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May 11, 2008
Ground Hog Day - Celtic Version
6:00 a.m. The alarm goes off. Sonny and Cher start singing 'I Got You Babe' from the bedside radio.
For 4 road games running, the Celtics have been reliving this. Instead of Bill Murray, the Celtics wake up, get out of bed, wash their faces, and go on the road.....to lose another game.
Actually it looked like they didn't wake up until the 2nd quarter. Alas, in this game that meant they were staring down the wrong of the barrel of a 32 -13 deficit. The Cavs came out firing, while Boston slept.
The Celtics, to a man, keep saying they know what they need to do to get it right next time. Yet, like a bad dream, it keeps happening, except they are awake and yep, it is real. So far 'next time' hasn't arrived. It is getting to be a bad road game rerun.
Okay. Maybe each road game isn't the same. But the results are. And like Ground Hog Day, we keep hearing much the same thing each time. It's getting a little eerie. I'm starting to look around for the Ned Ryerson, the gratuitously obnoxious insurance salesman to approach me.
Life Insurance? Hey, that might be just what the Celtics need. They need a little more life, to 'insure' a victory. Term or whole life, Ned? Term, I think. Do you have a policy for road trips only?
Sometimes the Celtic starters have a hard time....starting. Maybe they should be called Boston's 'late' starting five. Maybe they should get the NBA to start the game a half hour later. Call it East Coast Boston Savings time.
The 2nd best team in the NBA on the road this season is now 0 for 4 in the post season as they lose to the Cavaliers by an embarrassing 108-84. It may not be a comedy, but it's not like it's a mystery. Reference the following non-fiction:
They led 4-0 and never again, as they missed shots they make at home and didn't play defense with nearly the focus and energy that they do in their own backyard, let alone with the energy needed to win on the road.
Ray Allen opened the game with a missed three, and after baskets by Garnett and Perkins, 7 straight misses by Garnett, Perkins, Pierce, Rondo and Allen combined with 2 turnovers put the Cavaliers in front with 14 straight points of their own.
With foreshadowing, previously cold Delonte West opened the Cavs scoring with a 3 pointer. Led by Cavaliers not named LeBron, Wally started 3-3, as West dished for 5 assists and 6 points of his own, Ben Wallace added 6 points in the paint, and the 'Big ILL' Zydrunas Ilgauskas added a lay up and an uncontested dunk while Boston napped.
Delonte finished with 21 points and 'sharp shooters' like Joe Smith and Ben Wallace combined for 11 for 14 on the night. West and Lebron James tied for game honors with 21 points but James continued to have trouble hitting his shots, making only 5 all night. He took 16 shots as his shooting slump continues. It turns out all he needed to do on this night, was to find his open team mates and open they were. Lebron filled the stat sheet with 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks with only 2 TOs.
While Delonte West has been inconsistent with his shot, he considers himself a clutch shooter.
Before the previous game, he was asked if hitting the three pointer to win the game against Washington helped his confidence.
Yeah, yeah. I've hit big shots in the past. Throughout my career, I've hit big shots to win a game, or big shots in the 4th quarter when big shots are needed.
Tonight, he was on and kept the Celtics from getting within striking distance, finishing 7 of 11 including 4 of 6 from the arc, adding 7 assists and 5 rebounds.
He also talked about Rajon Rondo and it was prescient for tonight's game...
With Rondo in the game, we're doing a lot of helping off of him. You know, allowing him to shoot the ball. With Sam, we can't do that. But it's pick your poison.
Tonight neither guard played well enough to give Cleveland a bad rash, let alone requiring an antidote.
Rondo did not have a good game at either end, and has been getting his lay-ups blocks quite often lately - 6 times in these last 2 games if you're counting. He needs to look behind himself when going in, wait for the defender to go by, or having a passing option ready when he drives. He is 3 for 16 over the last two games shooting to add to his offensive misery. He can get around West, but LeBron James, the 'Big lLL' or someone else is providing help. He is passing up jump shots and missing more than not when he does shoot.
Unfortunately, 'Have Gun, Will Travel' Sam Cassell was shooting blanks himself tonight, going 0-6. Garnett had 17 points to lead Boston, followed by Paul Pierce with 14. The team, as a whole, laid an egg. They could not get stops to make a serious run.
The closest the Celtics could get the 26 point deficit down to was 12 points in the 3rd quarter, Each attempt to get closer was met by a Cleveland basket or two.
The Celtics are giving up 100 points a game on the road and when they weren't missing assignments in the middle this evening, they were giving up open looks from the 3 point line, as the Cavs shot .523 from the field and 10 of 19 from the arc.
The papers and websites will be filled with Boston players and Doc Rivers telling us what they did wrong and what they need to do to get it right. It will all sound very familiar. Just have breakfast at the diner with Andie McDowell, and wait for the oom-pah band to strike up 'Roll Out the Barrel'. Don't try to fight it.
The alarm goes off again in Punxsutawney, I mean Cleveland, on Monday night at 8:00 p.m. Will the Boston Celtics finally get past their own version of Ground Hog Day?
Posted by Tom on May 11, 2008 12:32 AM
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