Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Instant Celtics Analysis!

Before we get to the analysis, three other items:

1) Nick, welcome back! You write nothing for two months and then you throw up something that potentially puts us on the map? Is that really an exclusive? Well done buddy.

2) Most readers here are probably watching the CSN feed of the C's game, but being in DC I'm getting TNT. Well they just showed Lawrence Maroney sitting courtside and I think it is safe to say that roughly 90% of his pro earnings have gone towards jewelry. He probably rents a $250 a month apartment in Foxboro.

3) Nobody dogs Tony Allen more than I do. With that being said, I would have fully endorsed him entering Game 4 to try and cool off Joe Johnson. Of course that never happened and Doc got some heat for it. And then Tony came in in the second quarter of this game and had a vintage Tony Allen run. He started things off well with an acrobatic basket in the paint. And then he air-balled a three on their next possession, fouled Joe Johnson shooting a three when the Hawks went back down after his airball, and then on the C's ensuing possession threw the ball out of bounds. That's the Tony we know and (don't) love. Hey Tony, I hope you enjoyed the only time you'll see this postseason prior to 4th quarter mop-up duty.

And now the quick analysis..

Why the Celtics Won:

1) Paul Pierce attacked the basket, Kevin Garnett made a concentrated effort to dominate the blocks, and the jump shots and threes they did take all came within the flow of their offense. Most encouraging of this news has to be the play of Pierce. When he is attacking the rim he is really, really tough. Now if he could just get his free throw shooting back on track...

2) Their defense was outstanding, highlighted by a 39-28 rebounding edge including a 13-8 edge on the offensive glass.

3) Twice when Atlanta looked like they might make things a little too close for comfort they were able to have a key guy catch fire. At the end of the first half it was James Posey hitting two big threes and in the third quarter it was Ray Allen hitting three of them.

4) The Celtics were able to neutralize Josh Smith holding him to just 18 points (10 coming from the line), 5 rebounds, and most importantly only one block. As for that block, I think we all saw it coming miles away when Rondo thought he could expose the ball while going up for a dunk with Smith right on his tail.

5) The game was a typical slow-bleed Celtics bludgeoning until the fourth quarter when it became an out and out romp, but what still must be cause for concern has to be the inordinate amount of layups (I'm looking at YOU Rajon) the C's are missing and that KG still seems a bit at a loss when operating in the post. I really think that with his touch shots around the basket his massive energy gets the best of him resulting in him pushing his shots too much. Have you noticed how he has played his best in the post in garbage time? My theory makes sense right? Still, it is stupid to complain after a 25 point victory. Let's wrap things up on Friday.


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