Archive for the ‘Blog Entries’ Category

C’s up a point at the half: Doc wants more free throws and agressive takes to the hoop, Flip wants better rebounding and a quick start: I guess I noticed similar things as the coaches in the first half: mad props to Celticscast. My key is the bench, can Lindsey Hunter make an impact or Stuckey, if they can watch out.

52-46 Boston, 7:56 Left 3rd qtr.: C’s trading hoops with Richard Hamilton and then tack on a couple for good measure. I like the unselfish possessions by the Celtics - maybe too many passes but that’s better than none (hear that Cassell?). On another note, you know that sign that counts down from 16 to 1 to win the championship. Shouldn’t the Celtics have a sign with 1-16 crossed out and 17 waiting?

60-52 Boston, 2:39 left 3rd qtr: Boy this is a grinding game. Free throws really matter and Celts reached bonus with five minutes left in third quarter thanks to Pierce driving. I like the timing on taking Garnett out with an 8 point lead with 4:30 to go in the third and PJ Brown some minutes - get KG ready to play the last 8 or 9 of the game. Pierce still has the team on his shoulders with 14 pts and 5 dimes.

69-57 Celts, End of 3rd qtr.: The way Pierce is playing, he deserves to have Tommy Heinsohn ranting and raving. A great fallaway bucket and then good take that set up a Powe offensive board and foul. Eddie House finishes off the quarter in style. Play this guy!!

73-65 Boston: 8 mins to go: Doc says keep the pace. I agree - I saw Syracuse lose enough games this year trying to milk clock with less than time this left to know don’t quit your game yet.

It’s all over: 88-79 Celtics and the C’s are now 9-0 at home in the playoffs. KG had 26 but when this game was really taking its turn in the third quarter, Paul Pierce was guiding this team and he finished with 22. 27 assists on the game while the Pistons had only 15. Not bad team not bad. Have a good night everyone and we look forward to your emails at hosts@celticscast.com

Cheers!

We had a day game today so I’m settled in to watch the C’s and Pistons. By the way, Yankees are losing 10-0 to Baltimore at the start of this game and Masterson’s throwing well so we’re off to a good start tonight. As always, feel free to post comments as we roll along tonight.

8:25: The Bulls win the draft lottery. Good for them…good to see the tanking Heat not get that top pick but I wouldn’t incredibly pumped about drafting Michael Beasley for this year, like Durant he probably will need at least a year of adjustment but whoever goes to Chicago (and even Miami) should have something around them.

8:31: Cool open with historic footage: that’s what ABC and ESPN haven’t done much since they got rights to the NBA. Remember when NBC started their coverage flying thru pictures of Jordan and Bird and Hakeem and the rest of the greats in the game?

8-0 Celts, 8:30 left 1st qtr.: First look of first possession was to Ray Allen - I like it, he missed but give him a shot, KG with an open jumper and then muscling up inside for 2 quick hoops in the games first two minutes is a good sign and the Pistons jump shooting is cold (0-4), no big surprise with the long layoff after beating the Magic in 5…a good take by Ray after passing up the jump shot he could do that all day until they collapse on him and somebody will be open either way.

12-11, 3:13 1st qtr.: Boy the C’s are trying to run on almost every miss. Allen’s cold and ugly with his jump shot - airballed the leaner. I like how the Celtics are rebounding the ball early, Perkins very strong underneath (8 rebounds!).  Remember that was the key in Detroit when Big Baby dominated the fourth quarter. McDyess is hurting them, he’s pulling a KG and shooting 18 footers - Garnett’s missed three straight as they’re becoming contested…

22-17 Boston, End of 1st Qtr: Checked in on the Yankees (still down 10-0) to see LaTroy Hawkins get tossed for throwing at a Baltimore guy’s head. Way to go New York. Ray Allen drove again for a dunk after a good series by Rondo…Rajon’s holding his own against Billups one quarter in…Your first bench player in: PJ Brown. I’m pumped that Chris and I were correct in being more pumped for PJ joining the team instead of Cassell (at least for the last few games). A Tony Allen sighting also! Wow. Good.

28-24 Celtics, 8:28 left 2nd qtr: Detriot did tie it up but hasn’t led.  Pierce/Posey/Powe/PJ and House in the game for the early stint of the second quarter after Ray Allen sits down. I doubt if we saw this lineup play in an important situation in the regular season and it’s staying level. C’s still pushing the ball despite the low score…

32-32, 6:12 2nd qtr.: Two important early stats shown by the TV crew: points on free throws: 11-0 Pistons (that’s why seems like C’s are dominating more than score shows) and Celts had 13 assists on first 15 field goals: that’s what we talked about in the last cast…do it with the passing not isolation and one on one. Mystery foul on KG at the 6:12 mark and C’s are in early bonus trouble in 2nd quarter: good teams like detroit exploit this.

39-37 Pistons, 2:08 left 2nd qtr.: I’m siding with Mike Breen on the foul with the body on Perk’s ‘block’ whose foul gave the Pistons their first lead…whistle’s gettin tight and C’s aren’t hitting their free throws (3-7). Pace has slowed right to Detroit, long possessions and the Celts crisp passing has disappeared, it’s really put it in Pierce or Garnett’s hands and make them do something - not what it should be every time down. Pistons offense really flowing now with good jump shots.

41-40 Celtics at the Half: Not a bad half of basketball. The ball is really running thru Pierce so far tonight but Rondo’s doing OK. Eight bench points for the Celtics but I’d like to see House get a 6 minute stretch in the second half to give Rondo some rest for the end-game situations. Somehow I doubt that’ll happen. So much is on Garnett and Pierce’s shoulders. Back for the second half in a while.

Well Celticscast fans Chris and I had a few minutes to spare and we’ve got a new episode previewing game six and talking about the Celtics and Cavs. The bad news - the uploading process to the web site is having some technical difficulties and it looks like it probably won’t make it until later. Hopefully it’s up by gametime but look for it on the right side of the webpage and on itunes.

-Andrew

The Celtics were awesome at home against Atlanta and awful on the road. So here we are three games into series #2 and the C’s were good at home and bad on the road. Am I worried that they’ll lose game four? Not really - in fact the way the playoffs are going you can chalk this one up for the Cavs and move to game five and must win that one. Can the Celtics home fans will their team into the Eastern conference finals? You know I think they can. Against Detroit - no. But in this round I think four home wins could do it just like in the first round.

Look at the other series - 14 home wins, one home loss. The Spurs lost twice on the road but won at home, same deal for the Lakers, Jazz and Hornets. It’s just making home court look bigger and bigger and do you think that the Jazz and Spurs can win a game on the road? Yes - can the Cavs do it? I don’t think so. I hope I’m not too overconfident but what does it matter if I am? Go C’s.

 Cheers

All the talk that had crept in about Kevin Garnett not being able to play in the playoffs…not being clutch. This game tonight was ugly but game one down the stretch was played in the hands mainly of two players. One made a shot to go ahead - one could not match. Kevin Garnett was strong, LeBron James was…well. 2-18 with 10 turnovers! King James had nine rebounds, nine assists and a bunch of free throws but in the end he could not tie the game after Garnett had put the Celtics ahead.

It’s game one and every game counts just as much but at least to start this series KG came up big. I’d love to see him do it in Cleveland over the weekend or again in game two but for now I’m taking it.

By the way, at least it was game one because the start of this game was so bad it would be far too far frustrating for a game five, six or seven.

Cheers!

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.

ESPN is reporting Kobe Bryant will be named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the 2007-2008 season. It’s his 1st MVP and the 1st for a Laker since Shaq in 2000 when he and Kobe won the 1st of three straight titles in LA.  I like this pick, I think it makes the most sense.  The consensus was the Lakers were in trouble at the beginning of the year, and Kobe not only stuck with the team but led them to the top seed in the West despite losing Andrew Bynum and playing a good chunk of the post-trade deadline games without Pau Gasol.  I said on the Young Guns last week if i had a ballot, it would have looked something like this:

1) Kobe Bryant  2) Chris Paul (verrry close #2) 3) LeBron James 4) Kevin Garnett 5) Dwight Howard

I think Kobe and Paul were almost a 1 and 1A, I gave Kobe the slight edge because his team beat out Paul’s and he probably had a bit less to work with than the younger star.  LeBron is so underrated (yes Deshawn Stevenson…UNDERrated) it isn’t even funny.  This guy is beyond legit and has less help than any of the other candidates.  The Big Ticket made a good team great, and his intensity and passion are not to be overlooked, but he’s not the MVP in my eyes, too many other more deserving candidates.  Dwight Howard quietly had a monster year, but it’s not his time to be an MVP…yet.

I was hearing the same “not his time” comments about Chris Paul months ago and I was disputing them.  Chris Paul’s ceiling is one of the best 3 point guards of all time…that’s how good he can be.  LeBron’s ceiling is best player of all time…and Kobe might BE the best this game has seen.