| 28 April 2009
When sitting down to view this series, you have wasted your time if you watched the entire game. Well, not COMPLETELY wasted your time, it's been a really good series throughout. But a better use of your time is running errands, washing the dog, cleaning the house, and catching up on episodes of Real Housewives of Omaha before you tuned into the final minutes of the fourth quarter where the real game has been starting.
Paul Pierce made a layup with 1:13 to tie the game at 91 a piece and that's when things officially got interesting. Even though the entire game was a battle, Ray Allen fouled out on a terrible call with 5:26 left and Rajon Rondo almost single-handedly kept the Celtics home court advantage in tact, the game didn't truly start until Doc Rivers and Vinny Del Negro had to start matching each other wit for wit. And that certainly wasn't pretty. What followed was a cycle of the Celtics stupidly letting Ben Gordon get the ball because they had Tony Allen there to foul him at the most inopportune times, only to be followed by the Bulls allowing Paul Pierce to get to the top of the key, step back and drill a jumper over John Salmons without a single double team being thrown his way. MENSA convention this was not.
In the overtime period, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo were simply too good for a limping Ben Gordon and a Derrick Rose who clearly does not know how to score against a defense that packs it in (here's a hint, you learn how to shoot a mid-range jumper; see: Tony Parker). Ben Gordon scored seven overtime points but you have to remember that Tony Allen (who has taken the torch from Mickael Pietrus for lowest basketball IQ in the NBA) fouled him for five of those seven points. Rondo played solid defense and Paul Pierce threw more daggers than Danny Trejo in Desperado.
On the final possession of the game for Chicago, Brad Miller was nearly decapitated by Rajon Rondo as he drove to the basket for the tying score. Was it a flagrant foul? Was it a legit play on the ball? Was it a play that will lead to both sides of the argument crying about the atrocity of the officiating in a game that was actually called pretty well? It doesn't matter what you think it should have been called because it was called a foul. Simple as that. Brad Miller stopped the blood long enough to miss a free throw and then miss the rim on an intentional miss, which ended the Bulls run at winning this game. Now Boston has a three games to two series lead.
Why the Celtics Won This Game
Sure, Paul Pierce made his last five shots after struggling all game and all of them were big, game-changing shots but Rajon Rondo is the reason that the Celtics won this game and the reason that they're winning this series right now. Has anybody stopped to see what Rajon's averages for this series are? 24.2 points, 10.2 assists, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 51% shooting. He also only has turned the ball over 11 times in five games. If LeBron James was putting up these numbers, ESPN would be running E:60 pieces on him every 15 minutes. Whenever the Bulls made a run in this game, Rondo killed it with his scoring.
Why the Bulls Lost This Game
The Bulls lost this game because once again Vinny Del Negro didn't coach. I don't want to keep killing him on his performance this series because he actually used his timeouts properly in this game. But he refused to send a double team at Paul Pierce as the Truth dismantled John Salmons at the top of the key. And the result was dagger after dagger. Why wouldn't you put your second best defender on Stephon Marbury or Big Baby and run them at Pierce as soon as he touched the ball? Instead, he left Salmons off on an island and we all know what happens to a fish out of water. My god, I don't even respect myself after typing that sentence.
Heading into Game Six
Now, it's time for the Celtics to close out the series. But how many more bullets can they dodge? If Ben Gordon is healthier on Thursday than he was Tuesday night then the Celtics will be in some real trouble. Even though he started the game 2-11 from the field and finished 6-21, he got to the free throw line 12 times and still shredded the Celtics enough to make it interesting. The Celtics need to play another opportunistic game from their five starters and they can't survive another game in which their bench scored five points. If they can get any scoring off the pine, they'll close out the series.
Prediction: I called Celtics in six games and I'll stick to it. The Celtics play just well enough to win.
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