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1 day ago

Greg Stiemsma’s Contract To Become Fully Guaranteed

The C’s gave their 26-year-old rookie a vote of confidence before Tuesday’s game. By not waiving the seven-footer, Stiemsma’s contract will become fully guaranteed on Friday, allowing the shot blocker to breath a little bit and perhaps unpack some boxes for good in Beantown. Here’s Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston with some reaction from Stiemsma and [...]

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2 days ago

5 Questions With Kemba Walker

I had a chance to talk with Bobcats rookie Kemba Walker prior to the Celtics game against Charlotte on Tuesday night.  Here is what the UConn star, who is averaging 12.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game had to say. 1. How much communication have you had with Michael Jordan this year? Walker: [...]

1
3 days ago

I Am Awesome!

Yes. This is a “pat myself on the back” post because a) I’m a jackass and b) I predicted something correctly. Back on January 8th, I predicted that the next ten games will tell us everything we need to know about this Celtics’ team. If they struggled, it was time to blow it up. If [...]

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3 days ago

Pierce Wins Eastern Conference Player Of Week

One day before he’s scheduled to pass Larry Bird for second on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list, Paul Pierce won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award. Pierce averaged 22 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds in four Boston wins, playing point forward in Rajon Rondo’s absence. Pierce is only 9 points behind Bird [...]

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4 days ago

Garnett’s Wondrous 3-point Rant

Via ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg, who knows a great, playful rant when he hears one, here’s Kevin Garnett discussing his not-so-newfound aptitude for three-point shooting after the C’s took down the Grizzlies. “When I walk around the streets, y’all stop acting like y’all shocked that I can shoot 3’s. Everybody in Boston, everybody in the [...]

4
4 days ago

5 Questions With O.J. Mayo

I talked with Memphis guard O.J. Mayo prior to the Celtics-Grizzlies, Super Bowl Sunday game at the Garden.  Here is what the 4th year man out of USC, who is averaging 12.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2 assists per game had to say. 1. You started every game your first two years in the league, [...]

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Game 65/82: Celtics (40-23) @ Cavaliers (51-15)

Posted by on Mar 14, 2010 18 comments

3:30 p.m. EST
Quicken Loans Arena
CSN/WEEI

Opposing Viewpoint: Cavs The Blog

Offensive Efficiency:

Boston: 106.9 points/100 possessions (16th)

Cleveland: 111.5 points/100 possessions (4th)

Defensive Efficiency:

Boston: 102.1 points allowed/100 possessions (1st)

Cleveland: 103.7 points allowed/100 possessions (7th)

Probable Cleveland Starters:

LeBron James, Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, Anthony Parker, J.J. Hickson (or Leon Powe to make us all puke and cry at the same time)

Injury Report:

OUT: Shaquille O’Neal, Sebastian Telfair

PROBABLE: Antawn Jamison

Thumbnail: Is there such a thing as a “must win” in March?  In the NBA that is, as everyone knows right now College kids everywhere are eagerly awaiting the revelation of the Dance’s exclusive invite list.  Or you are like me, and your Alma Mater (Boston College) drastically under-preformed for an experienced team and you are hoping the three freshman coming in next year have enough fire power to put them back in the bracket….whoah, what happened? Sorry, I just blacked out for a second.

The Celtics have to win this game.  The script has already been written.  Two games ago, the Celtics were left picking up pieces of their pride as Memphis emphatically yelled “this isn’t your league anymore old man” in their faces.  The Celtics responded with a prodigious “we’re not dead yet” by trouncing the Indiana Pacers and forced star Danny Granger to shoot poorly from the field. The quintessential tune-up to today’s game.

Everyone knows what the Cavs can do.  Everyone knows what the Cavs have.  The Celtics did masterful job D-ing up a big swingman (Granger) and a stretch four (Troy Murphy) and they must do that again today.

How they do that is the real question.

You know what they say, “nothing is a better predictor of performance than a teams’ last ten games”  (what? Who says that?  No one says that ya idiot!).  In this “what have you done for me lately” league, let’s just see what the Cavs have done for themselves lately.

  • The Cavs are 8-2 in their last ten games.  Uhhggg…  One of those eight wins was a 20 point win against our very-own Boston Celtics.
  • The Cavs have won by an average of 12.75 points a game….double uuhhgg…
  • LeBron didn’t play in two of these games (March 6th @ Milwaukee and March 8th v. San Antonio).
  • Anderson Varejao and Delonte West have been extremely consistent, scoring in the mid-teens nearly every game.

That’s some pretty impressive stuff.  How do the Celtics stop this seemingly unstoppable force?  The same way they beat Indiana.

Indiana hung tough in the first quarter, but Boston got tougher.  The Celtics can’t fall into old bad habits, they can’t slack off, and they can’t get discouraged.  The following is a comprehensive list of what the Celtics must do in order to win today (in order of importance):

  • The Celtics must protect the rim against Cleveland’s active big men.  The Celtics almost always find themselves in jumping contests with more athletic big men and the Cavaliers have the personnel to win every one of these contests.  Perkins cannot be caught under the basket without putting his body on anyone.  Big Baby has to stay in front of JJ Hickson.  Shelden Williams has to rough up Anderson Varejao.  I believe each of these things are possible, but it’s going to take some extreme focus and effort. If the Celtics neutralize the Cavs front court energy players, they will have a very good chance in this game.
  • The Celtics need to keep up the offensive explosion they enjoyed against Indiana.  Paul Pierce had an alley-oop and a dunk which were both unexpected and wonderful to watch.  If the Celtics get to enjoy some easy buckets in transition, they could really set the tone for today’s game.
  • There has to be a ton of “get that [stuff] outta here” moments overheard on the broadcast.  The attitude has to be there.  The Celtics need to believe they can beat this team, and they have to back it up.  The Celtics must be riding high after that convincing win in Indy, and that swagger combined with the necessary focus could really put the ball in the C’s court.
  • The Celtics have to make the extra pass, not the extra extra pass.  When the Celtics offense is stagnant, it almost invariably means that the team is over-passing or trying to go one on five.  Neither strategy has EVER worked for the Celtics.  Which leads me to my next point…
  • The Celtics have to knock down their open shots.  It sounds simplistic, but it really is that simple.  Watching Ray Allen and Paul Pierce miss wide open looks is demoralizing.  That’s why watching Michael Finley knock down jumpers the other night was such a breath of fresh air.

Only time stands in the way of proving me right or proving me foolish.  While all signs point to the Cavaliers running away with this one, I believe that confidence is running high.  Hell, I’m getting pumped up just writing this.  Let’s hope the C’s are getting pumped up easily too.

Prediction:

Celtics 105, Cavaliers 95

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