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We're now closing in on two o'clock on Tuesday morning. I've gone through all possible avenues. An hour on the phone with The Guru's calm fatherly voice taking me through the right and largely wrong of last night's events. Forty-five minutes of screaming back and forth with a long-time best friend and antagonist afterwards. Much of the last hour spent doing some mutual therapy chatting with our very own CelticBalla32. The most angering loss of the year is sticking with me for now.
Well, that's not entirely fair. The loss happened. It's over. The Celtics lost Game 4 in Atlanta as well and came back strong in Game 5 for a big victory. This team has given us every reason all year to put our faith in it, and even if it hadn't, that's what we would have done, because we are fans as in fanatics -- keepers of the faith. Over the next 48 hours, the sting of this loss will go away as the nervous energy flow for Game 5 gains strength (it has already begun).
But what isn't subsiding is the feeling of terror in the fourth quarter. In a lot of ways, the strength of this terror is a tribute to how wonderful a season it has been for this Celts team. That's because the terror came from a problem that we knew about subconciously at the very least from day one, but it took 82 regular season games and 11 playoff games before it reared its ugly head enough to be this disconcerting. That says something wonderful about how well this team cruised through most of the year.
But the terror itself says something else: That as of right now, these Celtics do not have an option to go to for a bucket going to the rim when they need it the most.
Two more days of wondering if Doc will make the right in game adjustments to his rotation and four more days of wondering if this team can win a game on the road in the playoffs.
All this happened thanks to a tough loss at the hands of the Cavs in Game 4. Celtics Stuff Live came on the air following the defeat to break down the loss and give fans a chance to vent. The Duke continued his plea to see Eddie House return to the rotation instead of an ineffective Eddie House and more minutes for Posey with the starting unit minus Perkins. Jughead still has concerns that Doc has put the freeze on Rondo's shooting touch following Game 1, while JB just chalks this one up as a tough loss on the road against a good team.
Tonight's callers were all over the map as well, but all agreed on one thing... Game 5 better have a different result.
Having already done an edition of "How the Other Side Thinks" during the Celtics' conference semifinal match-up with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and with the need for all the green support we can get for an enormously significant Game 4 in Cleveland this evening, we've decided to change up the approach for tonight's Q&A: We're turning to our allies. The Connecticut Post's Tom "tenaciousT" Halzack is not only one of my favorite writers on the Web but a personal mentor of mine as well. It's always a pleasure both to read his work and to talk basketball with him. Recently, I had the chance to chat with Tom about a myriad of hoops-related topics, from tonight's Game 4 to David Stern to T's experiences writing for the Post this season. As always, he was insightful and entertaining, and it's an honor for me to be able to give this loyal readership a break from my rambling voice to let T take the reins for a few paragraphs. Enjoy!
SW: From nearly the moment we became acquainted during last year's 24-win debacle of a campaign, I began a legacy of giving you a hard time for what I call your ˜patented unbridled optimism.” If anyone can take something positive out of Saturday night’s tour de force disaster performance for the Celts in Cleveland, it’s you, T. What good can the green faithful glean from Game 3?
TH: First, while my optimism is patented and I collect a small royalty, it is bridled.
That’s good. Start me with a nice easy one…..ummm…
How about...It‘s David Stern’s fault. He should have scheduled more home games.
Seriously, the obvious good is that we are still up 2-1 and have home court advantage throughout the play-offs. Na Na. That may be a bigger factor than we ever thought it would be.
The other good thing is that Boston largely caused its own demise with poor play in that game. I don’t want to take anything away from a solid effort by the Cavs. They did what they wanted to and did it well. Their defense was very good. But Wally and Delonte don’t create their own shots. If the Cs cover the perimeter players and make the rotations on defense, it’s a different ball game. These are fixable things. Ray Allen is 1-11 from the arc, Pierce is 3-13 from downtown, Rondo has lost his groove, and the Cs are up 2-1. The bad would take a few more paragraphs.
SW: Despite my interest in some classic T optimism for our readers, we would be hard-pressed to say that Game 3 didn’t bring up its share of concerns either. The biggie on everyone’s tongue right now seems to be the issue of winning on the road, which the C’s have yet to do in this post-season. How much of a concern is the Celts’ 0-4 start on the road in the playoffs, and what do you think is causing the problem? What other questions about this team did Game 3 raise for you?
Once again, the CSN crew will liveblog the game on www.Drivefor17.TV.
BURLINGTON, MA – Will the Boston Celtics’ road
woes continue or will the Green take a commanding three-games-to-one lead in
their conference semifinal series with the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Boston Celtics fans can get answers to these and many more
questions by logging on to Drivefor17.tv and chatting with Mike Gorman, Tommy
Heinsohn, Greg Dickerson, Gary Tanguay and Donny Marshall while the game is in
progress from Cleveland.
Fans can participate by clicking the Live Game Chat icon on www.Drivefor17.TV beginning with the 8
p.m. tip-off. In addition to the on-line chat, Comcast SportsNet will use some
of the posts during Celtics Post Game Live.
And in other CSN news, a hearty congrats to them for winning an emmy:
The Boston Celtics are
chasing a 17th NBA title and in perhaps a prelude to another
championship, Comcast SportsNet’s Boston Celtics telecasts were honored
with the Emmy Award for Sporting Event/Game-Live/Unedited by the National
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Boston/New England Chapter.
“The 2008 Emmy award is a
phenomenal honor for our Boston Celtics telecast team and a tribute to their
hard work and dedication,” said Bill Bridgen, Comcast SportsNet executive
vice president and general manager. “It is a talented production team,
and that talent is on display with every telecast. We are proud that our
flagship programming was voted the best in the region.”
Ten games into the 2008 postseason, the illustrious Boston
Celtics have yet to answer the biggest question regarding the team: can they
win road games in the playoffs? In the first round, they lost games three,
four, and six at Phillips Arena and gave New England a
scare before routing the Hawks in Game 7. This Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
matchup with Cleveland is just three
games young, but the C’s still have the monkey on their back. Tonight, they’ll
attempt to ditch it and answer the call by winning their first playoff road
game at “The Q.”
In Game 3, the Celtics fell due to their mentality, which
was settling rather than attacking, and Cleveland’s
adjustments. Cleveland’s biggest
adjustment was to attack the weak side when the Celtics loaded up ball-side on
LeBron. James’ court vision picked apart the open seems in Boston’s
sets, and got his teammates multiple open or one-on-one looks. LeBron himself
shot just five of 16 from the floor, but the C’s failed to pay enough attention
to the Cavalier role players.
If the Celtics want to silence the doubters, a Game 4 win
tonight would work wonders. Should that transpire, the Celtics would hold a 3-1
series advantage and head back home to Boston, where they have yet to lose in
the postseason, for a potential close-out Game 5. You’ve got to like the sound
of that. It may be cliché to call a playoff game a “must-win,” as all of them
are, but let’s hope the green can get their act together on the road and avoid
the type of offensive outing LeBron is virtually due for.
Check out our selection of basketball memorabilia, including NBA jerseys and Boston Celtics memorabilia, complete with certificates of authenticity and tamper-proof holograms.
UGH!
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