Can’t Spell Defense without the “D”

Posted by Mike Giardi May 27, 2008 at 10:12 am

A disappointing performance by the C’s in losing Monday’s Game 4 in Detroit. People will point to the 75 points and 32% shooting and exclaim, “that’s it!” No question throwing up bricks didn’t help the cause, but once again, this defeat was all about defense.

For the second time this series, the Pistons lit up the Green team like a Christmas tree. 51.4% from the floor is an obscene number, especially when you consider how stingy the C’s have been all year. Point to any win this postseason, and you can definitively say its was the “D” that drove the Celts there. Its this team’s calling card, more so than the “Big 3,” or “New 3,” or whatever the heck you want to call them. Last night, it only reared it heads during a couple of periods, and not surprisingly, that’s when the C’s crept within 4 right at the end of the opening half.

I mean, how many times can you give Antonio McDyess that jumper a couple feet beyond the foul line? A majority of the time, that shot wasn’t even challenged! Note to Tom Thibodeau and his charges: that’s Antonio’s favorite shot! Not quite as easy as a layup, but damn close. It was McDyess who set the tone offensively for Detroit in the opening minutes of the game, allowing them to build a quick double-digit lead and bring the crowd very much into each and every possession, something that didn’t happen in Saturday’s Game 3.

As for Ray Allen’s perimeter defense on Rip Hamilton, the less said, the better. Ray can be upset at his teammates for not getting him more involved in the offense, and you can sort of see where he’s coming. Ditto when he pins that on his coach. But in no way, shape or form should that disrupt his play at the other end; if anything, Allen should be more intense, hoping for some steals and easy buckets in transition. Instead, Rip has owned him in 3 of the first 4 games of the series. That’s not becoming an All-Star and, as some would suggest, a possible Hall of Famer (don’t get me started on that one).

Okay, so now its back to the Garden, and quite frankly, the pressure is all on the C’s. They lost that aura of invincibility on the parquet when they dropped Game 2. Can they regain the edge and get one step closer to a trip to the NBA Finals? Only if they remember to spell defense with a big “D”.