With about 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics up 92-91, Rajon Rondo lost the ball out of bounds. The Bulls inbounded to Derrick Rose, who pushed the ball up the court ahead of the entire Celtics team and laid it in to give Chicago the lead. "Jesus, that was pathetic" I yelled (sprinkled with expletives). The next 5 minutes were probably the lowest point of the past two seasons for me. The defense was lazy, Ben Gordon couldn't miss, and at the end of it the Bulls had a five point lead and all of the momentum. I was furious. I couldn't believe that this team would allow their defensive effort to dissipate in the closing minutes of this one, wasting special performances from Big Baby, Rondo, and Perk in the process. They were going to lose, and it was going to be a death blow.
At this point, Doc called a timeout and ripped his team a new one for their lack of intensity. We all saw how it went down after the time out, and it was great. There was so much to feel good about after that win. However, I have a lot of concerns, and those need to be addressed first.
- Things are going to get much more difficult if Leon is not able to return in this series. It only took Mikki Moore 8 seconds to commit his first foul last night, and Doc's supply of front line minutes is getting more and more depleted.
- It's hard for me to even string together a rational thought about the repercussions that the Cs would face if Rondo's ankle blew up like a balloon last night and he's unable to go in Chicago.
- The bench was absolutely horrendous last night, accounting for only 9 of the Cs' total 118 points. Great bench play was an essential piece to last year's championship run. The Celtics are going to need more from these guys, especially Eddie House, going forward.
- Speaking of the bench, Tony Allen did not play a single minute last night and I don't know what to make of it. Last night seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to see heavy minutes defending Ben Gordon. At the very least, I expected to see him come in at the end with the Celts up 115-113 to defend Gordon. He didn't, and Gordon tied up the game. So, what does this mean? If we can't call on Tony Allen to come in and give good defensive minutes, especially against a team with such good scorers in the backcourt, things are going to be a lot tougher.
- I can't tell if Paul Pierce is hurt or if he is just worn down. With Deng out, I expected him to control this series and he hasn't been up to the task. He's passing up shots (huge red flag!), he is having trouble getting back every time of defense, and he hasn't seemed to be able to break down anyone off the dribble. I thought Salmons (especially with a bad groin) and Hinrich would be great matchups for him.
I guess the true indicator of whether or not PP is hurt will come in Chicago. We've seen him worn down before, and he usually manages to spring back just when we need him most.
- As was the case on Saturday, there were lapses in Boston's intensity and execution. It's frustrating, and I feared it would once again cost them. It's held true over two games now: they must make getting back on D the number one priority. Although they did a better job yesterday, they still gave up far too many easy points (Chicago shot 50% from the field. Abysmal).
To alleviate this, I think Doc needs to rotate in more bench minutes. In particular, why haven't we seen Bill Walker? I know he's inexperienced, but it's not like we'd be throwing him out there against the Lakers. This is a young Bulls team. Walker would allow more rest for the starters, and I think he could match Chicago's intensity. A fucking spark! That's what this team has needed throughout this series. I really think, in this specific case, Walker can provide that spark.
So, yes, I still have a lot of concerns. But, I'm confident that things are going to pick up. Our readers all know that I have a pretty serious mancrush on Paul Pierce. Hearing his distinct, sultry voice tell me that "our best is yet to come" brought me great comfort.
Now, not to overlook the positive:
- 28 second half points for Ray, who looked like his old self down the stretch. We can all stop panicking now about a repeat playoff slump.
- It's incredible how much Rondo and Big Baby have improved their outside shot, and it gives me so much hope for the future of the Celtics post-big three. Both of these guys can now make teams pay for playing off of them (and Big Baby did, over and over again last night). This will make the Celtics even more dangerous when they are back at full strength next season.
- Rondo is a tough motherfucker. I've heard some talk from the anti-Celtics camp that he likes to ham it up a bit when he goes to the floor so that people will give him more credit for his toughness. First of all, that's ridiculous. He hits the floor hard every night. Secondly, nobody can deny that ankle last night. It was clear as day on the replay. To come back from that and still finish with a triple double is ridiculous. Add 5 steals to those triple double numbers. Hands down the most important player of the series so far. I wish he'd start padding himself up like Dwayne Wade does. It makes sense.
- The Celtics returned to their old ways and dominated the glass in this one. In particular, credit Rondo and Perk with 7 offensive boards apiece. Big Baby made up for his poor rebounding performance on Saturday, and it made his 26 points all the more impressive.
- Perk did everything in this game. He pulled down tough rebounds in traffic, he blocked a key shot at the end of the game, and his ability to work Chicago's front line on offense appeared at times in the first half to be the only constant for the Cs.
- The Bulls came in to this determined to get a split in Boston. They did a hell of a job with it. Back to back career nights from different players. However, they will not have guys step up like that every night. They can't. Just as Rose came back down to earth last night, Gordon will come down on Thursday.
- We finally saw life from this team in the second half. It came quickly once they started to build some momentum. They are better than this Chicago team, which is why I can't understand the sheepishness with which they have approached their business for much of this series. They are the world champs, and I'd like to see some front running. They play better and with a hell of a lot more intensity when they carry that attitude with them. I don't care if it takes KG taunting opponents from the bench and picking up technicals. I don't care if it takes Perk putting Noah down hard (by don't care I mean I'd fucking love it) and taking a technical. The swagger needs to return. That will get them back on defense. That will lead to more scoring. That's when the Celtics are at their best.
Final note:
After the game, my fiancee and I went across the street to the Four's for some beer and nachos. After leaving the Garden, there was no way we could just go home. Well, the next thing we know, Tommy Heinsohn is sitting in the booth right behind ours. I had a dead on view of him, and took in as much as I could. I started thinking to myself....is there a more significant Celtic that I could be looking at right now? Heinsohn won 8 rings as a player and 2 more as a coach. He was a six time all star and coach of the year. He's the face of the franchise as an announcer. Really, there is no question that this was more significant than drinking ten feet away from Larry Bird. I guess the only guy you could argue would be Bill Russell.
I kept in close contact with his waiter. He drank bloody marys and ate shrimp cocktail. That's a meal very heavy in tomatoes (lycopene, good for the prostate). Bloody Marys late at night? The man is an animal.
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