NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals

This has been what every Celtics fan has waited for, a chance to beat the Heat. Neither of these teams are going to need a pep talk or any of that, every single player knows how important this series is. For the Celtics, it may be their last real shot at a title. And as for the Heat, it is time for LeBron to prove that he can win a championship and finally live up to what the Heat’s “Big 3” said. God only knows that LeBron needs this more than anyone. D-Wade has won a title and he was able to do it by himself. Don’t give me the, “He had Shaq” ordeal. We all know Shaq was on his way out during his Heat days, so let’s not get out of hand. This series will be a true test on how the Celtics can do without their best on ball defender, Avery Bradley. Bradley would have more than likely guarded Dwayne Wade, who has been on fire after what had been the worst game of his career. Ever since his 5 point, 2-13 shooting performance in Game 2, Wade has been a man amongst boys. He finished the last 3 games of the Pacers series averaging 33 points, 7 boards and 4 assists. Now I can only hope that Head Coach Doc Rivers does not assign Ray Allen to guard Wade, and let me tell you why. Allen has been absolutely brutal on defense ever since his multiple injuries. He looks like he should be using a walker out on the floor, and that won’t be acceptable guarding one of the elite scorers in the Association. The Heat come into this series without lead big-man, Chris Bosh, whichI didn’t believe would a big loss, but ended up being a real large one for the Heat. The Pacers were able to control the boards and the paint without Bosh being there, they just didn’t have the talent to keep up with the Heat.

Injuries have been big for both teams but don’t tell any of the players playing in this series. “I don’t believe none of that. No feet hurting, no (one being) tired, nothing. This is the Boston Celtics. They’re all 100 percent to me. When they play the Miami Heat, it’s a different ball game. And vice versa. No storylines. No excuses”, said Wade after being asked about the many injury issues. Both teams vow to focus on what they have working for them entering the series. But regardless of which team wins and advances to the NBA Finals, it will be one that had to survive significant adversity to get there. This short rest for the Celtics has almost been a blessing in the skies for them. When looking at it, it may seem as a bad thing, but if you look at it from a Celtics players perspective, it could be good. As we all know the Celtics are not a young team, heck they are ancient, let’s not beat around the bush, so rest could be the worst thing for them. As an old team rest may make the players stiff, and force players such as Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, to have to re-motivate their body and warm all the way back up. “I kind of like it for us,” Celtics captain Paul Pierce said. “It keeps us in rhythm. It keeps us playing. We’re an older team so we get kind of stiff when we sit around for too long. We like the fact that we’re going to go right into it.” Pierce knows how much energy this series is going to take, the question is, will the Celtics have enough in the tank to play a long series? And I just don’t know the answer to that. Ray Allen looks like he needs a wheelchair on the floor, and Pierce and KG have been logging some serious minutes in these playoffs. Pierce is averaging about 38 minutes a game, 2 more than his career average. KG is averaging just above 37 minutes a game, just a minute above his career average.

Many NBA fans are counting the Celtics out, to which I say, balderdash. The Celtics may not look like a good matchup for the Heat, but in reality the Heat are a better matchup for the Celtics than the Pacers are. The Heat have the dynamic duo, but other than that, it looks like the Celtics have a few advantages. The 2 biggest advantages are PG Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett. Who is going to guard KG? Udonis Haslem? Joel Anthony? I mean no offense to those guys, but the way KG has been playing, he is going to embarrass them. Haslem and Anthony just don’t have the intangibles to guard KG. Defensively, KG is going to be able to park it down low and help out anyone and everyone on dribble drives, we all know offensively, Joel Anthony is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Another thing that helps the C’s in this series is that this is the kind of series that Rondo actually shows up to. He is one of those players, like one of my favorites, Antoine Walker, who show up “when the lights are on”. This series also should have enough “juice” for Rondo to be at his triple-double best, which is something the Celtics truly need. Paul Pierce may be a little taken out of his game with LeBron guarding him, if Rondo and KG can carry their load of the offense, Pierce will be able to get to his spots and hit is step-back jumper. I’m absolutely not counting the Celtics out that’s for damn sure, I just want them to keep it competitive, and give themselves a chance.

Miami comes in as the odds-on-favorites to take not only this series but the entire thing. The Heat have two of the best players to ever play basketball, the question is, will LeBron finally get his ring and silence the haters? The toughest thing for the C’s in this series, and the Heat’s biggest advantage, is how the Celtics defend James and Wade. So who is going to guard Dwayne Wade and LeBron? The short answer is anyone and everyone. You have to think Doc Rivers finally is going to utilize both Marquis Daniels and Sasha Pavlovic in this series. He has to, unfortunately, if for no other reason than to give Wade and James a different look. Don’t forget Mickael Pietrus, either. While he continues to struggle offensively, which he picked it up a bit in Game 7, he can defend. Throwing these guys in to defend LeBron and Wade is like throwing me out there, that may be a little drastic, but in all seriousness, the Celtics may be in some real trouble in this area. Don’t be surprised to see the Celtics go to a zone defense. It has worked before against Miami. Miami has other players who may be able to step up such as, Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller (who looks like he is going to keel over tomorrow), and Shane Battier. If these guys are able to help out the Big 2, the Heat have a great chance to win the series.

No one, and I mean no one, is giving the Celtics a chance in Game 1 on Monday night. Why? Because it’s in Miami and the Celtics played on Saturday and had to travel on Sunday? That’s just ridiculous. Yes, the Celtics probably should have won the Philly series in5 games, but hey, who wants to make things easy I guess, right? Back in 1984, the Lakers were extended to six games in the Western Conference finals before finally eliminating Phoenix on a Friday night. They flew to Boston on Saturday to open the NBA Finals on Sunday afternoon — and beat the rested Celtics 115-109. Few expected the 2010 Celtics to beat the Magic in the conference finals, but with only two days’ rest, they flew to Orlando and beat the well-rested Magic in Game 1. It’s not outside the realm of possibility. And who knows what may happen. Maybe Lady Luck will be on the Celtics side within this week. LeBron could get food poisoning from the local restaurant and Wade could get hit by a car, I mean you never know. There is the great unknown in any series. Someone unexpected could make a difference in a big game. Someone (Insert Celtic Player Here) could find the Fountain of Youth (hey, they’re playing in Florida, which is where Ponce de Leon thought it was located). One minor adjustment could have major consequences.

I am just going to sit back and watch this series like I do every other one. This series is close to call but I’m a Boston guy, how could I go against the hometown team. We are the City of Champions, so what the hell, I’ll take the Celtics.

• Celtics in 7

Dates/Locations/Times of Games

Game 1

Mon 5/28
8:30 PM ET on ESPN

Game 2

Wed 5/30
8:30 PM ET on ESPN

Game 3

Fri 6/1
8:30 PM ET on ESPN

Game 4

Sun 6/3
8:30 PM ET on ESPN

Game 5

Tue 6/5
8:30 PM ET on ESPN

Game 6

Thu 6/7
8:30 PM ET on ESPN

Game 7

Sat 6/9
8:30 PM ET on ESPN

Celtics Throttle Sixers In Philly

The Celtics played the best basketball they have played all playoffs last night in their win over the Sixers, 107-91. The Celtics top 3 players at the moment, KG, Pierce, and Rondo, all played incredible in the win. The best out of the 3 was Kevin Garnett. He posted 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting with 13 rebounds and four assists over 30 minutes in an absolutely dominating performance. Garnett was plus-27 during his time on the court, helping Boston open a double-digit lead at halftime and blowing the game open soon after. Rondo got the team going in the first quarter and in the first half. He chipped in 23 points, 17 of those coming in the first half, on 9-of-16 shooting, then settled into distributor mode, finishing with 16 assists over 40:44. Pierce looked ready from the get go. I saw many tweets that were stating, “Look at Pierce’s eyes, he is ready to go.” And those statements were true. You could just tell that Pierce wanted this game and wanted to make up for how poorly he had played in Game 2. He came back, still hobbling on that bad knee and played with a vengeance. After looking a step slow due to the sprained MCL in his left knee in Game 2, Paul Pierce came out with sleeves over his knees, but seemed to have a fire about him, grunting and screaming with boundless energy every time he went to the rim. Despite playing all of the first quarter, he still had enough energy and bounce in his legs in the final two minutes to produce a pair of dunks in a 25-second span, driving straight at the Philadelphia defense. It only lit the fuse for Pierce, who finished with 24 points on 6-of-17 shooting but got to the line often while connecting on 11 of 14 freebies. He added 12 rebounds and four assists over 37 minutes.

The 76ers were no slouches themselves, as they were able to gain a lead at many points throughout the game. The Sixers continue to be a scary team in my eyes because of their youth and athleticism. The way they can get up and down the court is scary, and can continue to cause problems for the aging Celtics. The one key to keep a team like Philly out of their transition play is taking care of the ball, one thing the Celtics did really well last night. Rondo gave the ball away less than a minute in, leading to an Andre Iguodala dunk in transition. From then on, Boston took care of the basketball, turning it over just one other time in the first half (it did lead to an Iguodala 3-pointer). As those two giveaways showed, the 76ers can do a lot of damage off turnovers, but the Celtics did a phenomenal job taking care of the ball and giving themselves a chance to put points on the board. Boston finished with a mere seven turnovers for seven points. If Boston can continue to take care of the ball like this, I believe they will be able to take this series handily. But turnovers can happen at anytime, and they can happen in bunches, which scares me a little bit.

I love knowing that the C’s stole home-court advantage back their way. When the Celtics play at home it seems that they play with a different tenacity and a different swagger. They play so well in front of the home fans, which makes the Garden that much better of a place to be in. When the Celtics come back to Boston, I believe that they will close out this series and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals. But just how can the Celtics look so poorly offensively one night, then two days later go out and put up triple digits on the road? That’s the 2012 season in a nutshell. This team is frustratingly inconsistent on a night-to-night/game-to-game basis, but when the Celtics are on, they are on. Boston’s offense was locked in all night Wednesday and, once the defense tightened up after the first quarter, the game was rarely close again. If the Celtics came here to steal back home-court advantage, then they are already playing with house money in Friday’s Game 4. The Celtics stole that and momentum back by absolutely throttling the Sixers on their home turf. Of course, the question is whether they can carry it over to the next meeting. If they do, they could be headed back to Boston looking to close this series out. And who would of thought, looking at this team and this season, that the Celtics could be playing for a slot in the NBA Finals at some point? How sweet it is.

Boston Sports Review

I thought I’d go and talk about what has been going on within the past few days in the Boston sports hemisphere. The Red Sox are starting to finally gel and the pitching staff is finally starting to get their stuff together. The Celtics are battling through the playoffs, and I really mean battling. They are fighting through injuries, fatigue and a tough 76ers team. All in all, things are looking good if you’re a Boston sports fan, because as we all know, things can change in an instant.

After seeing one of most beloved teams in Boston sports fall, the Boston Bruins, a lot of people needed someone else to root for. The Bruins series was a heart breaking one, they had so many chances to take the series and especially take Game 7. I think that all Bruins fans will join me in saying that Bruins goalie, Tim Thomas, was not as great as he has once been. He gave up too many easy, should be save goals that ended up costing the Bruins. As the 2 seed, us Boston fans expected a lot more out of the club, but what are you going to do, just need to move onto the next team.

Which leads me to talking about the Boston Celtics. We are a lucky bunch of fans in Boston. We are able to move from season to season, team to team, and continually watch winning teams, usually. The C’s have been battling throughout the season and are now in the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs. They were able to fight off a feisty, young, and athletic Atlanta Hawks in 6 games, 4-2. With great performances by “The Truth”, KG and Rondo (Except for chest bumping ref Marc Davis), helped the C’s pull through yet another series as a team. In this 2nd round matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics were able to steal Game 1 at home. Although they did not play well, Rajon Rondo’s triple double helped power the Celtics past the 76ers, 92-91. Rondo had 17 assists, 13 points and 12 rebounds for his eighth career playoff triple-double. He had six points, five assists and four rebounds in the fourth quarter, when the Celtics went on a 23-7 run to turn a double-digit deficit into a six-point lead with 78 seconds to play. KG, who was no slouch himself, had 29 points, his most in the regular or postseason this year — and added 11 rebounds. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have really been non existent throughout this series due to injuries and that is what hurt them in Game 2. Pierce, who has been trying to nurse an MCL sprain, has been hobbling and gimping up and down the floor. Allen, who has been nursing a foot and ankle injury just about all year, has not been himself. He does not have the ability to fly off screens for jump shots like he usually does. In Game 2, the Celtics did not play their best game and it ultimately hurt them. They again were able to steal a lead away from the 76ers in the 4th quarter, but Philly took it right back and held on to win 82-81. Every time the Celtics appeared to have regained the momentum, the Sixers came up with an answer. The Sixers kept hitting timely shot after timely shot, and as a Celts fan you were just thinking, when will it end? And unfortunately it never did. Boston went without a point for 4:40, finally scoring when Pierce made two free throws with 2.4 seconds left in the period. The biggest moment of the game came when Kevin Garnett was setting a screen for Ray Allen in the final moments of the game. It may have been the right call, but as a referee do you make that call that late in the game? I believe as a basketball player myself, you need to let the players decide the outcome of the game rather than the refs. I do believe it was a moving screen, the video shows it. But was it the right call at that time in the game, I don’t think so. So I look forward to the Celtics going to Philly, where they absolutely need to steal one.

The Boston Red Sox, as we know, have been somewhat of a disappointment this year. With new manager Bobby Valentine at the helm, the Sox have gotten off to a rough start. They began the first 10 games of the season, 4-6. But went on to lose 5 in a row, then win 6 in a row, then lose another 5 in a row. If you are talking inconsistency, you are talking Red Sox baseball this year. And unfortunately you can’t place the blame on the hitting. The pitching staff has been anything less than brutal this year and it is the Sox’ number one problem. The Red Sox top 3 pitchers, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, have combined to win 9 games in 22 starts. Miraculously, I don’t know how, but Clay Buchholz is 4-1 with an 8.31 ERA. The hitters are getting the job done but the pitchers have not been. Which leads me to my next point, these past 5 games the Red Sox starters have all looked like Cy Young out there. There combined ERA over the last 5 starts is 1.57. That is incredible. The Sox have gotten great starts out of Daniel Bard, Felix Doubront, and their big 3. They have let up 8 runs in the past 5, with 5 of them coming in one game (Buchholz pitched, I guess that’s where the ERA comes from). But the last three starts may have been the best they have gotten all year. Daniel Bard threw a 7 hit, one run gem against the Indians. Jon Lester may have thrown one of his best games ever, in a complete game, 8 hit, 1 run win against the Mariners. And today, Josh Beckett, who has not been on the top of everyone’s happy list as of late, threw a 1 run, 9 K game today on his birthday. And let’s not forget about the offense i these past 5 games either. The offense has produced 34 runs in the past 5 games, with every player stepping up to the plate and bringing great confidence. The Sox are starting to put it together and I like what I am seeing. I know that many people are going to say, “Well all these games are against pretty poor teams…” Well I don’t really care and I will tell you why. Yes, I know you’re supposed to beat the bad teams, but I also know that sports is just as much mental as it is physical, and that’s why these games are important. They are giving the Red Sox a confidence that they have needed, and I hope they can ride it out.

NBA Playoffs Round 2: Eastern Conference

Time for round 2 of the NBA Playoffs. Round 1 did not disappoint. 4 exciting series, a couple surprises, and two favorites have prevailed. The Chicago Bulls struggled due to injuries to star PG Derrick Rose and big man Joakim Noah and the 76ers took advantage of those injuries aketo t the series in 6 games. The Miami Heat steamrolled through the New York Knicks in 5 games. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade led the Heat to their victories over the valiant effort of Carmelo Anthony. The Boston Celtics fought off a tough Atlanta Hawks team in 6 games. KG, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo all stepped up big throughout the series to help push the Celts forward. Lastly, the Indiana Pacers took down the Orlando Magic in 5 games. Danny Granger was big throughout the series as Dwight Howard began to dwindle, truly showing he wants to get out of Orlando.

I am excited for these Round 2 playoff games. Competitive, physical, and exciting are the only ways to describe these next 7 game series, as the Celtics take on the 76ers, and the Heat take on the Pacers.

Miami Heat (2) vs. Indiana Pacers (3)

This Miami Heat-Indiana Pacers series looks to be as exciting a series as we will see. One great thing we will see from both of these teams is the physicality they both bring to the floor. Both teams have certain strengths and certain weaknesses. The Pacers have the great ability to go to the line which will help them, due to the fact that the Heat are small. The Heat often do not play a true center and their big men are all generally undersized. Bosh, Haslem and Anthony all have the ability to guard other positions and are easier to guard for opposing teams big men. The Pacers may struggle with the Heats superb transition offense. It will be hard to stop the likes of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade when they both get a full head of steam. Athletically, I don’t think the Pacers are going to be able to match up with the Heat and that could be their biggest downfall. But, hopefully the Pacers bigs, Roy Hibbert and Lou Amundson, can control the paint which may keep the Heat from getting out in transition.

As great as this series looks, I just don’t see the Pacers taking this one. The Heat are too strong and athletic for them.

• Heat in 6

Boston Celtics (4) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (8)

The Celtics had a rough and tough series against the Hawks and the 76ers had it much easier than that. The 76ers caught some big breaks as Bulls star Derrick Rose and their big man Joakim Noah both went down with injuries, and they took full advantage. This series looks to be a rough, grind it out, type of series. These teams are defensive minded teams and we may be begging for a 15 second shot clock by the time this is over. The Celtics and Sixers can be good offensively, but most of the time, they defer to defense and the offense invariably suffers. Paul Pierce will be fighting through an MCL sprain in his right knee, and the Celtics are just fighting against Father Time. The 76ers are a younger, maybe even more athletic team, that could give the C’s some problems. KG will yet again be the X-Factor for the Celtics. As he goes, the Celtics go. The Celtics will have home-court advantage. They will be favored, as befits a No. 4 seed playing a No. 8 seed. But the Celtics have no reason to think this series will be any easier than what they just endured against the Hawks. It is going to be a certifiable meat grinder.  We can start by putting the regular-season results in the circular file. They just don’t matter. There were only three meetings — and all of them were decided by 13 or more points. Philly won one game by 32 and the Celtics’ lone win was by 24. Expect these games to be much, much closer.

• Celtics in 6

My All-Time Boston Celtics Lineup

So I have done my All-Time Red Sox lineup and my All-Time Patriots lineup. It is now time that I finish the trifecta and give you my All-Time Celtics lineup. This lineup may be my favorite just because there are so many people to choose from. The Celtics were so bad in the mid-’90’s, that they have so many great characters to choose from. Any of those lineups alone could fill this article, but there were a select few players I wanted to choose.

PG: Kenny Anderson

Kenny played with the Celtics from 1997-2002 and was possibly the best pure point guard the organization had since DJ. Anderson was the starting point guard each year that he played with the Celtics. He was struck with injury problems throughout his time with the Celtics. He was great in the ’99-’00 season when he averaged 14 points, 5 assists and 3 boards.

SG: Paul Pierce

Now I know Paul Pierce is not a shooting guard but I wanted to get him into this lineup. Pierce is one of the greatest Celtics of all time and has proved he is an elite player in NBA history. “The Truth” has been a Celtic his entire career and plans on retiring one. He has been through the best and worst of times with the Celtics and has brought them to a championship. Pierce is a Boston Sports legend and will always be remembered. In his career with the Celts, Pierce has averaged 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

SF: Antoine Walker

You now know why I had to put Pierce as a shooting guard because there is no way Toine was being left off of this list. Known for his “Toine Shimmy”, Antoine Walker is known by every Boston Celtcs fan, good or bad. Toine was drated 6th overall by the Celtics and began playing big minutes right away. He had a couple of stints with the Celtics, one from 1996-2002 and he came back for one year in 2004. Toine might be one of my favorite Celtics of all time because of his antics and the way he approached the game. One of his most famous quotes was, Reporter: “Antoine why do you shoot so many 3’s?” Antoine: “Because there are no 4’s.” Classic.

PF: Brian Scalabrine

The “White Mamba” may be one of the most popular players in the NBA. Everyone knows who Scal is and for good reason, he is a clown. You very rarely see a big, red-headed, unathletic white guy make it to the NBA but Scal makes it work. While with the Celtics you could have usually found him sitting in a suit and tie at the end of the bench, but Scal got his chances to play. And that is when the crowd would erupt. Scal was a fan favorite in Boston because let’s face it, a lot of Boston, irish people look like him. He was a Celtic for 5 years, 2006-2010.

C: Walter McCarty

“I love Walter!” a chant that was known by many Celtics fans in the mid-’90’s, was as popular as the “Toine Shimmy”. Walter McCarty was not your typical center. At 6’10”, Walter used to roam around in 3-Point land. He was a big man who you could rarely find in the paint. A matchup nightmare, McCarty used to make it rain in his famous #0 green and white jersey. He was a Celtic for the majority of his career. He got there in 1998 and left Boston in 2005.

This Celtics lineup certainly does not do justice to this organizations dynasty years. But these are the guys I saw play when I was young and I think it’s right to give them their due diligence. I know this is a group of goofy players for the Celtics but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Postseason MVP Rankings

In the first week of the playoffs we have seen stars do what stars do. Kevin Durant’s heroic shots, Kobe catching fire, LeBron dominating, even Boston’s big two standing tall when they needed to most. Each and every playoff series has been exciting, with close games, great physicality, and great competitiveness. And the stars have proven that they are the best players on their respective teams.

The “Big Ticket”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) Kevin Garnett

PPG: 18.3

RPG: 12.3

APG: 3.0

BPG: 2.0

KG has been essential in the Celtics taking a 2-1 lead over the Hawks in the first round. He has been a man amongst boys, rebounding just about everything, and scoring in a variety of ways. The 35 year old has be playing like a young gun and has been helping the Celtics fight through these playoffs.

Bynum and Kobe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) Kobe Bryant/ Andrew Bynum

Bryant:

PPG: 30.3

RPG: 5.0

APG: 4.0

Bynum:

PPG: 18.3

RPG: 11.3

Both of these studs have been helping each other carry the large load that is the Lakers. Kobe has been himself throughout the playoffs scoring at will and shooting 44% throughout this series against Denver. Bynum has been playing his best basketball in this first week. He has been a beast in the paint, using his combo of size and skill to take advantage of the smaller Nuggets forwards. They’re up 2-1 in the series, although they were beaten pretty good last night, they have been playing very well.

The “Chosen One”

3) Lebron James

PPG: 27.7

RPG: 6.3

APG: 5.7

LeBron has been LeBron in this series against the Knicks. And the Knicks may be the only reason I have him at #3. He has had one hell of a series and has been proving his haters wrong by playing extremely well in the 4th quarter. LeBron has heard all the jokes and it hasn’t seemed to bother his play at all this season. Despite the breathless criticism that he vanishes in fourth quarters, his player efficiency rating (PER) in the fourth quarter (33.1) is much higher than his overall PER this season (30.8). LeBron has been playing well, I just want to see him do it against an actual team.

The “Truth”

2) Paul Pierce

PPG: 23.0

RPG: 7.7

APG: 4.0

I think the most remarkable thing about Pierce these playoffs is the amount of minutes he has been logging. He has been averaging 44.3 minutes per game and 45 minutes per game in both of their wins over the Hawks. At age 34, Pierce is showing that he can still be an elite scorer in the NBA. He has made big shot after big shot in the Celtics series against the Hawks. In game 2, he led the Rondo-less Celtics back from a 14 point deficit in the 2nd half to get the win. Pierce has been the main reason the Celtics are up 2-1 in this opening series.

“Durantula”

1) Kevin Durant

PPG: 27.3

RPG: 6.3

APG: 3.7

Durant has been stellar in the Thunder’s opening series against the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. Although he has not been shooting as well as normal, he has stepped up in big situations. He hit the game winning shot in game 1 with 1.5 seconds remaining, and hit big shots in crunch time in game 2. Game 3 was a blowout and Durant was the main reason. He shot 11-15 from the floor, scoring 31 points in a 93-75  win. It just shows when Durant is playing well, the Thunder might be the toughest team to beat in the NBA.

Celtics Steal One In Atlanta, Grab Home-Court Advantage

Pierce, “Tebowing”, after his final two free throws sealed the victory

To call Paul Pierce’s effort, gritty, is an understatment. What Pierce did last night was show that he can still be considered an elite scorer and leader in this league, despite his age. The Celtics went into Atlanta last night after a dismal 83-74 loss, where they fought hard but just flat out didn’t play well. And last night looked as if it may have been the same. Playing without suspended Rajon Rondo and injury plagued Ray Allen, the Celtics needed many bench players to step up big, and they did. Keyon Dooling and Marquis Daniels stepped up in the clutch and helped the Celtics claw back form an 11 point second half deficit. Dooling hit a pair of second-half 3-pointers, the first of which snapped a 77-minute, 25-second stretch in which Boston failed to generate a trifecta to start the playoffs. And Daniels was stifling on defense, helping the Celtics dig out of the double digit deficit hole. “We’re professionals,” Dooling said. “Throughout the season, we were in the rotation, out of the rotation, not playing that often. But you focus, you give yourself to the team, you never let yourself get out of shape, never let yourself get in a funk mentally, and stay in tune with the game plan and the schemes. Then when your number is called, you gotta be ready.” What Dooling said proves what many people have said before, the Celtics are a “Team”. There is no one superstar that the Celtics can rely on to take over a game (Although Pierce did last night), they play together and feed off of one another. Considering this teams average age (28.5), they need to play with the team mentality, they do, and that helps them succeed.

The Celtics stole away home-court advantage from the Hawks last night in grand fashion. Paul Pierce’s gutty performance (36,14,4), helped the Celtics dig out of a hole and helped them stay out of an even bigger one. Paul Pierce looked like the one who had won Finals MVP in 2008, slow-stepping his way into the paint all night for gritty buckets and getting to the line for free throws. He played a team high 44 minutes and after the game he tweeted, “44 [minutes] tonite, old for this, I need a bed right now!!!” And rightfully deserved he saved the Celtics from going down 2-0 in a series where they couldn’t afford it. But Pierce didn’t do it alone, Kevin Garnett chipped in with (15,12) to help shoulder the Celtics defensively. “Everyone knows it’s not about one person; it’s about the group, the team. This team is like a well-oiled machine, you come in, you know what it is. There’s no excuses. You give 100 percent, that’s what it is.” Anything less just wouldn’t be Celtics basketball.