The Truth Will Set You Free…

Posted by Mike Giardi May 18, 2008 at 5:10 pm

What more needs to be said? Paul Pierce has been tremendous in the first half, by far and away the best player on the floor. Pierce with 26 of the Celtics 50 points, including a big 3 after the Cavs had creeped to within 8. He’s been aggressive, taking the ball to the hole consistently. He’s also mastered that little step back jumper, and when its flowing like it is now, the C’s just need to keep feeding their captain the ball.

Pierce did take a solid hit just before the break, and appeared to have injured his hip. That will certainly bear watching come the 2nd Half.

I’d also like to point out that the bench did a nice job, especially Eddie House. Mark Jackson was praising House for his professionalism, saying that there were some guys he played with back in the day who would have mentally checked out after not playing for much of the first two rounds. Not House, who’s shooting is a little off today (1-for-4) but he did take care of the ball in that half, committing just one turnover. Also of note, his hustle play on a loose ball that led to a pair of James Posey free throws. House’s effort didnt go unnoticed by Posey or the Garden crowd, who got geeked up. Now that’s what I’m talking about…

Ray Ray is M.I.A.

Posted by Mike Giardi May 17, 2008 at 9:19 am

At what point do we stop calling the Celtics stars the “Big 3,” or “New 3,” or “Three Amigos,” or what have you, and just call it like it is: the C’s have two very good/great players and one shell of his former self. The latter, of course, being Ray Allen. He has been a non-factor in this series, much like he was a non-factor versus Atlanta. Oh sure, there’s been a game here, or a moment there, but Allen has mostly been invisible. If that trend continues, the Celts won’t beat Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals.

No preamble here. No “Ray’s a good guy.” I’m not going to cut him slack because he’s had to make the biggest adjustment of any player on the team; at least, any player acquired before Sam Cassell. That was allowed during the regular season. Allen’s now had 82 of those and another 13 games in the playoffs to adjust. Unless that adjustment consists of the C’s shooting guard becoming a wallflower, I’d say he’s failed at the most critical time, during the NBA’s second season.

Here’s what should have Celts fans ticked: Ray’s getting his lunch money taken by Wallly Szczerbiak (I spelled it right on the first try!). We saw Wally’s World up close and personal. He was mediocre. But somehow, a slow, deliberate player at both ends has locked up a more fluid athlete with superior foot speed. Maybe I need to change my thinking. Maybe the words I just used to describe Wally fit Allen as well. All I know is that even on an off-night for Wally, he still hit a big shot last night. Ray, on the other hand, had a typical postseason outing for himself - 9 points and a big doughnut hole on 3 attempts from 3-point land. Rich and compelling? I think not.

Doc is on record as saying he thinks the C’s can win without Ray. Against Atlanta? Sure. Versus LeBron and the Cavs? I’ll buy it. But in the Eastern Conference finals over Detroit? No way. That team is playing its best basketball at the right time. The Celts aren’t. All the blame doesn’t fall on Ray, but he’s got to shoulder the load, good guy or not.

4th Quarter Flameout

Posted by Mike Giardi May 13, 2008 at 10:41 am

Boy, this is aggravating. The Celtics continue to have opportunities to win on the road, and continue to let them slip away. Down 3 going into the final quarter last night, the C’s score just 12 points. That’s not a misprint. 12! You should get 12 by accident, with weapons like Allen, Garnett and Pierce littering the roster. But not these guys, not in these playoffs. Perhaps that why C’s Coach Doc Rivers said that his team needed to play better “under stress.”

When I heard that, I said “uh oh.” You knew that quote would be presented to the Celts stars. It was, and the results were predictable. According to the Boston Globe, they didn’t like.  Garnett refused to acknowledge that the team was lacking poise, and then turned around and put some of the struggles on his coach.

“In a situation like ours, we are trying to do everything that Doc wants us to do. He makes all the calls. He gives us direction. For the most part, we pretty much try to do what he wants.”

Call me crazy, KG, but I don’t think Doc is designing play for you to take 20-foot jumpers with the game on the line. How about you park you butt on the block, and the offense runs through you from there? That’s what your Coach has wanted all season, and it worked to the tune of 66 regular season wins. During the second half last night, the “Big Ticket” peeled out of the post because of pressure from Anderson Varejao. Yeah, Sideshow Bob did a nice job working over the C’s MVP. That’s scary. The two men aren’t even close in talent, and Varejao was actually questionable coming in with a knee injury.

Paul Pierce also had issues with Doc’s quote, saying, “I don’t know what he means. I’m stressed every game. Stressed to get a win.” Hmmm, then shouldn’t it be incumbent on Pierce to get to the rack, and get to the line? Yes, PP took 17 shots (hitting a paltry 6), but he earned just two free throws. This went on during the Atlanta series as well, and you have to wonder if the light will go on the next time the C’s are in Cleveland.

Mercifully, the Celts are back at home tomorrow night, and I fully expect them to play better and to win. Of course, LeBron might have something to say about that. He went 7-for-20, his 4th straight subpar shooting night. I keep saying “The King” is due to bust out. The C’s better hope that doesn’t happen in Game 5, because I wouldn’t bet a cent on them winning away from the Garden a couple of nights later.

 

 

 

The “D” Will Set Them Free

Posted by Mike Giardi May 12, 2008 at 2:46 pm

In the aftermath’s of Game 3’s loss to Cleveland - the Celtics 4th straight road loss this postseason - Kevin Garnett said bluntly, “There are no excuses for it. If we had that answer we wouldn’t get beat on the road, huh?” Then the quick stare from KG, as if to say, stupid question. Or, maybe, how the heck am I suppose to respond to that? Either way, you can tell these questions - and more importantly - these struggles away from the Garden are starting to get under this team’s skin. The C’s believe they’re better than this. I believe it too.

We know the facts. We know that the C’s were the best road team during the regular season. 31-10. Damn impressive. As always with this club, the success was built largely on the strength of defense. But that has undergone a drastic change in this postseason. The Celts allowing 102.5 points per game in Atlanta and now Cleveland, 27 more than they’re giving up at home.

To me, both the C’s opponents were/are offensively challenged. The Hawks don’t quite understand playing together. The Cavs may, but are so constructed around LeBron and getting LeBron touches every time down the floor, sometimes they just stop moving. That changed Saturday, when Coach Mike Brown made sure Delonte West didn’t just hand the ball off to “The King,” and then float to the other side and watch. Instead, he kept West involved, and you saw the difference. A 21-point night, his best since coming to Cleveland, and a heavy dose of attitude as well. The Cavs need that to win the series. The C’s need to nip that in the bud to finish what they started in Games 1 and 2. But how?

I think the answer is simple. Keep running two players at LeBron. Keep hitting him and/or taking him down every time he’s goes to the hoop. But don’t over-commit. Don’t rotate to the point where Ben Wallace or Joe Smith of the Big Z are all alone under the basket. That happened too many times Saturday. Easier said than done, you wonder? I don’t think so. It wasn’t so hard to do in Boston. Why should playing on the road be any different? Get back to that attitude, that intensity, and the series will be over in 5. Don’t, and we’re looking at a second straight round that will go the full 7.

 

 

, and prove what we saw from November through mid-April was real, and not some anomaly that will leave us scratching our heads until training camp rolls around next September.

Any Day Now…

Posted by Mike Giardi May 11, 2008 at 4:58 pm

I was going take the attitude of the less said about the Celtics performance last night, the better we’d all feel. But maybe I’m a glutton for punishment. Or maybe that loss continues to annoy me, like the Great Gretzky dog does when he’s desperate to go outside and I’m in the middle of something. Gretzky will just stand there, practically attached to my hip, and stare. Drives me nuts, but at least he doesn’t bark, and he eventually gets his way. Kind of like the Cavs last night. They stared down the C’s in the opening quarter, and the NBA’s best team during the regular season blinked, a lot.

You knew that Cleveland would come out fired up, in front of a hungry home crowd. A great team weathers that onslaught. The C’s didn’t, at least not last night. The defensive rotations were slow, there were too many open jumpers…or better yet, unchallenged jumpers. Pros make those shots. The Cavs did for the first-time in the series.

The scary thought is, LeBron still can’t shoot straight. He was 5-for-16, bringing his series totals to 13-of-58. That is Todd Day-esque. I coninue to find it hard to believe Bron Bron will not go off at some point during the next week, and singlehandedly carry his team to a win. Or two. There’s too much at stake for “The KIng,” to keep playing like he’s basketball’s version of Alex Rodriguez. Similarly, there’s too much at stake for the C’s to stop living up the billing of best team in the league. Which ones of those patterns will continue? That will decide this series.

Suffocating

Posted by Mike Giardi May 9, 2008 at 9:05 am

Here we go again. The Celtics were on the verge of becoming choking dogs a week ago. This morning, they’re halfway home to a Round 2 win over Cleveland, and all is right in the world of fandom (yes, I’m making up words) and media.

I can understand the positivity. After a slow start, the C’s dominated the Cavs, allowing me to flip back to the Sox game at various points. The team defense - the thing that allowed the Celts to win 66 games in the regular season - has been terrific in the first two games of this series.

In particular, I appreciate how Doc has this team defending LeBron. He’s letting Cleveland’s version of the “Big Z” beat ‘em, but making the King work hard for everything. Kendrick Perkins is essentially playing a one-man zone, waiting for LeBron to come into the lane. They’ve run Kevin Garnett at him over and over (there isn’t a more active big man than KG). And if Garnett is on the wrong side of the floor, its somebody else. Powe. P.J. Brown. The team trainer. Greg Dickerson. I mean, SOMEBODY is always running at the league’s top scorer. Combine that with very good on the ball defense from either Paul Pierce and James Posey, the two men with the daunting task of containing LBJ, and you can understand why the C’s have been so successful in this series.

Of course, what makes it tougher is that LeBron couldn’t toss a rock into the ocean if he was on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic (its an oldie, but goodie). Every jumper is long, he’s settling for deep 3’s and when he does go to the hoop, the greatest finisher on the planet (Kobe is #2) can’t convert a twisting layup. I don’t expect this to last. But I didn’t expect LeBron to lay an egg on Wednesday and again last night. The weight of the world…or at least Cleveland…will be on his shoulders Saturday.

My one caution: the C’s were at this same point with the Hawks after two games. In fact, the Green team was more impressive in that series than they have been in this one. Then the C’s went to Atlanta and got tight and made a short set last the full 7. So let’s not go making plans for the Eastern Conference finals until we see how the next 48 hours turn out.

C’s Survive Brawl

Posted by Mike Giardi May 7, 2008 at 8:17 am

Last night, I bet you didn’t quite realize you were going to be watching a throwback to the Celts/Pistons series in 2002, did you? That was the Celts team CNNSI’s Marty Price referred to as the “Boston Stranglers.” They took care of Detroit in 5, but it was U-G-L-Y from start to finish.

No different at the Garden Tuesday. I was struck almost from the opening possession just how hard the C’s and Cavs were going at each other. I know this is Round 2 of the playoffs, but there was some nasty stuff out there. Play in the post was not for the feint of heart. Slaps, elbows, knees into thighs, chests all puffed out. There’s no doubt a bunch of those big men will need to visit the team masseuse.

Then there’s LeBron. The 2-for-18 is stunning. The 10 turnovers equally mind-boggling. Every time the Cavs King went to the rack, he got whacked. Okay. That’s the price you have to pay, and James knows it. But for a good two quarters, LeBron stopped going deep to the bucket, instead settling for ill-timed jumpers and deep 3’s. I don’t know who encouraged that, but if I’m the C’s, I’m praying there’s a repeat performance on Thursday night. You realize that if LeBron hit anything, the Cavs steal Game One. They SHOULD have stolen it. Now, you wonder how their psyche will be affected in less than 48 hours when the two teams go at it again.

C’s fans probably breathe a sigh of relief after looking at the box score as well. The C’s survived a 15-0 run by Cleveland in the 3rd Quarter, and two dreadful offensive performances by Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Ray got shut out in a game for the first time since 1997. Heck, I barely even noticed he was on the floor last night. He went from one extreme in the Atlanta series - forcing his shot - to last night’s debacle - when he got outplayed by Wally Szczerbiak. Trust me, those last words hurt. Not so much for me, but for Ray.

As for “The Truth,” well, the truth is, he is still way too emotional. It cost his team in Game 6 vs. the Hawks, and I must say, I fear it will come back to harm this group again at some later date, be it in May or June. Plus, I think that when Pierce gets angry, he is reckless in his approach to the basket. That led to some hard spills last night, and this is a guy who is dealing hip and back injuries suffered in the Round One. I suppose it too late to suggest he’ll change, considering how long he’s been in the league, but trust me, a change would be nice.

Alright - get your rest. Thursday is bound to feature more of the same.

Can the King Reign?

Posted by Mike Giardi May 6, 2008 at 1:27 pm

Here we go. Cavs and Celtics. Game 1 of Round 2. Who ya got? Says here LeBron’s good for two wins this series, minimum. He’s the single most dominating force in the NBA, strong, fluid, intelligent. At yesterday’s C’s practice, one of my favorite newspaper guys compared him to Paul Pierce. I forgive the questioner. Sometimes we try to outsmart each other, or ourselves. But no way am I buying that. Not for a second.

The only similarity is the two men’s ability to get to the rack, but even then, Lebron gets the edge. We’re talking about and watching a player who could be one of the Top-5 or 10 of ALL-TIME! Not of this decade, or since Jordan. ALL-TIME. Does Pierce fall into that category? I think not. In fact, only once in his career has he played like a Top-10 player for a full season. Not trying to hammer the man, but let’s have perspective here.

LeBron’s only problem in this series is the Celts are just deeper, and while I was tempted to pick an upset, I can’t do it, not when Wally Szczerbiak and what’s left of Ben Wallace are forced to play such important roles for Cleveland. We saw enough of Wally here to understand what his game’s all about, and his best days have long since come and gone. Ditto for Wallace, one of the worst free signings of my lifetime (think Chicago would like a do-over on that one?). So I say C’s in…7? Yeah, 7 will do.

Playoff Basketball

Posted by Mike Giardi April 20, 2008 at 9:34 pm

We’ve had our first real surprise of the NBA Playoffs. That didn’t take long. The 76ers going into Detroit and stealing Game 1 of their first round series. In the grand scheme of this postseason, it may not mean much, but to me, it strengthens my belief that something is amiss with the Pistons. Its why - for many reasons - I think LeBron poses a bigger threat to the Celtics than anyone else in the East (and yes, I know the Cavs supporting cast is a grade better than my 12-and-under Travel Team). LeBron is a singular force. I put him in football terms. He’s built like a linebacker with a scatback’s speed and a fullback’s power. A freak of nature. If any one human being can beat a team almost singlehandedly, its Bron Bron. It doesn’t how many bodies you run at him, James can go 1-on-5 and still get a good look. Just ask the guys who have the unenviable task of checking him.

Back to Detroit…any team that Rasheed Wallace plays a critical role on will always be in question to me. Yes, the man is incredibly gifted. He can play go-to-guy on offense, and stopper on defense. His basketball IQ is at the top of the chart. But he’s a nut case. In that last meeting with the C’s, he got so annoyed that he wasn’t getting any calls inside that he decided to play outside the arc for the entire second half. How’s that productive? It wasn’t, and his coach, Flip Saunders knows it. ‘Sheed will probably cost Flip his job at some point. Trust me. Its bound to happen, just like his team under-performing in the playoffs yet again.