Bresnahan’s take

Times staff writer Mike Bresnahan ties up some loose ends before each Finals game.

Q&A; of the day

Question: I just watched Game 4 and I am disgusted. Pau Gasol is too soft, he needs to dunk more and go strong and hard to the hoop, similar to what James Worthy did.

The Lakers overall played no defense, Kobe forced his shots and didn’t involve himself until it was too late. They’re in a tough spot now, but maybe David Stern will orchestrate a Game 5 and 6 comeback to save the Lakers and the league for a dream Game 7.

-- Rory from Down Under in Australia

Answer: I love it. There are NBA conspiracy theories even in Australia.

Worst-case Lakers scenario

Reporters’ postgame questions sound something like this:

* “Kobe, do you want to keep playing for the Lakers?”

* “Phil, how much would Andrew Bynum have helped in this series?”

* “When do you leave for Spain, Pau?”

Best-case Lakers scenario

The Lakers begin looking for hotel rooms in Boston.

Calm or crazy?

Derek Fisher doesn’t expect to see the Lakers get too out of control in Game 5 while trying to stave off elimination.

“I don’t think you’ll see just a bunch of crazed guys running all over Staples Center, in terms of not being able to function in the type of environment it’ll be,” he said. “If you get too high, then you can’t play with the fluidity and that calm that you need to be able to shoot shots and be efficient and be able to react on a split second.”

Final thought

The Celtics’ injuries definitely make things more interesting than they appear. I see the Lakers showing some pride and extending the series to Boston, but I wouldn’t pick them Tuesday in Game 6.