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.

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 I Get an “E” For Execution?

Posted by Mike Giardi May 3, 2008 at 10:19 am

Put simply, that was about as an atrocious display of late-game execution as you will see, short of watching the Washington Generals. Seven seconds to get off a shot, and the best you can do is a 26-footer from Rajon. This, after not a single pass? Awful.

But lest you think that was the only egregious error by the C’s, fear not my friends, there were plenty more. How does Paul Pierce get a technical - at that stage of the game - following his 6th foul? Was it a good foul call? No, but he did foul Zaza. Don’t compound that with an emotional reaction. “The Truth” is, Pierce continues to lose his composure at the most inopportune time. That’s not befitting a captain.

Ray Allen didn’t have his stroke going, so with the C’s needing a two to tie in the closing minute, he fires up an off-balance three. I mean, for a craftsman like that to hurry a shot without having his feet even pointed in the direction of the basket…what the heck is that?

The “Big Ticket” doesn’t escape either. The knock has been that KG is too unselfish in big games. Twice in the final 5 minutes, he had open looks within an 8-to-10 foot radius of the hoop and passed up shots for tougher ones from teammates. Can someone, anyone, take hold of this team? Lose once to Atlanta? Okay. Twice…well, if Bob Ryan says it can happen, then so be it, it can happen. But three defeats to a team that had 29 less wins than you did in the regular season? It would be hard to explain if we hadn’t witnessed the entire debacle with our own eyes.

Do th C’s survive tomorrow afternoon and advance to Round 2? Yes, but the point is, they’ve done nothing to make us believe that amazing regular season is carrying over to the postseason, and anything less than a trip to the NBA Finals is a massive disappointment. Seems like the Celts have been playing with that weight on their shoulders, at least thru the first 6 with Atlanta.

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