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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!

In today’s episode of Celticscast…The Starting 5: Biggest concerns from the Hawks series

• Where was KG down the stretch?
• Ray Allen showing his age
• Paul Pierce losing his cool
• Some questionable PT moves
• Only one man stepping up, and it’s not a starter

Plus..

• We get some thoughts on the series from Chris Gasper of the Boston Globe, courtesy of the Young Guns and 1510 “the Zone”

And…

• Chris checks in on your E-mails while Andrew takes a well deserved day off

All this and more just a click away on Celticscast! Remember to E-mail hosts@celticscast.com and be a part of the Show!

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.

Well, this is it…kind of. I don’t see this Hawks team which has won a whopping total of 12 road games all season winning a game 7 in Boston, but it’s going to be pretty pathetic should this series head back to Boston (again). The Celtics need to move the ball better tonight, show some aggressiveness on defense, and step up when the Hawks punch…

6:30 1st Quarter: Celtics hit their 1st 3 shots before going 3 for 9 over the next few minutes.

6:01 1st: Mike Bibby shoots the 5th and 6th FTs for the Hawks already, Celtics haven’t been to the line, this Hawks team just plays a different style, they shoot fewer jump shots and get inside more, it’s not an officiating problem, it’s a different style of play, but it could pay big dividends for the Hawks. On a side note, must this PA guy call out “defense” when the Hawks go on D and the two beat defense music starts? Atlanta fans clearly aren’t dumb enough to not know what to say here.

1:50 1st: An episode of Everybody Loves Raymond that I haven’t seen is on over on TBS, it’s pretty distracting because I’m trying to follow both the plot line of the episode and the game. Now I find out it’s a two parter, and of course the game goes to a time out at the same time the show goes to commercial. 25-20 Celtics.

1:48 1st: very tight shot of Greg Dickerson coming out of the time out, I’m not saying he is a terrible looking guy, but you should only be so close if your third announcer isn’t Stacy Dales or Erin Andrews. Both teams have come out shooting the ball well, 60+% FG both ways. It looks like defensive stops might be at a premium and even more important for the Celtics who had trouble getting defensive stops (and defensive rebounds) and the end of game 4.

1:48 1st: Pierce hits 1 of 2 from the line, Donny Marshall points out Paul is taking longer at the line, seems odd to get out of routine now

0:47 1st: Great work by Leon Powe off a miss by Cassell, again Sam pulls the trigger very quickly, he is frustrating the hell out of me, but Powe had a big time box out on Horford who wasn’t even watching where Leon was…by the by the Celtics have evened the FT attempts at 6 each, and I am trying to bring back the saying “by the by”

0:09 1st: Powe is giving Horford all sorts of trouble, Powe is getting better position and it results in another foul on Horford to try to keep Leon from pulling down the rebound. Pierce was big through the 1st quarter, 11 points, took all good shots except for the last jumper at the top of the key which was forced just a bit. 32-20 Celtics at the end of 1 and now we get more fisticuffs. Sam Cassell had a couple words for Joe Johnson getting physical after the play and the ref banged ‘em both with T’s. Great officiating here, Sam needs to keep his mouth shut.

Post 1st Quarter: now that I think of it, I have seen this two parter of Everybody Loves Raymond and it’s not especially funny…back to the game we go…switching over to ESPN for the 2nd quarter…by the by, 11 technical fouls in this series

11:45 2nd: PJ Brown is into the game and immediately looks old, gets beat, and has to foul…Sam Cassell has a wide open look and misses in the opening seconds, why are these guys good pick-ups?

10:50 2nd: nice turnaround J for Sam on the left baseline, I’ll give credit where it’s due, 34-22 Celtics

10:05 2nd: great defensive possession for the Hawks, were active and pressuring the guards, the result a last second shot by Cassell that rims out, Atlanta turns it into a bucket by Pachulia on the other end and force Doc into a time out, cannot continue to be out-hustled by this team, getting pressure on the guards is huge for Atlanta, if they can keep the Celtics from getting inside, it’s huge advantage Hawks…34-26 Celtics

Cavs up 15 on the Wizards, LeBron on the verge of a triple double, the one 1st round series I predicted correctly, I didn’t give the Hornets enough credit and gave the Suns way too much credit, but Cavs-Wiz…alllll over it

9:15 2nd: Celtics get a hoop on a hook by Leon Powe, but again Cassell doesn’t make an extra pass when the C’s are working the perimeter, instead of swinging it to KG who dumped down to Powe, Sam took a few dribbles and then passed it, luckily the interior D for the Hawks was slow in sliding, or it might have cost the C’s a hoop

8:26 2nd: I LOVE LEON!!…takes a charge, he is the unsung hero thus far, he’s providing help defense and double teams, and making the hustle and intensity plays that are huge against a team like Atlanta..36-26 Cs

6:22 2nd: Pierce took it right at Bibby and drew a foul, good work Paul, play physical, that’s one area the Hawks can’t match up in…Atlanta getting closer, however, 38-32 C’s

4:03 2nd: Pierce draws a lot of contact inside but no foul, back down the other end Mike Bibby does a great job keeping the possession alive off a miss and puts it back up and in…getting close…41-38 Cs…Bibby just had a sweet pass to Pachulia to set up the previous hoop, great couple of plays for him

3:08 2nd: more Mike Bibby, another hoops off an offensive rebound, Pachulia pulled it down this time

2:34 2nd: time out on the floor, wow is this crowd phenomenal…OK, so the Hawks have punched, here is the situation I’ve been talking about, the Celtics needs a firm punch back, don’t let the inferior team believe it can win

Am I a horrible person for saying I really don’t give a rats’ ass what Al Horford’s mom has to say? Wait a second…she has a sports talk radio show?! Maybe I misjudged this chick, she can’t be all bad.

1:03 2nd: again some great ball movement for the C’s, Cassell feeds KG who sends it to a cutting Ray Allen, good to see the Cs go back door…48-45 good guys

Bibby and Horford were tremendous additions to this Hawks team for a lot of reasons, they aren’t going to win this series, but they’ve generated a ton of excitement in Atlanta around this team…already more season ticket sales for next year and 3 packed crowds, including an arena record crowd tonight, in this play-off series

2 free throws and a great 2nd quarter for the Hawks. So much for stepping up the same way the Cs did from 1st to 2nd quarter in game 5, the transition defense broke down in the 2nd and led to too many situations where the Celtics had to foul…Pierce is talking about it now, the Cs need to force more half court possessions…50-49 Celtics at half, 28-19 Hawks in the 2nd quarter…Pierce held to a whopping 1 2nd quarter point.

So I clearly have a short attention span, I got sucked in by that random game show on ABC with Mike Greenberg called Duel…some interesting questions and a cool game concept, it’s a combination of smarts and strategy…anyway 2nd half…

9:15 3rd: big block by Smith inside on KG, he had really get to the ball, 7 straight points for the Cs out of the shoot helps the Cs to a 59-53 lead…”DE-FENSE” said the PA announcer

Duel has a set that’s exactly the same as Who Wants to be a Millionaire?…ABC couldn’t afford a new set? This one guy is playing for half a million bucks against this chick who is trying to deny him the big bucks. The next question is which Stone was a student at the London School of Economics…it’s Mick Jagger, but the chick doesn’t seem to know it…and there’s actually some trash talking going back and forth. Mick is a thinking man, just watch him sing, he thinks on stage. The girl said the answer could be Keith Richards, you have to be kidding me, he would have been the only student at that school banging lines between classes on 3rd world economic theory. The dude wins half a million bucks, and he’s unemployed, gotta love America..so back to the Cs we go…

6:10 3rd: Joe Johnson scores inside, only his 2nd field goal but he is making his impact by taking up a ton of attention and drawing double teams…the Celtics have done well to make him stop his dribble whenever possible on the perimeter and rough him up on his way to the basket…time out on the floor…65-57 Cs

4:57 3rd: announcers ripping the invention of the thunderstick, I couldn’t disagree more, sure people are able to make their own noise, but any loud obnoxious device that can add to the overall wackiness of a crowd is a plus in my mind…not to mention they look like giant hot dogs…good point made on the Songalia foul, had it been LeBron fouling Darius, I doubt there would have been a suspension

4:08 3rd: big dunk off Horford off a nice feed from Bibby…who is dribble driving well and dishing it off…Pierce answers with a 3 back on the other end, can’t give Paul Pierce a look like that…quick 2 for Johnson back the other way…73-67 Celtics

Big throw by Brandon Moss to nail a runner at the plate in this rain delayed Sox affair, but they aren’t the story tonight…77-70 Boston with 1;51 to play in the 3rd

0:55 3rd: KG gets blocked again for about the 3rd time this half, Hawks are trying to make him shoot from mid-range…alley-oop to Josh Childress the other way makes it 79-75 Cs

0:21 3rd: sweet drive by Allen to respond to a Bibby hoop…Josh Childress has a tip in that hits every part of the iron before dropping home…82-79 Celtics after 3…we got a ball game sports fans

11:00 4th: has Doc given up?…what the hell kind of line-up is this…PJ Brown and Cassell on the floor to start the 4th quarter, this is the play-offs, not the time for keeping the same subsitution patterns…PJ Brown commits a foul as I type this…hoop and harm for Al Horford who just flat out beat him on a spin move…PJ Brown cannot play anymore, period…get him out of the game…by the by Hawks lead by 4…88-84

9:31 4th: lay-in for Leon Powe, he’s had a great game off the bench, and the C’s follow that with a good defensive stop

As we get a timeout here, I want to reemphasize my disgust for PJ Brown and Sam Cassell being in the game, Doc is treating this like a mid-March game where the C’s are running out the clock on the regular season. PJ Brown wasn’t a bad addition because he didn’t cost anything, but he just cannot play anymore.

8:25 4th: rise and fire 3 for Bibby, 89-88 Celtics…Bibby has been awesome…WHY IS SAM CASSELL STILL IN THIS F*#$ING GAME!!!!

7:52 4th: Al Horford gets away with a travel and gets fouled so he’s going to the line…again we have to see his mom, I’m really starting to not like his mom…90-89 Hawks

7:07 4th: Hawks are doing a great job defensively, Celtics just had their 3rd possession in the last 4 that ran down to the final seconds on the shot clock and resulted in a bad shot…time out Celtics…down 4…I’m not feeling good about this at all

6:49 4th: seems Marvin Williams shant be playing the rest of this game, he’s got 18 points so that’s a help for the Celtics…I’m sorry but I can’t stand this talk about how Atlanta is a better team than their record indicates…they won 12 road games all season…they are a little better than their record because they got Bibby halfway through the season and Horford improved from early on in the year…but the Hawks aren’t winning this series, the Celtics are losing it

5:55 4th: what an awful possession that was, KG is clueless with the basketball tonight…got an offensive board then threw it away

5:10 4th: action is happening too quickly to type…KG looks horrid tonight…hoop and harm the other way for Childress…Pierce fouls out and then gets a T…so his 7th personal I suppose, way to keep your cool Paul…this is as angry as this team has made me all season

3:42 4th: KG ends a 5 minute scoreless streak for Boston, he can barely get by Pechulia…this is awful, I don’t even want to type anymore…96-93 Hawks…

And the Hawks win 103-100…Ray Allen shooting a 3 at the end there couldn’t have been the shot Doc wanted, KG was terrible tonight, Pierce fouling out hurt, PJ Brown can’t play basketball anymore, and Sam Cassell shouldn’t be in the game in clutch situations, and how does Doc not have something ready to go in case of Bibby hitting 1 of 2 (which he did), that’s the shot the Celtics want? Rajon Rondo taking a contested 27 footer?…are you kidding me?…maybe this team just isn’t ready to win…