first-quarter cameo the slight nod over David Spade breaking down Kevin Garnett's career. 

7. Rasheed Wallace did more positive things for the Celtics in his first five minutes on the floor than Garnett did the entire game. A fade away bank shot, a 3-pointer and a blocked shot on Gasol. Impact. The best player off the bench for either team in Game 1, and I don't think Doc will hesitate to yank Garnett and play Wallace in Game 2 if Gasol gets off to a fast start and Garnett is stuck in the "missed jumper, let Gasol score" mode he was in for nearly all of Thursday night.

8. Rondo looked healthy, I thought, and he finished Game 1 with 13 points, eight assists, six rebounds and just two turnovers in 40 minutes. Not bad numbers, but he just seemed a little off, right? The Lakers went back to the 2008 playbook, sagging off and content with Rondo taking jumpers. And it was interesting to watch Rondo when Kobe was guarding him as opposed to Farmar. Way more aggressive when it wasn't Bryant. The thought was that Kobe would have to work when defending Rondo, but in reality he rested in Game 1 -- played a soft zone. And that has to change in Game 2. Rondo needs to set the tone of the game, has to take the ball to the basket and find Ray Allen and Pierce and Garnett for open looks. 

9. Not that we'll see it much if at all in Game 2, but the best lineup for the Celtics on Thursday was the Nate Robinson-Rondo-Wallace-Pierce-Glen Davis group that made a run in the second quarter. A ton of energy, and it was the only stretch of the game where I felt the guys on the floor for the Celtics were playing as if they were in the NBA finals, not some January road game vs. Memphis. The only stretch in which the outcome of the game was still in doubt, I should say. Cutting a 20-point lead to 13 in the fourth quarter doesn't qualify, sorry. 

10. Game 2? Celtics 94, Lakers 88. I can't believe this team is going to throw the series away before it even gets to Boston. I think whomever Derek Fisher is guarding, whether it be Ray Allen or Rondo, has a big game. Same for Pierce, who was the only member of the Big Three* to show up for Game 1. Garnett will do just enough, and I have to put some faith in Rivers to motivate these guys with their season on the line.