ETA: Ah.
I see that my old post got merged into another topic. At least it's good to know I'm not crazy, because I just couldn't figure out where the old one went. Can a mod delete this one for me?
I submitted my thoughts after Game 1 (
http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=37202.0 ) and I could have sworn I already submitted this thread for after game 2, but if so it's gone now so let me re-type my thoughts:
1) The "bad, awful, burns in my guts" feeling after game 1 has eased. Yes, I'm still disappointed that we left one on the table. But you can't cry over spilt milk forever, and we did come back and take game 2. I'll take the split and keep it moving.
2) The fact that this team came back from what could have been a potentially devastating loss and turned in such a dominating performance showed me an awful lot. That's what champions do.
3) Rondo vs Mo Williams looks like the weather vane matchup. Rondo is obviously much better and does more for this team than Mo, but it's not a coincidence that we've won all 3 halves that Rondo dominated Mo and lost the one half where Mo got hot. If Rondo keeps his foot on Mo's neck, we should win this series.
4) That's what I was talking about from Pierce after game 1. His numbers from games 1 and 2 were almost exactly the same, but the difference is that this time he wasn't the offensive focal point and he picked his spots to make contributions. When the team came out of their stagnation in the 4th, it was Pierce making some timely shots and passes that helped bring it home. That's what we need from the Captain against the Cavs: make LeBron work, keep him honest, pick the spots to be aggressive but also know when to step back and let your teammates exploit their matchups.
5) Outside of Rondo, the biggest difference between what the '08 Cavs saw and what the '10 Cavs are seeing is Walter Ray. For obvious personal reasons, Allen was not at his best in '08. This year he is hitting his shot, playing aggressively at both ends, even doing a great job D-ing up LeBron. When he's on like this, our offense has an entirely different dimension and can't be gameplanned against. You can take out Rondo...or Pierce...or KG...or Allen. But if all 4 are playing well, there's really nothing opposing defenses can do.
6) Re-read my first sentence in point 5. If the main differences are Rondo and Allen, that must mean that KG is producing very similarly to what he did in '08. In '08 he was at 20.5 points, 10 boards, 3.5 assists and 2 combined steals/blocks through two games against the Cavs. This year he's at 18 points, 10 boards, 3 assists and 2.5 combined steals/blocks through two. His offensive aggression in the post has been key to breaking down the Cavs' D. And he looks better and better as time passes, so I think he is the one helped most by this up-coming 3 day layoff before game 3.
Also, one thing to keep in mind, KG is shooting only 17-for-41 from the field thus far. Not to turn thread into a ref rant, but I think it's reasonable to say that probably 5 of those missed field goals could very easily have been called 2-shot fouls. If that's the case and he makes 8-of-10, we could easily have KG averaging 22 and 10 through the first 2 games without him actually having played any differently.
7)The long layoff before game 3 could be either a blessing or a curse. It SHOULD be a blessing to our older line-up, as long as the team doesn't start feeling like they've got this and let up. The series is still only 1-1, so all it takes is one bad game at home and the Cavs are right back in the driver's seat. I hope Doc and the team leaders really hammer on that point all week, and that they come out starving next weekend to push this out to 3 - 1.
So far, this is the team I expected to see against the Cavs. The results also have been similar to what I expected. Here's hoping that at this time next week I'm doing a post-mortem about a team that has continued to play up to their level and taken control of this series.
Topic: Post-mortem after Game 2 (Read 969 times)