Game 4 (It's not over)

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

First, enough of the gloom and doom. The Celts held homecourt and so did the
Sixers. Chances were there in both games in Philly and it didn't happen. So
it comes down to Friday. The game could go either way. My one frustration is
the series schedule: The Celtics had no chance to build on the momentum of
their two wins, but Philly, coming off last night's win, gets to come back
just two nights later. But, you have to deal with it.

Game 4 thoughts...

Pierce is killing the Celts. He's treating these playoffs like the Paul
Pierce Show, and it is absolutely destroying the team. He's taking bad shots
and forcing every single thing he does. The offense has been reduced to one
pass on one side of the floor. That's it. Philly isn't worried about
over-committing to stop Pierce because they're confident he won't pass to
the open man. And they're right. Larry Brown didn't ask the officials to
keep Pierce in Game 3 out of any sense of nobility. He did it because Pierce
is killing the Celts when he's on the floor.

The solution so far seems to be shoot more threes, which is exactly the
wrong thing to do. Threes are up, assists are down, turnovers are up. Bad
signs all around. The offense is terrible right now. A team that had such
good chemistry at the end of the season now seems to be a collection of
one-man wannabe-heroes. And Pierce started it in the second half of Game 2,
it carried over into Game 3, and culminated with last night's travesty.

I was concerned from the start last night when two of the first three shots
were quick threes. Even when Antoine's first one went in, I was worried.
They wasted a great defensive effort with terrible offense. Pierce is the
biggest culprit, but others are just as guilty. Kenny took way too many
quick jumpers last night. The plan to use Rodney Rogers to draw Mutombo away
from the basket is great as long as someone actually attacks the basket when
Mutombo is out of there. That's not happening anymore. Now, Rodney's just
another spot-up shooter. Antoine, after being so aggressive attacking the
basket in Game 1, has settled increasingly for the three-pointer. When
you're making them, great (first half of Game 3), but when you're missing,
you get the 20-9 fast-break advantage for Philly last night. Turnovers and
missed jumpers lead to fast breaks, and the Celts are giving Philly both in
spades. It's doubly damaging because Philly's only half-court offense is
Iverson or the lob to Mutombo/Coleman. If the Celts could take away the easy
baskets on fast breaks, I really believe Philly would struggle to score.

Coaching... A few complaints from last night. This isn't college. Stars can
play with two first-half fouls in the NBA. Obie went far too long without
Pierce and Walker in the first half last night. Blount should never be in a
playoff game. Never. If Pierce or Walker pick up the third foul in the first
half, then you sit them down. But not with just two. Not at the same time...
Also, when you're desperate for someone to make shots, don't you think about
giving Tony Delk a little run? Maybe he gets on one of those rolls he's
famous for. You don't play him at point guard (I'm still frustrated with
Obie for continually trying this), but he could see some of Williams'
minutes at shooting guard. Give him a few minutes and see if he heats up. Is
that too much to ask?

Finally, can we all stop complaining about the officials? The Sixers attack
the basket and the Celts settle for jumpers. Pierce's drives are out of
control and he's desperate for the official to bail him out. This series
hasn't been decided by the officials. The Celtics have gotten way too caught
up in the officiating already. They haven't kept their poise real well. They
need to forget about it and play, and we need to stop blaming this
predicament on the officials. The Celtics put themselves in this pickle.

Anyway, it comes down to tomorrow night. The Celts aren't dead, contrary to
popular opinion on the list. Win this one, survive, and advance. They have
the defensive intensity. They just need some offensive cohesion. They can do
it. 

Mark