I do my recap without first mentioning Bill Simmons' recent article on Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics. It's just epic. You really have to put some time in to carry a fake conversation that far. Particularly one with that many people involved. I've been a Simmons fan now for roughly 7 years. And while I don't agree with everything he writes and couldn't possibly imagine following him if I were not from Massachusetts, I still appreciate what he brings to the table. Here's what I liked the most.

1. Simmons has made it clear that he does not believe Rivers is the right man for the job. There was his "Doc will be fired column" that didn't  quite work out. And that wasn't his first "Doc Rivers is a bad coach" style post. Throughout this season Simmons has been cautiously optimistic with Rivers, never really trusting him. And that definitely spilled over after the Game 4 loss. I could debate the merits of Rivers as a coach all day. But it might be easier to say the following. When I clicked on the Mark Murphy's "Doc Rivers House hunting" article I immediately thought he might be looking for a new home. Will it be in Indiana where his son is allegedly transferring? Does his family want to leave Orlando? Of course the article was about Eddie House. And yet the idea that Rivers was looking for a house in the midst of a tight series against Cleveland was incredibly plausible to me. That can't be a good thing.

2. Simmons was right about the Sam Cassell/Eddie House/Rajon Rondo situation. House does have his flaws - defense on bigger point guards, brining the ball up and setting up others. But Cassell doesn't fix any of them. And Rondo has to be confident. You saw it in Game 5. Those 2 ice water in the veins, rainbow three pointers may have saved Boston's season. More on that in another post.

3. I'm not as down on KG as Simmons is. But even I can't deny that Garnett has more riding on this series than anyone.

4. I'm glad he discussed the C's lineup to start the 4th quarter in Game 4 - P.J. Brown, Cassell, Posey, Pierce, Glen Davis. It's been a few days and I'm still not over that. Bonus points because that unit gave the ball to Davis at the top of the key and ran the offense through him. That's just a terrible idea. Terrible.

5. I like Posey, you like Posey. We all like Posey. Well maybe not the Chicago fans. But he might be given a little too much credit here.

6. It is interesting that Tom Thibodeau got a lot of the credit in the regular season but very little of the blame of late. Simmons highlights that discrepancy in his own way.

- Bottom line. I read a lot of Celtics themed blogs. Some are popular. Others are critically acclaimed. But Simmons still has the strongest voice out there when it comes to the C's. That's it for now.

I caught the 4th quarter live and still have to go back and watch the rest of the game. Give the Cavs credit. They hit baskets when they needed to, had stretches of tenacious defense and overall played great team basketball. That was a tough loss to handle and I actually feel very similar to how I felt after Game 4 of Round 1. The scary thing is that Cleveland is coming together as a basketball team that is obviously better and deeper than Atlanta. Some other brief thoughts:

- I did not enjoy watching Daniel Gibson attack Sam Cassell at the start of the fourth quarter. That coincided with a number of truly awful Celtics offensive possessions.

- The "Celtics can't win a road game" storyline is warranted and slowly killing my enthusiasm. 

- There was a stretch in the 4th quarter where both teams played outrageous defense. Everything was contested and each team was forced to shoot jumpers they could not make.

- I can't even link to LeBron's cruch time dunk but will most likely see it one million times over the course of the next year. And rightly so. It was impressive.

- For all his struggles last night, including an ill-advised 3 with Boston down 76-73, Paul Pierce gave it his all on the defensive end.

- Back to Boston...

Coming later (most likely tomorrow): What's in a name? - A look at Ray Allen vs. Delonte West/Wally Szczerbiak.

In his recap of Boston's Game 3 loss in Cleveland LaRocque from ROOMOFZEN linked to Bob Ryan's article on the disappearance of Eddie House with the arrival of Sam Cassell, particularly once the playoffs started. Well this led to an e-mail exchange with LaRocque about Boston's point guards. I'll lead off with his e-mail and then jump to my response:

LaRocque from ROOMOFZEN: "So, I want to write something expressing the way I feel about our current point guard situation, but I can't.  I am too flip-floppy on Cassell.  Here is the way that I see things and I'm wondering if you agree. 

Cassell arrived saying that he was totally happy to be a role player and fit in with the offense.  Now, I really believe that he meant that.  But, I just don't think he has it in him.  The guy will always be a shoot-first point guard.  He's always been the guy that's known for taking big shots.  I think there is a place for him on this team.  In game 1, for example, when the offense was totally out of sync.  But, I don't like what I see happening.  First, it seems like Cassell is gradually taking more and more minutes away from Rondo.  Granted, Rondo went through a rough patch in game 2 and the first half of game 3.  But, he got things going in the second half of game 3.  When Rondo is in, we play the style that got us to this point.  We move the ball, he drives and dishes, we seem to flow a lot better.  But, the more Cassell plays, the more I see the team being reduced to a more predictable and stagnant offense. 

 

I guess what I mean is that I don't mind Cassell as a player.  I understand his style.  But, to me he should be spelling Rondo and being brought in for certain situations.  I feel like right now he's imposing his will a little bit on Doc and the team.  The results are more Cassell, less Rondo, and the Celtics abandoning the style that got them here. Keep in mind I'm feeling a little paranoid given the stakes of tonight's game."

Green Bandwagon: Everybody talks about what Eddie House doesn't do well. But what about the stuff he's good at? One of the biggest complaints was that he can't get the ball up against pressure and get into the offense. Well Cassell walks it up, wastes a ton of time and then let's it rip. Is that better? I think House firing jumpers, chest bumping everyone, swearing often and just being House worked well for a long time. Maybe House isn't a great defender. But is Cassell? The crazy thing is that Cassell is so hit or miss that we could be singing his praises in about 4 hours. And at this point it doesn't make a ton of sense to go to House. There's a reason he's played for 8 teams and couldn't get big minutes on a depleted 2006 Suns team come playoff time. The bigger issue is that Rajon Rondo is a mess right now. He needs to get back on track and kick start an offense that was downright bad in Game 3. I'll leave you with some KG to get fired up for this one:

After three games a number of story lines have emerged from the Celtics and Cavaliers round 2 series:

- The woeful shooting in Game One
- Boston’s defense in the first two games
- Cleveland’s defense in Game Three
- Kevin Garnett’s stellar play
- Zyrundas Ilguaskas' shooting prowess and the Cavs' strange decision to ignore him at times
- The contributions of the Cleveland’s late season acquisitions in Game Three.
- LeBron James’ struggles from the field: 13-58 (22%).

I'll add one more. LeBron’s reactions to any kind of contact. To be fair this started in Round One when Brendan Haywood fouled LeBron hard and the physical pounding the Cavs’ superstar endured received a great deal of attention. Mike Brown even argued that Cleveland’s meal ticket rarely gets the benefit of the doubt:

"He knows he's going to get hit, and unless he gets absolutely clobbered, they're not going to call the foul.'' - Mike Brown

Fast forward to Round 2 and the play is still physical. However, this time around Sam Cassell has called the NBA out for protecting LeBron in ways it never protected Michael Jordan:

"I know Michael Jordan is sitting at home right now pouting because they didn't protect him. There wasn't no bigger star than him, and he took some banging. But he got through it. That's why he got considered the best player to pick up a basketball." - Sam Cassell

Disregarding the fact that Jordan is probably gambling, golfing, filming a commercial or doing any number of things that don't involve pouting or running a team, it's fitting that Cassell brought up MJ, as it segues nicely into a passage from Sam Smith's stellar The Jordan Rules:

"The Pistons advertised their "Jordan Rules" as some secret defense that only they could deploy to stop Jordan. These secrets were merely a series of funneling defenses that channeled Jordan toward the crowded middle, but Detroit players and coaches talked about them as if they had been devised by the Pentagon. ‘You hear about them enough – and the referees hear it, too – and you start to think they have something different,’ said Bach. It has an effect and suddenly people think they aren’t fouling Michael when they are.’ – Sam Smith The Jordan Rules, pgs. 8-9.

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Wicked Good Sports
Headed to Cleveland.
Parquet Pride
What They're Saying in Cleveland.
HoopsVibe
Has the NBA Gone Soft? Green Bandwagon Note - Sam Cassell does have a point when he talks about Michael Jordan taking a beating. The "Jordan Rules" were really just about the Pistons hitting MJ early and often. At the same time I'd hate to see a series decided because someone was injured. As much as I champion Kevin McHale taking down Kurt Rambis I'd be furious if Marvin Williams hurt Rajon Rondo.
Cavs.com
Guarded Optimism. Green Bandwagon Note - I did not know Rondo and Daniel Gibson have history.
Bleacher Report
From possible disaster to Blessing.
SF Gate
Celtics' Powe rises to challenge again. Green Bandwagon Note - The Powe info is brief. Still Powe is awesome.
Inside Indiana
Report: Rivers to enroll at Indiana. Green Bandwagon Note - Intriguing. I knew he was leaving Georgetown.
Perk is a Beast
Post Game Interviews
Red's Army
Hostile Environment. Green Bandwagon Note - Check this out for the link to Bill Plaschke's over the top/reactionary article on Pau Gasol.
Loy's Place
We've been here before and so have they.
CelticsBlog
The open road.
Boston Globe
Posey keeps ticket requests all in the family.
Celtics must find a way to win when they're away.  Green Bandwagon Note - The way Posey handles ticket requests in the definition of a veteran move.
Ball is in their court.
Boston Herald
Wallace doubtful for Game 3.
Ready to remodel.
James hopes home is where his shot is.
On defensive end, true kings hold their court.

What is Boston's ideal crunch time lineup? That sounds like the type of question that needs categories. Let's do it.

Guys Who Don’t Dress
Gabe Pruitt
Scot Pollard
Brian Scalabrine

Guy Who Won’t Be Out There
P.J. Brown

Guys Who Could be Out There in Certain Situations
Tony Allen – I see the Allen for defense argument but think it is flawed for a number of reasons. He needs a lot of time to be effective, never seemed entirely comfortable with his knee, makes too many mistakes and currently lacks confidence.

Glen Davis – He could easily be in the previous category based upon the last month or so. But he has been effective against Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Eddie House – In some shooting scenarios.

Leon Powe – Foul Trouble for guys ahead of him on the depth chart.

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Random Thoughts From Game 7

Kendrick Perkins’ first quarter was phenomenal. He scored some points, blocked a few shots and made himself a presence. You could make the case that the Celtics got contributions from their stars throughout the series. And it was their role players that pushed them over the edge in the victories and disappeared for long stretches in the losses.

The Celtics fans pulled out some classic chants - “It’s all over”, “Hey hey hey goodbye” and if I’m not mistaken an old school WWF “USA USA USA” when Zaza Pachulia went to the line. But my absolute favorite was the “Where is Bibby?” chant that erupted towards the end of the third quarter. Awesome.

KG’s pick on Pachulia was one of those dirty plays that is okay because as Mark Jackson rightly pointed out – a guy’s teammates have to tell him the pick is coming. It’s their job. Just like it is the on deck batter's responsibility to tell a runner whether or not to slide into home. Yes KG threw a little something extra in there. But that’s basketball.

I’m still concerned about Glen Davis eating his way out of the league. There I said it. In case you were wondering, “He doesn’t have much elevation to his game” (Jeff Van Gundy) is the polite way of saying that.

“I’m a big Lost fan.” – Mike Breen
“You are lost.” – Jeff Van Gundy
“Good one.” – Breen

It was a painful exchange. But it brought us one step closer to someone, most likely Van Gundy, busting out a “Your mom” or a “Your face” on national television.

I’d like to know what Salim Stoudamire’s deal is. I wrote the following about him in my “Meet the Atlanta Hawks” post prior to the series:

"From an outsider's perspective he is an enigma wrapped in a riddle. Lute Olsen is on the record as saying Stoudamire is a better shooter than J.J. Reddick, based upon their college careers. However, Stoudamire is better known as a streak shooter and a head case. In fact Olsen's biography, Lute! devoted a seemingly disproportionate amount of time to Stoudamire's time as a Wildcat when you consider all of the guys that have come out of Arizona. Whatever you think of Stoudamire there is no denying that he shot an abysmal 34.6% from the field this season, only played in 33 games and averaged just under 11 minutes when he did see time."

He just seems to be one of those guys that can role out of bed and shoot. And we saw a bit of that towards the end of the game when Stoudamire nailed two three pointers.

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In games 3 and 4 in Atlanta Sam Cassell played a combined 22 minutes, shooting 1-7 from the floor in the process. He also totaled 3 boards, 3 assists and 1 turnover. Given those stats it does not make a whole lot of sense to pin those losses on him. Yet there is a sense amongst Celtics fans that Cassell’s approach to the game – shoot, shoot, shoot – is detrimental in a couple of ways. The first is that he needs to make a fair number of those shots. That’s fairly obvious. When he’s off Cassell doesn’t take from the table. Instead he drops a nuclear bomb on the table, obliterating the take/bring debate altogether. And that gets to the bigger issue. Is Cassell’s approach detrimental to the team beyond whether his shots go down or not? Does that shoot, shoot, shoot mentality promote selfishness that spreads to the rest of the team? That’s a good debate. Personally I was hoping that Cassell would disappear for the remainder of the series after his performance Atlanta. Of course the former Rocket, Sun, Maverick, Net, Buck, Timberwolf and Clipper did not make it this long without confidence. As Kenny Smith reported on TNT last night Cassell was displeased with his minutes in Atlanta. Smith relayed that his ex-teammate felt he was brought to Boston to hit shots and should be allowed to do that. This revelation occurred in the midst of Cassell dropping 13 on the Hawks (6-8 from the field, 1-3 from the line). And it matches up nicely with Cassell’s quote from Thursday’s Daily Dime:

"This is my time of the year. I love playoff basketball. I understand what it means. I understand what it takes to be successful during this time of year." – Sam Cassell

Can Cassell take a back seat in games/series when he’s not a good fit? If his shot isn’t falling, he’s not creating for others and there is no one for him to defend, what else is there? That’s something to think about, provided the Celtics can make their way to round 2.

I had a little cameo on the Steve Mason Show along with Micah Hart of Hawks BasketBlog. This is only the second time I've done this type of thing and to be honest it is not that easy. I was impressed with both Hart and Mason. The latter really made it a painless experience. He's a professional and I enjoyed it even if Mason is positioning himself to co-anchor the Lakers' championship parade. Despite absolutely loathing my voice, battling a cold, speaking too fast at times and maybe stuttering, I will link to it if it shows up on the web. In the meantime I stand by my "Celtics in 6" prediction. Despite some serious red flags I'm staying the course and remaining optimistic.

Some Wishes for the Game:

More Leon Powe, No Glen Davis
More Rajon Rondo, Less to No Sam Cassell
More James Posey
A Healthy Paul Pierce
A Dominant Kevin Garnett
The Awesome Defense We've Come to Know and Love
Sharing the Ball on Offense

I'm going to close with a little Larry Bird audio. I know the situation is different. In fact the Celtics lost game 5 at home last time around. But I don't need a reason to reference Larry Bird on this blog. Believe that. And I'm picking Boston in 6. Take it Away Larry

I was so disappointed in this loss that I couldn’t even blog about it last night. Some things that stood out:

Joe Johnson was begging someone to play the Larry Bird to his Dominique Wilkins. And nobody did. There were several possessions were Boston needed a bucket to crush some momentum and keep the crowd out of it. To be fair Ray Allen’s three pointer around the 9:00 minute mark, which gave the C's a 78-72 lead was that type of shot. But they needed many more. Paul Pierce couldn’t hit a bucket to set up a and one situation just inside 8 minutes and then went 1-2 from the line. Josh Smith blocked a KG drive at the one point. And on and on.

KG had a tough sequence last night that will bring his critics come out of the woodwork.

-  8:08: He missed a straight on jump shot from about two feet inside the three point line

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