The Sixers spotted the Celtics 14 points to start the game, looked like they were ready to give up on the game early, got booed off the court at halftime, ...and the Celtics let them win. Unbelievable.
I mean, there were times when the Sixers couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Nothing falling for them, nothing. The Celtics had this game wrapped up with a nice bow and sitting on the proverbial silver platter and it is like they just pushed it to the center of the table and said, "no thanks."
Even with a 15 point halftime lead, it didn't feel like the Celtics were playing very well at all. The lead should have been at least 20 or 25. Then the 3rd quarter happened and nightmares of game 2 came creeping in. Then in the 4th quarter the teams traded baskets for a while until Iggy and the Sixers stuck in the dagger and put this one away.
After being the playoffs MVP, Kevin Garnett just wasn't able to get his shot going tonight - finishing with just 9 points. Pierce did his best to keep us in it with timely 3 pointers and and-1 buckets, but it wasn't enough. Ray Allen hit a 3 pointer (finally) but otherwise was still not a factor. In fact, not to point fingers here, but he was a negative 24 in plus/minus tonight. Of course, you could point the finger at the bench as a unit. Just terrible tonight.
17 turnovers, 17 offensive boards allowed. That's giving the game away.
This one really hurts. Awful, awful, awful.
at 
Boston Celtics (6-3,2-1) at Philadelphia 76ers (5-4, 1-2)
Eastern Conference Semi-Finals Game 4
Friday, May 18, 2012
8:00 PM ET
Playoff Game #10, Road Game #5
TV: ESPN, TSN
Radio: WEEI, 97.5 The Fanatic
TD Garden
Referees: Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Bill Spooner
Game Thread l Chat
The Celtics finally played like they wanted to win in game 3. Doc said that it started with a very focused Rondo in the shoot around. We have seen so many times that as Rondo goes, so go the Celtics. And Rondo was aggressive from the start and the team followed his lead.
Rondo has said that he is ready to bring it in game 4 as well and hopefully he follows through. Kevin Garnett has found the a time machine because he is playing better than he has since 2008. He was seen at the practice facility on the team's day off putting up shots. Paul Pierce has struggled with a knee injury but showed little effects from it in game 3. He wore a brace at the shoot around but said that he will probably do without the brace for the game. The Celtics will need an aggressive Paul Pierce again to get another win on the road.
Ray Allen, Avery Bradley, Mickael Pietrus and Greg Stiemsma are also playing through injuries for the Celtics. Ray took just 1 shot in game 3 but he pulled down 4 rebounds and was very active and helped to spread the floor. Avery is struggling with his shoulder and it's affecting his shot, but he still plays that bull dog defense that the Celtics need. Mickael Pietrus has finally found his shot and was 3-4 from beyond the arc in game 3. He has also been playing great defense in spite of the sore hamstring. Stiemsma has lost much of his playing time to Hollins but he still is capable of coming in and changing shots and grabbing rebounds.
Teams that are up 2-1 win the series 82% of the time. The Celtics can't get complacent though. They need to come out and play game 4 with the same intensity that they played game 3 and get the series over with quickly and then let their injuries heal before the next series.
What a difference a game makes. They hardly even seemed like the same team on offense. What was ugly in game 2 was pretty in game 3. What was sloppy was stylin. What was lethargic was inspired. The defense was still there, if anything they might have stepped up the pressure even more. But the story of the game was the offense.
Kevin Garnett had 17 points at halftime and finished with 27. Rondo was orchestrating a symphony and finished with 23 points and 14 dimes. We even got to see Paul Pierce get back on track with a solid 24 points. Pietrus even chipped in with 13 points - including 3 threes.
The Sixers even had an early lead in this one but the Celtics turned on the jets in the 2nd quarter and never looked back. Thaddeus Young was the Sixers lone bright spot with 22 points.
So to recap, the Celtics played great defense, great offense, and nobody got hurt. Win, win, win.
at 
Boston Celtics (5-3, 1-1) at Philadelphia 76ers (5-3,1-1)
Wednesday, March 16
7:00 PM ET
Playoff Game #9 Road Game #4
TV: TNT
Radio: WEEI, 97.5 The Fanatic
Wells Fargo Center
Referees: Derrick Stafford, Mike Callahan, Eric Lewis
Game Thread l Chat
The series now moves to the Wells Fargo Center. The Celtics have to pick up at least one game in Philly after giving up home court in the game 2 loss at home.
The Celtics have played very poorly so far in the first two games. They have struggled shooting. They have struggled on defense. They have gotten down by double digits in both games. They have seemed as though they were coasting though most of both games.
Injuries could be playing a part in both the shooting woes and in the lack of cohesion on many of the plays. Pierce is obviously not 100% and has been front rimming the majority of his shots. Bradley's shoulder has been painful and could be altering his shot as well as affecting his play. Pietrus has had hamstring problems. Ray's ankles have definitely been affecting his shot. For a player who has always been automatic from the line, he is shooting just 66% on his free throws in the playoffs so far.
Theories have ranged from guessing that the Celtics feel they can just flip the switch at any time to the fact that they are taking the Sixers for granted and feel they can beat them without 100% effort. Whatever the problem has been in the past, it has to be clear that the Celtics must give a better effort from the start and not just turn it on in the 4th quarter. Doc also has to take a share of the blame for some questionable decisions in game 2.
They have to be more focused, especially on the road. The Celtics are capable of winning in Philly and they are capable of playing much better than they have been so far in the series. The Sixers have been playing with great effort and the Celtics haven't matched it. Doc has said that he plans to change the offense to try to get Pierce going with more screens and posts for him. With the stakes getting higher, it's time for the Celtics to up their effort and take control of the series. If they don't, they could find themselves going back to Boston in a 1-3 hole.
On Saturday night, minutes before his Philadelphia 76ers took the court to open their Eastern Conference semifinal series in Boston, Doug Collins went out of his way to dismiss the notion that his raw, inexperienced team was better off missing the playoffs than marching to its sure postseason death this spring.
"Our young guys are growing up," said Collins, whose Sixers had just surprisingly toppled the No. 1-seeded Chicago Bulls. "That's what you do -- you play in these kinds of moments, and you can't pay for the experience that you're getting. For anyone who said being in the lottery is better than being in the playoffs, you're missing the point about trying to grow a young team."
On a certain level, the criticism made sense. The Sixers had begun the frantic, lockout-shortened season 18-7 before crashing and burning -- they lost sight of their identity offensively, they began to resist Collins' leadership, and they lost 24 of their last 41 games.
But now they're here, they've beaten the Bulls (Derrick Rose or no Derrick Rose, an impressive feat either way), and they're tied 1-1 with the Celtics, even Steven in their bid to pull off another upset and advance to the Eastern finals. This is more than a teachable moment -- this is a group of youngsters beginning to look like a legitimate basketball team.
This game would have been just another beautiful defensive battle if they won, but they didn't so it was ugly.
Sixers 82, Celtics 81: Philadelphia Fends Off Boston Late, Evens Series - SB Nation Boston
BOSTON - Reversing the trend, the Boston Celtics started strong but faded through the first three quarters of Monday night's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers. But just like in Game 1, the Celtics surged back from a deficit in the fourth. This time, though, Philly was ready, and it fended off Boston for the 82-81 victory. "Our young guys just keep growing, and they're really becoming men," said Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins, whose team won a playoff game in Boston for the first time since 1982. "We just found a way. Again I have to tell you all season long we couldn't win these games and now our guys are believing they can do it, and it is pretty special to watch."
Philadelphia 76ers (4-3, 0-1) at Boston Celtics (5-2,1-0)
Eastern Conference Semi-Finals Game 2
Monday May 14, 2012
7:00 PM ET
Playoff Game #8, Home Game #5
TV: TNT
Radio: WEEI, 97.5 The Fanatic
TD Garden
Referees: Dan Crawford, Jason Phillips, Michael Smith
Game Thread l Chat
The Celtics have to feel lucky that they pulled out the win in game 1. Philly led for most of the game and the Celtics struggled for three quarters. They were very sluggish to start the game and didn't look like they were actually trying until the second half. Injuries could influence their play, but since they were able to turn it on in the second half, it seems to be more of an effort thing.
They have to know that it would be very dangerous to come out slow and allow the Sixers to hang around for a second game in a row. One of these times that strategy will come back to bite them. The Celtics need to come out strong from the beginning and establish the pace of the game.
Pierce and Allen will still struggle with the injuries and hopefully they can also continue to play through them and be effective in their minutes on the court. All 15 players participated in the shootaround and are expected to play in this game. Rondo needs to give an effort from the start. It didn't seem as though he took the game seriously until after the half in game 1. Bass and Pietrus have struggled in the playoffs so far and it would be great to see them get on track finally.
Hopefully the Celtics decide to come out and play from the start in this game and not tempt fate two games in a row. It's great they pulled out the win in game 1 but they are capable of so much more in this game if they only put forth the effort.
Been a while since I posted a video. I don't mean to be one to apologize for not video-blogging (sorry) and I don't mean to make lame excuses (technical difficulties! life getting in the way, etc.) or apologize for work that is not up to my own lofty expectations (hey, I have a face for blogging and my on camera work is more herky jerky than Brandon Bass's jumpshot) but oh well. Hope you enjoy anyway!
General 2nd Round Series Thoughts (via sbncelticsblog)
As usual, here's our dedicated page for CelticsBlog videos. And don't forget to subscribe to the SBNation YouTube Channel (see banner below).
Showing 1 - 8 of 1,132 Older
