« Woodson's Wonders | Main | Is it still good to you? »
May 4, 2008
Hawks, Vultures, Piranhas, and a Predator in Green
It was an unusual post game victory scene.
The Celtics' 34 point thrashing of the Hawks (99-65) was another, 21st century, basketball style, revenge-filled burning of Atlanta, only this time in Boston.
The locker room was a cacophonous, bustling mad house of a media frenzy. Like piranha, 'gang attacking' large prey, they were nipping with ubiquitous digital recorders, microphones, and TV cameras at various Celtic players as they expounded on the 'this and that' of a crushing Celtic win. Each interviewer took turns nibbling off a piece of a player with their question. Yet, it was a joyous feast....with plenty for all.
Juxtapose this celebratory chaos with a completely opposite image. Right near the door, James Posey sat alone facing his locker, completely still....with a towel wrapped around him. I ventured near and looked at his face to see if he was ....awake, believe it or not.
It was a surreal image. He was awake, almost hypnotically staring straight ahead at nothing, or something not in the room, but available only deep in his mind. His body and mind were regrouping after the most pressure packed win of the Celtic season - by far.
After a while, he slowly 'rejoined the room' as he began to get up and get dressed. Once dressed, the piranhas, sniffing fresh food, now gathered around James, and I joined the pack. Already the talk was about the Celtic's next opponent, the Cavaliers....
They're a good team. LeBron's their leader. They have other guys, in a trade, that's been helping them out. Tomorrow we'll see what we have to do to try to get a win. Did you play as you thought you might today?
We played better than I thought we would, actually. It was exciting and we got the job done today. It was game 7 and you win and keep going or you lose and you go home. Today, our will power was a little bit stronger, so you saw that sense of urgency. You saw every thing happening. Guys were just getting down to it. That's what helped us win.
Kevin Garnett's comment that he couldn't sleep at all, led to some media to poll the rest of the Cs, including James.
I slept good. Like I said, I was looking forward to it.
Was this a series a blessing in disguise, as some have said?
I agree (with that). For some, it was their first time in a play-off experience. For some guys, it's been awhile since they been back in the play-offs. Just to get a little rhythm. Just to get that whole mental part right, and just the style of play and things like that. Just to get in that groove, so I think it was a little bit of a blessing.
The entire season hung in the balance. The players and the coaches reputations, all hung on an unexpected game seven against the 37 win, make that 40 win Hawks.
More predators delayed
It was time to exhale for everyone; team members, coaches, media, and fans. JB of Celticsblog mentioned the 'one game only media' in attendance as vultures. Yes, besides the Hawks, outside media vultures were circling the arena waiting for the kill - the biggest upset in recent play off history, perhaps all time. But the blood turned out to be red, not green and the story many were there for was became a Boston 'D' Party, leaving nothing for the vultures to devour.
From the Blood, Sweat and Tears posters that were handed out, to the myriad fans of all ages that were wearing Celtic jerseys from Bird to Pierce to Garnett, to the pre-game video that used a scene from a sci-fi move talking about a species (Hawks) arriving that could finally cause human (Celtic) extinction, the Garden was abuzz with the understanding of what the Hawks had brought about - a single, winner take all contest - and the Celtics could possibly lose in a surprise performance by the surprising Hawks.
It Didn't Take Long
The Hawks didn't know what hit them. It was a case of ...Did you get the license number of that truck?"
The Celtics rolled over the them like a tractor trailer carrying a heavy load. It wasn't pretty unless you were a Celtic fan. The heavy load lightened quickly. A 26 point Hawks first half was a mugging from pent up frustration for a Celtic team that expected to be a game or 2 deep into the 2nd round already. It was a Celtic opponent record low.
The Celtics had a double..... double double. KG had 18 and 11, while Kendrick Perkins had 10 and 10. Paul Pierce was once again the early driver and point leader with 9 in the 1st. Perkins also dominated early with 8 of his points and 6 first quarter boards.
The Hawks were completely taken out of any semblance of a game plan. Horford had zero and Smith 3 points on a combined 1- 8 shooting, while the Cs relentlessly out rebounded them 17-8. The Atlanta team would never recover as the Celtic put a vice grip on them. Tthey would only let up in the 4th quarter after being up 30 plus points. The Hawks were held to an unbelievable 43 points through 3 quarters. That was to punish an upstart team that thought they could play with a 66 win team that prided itself on defense.
Every Celtic starter had a strong game, save Ray Allen whose shooting woes continued over from the last game. Leon Powe was big again with 12 points. PJ Brown contributed in his 13 minutes.
Glen Davis had exceptional fun in 4th quarter garbage time minutes with 6 points, including a thunder dunk, 3 assists, including a semi-no look to a cutting Posey for a lay-up and 2 boards.
Are you going to be the new point forward for the team?
Yep. (laughing.)
The no look to Posey?
Yeah. The big fella can do a lot of things!
But you didn't hit the 3 pointer.
Aww. That's coming soon..to a theater near you
Seriously, what do you think now going forward? This is your first NBA play-offs
Unbelievable man. I'm just happy I'm on this team, and having the opportunity to play for the championship and to advance to the 2nd round. The guys on this team are veterans. They've been in this position before, and it showed today. Taking advantage of the opportunities and we did a great job playing together as a team.
How do you grade yourself for the year?
I'm always going to be hard on myself. I give myself a C. It was really unexpected for me to come in here and be a contributor and in some big ball games at that. But there's a lot of work that needs to be done. There was a lot of up and down (for me) this year. But that's what it's all about, being a rookie. My job is to set picks, get rebounds, and play defense. We have a lot of other guys who can score. I'll just keep working on my game.
So the Celtics finally get out of the 1st round, but do it in emphatic fashion. Doc Rivers was given the game ball by Wyc Grousbeck for winning his first play-off series ever.
Now they must prepare for royalty, as King James comes to town with the Cavaliers and former Celtics Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West. The teams have split the season series.
As JB from CelticsBlog mentioned as we left the floor tonight, the entire arena stayed in their seats watching the post game celebration on the floor and the interviews. That is unheard of in recent Celtic memory. They did not want the good time to end.
Hopefully it is just the beginning.
Posted by Tom on May 4, 2008 9:07 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://forum.connpost.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1068
