I'm embarassed right now. Embarassed to be a Celtics fan. I'm not sure I can take another loss like this, one that was preventable from at least a dozen different angles. Yes, they were on the road against a Cleveland team whose defense has been underrated by most in this series. But our defense was easily good enough to win the game. In fact, I'd say there were almost no problems on defense tonight. Sure, Zydrunas hit a couple jumpers on missed rotations, and Joe Smith inexcplicably returned to rookie form with an assortment of baby hooks and turn arounds. And Lebron is Lebron (more on him in a minute). But our defense has almost nothing to do with this loss. Had our offense been even a shred above anemic, we'd be heading to the conference finals tonight.
It's time for Doc Rivers to go. I don't care how many regular season games you win. This team looks completely puzzled down the stretch of games. This might have to do with a brainless offense that fails to exploit proper matchups at every turn. It also has to do with a coach who has almost no idea how to utilize his bench. Yes, the players ultimately win and lose ballgames in the NBA, more so than in other pro sports. But they look so ill-prepared in big moments, I truly wonder if I could've done better.
On the final defensive possession, they had NO IDEA that they should foul immediately. They were worried about Lebron making 2 free throws, when they should have realized there was still 1 foul to give. They lost a full 6 seconds there. On their final offensive possession (as well as several throughout the second half), they were lost. They passed and they passed and they passed until finally heaving a desparation 3 pointer with seconds left. They were down 5!!! Shoot the fucken thing earlier. They don't even give themselves a chance. They are the better basketball team. They have 4 of the 6 best players in the series. I'm almost at a loss for words.
If this was a 1 time thing, I'd be more inclined to let it go. But if there were some sort of team stat for offensive turnovers following time-outs called by your own coach, the 2007-08 Celtics would've shattered it. Why does Doc even call time-outs? I'd feel better with Eddie House ignoring him, dribbling up court, and shooting a 3 from 35 feet. Oh by the way, thanks for remembering he existed Doc. Unfortunately, Rivers exhausted his entire mental capacity for rational thought with this decision, because he forgot to play Leon Powe (our only athletic big not named KG) tonight. I'm talking the entire game. Not a second for Powe, even after watching the immobile scowler (my new nickname for Kendrick Perkins) blow at least 5 possessions for the team. You see, they'd be moving the ball well. A guard on the Cavs would double-team Pierce, or go for a steal and miss, leaving Perkins alone near the free-throw line. Pierce would get him the ball with a 3-on-2 opportunity, which at the least should result in a couple of freebies for somebody. Except for one thing . . . Perkins can't dribble! His footwork is the slowest on the floor, not small feat with big Z occupying the same court. He also has some of the worst hands in the league and the slowest vertical since, well, ever. He was useless tonight and Boston could've used Powe's quickness if nothing else. He at least could've gotten to the basket inside of a minute.
Only Garnett played well on offense tonight. Had Allen proved more than a poor-man's Rip Hamilton (I can't believe I just typed that), we win outright. If Rondo outplays Delonte West, we win outright. Although in fairness to Rondo, he was the best player on either team in game 5. I never thought I'd say this, but even Brian Scalabrine would've been useful tonight. He can shoot a little, which would spread the defense and open up the lane for Pierce and KG. By the way, can they post up KG just once? He's a good shooter, but wouldn't an inside-out offense be smarter? They need to isolate Garnett and either of the wings on a side, force the double, have cutters from the weak side, and get open looks for the shooters. If for some reason Cleveland doesn't double, Garnett gets to the rim every time. Hey Doc, I didn't go to coaching school. I came up with that just now as I hocked a loogie on a picture of you.
I actually feel a little for Pierce in this series. Considering he's chasing around the scariest offensive force since a young Shaq, I'd like to cut him a little slack. I wish the refs would do the same. For some reason, Lebron gets to the line if the nacho guy in the 4th row sneezes. Yet Pierce can't buy a call. Worse, this is the playoffs, when the officiating is supposed to get looser, not tighter. Pierce has been called for more tic-tac fouls in this series than any player in recent memory. Let the fucken guys play!!! I can't imagine David Stern is satisfied with the referees throughout these playoffs, but if he is, maybe it's time for him to go as well. The Cavs made 10 more free-throws than the Celtics on a dozen more attempts, despite the fact that nobody other than Lebron attacks the rim. Ball game.
For the record, Lebron is amazing! Pierce's defense tonight was actually pretty good. James hit some of the most difficult shots I've seen this side of Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant. He scored with hands in his face, falling away, twisting his body, one-handed bank shots, 24 foot bombs . . . He did it all. I jokingly asked a friend at the start of the playoffs if he'd rather have Lebron on his team than KG, Pierce, and Allen. He asked me if I was nuts. I wonder if he'd still be so confident now. I still lean slightly towards the "veteran 3" (I will not use the more popular term, being that it's a media creation, there already was a real "big 3," and these guys haven't earned the distinction), because I think the series would be over with a competent leader on the bench. Imagine what new Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni could've done for this offense. I don't think we'd have lost a playoff game yet. But James is a special talent, who only seems to need the bare minimum from his teammates to win a playoff series. Prior to game 6 he was shooting about 25% from the field for the series, and he still struck the fear of God into yours truly every time he touched the ball. This guy has no ceiling. At 23, he's inarguably the best small forward to play the game since Larry Bird, and the most dominant non-center since Jordan in his prime.
So where do we go from here. Before game 5 I said that if Boston can win the next 2 and close out on the road, they will get to the finals. However, if they need another game 7, they are pretenders regardless of result. I pray to the all-knowing, late Red Auerbach that I be proved wrong.
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