They May Be Getting Old, But These Celtics Can Still Play
Monday, May 17, 2010
The series is, by no means, over. But the early signs are very good. Sunday in Orlando, the Boston Celtics picked up where they left off a few nights earlier against Cleveland. Boston played terrific defense, moved the ball well offensively and got contributions from both the starters and the bench as they beat the Magic 92-88 in game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Celtics defensive guru Tom Thibodeau had his team make life difficult for Cleveland stars LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal to get easy baskets in their semifinal series win over the Cavs. Instead of allowing the two to get to the rim, they forced them to earn their points from the free throw line which wasn’t always easy.
Magic star Dwight Howard experienced the same frustration Sunday scoring just 13 points on 3-10 shooting from the field and 7-12 from the free throw line. He now must know that uncontested lay-ups and dunks will not be easy to come by in this series.
The Celtics ability to defend Howard for most of the game with just one defender also allowed them to account for all of Orlando’s perimeter shooters. As a result, the normally solid 3-point shooting Magic shot just 23% from behind the arc at 5-22.
On the other end of the floor, not having to worry about LeBron James allowed Paul Pierce to have one of his typical offensive performances as he netted 22 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Ray Allen led Boston with 25 while both Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo were held to single digits to 8 points each.
Rasheed Wallace provided the biggest boost off of the Boston bench but it wasn’t just because he scored 13 points. His defense on Howard was huge with Kendrick Perkins on the bench in foul trouble.
The Celtics led from start to finish and had as much as a 20-point advantage in the third quarter but the Magic fought back. They pulled to within 2 at 90-88 with :08 seconds left on a Jameer Nelson following an intentional missed free throw by Vince Carter. But Ray Allen iced the victory with two free throws and Boston has wrestled home court advantage away from Orlando who looked so dominant in their first two playoff series.
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals will be played tomorrow night in Orlando at 8:30pm.
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It