Tonight, 9 pm EDT, BDL Live Blog featuring J.E. Skeets, Matt Moore from Hardwood Paroxysm, and Trey from the Blowtorch, and yours truly. It's not bad! 

Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers, Game 4

There have been so many fluctuating ideals in this series so far, with players that should be playing better than they are, players that appear to be playing better than they are, and players who aren't getting enough credit (he may miss a lot of jump shots, but Kevin Garnett has had a fine, fine series). There are so many various permutations that this Game 4 could take; it almost leaves you with a blown mind or sore hip just trying to guess at it.

So I'm not going to. This could be the game where the Lakers offense finally uses Boston's aggressive defense against itself, or the Lakers second and third options (TV's Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom) could reveal that their iffy play thus far was more of a portent of things to come than a fluke destined to untangle itself.

And Paul Pierce could get back on track. And the Celtics could actually get Rajon Rondo to make an entry pass. Or Kobe could go off. Or the Lakers defense could fall apart, negating whatever advantage they might have in the open court, especially with that bench corps. There are so many things going on with these relatively new-to-themselves-and-to-us teams that we have no way of knowing what to expect.

What we can expect is that things will likely change. Sure, players who have struggled might continue to struggle, but that can't be the case for each of them, at least not in the ways that we've seen thus far.

Boston has to find a way to bring back the fast break buckets that should be easy to come by after all the Laker misses they cause and rebounds they bring in, but don't think Phil Jackson hasn't already developed a counter to that counter. PJ would rather have an opponent score 120 points on the Lakers in the screen and roll game than 75 points mostly in transition.

Through all the nonsense, there are two things we can bank on: Kobe Bean, and the Celtic defense. Even as Bryant tears through the Celtic defense. In Game 4, however, both might be put to the test. Kobe's going to see a crowded court, he obviously sniffed out the Celtic help D as was previously constructed, and don't think that Tom Thibodeau isn't aware, and already hasn't put a new wrinkle into the way he'll try to help Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

On the other end, the Laker offense has limitless options, so look for them to try a few new ones. Quicker reversals, less waiting for dive-throughs after the ball enters the post. Anything to top a hundred points. They're due. We think.

We're getting deeper and deeper into the abyss, and loving it. No clue what to expect tonight, and after years of knowing exactly what was going to go down in just about every Finals game, this is pretty happenin' stuff, cats and kitties.

Related: Game to pay attention to