Quick Points about Game 1 vs. Orlando

[footey]

These are my gut observations about the game, and perhaps some keys to this series:

1. Refs allowed for a physical game, both ways, and this clearly benefits Celtics, given their strategy. Am surprised SVG has not tried to work the refs more, to get them to call a tighter game next time. We will see.

2.  Rashard Lewis a non-factor so far. I think alot of credit goes to KG. Hopefully this trend will continue. The Magic have no chance unless they get 20 from this guy.

3.  Celtics did a great job of staying in their offensive scheme. They really showed alot of trust in each other, and went to the guy who was open. Classic example was in the second half, when Pierce drove to the hoop, the defense collapsed, and he kicked it out to Rasheed in the left corner, who hit the 3. 

4.  Unlike the regular season, when no lead seemed safe, and you were just waiting for the other shoe to drop, these guys don't panic. Yes, despite the lead getting down to 3 in the third quarter, and 2 at the end of the game, we just seemed composed. I, as a fan, could just feel their confidence, and their ability to stick with their game plan. I really give alot of credit to Doc for giving them this mindset.  I think he has become one of the best coaches in the NBA, especially in the play-offs.

[Roy Hobbs]

Excellent observations.

Another thing I thought was key was that everybody seemed to accept their role.  This was maybe the first time all year Ray was asked to handle the ball / drive to the hoop as much as he did early on, and everybody adjusted to it tremendously.

[Ersatz]

4.  Unlike the regular season, when no lead seemed safe, and you were just waiting for the other shoe to drop, these guys don't panic. Yes, despite the lead getting down to 3 in the third quarter, and 2 at the end of the game, we just seemed composed. I, as a fan, could just feel their confidence, and their ability to stick with their game plan. I really give alot of credit to Doc for giving them this mindset.  I think he has become one of the best coaches in the NBA, especially in the play-offs.

Great points all. I like this one especially because I keep thinking back to that Easter game against Cleveland when we blew the 22-point lead. A lot of people here, and elsewhere, thought that that spelled the doom of our season, that it meant we lacked the mental toughness to win games in the playoffs. I had the exact opposite impression: they let the big league evaporate but still showed the ability to not let that get them down; they didn't just "hang in" for the win but actively made it happen. And since then, except for game 1 against Cleveland, we've not blown any leads and lost the game.

[Mr October]

Boston looks like the better team for sure. Granted Orlando is going to go nuts from beyond the 3 point line at some point and blow the Celtics out. They are good enough to do that.

However They are not good enough to do that in 4 out of the next 6 games.

My only area of worry in game 1 was the following:

1. Perkins picking up cheap fouls setting clumsy screens. Dude, we need you on the court containing Howard! Be more conservative with those screens!

2. Every once in a while Pierce tried to force the action too much and went into turnover land... 1 on 3 type of stuff. Again, chill out, man! I know you want to score after the droughts in the Cleveland series, but it will come. It will come.

3. Complacency. The Celtics played the clock in the 4th quarter and lowered their intensity on both ends. I don't think that will happen again in this series.

I expect the Magic to recover and win in game 2. If they don't, they're toast. Go Celtics!!

[LB3533]

I would like to stress one point from Game 1 and hopefully we can apply this point for the rest of the series/playoffs.

Point: We should not view Perkins as an offensive option....ever.

Reasoning: Perk is not 100% & it would be better served for him to conserve all of his energy in defending Howard. Plus, if he makes mistakes on offense when given the chance, he usually takes that bad vibe with him and it lasts throughout the game. We cannot afford for Perk to have or bear that mental anguish when he has to go up against Howard for 30 minutes of game time.

*If we need scoring from our Center spot, we just sub Perk out for Sheed/Baby. At least these two have the energy and the hands (not necessarily the lift) to make plays.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Overall, we've been doing a decent job in limiting Perk's touches in the playoffs, except quite a few times against Miami. But he was just disastrous yesterday.