Celtics Keep the Heat Down

[snoopy1@pig.net]

Ok, I love doing this.  So far, both games I got to review, we won, and
therefore, my personal record is perfect...better than I ever did on the
court!  :>)

This one could easily have been called "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly".
And the first quarter should make a great training tape on how not to play
pro ball.  Coming into the game, both Boston and Miami were looking to even
up their regular season record.   Jamal Washburn was out with a severe bone
contusion above his left knee and some hemmoraging.  He'sn a full brace and
out for at least 2 weeks.  For the good guys, Mercer and McCarty were both
out.  No word on McCarty, but Mercer is day to day.  Given the fact the C's
get a week off, I expect we'll see Ron in the next game.

The Starting lineups for Boston were Anderson and Pierce at Guard; Riley at
Center; and Walker and Jones at Forward.  Miami had Hardaway and Marjele at
Guard; Mourning at Center; and Askins and Brown at Forward.

The first quarter was a disaster for both teams.  You'd think they'd never
seen the funny looking orange ball before, because they surely acted like
they had not the slightest idea what to do with it.  Over the first 6
minutes, both teams combined for a total of 12 points.  This was even more
depressing since 10 of those points were scored by Miami.  The phrases
"sloppy play" and "another turnover" were applicable so often you'd think
they were replaying the same bad play over and over.  There were more
turnovers than field goals.  

Thank goodness, the last half of the first quarter got to some basketball.
Mostly, it was Miami, by virtue of their defense being better than the C's.
 Someone mentioned the press, and everyone looked at the reporters.  The
C's were going big, and playing Miami's game, and getting killed off the
boards at both ends for their laziness.  Second shots were nonexistent for
the C's during much of the 1st  quarter.  The C's got a few breaks near the
end of the quarter, including a goaltending call as time ran out, and the
quarter ended with the score of 24-17 in favor of Miami.  This was so bad,
my cat covered her face, and she's an idiot.  

The 2nd quarter showed us that Antoine Walker was indeed capable of scoring
only one point in 14 minutes of play.  This guy couldn't hit a basket with
a rocket launcher.  It was looking like a long night for the Green, but
then, like the new dawn, the C's remembered what the word "press" meant.
And what do you know, we start getting second shots.  Eventually, we also
saw Walker getting points.  Of course by then, we were 4 1/2 minutes into
the second quarter, but better late than never.  

The increase in offensive and defensive pressure pays off with a 15-5 run.
Walker is suddenly Mr. Confidence, doing a little dance move after hitting
his shots.  He stops doing that after getting a muscle spasm on one such
move, and concentrates on doing his job instead of showing off.  Pierce is
good for 2 points and 2 fouls, as the half ends, with Miami leading 46-45.

At halftime, Walker spends some time with a massage therapist and is ready
to play the 2nd half, despite a strained lower back.

The 3rd quarter  starts with Zo Mourning getting his 3rd foul and sitting
down.  Zo was pretty much nonexistent throughout the game, though he sort
of showed up in the 4th.  Spent a lot of time warming the bench, much to
the C's relief.  The C's pick up the pace here, and start playing very
crisply.  It was like someone replaced the batteries.  Boston goes on a
14-4 run and looks briefly like they're going to dismantle the Heat, but
Witherspoon keeps the Heat in, and Hardaway, though useless from the field,
keeps hitting at the line.  Miami kept slowing the pace and forcing fouls.
Popye Jones and Zo had a few words to say to each other, but the ref's kept
things from getting out of hand.  The aggressive play leads to two jump
balls in succession, and Walker and Anderson come alive.  Walker starts the
dancing fool routine again, and he and Davis have a few comments to say to
each other.  Technical fouls for both, and Walker ends his dancing career
for the night, which is good, since he's better at basketball, his lousy
1st quarter notwithstanding.  The C's counter Miami's trun with a 12-0 run
of their own, and end the 3rd ahead at 71-66.

The 4th quarter started off with a bang as Battie and Porter collided at
midcourt, no harm done.  The C's keep picking up 4 or 5 fouls per man, but
everyone stays in the game.  Hardaway is totally unable to do any real
perimeter damage up to now.  most of his points are at the line.  Porter's
bad night continued as he was accidentally flattened by Minor.  Again, no
serious injury.  By this time, though, the free throw situation is totally
out of hand.  The Heat have made over twice as many free throws than the
C's even attempted!!  Part of it is the scrambling play leads to more
fouls, but we all know Pat Riley doesn't discourage physical play.   The
refs are a little rusty too.

Then, Pierce explodes.  He just goes nuts, scoring almost at will.  Tommy
"I never gave a player a bad review" Heinsohn is quoted as comparing Pierce
very favorably with John Havlicek!!  Problem is, Pierce keeps playing like
this, and the comparasion may well be valid.  I just hate to see that kind
of pressure put on a rookie.  But by this time, Pierce, Walker and Anderson
are carrying the team.  Witherspoon is carrying Miami by himself, until Zo
and Hardaway finally get into the swim of things.  The game,. nall but over
with 2:55 to go and Boston holding a 4 point lead, then slows down.  A lot.
 It took 23 minutes to play out the last 2 minutes and 55 seconds of the
game.  At first, it made sense, although the Miami Arena was mostly emptied
out during the timeout called at that point.  Guess they saw it coming.  At
long last, the final score was a Bostin win, 108-101.  

The FG percentage was horrendous in the first, but the C's made up for it
by shooting 44% in the 3rd, and 60% in the 4th.  Both teams were careless
with the ball, but Bostin scored a lot more points off turnovers.

The leading lights for Boston were Walker, with 31 points and 10 rebounds;
and Pierce, with 19 points and 6 rebounds.

Walker needs to work on his free throws.  He's 62% at the line, and missed
two near the end.  Anderson was perfect in 14 shots at the line.  Antoine,
meet your free throw tutor.  

On the offensive end, no one apart from that really stood out.  Barros had
a good night, but a quiet one.  The overriding factor was that the C's
defense was not as bad as Miami's.  Had Miami been able to get Hardaway or
Anderson in their grooves, this game would have been over at the half.  The
C's cannot keep relying on Pierce to save their bacon.  Popeye Jones needs
to be a tad more consistent, and someone needs to get Battie in better shape.

Pitino seems to think he can get away with not pressing until the second
quarter.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  Every time the C's don't press hard, they
get killed.  The "grueling schedule" is irrevelant.  They should be
pressing every quarter, night in and out.  Pitino does substitute well, and
often, making sure no one is overworked (except Riley who is out of shape,
and needs to run a bit).  But he's coasting a bit.  They came out with a
win against a team that was simply not functioning offensively with any
consistently.  

The C's get a break now, and they better spend every day of it working out,
and getting everyone healthy and in shape.  The season, if they want to
win, will involve lots of running.  They're supposed to be having "2 a
days" starting tomorrow, and hopefully that'll get the offensive end back
into focus.  He's been lucky to have Pierce, and he better be hitting his
knees and thanking God every day for getting him with the 10th pick.
ButPierce, sooner or later, will have a slump, or injury, and the team had
better have the depth to back him up.  The rookie should not be the one
carrying the intensity for this team, though I'm glad he's stepped up to do so.

And that's the view from the doghouse.

poof....
Snoopy, the Celtics beagle