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May 17, 2008
The Thoughts of CelticsStuffLive Heading into Game 7
It's time for 3 Live Crew...The trailblazing brain trust of CelticsStuffLive, the podcast for the hardcore Celtic fan.
If you have time on Sunday nights, check it out as you work or play on your computer. Great guests, stories and conversation for green bleeding Celtic fans.
I asked them each to answer a number of questions as we head into yet another game 7 for the Cs on Sunday.
Like Ray Allen, the dulcet tones of "The Quiet Man" Jon Duke often gets overshadowed by the smooth resonance and sometimes 'hi-test' Kevin Garnett enthusiasm of Justin Poulin and the emphatic, astute, purist and 'Paul Pierce versatile' outlook of Jim 'JB' Metz. But like each of the Celtics three stars, they each bring a different skill set to the team. And I know JB will deeply appreciate being the Paul Pierce part of the team. (I kid.)
So, we will run a few plays for all three. I think they nail a few jumpers, and some slam dunks with their answers. See if you agree....
1) Final thoughts on game #6
Jon - Not sure how any fan of the NBA can watch games like last night's Game 6, Game 3 between the Spurs and Suns last year, and the notorious Kings-Lakers Game 6 several years ago; yet somehow not feel completely and utterly frustrated with the impact officials have in deciding
important games.
I don't know whether guys like Rondo and Pierce should be slicing to the hoop regardless of how the officials are calling the game, but it seems pretty obvious to me that when they aren't getting calls they aren't nearly as effective.
Justin - KG rules, Rondo is Bipolar, Ball movement is imperative, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan is my boy!
JB - In my best Brooklyn rasp (only a Dodger fan would understand): "We wuz robbed."
Seriously; it was ugly, reminiscent of the "Thug Ball" played in the late eighties early nineties, when coaches like Chuck Daley, Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy had their players foul early and often, until the refs got tired of calling them.
How the zebras could determine that Cleveland would shoot twice as many as the Celtics, when there were fouls on literally every possession is beyond me.
2) Ray Allen continues to have troubles scoring. Has Wally's defense been under rated?
Jon - Ummm... no. It is the same problem we have seen this entire season, Doc has struggled mightily in getting Ray involved in the offense and his touches aren't nearly at the level they should be for a guy in "The Big 3".
Games 5 and 6 he showed more toughness and willingness to stick his nose in the lane. That should have resulted in more touches, but Ray and I are still waiting.
Justin - No, the Celtics ball movement has been absent. Earlier in the season the Celtics were guilty of over-passing and Ray was spectacular. Since then the ball movement has stagnated and so has Ray's scoring. They need to work in the offseason on how to incorporate Ray into this offense since he has sacrificed the most of the big three.
JB - Wally is working hard and Ray is the odd man out, not getting enough touches to get in any kind of rhythm.In the two quarters Doc made an effort to get him involved, he did very well.
3) Is there a single distinguishing characteristic (or two) that stands out from this series with the Cavaliers?
Jon - The Cavs are very good on defense and the Lebroninites have done a fine job knocking down open shots. But the story of this series, and every other playoff series, is how the games are being called in favor of the home teams.
Justin -Physicality. This series has been refreshingly physical. It could still stand to be officiated consistently regardless of whose home court it is, but I like the banging and contact.
JB - "See # 1."
4) How do you rate Doc Rivers for this series? Related Observations?
Jon - Doc has been very uneven in this series, though I would say he has done a much better job against Cleveland than he did against the Hawks.
In Games 5 and 6 his rotations have more closely resembled what the team did in the regular season, which is something I had been clamoring for.
His long overdue substitution of Eddie House over the calcified Sam Cassell played a big part in keeping the C's in last night's game. Still, his use of Powe and Davis puzzles me to no end, and I wonder what has happened to the Starters Plus Posey (and minus Perk) lineup they used
often during their 66 win regular season. Seemed to work pretty well for them.
Justin - Doc has been decent. I was really confused by the use of Sam Casell. Despite Sam's heroics in the first 2 games of this season, I think he's only effective in limited minutes. Benching Rondo for the entire fourth quarter until less than 2 minutes remaining in Game 1 was curious to me.
His willingness to play Eddie House in Game 6 was equally surprising and successful despite the loss. PJ Brown was also a good play in this series. Glen Davis' increased minutes and Leon Powe's disappearance makes little sense to me though. I also believe it's a double standard to bench Rondo in game 1 while playing Ray Allen regular minutes throughout the series despite his serious struggles.
JB - Same coach home and away. Moves are criticized on the road, the same moves at home make him look like a genius.
5) One area that has seen open debate is the point guards performance and Doc's use of minutes with the Celtic point guards. What is your take?
Jon - I've been calling for Eddie House since the Atlanta series despite not being a huge House backer. The guy moved the ball and hit his shots as opposed to Cassell who stalled the ball and had trouble making his jumpers.
That should have been an obvious substitution against a team without a very quick point guard (sorry Delonte). Rondo, as a very very young player, is going to struggle on the road in the playoffs, but so did Tony Parker. My concerns for him are only short term.
Justin - Rondo needs more minutes no matter what and House/Cassell need to be given limited minutes to discover who has the hot hand. Find a hot hand and ride it for a short time, but play Rondo 38 minutes minimum. Eddie keeps the ball moving better than Cassell, but if House is missing then he has no business on the floor.
JB - Rajon Rondo is the key. When he plays well the Celtics are a very good team.
I believe Sam Cassell is injured (bad back) and while Eddie House came through nicely in game 6, they started trapping him and thereby he had to get rid of the ball. A quick fix, I'm afraid.
6) Can Paul Pierce be doing more?
Jon - Pierce could be doing more, but I truly believe the officials are taking a big part of his game away. However he works with Eddie House much better than he did with Cassell, and I see that pairing paying more dividends tomorrow.
Justin - Yes, but only if they play Posey with him more and take some of the defensive responsibility off of Pierce. Expecting Paul to defend Lebron and carry the offense is asking too much of him.
JB - Heaven forbid. He's trying to do too much as it is.
7) Are you satisfied with Kevin Garnett's performance so far?
Jon - I am satisfied with Garnett, but I think his supposed ineffective play is due more to the over reliance the team has shown at defending Lebron at the expense of the other four players.
Varejao was very important in shutting him down in the 4th quarter of Game 4, but other than that his offense has been very good. I'd like to see him take more guys off the dribble, but so long as he is nailing the 18 foot jumper on a kick out... I'm cool like Fonzie with him.
Justin - Yes with one exception. There are times when the Cavs have left him with an open lane this series. This has happened less than 5 times but he should have gone strong to the basket rather than getting cute with a jumper. Other than that he has carried the defense and has had some incredible moments on offense. He could play better, but everyone else on this team has far more room for improvement.
JB - Yes! He could be a more consistent rebounder and a few times he passed when he should have shot, but over all he's been the best player on the floor for either team.
8) At this point, do you think the Celtics can win it all?
Jon - I do think the Celtics can win it all, but the number of seven game series are going to catch up with them in the next round if they do advance.
I am most worried about their offense, but I think continued use of Eddie House in the rotation could help that significantly. I'd like to see more slashing to the basket, but that appears to be
entirely dictated by the calls they are, or aren't getting. Detroit is their toughest remaining opponent, so if they win tomorrow I expect an out and out war in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Justin - I do and every series will go seven games. This is going to be one of the most bizarre paths to a championship the world has ever seen. The region isn't used to being the underdog anymore and it's weird to think of the best team in the NBA during the regular season as an underdog, but failing to win on the road will do that to the public perception of a team.
JB - It depends.
I've determined that our three all-stars are disparate parts. Their offensive games do not mesh. Too often it's "your turn, my turn, my turn again, his turn....etc. There is no cohesiveness and no whole being greater than the sum of it's parts.
The "seams" that hold them together and make the offense work are Perkins/Powe, getting open underneath for easy bailout baskets when one of the "three" face pressure and Rondo being allowed to create and zooming all around the floor moving the defense and creating passing lanes to get them the ball.
This works better at home, partly because these are young players more susceptible to crowd support, but also the tendency for our "three" to want to take it on themselves, tends to show more in games that are close.
If the team adopts a total unselfish mode and these youngsters grow up quickly, no one can beat us in a seven game series.
9) Game 7 prediction
Jon - Prediction time... if we assume that the Celtics will get the same treatment in Game 7 that the Cavaliers got in Game 6 then they win this game by at least 25 points.
However if all things are equal then I see the Celtics with a comfortable win and some time to rest their starters in the 4th quarter. I think the loss of Boobie Gibson was a big one for the Cavs and you could see how Pavlovic was neither able to defend or hit the jumper as Gibson could.
Ball movement will be key for the Celtics in getting the Cavalier defense out of their comfort zones and a big part of that will be getting penetration inside their defense. That doesn't mean Pierce and Rondo need to repeat their strong Game 5 performances, but they need to be disruptive and force the Cleveland D to collapse in the lane. Though the D won't collapse if "Chernobyl" Ilgauskas and Varejao aren't getting called for blocking shots with their bodies. So again it goes back to how the game is called.
Justin - Celtics 85 Cavs 83 on a Ray Allen game winner...
JB - Celtics by 7. 82-75
There you have it - Three win predictions, though with a caveat or two. Most gracious thanks to JB, Jon and Justin for taking the time to contribute their extensive Celtic knowledge for the CelticsCentral forum of connpost.com readers. It is much appreciated.
Check out Jon, JB and Justin's pre-and post game coverage of all the Celtics play-off games on Celticsblog. com in their unique on-line podcast CelticStuffLive For their Game 6 post game Click Here.
Posted by Tom on May 17, 2008 1:22 PM
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Thanks, "T."
Posted by: JB at May 18, 2008 9:09 AM
