Posts tagged ‘Paul Pierce’

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.

Gotta love it. Very entertaining game - the subplots of Pierce going down and coming back. But the key as in almost any sport at a championship level was defense and (a little more basketball specific) rebounding.

Pierce/Posey and yes Ray Allen did a tremendous second half job on Kobe. He could not get to the rim - even when one of the two was guarding Kobe he couldn’t shake them most of the time and help was always there in the few instances the D was initially beat. Bryant to the tune of 9-26 shows that. In postgame, Kobe insisted he had lots of good looks. I’ll be happy to see him have those good looks for the second half.

Chris and I were pretty confident back in February when PJ and Cassell joined the fold that Brown would be the bigger acquisition. I know Cassell made some shots in the first half, but he still drives me crazy with those “I’ll take it up, dribble, dribble, then dribble then shoot” possessions that he still has. PJ was noticed by the announcing crew and found his way into the spotlight but again it wasn’t boxscore - it was intensity and being a part of moving the ball that worked for him.

I love the crowd - Boston doesn’t need ‘de-fense’ on the scoreboard every possession or noise meters constantly to have chants or loudness. Sure those things happen but not as much as in other NBA arenas. Lakers fans will be good as well - thank goodness it’s not San Antonio with 10 seconds of hip-hop, pop and drumbeats playing every time up the floor.

Shot of the game: Pierce’s (two) threes at the end of the third quarter. Momentum, 6 points, a lead, crowd intensity, a statement - these two had it all and they happened because the Celtics “RAN THE BALL!” Yes Tommy they ran and it worked twice…in a row. Awesome.

Check the site often thru the series - Chris has got interviews lined up for tomorrow and we’ll be back Saturday for our game 2 preview and game one thoughts via the audio platform.

In today’s episode of Celticscast…

The Starting 5

• *Celtics take down Shaq and co.
• *Long road trip leads to let-down vs. Sixers
• *Chris Paul and Hornets down C’s in 4th qtr.
• *KG is certainly back to form
• *C’s have locked up almost everything - do these wins matter?

Plus…

• *KG got some MVP chants last night - do you agree? Send as an email at hosts@celticscast.com for your input and you can hear ours on the show in our middle segment.
• *Celtics are one win away from beating every team in the league
• *Isiah Thomas is somehow still hired, but Knicks are one game away from putting Knickscaster Jack Cognetta in a chicken suit in front of Madison Square Garden.

And…

• *Kobe Bryant may force himself to sit out a game - or have the league force him to sit out…or something - we look at him briefly in our third segment.

All this and more just a click away on Celticscast! Remember to give us a call at 617-934-0268 and be a part of the show.

Hey Guys - well I’ve got nothing to do on a Wednesday evening besides watching the C’s so I guess I’ll do some live thinking and see what you think. Feel free to post a comment at the base of this post or send an email to hosts@celticscast.com and I’ll make a shot to respond in a timely manner.

Our starting lineups no surprises: Celtics: PG Rondo, SG R. Allen, SF Pierce, PF Garnett, C Perkins

       Suns: PG Nash, SG Raja Bell, SF Grant Hill, PF Amare Stoudamire, C Shaq. It’s the same deal as the team’s first meeting which obviously didn’t go well. Leon only played 4+ minutes in that game - I’d expect more tonight despite the tough matchups inside.

7:03: I’ll be sticking with the ESPN broadcast today after Mike & Tommy vs. the Sixers didn’t really work out. We’re reminded that the C’s have lost two straight and two straight at home…I guess it’s a good time to turn that around. Also Steve Nash is shooting 67% from three over the last six games…yes change go change… The studio crew says Chris Webber will be remembered as one of the “best forwards of his time”. Personally, Duncan, Pippen, Kobe, even Pierce are ahead of CWebb - no way Webber’s a hall of famer.

7:10 Apparently Stephon Marbury is to blame for KG being so physical with Stoudamire (which has gone on for more than just that game in PHX)…Ric Bucher strong start from the sidelines.

7:15 6-4 C’s 2 minutes in; C’s first three possessions were all quick shots, pushing the ball ahead to leave Shaq behind - it’s worked. Meanwhile, Stoudamire has “blown by” (Hubie Davis’ words, not mine) Garnett twice for 4 points, 2 from the line after a Perk foul.

17-10, 5:33 left 1st qtr; Well KG’s already out because of two fouls. The Suns are going to Amare and Shaq almost every possession and it’s working somewhat. Shaq’s had killer position twice for easy buckets. Meanwhile, KG was dominant on the offensive end with 8 points in 6 minutes. Alas, he won’t be in for awhile. Leon Powe replaced him…Rondo’s holding his own agains Nash a good sign…Side note: if you had a “sven” as your alarm clock, wouldn’t you end up throwing something at him at least once a week? Also, don’t they already have “svens?” They’re called butlers - have they been replaced?

25-16 C’s, under 3 mins left 1st qtr; Celts are killing on the glass (10-4) as Amare isn’t trying as hard to rebound as Perk, KG and Powe…Amare’s got 10 points - they’re legit…”the first home game after a road trip is another road game” - Hubie Davis said it, Tommy disagreed the other day (not directly, just happened to broach same topic). I’ll weigh in and agree with Davis. When you arrive at 3 or 4 AM home and have a game the next day (or in the NBA even the following day), it’s the road routine. Your sleep schedule is on the road schedule, your practice schedule likely is too and in that respect it is, the people cheering for you is not as big of a deal…Doc had some great sound talking with a ref about a Perk foul “let me hit you in the stomach and we’ll see if your hands go down” - in a smiling joking manner but that argument could sway the refs the rest of the way.

30-16, under 2 mins left 1st qtr; C’s have 12 buckets in the paint! (of 13 FG)…clearly not afraid to go at Shaq (who’s been out of the game) or Amare (who plays little D)

33-20 after 1: LEON! After a Rondo off. rebound, miss, Phx rebound, Leon went to the floor to steal the ball then while still on his knees underhanded the ball toward the bucket and got slapped on the forearm for 2 free throws. Hubie’s got 35 years in basketball and never seen that, especially the foul. Rebounding edge is 15-6 and basically everyone in white is going to the basket on offense - scoring, rebounding and it’s working. Now the intensity needs to stay…all four quarters…

33-26, 9:14 to go in 2nd; That means 6-0 Suns in 2nd qtr. Sam Cassell is not doing well - missed two 10 foot jumpers and has a turnover on a forced pass. Phoenix is playing in zone (they have been most of the game). Usually against the zone, a team shoots over it to beat it. The Celtics have the zone extended (with the longer NBA 3-point line) several feet and have been tearing apart the middle of the zone but Cassell is not doing so. Meanwhile, Phoenix hit a couple of shots but that’ll happen. C’s need to get offense working again…By the way another gem from Ric Bucher: Big Baby once body-slammed Shaq - all 300+ pounds of him. Body-slammed him! I’m never getting Davis mad…

41-38 C’s, under 6 mins 2nd qtr; Amare is killing the Celtics - so much so double teaming him every time he gets the ball seems like the thing to do. Only what’re you gonna do? Leave Nash? Shaq? Grant Hill or Raja Bell are the only options and they’ll kill you from 3…so instead Amare is to the tune of 18 points already. This is a real tough matchup defensively for the Celtics with two big guys that can do so many things.

53-50 Suns, 1:04 to go 1st half; Phoenix just isn’t missing…Giricek, Nash, Raja Bell everybody. 33 points already in the secon quarter. The ball movement has been good so they have open shots most of the time (a rarity for a Celtics defense this year). 18 assists for PHX in the first half…Nash picked up a T just before the break for taking a charge but getting called for a block. The comical part is one ref came to block Nash from going at the ref that called the block and but the original ref T’d him up anyway.

57-57 at the half: Rondo goes right at Nash and wins to tie it before buzzer. One good quarter, one bad - no harm done I guess, Doc’s got to find a solution for Stoudamire or else this one isn’t going for Boston. Some halftime stats: Amare 22 pts, 3 reb., Nash 8 dimes, Phoenix 62% FG, 18 assts on 23 FG…Pierce 15 pts (7-7FT), KG 14 pts, Celts 11 offensive rebounds, shooting 47% FG. I’ll be back for the 2nd half all you hinging on my words…

71-67, 5:45 left in 3rd; Phoenix has gone away from Amare but he had a nice hand off to Nash for an easy bucket…Grant Hill’s got a couple buckets for his first points of the game (3 fouls, 9 mins in first half)…Perk with back to back beautiful defensive trips against Shaq after the big guy had two easy buckets prior…Shaq came right back the next trip and stationed himself at the basket for a layup…the defense is where this game will be decided and likely it’s on Perk/KG/Powe or Davis to separate themselves. By the way, where’s PJ Brown? not in the game…I’m surprised he hasn’t been a bigger part of this team (and disappointed).

79-69 C’s, under 3 mins 3rd qtr; Rondo just left Nash in the dust with a sick crossover (did i just write ’sick’? I don’t think I’ve ever actually said that) and that Nash charged over Posey which of course was a block…Doc made a daring move - he replaced Perk with Posey and it’s working. Posey bodied up Stoudamire, stuck with him and then KG came over with help at the last second…Amare in the 3rd qtr: 0-2, 2 reb wow…meanwhile a Nets fan walked into the room (they had a 42 pt. first quarter today and Josh Boone has 21 points in the first half…Josh Boone! how?)

84-73 C’s after 3: Turnovers are coming fast and furious for the Suns (they had more TO’s than assists in the third) and the Celts are taking advantage of the extra chances. My chinese is here and this that’s it for this update…

93-79 C’s under 9 to go: Phoenix is getting “manhandled” in all aspects of the game (Hubie Davis one word quote) - C’s have 18 more field goal attempts than PHX - that’s where offensive rebounds and turnovers play in. So despite the Suns at 56% from the field and Celts at 49% the somewhat big lead for Boston. Mike D’antoni tried to go small (no Shaq or Amare) and it didn’t close the gap at all.

110-88 under 5 to go: C’s are in control so I have three points to finish with.

First - ESPN switched to the Cavs/Hornets game so I got to see the end live and it was a great one. LeBron drives to the hoop to go ahead by one with 7 seconds left. After a TO, LeBron defends Chris Paul. Paul drives to the hoop and the much taller LeBron was nearby so smartly Paul found David West wideopen and the Xavier alum hits the free throw line jumper for the win. Great play, great finish - Hornets great team.

Second, Paul Pierce was so quiet in the first three quarters (even with 15 first half points) I was all set to diatribe about how he’ll disappear sometimes. Then he scores 10 points and drops a few dimes in the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter. But the point remains: Pierce has become a role player of sorts - maybe the best role player in the league but still Garnett is becoming the face and the go-to guy throughout games.

Third, Celts fans were chanting MVP for Garnett in the fourth quarter. Chris and I are in agreement that KG should not be the MVP of the entire league and I think it’s foolish to have fans chanting this compared to Kobe, LeBron and even Chris Paul. KG is 4th at best unless something radical happens…It’s still a 20 point game and we’re under 3 minutes to go so we’re safely in hand. Most likely you’re reading this after the game is over so I’ll talk to you later.

Cheers!

Doc Rivers (mp3)

Kevin Garnett (mp3)

Paul Pierce (mp3)

Ray Allen (mp3)