You probably aren't old enough to remember a game show called "To Tell the Truth." We do the same thing here with the NBA playoffs.

1. Kobe Bryant says he knew the Houston Rockets were going to give the Los Angeles Lakers a fight. It would be nice if the rest of his team — including his coach — was getting the message.
For the second time in the last three games, the Lakers looked like they had received the wrong tip-off time and played a somnambulant first half in Game Six. Except for a brief stretch at the outset of the second half, they again put their own spin on "Win or go home" as they seemed content to pack it in and go back to L.A., where they somehow believe they are invincible.

"We all have faith in our team," said Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who was brutalized by Luis Scola. "We're gonna respond to this loss. We're gonna prepare ourselves. We're gonna be mentally ready."

"There's nothing to worry about," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We are just going to go out and play. It's our home court and it's what we play for. We play a different game on our court, and that's pretty obvious to see."

It's easier to see if you turn on the lights, because Jackson is whistling in the dark. Yes, the Lakers were trounced in Game Four and returned home to win Game Five by 40 points. But they also lost Game One at home, which only Bryant seems to remember.

"I knew it was going to be a tough series," he said. "(The Rockets) have a do-or-die mentality. They're gonna fight for everything."

The Lakers-Rockets series is similar to Hawks-Heat in that it has somehow gotten to a Game 7 without much drama within each game. There have been just four lead changes in the last four games, which have been decided by a combined 81 points.

The Rockets have a fine excuse for their spotty play. They are without Yao Ming, the player who owned the strongest individual matchup advantage over the Lakers. His absence forced Houston to play an entirely different brand of basketball that emphasizes tenacity over talent.

All the Lakers had to do was come close to matching that tenacity, because as Rockets guard Aaron Brooks readily admitted, "Their talent is superior to ours right now." L.A. assured itself of a long series with an unacceptable effort in Game Four and entered the great unknown of a Game 7 with a repeat performance Thursday.

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What if Lamar Odom's cranky back acts up Sunday? What if Bryant shoots poorly or gets in foul trouble? What if Gasol gets schooled again by Luis Scola? What if Brooks again blows past Derek Fisher as if he were a mailbox? What if Chuck Hayes again contributes more than Andrew Bynum?

That's a lot of ifs. Not among them, however, is whether the Rockets will bring the effort necessary to compete in a Game Seven.

"They're not a chump team," cautioned Bryant. "They play hard."

And although his teammates and coach don't appear very concerned, Bryant has a great grasp of the situation.

"The thing right now is to just win the damn series, get the hell outta this one and move on to the next one," he said.

2. The prevailing opinion will be that Dwight Howard proved his point with 23 points and 22 rebounds in Game 6. That's not really true.
While Howard's brute force inside was too much for the Celtics to handle — he had six dunks or tip-ins, 10 offensive rebounds and 12 free throws — there were the obvious, long-standing signs why the Magic are reluctant to give him the ball in crunch time.

Howard is a five-year veteran but still doesn't have a patented low-post move. His jump hook is solid but not lethal. His jump shot doesn't extend past 8 feet. And he is nowhere near developing a drop-step move. In many ways, he resembles a young Shawn Kemp, simply overwhelming opponents with his size and athleticism.

So opponents double-team him, and Howard hasn't figured those out, either. He doesn't recognize that they come at different times — on the catch, on the dribble — from different places. When he passes out of the double-team, he usually returns to the entry passer and re-posts. It is rarely a smart pass that finds an open spot-up shooter or triggers an effective swing of the ball.

So he tries to power through the double-teams and draws a ton of fouls. But he is a borderline liability at the line (5-of-12 on Thursday, including 1-of-4 in the last five minutes) and generates a lot of half-empty offensive trips. Personally, I don't think this is that big a deal because drawing fouls puts you in the bonus and going to the line allows you to set up your defense.

This is not a contrived attempt at being contrarian. In fact, there are a handful of others who feel the same way.

The work Howard puts in on his body is evident. But when you see the work that he puts into preparing for the Slam Dunk contest or doing his Beyonce impersonation, you have to wonder if that time wouldn't be better spent watching film or developing a drop step or shooting 500 free throws.

3. The Celtics need Ray Allen to show up in Game Seven on Sunday.
Since erupting for a playoff career-high 51 points in the epic Game Six at Chicago, Allen is shooting 32 percent (29-of-89) from the field, including 7-of-41 from the arc.

Some of Allen's shots have been just off, like the 3-pointer that rattled in and out at the end of Game One. Some have been way off, like the six-footer that drew only backboard in the fourth quarter of Game Six. But a miss is a miss, and there's really is no excuse.

When this series began, no member of the Celtics had a more clear advantage in his matchup than Allen. His series-long slump has come against J.J. Redick and Courtney Lee, a pair of players who have done a solid job but have no right playing a perennial All-Star to a virtual standstill.

In Boston's championship run a year ago, Allen struggled with his stroke for extended stretches but the Celtics survived because they had both Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce covering for him. With Garnett sidelined, Allen's struggles are leaving Pierce on an offensive island. Allen is averaging 15.7 points in Boston's three wins but just 7.3 points in its three losses.

In Game Sevens against Atlanta and Cleveland last year, Allen totaled 11 points on 4-of-18 shooting. He somewhat blurred the memory of those poor showing with 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting in Game Seven vs. Chicago.

That's the Allen the Celtics need to show up on Sunday. Otherwise, the Magic will be showing up in Cleveland on Tuesday.

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