While coming back from a large late-game deficit (again), Boston had Game 6 won, but the basketball gods deservingly gave Chicago the Game 7 in which they earned.

1. Dress KG

Forget about WR1970 for a second and instead remember the beginning of the Kaffee/Jessep cross-examination in 'A Few Good Men,' when Tom Cruise says, "Defense will be calling Airman Cecil O'Malley and Airman Anthony Perez.  They were working the ground crew at Andrews at two a.m. on the seventh."  The airmen ubiquitously enter the court room and immediately draw the attention of a now nervous Jack Nicholson.

Just the possibility of Garnett taking the floor will alter Chicago's mental state and his customary F-bombs and taunting will play off a little better in adidas warm-ups than his undertaker suit.

If he can't play at all, then he can't play and there is no harm done in putting Bill Walker in street clothes.

2. Allen/Salmons won't repeat Game 6

The Celtics absolutely need Paul Pierce to be Paul Pierce in Game 7, because there is no way Allen will make the kind of shots he did in Game 6.  He was just 5-13 from the floor and 1-5 from beyond the arc; his only saving grace was his ability to draw fouls and get to the line 12 times.  His inability to catch Joakim Noah was as much evidence as we'd ever need to know how shot his legs are.  After playing almost 51 minutes, there can't be much left in the tank, which means Doc Rivers needs to have him come off some screens so he doesn't have to work quite as hard for every scoring chance.

The scenario for Salmons and Ben Gordon in the Pierce role are the same.  Gordon's injury is clearly affecting him, but they will need his scoring in the worst way.

Whomever has the better game between Pierce and Gordon is likely to be a deciding factor.

3. What does the FIC say about this series?

Boston is +39.4 (+6.6 per game) in terms of FIC for the series, which is of course heavily aided by the Chicago no-show in Game 3.

Game 1: Bulls, +8.1
Game 2: Celtics, +1.8
Game 3: Celtics, +48.6
Game 4: Bulls, +17.4
Game 5: Celtics, +10.0
Game 6: Celtics, +4.5

Teams that have a positive FIC do not lose frequently, so the Bulls must consider themselves fortunate to have won Game 6 despite not catching as many officiating breaks as they may have liked.

4. Who will win Rose/Rondo VII?

Offensively, Rajon Rondo was 07-08 Rondo in Game 6 and was a non-factor as a scorer. He will need to establish his ability to score in the paint during the first quarter, which will force the defense to collapse at least a little bit off of Pierce and Allen.

Rose will be Rose, which means he will be as reliable as he's been throughout the series with the exception of the Game 3 anomaly when he had a -5.4 game FIC.  His FIC40 for the series is 11.0, almost half of Rondo's, which is a huge margin.

5. Who will win the game?

Flying back to Boston after the game surely was a quiet flight for the Celtics, who dreaded having to play another 48+ minutes against the Bulls.

Nothing would be shocking unless the game doesn't go into over time, but Boston should still have enough in the gas to close it out, especially if Pierce can shoot 50% from the field and get to the line at least ten times.

Furthermore for Boston, if you have a two-possession lead in the final minute, make sure Tony Allen doesn't end up being your shooter in two consecutive possessions.