Finally, this series is over. As a basketball fan, of course you didn't want this thing to end really. But as a Celtics fan, you wanted Game 7 to be a blowout--no more strong possibilities for a heart attack, no more breaking furniture and/or bones out of frustration, no more Joakim Noah unwarranted screams, no more bringing a cold Tony Allen off the bench to commit a three-shot foul. Someday, I'll look back on this series and feel its significance, but for now, let's just be thankful the better team came out on top.
Again, grabbing a meaningless rebound in the first quarter does not allow you to scream like you just won the NBA Finals.
The start did not look good. We assembled an emergency barn party, with Tim, Jon, Wokkus, and worthy replacement for Scotty/Steve/Pates/Walder/Jake, Ms. Katie Bruno herself. We all got there early to prepare both mentally and physically. We organized the barn to the optimal playing conditions: "Jesus never fails" on the small white cooler in front of the TV, the basketball hoop on the beam, the chairs in a circle, and seating positions set. A few new additions to increase winning chances: a Celtics poster next to the window, the Celtics Championship DVD to the right of the TV, the big exercise ball in the corner to the back-left of the TV, the mini-fridge, the big blue cooler off to the side, and a lucky visit from a mom, an aunt, and a grandmother. It was all in place and we were ready.
...or so we thought. We were watching the Championship DVD to get ourselves pumped up and noticed it was about 14 minutes to gametime. We decided to watch a little pregame action, but upon turning to the cable, we couldn't get it to work. Repeated attempts to get to the menu and add channels saw failure. Wokkus and Jon quickly rushed to get another TV as the seconds and minutes ticked by. At last, everything hooked up and we turned it on right as the tipoff was about to be thrown up. Crisis averted.
Is there anything better than having 2 of the best three point shooters on your side?
The game, however, got off to a bad start. Were we not prepared enough? Was the TV debacle a bad omen? We would find that the poor start was merely a test of our fortitude. The Bulls came out like they did in Game 1, dismissing an energetic crowd and team and getting off on a great foot. After Pierce scored the opening points (good to get him going early), Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose provided the Bulls' punch. Between them, they scored the Bulls first 14 points. The Celtics quickly countered after falling behind 11-4. Naturally, the two veterans fueled the Celtics--just what they needed to do. At the end of the frame, Pierce and Allen had 7 points each. We were trailing 27-23, but we at the barn were feeling good. We withstood some torrid shooting from Rose/Gordon and a major disparity in free throws that would continue throughout the game until the 4th quarter (at the end of 1, the Bulls were 9-9 and the Celtics were 2-3).
As Big Baby got in early foul trouble, we needed our bench to step up. Luckily, they were ready for the call for basically the first time in the whole series. And the spark came first from the man who played not even one minute of playoff basketball on last year's championship-winning team: Brian Scalabrine. Even though he missed his first shot, you gotta give the guy credit for not hesitating when wide open (*cough cough* Marbury). What Scal brings is an ability for a big man to spread the floor even more so than Garnett because he's a three point shooter. Fortunately for us, teams usually pay him no attention, but the Bulls paid for it tonight. Scal knocked down his 3rd shot of the game, just a few inches inside the three point line off an assist from a penetrating Allen. Just a couple plays later, he hit a three pulling the Green to within four to close the quarter. A minute and a half into the second frame, he nailed yet another open three and actually led the team in scoring with 8 at that point. As for the rest of the bench players, who outscored the Bulls' bench 30-25, Mikki Moore had a quiet 4 points, but played solid D and was a +6. Marbury still looked hesitant, although less so than previous games. He scored only 2 points, but in a very important position: free throws at the end of the game to seal it. Plus-11 while he was on the floor, which, when looking at his point total doesn't make much sense. However, he (and the rest of the second unit) played great defense, allowing the Celtics go on a 22-2 run to end the half.
Redemption. Shots were wet all night.
And what about Eddie? He closes the season on a tear beyond tears, but is nowhere to be found come playoff time. He's a streaky shooter, sure, but when he gets going, there's no one else I'd rather have coming off my bench. Well, maybe after what Aaron Gray did in this series...Anyway, here's what I think. Ray Allen has the prettiest stroke in the NBA, there's no doubt. But, I argue that Eddie House has the prettiest "shot," meaning the trajectory the ball takes after he shoots. It's essentially a rainbow shot that seems to stay up in the air forever, but almost never hits anything but net. Splash. That, and his quick release, allows him to get it over anyone at any time. What a joy to watch. House hit all 5 of his shots, 4 of them being 3 pointers, 2 of which were in front of Chicago's bench. Impressive. Shooters shoot. And guess what. It all started on the defensive end. Rivers talked to him before the game and told him to get his offense going, he had to focus on the defensive end (Doc=Genius). He had 3 steals before his first shot. In fact, he held Ben Gordon (apparently the Prodigal Son for Chicagoans. Right.) to 0-5 shooting, forcing him to no field goals in the pivotal 4th quarter. That'll do.
Eddie's hot hand ignited the Boston crowd. Unstoppable.
I was hoping for Pierce to go off like he did vs. Cleveland a year ago, but in hindsight, that wasn't what we needed. As we've seen this series, one player just doesn't get it done (See: Gordon's 42 points in Game 2 and Ray Allen's 51 points in Game 6). The balanced attack by the Celtics led to the victory. Pierce ended up with 20 points, Allen with 23, Perk with 14 and 13, Davis with 15, House with 16, Scal with 8, and Rondo with 7 and 11 assists.
Oh, I'm sorry...did you foul out? That's too bad.
Aside from Gordon's 33, Rose's 18, and Hinrich's 16, Chicago's scorers and bench just weren't there as they were in Game 6. Brad "But Dude, Look at My Mouth!" Miller was just 3-8 before fouling out, John "I Don't Even Know Who I Am" Salmons shot a gross 3-12, and Joakim "Could the Gap Between My Teeth Get Any Bigger? I Think It Could" Noah took only 2 shots before fouling out.
Until you get a haircut/plastic surgery, God will simply not listen to you. Clown.
That will be the extent of my analysis because, let's face it, SportsCenter, ESPN.com, NBA.com, etc. will continue and have been doing so for the past 17 hours. It's time for us fans to simply enjoy the win and the series as a whole. But we need to focus tomorrow on our next opponent: The Orlando Magic. Season series was split 2-2, both Celtics wins coming by double-digits and Magic wins coming by two and 6 points (one of those was without KG). They're a 3-point shooting team with only one big man who, if he gets in foul trouble, will be incredibly easy to score on in the paint. As we've seen from the 'Toine days, you can live or die by the three. Our defensive mentality should be able to quell a three point barrage and, considering they have no significant defensive threat, sans Howard, this should be a even matchup. With Perk and Baby's maturation just in the past 7 games, our defense on Howard should be enough to contain him. Of course, any predictions at this point are nothing more than semi-educated guesses. This is the playoffs. Anything can happen.
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