Rajon Rondo Elevates Celtics over Cavs in Game 5
LeBron James said it best:
“Without Rondo , it would have been a much tougher game for them to win. He was definitely the player of the game tonight.”
MVN’s own Cavalier Attitude credits Rondo as well, in addition to the Celtics buckling down and winning the battle of the boards:
You know what else Game 5 was about? Rajon Rondo. The Cavs continued to force Rondo to beat them from the perimeter, and he did. I told Boston fans not to bet on it anymore, but Rondo feasted on the open opportunities the Cavs gave him.
The night clearly belonged to the former Kentucky Wildcat, as Rondo’s three-pointer late in the first half shaved a 43-34 Cavs lead to 43-37. The Celtics seemed to catch a full head of steam after that. Despite being outplayed for most of the first half and trailing by as much as 14, the Celtics closed the gap to three at the break before going nuts in the third to open up a nine-point lead going into the fourth.
And it was Rondo’s layup early in the third that gave the Celtics their first lead of the game at 47-46. All in all, it was Rondo’s night, as he tormented the Cavs and made them pay for their blatant disrespect for his game with 20 points on nine-for-15 shooting, including two-for-three from downtown, and a ridiculous 13 assists to go with just one turnover.
MVN’s Outsider One Rondo Makes a Right also pays homage:
Rajon Rondo’s Confidence - As has been the norm in the playoffs so far, the hosting Celtics beat the Cavs 96-89, giving them a 3-2 series edge. Though, Boston was led by Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, who scored 26 and 29 respectively, they would not have won without Rajon Rondo’s contributions. After seeing his minutes fluctuate throughout the series, Rondo played a team-high 42 minutes, scored 20, and assisted 13. He also added two steals, two blocks, two three-pointers, after only hitting five all season, and most importantly, he held Sam Cassell to a series-low five minutes. If Boston wants to take this series, Rondo is going to be the key.
Here’s the box score.
The Celtics had KG and Paul Pierce step-up big time as well, all breaking the 20 point mark, but this was easily Rondo’s day and he deserves to be heralded at this time. So is it Big 4 now, Big 3 + 1, or with the limitations Ray Allen has had, perhaps you have to keep it the Big 3 and swap out Allen with Rondo. Perish the thought - they need Allen to shake off whatever is ailing him and get his head in the game.
The biggest concern was how the Celtics finished this game, and it doesn’t translate well to being able to win on the road this Friday. The Celtics were every so lucky not to blow the 12-point lead that was maintained late in the 3rd quarter through the first half of the 4th quarter. Consecutive bad passes by Pierce, a horrible pass by Posey, a missed bunnie by Pierce, and inexusable fumble by Allen in the backcourt, along with some inspired play by Delonte West, almost spelled doom for the Celtics, cutting the lead to 4 with 45 seconds left. Fortunately Pierce was able to convert on his free throws and seal the victory. It seems nothing is ever going to be easy in these Celtics playoff run.
Should Doc Shake-up the Line-up?
Doc hasn’t fiddled with the starting line-up all season. If a healthy Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins have been available, they have always started.
But if you haven’t noticed in this Cavs series, it’s been a bit bumpy out of the gate, especially in Games 2 and 3. Additionally, the end of games haven’t been too productive either, where the Cavs have won the 4th quarter scoring battle in the last 3 games with some atrocious +/- numbers for some of the Celtics starters.
That spells the need for Doc to make some changes that could include:
- a change in the rotation,
- shaking-up the starting line-up,
- installing some offensive schemes to jump start production,
- designating a go-to guy in the 4th running the offense through him
The Celtics’ dominance this year included typical wire-to-wire leads with the Celtics outscoring their opponents each quarter. In fact, building on leads throughout the game was a signature of this team. The fact that the team played every possession required an undeniable fire in the belly. That team spirit, call it ubuntu, helped them achieve their league best 66 wins.
However, the 5 consecutive road losses in these playoffs have changed everyone’s impression of whether the Celtics are worthy of the championship this year. They are looking mighty fine at home, but Rick Kamala at nba.com noted that
In the history of NBA basketball, only three teams have won the championship with one road win, and that hasn’t happened since 1964. Do the math, that’s 44 years ago, and coincidentally enough, it was the Celtics who pulled it off. [If you’re ever on “Jeopardy” and this question arises, here are those one-road wonders: 1954 Syracuse Nationals, 1955 Philadelphia Warriors, and 1964 Boston Celtics.]
In Road Woes Leave Celtics at a Loss, Marc Spears of the Globe takes a stab at what gives with this curious road situation. When interviewed by Spears, none of the players had an answer. Not Garnett, not Posey, not Allen.
But what was fun, is that two sports psychologists, Harvey N. Dulberg and Alan Goldberg, were asked for potential reasons for the poor road performance. But in my opinion, they came up empty handed as well.
So short of doing our own therapy session on the Celtics, how about a simple suggestion of Doc switching things up as a band-aid to cure the dysfunctionality witnessed on the road? It shouldn’t be necessary tonight of course, because the Celtics are playing at home, but if Greg Popovitch can decide to start Ginobili on the road against the Hornets (without success by the way as the Hornets won Game 5), why can’t Doc do a bold move as well?
Steven Alexander’s of rotoworld.com in Rivers Needs To Right C’s Ship, pointed to changes needing to be made by Doc.
[Regarding Game 4] Doc Rivers had just one player with a “plus” for the night Kendrick Perkins, and he sat out the entire fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Cavs Mike Brown went with the five guys with the best plus-minuses over the first three quarters and played them the entire fourth quarter. The rumblings have been floating around the internet that Doc could blow it for the Celtics in the playoffs, and his team’s performance in Atlanta and Cleveland don’t seem to be quieting his critics. The Celtics will probably win this series, but you never know. Doc would not hurt himself by adapting on the fly and getting Allen on the bench if he’s not going to hit shots or play defense.
Other rumblings may be heard on Celtics Stuff Live’s Cavs Post-Game IV where Jughead wants more Rondo in the 4th quarter, and sees Posey starting may keep Allen and/or Pierce fresher at the end of the game. These are good suggestions that Doc can do no harm in trying.
If the Celtics win tonight - many of these concerns may become more academic, but these LeBrons are dangerous indeed, and some infusion of something to get this team to play like it did during the Celtics’ Texas Triangle feat is going to be necessary to carry this Celtics team to a championship this year.
Letting another Game 4 slip away, CLE 88-77
tenaciousT would say Ground Hog day redux. Another away game. Another loss. Cleveland surged past the Celtics for a 88-77 win.
Although there are ramifications of this loss which may be quite different than the Game 4 loss in Atlanta, both Game 4s were lost by being pummelled in the 4th quarter. Doc Rivers mentioned the Celtics “have to play better under stress” and noted the offensive output being limited to 12 points in the 4th. Compared to the Atlanta Game 4, it was the defense that gave way and allowed the Hawks to pour in 32 points in the 4th and cap a huge comeback. But let me tell you, it felt like the defense also wilted in this game, although they did a fine job against Lebron James, his 3 pointer and rim rattling dunk in the 4th notwithstanding.
The Celtic defense let the also-rans like Booby Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith and Anderson Varejao shoot an amazing 21 for 34 for a 61% field goal percentage. I guess it was the case of pick your poison because the group coverage on James is going to leave folks open, and the non-James Cavaliers were feeling it tonight shooting those kind of numbers. So witness what having a superstar can do for you when he can do other things than just score to help the team win. James dished out 14 assists and had 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 steals along with his 21 points on 7 for 20 from the field. The Celtics played their best when James was on the bench in the 2nd quarter with 3 fouls, as they went on a 10-4 run.
While the James’ supporting cast of Gibson, Szczerbiak, Smith and Varejao shot that searing 61% from the field, good for 48 points - the Celtics trio of Cassell, Powe and Posey shot a goose egg of 0 for 9. There was no help by the Celtics bench except for PJ Brown . . . thank goodness for PJ Brown.
Paul Pierce faded, Garnett faded and Ray Allen all faded and the Celtics shot 4 for 15 in the 4th quarter. The defensive intensity was decent - better than Atlanta Game 4 for sure, but it was not fierce. Perhaps the attention to defense sapped some precious energy from the Celtics as they didn’t drive and try to score in the paint. Meanwhile, the jump shots were falling short when it mattered.
So the ramifications are this - last year, Cleveland came back from 0-2 deficit to knot the Detroit series at 2-2. They proceeded to win Game 5 in Detroit by 2 points, with James scoring 48 points and the series was over as the Cavs won Game 6 back at home.
Will the Celtics allow the Cavs to remain within striking distance in this Game 5? The Celtics trounced the Hawks by 25 points in Game 5 of the 1st round, allowing the road woes to fade. But at this point, being 0-5 on the road in these playoffs, Game 5 at home is certainly a must win game because there is no way the Cavs are losing a clinching game in Cleveland in a would-be Game 6 scenario.
tenaciousT Remembers Groundhog Day
That was one ugly loss last night to Cleveland in Game 3. So ugly that I thought I’d tend to Mother’s Day duties instead of do a game recap. Also, I’m pretending that such a pathetic showing by the Celtics never happened. Alas, it looks like road troubles all over again, as the ugliness happened on foreign soil. What gives with the regular season’s best road warriors?
Because I am at a loss for words, yet don’t want to leave the site without some grist to chew on, I am linking Tom Halzack’s article entitled Groundhog Day - Celtic Version. Tom is formerly of Celtics17, and is also know by tenaciousT by his Celtics buddies, and deserves some trackbacks to his new place with forum.connpost.com. Give Tom a shout there in case you miss him here at Celtics17. I know I do.
Keeping my fingers crossed that the Celtics indeed wake up to find it is the day after Groundhog Day in Cleveland on Monday night. But if the Celtics insist on winning on only the home games from here on out, then the road to No. 17 still is intact - barely.
The LeBrons Still Down After Game 2
Celtics ensured home court advantage would continue going into Cleveland this weekend with a sound 89-73 defeat of the Cavaliers in game 2. The main story line was that LeBron remained stifled by the Celtics defense, with a carry over of poor shooting and turnovers from Game 1. Credit James Posey and Pierce for that, but also realize that it is team defense that has taken away the effectiveness of James scoring in the paint.
The Celtics bench also gave the team a huge lift against a Cavs team that came out strong to take a 21-9 lead with 3 minutes left in the 1st quarter, thanks to some fine shooting by Z and Szczerbiak and James cleaning up in the paint with some an array of alley-oops, lay-ins and put-backs. Perkins, Rondo and Allen weren’t getting it done, and it so happens that a Cassell substitution for Rondo and Powe replacing Perkins and Posey replacing Allen lead the Celtics to a major turnaround. The Celtics proceeded to handle the Cavs 27-12 in the 2nd quarter to end the half up 44-36, and the play of Cassell, Powe and Posey really stood out during that time, with Garnett and Pierce doing there thing of course.
The 3rd quarter belonged to Ray Allen where he finally scored after going with zero for 6 quarters against the Cavs. Wouldn’t you guess that he’d break out of his offensive stagnation in a big way . . . scoring 11 points, dishing the rock and getting to the foul line - it was vintage Ray Allen for 1 quarter anyway . . . and Rondo seemed much more in synch as well, making 5 consecutive free throws to close out the 3rd quarter. With the Celtics defense still putting the clamps on James, the Celtics held a commanding 70-51 advantage after 3 quarters.
The 4th quarter was pretty much over after Ray Allen continued his torrid shooting to extend the lead to 25 points with 9 minutes remaining in the game. It was just taking care of business after that, with the Celtics almost breaking the 90 point barrier in this one.
No one expects James to remain in his scoring funk, because he is perfectly capable of making the outside shots that the Celtics are giving him, probably much more so in front of the home crowd. Quite frankly, the best news from this game may be that Ray Allen finally got untracked and the bench got a huge confidence boost by outscoring Cleveland’s bench by 20 points or so.
Where Home Court Happened, If Nothing Else
Celtics win 76-72 in a defensive struggle of titanic proportions. The carnage included the great LeBron James going 2-18, Paul Pierce going for 2-14, and Ray Allen 0-4 AND going scoreless for the first time since 1979. Put those remarkable numbers aside, and you have to elevate Garnett to MVP status -oops, he got bumped on that one, make that player of the game for doing what he’s been maligned for not doing enough of in his career - against the big front line of the Cavs, KG embarked on a 28 point scoring night and more importantly came up clutch on not one, but two occasions in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter.
Honorable mentions go to Rajon Rondo for providing a huge spark in the 1st half, Sam Cassell following up with some great shooting, and both James Posey and Kendrick Perkins for making shots and coming up with the ball in the critical 4th quarter.
My game commentary is provided as follows:
1st Quarter
The game started out both teams rather chilly, but the Celtics settled down and, courtesy of Rondo and Garnett for the most part, made 8 shots in a row. LBJ disappeared after scoring the first few points for the Cavs, but the Cavs shot something like 2-17 to begin the game.
Garnett got 12 points in the 1st quarter - great performance rebounding wise as well. Rondo had a very productive 8 pts and 3 asssists and Posey ended the 1st quarter with the Celtics first 3 of the night, providing the Celtics a 25-15 lead.
Cavs inability to shoot well was big problem (0-5 for 3 pointers) with Gibson hitting the only outside shot for the Cavs in the quarter, James is 1-4 in the 1st quarter.
2nd Quarter
KG was the only Celtic starter on the floor and made the first shot - giving the Celtics their largest lead of the game at 12 points. But there was nothing to write home about thereafter as Pierce came in to join Cassell, PJ Brown, Ray Allen and Powe. These Celtics and the Cavs, mostly with James on the bench, played the ugliest basketball you’ve ever seen during the mid-portion of the 2nd quarter. Unless you love defensive struggles like I do, that is.
The Celtics hung on to a 5 point lead with 6 minutes left with a 29-24 lead, despite a 4.5 minute scoring drought. Peculiar that Ray Allen and Pierce have yet to score and it remained so for Allen the rest of the game.
The only flagrant foul of the game was called on Cassell on a LBJ drive - he in turn got a knee in the head from Z in the 4th quarter - interesting pay back from the Cavs.
Szczerbiak hits two 3s to bring the Cavs within 2. Cavs won the 2nd quarter . . . but the Celtics hang on to a 41-37 lead at half-time.
3rd Quarter
Celtics are decimated offensively - Pierce and Allen offer nothing for scoring, and Garnett and Rondo have gone dry as well. The biggest differential in match-ups has been Szczerbiak and Allen, with Szczerbiak getting clean looks and hitting 3s, and Allen unable to do anything and looking uninvolved. This is horrible as it almost seems Ray Allen is just taking up space in the backcourt which is ever so useless. The Cavs take the lead with 7 minutes to go in the 3rd.
With 3 minutes left and a 3 point Cavs lead, the Celtics get a shot clock violation on the Cavs after a timeout due to some great defense. The Cavs are matching the defensive intensity every step of the way though.
Perk shows up to make a baseline jumper - yes Perk - to bring the Celts to within 1, and then later snare and offensive rebound near the end of the quarter to put the Celtics up by 1. So Perk - the least offensively gifted of the group, gives the Celtics a lift after they only scored 7 points during 9 minutes of the 3rd quarter. Somehow the Celtics hang on 53-52. WARNING - THAT IS NOT A HALF-TIME SCORE!
4th Quarter
Thank goodness for Posey and Cassell - breaking the 3-point shooting jinx and making 6 pts for the Celtics on two shots, but Pavlovic made a 3 and a transition point to counter. This game could not be more deadlocked in a defensive struggle.
Fortunately Garnett was the one of the three that brought it offensively tonight - makes two nice shots to counter shots by Z, but Cassell sinking some free throws after grabbing a rebound was also critical down the stretch. Celtics up by 2 with 20 seconds left, and the game was sealed with some game-ending free throws by James Posey.
I love the fact that KG essentially scored the clutch baskets in the end. perhaps knocking the monkey of his back that he isn’t a big game player - that is extremely satisfying, such that I can get over Ray Allen and Pierce doing nada shooting wise, but damn if it mattered. 3 more wins to the Conference finals!
Garnett goes for 28 points and 8 rebounds, LeBron James goes 2-18 with 10 turnovers, making Pierce’s and Allen’s line hurt a little bit less. Rondo’s 6 assists and 15 points combined with Cassell’s 13 points (in only 18 minutes of play) were huge from the PG spot for the Celtics.
I hear the Bee Gees after the game, and Gino dancing in the Celtics hearts. Three more wins and this series is over.
Well Phooey on You, Cavaliers Fans
Here’s a short-list of the Cavs believers at the expense of the Celtics:
http://mvn.com/outsider/2008/05/05/zaza-pachulia-meet-kevin-garnett/
http://mvn.com/nba-cavaliers/2008/05/04/break-it-down-now-cavs-celtics-round-two-preview/
http://www.lecavs.com/2008/05/wizards-part-deux.html
Looks like there is a bad case of double-standards being concocted by the Cavs supporters by saying that a 45-37 team’s record doesn’t matter, but a 37-45 team does. What kind of math says that when you are only 8 games ahead of Atlanta during the regular season, that you think you are on top of the world. Just because you beat a Wizards team in 6 games?
Well by losing to the Wizards at home, you showed home-court isn’t what it seems - that’s good news for the Celtics - who were the best road team in the NBA this year, despite the apparent road troubles in Atlanta.
Home court is what the Celtics have and the Cavs don’t. At home is where the Celtics managed to hold off the pesky Hawks by beating the hawks by 23, 10, 25 and 34 points, and lost by only 9, 5 and 3 in Atlanta. Note that the Celtics were always in the game, but lost for reasons speculated here in this blog, i.e., there appears to be some problems with how the referees chose to call this series, providing an inordinate foul disparity for the Hawks to make things interesting indeed.
Prove to me that the Cavs can beat the Celtics at home and then we can begin the discussion of the implications that the Celtics couldn’t win in Atlanta and that the Cavs have a chance to take the series.
Don’t be fooled by the Celtics going 7 games against the team with the worst regular season record, and don’t worry about championship teams going 7 games in the early rounds. The Hawks played extremely well in Atlanta - not the same team at all. Watch the tape of Joe Johnson and see he played as good as it gets, and Josh Smith and Al Horford are two of the most talented young bigs you’ll find in the NBA.
Regarding the series going to 7 games, the Pistons went 7 games against the NJ Nets in the second round of in their 2004 championship run, the Lakers were taken to the 3-2 limit in the 1st round of the 2000 championship run, and the Rockets went 3-2 in the 1st round and then 4-3 in the 2nd round in their 1995 championship run. So no road block to success just because the Celtics went 7 games, although on paper it looked like they dodged a bullet.
Some are trashing Doc as a lousy coach that can’t get it done in the playoffs. When you coach a team that has been remolded like it has, and achieve the largest turnaround in NBA history - that speaks for itself. Just because the Celtics didn’t sweep the Hawks isn’t a time to start nit picking at Doc’s play calling, especially when there were so many other factors built on the frustration of playing in Atlanta.
So along with Papa John’s, we know the Celtics won’t be blowing kisses to the Cavaliers. Cavs think they are going to be out-muscling the Celtics, but it’s not going to happen. The Cavs are known as a good rebounding team, but the truth is that they play for their frequent misses, which is a good thing to do when you are as poor shooting team as the Cavs are. The Cavs were the 3rd worst FG% and FT% team this season, and the only reason they get rebounds is because they miss so much. What a reputation to have. If you only consider the defensive rebounds and forget about the offensive rebounds, then the Celtics are the better rebounding team.
If the Cavs start making their shots at a clip that improves upon their 26th ranked points per shot stat this season compared to the Celtics No. 5 rank, then perhaps they won’t need a lift from officiating a.k.a. know as the King James treatment.
Yes LeBron is going to get the star treatment with ticky tacky touch fouls being called against Boston while guarding James. Meanwhile, Rondo and Pierce continue to be beat on with body contact. More star treatment is evidenced by James having only 13 personal fouls during the 6 game series with Washington, while logging 41 minutes per game (248 minutes total). Pierce was tagged with 25 PFs in 234 min, Garnett 21 PFs in 258 min, Allen 16 PFs in 264 min. Even the “other” MVP candidates like Kobe Bryant has 17 PFs in 197 mins of play and Chris Paul 20 PFs in 244 min.
Star treatment or not, get ready for the de-coronation of King James you Cavs fans.
Hawks Out, the LeBrons Next
The Celtics decimated the Hawks 99-65 last night and this series is thankfully over. The Celtics domination gave them the Hawks point total with about 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, and had doubled the score on the Hawks several times during the 3rd quarter play. Game ball went to Doc Rivers for winning his first playoff series, and player of the game candidates has to be spread around to Perkins for some aggressive defense and rebounding especially in the 1st quarter and Rondo for his gutsy comeback after being took down by Williams in a flagrant II and ejection.
The Williams Takedown - for which he was appropriately ejected - and the NBA has to do something to protect the players, especially folks like Rondo that are just getting abused by body fouls and takedowns on simple layups.
There was also the Garnett blind-siding of Pachulia - I have to admit, I got a fair amount of enjoyment from this veteran move. Garnett slightly leaned into him and caught Pachulia with his pants down, otherwise it wouldn’t have even been a foul. As the announcer said, ”that was a signature good-bye Za Za”
Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo has a bead on what’s in store for the Celtics against the Cavs
LeBron James has done a masterful job of setting the stage for the Celtics series, conspiring with his coach, Mike Brown, to make the world believe he had been pummeled in the Washington Wizards series. . . . For them, it’ll be fascinating to see if they can carry that narrative into the Eastern Conference semifinals. This was effective against the Wiz and privately the Celtics wonder if the precious treatment of the Cavaliers’ superstar gets transferred to them now. Even the Celtics were surprised that Darius Songailia’s hit in Game 5 on James cost the Wizards forward a Game 6 suspension.
P.J. Brown goes back to those old Knicks-Heat playoff series and sighs over what passes for rough play these days. “It’s a different league now,” he said. “If they wanted to fine him, fine, but I didn’t think it warranted a one-game suspension.” James won’t beat the Celtics alone, but officials are conditioned to protect him. Boston wonders whether its league-best defense can be framed as the bully in this series, the way one of the league’s worst in Washington had been before it.
What We Can Learn From The Celtics-Hawks Series has some interesting tidbits, and obviously it all points to King James being the NBA’s next golden child, as even the Cavs author refers to the team as LeBron James.
So the Celtics are playing “the LeBrons” next, and expect to see LeBron either at the swimming pool or the free throw line if you want to catch up with him.
Conspiracy Theory Takes Life For Celtics
There has been a preponderance of evidence that the officiating has been less than even-handed in the Celtics-Hawks play-off series, which is to be resolved in the 7th game in Boston today.
After combing through the foul differential in this series and seeing how huge of factor this has been in terms of the scoring and outcome, we expanded the analysis to the other 2008 1st round play-off series, and came up with some pretty amazing results. The teams that need the wins most from a business perspective have been awarded with officiating that gives them an advantage.
After Game 6, where Atlanta knotted the Celtics in the series 3-3, the play-off reinforced a distinct Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde feel to it. It was one way in Boston, and another way in Atlanta. The officiating had a lot to do with that, although please know that the Hawks played great in each of their wins and the Celtics did their part to hand the game over to the Hawks by countering with poor play. But to me, there seems a motive to keep the Hawks fans coming back next year, and indeed, the word was that the advance season ticket sales for next year in Atlanta were going through the roof (overheard on ESPN).
mikemartin at the Celtics17 board provided the following summary of the foul situation for the Celtics-Hawks, which is interesting indeed:
In all six games added up in this series, the Hawks have beat the C’s in free throw attempts 204 to 133.
That’s a difference of 71 attempts.
71 attempts at roughly 79% shooting (hawks ft shooting in postseason) = 56 points.
56 points divided by 6 games = 9.33 points per game
Statistically speaking, Atlanta has a 9 point advantage every game at the line this postseason.
Now, is that a testament to their play style? Or is it our inability to get the same calls at the other end?
In three games against Atlanta in the regular season, the Hawks edged us in free throw attempts 77 to 75 . . . a difference of 2 attempts.
2 attempts at roughly 70% shooting (hawks ft shooting vs Boston in 3 regular season games) = 1.4 points
1.4 points divided by 3 games = .466 points per game
So in the regular season, Atlanta had a .466 point per game advantage at the line. But somehow, in the postseason, that same stat jumps to 9.33 points per game?! Did Atlanta become that much better at driving to the basket since April 12th?
Astonishing. That is why it’s hard for the homer Celtics fans like myself not to point to the officiating.
A comparison of free throws attempted per game (fta/g) and personal fouls per game (pf/g) for each of the 16 teams in the play-offs this year (throught the 1st round) is provided below.
team fta/g pf/g
======================================
BostonCeltics 22.2 26.0
AtlantaHawks 34.0 20.7
Diff -11.8 5.3
DetroitPistons 19.0 23.7
Philadelphia76ers 30.0 19.2
Diff -11.0 4.5
ClevelandCavaliers 29.2 23.2
WashingtonWizards 29.0 22.8
Diff 0.2 0.3
OrlandoMagic 26.4 18.0
TorontoRaptors 19.2 22.8
Diff 7.2 -4.8
LALakers 29.8 22.5
DenverNuggets 29.0 25.5
Diff 0.8 -3.0
NOrleansHornets 21.6 22.4
DallasMavericks 30.0 20.6
Diff -8.4 1.8
SanAntonioSpurs 24.2 27.6
PhoenixSuns 30.4 22.6
Diff -6.2 5.0
HoustonRockets 26.2 21.2
UtahJazz 25.3 21.8
Diff 0.8 -0.7
The inordinate amount of shooting fouls per game (+5.3) and lack of free throws attempted per game (-11.8) on the Celtics has them maxing out the fta/g and pf/g differentials compared to any other playoff match-up. Something’s not right for the 3rd best all-time defensive team to be stuck with that disadvantage, especially when during the regular season the Celtics essentially the same number of personal fouls per game (-0.6) and rate of free throws attempted per game (+0.2) . It begs the question - what’s up with this Atlanta series?
Expanding the trend to the other playoff series, the teams that have the biggest advantage in terms of fouls called are:
1. Atlanta on Boston
2. Suns on San Antonio
3. Orlando on Toronto
4. Philadelphia on Detroit
But what is even more curious is that the playoff teams with the weakest attendance (in terms of % capacity) are showing up with the most gift-wrapped officiating - if fouls called and free throws attempted are any indication. In order of % capacity in attendance for the 2007-08 season, the playoff teams with the weakest attendance are listed first:
1. Atlanta
2. Philadelphia
3. Washington
4. Denver
5. Phoenix
So let’s carry the conspiracy theory one more step. The NBA and Cleveland need LeBron more than Washington needed to push the playoff to a 7th game, so Washington didn’t get any help, and actually didn’t need any help to make that one close.
Denver got no help because the NBA is on a mission to crown Kobe as the next Big Thing. Same with Toronto not getting help because Dwight Howard and the Magic appear to becoming the darlings of the NBA, especially since the Magic missed out on the playoffs last year. Plus, the Magic had the 3rd most FTAs during the regular season, with people playing Hack-a-Howard and Turkoglu being one of several slashers on the team forcing contact.
You be the judge - isn’t there something going on here? Do you trust Stern and the officiating. Many don’t. We know their is trouble in the game when the NBA reaches to call flagrants one way, and not the other way. The Suns-Spurs scuffle last year in the playoffs was a debacle with key players being thrown out.
Ralph Nader has been on to the NBA and spoke out on the Kings-Lakers series in 2002, where he stated:
Nader cited Washington Post sports columnist Michael Wilbon who wrote that too many of the calls in the fourth quarter (when the Lakers received 27 foul shots) were “stunningly incorrect,” all against Sacramento.
After noting that the three referees in Game 6 “are three of the best in the game, Wilbon wrote: “I have never seen officiating in a game of consequence as bad as that in Game 6….When Pollard, on his sixth and final foul, didn’t as much as touch Shaq. Didn’t touch any part of him. You could see it on TV, see it at courtside. It wasn’t a foul in any league in the world. And Divac, on his fifth foul, didn’t foul Shaq. They weren’t subjective or borderline or debatable. And these fouls not only resulted in free throws, they helped disqualify Sacramento’s two low-post defenders. And one might add, in a 106-102 Lakers’ victory, this officiating took away what would have been a Sacramento series victory in 6 games.”
Nader went on, “Wilbon discounted any conspiracy theories about the NBA-NBC desire for a Game 7 etc., but unless the NBA orders a review of this game’s officiating, perceptions and suspicions, however presently absent any evidence, will abound and lead to more distrust and distaste for the games in general.”
Bad stuff happens in the NBA, and when the officiating goes as lop-sided as it has in the Celtics-Hawks series, you have to take Stern and his cronies, the lop-sided officiating, and might as well as add the lame below-board drafting process, and clean the mess up.
Looking Rather Pedestrian in Atlanta
Looking for clues folks. What is it about the Atlanta scene that is leading to the demise of the Celtics.
? Is it the officiating ?
? Is it the Big Three nature to choke ?
? Is it Doc’s game plan and play-calling in the clutch ?
? Or is it the Hot Girl planted next to the Celtics bench ?
(if you’re a guy and you have a pulse, tell me that you haven’t noticed her at each Hawks game)
So the Celtics didn’t do what they were supposed to do. The defense didn’t show up once again in Atlanta. And it’s true that Joe Johnson and others have been more clutch than Messr. Garnett and Allen and Pierce and Rondo . . . in Atlanta.
But I’d still like to blame it on the officiating, and elaborated on this in a subsequent article Conspiracy Theory Takes Life for Celtics.
Again, it could just be that that smokin’ hot blonde.
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