Surprise, Surprise, Boston Loses On The Road, 77-88
Aaron Gettings
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There are many reasons why the Boston Celtics lost their 5th straight playoff road game. They don't have a single player on their roster who is able to step up in the 4th quarter and make... a shot. As a team they could only muster 12 points in the 4th quarter. Sam Cassell (who went 0'fer, once again), absolutely kills our second unit. Our offense, nay, our team, is unable to gain any sort of rhythm on any part of the court while he is in the game. Rajon Rondo took more shots (14) than everybody not named Pierce (17)... but at least Rondo made half of his shots. Perkins served no purpose on the court tonight, and James Posey showed that he is in fact human, with a disgusting -18 +/- rating, bringing nothing on offense and making key defensive errors.
There are only a few definitive conclusions I can draw from this game. First, Kevin Garnett appears to be the only Celtic (with the possible exception of Pierce) who truly wants to win that title. He killed himself on that court tonight, and unfortunately appeared to have nothing in the tank down the stretch. You can only carry 11 guys for so long before you start to tire. His numbers aren't eye-popping -- 15 points (6-13 shooting) 10 rebound and 4 assists -- but his effort was. That was, until the 4th quarter when he was effectively shutdown by the defensive stylings of Anderson Varejao... yes, the same Anderson Varejao that looks like he should be mopping the floors at the mall food court.
Second, Ray Allen really needs to step it up. He had his best game of the series so far -- 15 points (4-10 shooting) 2 3's, 6 rebounds and 3 assists -- but didn't do much on the court for most of the game. Perhaps someone should let him know that he's being covered by Wally freakin' Szczerbiak, not Ron Artest. We desperately need offense, and that's what Ray Allen does. Did... needs to do again. Pierce is at least killing himself on D. What are you doing, Ray?
Third, Pierce and LeBron's defensive battle may not go down in the NBA Playoff lore, but it should. Two of
the most dynamic offensive players in the game are virtually playing eachother to a standstill. The one advantage each has when playing lesser opponents is their strength, but that has clearly been negated facing eachother. They are each giving 100% on the defensive end -- Pierce holding LeBron to 7-20, James holding Paul to 6-17 (with nearly all of Pierce's baskets coming against Pavlovic while LeBron was on the bench). Unfortunately, LeBron has the advantage here because he's been able to get to the line (8 attempts to Pierce's 2), and because his teammates have been stepping up and hitting their shots. LeBron had 13 assists tonight, and it was clear that he was comfortable letting the rest of the Cavs make their shots. Pierce is stuck with a group in which 5 players shot a combined 0-12. I don't mind that Pierce isn't doing much on offense, as he's killing himself on D... but we really need him to step up on both ends.
These two even brought a little excitement to the contest. Before LeBron was about to go up for a layup, Pierce wrapped him up. LeBron didn't like this, and as his momentum carried the two out of bounds along the baseline, they began to get a l
ittle shovey. Anyway, it wasn't a big deal... LeBron didn't want to be wrapped up, and Pierce didn't want LeBron to get an easy bucket. Some woman who I was about to refer to as, "some crazy lady" before I just found out was LeBron's mother, Gloria, went over to the two and began screaming at Paul until LeBron started screaming at her to get away. KG headed over there, and it was just a weird, weird moment. Good thing Jermaine O'Neal wasn't a Celtic or Gloria might've gotten a right-hook to the jaw.
Fourth, Sam Cassell is the worst. He needs to stay on the bench. He does not bring a single positive to this team. 5 shots don't seem like a lot, but in a close game his momentum-killing bricks derailed the offense and gave Cleveland a handful of easy transition buckets going the other way. His defense is porous, as Daniel Gibson was able to score most of his 14 points running circles around Sam. Doc, if you want to still have a job next season, I beg you, use Eddie House. Just try it. Do you honestly think Eddie could play worse than Cassell? It wasn't that long ago that in this very blog I called Eddie House an "offensive wizard" and even photoshopped his picture to give him a pointy hat and a wand. We Need Offense. Sam Sucks. Put In Eddie... Please.
MVC: PJ Brown. Haven't mentioned him yet, but for an old man who hasn't seen much court time, PJ gave
us 22 minutes of consistent, quality basketball. With Perk being useless, and in foul trouble, and useless, Doc turned to PJ, who returned the favor by nabbing 6 rebounds and scoring 8 points on 4-4 shooting.
So, we're headed back to Boston on Wednesday, where we'll probably win by 18... It's not right to keep toying with the hopes and dreams of small children all over New England... or guys in their mid-twenties. Play consistent, Boston. And play Eddie House, Doc.
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