By Kevin Henkin

After six tumultuous years and two fully extended series, the Boston Celtics are finally back in the Eastern Conference Finals. Paul Pierce is the only remaining Celtic from the 2002 Boston sqaud who lost to the Nets that year. Ironically enough, it was on Pierce’s back that the Celtics rode again to reach the third round of the playoffs.

Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo both had strong games but it was Paul Pierce that stepped up large and became the story. This is the game that Boston fans have been waiting for from their Captain in this 2008 playoff season. Fittingly, Pierce delivered it at the most crucial moment because on the other end, LeBron James likewise submitted his own anticipated monster effort. James outscored Pierce 45 to 41 but he needed five more shots from the floor as well as from the free throw line to accomplish the margin.

If you consider the gun-slinger’s duel between Pierce and James to have been a draw, then the difference in the game could otherwise be attributed to the performance of an unlikely hero. P.J. Brown scored 10 points on 4-4 shooting and also collected 6 rebounds and a steal in twenty minutes of immense play. In fourth quarter crunch time, he successfully kept several loose balls alive, waged war on the glass and knocked down key jumpers and put-backs. Also, in one of the crucial defensive plays of the contest, it was Brown who prevented LeBron James from converting on a drive that would have brought Cleveland within 1 point with 25 seconds remaining in the game. After Boston collected the rebound from the James miss, Cleveland was forced to foul and the remainder of the game essentially became a formality.

Aside from the classic Pierce/James showdown, there were two other notable subplots within the game.

Wally Szczerbiak, who otherwise had his share of surprisingly gutsy performances throughput the series, designated himself as the invisible man in Game 7, finishing with zero points on 0-2 shooting with 2 turnovers. His counterpart Ray Allen had an almost equally dismal afternoon, finishing with 4 points (2 of which were desperation foul free throws) on 1 of 6 shooting from the field, including two missed wide open threes. On two other occasions, Allen actually worked himself free from Szczerbiak, only to miss the hard-earned open jumpers. His only basket was an admittedly nifty lay-up in traffic, but that only meant that all of Allen’s other shots from more than two feet away were misses. This is just more of the same bad news for a player who depends so heavily on his shooting to provide value. In summation, an aged Ray Allen without a hint of his stroke is barely worth playing. Doc Rivers must have finally agreed with that sentiment because he sat Allen in favor of James Posey through most of the fourth quarter while his team’s season was on the line.

Which leads us directly into the other storyline: The game management by Doc Rivers, specific to his rotations and continued curious allocation of playing time. It’s become clear by now that Rivers is coaching by feel rather than on the basis of matchups, granting temporary favor to the perceived hot hand and thus continuously experimenting with combinations.

In the series clincher, Sam Cassell remained on the bench behind Eddie House, who has been reinstated as the backup point guard. There was also an unexpected Leon Powe sighting for six plus minutes in the middle quarters. Meanwhile, Big Baby Davis, who had played some regular minutes in recent games, was sent back to the pine with a DNP-CD. Of greater significance, Kendrick Perkins also remained on the bench for the entire fourth quarter with his 4 fouls while P.J. Brown kept himself in the game by killing the Cavaliers softly with his song.

In the second quarter, a line-up of Perkins, Garnett, Posey, Pierce and House delivered what was probably Boston’s strongest stretch of play, during which they gained a 7 point advantage during their seven or so minutes together on the floor. The lineup worked largely because Pierce was allowed to roam at shooting guard for the entire quarter, with Posey designated as LeBron’s shadow and Pierce freed up to focus on his offense and attack against weaker, smaller defenders on switches. With Ray Allen out of the game and Pierce in his place at the 2 guard, the switch worked mightily to Boston’s advantage, which is probably why Rivers returned to it in the fourth.

That said, one has to wonder, after a full preseason, 82 regular season games and 13 other playoff games leading up to today, why the Head Coach was still wildly experimenting with the specific roles within his eleven player rotation. In short, this is the kind of seat-of-your pants game management philosophy that works right up until the point that it decidedly doesn’t. Stay tuned for how Rivers manages this situation against the Pistons, against whom there will be an even smaller margin for error than with the Cavaliers.

Is this nitpicking on the evening of a monumental Game 7 win? Absolutely. That doesn’t mean the issues noted above aren’t worthy of note or concern going forward, though. Just food for thought over the next forty-eight hours as we gratefully shed the Cavaliers from our consciousness and look toward an even more formidable opponent. One last thought on Cleveland: I was impressed with what I saw from them. They were tough in ways that I didn’t expect, especially on defense. They were essentially a one man show with some complimentary role players and yet they still very easily could have walked away with this series save for a couple of very close road games that didn’t fall their way.

Next come the Detroit Pistons, the regular residents of the Eastern Conference Finals with a core of players deeply familiar with one another. It feels like this series has been in the works since late last summer, and now it’s finally here. Seven games, anyone?

By Shirley Coshatt

This was an ugly game from the start as even the jump ball was no good and had to be thrown up a second time. It was a defensive struggle right from the beginning with neither team shooting the ball well. Paul Pierce missed his first five shots before hitting a jumper with 1:10 left in the first quarter. He finished the quarter with 4 points on 2-7 shooting. Doc finally gave Eddie House a chance and he immediately made a difference, hitting a jumper soon after entering the game to tie the game at 18 to end the first quarter.

Doc started the second quarter with PJ Brown, Ray Allen, Big Baby Davis, James, Posey and Eddie House on the court and this lineup went on a 7-1 run including a 3 by Eddie House and a nice feed inside to Big Baby for a dunk. The Celtics took their biggest lead at 31-25 with 6:12 left in the half. But, the Cavs came back and from that point, the Cavs went on a 17-2 run to end the half including a steal and last second 3 by Delonte West at the buzzer to end the half with the Cavs up 42-33.

In the third quarter, the Cavs picked up where they left off with 6 quick points by LeBron James to push the lead to 48-33. The Celtics had missed 15 shots in a row before Ray Allen finally scored on a put back of his own miss. It was a game of runs as the Celtics then went on a 13-0 run to cut the lead to 3 points with 2:20 left in the period. But the Cavs pushed the lead back up to 59-50 going into the final period.

The Celtics continued to play hard and pulled to within 5 at 72-67 with 1:17 left in the game. It was at this point that the officiating took over and the Celtics didn’t have a chance. On the next play, Ilgauskas missed a jumper and Pierce rebounded and was driving to the basket when LeBron stepped in front of him. Ignoring the fact that LeBron was still moving and was going for a steal, the refs called a charge on Pierce. As Tommy said after the game, the ref should be prosecuted for making such a bad call. On the next possession, Pierce got a rebound and passed it ahead to Ray who went in for a layup which was clearly goal tended but the refs didn’t call it. They did call a foul and Ray hit the free throws to cut the lead to 72-69. Joe Smith caught the ball on the inbounds pass and landed with both feet, he then immediately pivoted his right foot and shifted his left foot forward, finally dribbling after planting his left foot, which was 3 or 4 steps and clearly a travel, but they instead called a foul and he hit both free throws for the final score of 74-69.

The Cavs shot 25 free throws to just 13 for the Celtics. In many of the games, the Celtics weren’t aggressively taking the ball to the basket and so didn’t get the calls but in this game, the Celtics were getting inside and were getting fouled, but just weren’t getting the calls. Usually the officiating won’t make a difference, but in this game it absolutely did. Even the ESPN announcers were commenting on those three bad calls in the last minute.

The Celtics shot 40% for the game while holding the Cavs to 33% but the difference in the game, besides the officiating, was on the boards. The Cavs had 45 rebounds to 37 for the Celtics and they out rebounded the Celtics by 9 on the offensive end.

Kevin Garnett had a good game as he scored 25 points on 11-21 shooting to go with 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, but the rest of the Celtics didn’t come through. Paul Pierce shot just 5-15 for 16 points along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 turnovers. After Rondo’s huge game 5, he struggled in this one. He scored just 2 points but did pull down 5 rebounds and dish out 5 assists. Filling in at the point behind Rondo, Eddie House did a good job with 8 points on 3-5 shooting along with 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 18 minutes. Ray Allen once again struggled with his shot going 3-8 from the field and finishing with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.

Perk spent much of the game in foul trouble and finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in 26 minutes. Doc once again used Big Baby as back up behind Perk and that is very puzzling since Leon Powe was playing so well earlier in the series. This may be one of Doc’s more baffling moves. Big Baby was just 2-8 with most of those misses being layups. In fairness to him, though, he was mugged on most of those layups with no calls from the refs. P.J. Brown played 8 minutes and finished with just 1 rebound on this stat sheet. James Posey didn’t score but played his usual steady game on defense and finished with 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.

The series now shifts back to Boston for the Celtics second game 7 in as many series. The game will be at 3:30 on Sunday. The Celtics have never lost a series when being up 3-2 and we can only hope that streak doesn’t end now. Hopefully the Celtics will get some of the calls they didn’t get tonight or it is going to be very tough for them to win, even at home.

By Kevin Henkin

Ho hum. Another home playoff game, another victory for the Boston Celtics, 96-89 at the expense of the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the end, Boston played just well enough to win, likely leaving Cleveland with that nagging feeling that they let another road game squeak away from them.

The Big Three for Boston (in this case, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, in that order) combined for 75 of Boston’s points, helping their team overcome another poor offensive start to the game. Rondo in particular was ubiquitous, especially in the second half where he played for the duration (and which may indicate the end of the failed Sam Cassell Experiment). Rondo finished with a line of 20 points, 2 steals and 13 assists offset by only 1 turnover. Of note, his counterpart Delonte West also submitted a strong effort with 21 points.

LeBron James had the Celtics back on their heels early with a break-out first half effort of 23 points. He ended up with 35 for the evening but it wasn’t enough to close the gap from Boston’s stellar third quarter, which proved to be the difference in the game. In the third, Boston locked down on defense, limiting Cleveland to 17 while simultaneously resurrecting their own offense to the tune of 29 points. In the fourth, Cleveland and James recovered their flow but the Celtics were able to sustain their own offensive production, essentially mathcing baskets until time ran out for the Cavaliers.

From Boston’s perspective, despite the comforts of home, they were forced to overcome an enormous advantage at the free throw line in Cleveland’s favor. Specifically, the Cavaliers took 41 trips to the stripe versus only 23 by the Celtics. Cleveland, however, helped Boston’s cause by missing a crucial (and some would say game-deciding) 13 freebies. Anderson Varejao was the worst offender, going 2-6 from the line. (Wanna get away?)

Otherwise, the game played out pretty much as expected, with Cleveland hanging tough but eventually giving way to the home favorite. Considering the uncannily repetitive nature of the playoffs for Boston thus far, it’s hard to say much else that feels new and fresh at this point. Therefore, in an effort to spice things up a bit, the remainder of my analysis will be done in a Mad Libs format.

Some other thoughts on the game:

Ray Allen submitted another profound performance, with 11 points on 4-11 shooting. Many of those misses were open looks, which caused most Boston fans to want to ladle themselves over the head with a tugboat.

Neither bench was much of a factor in Game 5. Cleveland’s produced only 13 slimy points while Boston’s bench contributed 9. The Celtics in particular relied garrulously on their starters, with only Kendrick Perkins playing under 40 minutes. Perkins’s minutes have been limited recently because of foul trouble and his level of play of late that can only be compared to a rhinoceros in a ladies room.

Sam Cassell, as noted above, played like a banana peel. At least Doc Rivers finally used his bellybutton and left Cassell sitting on the candybar for the rest of the game after another damp effort by his backup point guard in the first half.

Looking forward to Game 6 in Cleveland, the Celtics must overcome their drunken tendencies and fruity play on the road. Otherwise, they will be doomed to repeat geometry.

By Matt Richardson and Kevin Henkin

Some thoughts while wondering if the Celtics can borrow Kurt Rambis from the Lakers so they can clothesline him and get the troops fired up again.

Note to Kevin Garnett: You can shoot over Ben Wallace pretty much any time you want. Eight head and shoulder fakes are probably enough.

You’ve got to love Magic Johnson’s contribution on the TNT halftime show, especially his analysis of New Orleans and their need for guys other than Chris Paul and David West to step up: “They need to get contributions from the complementary guys, like Peja, and, ummm, West…No, not West, but Peja and the other guys.” You’re right, Magic. Knowing any more than three players per playoff team is probably an excessive amount of work to expect from a nationally televised sports pundit.

One thing that seems to kill the Celtics on the road is their vulnerability against those picks at the top of the key. The resulting dribble penetration tends to lead to a host of open shots, typically either driving lay-ups or open jumpers after a kick out. For some reason, the Celtics seem to be much more successful at overcoming those picks at home. Of course, LeBron’s “game over” dunk started with a foul line pick on Pierce.

Speaking of the Celtics’ Captain, if LeBron’s mom had started throwing punches at Pierce after his fairly gentle “prevent the lay-up” foul that ended up with both players in the stands, would LeBron be ejected? We might be onto a new strategy here: Antagonize the overzealous mom! While we’re on the topic, does Lebron’s mother get a roaming seat pass? She was under the Cavaliers’ basket for the aforementioned foul but at the end of the third quarter, she was behind their bench. I think we’re one more flagrant away from her ripping off Mike Brown’s designer eyewear and taking over the coaching duties. “You, the big guy with the cornrows. Go deck that punk who just laid a hard foul on my baby!”

Furthering our obsession with Mike Brown and his vast collection of fancy glasses, we wonder if he confers with any fashion consultants before making the big decision on which frames to wear before each game. Someone I know suggested that sneaky hot singer Lisa Loeb, as a celebrity who sports a regular rotation of funky glasses, might serve in that role. If Mike Brown comes out for Game 4 wearing cats-eye specs with tortoiseshell frames and looking forlorn about the frailty of love, I think we’ll know for sure.

Some of the coaching decisions in Game 4 were a bit, um, ponderous. For example, who built the new doghouse for Leon Powe? P.J. Brown played 23 minutes, doubling his regular season average, while Powe played 6 minutes, halving his regular season average. Powe helped the team win 66 games during the season while Brown barely played, so why flip-flop that part of the rotation now? Also, as likeable as Big Baby Davis can be, his sudden insertion into the lineup at the beginning of the fourth quarter was downright baffling. Needless to say, his first touch resulted in a turnover. His final line: 5 minutes, 0-1 from the floor with 1 turnover and 1 foul. In related news, Cleveland’s bench outscored Boston’s by 19 points in a game that the Celtics lost by 11.

At this point, it should be recognized that the Celtics are now eleven games deep into the 2008 playoffs but have yet to reveal that “Jump on my back, boys” moment of leadership from any of the Big Three. True, the Game 7 decider against Atlanta was a strong demonstration of will but that was at home against an inferior opponent. You can see Garnett in this series trying to make the effort to strap the team on his back but, for that all he adds on the defensive front, he is just not the kind of offensive player that can take over a game all by himself. In the meantime, Ray Allen’s game remains on the side of a milk carton and too much of Paul Pierce’s energy has been consumed by chasing LeBron James all over the court.

Bearing all of the above in mind, is it out of bounds to suggest a revamped starting lineup in which James Posey replaces Ray Allen? Under such a scenario, the strong defense against James remains firmly in place but frees up Pierce to concentrate more fully on his offense. Defense, after all, has not been the issue in these Celtics loses. It’s the offense that’s been broken. To fix it, the Celtics need to better utilize their greatest offensive weapon in Pierce and strongly consider replacing Sam Cassell with Eddie House. When House was in the rotation for most of the regular season, he was far more consistent that Cassell has been. At this point, Doc Rivers appears to be pining for the Sam Cassell of 2004 to emerge. I understand the sentiment but that ship has sailed, Coach. Live in the now and play your best players in their most effective roles. Use the comforts of home to establish the changes and ride the wave into Cleveland.

By Shirely Coshatt

Game 4 started out much better than Game 3, but the end result was the same as the Celtics lost to the Cavaliers 88-77. The Celtics will now head back to Boston with a series tied at 2 games apiece once again. In their five tries thus far, despite possessing the best record away from home during the regular season, the Celtics inexplicably have not been able to win on the road in the playoffs. After getting blown out in Game 3, they came out more aggressively in this one and kept it close until the final two minutes when the Cavaliers finally pulled away.

Kendrick Perkins got into quick foul trouble and went to the bench with 4:10 left in the first. Perkins returned in the second quarter only to pick up his third foul a little over a minute later. He finished with 2 points and 3 rebounds in just 18 minutes of play. P.J. Brown benefited the most from Perkins’ foul problems, submitting his best game as a Celtic with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in 22 minutes. It was somewhat puzzling that Leon Powe played only 6 minutes after generally playing very well in the post season so far. In another puzzling move, Big Baby Davis started the fourth quarter and played 4 minutes with only 1 missed jumper and a foul to show for his efforts.

Kevin Garnett was once again very active in this game, diving for loose balls and forcing 2 jump balls. He had 13 points in the first half but scored just 2 points in the second half to finish with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block in 40 minutes. At times, Paul Pierce was aggressive in taking the ball to the hoop and it seemed as though he might take over the game but then he would stop driving and settle for quick outside jumpers. He had 13 points on 6-17 shooting to go with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Ray Allen seemed to come alive in the second half, finally breaking out of his shooting slump and scoring 9 of his 15 points in the 3rd quarter. He also pulled down 6 rebounds and dished out 3 assists.

Rajon Rondo did a good job of pushing the pace of the game and he also was more aggressive on offense. He finished with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 33 minutes. Sam Cassell struggled In this game as he was 0-5 from the field in 14 minutes of play and defensively he was burned by Daniel Gibson on a regular basis. Doc may have left Cassell in too long as the offense seemed to stall when he was running the point.

Through 3 quarters, the Celtics controlled the boards with a 31-28 advantage. However, they were out rebounded 6-1 in the fourth quarter. Conventional wisdom asserts that much of rebounding is the result of effort and the Celtics clearly didn’t put the requisite effort out in the final period. Once again, Boston gave up too many easy shots as they allowed Cleveland to shoot 46% from the field. On the other end, the Celtics struggled with their offense, shooting just 39%. Unlike the other road games, Boston actually held the edge in free throws as they shot 20-26 versus just 12-18 for Cleveland.

The Celtics were still within striking distance at a 4 point deficit with 2:43 left in the game but they allowed their chances to slip away by allowing the Cavaliers to go on a 9-2 run to end the game. During that stretch, the Cavaliers scored on a variety of dunks and 3 pointers to close out the game. At the end of the game, Boston looked tired and a step slow and thus allowed Cleveland to run away in the final minutes. The Cavaliers’ bench came up big with 36 points and 19 rebounds while the Celtics bench struggled with just 17 points and 11 rebounds. No Celtics subs were in double figures while on the other side Gibson had 14 points and Anderson Varejao had 12.

The series now shifts back to Boston for game 5 and hopefully the struggles they have had on the road won’t follow them home. The Celtics are still the only team who hasn’t won on the road in the post season and their Jekyll and Hyde persona between home and the road has gotten more and more puzzling and more than a little worrisome. If they looked tired in Game 3, you have to think the battle against fatigue is only going to get worse as these series drag out. Hopefully, Boston can find a solution to their poor play on both ends of the court, or their dream season may end considerably short of the goal.

By Kevin Henkin

For the record, only noted author Cormac McCarthy has a bleaker vision of The Road than the 2008 Boston Celtics’ playoff squad.

Or, a note to the Boston Celtics: The New York Knicks called. They want their patented typical first quarter back.

Here we go again. 108-84 Cleveland. On the road, the Celtics reverted once again to the lesser version of themselves. For those of you already aware, that lesser version resembles a team substantially softer on defense, one that inexplicably loses its poise for long stretches against opponents inspired by their home crowd and receives a far less meaningful contribution from their bench. The above-noted trends have been in evidence throughout all four of Boston’s road playoff games. They are officially a pattern.

In a way, as a Celtics fan, if you were to imagine Murphy’s Law played out on a basketball court, you would see a close version of Game 3 against Cleveland. Lax defense? Check. Further poor offensive production from two of your Big Three in Paul Pierce and Ray Allen? Check. Lousy point guard play? Check. Grossly ineffective road versions of key bench players Sam Cassell and Leon Powe? Check. A return to strong play of LeBron James’ supporting cast? Check.

In summation, when Ben Wallace looks downright frisky on offense during the first quarter, you pretty much know it isn’t going to be your night. The same sentiment applies when you think, “Joe Smith is killing us!” Joe Smith. The same guy who sends daily thank you notes to Michael Olowokandi and Kwame Brown for saving him from being the biggest joke of a number one pick over the last twenty years. I digress.

The shame of the evening, from Boston’s perspective anyway, is that it was the ridiculously lopsided first quarter that ended up being the deciding factor in the game. In that opening frame, the Cavaliers dominated the Celtics with an end result of 32-13 in Cleveland’s favor. After that, the two teams essentially traded baskets for the next three quarters, at least until Doc Rivers finally hung up the white flag with about three minutes to go and the Cleveland reserves subsequently outscored the Boston reserves for the remainder of garbage time

In summary, here are the facts to come away with: Cleveland shot 53.6% overall (and 52.6% from behind the arc) versus Boston’s 40.5%. In addition, Cleveland’s point guards compiled 24 points (on 10-15 shooting) and 10 assists as opposed to Boston’s 11 points (on 3 for 19 shooting) and 2 assists. Otherwise, the difference again was that first quarter in which Boston looked listless, losing a game of inches in a seemingly constant loop while Cleveland looked primed to make a statement at home that this series was far from over.

For Boston, technically speaking, the good news is that the Celtics don’t really need to fix their road woes. As long as they hold serve at home throughout the playoffs, they’ll end up being crowned as the NBA champions. That, of course, is far easier said than done. Unlike last season’s incarnation of the Celtics, this is not a young team and an extended series in each round will eventually take its toll on these aged legs that carry so much of the present load. Therefore, although Cleveland remains under pressure to win Game 4 to keep the series close, there is also some real pressure on Boston to figure out why their Dr. Jeckyll persona plays so strongly at home, only to have their alternate Mr. Hyde stumble so badly on the road.

For those of you seeking drama, you’ve got some because Cleveland has won a game despite the fact that LeBron James has yet to announce his presence with authority. If history is any indicator, that version of LeBron is indeed going to show up at the party in a big way and that game is coming. Maybe several of those games. To a lesser degree, on Boston’s end there is still the expectation that Ray Allen will play to form more often than two out of every twelve quarters in this series, especially considering the fact that Wally Szczerbiak is his primary defender.

Regardless, it looks like we’re all back on unstable ground, peeking through fingers and wondering what will come next. At this point, the prognosticators commenting on either or both of these teams are muttering to themselves and the rest of us are left to watch it all play out, surprised by almost nothing that we see anymore.

By Matt Richardson

Okay, who’s ready for LeBron’s inevitable 13-18, 36 point, 12 rebound, 8 assist tour de force perfromance at home on Saturday? Through the first two games, LeBron is shooting 8 for 42 (or .190% for you math majors out there). 20% shooting? Clearly, Tuesday’s game wasn’t a fluke. The Celtics’ defense, and in particular James Posey, certainly seem to be bothering King James.

A microcosm of the Celtics’ defensive strategy was evident in the third quarter when the C’s were turning the game into a laugher. LeBron had the ball on the left baseline, looking to back down Posey. Posey immediately shaded him to the court side, inviting him to go baseline. As this was happening, Leon Powe shifted over to take away the baseline, leaving Lebron trapped between two defenders with few options. The outcome was an airball. The point is, it’s obvious that LeBron’s .190 shooting isn’t solely due to him being “off” or not liking the rims in Boston.

As an aside, after watching Posey play defense, grab key rebounds and hit big shots in the playoffs, in retrospect it’s amazing that the Celtics were able to just pick this guy up off the street. Paul Pierce also deserves credit for his effort in hounding James. The execution isn’t quite on par with Posey, but the spirit is clearly there.

For the record, I loved Joe Smith’s knee pads, which were taken straight out of the 1992 Pat Ewing catalogue. If you recall, it was Smith who was selected #1 overall in the 1995 draft, four spots ahead of Kevin Garnett. Smith and Garnett seem attached at the hip, linked by that draft, this series by making Kevin McHale look like a cement head.

Breaking news: Apparently Ben Wallace had an allergy attack in Game 2, resulting in him playing only 4 minutes. Wallace has been allergic to the basket for his entire career so one would’ve thought this would’ve been under control by now.

“Don’t look now, R. Allen woke up” was the text message I sent to a friend at 8:47 last night. My friend is a UConn alum and loves all things Husky, to the extent that she was excited to go to a Sixers game because Kevin Ollie was on the team. Ray’s dismal Game 1 was vexing to her, and it seemed we were in for more of the same in Game 2 as the first half came to a close. But, he came to life to start the third quarter and his jumper with 9:07 left in that frame gave the C’s an 18 point lead. Welcome to the second round, Ray. Better late than never.

All of you conspiracy theorists out there can stop worrying. The Celtics actually were awarded MORE free throws than their opponent last night, for only the second time in their nine playoff games. I expect a shift back to the normal 2:1 ratio in favor of the Cavs when the series moves to Cleveland.

I’m going to try to confirm this today, but I’m beginning to think that “Ilgauskas” is Russian for “I must break you with knees and elbows”. Take it easy, big fella, or we’ll send Big Baby in to body slam you. Big Z is having a heck of a series so far, though. He’s the Cav’s leading scorer and is shooting a robust 57% from the field.

Switching gears a bit, Chauncey Billups’ injury looked, um, painful. Pass the Vicodin. I’m officially avoiding slippery surfaces for a week or so.

Finally, I know everyone has been eagerly awaiting the Mike Brown Glasses Update. Last night, Brown sported a pair of conservatively styled metal framed glasses to match is dark gray suit. For the record, that’s two pairs of glasses in two games, making this one of the more interesting subplots of the series. We may need to bring in Elton John for color commentary. I guess I can’t really relate to this because I replace my one pair of glasses roughly every five years, when the nexus of “hopelessly out of style” and “irreparably damaged” combine to suck my old pair into a black hole. Rest assured that I will keep a diligent watch on further eye wear developments.

By Kevin Henkin

Steve Miller may be the Gangster of Love but the Boston Celtics have firmly established themselves as the Gangsters of Team Defense. In this order, it was defense, depth and determination that were the drivers behind Boston’s decisive Game 2 victory over Cleveland, 89-73.

As noted above, Boston’s defense was once again stifling, especially over the final 40 minutes of the game in which Cleveland scored only 52 points. Most notably as part of that defensive effort was the fact that LeBron James was held in check for the second straight game. He finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, which isn’t a bad line for most of the other 359 players on NBA rosters. Throw in the 6 for 24 shooting and the 7 turnovers, however, and it adds up to another sub-par night for King James. Not reflected in the box score was the continued frustration exhibited by James in the face of constant help defense that prevented him from gaining access to the paint and forced him to resort to jumpers that continued to elude the inside of the rim.

The only Cavalier who achieved any kind of success on offense was Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who finished with 19 points but did most of his damage early by scoring 10 points in the first quarter when it was still a game. Otherwise, only Wally Szczerbiak scored in double figures for Cleveland, with 13 points on 4-11 from the field. Notably absent from the offensive flow for the Cavaliers were the point guards Delonte West and Boobie Gibson, who submitted a combined 5 points and 5 assists on 1-7 shooting with 3 turnovers. In total, the Cavaliers shot 35.6% for the game.

The utter lack of support from James’s teammates was brightly contrasted by the enormous contribution that Boston received from its bench. When Sam Cassell and James Posey entered the game with 2:49 left in the first, the proverbial light switch finally came on for Boston. Up until that point, the Celtics were losing 21-9 and looking flat on both ends of the court. Cassell instantly revived Boston’s stagnated offense by knocking down his first jumper and subsequently led the way to an 8-3 run to end the quarter.

Cassell’s final line of 3 assists and 9 points on 4-12 from the field doesn’t do justice to the enormous impact that he made in the first half of the game. He scored all 9 of his points during a stretch when his team desperately needed a hot hand. Especially during the second quarter, Cassell also answered some recent critics of his shoot-first style by aggressively finding teammates with some terrific passes.

The second quarter was highlighted by an emphatic breakaway dunk by Garnett that he followed up with an equally emphatic high five to bossman Danny Ainge standing in the crowd. Garnett’s sick behind-the-back pass to Leon Powe, a play truly reminiscent of Larry Bird, must also be mentioned. Also worthy of note was that, throughout the remaining three quarters, multiple Celtics players diving hard for loose balls became a common sight.

Although Cassell cooled off in the second half, he handed off the baton to a suddenly revived Ray Allen, who finally found his stroke in the third quarter and helped stake Boston to a 20 plus point lead that they would hold onto for the remainder of the game.

Looking forward, Celtics fans have to cautiously wonder which version of their team will show up to play in Cleveland on Saturday. Regardless, it seems clear thus far that the Boston supporting cast runs deeper and better than Cleveland’s, which is bad news for a team with only one real go-to guy. Boston has also discovered some success in defending LeBron James in a way that so eluded the Detroit Pistons last spring. These two factors alone, as well as their held serve at home and remaining home court advantage, have the Celtics in apparent prime position moving forward.

In short: Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta.

Until Saturday…

By Matt Richardson

Oh my God.

I need to say it one more time, just to achieve some closure on the twenty-five other times I shouted the phrase during Tuesday night’s turnover-infested crapfest. On the obvious plus side, at least the Celtics won the crapfest. Imagine what the Cleveland fans must have been thinking in the wake of that three hour mind-numbing marathon. First they have to live in Cleveland, and now this. It all seems pretty unfair.

On any other given night, I’m thinking that LeBron James could probably shoot better than 2-18 coming off a leg amputation. Therefore, you’ve got to give credit where credit in due in Boston’s effort to keep King James in check and to hold the Cavaliers to 30% shooting overall. Boston’s own 42% shooting looked downright Artis Gilmore-esque in comparison.

Giving equal credit to the other side, the rotation of the Cavalier bigs makes it very difficult for teams to score inside the paint. Even so, I can’t shake the idea that the Celtics would have scored 15 more points in this game if it weren’t for all those unforced turnovers. Anyway, here are some other thoughts that I’ve complied on the game, some of the in-game commercials and on the series in general:

It was the Rajon Rondo show in the first quarter, capped off by him patiently setting up Posey’s fall away trey with only seconds remaining. This was after Tony Allen defied 12-1 odds by not dribbling the ball out of bounds prior to getting it to Rondo. It was an excellent overall performance by Rondo so I was left wondering why he ended up playing only played 30 minutes. He was not in early foul trouble and only finished the game with 3 fouls. Leading me to…

Sam Cassell. We’ll start with the bad, because I must acknowledge that in Game One it was outweighed by the good. In the second quarter, Boston descended into what I affectionately call The Sam Cassell Quicksand Offense. During that span, I wrote down “Can we please put Rondo back in?” That was followed by Cassell’s face rake flagrant foul (oops) on LeBron. After that, Rondo returned, immediately pushed the pace, set up Garnett for an easy lay-up and then scored on the next possession.

While acknowledging that Cassell’s shooting in the fourth quarter helped to win the game, I still come away feeling that whenever he is in there, it instantly becomes “The Sam Cassell Show”. Apparently, however, Mike Fratello and Sam share the same agent because Fratello lovingly referred to Cassell as a “shotmaker” throughout the contest.

One final note on Sam: I love the way he shoots free throws. He just steps up to the line, takes a couple of dribbles and lets it go. No muss, no fuss, no blown kisses or secret messages to the kids. He just grips it and rips it, baby. Conversely, every time I see Paul Pierce contorting his body in preparation for a foul shot, I cringe.

A quick aside on Mike Brown: If I’m the Cleveland Cavaliers, I’m not looking for a coach who has color coordinated designer eyeglass frames. Picking those out just seems like wasted time, and I won’t even draw the obvious Belichick comparison. I know the NBA has higher sartorial expectations of its coaches. Obviously baseball and football are in a different game-day category and hockey is a distant third due to the preponderance bad haircuts and polyester. Regardless, Brown’s carefully selected eyewear just seems like a bit too much attention paid to a trivial detail. What color are the frames if he wears a blue suit? Does he match the frames to the suit or to the belt and shoes? Does he have cordovan colored frames? What’s the rule on frame color shades after Labor Day?

Here’s a brief recap of the third quarter, taken directly from my notes:

7:55 3rd Quarter: This game sucks. Score: 45-44

6:40 3rd Quarter: Fouls on the last four possessions and counting.

It’s at this point that I begin to pay more attention to the non-game action.

First, we are presented with the Dodge’s new Journey crossover vehicle. I think I understand the whole crossover thing. The U.S. automakers are correct to shift their focus away from their gas guzzling monster SUV’s. That said, it seems like Dodge built this entire ad campaign around the fact that you can store stuff under the seats. When was the last time you were packing the car and found yourself at an impasse because you couldn’t find room to pack away that extension cord? “Hmm. If only there was room for this small item UNDER THE PASSENGER SEAT, THEN ALL OF MY TROUBLES WOULD BE SOLVED!!” Um, call me crazy but can’t you just put all of that stuff, you know, in the trunk? And unless you spend a majority of your free time picnicking, camping, or drunk driving, is an in-floor cooler really going to influence your buying decision? It reminds of when Pontiac built the Aztek and the ad campaign focused on the ability to set up a tent in the cargo area. I think Pontiac sold 7 Azteks.

Also, the Old Spice deodorant commercial has been driving me crazy. It’s the one with the guy sliding all the way around third and into home while talking about Old Spice? During his seemingly endless slide, he brags about how Old Spice is THE game-winning grand slam, break away dunk, shorthanded goal, straight arm tackle of deodorants. Straight arm tackle? I need some further explanation on this. I know what a straight arm is, and I know what a tackle is, but I’m not quite sure what the combination of those two things might be. Does Pepper Johnson teach this technique? Did Brian Bosworth try to straight arm tackle Bo Jackson? Doesn’t anybody read the ad copy before it goes into production? And what about the actor? He certainly looks the part of the beer league softballer who takes it all just a little too seriously. Can’t he speak up so he doesn’t sound like a moron in the ad?

The intense action in the fourth quarter eventually drew me back into the game. The end of the game has been dissected enough already so I’ll instead leave you with these important questions to ponder:

Who the hell is Bill Engvall? The ads for his show seem to presume that we should all be deeply familiar with his work by now. And is it really true that all of the highest rated shows in cable history are on TNT? Don’t other cable shows like Orange County Choppers or Dangerous Catch give TNT a run for their money? Thankfully, for tonight anyway, the Arbitrary Gods of Broadcasting Rights have given us the choice to switch back to Mike and Tommy. Until then…

By Kevin Henkin

I’m at the game again, in this case Game One of the Eastern Conference Semis between Boston and Cleveland, so I’ll be offering my thoughts in stream-of-consciousness style as the evening progresses. Here goes.

Pregame Fluff

Before the game, I run down Wally Szczerbiak’s game logs from the Round One series and find myself startled. No, not by his atrocious defense because that kind of thing generally doesn’t show up in the box score. Rather, I am shocked by his line from Game Six, the series clincher. It’s widely known that Wally had a big game with his 26 points in that game but I didn’t realize that he took 13 shots from behind the arc in 33 minutes. 13? Even Antoine Walker thinks that’s just plain ridiculous. To his credit, Szczerbiak did knock down 6 of them, but still. Hey Wally, let’s see you do that ^&%$ again. Seriously. I double-dog dare ya.

As I’m flipping through the 2007-08 Media Guide for the Cavaliers, I recognize a little difference between their publication and those from, say, the Charlotte Bobcats or the Minnesota Timberwolves. The difference is that Cleveland’s guide is all business. Unlike the guides from those lesser teams, the Cavs’ guide only presents the cold hard facts about their players. There’s none of this “Player A says his likes are the Shrek movies and receiving free cars and dislikes include practices, country music and mean people who boo him.” This is the media guide of team that takes itself seriously. Good for them.

Just before the start of Game One of the series against the Hawks, I wrote that the Boston Garden was amped to the max. I was mistaken. THIS is amped. Higher level series, higher level of intensity. Makes sense.

First Quarter

In the first four minutes, it’s the Celtics who look tight, shooting 0-6 with alligator arms and generating almost no second chance opportunities.

At 8:13, Paul Pierce picks up his second foul on a ticky-tack call. Next! James Posey comes in to take over the Lebron assignment.

Rajon Rondo has obviously come to play. After bringing the crowd to its feet with a sublime Kidd-like touch pass under the basket to set up a Kendrick Perkins dunk, he converts on three consecutive runners. Somewhere, Jim Paxson punches a wall for trading the pick that resulted in Rondo for a true JAG by the name of Jiri Welch.

LeBron blows by Posey and draws the foul from the last line of defense in Perkins. Even so, it a bright spot in an otherwise pedestrian quarter for King James, who finishes with 5 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist on 1-4 shooting. Szczerbiak hoists up an 0-5 line but takes some comfort in the fact that the Celtics haven’t yet isolated Ray Allen against him on defense. At the end of the quarter as time expires, Posey sinks a killer three.

Both teams have done an excellent job of establishing position on the boards, as evidenced by their combined total of three offensive rebounds for the quarter.

Second Quarter

For all of his energy, Anderson Varejao is having trouble sticking with Garnett. I wouldn’t have called that one ahead of time.

Sam Cassell knocks down his first jumper after talking some smack to Delonte West. Although I couldn’t catch the full exchange, it was something about West’s mother being overweight and crashing through the wall yelling Kool-Aid.

Leon Powe is playing poorly. It’s as if he thinks he’s still in Atlanta. Doc Rivers doesn’t seem to notice because he keeps him in the game.

It’s halfway through the second quarter and neither Paul Pierce nor Ray Allen have scored a point. Even so, the Celtics still lead 29-24, mostly on the backs of Garnett and Rondo, who have 22 of those 29 points.

At 5:35, Sam Cassell commit’s a flagrant foul on LeBron. No easy lay-ups in the playoffs, yada yada. On the two possessions that follow, Szczerbiak knocks down consecutive twenty footers in an effort to make me look foolish.

With 0.2 seconds left, Rondo draws an unlikely blocking foul on LeBron James (his first). James looks up at the official from his spot on the floor as if to say, “Um, you might want to check with Commissioner Stern before making that call.” Regardless, the call stands and Rondo knocks down his freebies to finish the half with 15 points (5 of 6 from the field) and five assists. James, meanwhile, finishes with 10 points on 1-6 shooting but with the benefit of 10 trips to the line.

The Celtics lead 41-37 after two quarters. This game isn’t going to be displayed in art museums anytime soon. Regardless, if you were to tell me that the Celtics would take a four point lead into the locker room after getting a combined 2 points from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, I’d happily take the result.

Third Quarter

At 8:23, LeBron picks up his third foul. The devil and his compadres put on his winter coats as a precautionary measure in the unlikely chance that LeBron fouls out.

At the 5:00 mark, the Cavaliers stretch out to a 14-0 run. Eventually, the run is stopped by a Kendrick Perkins free throw. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen continue to conduct their own little masons convention until Pierce finally converts on a left-handed runner in the lane. Mike Brown wants us all to see the Celtics Dancers again so he calls a timeout despite his team’s dominating run.

At 2:12, LeBron picks up his fourth foul and heads to the bench. Pandemonium ensues.

Anderson Varejao draws a hard foul. While at the line, the crowd starts a “Sideshow Bob” chant. It’s funny because it’s true. Sideshow Bob can’t cover Kevin Garnett either.

At the end of the third quarter, in which the teams combined to score 27 hideous points, the Celtics have somehow clung to a 53-52 lead.

Fourth Quarter

James Posey hits a big three early in the quarter. Sam Cassell follows suit on the next possession but the Cavaliers respond with their own 5 point run. For the record, that would’ve been the spot when the Hawks curled up and died. Cassell pushes Cleveland’s veteran poise a bit further, however, with another dagger three, prompting another Cleveland timeout. 7:54 left and Boston leads 64-60. The way things are going in this game, a 4 point lead potentially has some legs.

Sam Cassell, filling in the role of deadly shooter for the erstwhile Ray Allen, has 8 enormous points in the quarter, keeping the Celtics ahead with their thin 3 point lead.

At 2:58, Pierce causes LeBron to travel. Another time out.

Boobie Gibson ties the game with a tough three. The Celtics are going to need to do a better job of covering Boobie. On the other end, it’s more rough and tumble and eventually the Celtics turn it over on a shot-clock violation. Every spot for position, every loose bounce is desperately contested.

After a Cleveland miss, Sam Cassell of all people tears away the rebound and is subsequently knocked to the floor by Ilgauskas. The big Lithuanian knees Cassell in the head for good measure, but Cassell knees the Cavs in the groin by knocking down his free throws.

With under a minute to go, Garnett puts the Celtics ahead with a nifty move to the basket, determined not to settle for the jumper.

After sneaking into the lane, LeBron misses a bunny in traffic and Posey recovers the ball. He’s fouled with 8.5 seconds left on the clock. Posey ices the game by increasing the lead to 4 with his freebies. After a timeout, LeBron misses the desperation three. Rondo comes away with the ball and dribbles the ball to freedom as the game clock ticks away to 00.0.

Great game. Scary game if you’re the Celtics on your own court and you beat the Cavaliers by 4 with LeBron scoring only 12 on 2-18 shooting. One thing is clear in the aftermath. I’ve said it already but the point deserves reiteration. These aren’t the Hawks. The Cavaliers just keep coming. They don’t lower their heads. They don’t get flustered by loud opposing crowds. They appear to pay no attention to big runs by either side. Like the seasoned team of veterans that they are, they just keep coming.

Until Thursday…