The Boston Celtics continue to defy just about everyone and everything….the top NBA teams, referees, old age, each other, their fans, gravity, injuries and logic.
What are they against? ‘What have you got?’ asks a defiant Marlon bRondo. ‘Us against them’ fuels their drive.
A more eclectic cast of characters on a single team I have never seen. The leather jacketed tough guy, battered but unphased collection of ballers is cutting a swath of destruction through the NBA’s elite teams. The all-but-dead Orlando Magic got up off the canvas and delivered a few haymakers, courtesy of Dwight Howard, of their own. The cussing and double concussed Boston Celtics controlled their own verbalocity and let their games do the talking for them to end the Eastern Conference Title series.
The Celtics just defeated the Orlando Magic 96-84 and 4 games to 2 in a surprise playoff run that no one could have predicted, and the Celtics players will tell you they never doubted.
Those who win the wars get to write the history. So the Men in Green will write the latest chapter and the penultimate chapter to this amazing year. If it were a comic book it would be called ‘Tales of the Unexpected.’
After a ‘beyond startling’ 3-0 jump out to what was an undefeated Magic team in the playoffs, the Magic looked cooked and ready to serve up as the latest victim to the regenerated Green Machine. Like a lizard that grew it’s tale back, the Green Goblins have been eating up opponents north and south.
Then momentum changed in game 4 as the Magic won in overtime. They fought back to win again in game 5, sending the Celtics back home with some trepidation and work to do.
It is fitting that in the Magic’s final game of the season, the Celtics used green Krypto-Nate to weaken Orlando’s superman-led team. Nate’s first half appearance was spurred by a hurting Rajon Rondo (Mr. Fantastic) who fell on his back hard on a drive. Nate got Doc’s prophetic chance and made good.
First Quarters Were Key
The Celtics started fast in what has been a very critical first quarter fast and held the lead when Nate came in. But Robinson drilled the Magic for 13 points in 8 minutes and broke things open. Doc Rivers’ April prediction about Nate winning a playoff game for the Celtics came true on this night. Little Nate was…huge.
After Orlando closed a 20 point lead to 13 at the half, ever dangerous Ray Allen started the second half by drilling 2 straight three pointers to open up a 19 point lead that would take the steam out of a never-say-die Orlando team. You could hear their backs slowly breaking. Only a collapse by the Celtics would change the outcome of the game that would send the Magic home for the summer.
This was the same Ray Allen that many thought was through and merely useful trade bait….say for…Antawn Jamison or Caron Butler. Ray’s own play seemed to be in a funk as the possibility that he might end up the season in a different town wearing a different jersey must have been running through his mind. Once the trading date passed, Ray revived, and once again was a consistent and lethal shooter.
Those ‘other’ two players did eventually get traded to teams that many considered strong playoff contenders. They are home now. Ray plays on, in large part due to his own efforts with this aging Celtic team. He finished with 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting with 3 very big three pointers.
The Magic would not give up as they did in game three, when they looked ready to be covered with dirt, but they would not be able get the lead below 14 despite repeated attempts to whittle down the Celtics.
Paul Pierce played yet another inspired big game when the Celtics needed it most. He had 19 second half points with multiple big shots from all over the floor and 31 for the game. If that wasn’t enough, Pierce led both teams with 13 rebounds while adding 5 assists. Pierce’s big game will add to his growing Celtic legend.
He and Ray Allen held off any attempts at momentum breaking runs by Orlando with big shot after big shot.
A well used and worn Rajon Rondo answered the bell with yet another gutsy performance. His play may be the most critical of all on a team of impact players. He finished with 6 assist, and 14 points and a tremendous floor game.
The Celtics’ heart and soul of their defense, Kevin Garnett, helped hold Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard down and added 10 points and a block and 5 rebounds.
A much quieter Kendrick Perkins played an enormous 33 minutes, finishing with 7 rebounds and just 2 points as he was occupied with keeping Clark Kent in civilian clothes. One of his previous 2 technical fouls was rescinded by the league office, thus removing his one game suspension
The Bench
The Celtic bench of Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace, Nate Robinson, and Tony Allen out played the Magic bench and helped create the difference in this win.
Glen played after suffering a concussion and some missing dental work courtesy of Dwight Howard’s elbow in the last game. He finished with 7 rebounds, sold defense, and 6 points.
So the Celtics will meet the winner of the Lakers/Suns series next Thursday. Chants of Beat L.A. were ringing through the TD Garden as the game wore on and the lead hovered around 20 points.
In a year that has not gone according to plan, the Cs are getting things together at the exact right time.
On a team that has the league’s best starting five, they have reached what was their goal from the start, the NBA Finals.
The only thing left to prove is that they are the World’s Finest. With a week before the Finals start, they could use the rest.
They are just 4 wins away from Celtic NBA title #18. It seems like another story book ending in that it looks like the Lakers may be their opponent.
If the Lakers hold true and beat the Suns, it should be an explosive and well matched battle between two worthy contenders. NBA basketball will again hold the nation’s attention as the league’s most storied franchises will meet in an epic series.
Orlando had no magic left to stop a rampaging Celtic team.
The Celtics are steam rolling through the best the NBA has to offer. And somehow, someway, NBA history is being made before our very eyes.
The (switch) flipping Boston Celtics are headed to a date with destiny with the L.A. Lakers after just one more win.
Orlando looked old, lifeless and confused in the wake of a tidal wave of energy, a vice grip defense, and purposeful basketball of a veteran Boston Celtic team. The newly awaken Green Machine is intrepid in its march toward another NBA title. Yes, the younger team looks old and the older team looks youthful and filled with boundless energy.
The Celtics’ superb and relentless defensive cohesion is combined with a patient, team first offense orchestrated by the indefatigable Rajon Rondo.
Did the Celtics Rope-a-Dope the NBA?
With all the craftiness and quiet humbleness of Muhammed Ali, they rope-a-doped the NBA during the regular season much like Ali did to big George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle in the Congo, and, after resting since Christmas Day, are now going to work on the head and body of the NBA’s best teams.
First against a stacked and league leading (61 wins) Cleveland team and now against a very deep Orlando team that came into this series with two straight sweeps, sporting an 8-0 playoff record.
Orlando traded for everything they could get their hands on in the off season. The one thing they couldn’t trade for, the Celtics have massed in abundance – gritty, nasty, street tough confidence.
The Celtics beat… no, make that destroyed the Orlando Magic for the 3rd straight game to go up 3-0 and removed any pulse the dying Orlando team might have had. With a vicious burst of combined offense and defense right out of the gate from the surging Celtics, the Magic were DOA.
As Paul Pierce was quoted in his twitter account after seeing the Lakers dismantle the Magic in last year’s championship series – It was a rottweiler against a poodle.
The Celtics, now winners of 6 straight playoff games, including 4 away games, returned home to turn the Boston crowd into a frenzied mass fully aware that they were watching something special unfold right before their very eyes.
Paul Pierce got them started. Rajon Rondo’s boundless energy at both ends of the floor was typified by one incredible hustle play for the ages. Glen Davis was the game’s leading scorer with 17, all the while providing a heart filled, one man assault.
Kendrick Perkins continued to make Dwight Howard look all too human. Rasheed Wallace’s playoff resurrection moved along with 10 points and solid 2-way play for 17 plus minutes. Tony Allen kept on keeping on with solid defense and staying within his role offensively.
All of this was supported by what was previously known as the Big Three. Ray Allen had another rim rocking dunk and all around excellent floor game with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
Paul Pierce finished with 15 loud points, 9 important rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and, amazingly, just a single turnover.
But behind it all was the smothering, game changing Celtic defense, led by the eternally intense Kevin Garnett. You must understand that it is KG’s presence and revitalized abilities firing up that defense that proved to be the murder weapon in this spectacle.
It was a total team effort as Boston’s 8 man rotation outplayed what could be called the league’s deepest bench. And yet, Orlando’s starting 5 is being completely exposed and rendered harmless by a Celtic team that knew the Magic only have 2 players that can create their own shot – Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter.
Orlando’s offense was scattered and on a continual retreat from the very start of this contest. They looked lost and beat from early on. Such a deconstruction of what was such a good team on such a great roll appears to be a singularly unique event in NBA history. I can’t think of any comparable experience.
Rajon Rondo finished with 12 assists, but that hardly belies his relentless and focused energy that contributes to so much of what the Celtics do. He has the energy of Havlicek, a Larry Bird-like confidence and aversion to media, and a brashness reminiscent of Pierce and Garnett.
Ubuntu lives. 6 Celtic players scored in double figures, but no one had more 17 and one starter wasn’t among them. Kendrick Perkins embraces ubuntu by being the only starter not in double figures scoring with just 6 points, but a yeoman’s job once again by keeping Dwight Howard ineffective.
Glen Davis was ‘on’ offensively for his best game of the playoffs this season. But he was also great defensively on Dwight Howard, as was Rasheed Wallace, who, along Perkins, made Howard go 3 for 10 for just 7 points on the evening.
The Celtics are rewriting or breaking most of the rules of what it takes to be a championship team. Only a team with the magnitude of confidence that these players have could pull such a thing off.
The next game and probably last one before the Finals start is Monday night in Boston. Orlando has been so shut down that there appears little hope and even less will that they get beyond Monday.
The Boston Celtics shocked the world by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 2.
But Paul Pierce is unimpressed.
Unpredictable is an understatement. Impressive and stunning are good attempts at describing what they just accomplished.
When Bob Ryan asked him about the upset series victory and what it meant to him and the team, Pierce was silent and puzzled for a moment, before answering.
Few…make that none…of the pundits picked Boston to win this series. Many Celtic fans had also written their own team off.
Paul Pierce calmly regained composure and espousing genuine confidence, reiterated the set goal that all but the members of the Celtic team thought unattainable. Another NBA title is the only thing that will get this team excited, said the Celtic captain. That is the goal.
All of a sudden, Boston doesn’t look so old. They look dangerous. Damned dangerous. ‘Don’t walk down the alley near them’ kind of dangerous. They looked as locked in as they did 2 years ago.
They played gang tackling defense again. They stripped LeBron James of the ball so many times, it was simply eye opening and incredibly perplexing to see. ‘The king’ was more than dethroned. He was shown to be the man behind that curtain, instead of the great and powerful Oz.
James simply does not play great ball when he gets to the playoffs. And, in the end, the Cavs were still a one man team.
James had a great game numbers-wise. But to put it in perspective, his ‘monster’ 19 rebound game was one more than Rajon Rondo, the Celtics 6’ 1” point guard had in his monster game. It is enough to make you re-think LeBron James and to wonder if maybe he’s just not quite as great as you thought. A change in perception, if not in environment will certainly be in order.
Certainly, the Cavs’ coach Mike Brown will be hearing the ice crack beneath him, as Doc Rivers and the Celtics out coached and out played his team. Wild (and not so wild) hypotheses are all ready being formed about where LeBron James will take his uniquely singular game next season.
Celtic fans (and myself) worried about who would guard Lebron James when this inevitable match up came to pass. While many Celtics stepped up and it was a team effort, Paul Pierce sacrificed his offense to be the player they couldn’t find in a trade.
That was best exemplified in a late game moment when Pierce was glued to James like a 6′ 7″ neck tie on a drive to the hoop, simply mirroring LeBron’s movement, as James bounced the ball off the back board. LeBron looked for a foul. But even Jeff Van Gundy said it superb defense by Paul.
Who can figure this team out? They are doing what they said they would do. The regular season meant nothing. They are playing their best basketball when it counts the most…now.
They just knocked off the team many expected to be playing the Lakers in the finals this year. And now they face the team the rest of the NBA observers feel will be the Lakers’ opponent, the streaking Orlando Magic.
The Magic are undefeated in the playoffs and have won 8 straight games, including a carving up of the young and talented Atlanta Hawks. Speaking of good byes…Good bye Mike Woodson. Good bye Joe Johnson. Forget my article on giving Mike Woodson a new contract. The 0-4 showing closed that door, a rational observer would think.
Rasheed Wallace has awoken from a year long slumber. He said he would. The Celtics need him. He brings some very valuable skills to this Celtic team in areas where they are weak. They need him to play well to win it all. He can…and they can. Wallace is great to watch play when he is motivated like that. What a talent.
And let me be among the first to suggest that next year Kevin Garnett could be even better next year than this year. He’ll be healthier, contrary to previous utterings from KG. I’ve always felt that most players return from most injuries before they are fully healed. Tony Allen did it. It is my belief that Garnett did as well. Both are playing their best ball of the year right now. Both players got better as the season wore on.
So, this season the Celtics paced themselves after all. Maybe not entirely by plan, but by necessity. They had injuries to deal with. They had age to deal with. They played .500 ball since December and said, “Don’t worry about it.”
Kevin Garnett, post game, alluded to chemistry issues and the emergence of Rajon Rondo in much the same sentence. Accepting that emergence apparently required some internal challenges to the team.
The emphasis on Garnett’s offense was a direct result of him being guarded by Antawn Jamison. The match up was a great one for the Celtics and solid strategy by Doc Rivers. I’ve wanted KG to be more involved offensively all along.
But the Celtics thrive on defense. The Celtics’ Big Green Wall is back.
It was said before the playoffs began that the Cs had a puncher’s chance of getting to the title series. They no longer look like a puncher. They are regaining the tactical fortitude to endure and parlay any attack by their opponents.
Make no mistake, Orlando will offer a more difficult attack to defend and, as a team, will challenge the Celtics in ways the Cavaliers could not.
But no team in the NBA has a more seriousness of purpose than the Boston Celtics. In their minds, Orlando is just the next challenge to overcome on the way to another NBA title.
As Paul Pierce says…the only thing Celtic teams get excited about is hanging banners.
Most incredibly, when viewed from just the season’s end, they are 8 wins away from achieving that goal.
It is time people started to take that quest seriously. Quite Seriously.
Rajon Rondo put on a show for the ages today as he willed the Celtics to a hard fought victory against a Cavalier team that just would not go away. The series is now tied at two wins a piece.
On Friday night, 6’ 8” 250 lb. superstar LeBron James was unstoppable. Today, it was the diminutive 6’ 1” 186 lb. Rajon Rondo who could not be contained by an entire Cleveland team. Rondo had a triple double for the ages. The Celtics won 97-87.
Whether Cleveland played off of him or not, Rondo played the Cavs for everything his malicious mind, unrelenting electric energy, and sinewy body assaults could muster. I can confidently say that a better 46 minutes and 48 seconds of ruthless guile meted out by one so small has never been witnessed.
It could not be considered any but a spectacular performance by the acerbic assassin, a rising star on a team of Hall of Fame stars past their apex.
“I told him in the back [trainer's room], that wasn’t just great — that was special,” said Pierce. “Few people in the league can put together a special performance. He’s starting to grow, starting to show that on a more consistent basis. When we need a game, he can win us a game and that’s what he did tonight.”
The inexhaustible Rajon Rondo has been more than the Celtics best player in this playoff series. He is, without question, the single biggest reason the Celtics are tied with the Cavaliers at this point.
Rondo led both teams in the three biggest categories with 29 points, grabbing 18 rebounds, yet managing to dish for 13 assists, while adding 2 steals for his 4th playoff triple double in a monster game. Larry Bird leads the Celtics with 10 playoff triple doubles.
Only two other players have achieved (at least) that many points, rebounds and assists combined in NBA playoff history. They were Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain, two of the biggest and most talented names the game has ever seen. Rajon Rondo adds his name to that most exclusive club.
While it’s been said that veteran teams win championships, the Celtics would not have won today without the young legs of Rondo, Tony Allen, and Glen Davis. It was the Celtics’ young turks who ignited the Celtics near the end of third quarter to a 12-0 burst through to the 8:40 mark of the 4th period to break away from a brief tie to an 84-72 lead.
Cleveland had one more run in them as they closed to 84-86 on a Anderson Verajeo lay up and foul shot with 4:34 left.
At that point, Tony Allen, who had come for the injured Ray Allen, and was making his presence felt at both ends of the floor, scored his 14th points on a lay up off a Kevin Garnett pass. He and Glen Davis were running the floor on fast breaks to start the 4th and were the recipients of Rondo passes for lay ups. The Cavs couldn’t keep up with them.
AP Report…
“I think it starts with Rondo. He’s kind of the engine that really gets them going,” (LeBron) James said. “He does everything for them. His performance was unbelievable.
Rondo was definitely the difference maker.”
It was an individual performance within the team’s system in a game that will be a playoff classic for many years. This game was a game of mini runs throughout. The Celtics didn’t grab a double digit lead until the second half, then quickly gave it up.
Rondo had a number of mind numbing highlight reel passes that broke down a terrific and tightly packed Cavalier defense that resulted in scores. Not one of his flashiest, but one of his best, was a drop pass while in the middle to a cutting Pierce for a dunk to make the score 90-85 with 2:21 left. It was nothing but nerves of steel and a genius pass to a struggling Paul Pierce for only his 7th points of the game.
Literally everywhere on the court in this contest, Rajon then grabs the offensive rebound in the paint on a Garnett miss on the Celtics’ next possession and lays it back in for his 27th points and a 92-85 lead with 1:21 left in the game.
After going into a 7-0 hole to start the game, the Celtics ran off the next 12 points and outscored Cleveland 31-15 over the rest of the 1st quarter.
LeBron James was held to a pedestrian 22 points on 7 of 18 shooting, but almost had a triple double himself with 9 rebounds and 8 assists, to go with 7 turnovers. Notably, James’ shot was blocked 3 times.
Kendrick Perkins led both teams with 4 blocks and concentrating on defense, took just 2 shots for zero points.
Ray Allen took 21 shots, making just 8 for 18 points, but otherwise being effective on both sides of the court, before leaving with an injured ankle after 38 minutes.
Kevin Garnett contributed 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting as well as 6 rebounds. He anchored the defense as the Celtics played the pick and roll very well
Paul Pierce continued to struggle, mightily at times, and shot just 3 of 8 while looking out of sync offensively out there. Unlike 2008, guarding LeBron James and scoring efficiently at the same time may be asking too much of the aging captain now. Either that, or his shoulder is bothering him, or he has some other injury that is being kept under wraps at the moment. Clearly, Pierce is not himself.
Tony Allen scored 15 points in 25 plus minutes on 6 of 7 shooting, while grabbing 5 rebounds, 2 steals, an assist, and a blocked shot. All the while he brought tremendous energy at both ends of the floor.
Jimmy Toscano of Celticsblog.com…
“Tony Allen may have been the biggest reason we won after Rondo,” Rivers said. “He was just attacking. Our saying with Tony is, ‘Don’t let him off the hook,’ meaning, don’t bail him out with a jump shot. Take it to the basket- that’s who you are, and there’s nothing wrong with being that.”
Rasheed Wallace scored but three points but played very well otherwise, with the Celtics outplaying the Cavaliers by 12 points with him in there. He even dove on the floor for a loose ball once. Yes, really. I mean that. ‘Sheed grabbed 3 rebounds and was active with 2 steals and 2 blocks, while playing solid defense in his 19 plus minutes.
Jimmy Toscano of Celticsblog.com…
“We’re going to win this series because Rasheed plays defense,” Rivers said. “And that’s what he did today. You look at his line and he was 0-3; he only had three rebounds. But he was deflecting, blocking shots, clogging the lane, fouling hard. That’s what we needed from him, and it was great to see.”
Glen Davis garnered 18 plus minutes, going 2 of 3, with a steal and a block. He was an active defender, enthusiastic screen setter at the offensive end, and grabbed 3 boards with a steal and a block.
It was a game you can point to, if Rondo continues his ascent to superstardom, as a big step on the way in that actualization.
Cleveland played a very tough and poised game under terrific pressure from the Celtics and Rondo. They almost stole it out from under the Celtics, in spite of Rondo’s assault.
If this were a prize fight, each contender has alternately absorbed standing 8 counts with huge losses at home. Both have sealed off serious bleeding and they have now steadied themselves and exchanged flurries. With Rondo landing an insane amount of jabs, the Celtics won the latest round on points. The series moves back to Cleveland for the next round – game 5.
The question is, “How will the Celtics do against the Cavaliers today?”
In article that speaks truth about this curious season of a Celtic team’s ups and downs, even Doc Rivers takes the brief and vague response approach when asked how his team will do each game….
Rivers in the Boston Herald….
“I never really answer that,” he said. “I say something like, ‘Oh, we’ll be fine.’ I never get into that stuff. They ask if we’re all right and how we look, and I say, ‘We’ll be all right.’ That’s about it. That’s all they get from me.”
Bulpett confesses…
‘Sometimes I lie.’
Celtic starting center and all around snarling good guy Kendrick Perkins? Does he know? Afterall he’s on the team and in the locker room and at all practices….
Perkins…
“Nope,” he said.
Then he asks Steve if he knows…
“What about you? What do you think?”
I have no idea.
“Me neither,” said Perkins.
That’s a little comforting. I hate being stupid alone.
“No,” Perk said, “I’m right with you.”
Add my name to that group.
I’ll tell exactly how this game will go…after the game.
So, it appears that the death of the Cleveland Cavaliers was greatly exaggerated after all.
The TD Garden is attached to Boston’s North Station. Yesterday, a freight train from Cleveland named LeBron James jumped the tracks, plowed through the Garden wall and ran amok, destroying everything in his path. There were 15 serious injuries, maybe more, and thousands of eye witnesses to the destruction.
Meek attempts by the Celtics to stop the train resulted in more bruises to the Celtics than LeBron James. They could scarcely get in his way.
Calls for, ‘Is there a James Posey in the House?’ went unanswered.
I was beginning to wonder about my own perspective when I saw all the excited ‘post game two’ articles talking about the impotence of Cleveland and the rise of Boston. I saw it as far more needed by the Celtics to do what they did than a weakness of Cleveland.
While Doc Rivers was ‘technically correct’ earlier to suggest that Boston had 4 chances to grab a game in Cleveland, and losing the first 2 there wouldn’t have been the end of the world, tonight’s game emphasized the extreme importance to do it earlier rather than later. The Celtics desperately had to grab the offensive by splitting in Ohio.
Cleveland has home court. Cleveland has the league’s premiere player (arguably) in LeBron. He will get calls no one else will. The Cavs will get calls the Celtics won’t – especially in 4 of 7 games they play at home. They are deep. They played well all season.
The complete beat down by LeBron and the Cavs of the Celtics at the TD Garden Friday night wasn’t completely unexpected. But it was a bit surprising how the Celtics handled it…or should I say…didn’t handle it.
The numbers will give you the general picture:
Cleveland won by 29 points:124-95. The Celtics never led in this game. They got as close as 2 points at 8-10 early on, on a pair of Garnett free throws at the 8:09 mark. Then the Cavs went on a 10-0 run that turned into a 26-7 run and a 21 point lead…in the first period.
They were essentially out of this game early and we can argue about exactly when that was. But that isn’t important. And the Men in Green were down as many as 35 points in the second half to give you the goriest details.
They were out rebounded by 45-30. Boston shot .427. Cleveland shot .595 for the entire game. Yeah, you get the picture. The starters couldn’t do it and the bench was worse.
It was LeBron who was a one man wrecking crew. He scored 21 first quarter points while shooting 8 of 10 from the field. Many of them were from the outside. His jumper was clicking in this one. Forget the stuff about James’ injured elbow. May my elbow be so handicapped.
But the Celtics didn’t defense him well either. I know this Cavalier team is far more balanced than previous versions. But with that start, make the other players beat you. The Cavs dictated the Celtics offense by leaving Rondo as the open shooter. The Celtics must do the same to Cleveland by getting the ball out of James’ hands when he is shooting like that.
It was the worse home playoff loss in the history of the Celtics franchise. The story line? I mean, it is staring you right in the face. The Celtics didn’t come to play. They didn’t play well. They didn’t play smart. I don’t have to look for the forest. It is staring me in the face. But a few things were surprising to me.
Changes Should Have Occurred Sooner
To me, a Doc Rivers fan, I didn’t understand how Doc Rivers managed this game. Not playing well is one thing. Not playing smart is another. And give the Cavs’ defense tons of credit. It was energetic and aggressive all night.
I understand staying with a game plan when things don’t go your way at the start of a game. I really do. You don’t panic. You play through an opening flurry like the Cavaliers were delivering.
Weather it…and respond.
But it appeared early on that that the game plan wasn’t working. Yes, they were being out played and out worked. That doesn’t have anything to do with the game plan. No plan will work when you are getting out worked and out willed out there.
Rondo played well and with great energy. He even shot a decent percentage (9 of 17) on the evening. But he ended up being the guy taking the jump shots as they left him open in the first quarter. He made 3 of 9 of the 22 shots the Celtics took that period.
The Cs tried to get Paul Pierce going early but he wasn’t hitting, going 0-5. Kendrick Perkins hadn’t taken a shot, Ray was 1 of 3, and KG was 1 of 2.
Just as important, when the Celtics finally did respond with points of their own, the Cavs answered right back…and far too easily. Every three point shot by a Celtic was answered by a three by the Cavs. They had a lock on the Celtics.
So what appeared reasonable to me, in this case, was to make an early change before things got too far out of control. Sometimes getting your offense going will help you defensively.
I don’t think going to Rondo for jumpers was in the game plan any way. Pierce wasn’t hitting. Why not make a defined effort to go to Ray and KG? Go to Garnett and let him work for the shot or pass. He’ll either draw the defense or have a one on one situation to work with.
Perhaps even bring in Tony Allen, Mike Finley, Marquis Daniels, or even (gulp) Nate Robinson to break up the relentless opening blitz. Doc did try Finley and Tony late in the first quarter. It was just too late.
Cleveland’s suffocation of the Celtics needed to be disrupted. At least, an outside-the-box attempt was in order, in my opinion. Clearly the starting plan, what ever it was, was all but obliterated early on. Throw a monkey wrench into the works and see if it stabilizes things. KG and Ray should have been more involved offensively from early on, for one thing.
If that still didn’t work, then search for help from the bench. If Doc was going to use Nate Robinson with the starting 5 earlier would have been better to do so sooner.
Seeing Nate Robinson out there gunning away with the starters in the second half just seemed bizarre. It made little sense at that point. Nate Robinson as your first (it seemed like only) option with Ray, KG, Rondo, and Paul on the court was simply incomprehensible to me.
It would have been better if Doc was trying an energy group of bench players with a starter (or two) at that point.
Let it be noted that Tony Allen played aggressively and without a turn over.
Glen Davis was clearly fouled on the arm by LeBron on the shot that was blocked by King James. It isn’t as if Davis has enough trouble getting his shot off against size. That was a ‘double reputation’ call.
Though the foul shots ended up being about even, it was 17 attempts for the Cavs to 8 for the Celtics at half time. No doubt a lot of that was the difference in effort between the two teams. But it seemed like the Celtics didn’t get some hometown calls at the crucial early stages when they mattered more.
Saying that, Lebron James was superb early, just superb. A man that size shouldn’t be that quick and that fast. He took the fight to the Celtics. The Celtics were lax in defense on James and slow to react to the Cavs’ defense on the other end. Changes should have come sooner than they did.
I thought Paul Pierce would be far more of factor in this series offensively than he is so far. It seems that guarding LeBron takes a lot away from the other end of the floor for the captain. And LeBron is guarding Pierce pretty well. The Celtics need to address that going forward.
Garnett led the Celtics with 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting. Rondo added 18 points, and led the team with 8 assists and with 5 rebounds. Pierce and Nate Robinson were next at 11 points each.
LeBron James finished with 38 points on 14 of 22 shooting, 2 of 3 from the arc, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocked shots, a steal and a single turnover.
James had solid support from Antawn Jamison with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Shaquille O’Neal played big with 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting with 9 rebounds. Six Cavs were in double figures overall with former Celtic, Delonte West adding 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting off the bench.
Game 4 is Sunday at 3:30 in Boston.
The Bad News? Now the pressure is clearly again on Boston.
The Good News? The Celtics don’t really seem to really their best until the pressure is on. I’m sure they will respond with a solid game.
Sunday becomes a must win game. Otherwise the Celtics will have to win three in a row, including 2 more at Cleveland for three consecutive wins on the Cavs’ floor. A very difficult thing to do. I’d even call that impossible this season.
So Boston and Cleveland again switches places on the cliff.
Paul Pierce said they would have to play game two like a game seven.
Doc Rivers said they had three more chances to win in Cleveland. But he also said you don’t ever want to go down 2-0 in a series.
Boston came away with a convincing win that should put a little doubt in Cleveland’s mind and solidify the Celtics’ own feelings that they are coming together at just the right time.
Should the Celtics have lost again, the statistical gods start to overwhelm you with the mathematical hopelessness of trying to come back and win the series. Chances are something like 100-1 but it feels more like 1000 –1.
Road Scholars
Add that to the fact that they were playing the NBA’s most successful team, the 61 win Cleveland Cavaliers in their own place where they were also a league best 35-6 this season and 38-6 including a 3-0 record at home against the Chicago Bulls in the first round.
It could have been an epitaph game for a wayward Celtic team in search of answers all season long. Instead, the mighty Men in Green can possibly point to this game as the first shovel of dirt burying the excuses and accusations that were lurking just 48 minutes earlier.
In one short game, the entire complexion of the series has changed.
The Celtics, always believers in themselves, took a huge step in wrestling control of the series from the Cavaliers with a resounding 18 point win, 104-86, in Quickens Loans Arena, and making the Cavaliers look so bad in the process that the Cavalier fans were restless.
Boston looked dominating for most of the game behind Rajon Rondo’s franchise tying 19 assists (tied with Bob Cousy), Ray Allen’s clutch shooting 22 points, and Rasheed Wallace’s best game of the season with 17 explosive points in 18 dynamite minutes of the bench.
Rasheed Finally Answers the Call…and Then Some
Doc Rivers called Sheed out before the game, saying publicly that he must play better. Rasheed answered with a fantastic game and, with both guns blazing, pushed the Celtics into a sizable lead in the second quarter.
Wallace came in with the Celtics leading 16-14 in the 1st period. Just over 7 minutes later, at 8:25 of the second quarter, the Celtics went up 10 points, 38-28 on a three point bomb by Wallace for his 13th points in that span. Wallace went 5 for 5 overall and 3 for 3 from the three point line in that burst. It gave the Celtics an advantage they would not relinquish the rest of the game.
Facilitated by strong passing by Rondo, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett shot the Celtics into a larger and larger 3rd quarter lead.
Ray Allen was consistently strong in both halves, hitting 8 of 15 overall and 3 of 7 from the arc, while grabbing 7 rebounds.
Ray and Andy – Not Friends
You may remember, Ray Allen and Anderson Verajeo don’t enjoy each other’s company. Ray once drove his elbow up into Verajeo’s groin area from a kneeling position under the hoop. This time, Verajeo body bumped and knocked Ray Allen off his feet and out of bounds when he was driving to the hoop. Verajeo received a flagrant foul for his efforts.
Ray made the ensuing free throw and responded with a three pointer for revenge to send the Celtics up 78-57
The Beantown Ballers went up by 25 points at 91-66 with 8:32 left in the game before letting up on the gas and relinquishing all but 10 points of the lead. To that point, they held the Cavaliers to .39% shooting on 23 of 59 attempts, were out rebounding the Cavs by 36-26, and holding them to 4 of 15 from the arc.
Boston Clock Watching
The Cavs called a time out at that point. Boston started playing against the clock and lolly gagged up and down the court, getting away from the focus and energy that got them the big lead. J.J. Hickson and Lebron James became a 1-2 scoring punch for the Cavs. The duo scored 13 unanswered points and a Delonte West set of free throws got Cleveland to within 91-81 with 4:33 left.
Doc Rivers called a time out, and read his team the riot act. The Celtic starters responded by out scoring the Cavs 13-5 the rest of the way to win by 18 points.
The Celtics finished with all 5 starters and 6 players in double figures.
Kevin Garnett shot the ball 21 times (8 makes) for the second straight game with 20 or more attempts, and scored 18 points to go with his game leading 10 rebounds. I like the fact that Doc wants him to be more involved scoring. KG had 4 of his shots blocked and I don’t know if that has ever happened before. His shot used to be unblockable.
Garnett anchored an active and cohesive Celtic defense. This defense was smothering for long periods of time, especially in the critical 3rd period when the Celtics outscored the Cavs 31-12. The Celtic defense looked much like it did during their championship season.
The Celtics did a particularly good job on the Cavalier guards. Mo Williams went 1 for 9 and Tony Parker finished just 2 for 7 shooting.
Rajon Rondo finished another tremendous performance with 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting including a three pointer at the end of the first period. Rajon added 4 rebounds, 2 steals but 6 turnovers. But it was his game control and passing that stood out. Rondo is truly leading this Celtic team
Turnovers hurt the Celtics in an otherwise strong first quarter with 7. The Cs came out with purpose and focus, hitting 10 of 15 shots including 3 of 4 three pointers. At the same time they held the Cavs to just 9 of 24 shooting (.375%). Yet, Boston only led 26-22 because of carelessness with the ball.
Paul Pierce gaurded Lebron James most of the night and did a good job on him, though one wonders if James’ elbow isn’t bothering him more than he is letting on. James finished with 24 points on 7 of 15 shooting, with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 turnovers.
Pierce scored 14 points on 4 of 10 shooting and 4-4 from the foul line to go with 4 assists, 4 rebounds, a steal, and 4 turnovers. While Pierce had a steal, he was concentrating on straight up defense most of the night.
Kendrick Perkins played a terrific defensive game against Shaq and the Cavs while adding 5 of 6 shooting for 10 points and 9 rebounds.
Bench Comes Through
Glen Davis played an active 13 minutes, scoring 6 points with 2 rebounds, while adding a steal, giving the ball up to Rondo and getting it right back again for a lay up in the second quarter. He also drew an offensive foul on Shaq right after that.
Davis also caused Verajeo to loose the ball out of bounds in the 3rd quarter and got fouled shooting moments later, amking both free throws to go up 83-60.
Tony Allen played 15 minutes, played defense against Lebron, stole the ball twice, grabbed 4 rebounds and blocked a shot, while scoring 4 points.
So, this series, and the Celtics’ chances turned around in this one game. They played 30 minutes of dominating basketball in the first game and lost.
This time they played 40 minutes of solid dominating defense and won in a walk. If they continue to play defense this cohesively and get the offense to work as well as it did in this contest, the Celtics will be upsetting a title favorite and moving on to play the winner of the Hawks/Magic series.
But as good of a road team as these Celtics have been, they can’t say the same at home. If Wallace can finally string together a number of solid games in a row, this series becomes much more evenly matched.
In that event, I like the Celtics chances. After Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen, Rasheed Wallace is a key player in this series.
The Cleveland Cavaliers held home court by holding the Boston Celtics to 39 second half points to take a 1-0 series lead. The Cavs overcame an 11 point second half deficit to come back and win the first game of what is expected to be a tough series against the resurgent Celtics.
The game started out being all about Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. It ended up being all about LeBron James and Mo Williams, and yes, Shaquille O’Neal.
In a game that the Celtics clearly played their hearts out, the plot and results were a bit familiar. So, was this any different than the regular season? Absolutely. Completely. And… hmmm…maybe not. The effort was complete. The results were the same. And that speaks to their opponent as much as to themselves. The Cavaliers will possibly be their most difficult foe.
When the game started, the Celtics looked ready…confident…poised. They came out and took control. Kevin Garnett treated all to a pre-injury ‘throw back’ move with a crisp, strong, left to right running dunk send the Cs up 16-14.
Rondo began attacking the Cavaliers where they live, in and around the paint. He made tough shot after tough shot with acrobatic high arcers, quick ‘just over the rim’ lay-ups, and floaters and created shots for his teammates by doing so. The Celtics were rolling in the Quickens Loans Center.
I don’t want to say that I saw it coming, because I left the door open to all possibilities. Rajon Rondo could not sustain the energy of such a frenetic first half pace where he took it to the Cavs’ defense as he has never done. He was masterful in every way known to man.
Rondo punched holes in the Cavs defense for 19 points on 6 of 8 shooting and 8 assists in that first half.
Rajon finished with a team high 27 points on 7 of 10 shooting, including 12 of 14 foul shots, and 12 assists. He added 6 rebounds and hit a three pointer with authority.
But I was waiting for his counter part Mo Williams to get going and put pressure on Rondo defensively to try to offset his offense. It finally happened in the 3rd quarter.
Ray Allen came alive with consecutive three pointers (he was 2 of 7 from the arc) around a LeBron three pointer to extend the Celtic lead back to 11 at 69-58.
Mo Williams then got rolling starting with a ‘facial’ dunk on a fast break over a defending Paul Pierce. That was the first of 10 straight Cavalier points by Williams to bring the Cavs within 5 at 73-68.
The Celtics relinquished ‘The Lead that Rondo Built’ on a Lebron James acrobatic lay up around Paul Pierce and over Glen Davis at the 3rd quarter buzzer to go up down 78-79 entering the final quarter.
The Celtics tied it up for the final time at 90 on a Perkins lay up with 5:11 left. They would score just 3 points the rest of the way, making just 1 of 8 attempts, a Garnett lay up.
Shaquille O’Neal, who was playing with 5 fouls, 4 of them courtesy of a driving, attacking Rajon Rondo, tipped in his own missed shot with 1:02 left to put the Cavs up 98-93.
A supposedly gimpy armed LeBron James scored 35 points including the dagger three pointer with 22.9 seconds left to put Cleveland up 101-93 and the game out of reach. James shot 12 of 24 overall, and 3 of 6 from the arc, to go with 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocked shots in a game that the Celtics contained him ‘fairly’ well.
Pierce, who had 8 first quarter points on 4 of 5 shooting, lost the mark and shot just 1 of his last 10 and 0-4 down the stretch. Paul finished with 13 points.
Kevin Garnett was aggressive offensively right from start and led the team with 9 makes on 20 shot attempts. He had 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks on the night.
Kendrick Perkins had to go for stitches in his lip after an attempt to block a Shaq shot early in the game. Perkins came back in to grabbed 11 rebounds (5 offensive), score 9 points and block 2 shots.
Ray Allen was 6 of 14 shooting and finished with 14 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal. It would help a great deal to get more from Ray to win this series.
The Celtic bench scored just 12 points to the Cavs bench’s 26 points, led by an active J.J. Hickson’s 11 points. No one played particularly well and the Celtics will absolutely need more from Rasheed Wallace, who scored just 2 points on 1 of 5 shooting in 13 minutes.
In the 4th quarter, Cleveland was doubling anyone with the ball in the paint. The Celtics were failing to find the open man and weren’t spacing the floor all that well either. They failed to move the ball efficiently and it hurt them big time.
When Rondo did try to get back into the paint, the interior defenders were picking him up better and forcing him to make bad passes or circle back out with nothing to show for it.
So, the game was played at playoff intensity, heart and energy, but largely resulted in another second half lead giveaway. The Celtics appeared close to stealing one in Cleveland in game one, but were rebuffed by clutch shooting Lebron James, a tough Cavalier defense, and a guy named Mo.
The Celtics scored just 15 4th quarter points, and gave up 36 points to the Cavs in the 3rd quarter. They also let Cleveland shoot 22 of 40 (55%) in the second half, and they scored 58 points after holding them to 42% and 43 points in the first half.
It would be hard to imagine the Celtics playing a better half than the first half of this game. Yet they lost the game.
Rondo played great, but the Celtics need to get others going, as well, or the results will be the same.
