Posts tagged ‘james posey’

Paul Pierce’s words after the game. Who would’ve thought? After the first quarter down 21 points (the largest first quarter deficit in NBA Finals history by the way - looks like teams are 1-0 when trailing by more than 20 points after one in the Finals). After the Celtics rallied and then got thrown down again at the half to be down by 18. After Perk got hurt and didn’t come back with a shoulder injury. After Sam Cassell came in the game. But the C’s did come back and it’s even more amazing than that Nets game because it’s the Finals (obviously) and it’s in LA. The C’s usually play better in LA than most road venues (Antoine Walker banking in a fall-away three for a win at the Lakers always sticks in my mind) but still.

Here’s what sticks out in my mind: that second quarter rally that was squashed was still huge. It showed that the Celts could come back in the game - they could roll off 12 straight and not be stymied to say a 6 point rally over 2 minutes like the Pistons often did. Late in the third quarter when Posey picked up his 5th foul and Tony Allen came in for only 2+ minutes, the Celtics went on a 12-2 run to finish the quarter. That was huge…no one will get this but it was Billy Fucillo huge (look online or ask your friends in upstate New York or Mexico). Allen didn’t score but he stepped right into Posey’s shoes and was a factor with a defensive rebound.

Rondo played less than 20 minutes in this game and down the stretch Ray Allen and sometimes Posey handled the ball. No Cassell either - House was in. Ray Allen/House/Posey/Pierce/Garnett - small lineup with tons of shooters. A lineup that Chris and I talked about extensively during the year as being a dynamic shooting lineup that spread the floor like none other and with 20 seconds left, Ray beats Vucacic and with everyone in the four corners and KG setting the screen, Allen just laid it in. Paul said right after the game they knew no one could help on defense because they’d be too far away. I love that lineup and it only took 24 playoff games to get it in for an extended stretch in a big moment (that I can remember).

Celtics finished with 11 turnovers - I don’t have it in front of me but I think they had nine in the first half and six in the first quarter. And the defense obviously worked after the first quarter, points wise, intensity wise and not-letting-Gasol dunk wise. Two off days and then maybe the clincher Sunday in LA. Oh also let it be known our loyal listener Adam from Wellesley has seen three wins and 0 losses in person for these finals and he’s going to be there for game five. Celticscast luck is on his side. He also pointed out via email the C’s were 16-21 when trailing by 8 or more in a game this year. Now they’re 17-21 and in my opinion that’s better than I would ever think - down nearly double digits and winning nearly half the time? Great game great finish and now onto the fifth game for hopefully the pinnacle of a great season.

93-91 Celtics at San Antonio: Make it two straight: two straight on the roadtrip, two straight against the Spurs this year, two straight W’s without Ray Allen and two straight wins on St. Patrick’s Day at San Antonio. Some quick thoughts:

KG threw the ball away up two with 4.5 seconds left and ‘Big Shot Bob’ missed an impossible fall away three with two guys in his face from 27 feet out on the right wing. Two things Kevin: A: call a timeout, please! or B: run the baseline! After Parker’s made hoop run the baseline and at the veerrry least throw it 60 feet so that the Spurs can’t get a good look.

Very interesting to see Doc’s substitution patterns at point guard down the stretch. Cassell played it out all the way and was joined by House for most of the way until Rondo checked in with about 1:15 left. Incidentally, Cassell hit a 22 footer and a huge 3 to give the C’s the lead with 48 seconds left, House hit a clutch 3 while in (his only FG) and Rondo came up with a big offensive rebound with the Celts up two with 15 seconds left.

The Spurs did a great job at stepping out and preventing Garnett from having open 20 foot jump shots. the numbers: 7-15 FG, 21 pts, 8 reb. but only 2 assists because there was a guy in his face. Conversely, the C’s defense was much much more solid after the first quarter. I think SA had as many open jumpers in the first that they did the rest of the game.

James Posey became what Tony Allen was supposed to be when TA started: a good defender and a guy to move the offense. Allen did neither and the Celts were down 20 in the first half. And yet Celtics win. Other online commentary from this game: celticsblog.com, greenbandwagon.com and Pounding the Rock (spurs blog).

Cheers!

Apparently episode #41 has been held up somewhere on the internet and despite being uploaded to our website - it’s still not there. We apologize for the delay, it’s frustrating because there was a lot of punch to that show headed into the weekend - but hopefully things are up and working again for our next show to recap the pair of games.

Speaking of game 2 of the weekend pair (since we won’t focus on that worst deficit of the season right now), this was what the Celtics needed headed into a murderous week of opponents - an easy victory. Ray Allen didn’t play, but if it was a playoff game, methinks he would have. Yet, the Bucks showed very little fight after the first quarter and the C’s did what they do best - put them away. A maximum of 27 minutes for any of the starters (Posey’s 29 mins were the most of any player). Also, Sam Cassell was the first off the bench today replacing Rondo and immediately had an impact - a good sign against a bad team, now let’s see if he can do it later this trip. San Antonio up next Monday, then the Rockets, then Mavs, then Hornets - should be exciting. Many are making a big deal about Rondo’s matchups (Tony Parker, Rafer Alston, JKidd and then CP3 Chris Paul), but this shows just how important Cassell will be this week to give Rondo a break and keep the intensity up.

Also, anybody hoping that if somehow Illinois and Georgia both make the tourney that they both get thrown into the playoff game? It would only be fair I think…

Cheers!

The Celtics have listed James Posey as “doubtful” for tonight’s game and, unlike Phillip Rivers, “doubtful” means he probably won’t be taking the court tonight. Posey sat out on Monday’s won over the Knicks with an injured index finger on his right hand. He says it’s been hurt since December and he’s been playing through the pain, but now Doc Rivers wants to take him out of the line-up for a couple of games and get him healthy sooner rather than later.

Doc has said he is more concerned about Posey’s absence over the next couple of games than he was against New York for those teams’ tendencies to play “small,” meaning they have a heavy reliance on guard play relative to the Knicks, who lean on their bigs quite a bit. This is probably most true for tonight’s opponent in the Raptors. Toronto, who comes in 12 games behind the Celtics, relies heavily on Jose Calderon and Anthony Parker. You have to figure Chris Bosh is going to get his points, so containing the smaller, perimeter players could be the difference in this one defensively for the Celtics and not having Posey out there will be a bit of a setback, though far from one that can’t be overcome.

A statistic of note, the Celtics defend their perfect record against the Atlantic Division this evening, having moved to 10-0 against division foes with the win over the Knicks on Monday.