Celtics Central

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Two thoughts come to mind.

Thought #1:

Great boxers often had great sparring parters to get them ready for the big fight.

After two grueling 7 game series, did it appear to you that the Celtics had a poise in game one against the Pistons that they didn’t have against the lesser teams of the first two rounds? It looked that way to me. Could it be that all that vanished swagger needed such a 14 game test in order to regroup in a more real way? It may be so.

You can thank the Hawks and more important, the Cavaliers for that.

The Hawks are as athletic as any team in the league. Leaping lizards, what Josh Smith, Josh Childress, and Al Horford lacked in experience, they gave in unabashed enthusiasm. You can thank the Cavaliers relentlessly bruising defensive for taking things to the next level. Z casts a big shadow and was allowed to operate with lots of contact.

Defensively, the Cavs came together in the play-offs as they never did during the regular season. Lebron James made that statement in his final press conference after game 7. Offensively, they had big troubles. Defensively, they gave big troubles – literally.

Will Detroit’s bigs give Boston anymore trouble defensively than Ilgauskas, Verajeo, Wallace and Smith did? I don’t know how they could. Sam Cassell mentioned how hard the Cavaliers hit the glass. Rasheed will definitely make bigger plays offensively and is singularly superior to any Cav big, by a lot. But did the Hawks and Cavs frontlines provide the necessary sparring that will prepare Boston for anything that McDyess, Maxiel, and Ratliff try to throw at them?

It is too early to tell. But Boston, who was supposed to be tired, was ready for Detroit, who was supposed to be rested. More important, they looked ready to play for 48 minutes against one of the league’s wiliest, most poised teams. They were calmly ready and poised as they haven’t always appeared in these play-offs. They were ready for the counter punches, some of which did not come.

The Pistons are a much better team at both ends if the floor than either previous opponent. But
I’m wondering if the Cavs may have done the Celtics a favor with their robust defensive present in the middle for 7 difficult games. And the Celtics have faced 2 must win games already. That which we bemoaned while watching series one and two after seeing this Green Machine dismantle all comers for 82 games. might be just what the doctored ordered.

It is Rasheed and the Piston guards that set them apart. And Chauncy is chancy right now. The Pistons can bide their time. They don’t have to take this next game, but it would the right one to steal to take away the Celtics confidence along with the valued home court advantage. Right now, the Celtics look ready – with or without Ray Allen’s shot.

Thought #2 – Where is the sting, Ray?

The funny thing is …Ray Allen was the deciding factor why Garnett accepted a trade to Boston.

With Ray, Paul and himself – who could stop them?

Ray’s prolonged and mystifying slump hasn’t made things easier on the Celtics. That is for sure. But has it had any benefits? Other players are expected to step up and take up the slack a little bit. Other than PJ Brown, whose shots aren’t really related to Ray’s offense, I’m not seeing it. It hasn’t been easy to fill his shoes.

The good thing is that Paul and KG have been dependable, even dominating at times. And that was one of the things mentioned when this team came together. You only need 2 of the celebrated trio to have good games for the team to be very hard to handle. The real story is that their formidable defense has made it far less important that everyone is hitting shots.

And as much as everyone is making of Ray’s lost shot and lack of confidence in shooting, you can’t argue with the fact that the Celtics are still play winning basketball with him on the floor. His plus/minus is always good, meaning that the Celtics are outplaying their opponents when he is in the game. Did Cleveland make a mistake by doubling him so much? He looks like a single coverage assignment right now.

There is pretty much no doubt that that a warm shooting Ray Allen makes things easier on the offensive end for everyone. Get the Gino video ready when he’s hot. It will be over early. But 2 out of 3 ain’t bad, and the decision from the start to be known as a defensive team (boy are they) has really minimized his lost offense. It has also defined the team’s success, not a three pronged offensive onslaught. A mid season west coast trip taight the Celtics well where their Ws will be coming from. They tried to get into shoot outs and ended up on the wrong end of high scoring games.

The Celtics can’t win it all without Ray getting his groove on, can they? I’d guess not. But boy they’ve done alright with Rondo, Ray and Perkins all on the floor at the same time. That is pretty much three non scorers. It has been “Paul, KG and thank you defense.” Ultimately, it should come back to bite the Celtics. But so far, they have done well enough to win enough with only 2 guys really doing any meaningful scoring. Credit home court, the consistently good defense and perhaps a little luck. Luck ends. But so do droughts.

At games now, Ray has become a big side story. Everyone is lining up their lawn chairs at court side and waiting for Ray’s close encounter of the 3rd point kind. The slump has gone on so long that I’m hoping it doesn’t enter into lore like a UFO. There are rumors that he actually used to make them. Some even say they are sure they have it on some grainy film.

I don’t believe in Sasquatch, pyramid power, or magic crystals. I did see a UFO once. I swear it. As I remember it, it was a Ray Allen 20 footer dropping through the bottom of the net.

Let’s see the sting Ray. Let’s see the sting. You are just too good for this to continue.

We got the answer about whether the Pistons’ rest was better or the tough competition that Boston has faced would pay-off.

Led by Kevin Garnett’s 26 and Paul Pierce’s 22, those two Celtics provided the main ingredients in a whole team win against the well rested Detroit Pistons. The winning effort had its share of supporting players. Rondo was the only other Celtic in double figures with 11. Ray Allen scored but 9 points, yet helped hold Rip Hamilton to 15 points on 5-13 shooting. The Celtic starters were all on the floor for a significant amount of time, but solidly outplayed the Pistons.

The pivotal quarter was the 3rd, as the Celtics made their move powered by defense and Piston turnovers. Up only by one at the half, Boston created 7 turnovers (of Detroit’s 13 for the game) in the 3rd and opened up a very close game by locking on to a 12 point lead by quarter’s end. Rondo, Allen House and Garnett all picked the Pistons’ pockets in that period. Garnett had 8 points and Paul Pierce added 9 of his own that period.

In the 4th quarter, Boston continually held off Piston runs and won with a solid lead going into the waning moments of the game. Rondo hit two big open jumpers (one was a three) and Pierce hit one jumper to keep Detroit at bay. PJ Brown played another solid role in support. Kendrick Perkins had 10 rebounds and played very good defense all night.

Eddie House was productive in short minutes with a steal and 5 points. Tayshuan Prince led the Pistons in scoring with 16.

But it was the two way game of Garnett that established things early, and held Rasheed in check for most of the evening. Pierce joined the party with 13 second half points.

What stood out was the tough, physical style of eastern style defense in this game. While not at the level of the Cavaliers series, both teams tried to make you grind it out. Holding Detroit to just 79 points, two below their already submerged 81 point average against the Celtics tells you the Celtic defense was clicking tonight.

Boston was much more poised this evening in the face of a tough, experienced and balanced team for 48 minutes. That is how you win in the play-offs. It seems that the grueling Cleveland series helped the Boston team learn how to weather terrific defense for an entire game. In fact, the Cavs interior defense was better than what the Cs faced against the Pistons this evening.

The Cs went early and often to Ray Allen, getting him 6 of his 9 points in the first period, though he continued to miss wide open looks from the outside. Then KG stepped up and was draining big jump shot after big jump shot, finishing with 8 points. He had 14 by half time and Pierce supported with 9 points by the half.

So Boston wasn’t bothered by the Piston’s game long pressure, and calmly led throughout the 2nd half.

They have to do it one more time on Thursday night, before heading to Detroit on Saturday, in order to maintain the home court advantage they fought all season to get.

You will pick him out anywhere.

He has distinct yellow brown skin, a completely bald head before bald was stylish. It looks just a tad too big for his aging 6′ 3″ body. His verbalocity is reknown. Sam often operates at an enthusiastically high decibel level – on the court and off. Sam exudes enthusiasm. Brian Tracy and Tony Robbins, move over. Sam’s seminars occur wherever you encounter him.

He will never be mistaken for Denzell Washington, yet he has something Denzell only dreams he could have. A charisma….confidence if you will, that few people have. Sam has positivity. You can’t give that people. You can only take it away. In his career it has often been contagious. He himself declares, “I’m a winner, baby, I’m a winner.” Ahh, yes. Humble is for other types.

Sam lets you know how he feels. But make no mistake, there is a dignity and a straightforwardness about Sam. How much is the person and how much is the persona, I can’t really say. I can only tell you he had me hooked a long time ago. I started to like and follow his career during his brief stay in New Jersey. I’ve only gotten to talk to him recently. It is one of the highlights of this year covering the Celtics for me. His personality is every bit as large in real life as it appears to be on the court.

He is approaching a crossroads of life. Sam’s positivity is being tested at the moment. But it is just for a moment. I wouldn’t want to be Doc Rivers telling Sam he can’t play as much as he would like to. It is like telling your younger brother, he can’t come play in the pick-up games at the playground. He is not good enough anymore. He won’t believe you. And you might take away some of that positivity.

Sam is well aware he is but a year or less from hanging up the shoes forever and perhaps turning to coaching. Doc Rivers has intimated that he may even get a chance with him in Boston. Who really knows what a year will bring?

He says his sitting out the last two games is…

preparing me for my next career.

Is the slump related to his back problems?

No, he (Doc) just went another way the last two games.He told me that. So there’s no hard feelings.

But is the back affecting your shooting?

Naw. I missed …13 shots (over three games) It just happens. I’m not the focal point of the offense. I’ve been a starter for 13 years in this league. The ball went through my hands and I decided who I wanted to give the ball to. So there’s where you come to where, you’re not the vocal guy. You’re not the go-to guy, (or) the guy who you distribute the ball who you want to.

I’m not a spot shooter. I get mine off the dribble. So that was difficult. Coming in, playing a reserve role. Everything’s just brand new. See, I’m trying to figure it out. (But) I’ll play next series.

Some people think Cleveland is a tougher match up for the Celtics.

This was a tough series. These guys here. Wow. These guys…this is a physical ball club. Yeah, they do one thing real, real great. They get offensive rebounds, pound the boards. They will pound the boards. You know Z and Anderson and Ben and Joe Smith, they did a helluva a job. They’re no slouch.

Which team will present tougher match ups for the Celtics?’

Every series presents different challenges. We’ll be fine. Cleveland’s done. Detroit is who we’re looking at now. No looking back. (I believe) I’ll be playing more.

Sam is a Celtic player for now. And he wants to get back out ‘on the playground’ and play. If the play-offs generally and the last series particularly is any indication, another shooter hitting shots is something the Celtics could use.

Many say Sam hasn’t fit in as well as hoped. Doc, Sam and the Cs should find the best way to get Sam, an off the dribble shooter, going. The problem has been that the offense is run in a different style. Pick and roll. Pick and pop. Come off screens. double screens. Catch and shoot. Off the ball weak side cuts.

Sam has a variety of face up mid range jumpers, some three ball, and the fade away, back down post up move. They are pretty much all off the dribble.

On the Celtics, any dribbling is mostly done by Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce and that is supposed to be limited as well. Can Doc, Sam and the team make it work better? Doc has his work cut out for him to find a happy medium, but it can be done. Sam’s guile will be worthwhile. The other end of the court is where they have to find a defensive scheme that works. Chauncy Billups is a more methodical post up kind of guard. But Sam will have his work cut out for himself against Billups

Sam has embraced life in a special way. His personality is effervescent. He is often seen beaming like a kid on Christmas morning. Smiling Sam.

Sam’s an aging basketball player playing a younger man’s position in a younger man’s game. They say you can get a few extra years out of an NBA veteran big man, but not so with what is known as ‘the smalls’ – small forwards, shooting guards and especially Sam’s position, point guard. Smalls just don’t play very well past 35 or 36. The position requires too much speed and energy. Even guile becomes negated once you cross the mid thirties threshold for most players. Sam is not ‘most players.’

Artis Gilmore, Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, and most recently Dikembe Mutombo are all NBA players who played into their 40s. There are few guards that have played at as high level at Sam’s age as Sam has.

It is a position for quickness, speed and guile. At age 38, Sam does his best to make up for his loss in speed and quickness with an extra helping of guile – make that a plateful. Sam says his back is fine and he is ready to go.

Rondo’s been great but inconsistent. Having Sam ready to go with Eddie House gives Doc two options off the bench. Sam will be ready to go. But as Sam has said, “Everything is brand new.”

I don’t know that you can teach an old dog new tricks. So you help him do the tricks he can.

Just as PJ Brown has brought veteran leadership and calm play under pressure, I believe and I hope Sam can bring that dimension as well before the play off season is over. He has been a favorite player to watch over the years. Just a few more games of Cassell magic would be nice.

Just cultivating positivity. I’ve just been around Sam Cassell.

It was a classic duel in an all important 7th game of the 2nd round eastern play-offs between two of the league’s greatest scorers.

In a game where the pressure is so enormous, even many top players wilt, they traded shot for shot for much of the game, and many of them dropped in. It brought thoughts of the Larry Bird/Dominique Wilkins game 7 play-off duel many years ago.

Lebron James…

Paul Pierce is one of my favorite players, as a fan. When I watch Paul Pierce play, I love the way he plays the game of basketball. I always said, second to Kobe Bryant, he has some of the best footwork I’ve ever seen in a player, and I love going against the best. Paul Pierce is one of those guys.

We both tried to will out team to victory and just like Dominique Wilkins, I ended up on the short end of it and the Celtics won again.

The Truth is:

1) The Celtics are a better team than the Cavaliers.
2) Lebron James and Paul Pierce put on a timeless show for basketball lore.
3) Role players – as always – made a difference in who wins.
4) Ray Allen’s jump shot is a myth at this point. Our elder citizens will tell you eyewitness stories of actually seeing it work in days of yore.
5) In this game 7, the Cavaliers couldn’t handle “The Truth!”

Paul “The Truth” Pierce went mano e mano with the game’s premiere offensive player, a force of nature named Lebron James. Lebron finished with 45 points to Paul’s 41.

Lebron…

Game 7 in the Garden..it gets no better than this. As a fan of the history, this will go down in history.

PJ Brown has played in a whole lot of big games in his 15 year career. Where does this one rate?

I’ve been in a lot of game 7s and haven’t been very successful in them. I’ve lost a lot of them…. so I think this is right at the top. You know, to go the Eastern Conference Finals and every possession, basket for basket, it was one of the toughest games I ever played in. It was unbelievable. This is right at the top. Both teams gave it all.

Tonight Pierce was a hurricane to Lebron James’ tornado. As in real life, the tornado does more individual damage but the hurricane does more overall. Paul’s defense will probably get overshadowed by his points explosion, but he had numerous big defensive plays including 2 steals and a clever step in front of Lebron on a jump ball with the Celtics up 91-88 with a minute left. Tumbling to the ground, he called an immediate time out to avoid getting tied up for yet another jump ball.

Even while noting his customary turnovers (4), Paul played one of the best games of his career in one of his biggest games to date. Only the Eastern Finals game against the Nets can compare from 2002.

Paul had it all working. He was 4-6 from the arc. He hit quick stop mid range jumpers with regularity, and drove enough to go to the line for 12 foul shots while making 11 of them, including two huge ones near the very end, when every point was worth its weight in time off the clock.

The Celtics jumped out to a 14-4 lead that they would never relinquish, though the Cavs made a strong, sustained run to whittle what had been as much as a 13 point lead down to one, 89-88, with 2:20 left in the 4th on a Lebron James dunk. The Celtics had repelled numerous earlier pushes to get closer. In the critical waning moments, it looked things might finally turn Cleveland’s way.

These are the times that try men’s bravery. The suspense and pressure hung heavy in every single possession. Closely fought game 7s are like that. No one wants their season’s obituary written. Yet one will die by the final horn.

At these times, few will want to step up and take season deciding shots for a multi million dollar franchise, 11 team mates and a coaching staff that had prepared for every eventuality over 82 games plus the play-offs. Who are these strong men of legend? Kevin Garnett? Rajon Rondo? How about PJ Brown? All three helped Paul Pierce bring this game home.

In somewhat of a reverse of the famous Bird Wilkins shoot out where the high drama occurred mostly in the 4th quarter, the High Noon duel for Pierce and James played out more over the first three quarters.

In the 4th quarter, Lebron continued his singular attack on Boston while Pierce finally found help from his team mates. James scored 13 points in the quarter, Pierce 6, Garnett and Rondo 4 each.

But it was late season veteran pick-up PJ Brown who made 3 highly pressurized shots including his 4th consecutive make, a ‘dare shot’ open 18 footer, to give Boston back a three point lead with 1:21 left. Brown also had what could be the defensive play of the game when he came over to help on yet another Lebron ‘locked in’ drive to the rim.

The degree of difficulty of stopping Lebron around the hoop ranks with standing in front of a speeding freight train or juggling 3 axes while blind folded. You’re liable to get hurt, and Lebron’s going to get the foul call.

Yet PJ displayed his 38 year old, 15 season experience with solid defensive positioning to get Lebron to blow the shot without fouling him.

On his defensive play on Lebron…

I just didn’t want to foul him. I knew he was going to try to cut to the hole. I knew if a call was going to be made, it was probably going to go his way. I just tried to spot my feet, and try to stay between him and the goal and not foul him and it worked out well. He threw up a shot, I just kept going and we were able to get the rebound.

The enormity of the game…

It’s game 7. Win or go home. We have to leave it all out there. It was probably one of the best duels I’ve ever seen in my career or been a part of. I’ve never been a part of two guys going at it like that… going shot for shot, and I mean, they were hitting tough, tough shots.

They were indeed. There were only 5 players in double figures in total. Brown was one of them in only 20 minutes of play. His 5 4th quarter rebounds were almost as big. Whoever controlled the boards controlled the game. The Cavs had held Boston to 5 boards total for the entire 3rd quarter while they cut the lead to 5. Boston returned the favor in the 4th quarter by holding the Cavs to 4 rebounds total, while grabbing 12 of their own, including 5 offensive boards resulting in 8 second chance points. Besides the clutch shooting, it was the difference in the game.

Eddie House had the hustle play of the game when the Cav’s ball was deflected into the back court. He could have let it go and it would have been Celtics’ ball, the moment the Cavs touched it. But, invoking Larry Bird memories, (Larry hated when players let balls go out of bounds when they could corral them). Eddie took off in a foot race with the Cavs’ player (I forget who), dove for the ball before it went out of bounds and with one arm, knocked it towards a running James Posey, who threw it up at the hoop while getting fouled. The House play brought the house down, and rightfully so.

In a smart move, Ray Allen, who had another tough night shooting was inserted with less than 2 minutes left, was fouled and hit both foul shots. Eddie House was also fouled in a Cleveland attempt to get the ball back and hit his foul shots. Finally, Paul Pierce capped the evening’s scoring with 2 more foul shots with 7 seconds left to give the Celtics a 97-92 victory, the series and a trip to the Eastern Finals against Detroit on Tuesday night right in Boston.

After a year where the Cavalier’s record didn’t improve and after getting to the Finals last season, the team’s play-off record fell short as well, though no one, save perhaps Cleveland, expected a similar success this season.

Lebron continues to look for more help…

I think what we have is very good. We need to continue to get better. We know that. If that means some personnel changes that needs to happen, then so be it. The teams around us in this league are continuing to get better. New Orleans is very good. The Lakers got better. Boston got better. Detroit got better. Orlando got better also. So, we need to continue to get better.

If Lebron had a solid 2nd option on offense things might have been a whole lot different. As it was, he almost did it all by himself.

It’s time for 3 Live Crew…The trailblazing brain trust of CelticsStuffLive, the podcast for the hardcore Celtic fan.

If you have time on Sunday nights, check it out as you work or play on your computer. Great guests, stories and conversation for green bleeding Celtic fans.

I asked them each to answer a number of questions as we head into yet another game 7 for the Cs on Sunday.

Like Ray Allen, the dulcet tones of “The Quiet Man” Jon Duke often gets overshadowed by the smooth resonance and sometimes ‘hi-test’ Kevin Garnett enthusiasm of Justin Poulin and the emphatic, astute, purist and ‘Paul Pierce versatile’ outlook of Jim ‘JB’ Metz. But like each of the Celtics three stars, they each bring a different skill set to the team. And I know JB will deeply appreciate being the Paul Pierce part of the team. (I kid.)

So, we will run a few plays for all three. I think they nail a few jumpers, and some slam dunks with their answers. See if you agree….

1) Final thoughts on game #6
Jon – Not sure how any fan of the NBA can watch games like last night’s Game 6, Game 3 between the Spurs and Suns last year, and the notorious Kings-Lakers Game 6 several years ago; yet somehow not feel completely and utterly frustrated with the impact officials have in deciding
important games.

I don’t know whether guys like Rondo and Pierce should be slicing to the hoop regardless of how the officials are calling the game, but it seems pretty obvious to me that when they aren’t getting calls they aren’t nearly as effective.

Justin – KG rules, Rondo is Bipolar, Ball movement is imperative, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan is my boy!

JB – In my best Brooklyn rasp (only a Dodger fan would understand): “We wuz robbed.”
Seriously; it was ugly, reminiscent of the “Thug Ball” played in the late eighties early nineties, when coaches like Chuck Daley, Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy had their players foul early and often, until the refs got tired of calling them.
How the zebras could determine that Cleveland would shoot twice as many as the Celtics, when there were fouls on literally every possession is beyond me.

2) Ray Allen continues to have troubles scoring. Has Wally’s defense been under rated?
Jon – Ummm… no. It is the same problem we have seen this entire season, Doc has struggled mightily in getting Ray involved in the offense and his touches aren’t nearly at the level they should be for a guy in “The Big 3″.

Games 5 and 6 he showed more toughness and willingness to stick his nose in the lane. That should have resulted in more touches, but Ray and I are still waiting.

Justin – No, the Celtics ball movement has been absent. Earlier in the season the Celtics were guilty of over-passing and Ray was spectacular. Since then the ball movement has stagnated and so has Ray’s scoring. They need to work in the offseason on how to incorporate Ray into this offense since he has sacrificed the most of the big three.

JB – Wally is working hard and Ray is the odd man out, not getting enough touches to get in any kind of rhythm.In the two quarters Doc made an effort to get him involved, he did very well.

3) Is there a single distinguishing characteristic (or two) that stands out from this series with the Cavaliers?
Jon – The Cavs are very good on defense and the Lebroninites have done a fine job knocking down open shots. But the story of this series, and every other playoff series, is how the games are being called in favor of the home teams.

Justin -Physicality. This series has been refreshingly physical. It could still stand to be officiated consistently regardless of whose home court it is, but I like the banging and contact.

JB – “See # 1.”

4) How do you rate Doc Rivers for this series? Related Observations?
Jon – Doc has been very uneven in this series, though I would say he has done a much better job against Cleveland than he did against the Hawks.

In Games 5 and 6 his rotations have more closely resembled what the team did in the regular season, which is something I had been clamoring for.

His long overdue substitution of Eddie House over the calcified Sam Cassell played a big part in keeping the C’s in last night’s game. Still, his use of Powe and Davis puzzles me to no end, and I wonder what has happened to the Starters Plus Posey (and minus Perk) lineup they used
often during their 66 win regular season. Seemed to work pretty well for them.

Justin – Doc has been decent. I was really confused by the use of Sam Casell. Despite Sam’s heroics in the first 2 games of this season, I think he’s only effective in limited minutes. Benching Rondo for the entire fourth quarter until less than 2 minutes remaining in Game 1 was curious to me.

His willingness to play Eddie House in Game 6 was equally surprising and successful despite the loss. PJ Brown was also a good play in this series. Glen Davis’ increased minutes and Leon Powe’s disappearance makes little sense to me though. I also believe it’s a double standard to bench Rondo in game 1 while playing Ray Allen regular minutes throughout the series despite his serious struggles.

JB – Same coach home and away. Moves are criticized on the road, the same moves at home make him look like a genius.

5) One area that has seen open debate is the point guards performance and Doc’s use of minutes with the Celtic point guards. What is your take?
Jon – I’ve been calling for Eddie House since the Atlanta series despite not being a huge House backer. The guy moved the ball and hit his shots as opposed to Cassell who stalled the ball and had trouble making his jumpers.

That should have been an obvious substitution against a team without a very quick point guard (sorry Delonte). Rondo, as a very very young player, is going to struggle on the road in the playoffs, but so did Tony Parker. My concerns for him are only short term.

Justin – Rondo needs more minutes no matter what and House/Cassell need to be given limited minutes to discover who has the hot hand. Find a hot hand and ride it for a short time, but play Rondo 38 minutes minimum. Eddie keeps the ball moving better than Cassell, but if House is missing then he has no business on the floor.

JB – Rajon Rondo is the key. When he plays well the Celtics are a very good team.
I believe Sam Cassell is injured (bad back) and while Eddie House came through nicely in game 6, they started trapping him and thereby he had to get rid of the ball. A quick fix, I’m afraid.

6) Can Paul Pierce be doing more?
Jon – Pierce could be doing more, but I truly believe the officials are taking a big part of his game away. However he works with Eddie House much better than he did with Cassell, and I see that pairing paying more dividends tomorrow.

Justin – Yes, but only if they play Posey with him more and take some of the defensive responsibility off of Pierce. Expecting Paul to defend Lebron and carry the offense is asking too much of him.

JB – Heaven forbid. He’s trying to do too much as it is.

7) Are you satisfied with Kevin Garnett’s performance so far?
Jon – I am satisfied with Garnett, but I think his supposed ineffective play is due more to the over reliance the team has shown at defending Lebron at the expense of the other four players.

Varejao was very important in shutting him down in the 4th quarter of Game 4, but other than that his offense has been very good. I’d like to see him take more guys off the dribble, but so long as he is nailing the 18 foot jumper on a kick out… I’m cool like Fonzie with him.

Justin – Yes with one exception. There are times when the Cavs have left him with an open lane this series. This has happened less than 5 times but he should have gone strong to the basket rather than getting cute with a jumper. Other than that he has carried the defense and has had some incredible moments on offense. He could play better, but everyone else on this team has far more room for improvement.

JB – Yes! He could be a more consistent rebounder and a few times he passed when he should have shot, but over all he’s been the best player on the floor for either team.

At this point, do you think the Celtics can win it all?
Jon – I do think the Celtics can win it all, but the number of seven game series are going to catch up with them in the next round if they do advance.

I am most worried about their offense, but I think continued use of Eddie House in the rotation could help that significantly. I’d like to see more slashing to the basket, but that appears to be
entirely dictated by the calls they are, or aren’t getting. Detroit is their toughest remaining opponent, so if they win tomorrow I expect an out and out war in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Justin – I do and every series will go seven games. This is going to be one of the most bizarre paths to a championship the world has ever seen. The region isn’t used to being the underdog anymore and it’s weird to think of the best team in the NBA during the regular season as an underdog, but failing to win on the road will do that to the public perception of a team.

JB – It depends.
I’ve determined that our three all-stars are disparate parts. Their offensive games do not mesh. Too often it’s “your turn, my turn, my turn again, his turn….etc. There is no cohesiveness and no whole being greater than the sum of it’s parts.

The “seams” that hold them together and make the offense work are Perkins/Powe, getting open underneath for easy bailout baskets when one of the “three” face pressure and Rondo being allowed to create and zooming all around the floor moving the defense and creating passing lanes to get them the ball.

This works better at home, partly because these are young players more susceptible to crowd support, but also the tendency for our “three” to want to take it on themselves, tends to show more in games that are close.

If the team adopts a total unselfish mode and these youngsters grow up quickly, no one can beat us in a seven game series.

9) Game 7 prediction
Jon – Prediction time… if we assume that the Celtics will get the same treatment in Game 7 that the Cavaliers got in Game 6 then they win this game by at least 25 points.

However if all things are equal then I see the Celtics with a comfortable win and some time to rest their starters in the 4th quarter. I think the loss of Boobie Gibson was a big one for the Cavs and you could see how Pavlovic was neither able to defend or hit the jumper as Gibson could.

Ball movement will be key for the Celtics in getting the Cavalier defense out of their comfort zones and a big part of that will be getting penetration inside their defense. That doesn’t mean Pierce and Rondo need to repeat their strong Game 5 performances, but they need to be disruptive and force the Cleveland D to collapse in the lane. Though the D won’t collapse if “Chernobyl” Ilgauskas and Varejao aren’t getting called for blocking shots with their bodies. So again it goes back to how the game is called.

Justin – Celtics 85 Cavs 83 on a Ray Allen game winner…

JB – Celtics by 7. 82-75

There you have it – Three win predictions, though with a caveat or two. Most gracious thanks to JB, Jon and Justin for taking the time to contribute their extensive Celtic knowledge for the CelticsCentral forum of connpost.com readers. It is much appreciated.

Check out Jon, JB and Justin’s pre-and post game coverage of all the Celtics play-off games on Celticsblog. com in their unique on-line podcast CelticStuffLive For their Game 6 post game Click Here.

It was a game of runs, defense, missed shots, less than crisp play by both teams, and a reversal of the last game. As the Celtics did Wednesday night, the Cavs closed the first half strong with a 17-2 run and held off a few second half Celtic runs to secure a game 7 in Boston on Sunday afternoon. Like the Celtics the other night, they almost gave the game away at the end.

Paul Pierce was called for a controversial, but big offensive foul against Lebron with the Celtics making a late run. It looked like Lebron was in a moving block, including on the replay. One objective observer I know that watched the game, thought it should have been a no-call.

Only KG and Lebron could muster any sustained offense in a hard fought defensive struggle. Lebron had 32 for the game and 19 of the Cavs 32 second half points. Only Kevin Garnett shot well with 11-21 shooting, including a number of tough jump shots. The Celtics outscored the Cavs 36-32 in the last half of the meat grinder game. The problem was that the Celtics only had 50 points after three quarters. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t enough.

Even with such poor shooting and stifled offensive play, Boston got to within 3 at 72-69 with 6 straight points capped by 2 Ray Allen free throws, after being down as much as 16. Only by watching the poor offensive execution by Cleveland in this game did it make any sense.

KG and Lebron led their teams, but no one followed. Both teams missed open shots when they had them and that was more often than you might think. Both teams had unforced turnovers and stagnant offenses at times. That’s what a slow down pace with 2 solid defensive teams will do to a game. Missing the open shots was a negative bonus for those who watched the game.

Wally Szczerbiak, Zydrunas Ilguaskas, Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, Anderson Verajeo, and Damon Jones shot 8 for 39 (.205%) on the evening. Only Delonte West, Joe Smith and James were effective offensively for the Cavs.

Ray Allen Rondo, Pierce, Davis, Posey and Brown shot 11-38 (.29%). Perkins and Eddie House were accurate, if not frequent, in scoring. At different times in the game, I was surprised that one team or the other didn’t have a bigger lead. Both teams ran into rough spots that seemed as if a top team would take advantage and put the game out of reach. It never happened. Both teams mucked back to the middle of the pack.

There was very little scoring in the paint by either team, evidenced by the 22-20 slight Cavalier edge for the night.

It seemed like a game the Cavs were waiting for the Celtics to take over. The Celtics never got the message. It would been a great game for Doc to say to the team at almost any point in the game, ” Hey guys just play loose, push it, and play your way. You have nothing to lose.”

While the Celtics played as if every possession was big, they still had 16 turnovers. Might as
well play a little more carefree and loose. If you turn it over then, at least you’re playing Celtic ball. The Celtics could afford to do that in this one. They can’t on Sunday. The Celtics’ body language for much of the evening suggested a weight upon their shoulders. It shouldn’t have been. They were playing on house money.

Call it another missed opportunity. The Cavs were quite beatable it seemed. No one on the Celtics was carrying a big fork with them.

Deceptive Plus/minus?
While Ray Allen was ineffective offensively again, and could bear the brunt of a building undercurrent of criticism of his play-off long shooting slump, his was the best plus/minus (+14) on the team. The other player with a solid plus/minus was Kendrick Perkins (+11). It was shocking to see that. The Celtics were out rebounded all night and gave up 16 offensive boards. That might be the most telling statistic of the game. I thought both players were culpable for the lack of offensive options for the Celtics with Rondo being another one.

Say what you want about the ‘other things’ that Ray is doing, and how he doesn’t have to score to be effective. Yes, he can make plays for others and draws a defender or two every time he touches the ball. But when an opponent turns a 20 point scorer into a ten point scorer, it can only help that team. I believe that Ray needs to pick up his scoring and hit his shots to make things easier on the offense, most especially on the road. And except for the last game, Paul Pierce needs to improve in point production as well. Only KG has been delivering with regularity. Yet, he too can improve his low post production.

Cleveland’s defense has been excellent. But it doesn’t get any easier from here on out.

As good as Rondo was the other night, he was that ineffective this night. Doc changed the rotation by having Eddie House as the back-up point guard, instead of a struggling Sam Cassell. The team did better in the 18 minutes that Eddie was in the game than with Rajon, the Celtics wunderkind. But please note – Delonte West had zero assists in 40 plus minutes tonight. Rajon had something to do with that. Rondo did have 5 rebounds, 5 assist, 2 steals and 3 TOs.

Glen Davis was the early big off the bench. After an initial burst, he was lulled into ineffective offense with the rest of the team. Normally he finds a way to score around the paint against taller players. It wasn’t to be on this evening, as he went 2-8, all from underneath. I thought that PJ Brown might have been a better option to try after Glen began missing underneath.

Lebron James had more foul shots than the entire Celtic team. He also led both teams with 12 rebounds and 7 turnovers. But honestly, except for a few homer calls, the Celtics were well defended every time they tried to go to the middle. Cleveland’s defense has been every bit as good as the Celtics.

The Celtics head home for a final showdown with the Cavaliers. While they have been dominant, at home, a game 7 against a Lebron led team should be their toughest test of the season. Don’t expect the Cavs to fold like the Hawks did. They have been to the league finals.

One more thing….much 2nd guessing was made about the Cleveland trades and suggested they were sideways deals at best, perhaps worse. I always thought that they could be good for the team. This play-off series reinforces those thoughts.

Only Wally and Delonte’s inconsistency from outside has kept Lebron crowded. Joe Smith and Ben Wallace have given the Cavs better interior defense than Gooden would have, and Smith has had good offensive games at the Quicken Center. I find it hard to believe that Larry Hughes and Gooden would have made this Cav team tougher to play than the current one the Celtics are playing.

So now it comes down to a ‘winner take all’ single game. Is it the least mistakes or the best execution that wins it? Find out on Sunday afternoon.

Work in Progress or Winner in Play? How about both?

Do I get an assist for Rondo’s big game and two threes?

I criticized a Celtic fan favorite and the very next game he made me look foolish.

It happened once before with Kendrick Perkins. I did a piece mentioning his habit of bringing the ball down before dunking or laying it up.

Two games later he had his 2nd 20 point game in 3 games and 3rd of the 41 game season (at that point) – never to do it again this season. I swear the Celtic players read my column and said let’s show that guy a thing or two about Perk. Take that, Mr. Know Nothing CT Post blogger. (I flatter myself. I doubt they read my column.)

I did it again. Proof?

Exhibit A

From my May 12th piece on the Celtics loss…

“People will say Rajon Rondo did his job. He did not. He had three assists and missed shots he should have made – both at the hoop and from distance, his 7-14 shooting and 1-3 from the arc notwithstanding. Now is not the time for Rondo to be practicing three pointers. His defense has been less than spectacular. Rondo is being left laughably wide open.”

That was true. His 7-14 was done largely with open looks. Practice session shots. 10 of 14 type shots. You have to keep that in perspective, as much as I like Rondo – and I like Rajon quite a bit. I underlined the three pointer comment for your enjoyment.

What does Double R do? He hits two pivotal open threes to jump start the Celtics surge that carried over to the Celtics taking the lead in the 3rd quarter. Well, shut my mouth. He then goes out and helps dismantle the Cavaliers and their hopes of the first road win of the series. Sorry Lebron. Even more sorry Delonte West – Rajon’s former team mate and alter ego on the Cavs. Rajon says —no win here.

It’s a little bit dangerous to criticize a Celtic fan favorite like Rondo around the internet boards.

But let me state a couple of things about blog writing. It is part information, a lot of analysis or opinion and part entertainment. If I wrote an article for print, I’d stick to the facts along with some analysis. It is a slightly different format and for a somewhat different audience. I view this blog as a little bit of a hybrid. Not as opinionated as I might be on a straight internet blog, but more so than a print piece.

And while I don’t want to diminish Rajon’s great shots, remember folks, they were wide open practice session or pre-game type shots. I’m excited he made them. It literally turned the tide. But the Cavs said they could live with those shots. They probably will leave Rajon alone again. What if he misses them next time? It was the first 2 three point game of his career.

Sorry if I offended you Jonny Rondo (again – no I’m sure he doesn’t read this). Maybe my next critical piece should be about Ray Allen. He needs a boost. But I digress.

To Rajon’s credit, he started going to the basket the rest of the game – with a vengeance. He drove, floated and dished the Celtics to victory. He became himself.

So what is my point? Am I a killjoy? Not trying to be. Just keeping perspective in things. Rajon is a work-in-progress and there are going to be a lot more games of open looks. There will be more games where he misses more than he makes. If you want to be honest, he was even missing on his strong suit – his drives, before last night.

He is a high caliber point guard in the making – accent on the last three words. He has his troubles on the road. He said last night that it all starts with him. Unfortunately, there is some truth to that. He has to do a better job of directing the team offense and playing defense on the road. Point guard is possibly the most critical position on the team. This is not a team that is developing players. Yet that is exactly what is happening with Rondo. Call it ‘learn by doing’. Pressure anyone?

It is important to note KG’s shot making and Pierce’s end game drives and foul shooting as keys to the Celtic win, too. But the team needed a spark. Rajon ignited the fire and fanned the flame with his play for the rest of the game.

The team was slowly sinking into a home loss. KG wasn’t providing a spark. Paul Pierce tried to, but wasn’t able to either. Ray Allen is still looking for his lost shot. The big three didn’t look so big or so star-like. Jonny Rondo to the rescue.

If he does that on Friday, this series could very well see its first road win – courtesy of Rajon Rondo – Firestarter.

Funny side note: Seeing McDonald’s bags of food in the Cavaliers locker room before the game. The table only had some candy mints or something like that on it. Like little kids, Damon Jones and one other civilian clothed player were happily sitting on the floor, indulging America’s junk food habit, Mickey Ds burgers and fries. No matter how cool you think you are, McDonald’s fries are still great.

The saying “There’s no place like home” could never be truer. And after a hard fought 96-89 victory, the Celtics are now but a single win away from the Eastern Conference Finals and a waiting Detroit.

A truism uttered long before Dorothy said it in the Wizard of Oz, the Celtics returned to Kansas, (make that TDbanknorth Garden), from Oz, (make that Quickens Loans Arena) to secure their 7th straight home victory in this year’s play-offs. Their 5 trips to Oz have so far left them empty, cold, and hungry. They’ve yet to kill the Wicked Witch of the Road.

In game 5, the Celtics finally broke out from Cleveland’s defensive grip for their series high in points, FG% (.481), and three 20 point scorers to boot. After getting behind by 14 points late in the half, they turned the game around in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and held on for the win.

They started out looking like tin men, but turned King James and the Cavs into cowardly lions by the 3rd period. My, how quickly things changed. Lebron and Wally… then Rondo…..oh my! Was he good.

The Celtics were already down an ‘uh-oh’ 14 points with but 3:50 left until half time. Sparked by two consecutive Rajon Rondo three pointers within 30 seconds of each other, sandwiched around a Kevin Garnett steal, the crowd and the team was ignited.

The crowd was primed for something good to happen, as the Cavs, led by Lebron’s first series scoring explosion of his own, had taken the Boston crowd out of the equation with solid play on both ends of the floor. Lebron had 23 points by half time.

Wally Szczerbiak on the game’s turning point….

A couple of big threes got the crowd into the game, and when you get a team like this down you’ve got to keep them down. They’re very explosive and capable. They got the crowd into the game, and that was key to their comeback.

After my recently writing about missing bursts by the Celtics on the road, they erupted with a series of bursts last night at home. If they could only package a few and take them on the road with them.

The Celtics went from passive to aggressive in 30 short seconds, the time it took for Rondo to hit his threes. As they have been doing all series, the Cavaliers dared him to shoot. He took the dare. It marked the beginning of a Celtic avalanche of dominant play at both ends of the floor. Kevin and Paul immediately jumped on the Rondo momentum for 6 more points to close within 3 points of the Cavs 43-46 by the half. Rondo had 7 assists by the break. The Celtics we knew all year were again present.

Garnett was a 3rd quarter monster with 8 points on 4-4 shooting, 3 assists, 2 blocks. But it a Celtic team party with 12-16 shooting overall in the 3rd. Rondo continued what he started with 6 more points, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a big offensive rebound. Ray Allen had 6 points on 2-3, and Pierce added 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in the quarter.

Oddly, the game started with dual 24 second shot clock violations. I’ve never seen that before. It would indicate what kind of game it was to be. The Cavs went on to have at least 3 more 24 second violations before the night was through, and a critical 5 second violation when Delonte West couldn’t find an open man to throw in to with 11 seconds left, giving the ball and preserving the win to the Celtics.

Rajon Rondo admittedly had his biggest game of his career, finishing with 20 points on 9 of 15, 13 assists, and solid hyper aggressive overall play. Once he got going he couldn’t be stopped. His work included a couple of floaters right over 7′ 3″ Zydrunas Ilguaskas. Kevin Garnett played like the team leader, finishing with 26 points and 16 rebounds. Paul Pierce was high point man with 29, including 11-13 foul shots. He went to the line for 8-10 in the final 1:23 to successfully ice the win.

Lebron James finished with a game high 35, but only 12 in the 2nd half. Rondo wasn’t the only guard having a great game as Delonte West tried to bring his team back in the 4th
with relentless drives to the hoop and scored 11 in the quarter and 21 on the night.

PJ Brown was in to make sure there were no lay-ups and had 2 hard fouls on Anderson Verajeo. Glen Davis provided the ‘Pile On’ with 6 points early in the 4th period to extend the lead.

Ray Allen was guarded by Wally Szczerbiak most of the night and had another difficult night scoring (11pts on 4-11)

I’m just trying not to give him anything easy. He’s a great shooter and a great player. I’m trying to make him work. You can’t give him an inch. That’s what I’m trying to do.

Wally the defender?
You’re know as an offensive player. Do you think your defense is under rated?

Uh. I guess, hopefully some people start saying that. I work hard on the defensive end and follow the team schemes, and I’m long and I’m pretty strong and I move pretty well for my size. I have an advantage in size and he has an advantage in quickness, so it’s a fun match up for you guys to watch.

Rondo wheeled and dealed for 13 dimes including a Garnett dunk on a drive and dish and brought the house down. Ray Allen also had a three pointer that rocked the building.

So the Celtics head back to Oz on Friday night, in search of their first play-off road win and a ticket to the next round.