Game 1
First and foremost, every Celtics fan should write a letter, e-mail, tweet, or any type of correspondence to both the Bobcats and the Hawks (especially the Hawks) for lying down and doing their best Junior Varsity impression against the Orlando Magic during the first and second rounds of the playoffs. Without their lack of effort and fervor the Magic may have actually realized this was the playoffs and shown up to play for game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Fortunately enough, the Celtics understood going into the game that they had a chance to steal one on the road, given the amount of time the Magic had between games. To paraphrase from the one and only Mr. Allen Iverson, “How the hell can I make my teammates better by goin’ to practice?” Well Allen, in a sense you were correct here, because practice does not simulate the intensity that was brought to that floor by the Celtics in Game 1, and clearly the Magic were not ready for a real NBA playoff game.
Boston won every quarter, except the 4th, which is why the game got within reach of Orlando. Dropping the 4th quarter 30 to 18, the Celtics got away from what was proving to be a solid style of offense. They began to slow the ball down and use more of the clock, in hopes that the game would just end. That style of play, completely different from what had been working for them, played right into the Magic’s hands and allowed Orlando back into the game.
Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken! The old cliché, that everybody and their mother has heard of, needs to be written on Doc’s clipboard, because this is the 2nd time in as many games that the Celtics almost blew a game because they changed their offensive approach late in the match-up. In game 6 against the Cavs with about 6 and half minutes remaining they did the same thing, slowing the ball down and getting one, usually awful, shot with a second left on the shot clock. Both times this strategy almost came back to bite them in the butt, as both teams made considerable runs.
That being said, this game was won with defense. The offense is important, especially when run in the manner most conducive for this Boston team, but defense brought this Celtics team a championship two years ago, and defense has been the key thus far. The C’s took a different approach to defending the star player in this series, not only because of their personnel, but also because of the style of play of the supporting cast in Orlando. In the first two series both team’s stars were perimeter players, with slashing and scoring ability, and a weaker offensive supporting cast around them. Boston would help at all times on both Wade and James allowing open shots to weaker players.
In this series, however, Dwight Howard is a block player, who is mostly defensive minded, but has the ability on the post to be strong on both ends of the floor. The Magic’s success throughout the season has come when teams double down on Howard leaving open an array of 3-point shooters including Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick, Mickael Pietrus, Jason Williams, and even to an extent Vince Carter and Matt Barnes. The Celtics personnel are almost a perfect counter balance to Orlando’s offensive approach. With Perkins, Wallace, Glen Davis, and on a rare occasion KG, the Celtics can pound on Howard in the post and stay home on the perimeter players.
No, Rasheed Wallace has not been the best defender, but he is able to bang bodies down low, and get into the head of opposing players. With a quick rotation of the 3 bigs, they will stay fresh as Howard battles all of them. This causes more contested shots than the outside shooters are used to, which will mean more misses from the arc. Now I don’t expect Orlando to shoot as poorly from 3-point land the rest of the series, as they did in game 1 going 5 for 22, which is a mere 23%. This Magic team shot 38% from beyond the arc in the regular season, tied for third best in the league, and don’t expect them to stop shooting from the outside, as they led the league in 3-point attempts with 2,241.
A few things to watch for as the series progresses: The health of Matt Barnes for starters. Barnes has been sidelined with back spasms, and although he started the game on Sunday, he only clocked 16 minutes, down 10 from his regular season numbers. With Barnes out, who is a solid defender, Mickael Pietrus will log more time, he is also a solid defender, who can hit the outside shot a bit better at 38% versus Barnes at 32%. An interesting match-up in game 1 was Pietrus covering Allen rather than Pierce; clearly Stan Van Gundy views Allen as more of an offensive threat than Pierce at this point. Vince Carter is not known for his defending, which should allow Pierce to continue his scoring; he had 22 in game 1. Also understand that Rashard Lewis will get his. He had just 6 points in game 1, thanks to the defensive strategy of the Celtics, playing one-on-one on the block and contesting everything. Lewis was 0-6 from beyond the arc, but was a 40% shooter from down town during the season. Look for Lewis to use his quickness in game 2, to get around the aging Garnett and get to the hoop for lay-ups and dunks. This should spark his shot from outside, giving the C’s a much tougher game. The Celtics also need to exploit Lewis’s post defense. Get KG on the block, and post Lewis up. Rashard Lewis, although 6’10”, likes the perimeter game a lot more than low post. Garnett can take advantage of this match-up similar to the way he took advantage of the match-up with Antawn Jamison in round 2.
Sean Sendall – follow me on Twitter
Tags: Boston Celtics, Sean Sendall
