Uh-oh! Not another collapse!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Though they’d never admit it publicly, this is exactly what the Boston Celtics feared when they lost Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals at home Monday night with a chance to sweep the staggering Orlando Magic.
The last thing you want to do with a big lead in a seven-game series is awaken the sleeping giant. The Celtics failed to kick dirt on Orlando’s corpse earlier this week and now the Magic – once down three games to none in this series – are suddenly alive and well following last night’s 113-92 blowout win in Game 5 at Amway Arena.
With Orlando now trailing 3-2, we’ve finally got a series, not just some practice run for Boston in anticipation of its trip to the Finals. The Celtics still have the edge as the series heads back to Beantown for Game 6 Friday, but they’re beat up physically – two players left Wednesday’s game with concussions – and no doubt shell-shocked as the momentum has clearly shifted toward Orlando.
Were it not for the Bruins’ eerily similar collapse in the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals earlier this month – a series in which they led 3-0 before losing the next four, including an overtime thriller in Game 4 – the possibility of Orlando completing this improbable comeback wouldn’t even be a topic of discussion. Since the nightmares from watching Cinderella’s Stanley Cup Express turn back into a pumpkin are still fresh in our minds, it’s only right we at least examine all the “what ifs” as we press forward.
Nervous yet? That depends on which side of the fence you’re on. If you’re a Celtics’ fan, you’re hoping Wednesday’s loss was rock bottom, like a virus that flushes out of your system in 24 hours. Maybe, just maybe, this was their one lousy game and now they can go about their business and wrap up this series Friday night.
If it wasn’t rock bottom, it could be the rock that starts the avalanche. Perhaps the Magic have finally found their rhythm, and maybe all it took was Wednesday’s gritty overtime win in Boston to spark the fire that we didn’t see in the first three games.
Whichever theory you believe, you can’t deny the fact Orlando has played with much more confidence since getting embarrassed in Game 3. This is the team we expected to see from the start. Jameer Nelson has run the point masterfully in the last two games, particularly on Wednesday night when he finished 10-for-15 from the field and hit all eight of his free throws for a game-high 24 points.
Nelson’s ability to penetrate Boston’s defense has changed the entire complexion of this series. The Magic have finally stopped standing around waiting for the game to come to them. They’re now moving without the ball, creating their own shots, and, at times, creating magic (no pun intended) out of chaos with aggressive rebounding and defense. They killed Boston on the boards, 43-26, Wednesday and squeezed every last ounce of juice out of their bench as J.J. Redick scored 14 points and Marcin Gortat and Brandon Bass chipped in with 8 apiece.
This is not the same Orlando team we saw in Games 1 through 3, and the same could be said for the Celtics, who are making mistakes uncharacteristic of a championship contender. Likewise, Rajon Rondo has cooled dramatically while the “Big 3” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are showing signs of fatigue, perhaps a combination of their age and the extreme number of minutes they’ve logged in the postseason. Pierce’s legs looked shot in overtime of Game 4 and Garnett and Allen were horrific from the floor Wednesday, shooting a combined 8-for-25. The day off between now and Friday will do them good.
Whether it’s enough to stop Orlando’s surge is still up for grabs. The Magic probably wished they could’ve played a doubleheader Wednesday, but the reality is they must first travel back to Boston and attempt to do what they did in last year’s postseason, which is win an elimination game at the TD Garden. Last year, they ended Boston’s bid for back-to-back titles with a surprising win in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. Friday, for what it’s worth, will be Orlando’s third “Game 7” since it fell behind 3-0 in this series.
If Doc Rivers is smart – and we’re sure he’s got it all covered since he knows his team better than anyone – he’ll make his players believe this is their Game 7, too. In theory, it is, because the last thing they want to do is go back to Orlando for a winner-take-all finale. Win or lose, it’s their last home game of this series, and it’s the one they absolutely must have. Not many teams manage to force a seventh game when trailing a playoff series 3-0, but the ones that do tend to win because their momentum is like a tidal wave ready to bury the coast.
The Celtics knew this could happen if they took their foot off Orlando’s throat in Game 4. Now their biggest fears are quickly becoming a reality. Could this really happen again? Could this city absorb two historic playoffs meltdowns in less than three weeks? I’m not so sure there’s “smart money” anymore. This is anybody’s series now, and the Celtics have no one to blame but themselves.
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