Celtics Play Like Champs to Take Series Lead

The Bulls showed their true selves as the young Coach Vinny del Negro looks on with disdain.

We were all worried. Yes, we had a huge game from Ray Ray to beat the Bulls at the buzzer in Game 2 and were one free throw make away from winning Game 1. Had Allen missed that final shot, we may have certainly been in a surprising 0-2 hole. Let's just say we were lucky to get out of Boston locked up with the feisty, pesky Bulls 1-1. But we were worried. We escaped with a respectable record. The two games had been far too close for comfort. In the last week of the season, we had completely destroyed the 8th (almost 7th) seed Sixers without Pierce, Allen, Rondo, KG, Powe, Scal, etc., etc. How could these young Bulls look so calm and have such great individual efforts in many of the players' first playoff experience? It was all too unsettling and many C's fans that I know of were hoping to at least get one game out in Chicago. The fans there would undoubtedly be fired up (think Atlanta 2008). Fortunately, the Celtics did everything right and played like the champs to send a message to the Bulls that the first two games were essentially flukes.

From the opening tip, the Celtics showed their aggression and energy, almost immediately shutting up a raucous Chicago crowd and effectively denying any energy the Bulls might have had. Paul Pierce (who some say "showed up" for this game--he'd been averaging 20.5 ppg for the first 2 games...good enough for me, I say), was as hot as my laptop when the little fan thing doesn't turn on for a while. He started the first quarter 6-6 and really just owned John Salmons. It was good to see that those few days off before Game 3 allowed Pierce some much-needed rest to get his legs back under him, and it showed. He ended up with 13 points in a pivotal first quarter that set the tone for the rest of the game. Pierce finished with a game-high 24 points, highlighted by 4-8 shooting from downtown, one of which should have been a 4-point play, as Salmons bit on an upfake, collided with Pierce, who shot the ball and drained it. He lifted his arms as if to ask, "Where the FUCK was that foul? lol, but I made it anyway and I'm awesome."

For some reason, ESPN.com or NBA.com had no pictures of Paul Pierce doing anything. So this was as close as I could get to the said play. Except it was in Chicago, and there was more "WTF?" in his face...

It's just great to watch our team when we're clicking, isn't it? I mean, we play as a TEAM. At this point, we're so comfortable with each other that there's no need to really think too much...just go out and play. That's the ideal thing you want. Of course, you'd like some basketball IQ (which abounds for the C's), but along with that, you want to treat the game just as it is: a game. This comfort level, when everyone's feeling it, translates into championship basketball, the type of which was on display throughout Game 3. Rajon Rondo is the MVP of the playoffs thus far. Ray Allen has picked himself up nicely after Game 1, but Rondo has been the most consistent, energetic, smart, and aggressive player on the court. In terms of others around the league, you could argue Chauncey Billups of the Nuggets is playing better, averaging something like 33 ppg with 0 turnovers and 12 3-point FG made in 2 games (approximations...too lazy to look them up, but I think they're pretty much on). However, Rondo just does more. He scores, he rebounds, he passes, he steals. In fact, he's leading the Celtics in PPG, APG, RPG, and SPG. How many point guards are able to do that? Incredible. He's averaging nearly a triple-double for the series with 22.7 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 9.7 apg, and 4 spg (and .33 blocks per game). He's driving and getting layups, and shooting (and knocking down) longer-range jumpers (he's 2-4 from 3 point range). He continued his stellar offensive and defensive play last night, going for 20 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals in just 33 minutes. Here's some original research I just did regarding Rondo's shot selection, looking specifically at his jump shots and how much improved he is. We all know that when he gets past the D into the paint, he's either gonna get a layup, make a sick pass, or get fouled. But, especially last year, his jumper was his weakness. Watching him this whole season, you can easily see how much better he is and how hard he's worked on it. Through Games 1-3, Rondo's knocked down 11 actual jump shots out of 24 attempts. That's good for a 46% clip. To put that into perspective, Paul Pierce has hit 18 jump shots out of 43 attempts, good for 42%. Granted, Pierce has taken more and that's more of his game, but it just shows that Rondo's more confident in shooting the ball when his defender (rightly) respects his speed and goes under picks set for him.

Rajon Rondo is developing a jumpshot. This could be as huge as Happy learning how to putt.

Glen. Davis. How much can you say about him stepping up? He's been phenomenal and consistent this whole series and he put up a box score for the ages in Game 3. He had 14 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals, and 3 blocks. Holy cow. He's got such active hands that he one-upped our point guard in steals and tied him in assists. When you get that type of production, the W will most likely follow. His jump shot is becoming a thing of beauty and he has developed a very respectable free throw percentage. KG's absence is much more palatable they way Davis is playing.

Big Baby leads the fastbreak after one of his 6 steals. The Bulls had 22 turnovers.

Ray Allen was, once again, very consistent and efficient, getting 18 points on 6-12 shooting, including 3-4 from beyond the arc.

Marbury showed signs of his old self, aggressively driving to the rim. White Kirk Hinrich is scared.

One last note on last night's play. Stephon Marbury deserves a lot of credit for the way he's been playing. It has been admittedly spotty, that's for sure. But he's carried himself with a great air of confidence in himself and his teammates, something that was certainly lacking with the debacle in New York. He's stuck with it and taken Doc's advice to shoot more (who would ever think that a coach would ask him to do that?!) and just play ball. Last night he did that. And it wasn't just in garbage time, either. He played important minutes during a stretch in which Rondo was on the bench due to foul troubles that group on the floor effectively kept Chicago from clawing their way back in. Overall, Steph shot 4-10, including 1-1 from three (13 points) and went 4-4 from the line. He dished out 5 assists and grabbed 3 boards in 24 minute of play. Quite effective, I'd say. Good for you, Steph, that's exactly what we need out of you. Keep it up.

Isn't is great to see Steph enjoying the game and his fellow teammates?

Oh, and how about Scal?! I'm only being half funny here. The guy's taken some scary hits in the head this season, but he's stuck with it, being a vocal supporter from the pine and now that he's back in action, even he contributed, knocking down a baseline trey with zero hesitation. Perhaps a sign that he's not worrying about his head, he soared in to try and grab a defensive rebound in traffic. Balls to the wall, Scal. That's Celtics basketball. You keep it up, too.

The two Bulls' "superstars" were shut down by the Celtics vintage team defense. They forced Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose into 7 turnovers.

On Garnett. Apparently, KG's practicing with the team, i.e. in practice sweats and posting up Perk, etc. Whether he's working toward a comeback or just being camaraderious (?) with his fellow teammate, it's certainly a good sign, I think. We'll see...

Game 4 on Sunday at 1 pm. If we play like we did last night, we'll get the win and come back to Boston to try and close this series out. The win in Chicago was very important, not only to take the series lead, but also to give us confidence that we can win on the road in the playoffs vs. young, upstart teams like the Bulls. This was something we weren't able to do against Atlanta (or Cleveland) last year, leading to 7 games in each of the first two rounds. Fewer games=fewer players on the Celtics who are tired=better chances of winning games. Go C's.

Ray. Allen.

Ray Allen knocks down the game-winning three as the Bulls bench is SAD!

What a great game. I mean, what a fantastic game that was. These first two games remind me very much of the Atlanta series a year ago: a young, upstart team (with an ugly big man who thinks he's better than he really is) surprisingly challenges wily old veterans who were the favorites. This time, however, the Celtics are the defending champions and are playing with some real fortitude in the face of a TON of adversity. They could have packed it all up upon hearing news of KG being out for the entire playoffs with a right knee strain, especially when every reporter (even the faithful Bostonians) have flatly said that the C's have no chance at all. As the injured guy himself has said, though, "Anything is possible." Being underdogs isn't all that bad either. Everyone picked the soft Lakers to take it all last year and look what happened to Kobe-wan Kenobi (as my dad calls him). There's still a ton of pressure coming from the home crowd and the fact that we're the defending champs, but some people are even now thinking that Chicago will pull off the "upset." Last night's game was more than just a great win. It showed that we're not backing down and that despite all the bad news that keeps pouring in, we're gonna put up a hell of a fight.

The Celtics played great team defense on Rose, holding him to just 10 points.

How much can you say about Walter Ray Allen? The guy is one of the best shooters of all time. He's been through a lot these past couple of years, coming off ankle surgery before joining the team last year, struggling mightily in the opening rounds of the playoffs, many calling his career over and done with. Doc has said that he had the hardest time adjusting to the team of 2008, which is not to say he was a selfish player. His role was just very different from that in Seattle. But no complaints...just kept on shooting. Shooters shoot. This was on full display last night, as he went 6-10 from downtown, including more than a couple huge buckets to counter Ben Gordon's onslaught. This coming after a 1-12 effort in Game 1 and a 1-4 half to start Game 2. Shooters shoot. The Celtics did an incredible job of running plays for Allen that really got him going. You could even hear Pierce yelling, "Go to Ray! Go to Ray!" as they ran the ball up the court. All-in-all, 30 points for Allen, 28 coming in the second half. And when he got into that groove in the 4th quarter, there was no stopping him. Example of Ray staying in the game rather than getting frustrated: Pierce gets stripped leading to a 3-on-1 fastbreak, with Allen the only one back. Joakim (The Joke) Noah drives the lane and Allen picks up the blocking foul, and one. Next play down, Allen knocks down a three pointer off the feed from Rondo to bring the Celtics back to within one. How great is that? He uses his anger and frustration to be aggressive and score. After Gordon made back-to-back threes to put the Bulls up by 5, the two teams traded baskets, leading up to another three by Ray, putting us up by 2...

The Battle of UConn Alums: Gordon had more points, but Allen walked away the hero.

About that shot. Red Auerbach had his hand in this one (although, where was he for Pierce's missed free throw in Game 1?? Tip that in, man!) Rondo took a contested jumper and fell to the ground (no whistle..surprise). There was a long rebound and Rondo popped back up, got it, and dished it to Allen's hands beyond the arc. BAM! 2 point game with 25 ticks left. Gordon would make an insane free-throw line jumper with Big Baby and Allen in his grill leading up to the game winner.

Seriously, is there anyone uglier than Joakim Noah?? Ugh, looks like an ogre.

What a gorgeous play it was, too. The C's ran several screens down low as Rondo held the ball at the top of the arc. The brilliance comes in the amount of options we had. Allen was the first option, but if that wasn't there, Pierce was ready to post up down low UNDER the free throw line. Big Baby had Kirk Hinrich on him in a switch: another option. Eddie House was over on the wing and he's always dangerous with his quick release. Rondo had smoked Derrick Rose all night with his speed, so the possibility of him driving for the rim was there as well. Luckily, we had Option Numero Uno going for us. Hinrich called for The Joke to switch as he got stuck on Big Baby's pick. The big man recovered pretty well and Allen juuuuuust got the shot off over the 7-footer. The look on Noah's face after it splashed was epic. What a freaking loser.

Noah's face says it all: "Aww, man! I'm a complete moronic asshole who just got schooled by someone 2 feet shorter than I am!"

As I said, this game was Allen's, but there were so many other factors. Take Rondo. I was surprised to hear that he had a triple-double in the THIRD QUARTER! I had no idea. I knew he had a lot of points and a bunch of assists, but by the 3rd? No way. He ended up with 19 points, 16 assists, 12 rebounds. Oh, and 5 steals. There are only 3 players who have had a triple-double and 5+ steals in a playoff game: Magic Johnson, Gary Payton, and Rajon F. Rondo. What a baller. What a two games he's had! 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists in Game 1. Insane. Derrick Rose can have his 36 points in Game 1. I prefer dominance and consistency, thank you very much. Speaking of which, way to be, Rondo. He really attacked the rim from the get-go, drawing a quick 2 fouls on Rose (one of which was indirect--drove to the hoop, got blocked, K Perk got the board and Rose stupidly fouled him, and one), and then THREE on the backup, Hinrich. Do that every night and we have a great chance of winning.

Even on a sprained ankle, Rondo drove the lane all night, getting easy layups.

How about Big Baby?! He's been really stepping up for the absence of KG. Although he lacks the intensity The Ticket brings, he has that 18 or 19-foot jump shot down to a science. He ended up with 26 points on 12-21 shooting. The Celtics were a +20 with him on the floor. Pretty good for a "back-up" PF. Perk also went above and beyond the call of duty, going for 16 and 12, including seven offensive rebounds and a limited amount of boneheaded plays (RUN BACK ON DEFENSE!!). Pierce did a decent job (18 points, 8 boards), but was clearly very tired. John Salmons is a pesky person to defend and really ran Pierce around. Despite his sluggishness, I'll take 18 points for sure.

As for the bench....yeahhhhhh, where the eff were ya??!!? I thought Steph would get a few baskets after he knocked down a pretty jumper, but that was all he ended up with (1-4). Eddie only knocked down one three ball, Mikki Moore only made one shot, and Leon Powe as well (although he left early). And about Powe: Just learned today that he tore his ACL (my initials!) and will require surgery. He'll FOR SURE miss the rest of the playoffs, which is a pretty major blow to us, although I'm starting to get used to this type of news.

On the flipside, a glimmer of hope. Apparently, KG practiced the other day with the Celtics, although from what I heard, he merely dribbled the ball around the court a few times...no hardcore stuff. My message to Doc is this: If KG will be getting surgery, which I'm thinking is going to be the case, I say put him in games for brief (5 minute?) stretches a few times every game. I mean, sure it'll swell up, etc., but if he's getting surgery to repair it anyway, might as well give him a little work? He ran for 20 minutes straight and the knee swelled up after, causing Doc to say they'd shut him down, so play him just for a little amount of time. Even if he does nothing but stand there, his presence will be very much useful in both our psyche and the opposing team's. Of course, I'm probably just desperate and my plan would run the risk of worsening the situation beyond what surgery could fix (maybe???), but we'll see if he has any more practice time.

KG gives Pierce some advice and was incredibly vocal on the bench the entire night (Did he ever sit down?)

So there we have it. Ben Gordon's 42 points were just not good enough versus our team approach. We stuck with our game plan having Rondo drive, drive, drive and running multiple plays for Allen. You simply cannot expect their guys to continue to have epic nights...our defense will almost surely shore up. Our guys, on the other hand, are capable of having such games night in and night out. Rondo's a walking trip-doub threat, Ray Ray can knock down anything, Pierce is capable of getting way more than 18, Big Baby's been having nights like this for weeks now, and Eddie is due. Watch out, Chicago.

I made this!! Perfectly captures the moment.

Celtics Show Magic It Ain't All About the Three

We're going streaking!!! Tonight was a BIG win, although no one from the team will say so ("Every game's important"..."One game at a time", etc. etc.) Well, team, anytime you beat a conference powerhouse with a legit MVP candidate, who has just gone 4-0 on a West coast road trip defeating all the division leaders out there, it's a BIG win.

Once again, the bench came up huge. House couldn't find the range this time, but luckily, Big Baby was knocking down everything from "baby" hooks to 17- to 18-foot jumpers. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.....this is not my Batman glass. You might be asking, "This 350-pound behemoth made 4 jumpers from beyond 15 feet, and two other jump hooks from 7 and 8 feet?!?" Yes. He did. And he's actually had that shot the entire year. He's consistently worked on it and can knock it down pretty frequently when given the opportunity. It worked especially well tonight because Howard refused to go out and guard Davis when he moved out beyond the paint. Davis also did an admirable job on Superman, holding him to just 11 points and 11 rebounds, which is like holding Bill Russell to only two handfuls of championship rings instead of the two-and-one tenth handfuls he actually got. (I can't tell if that analogy made sense, but whatever.) It was really reminiscent of Scal the other night holding Beasley to 6-16 shooting. 

The game itself was again sloppy, again by both teams. The Celtics committed a 2006-07-esque 21 turnovers, which didn't hurt us too badly because we recovered our D for the most part. With regards to offense, we came in knowing the Magic were a 3-point shooting machine, which as we know from our Antoine days, can be a great thing or a curse. Tonight, as in the last time we played them, was a curse. The great thing about these types of teams is that even if they're shooting 0-40 from beyond the arc, they keep popping them. They were only 7-22 tonight, which saved us from the loss. On the other side of the spectrum, we only attempted 6 (missed them all). But our relentless attack in the paint led to Howard fouling out at a crucial moment in the game (around 2:30 left in the 4th with the Magic making some noise). One thing I didn't like is that when Howard got his 5th, we went a few possessions without attacking the paint. Listen. When you've got a player as dominant as Howard in foul trouble, you've GOT to go at him and try and get him outta there. Luckily, we eventually did and got away with the W. Pierce was solid and took advantage of the lesser Turkoglu, scoring 27, three of which came on an old-fashioned, vintage Pierce play in which he upfaked, had Hedo fall into him, faded away, and knocked it down. LOVE watching those fall. 

Great game tonight and we're now at 7 games in a row. Do I smell 19 again? Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We showed great composure down the stretch and now we get a few days off before we match up with the Mavericks on Sunday.

Anything else you noticed about this game? Does this game show that the C's are still the champs and the team to beat, or are Cleveland and the Lakers still at the top? Discuss.