Game 2 thoughts

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

First of all, let's just say it was ugly at Casa Berry last night. We had
Celts-Sixers, of course, which trumps everything. Only my wife had Survivor,
The Bachelor, (OK, so I didn't marry her for her taste in television...)
CSI, Friends... we had TVs, VCRs, remote controls working overtime. The
debate came down to the big TV, so we voted. As usual, I lost, 1-1. So my
Celts-Sixers thoughts were formulated on a 19-inch set. Having said that...

What a rush it is to watch playoff basketball again. Great games, great
crowds, momentum shifts and gut-wrenching tension. It's so much fun.

Pierce was clutch at the end, but I've never seen him play worse than he did
the first 20 minutes of that second half. He was absolutely terrible. Not
just because he was missing shots-he was single-handedly undermining the
nice ball-movement and shot selection they had shown in Game 1. He was
shooting quickly and wildly and eventually resorted to trying to beg the
officials to bail him out. Having said all that, he delivered when it
counted. He certainly is a clutch player.

Antoine played a nearly perfect first half. He struggled to get good shots
in the second half. The Sixers forced him into a lot of awkward mid-range
jumpers. But I love the way he's playing these first two games in attacking
the basket and eschewing the quick threes. But someone-anyone-please, if you
see Antoine leading a fast break, stun-gun the guy. He has made more bad
decisions and passes on what should be easy fast breaks in these first two
games than Sam Vincent did in his entire career (and that's saying
something). For a guy with such great ball-handling and passing skills, he
has no clue how to run a fast break.

Kenny, Battie and Walter... Now we're talking about the reason the Celts won
this game. Pierce was awful, Antoine was harassed, but the supporting cast
came through. Kenny single-handedly kept them in it in the third quarter,
Walter was all over the court in the fourth, and Battie-all Battie did was
hit the biggest baskets of the game down the stretch. Sure, Pierce's buckets
were huge, but without those Battie baskets to keep the Celts within range,
it's moot. Now let's get Rodney involved.

Is the series over? No way. I remember a better Celtics team than this lose
to a Knicks team that wasn't as good as the Sixers in a similar situation. I
do expect the Celts to play well Sunday. They have been a great road team
and when they're focused, like they will be Sunday, they can be a bear to
handle. I hope the Sixers are deflated after losing the way they did last
night. It had to be tougher than a typical loss because of the way it
happened. They did everything right, had the game right there, and lost.
Hopefully that stings for a few days.

Really hoping for a second-round series with Detroit, and it looks like it
will happen. I'll probably make the road trip up to a game in that state up
north (we don't call it by name here in Ohio State country).

Mark