Game 7 Running Notes

And here we go sports fans…there is a chance after today the Celtics will be known for the biggest choke in the history of the NBA…yes, the history of the NBA…defensive intensity and transition defense some of the keys here, along with KG showing up to play, Ray Allen not showing his age as much on defense, Paul Pierce keeping his cool, and Doc Rivers not losing his mind on the substitution patterns…

8:25 1st: Josh Smith knocks down a J, but Boston has come out aggressive on defense…6-5 Celtics

7:35 1st: 1st standing ovation of the game on a Celtics defensive stop, Perkins turns it into a hoop back the other way, the crowd getting into this game will be paramount, but I still find it pretty pathetic this city needs to get this excited about a game 7 against the Hawks…did like Perkins taking the ball in strong with the back to the basket, trying to establish himself early on…Mike Woodson calls an early timeout…10-5 Cs

Coming out of the timeout, there’s a small clip package of the Celtics game 7 win over the Hawks from the 1988 Eastern Conference semi-finals, Doc Rivers apparently can’t even watch the highlights or a tape of that game, a 118-116 defeat for his Hawks team…this isn’t getting much play, but there’s a strong history for teams being successful in the post season who have guys who have been there and won it before. For example, the Hornets youth may be overplayed because their coach, Byron Scott, has 4 rings as a player, Doc was never a successful player at the championship level, and as we all know, has never gotten out of the 1st round as a coach. Pierce, KG, and Allen have one conference finals appearance each, the question for this team today and going forward is…can the experience of Sam Cassell and James Posey be enough to carry this team?

4:44 1st: the Celtics are crashing the boards and turning into points and another Woodson timeout, another fast start for a Boston team that has had several of them in both wins and losses during this series…16-8 Boston

4:11 1st: the Hawks seem tense, Mike Woodson has told them to relax during both time-outs, 3-15 FG to get things started, KG is still seeming to have way too much trouble with Pachulia

3:04 1st: hard foul by Pachulia on Perkins, a good foul but a hard one, and in a series with 12 technical fouls in total, every big contact can create a problem

2:42 1st: good interior defense for Perkins, he has come to play early, 6 points, 5 boards, and a block for the big man, a transition hoop for Ray Allen back the other way and the Celtics have their 1st double digit lead 20-10 Celtics…Hawks now 4-18 from the field

1:40 1st: Joe Johnson hits a corner 3, cannot allow him any kind of separation, 22-13 Celtics after Perkins gets his 4th hoop back the other way…buuuut there’s another Johnson 3…22-16

0:30 1st: Pierce drains a 3 over Mike Bibby, that’s going to be a tough, tough match-up for Atlanta…back to back hoops by Paul makes it 27-16 Celtics

Great 1st quarter for Kendrick Perkins, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks…the Hawks aren’t shooting well and that’s at least partially due to the Celtics defense looking more active to me…27-16 Celtics at the end of 1

As the 2nd quarter begins I find myself thinking…what with Perkins playing well and Powe looking as active and aggressive as he has all series long, that I may cause physical harm to inanimate objects around me should PJ Brown get into the game at any point before it’s a mortal lock for the Celtics…I’m watching this game at 1510 the Zone, and I’ve got no idea why they can never seem to get the temperature in this studio right…usually the AC is blasting…today the heat is rocking…I’m going to be watching this game bare-chested by halftime…take it to the bank…

PJ Brown

in the game

to start the 2nd quarter

excuse me for a moment…

…OK, glad I got that out of my system, though I’m still not happy. The Hawks have 71 more FTs than the Celtics this series heading into today…that’s due to two factors: 1) the Hawks play an aggressive style that lends itself to getting inside and getting fouled more often and 2) the Celtics transition defense has been slow and led to the C’s being out of position and resorting to fouls too often

10:43 2nd: James Posey draws a charge on Smith, big time play the likes of which the Celtics need…Sam Cassell makes it a 14 point lead with a jumper back the other way…30-16

10:00 2nd: PJ Brown gets beat on a box out and Josh Childress hits a stick back…that’s 2 points he has cost the C’s directly…let’s keep a running tally…32-18

9:05 2nd: PJ Brown gets credit for a block that wasn’t really his doing, give Powe credit for forcing a bad shot and Brown just reaping the statistical benefit…the announcers are praising him but I totally disagree…time out on the floor…

8:34 2nd: good defense for Brown that time on Al Horford…although he then proceeds to get called for a 3 second violation down the other end…and to think I was about to say something nice about him

7:35 2nd: Powe chases down an offensive rebound and then grabs a defensive rebound, he is going after the ball better than anyone on the Celtics this series…34-20 C’s as we hit a time out…Powe is playing above and beyond but he’s been the only one this series. Posey has been himself, so no complains there, but he hasn’t been anything special…the Celtics trying to win a championship with only Powe playing above his skill level is like the Red Sox trying to win a World Series and leaning on Julio Lugo

This new Adam Sandler movie looks terrible to me…the one where hes a Hezbollah trained barber or whatever…just throwing that out there…didn’t like the last Will Farrell movie about the minor league hoops team either…although that fictional team celebrating “winning 4th place” would be akin to the C’s celebrating a 7 game win over the Hawks

7:00 2nd: KG back in and gets a hoop, 36-20 Celtics…need to keep the intensity high, no letting up…blow this one out early…I demand a 20 point halftime lead

4:31 2nd: Celtics playing aggressive defense but not committing fouls, Cassell called for the 3rd on the Celtics for the game…Atlanta seems lost out there, Boston has turned up the heat big time…big spin move and a hoop for KG…he’s got 10 and 6…42-23 Celtics

3:45 2nd: Johnson hits his 4th 3, at least he wasn’t wide open this time…the Hawks will need him to be lights out from here on n if they are going to have any chance…Josh Smith has been terrible so far…42-26 Cs

OK, it is hot as hell in this studio…I’m trying a new location under the AC vent…it doesn’t seem to actually be on but maybe just being near it will somehow make me believe I’m not sweltering

The Celtics have this one in hand for the moment so I’ll just mention a few things that catch my eye or ear…last two comments from the announcers “the Celtics can win a championship without winning a road game, but you’d hate to rely on that” and “in the next rounds, the Celtics won’t be playing the Atlanta Hawks”…good work boys

Halftime, 44-26 Celtics, the fewest points ever allowed in a half by the Celtics in a play-off game, that’s saying something given the history of this team…the Hawks have struggled from the field but the Celtics being more aggressive on defense has been the key…Atlanta hasn’t gotten to the free throw line because the C’s are playing good defense…which means not fouling

9:09 3rd: Marvin Williams just tackled Rajon Rondo…the NBA needs to do something about these kinds of fouls, Brendan Heywood had one on LeBron in that series…someone could be seriously, seriously injured…like life threatening injured, no this is not an over-reaction on my part…you’re airborne like that and come flying down with no control over your body onto a hardwood floor, there’s a huge risk if you land hard enough on your back, neck, head, or backside…Williams gets tossed…he said he was trying to catch Rondo and I think that’s the case, but he lost his head just in going at Rondo in the manner he did

8:45 3rd: Ray Allen knocks down a three and the rout is really on…56-30 Celtics

…well, this game has been a route and I’ve been just a bit distracted by work…Celtics-Cavs in round 2…new Celticscast comes your way very soon.