I can’t believe we’re going to Game 7. Unlike Games 3 and 4, where the Hawks played out of their head, the Celtics lost this one by choking in the clutch.
In a 5-minute stretch in the fourth quarter everything went wrong. They suddenly turned into a bunch of cowards. There was no offensive movement so the point guard would hold the ball waiting for something to happen. It wouldn’t. They’d dump the ball into Garnett. Garnett would make some nifty looking moves. But you could see he didn’t want to actually attack the basket or shoot, he always kicked it out. The Hawks got two steals by anticipating that pass and stealing it. Rondo slashes into the lane, jumps far above anyone else and looks to pass it instead of laying it in. Another steal. This went on for five minutes until they somehow found their cojones.
A minor helping of scorn for the refs. The double-technical on Cassell and Johnson should have only been on Johnson. Two of Pierce’s six fouls were completely wrong. In a tight game, these can make the difference.
Special scorn for Kevin Garnett. Holy cow, just take the ball in. Yes, there are some good blockers but not good enough to stop you. Get the fouls on them. Or wait to pass until they do commit themselves. You are a better player than they are, you’re the goto franchise player. You need to score, or at least sell the scoring act.
The flaw it exposed was complacency. They never got back into playoff shape until Game 7. I like to think that means we’ll cruise through the next round, but LeBron is LeBron. Weren’t they in the finals last year?
Rondo: I trust Rondo more than Cassell normally. Cassell will take a shot anytime anyplace which I do not consider a good thing. But Rondo cannot hit outside shots. The last possession was horrible, no one was moving, Rondo was holding the ball hoping some magic would make a play happen. When it didn’t, we were screwed.
But that Game 7 was awesome. I’ve always wanted to see a game where one team doubles the other ones score. We had it even halfway through the third quarter, it was 68-34.
I am also stunned that the series went to 7– on the merits, it looked like the Hawks would have been lucky to win 1. Is this exposing a serious flaw, or just a quirky matchup problem? As you point out, it exposes the Celtics inability to man up at the end of a tight game. Joe Johnson was the best guy on the floor at the end of the game. The guy I would trust most at the end of a game is Cassell- why is Rondo handling the ball at the end of the game? Isn’t this why you got Cassell? Even worse, I think the series has planted serious doubt into their own confidence about being able to win it all.