I read several comments questioning why Doc still had his starters in with 3 plus minutes left in game 2. Here is a reminder of why you never let up in a game, even though you may think you have the game won with 30 seconds to go.
Granted Atlanta doesn't have a TMac, but they do have Joe Johnson who is an all star and Josh Smith who is a pretty good player and who knows, Mike Bibby may even wake up from his nap. So, you never let up. KG knows this as even when he is taken out of the game with 3 minutes to go, he is still standing on the sidelines encouraging his teammates and yelling instructions to them. So, when you are wondering why the Celtics are still pouring it on with minutes left, just think about scoring 13 points in 33 seconds and be glad they don't let up.
I just watched the Cavs get beat down pretty bad by the Wizards 108-72 after winning the first two games convincingly. Arenas went out with a knee injury and it seems that they play better without him.Then, the Raptors went home and won and surprisingly, the Rockets went to Utah and won game 3. Maybe when teams get up 2-0, they underestimate the other team. The team down 2-0 is more desperate and makes adjustments and the other team isn't ready for them. So, with all these game 3 wins after being down 2-0, it is easy to start worrying about the Celtics going to Atlanta. But, I think the Celtics are focused enough on the goal that there won't be any let downs. Hopefully they won't underestimate the Hawks and will continue to smother them with the best defense in the league. It is that defense that is the key to not only game 3, but the championship.
Speaking of game 3, it sure is tough waiting in between games. The Celtics games have been spread out so far. But, that is good for our veterans to get rest in between games. This time it is especially better because Pierce has some healing to do from the back bruise he suffered in game 2. Reports are that he will be fine and will play in game 3. I hope he isn't just sucking it up and playing with it hurt because backs aren't anything to mess around with. Ask Larry Bird.
First there was Kobe's video where he jumps over the car. Then, there was the one where the car hits Kobe. I particularly liked that one. Now, the guys on Inside the NBA have come up with a video of Kenny Smith jumping over a car. People sure are having fun with this concept. This one really is hilarious. I do enjoy watching Ernie, Kenny and Sir Charles although, it is clear that Charles doesn't like the Celtics and he especially doesn't like Paul Pierce. When he talks about the Celtics doing good things, he always leaves Paul Pierce out of the conversation. Anyway, here is that very funny video.
It upset me when Bibby started talking trash about Perk, saying that he doesn't do anything. Perk doesn't fill up the stat sheet, but he plays his role to perfection. When Bibby can play defense like Perk and can set screens like Perk and box out so his teammates can get rebounds like Perk does, then maybe he can talk. Perk does just what his team needs from him. Unfortunately, he is also a very emotional player and I am sure that Bibby had that in mind when attacking him. He seemed to get caught up in it at first with 2 quick fouls on Bibby, but then came back in the second half and played very well. I know the Atlanta crowd will probably be on him so hopefully he can zone that out and just play his game.
It may just be me, but that "There Can Be Only One" commercial with Steve Nash and Jason Kidd just doesn't look right. All the rest of them just seem to flow and the two players in them mesh very nicely. But, the one with Kidd and Nash just looks off somehow. I love the ones with KG and LeBron and the one with Pierce and Bibby, but that one with Kidd and Nash just doesn't look right. I think it may be the fact that Nash has a beard and no hair and Nash has hair and no beard.
Three times in the last couple of days, I have seen a reference to rival Celtics' blogs. I have never thought of all the different blogs representing the Celtics as rivals. I look at all of them as a big community all working and cheering for the same thing. Rival blogs are the blogs for the other teams. I contribute to several blogs and read and enjoy every one. I love CelticsBlog. I love Lex Nihil Novi. I love Red's Army. I love Celtics 17. I love Celtics 24/7. I love Perkisabeast. I love Full Court Press. I love every one of them. They aren't rivals. They are brothers and sisters in arms.
Seeing Carl Landry lose a tooth in the Rockets/Jazz game and then coming back to seal the win with a big block at the end, brought back memories of Paul Pierce's heroics and toughness. In 2004, in a game against the Blazers, Pierce hit the game winner. This in itself wasn't so amazing as he had done it many times before. But, the night before he had been fouled hard by Amare Stoudamire and lost several teeth. He spent 7 hours in the dentist's chair having them repaired and still started the game against the Blazers that night, hitting the game winner. Now, that is tough. But then again, after you have been stabbed and almost killed, losing a few teeth maybe isn't that big a deal. In September of 2000, just minutes after entering a Boston dance club in the early morning hours, he was jumped from behind by three men. He was sucker-punched, a bottle was broken over his right eye, a knife was plunged through the back of his leather jacket six inches deep into his body, barely missing vital organs, and he received 10 other stab wounds and required lung surgery. Three weeks later he was back at practice for the Celtics and played the entire 2000-2001 season, averaging 25.3 points. There is no doubt that Pierce is a warrior and although KG has been acknowledged as the leader on this team, Pierce is still the Captain and the Truth.
Rondo's newest blog is up on Yardbarker. The last paragraph especially caught my attention:
I'm going over Ray's later. We're having dinner over his house. Overall, the team is better than ever right now. UBUNTU is in full effect, and our chemistry is crazy! My job now is to just stay focused, play team ball, and win this thing. I'll be back to the yard soon
Chemistry is an often overlooked and underestimated component to a championship run. Chemistry is one of the reasons the Pistons were able to win a championship and remain a force without any superstars. Chemistry is one of the reasons the Spurs have been so dominant and the lack of chemistry is the reason that the LA dream team with Kobe, Shaq, Malone and Payton didn't win a championship and maybe why the Mavericks aren't better. I love the fact that these guys get along off the court as well as on and that the veterans have taken the young guys under their wings. It bodes well for the future as well as the present.
I leave you with Rondo's top ten plays of the season. The Celtics are truly in good hands.
Here are comments found around the Hawks boards during Game 2 against the Celtics. Most of their posts were talking about how bad Bibby is and how he should be quiet as well as how bad their coach is and should be fired. They realize that their team is over matched in this series, they still have hope that maybe the Hawks can pull out a game in Atlanta.
Bibby will be a marked man tonite for calling the Boston fans bandwagoners
Really no surprise since they are the best team in the NBA. It just gets old when people say they've been long time Boston fans in every sport when if they werent good they wouldn't be. Glad to hear someone speak up about it because they seemed quiet on TV.
Being a New Yorker it pains me to admit this, but Boston sports fans are some of the most die hard, live and breath for your team, sports fans around. Bibby doesn't know what he is talking about.
Well I'm guessing there will be a TON of those "bandwagon" fans in our building this Saturday night, probably at LEAST half the building. Maybe even more. Game 3 still isn't sold out. What does that make "Hawks fans?"
Mike Bibby will have a huge game tonight
I think Bibby is actually afraid to bring the ball up the court against Rondo because of how much pressure he puts on the ball.
Where is Ivey when you need him? Give a good punch to Rondo
The Hawks have to play a near perfect game to beat the Celtics...
I don't think we have to play a perfect game to beat the Celtics just a consistent one. The only question is if we can play consistent.
Horford was the best player on the floor last night. He out performed KG/Perkins on both ends.
Bibby made an unintelligent comment about the Boston fans so he's going to be heckled Wednesday. Deservingly so, I don't understand why he would want to add fuel to the fire.
Its so depressing to play Boston, their defense has NO holes.
OK..we can even up the series tonight!! We had game one jitters...but now, we need to buckle down and play to our strengths. RUN....RUN....RUN....we give teams problems with our athleticism, and we need to speed the pace up tonight because Boston definitely wants to run a half-court offense
By the way...Acie can kill Cassell off the dribble. He really should play more...once he hits his groove, he will cause havoc out there. Am I the only one who sees this? If Rondo can learn to shoot, so can he.
Right now, this game is looking just like the regular season home game against them. Their bench is in and we're getting destroyed, mostly by Sam Cassell.
This might be the biggest mismatch in NBA playoff history.
Why did they leave, of all people, RAY ALLEN, open?
There is no way in HELL Sam Cassell should be out playing Mike Bibby????? How many open shots can you give Ray Allen and Paul Pierce????
How do you possibly miss open layups like Marvin Williams is missing right now. Chris Paul will haunt this franchise for the rest of there History. The guy is the MVP of the league and we got a guy who cant even hit layups
The Celtics might be better but there playing there A game and the Hawks are just not playing sound fundamental ball they could be in this game if they did.
Wouldn't matter if the Hawks were playing their 'A' game or not. The Celtics have three playoff-savvy HOFers on their roster desperate for a championship, solid team defense, and a good bench.
Al Horford is being guarded by Leon Powe. Go to that? Nah. Marvin Williams has Ray Allen on him. Go to that? Nah. We go to Josh Smith who has the DPOY on him....why don't we run THOSE plays.
Kenny Smith making fun of us (our offense). The rest are joining in.
Kenny Smith is a Knicks' announcer, so he'd know what a bad offense looks like.
I'm tired of the Celtics getting every long rebound.
Bibby gonna get booed in Atlanta
Ya think the Suns wished they had Rondo instead of $3M?
This game is so unwatchable, they ran out of things to talk about. They had to bring in Joe Joe White to kill time....
Let me get my tissues out since Josh Smith was just knocked to the ground. I think I'm going to head to the Boston board and complain religiously about it. Boston fans should respect us as Hawk fans and tell us how sorry they are
Did Perkins just cheer on the bench when Smith fell?
What's the purpose of Boston leaving there starters in there? It would be a great time for a hard foul.
Maybe we should try to hire Tom Thibodeau as our next head coach?
Not a bad idea. I give more credit to him for the Boston's season than to Rivers.
Smith just took a charge on Big Baby in garbage time
Boston chants "RON-DO'S BE-TTER" at Mike Bibby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnng-pBMChs After making comments in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about the Cetlics fans being 'bandwagon jumpers,' Mike Bibby saw no end to the mocks and boos in Bean Town.
The Hawks managed to lose 8 straight quarters in the playoffs. I've never seen that before. Gotta give credit to Boston..they dominated as expected. I do hope some one smacks KG in games 3 or 4 though. He either has some kind of disorder or he tries way too hard to come off as a tough guy. It takes some one like Anthony Peeler to bring him down to Earth sometimes. Rondo is also a baller...I liked him as a prospect but there's no way I thought he would be a better pro than Marcus Williams.
That Boston team is just incredible. We are throwing everything we have at them and they are just systematically beating us.
Expect the Hawks to play better at home unless they've lost their confidence or the coach does some idiotic stuff. I'm hoping that our Hawks fight tooth and nail not to get swept.
Bibby needs to shut up. Nothing worse than a guy who talks a lot of smack off the court but looks like a fool on the court. Kind of like Stevenson calling LeBron overrated.
I'm also positive Bibby is letting the crowd get to him.
Talk about getting schooled! We are getting SCHOOLED. Gotta do better at Phillips
Two blow out losses where the big three didn't do much damage. We are [censored] jokes. Now I have to go into the office tomorrow and get laughed at all day. These guys look like streetball players that got together 10 minutes before the game and decided they wanted to play the Celtics. DAMN!!!!!!!
It's a shame that you can't limp into the playoffs with a losing record at the 8 spot and play the team in the 7th spot - now that would make it competitive. Nope - you gotta play the #1 seed with the best record in the NBA. Bottom line is...we play good and they play average and they still beat us by 10+ points. They have a considerably better starting five and a considerably better bench and a considerably better coach.
It is pretty obvious to all involved that the Hawks are over matched in this series. Mike Bibby has taken it on himself to put some life into it by first attacking the fans and calling them bandwagon jumpers and fair weather fans and last night, before the game, he increased his attack to include Perk, who had stuck up for the fans after Bibby's initial comments.
"I don't know where he all of a sudden got this tough streak from," Bibby said before the game. "His stat line was worse than mine. I haven't really seen him do much in his career. So until he does something or shows me something, I really don't think he should say anything."
well, Perk chose not to comment but did get the last word with 8 points and 9 rebounds in 23 minutes and, most importantly, another win for his team.
The Garden was filled with chants of "Rondo's better" as Rondo went about proving their point with 12 points on 6-11 shooting (not bad for a kid who can't shoot) to go with 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals with only 1 turnover. Bibby on the other hand had another 2-7 shooting night for 12 points, 3 rebounds and only 1 assist. I imagine that he is looking forward to getting away from Boston as the series now shifts to Atlanta.
Before the game, Kevin Garnett was presented with the Defensive Player of the Year award and in a gesture that has been typical of this team all season, he called his whole team out to stand with him on the court as he received it showing that the Celtics defense is a team effort. KG went on to produce another double double with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks and he hit his first 3 pointer of the season. The Celtics bigs may want to put in for hazard pay, though. In the last game, KG pummeled Leon Powe as he lay on the floor after putting in a monster dunk and in this game, after a put back dunk and 1 by Perk, KG punched Perk in the chest and then, lifted him off the floor in a huge bear hug.
Atlanta's strategy from the beginning was to be more physical and just 2 minutes into the first quarter, Josh Smith fouled Paul Pierce hard, sending him to the floor and then landing on him. Pierce was slow to get up and clearly was hurting. Posey came in for Pierce who went to the locker room and the word was that he had a lower back strain. He did return to the game and afterwards said that he hoped to get some treatment and rest between games and should be ok. Hopefully he is right. Smith wasn't even called for the foul after the hard hit on Pierce. He finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steeals in 28 minutes. Posey responded to the call with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. He later was called for a flagrant 1 foul as he was going for the ball on Smith and that foul wasn't near as hard as the one Smith put on Pierce.
Ray Allen played the most minutes of the starting 5 with 36 and finished with 15 points (6-13), 2 rebounds, r assists and 1 steal. Sam Cassell once again gave the Celtics quality play with 10 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal in 11 minutes off the bench. The Celtics bench once again out played the Hawks bench with 28 points for the Celtics to 15 for the Hawks, mostly from Josh Childress.
The Celtics outplayed the Hawks in every facet of their 96-77 victory. The Celtics shot 42% while holding the Hawks to 38%. In the first game, the Celtics were out rebounded 41-40 and this game, the Celtics righted that by out rebounding the Hawks 45-35 in this game. The Celtics have done a good job of keeping their turnovers down with 12 in this game while forcing 21 from the Hawks. The Hawks got to the line 40 times compared to only 26 times for the Celtics. The Hawks missed 9 free throws while the Celtics missed 7. The Celtics outscored the Hawks in the paint 20-14. The series now shifts to Atlanta on Saturday and hopefully the Celtics will bring the same kind of intensity to put the series away in 4 games.
Since I am not in the Boston area, CSN broadcasts are blacked out here and I am at the mercy of ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV to watch the games. One thing I absolutely hate about their broadcasts is how they cut away from the game you are watching to give you "bonus" coverage of another game. If I wanted to watch that other game, I would tune into it. I want to watch the game being televised. I don't care how close the other game is, I want to watch the game I tuned in to. That has become one of my biggest pet peeves. When I tune into TNT to watch a Celtics game, I want to watch the whole Celtics game and not have 4 or 5 minutes of it taken away for another team that I don't even care about.
What is it with players putting their feet in their mouth? First it was Stevenson calling LeBron overrated. Now, it is Bibby calling Celtics fans bandwagon jumpers and fair weather fans. Sure, there are some bandwagon fans because of how well the Celtics did, but I watched every game last season and the fans were cheering all the way through the 18 game losing streak. The Garden still had big crowds last season. The Celticss sold out every home game this season with an average of 18,624 fans per game. Last year, when they were 24-58 for the worst record in the Eastern Conference, the team averaged 16,843 per game, about 86 percent of capacity. so, that leaves only about 1781 fans that might be considered bandwagon fans. Not a bad average. I love Perk's response. He is always so honest and he sticks up for the fans.
Now is when we find out how good Doc really is as a coach. In the playoffs, coaches have to make adjustments from game to game and then have to adjust to the other team's adjustments within the game. As the playoffs continue, coaching is going to become more important than in the regular season. Doc has never won a playoff series, but then again, he has never had a team like this (or an assistant like Tom Thibodeau).
KG looks so nice for his press conference. Ginobili showed up for his press conference for 6th man looking like a slob. Just shows how classy KG is. But then again, Doc showed up in just a long sleeve Celtics tee shirt. I guess we can chalk that up to Celtics pride.
Preview for Game 2: Key Matchups Rajon Rondo vs Mike Bibby This was a key matchup in game 1 and will be a key match up in game 2. Rondo clearly came out on top in the first game and out-played Bibby on both ends of the court in his very first playoff game. Bibby is a veteran, though and will come back determined to play better and Rondo will need to elevate his game as well.
Kendrick Perkins vs Al Horford Al Horford had a very strong game and is one of the reasons that the Hawks were able to stay in the game as long as they did. Perk got into early foul trouble and that limited him in the first half, but he had a strong second half. Hopefully Perk can stay out of foul trouble and keep Horford off the boards.
Honorable Mention Kevin Garnett vs Josh Smith Smith is one of the Hawks best players but he had an off game due to foul trouble and allergy problems in game 1. The paper said he had an allergic reaction to something he ate at the hotel he was staying at. (When I read that, I thought of the movie Celtic Pride and some well meaning Celtics fan slipping something into his food.) Smith is a very athletic player and can block shots and defend along with grabbing rebounds and scoring inside. KG needs to make him work on both ends of the court and maybe get him in foul trouble again.
Keys to the game: Rebound The Celtics were out rebounded 41-40 in the first game and allowed the Hawks to get second and third chance baskets. The Celtics need to be more aggressive on the boards. There is an old adage that says, "Offense sells tickets, defense wins games and rebounding wins championships." I think this is because much of rebounding is effort and the team that wins the rebounding war has put out the most effort.
Don't Underestimate the Hawks The Celtics had an easy time beating the Hawks in game one but they can't take them for granted. They have to take a lesson from their last playoff appearance where they won the first game against the Pacers and then lost the series. The Hawks will make adjustments and the Celtics have to be ready for that. Be Aggressive The Celtics need to come out and be aggressive from start to finish. Even with a big lead, they can't let up. The Pistons had a big lead on the Sixers and let up and ended up losing the game. The Celtics need to come out strong and play hard for 48 minutes.
Defense Defense becomes more important in the playoffs and even though the Celtics have won with defense all season, they need to take that defense to another level now that the playoffs are here. They can't allow second chance points and they need to limit easy baskets. X-Factor Bench Play The Celtics bench out scored the Hawks bench 36-22 in the first game. If the Celtics bench continues to produce, they will be hard to beat.
Celtics forward Kevin Garnett became the first Boston player to be voted as the league's Defensive Player of the Year today.
Garnett earned 493 points (90 first place votes, 12 second place, seven third place). Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby finished second with 178 points.
Garnett led the Celtics to hold opponents to 90.3 points per game. Garnett averaged 7.3 defensive rebounds per game, 1.2 blocks per game, and 1.4 steals per game. He had a season-high seven blocks at Chicago on Dec. 12.
Kia Motors will donate a seven-passenger SUV in Garnett's name to the Boston Center for Youths and Families, which supports KG's Big Ticket Challenge Program.
KG truly deserved this award and though I know he could care less about individual awards, his team play should be rewarded by this kind of award. I doubt he will get the MVP since Kobe seems to be the darling of the media for some bizarre reason. But, this award is better anyway since it was the Celtics defense that made them the best team in the league and it will be defense that will win the championship. Congrats to KG - he deserves this and more.
The high point of game 1 for me was Leon Powe's dunk over Josh Smith in the 4th quarter. I know that several sites already have posted the video of it, but this is such a great dunk it deserves all the attention it gets.
Almost looked like one of those school-yard brawl videos you see on YouTube, two guys raining punches down on a hapless victim laying sprawled out on the floor. Only thing was, the punchers and the punchee were all wearing white and green. And the guy on the receiving end, Leon Powe, was finding himself pummeled with love by teammates Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell. "At first I thought [Garnett] was going to help me up, then he gave me like two, three, four, five, six Roy Jones punches," Powe said of the mock assault he had to endure after slamming home a dunk over Josh Smith and Mike Bibby midway through the fourth quarter of Boston's 104-81 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. "Sam might have snuck about two in there."
Not only did KG pummel Powe as he was lying on the floor, but once he finally did help him up, he continued to yell in his ear. This may just be the most memorable play of the playoffs. From the look on his face, it is possible that Leon will think twice before going in for a monster dunk again!
I just enjoyed watching the Wizards get beat by 30 points by the Cavs. That isn't a typo. They beat them by 30 points. Haywood got tossed for a flagrant 2 foul on LeBron and that is big if they decide to suspend him for the next game. I really do hope they suspend him. Those kinds of fouls are dangerous and can hurt players. The Wizards whole strategy has been to foul LeBron hard and on that play, Haywood made now play for the ball and simply went to take out LeBron. They need to send a message that they have to pay for making that kind of play. After all their trash talk, the Wizards find themselves down 2-0 to the Cavs. Maybe they should just learn to keep their mouths shut. I would love for the Cavs to take them out in a long and physical series so that whichever team we face is all worn out, but more importantly, I don't want to play the Wizards again.
There were a lot of writers questioning the Celtics bench and also questioning Rondo. I think both have answered those questions emphatically. The bench, especially Posey, Powe, House and Cassell are going to be very strong in the playoffs. In his first playoff game, Powe came up big for the Celtics. I really love that kid. It was hard to believe that Rondo was playing his first playoff game as he was poised and just played flawless basketball. I was amazed by the tough shots he hit. There was that runner in the lane and then that circus shot on the baseline that ended up getting waived off. And he is only going to get better.
I keep reading how the team is feeding off the crowd and how they got their energy from how loud the Garden was. Hopefully they have other sources of energy because when the series shifts to Atlanta, they need to be just as intense and have just as much energy to beat them, but they won't get it from the Hawks crowd. I would like to see the Celtics close this one out in 4. Allowing the Hawks to beat them even one game should not happen since they are a way better team. I love having home court advantage through the playoffs although I hope we don't have to go 7 games, because having the crowd behind you in a game 7 is definitely an advantage.
I absolutely love this commmercial. It gives me goosebumps every time I see it. I love the shot of KG and Rondo, kind of reminds me of that scene from ET where his finger is glowing and they touch fingers. Come to think of it, KG is rather other-worldly. Here's to making history!
