Celtics Defeat Atlanta, Move on to Round 2

The Celtics managed to hold off the Atlanta Hawks, rejuvenated by the return of Al Horford, who really put his team on his back.  The Celtics, however, collectively climbed on the back of The Big Ticket, Kevin Garnett who was the absolute star of the game.  His stat line was absurd: 28 points on 53% shooting FG, 14 rebounds, 3 steals, 5 blocks, and a single foul.  He was dominant in the game, and played 39 minutes.  Rondo, Pierce, Bradley and Allen all contributed, but I was extremely impressed by Ryan Hollins 18 minute contributions. This guy was not on the team 6 weeks ago!

Although I am not confident that the Celtics would have won in 6 had Horford been 100% for all 3 games, they move on to face the Philadelphia 76ers.  They were greater than +1000 to knock off the number 1 seed Chicago Bulls, but they accomplished it, with some help from a Derrick Rose injury.  This is a favorable matchup for the Celtics, who really dominated the Sixers in the second half of the season.  I think it will be important for Rondo and the rest of the team to be involved, as Kevin Garnett can not will the team to the Finals.  Celtics need to continue attacking the basket, instead of settling for jump shots. Need to stop Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala from scoring, and keep up the strong defense.

Game 1: Saturday @ 8PM  in Boston
Classic Kevin Garnett post game interview below:

Celtics Manage a Win in Game 2 without Rajon Rondo

The Celtics were without Rajon Rondo for Tuesday night's Game 2 of the first round of the NBA playoffs.  Boston fans were tense, with the early exit from Lord Stanley's Playoffs by the defending champ Bruins, and a tense situation in Boston with Bobby Valentine.  Everyone had written off the Celtics from having a chance at victory without their mercurial point guard, and this would have been the case had PAUL PIERCE not gone absolutely bananas.  The Celtics' 4th quarter was insane, with them going on a strong run offensively, and playing lock down defense.  Avery Bradley made all kinds of athletic plays, and KG was doing KG things.  Great for the Celtics to get a win down in Atlanta and even the series up 1-1 heading back to Boston.

Rajon Rondo: the Man Made of Rubber

Celtics took Saturday night's game 3 against the Heat at home. The entire core played excellent, Allen was +21 when he was in the game, Pierce scored a bunch, and KG was the mvp, contributing 28 points and nearly 20 boards. Jermaine O'Neal was quietly excellent, I counted at least 4 blocks and a bunch of rebounds, plus his large presence made it difficult for the heat to get to the cup. Shaq was back, and although he was barely making it up and down the court, he is a huge body, and that affects the game. I will take Shaq over Big Baby Glen Davis! D. West hit a key 3, and Jeff Green contributed, and looked like he cared.

The real story of the game though was Rajon Rondo. As Dwayne Wade was falling down, he managed to pull Rondo down with him, and he fell incredibly awkwardly on his left arm. The excruciating fall was replayed gratuitously and burned into our retinas after the 20th time it was shown. He was carried off the court, with a dislocated elbow, and everyone thought the game and the series was over for the Celtics. However, in the 4th, Rondo returned, but his left arm was looking like it weighed 75 lbs. He played through it, purely on adrenaline, scored a bunch of points and contributed for our team. As he was falling, on a steal, he tucked the arm in and rolled over, clearly the thing was injured. He was making one hand passes, and scoring layups, but it was scary. The Heat looked like they didn't want to touch him, which strategically didn't make much sense. You are not going Pau GaSOFT or any other Euro playing like that, fuck yeah America.

Let's see if we can take down Game 4, Go C's!

one more shot of the elbow for the road...

Celtics 0-2

The Celtics have gotten off to a terrible start in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They lost the first two games to the Heat in Miami and are coming home to play the next 2. I am feeling a lot less confident, but I am certainly not saying that they are drawing dead. The first game on Sunday was awful, the Celtics were down the entire game, and Miami and Wade had their foot on our necks the whole way. Some terrible officiating including the Pierce ejection, and 2 miscalled flagrant fouls (that have since been changed) would have resulted in potentially 7 extra points in Boston's direction.

Game 2 went down last night, and the Celtics looked a lot better, however they were not enough for the Heat. Bosh had a solid game 2, much better than his Sunday performance. KG played bad again, missed a ton of shots, got owned by Wade on a sick crossover move, and got owned again by Lebron at the end of the game going for a layup. Rondo and the bench played pretty well, but lack of significant contributions from the rest of the Big 3 resulted in the L. Lebron seems to have settled into his role as the #2 option for the team, but his amazing skill allows him to take over games at will, which he did in the second half.

Game 3 is going to be insane in Boston, and a win is vital, Shaq being back in the lineup could shake things up. I am looking for a huge game from the entire Celtics roster and hopefully the Heat will struggle like they did during regular season games at the TD Garden. Around the rest of the league, I see no way that the Hawks can actually beat Chicago, but in the West both underdogs are totally live. Memphis is playing some scrappy basketball, and as long as Mike Conley does alright, we could definitely see them knocking off OKC. Lakers should be able to beat Dirk and the Mavs, although Pau and Odom are going to need to get angry to win! Go Bruins!

Game 2: C's v Knicks

The Knicks could have really used Amare Stoudemire in last night's loss to the C's. After it was revealed he would not be returning after halftime, Carmelo really took control of the game. he had 42 points, 26 of them coming in the second half. Bill Walker was an absolute train-wreck on the court. He got called for Technical foul after completely decking Ray Allen under the basket, and was just rowdy in general. Tommy Heinsohn reminded us that he was 0-11 from the floor.

This brings me to my final point. Mike D'Antoni, worst coach in basketball? I think that's pretty plausible, how did he not switch Douglas off Rondo, who had his best game in recent memory. How do you wait until there are .6 seconds left to foul? Why leave Bill Walker on the court when he's going on 0-11 from the field? Draw up some plays rather than let Carmelo just rip 3s? Mike D'Antoni would be gone after this year from any other squad, but I have a feeling with Isaiah having James Dolan's ear, this might not happen.

KG proves why he is the man at the end of the game, bring on Miami!