| 04 May 2009
How Did The Celtics Get Here?
The Celtics got here by simply outlasting the Chicago Bulls in a taxing seven-game series. The Celtics didn't really adhere to the things that helped them win their 17th NBA championship last season. Defense was scarce and they seemed to be attacking the basket a lot more than they used to. The big part of that was the fact that Kevin Garnett is still out indefinitely. Another part of that was the fact that they were facing a wide-eyed Derrick Rose who hasn't realized he has the perfect makeup to be a great defender, coupled with the fact that Brad Miller was often the last line of defense. With all of the overtime periods, the Celtics played an extra 35 minutes of game time, which probably was stretched out to another four hours of actual time. The closeout in Game Seven was fairly convincing but tiring enough to show its effects in the first game against Orlando.
How Did The Magic Get Here?
The Magic maybe were the most confusing of the first round teams to advance. They struggled mightily against the Sixers in a lot of facets of the game in which they usually dominate. They couldn't match their athleticism and weren't able to force this series into a three-point shooting contest because the Sixers don't shoot threes. The Hawks-Heat series was easily the worst and least interesting seven-game series of all time and this may have taken that title for six-game series. The 76ers upset them early but it never felt like they had a chance to take the series. That's probably because Andre Iguodala was the best player on the floor for Philly due to the fact that Thaddeus Young was taken out of the game by Rashard Lewis (see? Confusing). They surprised a lot of people by dominating the sixth and deciding game without Dwight Howard on the floor and saved themselves the physical exertion and anxiety of a Game Seven.
Match-up History
06/07 - Magic 3-1 in regular season (Magic coached by Brian Hill)
07/08 - Magic 2-1 in regular season
08/09 - Series tied at 2-2
Match-Ups by Position
Point Guard - Rajon Rondo vs. Rafer Alston
This definitely looks an extremely lopsided match-up in the favor of the Boston Celtics. Rajon Rondo put up averages of 19.4 points, 11.6 assists, 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game against one of the premier young point guards in the NBA. He kept them in Game Five when they were in danger of losing on their home floor. And he has shown that he can carry a team for most of a quarter if need be with his quickness. Rafer Alston got a reputation for being a defensive-minded player in the Houston Rockets system but didn't really show any consistency with that in Orlando. He'll have to slow down Rondo enough to allow Dwight Howard to get to the rim first. If he can't do that, expect similar Rondo numbers in this round.
Edge: Boston
Shooting Guard - Ray Allen vs. Courtney Lee
Courtney Lee has developed a nice little rep as a good defensive guard who can be a burst scorer. Well, his defense will definitely be put to the test in this series. It's a lot different trying to stop a guy one-on-one as opposed to having to chase him around the floor, avoid screens, and close in on a long range shot. Ray Allen is going to need to come out to a quick start so that the Magic defenders become afraid of his shooting. He doesn't need to have 40 points every night out but if he can shoot over 45% from three like he did against Chicago (46.6%) then he'll be feared greatly.
Edge: Boston
Small Forward - Paul Pierce vs. Hedo Turkoglu
I don't even know what to say about this match-up. Paul Pierce for the most part has been pretty bad. He's gotten his numbers but only a couple of times has it seemed like he was controlling the game in doing so (start of Game 3 when they force-fed him and end of Game 5 when he threw dagger after dagger at the Bulls). Other than that, he's seemed pretty average and not what we saw in last year's playoffs. As for Hedo, he's been absolutely atrocious in the playoffs. Andre Iguodala was far too imposing physically for Turk to do much on the floor. Would you have guessed that he averaged 11 points and shot 36% from the field in that series? Well, he did. He'll have an easier time against Pierce because Paul is a slower, good defender. Hedo should be able to make more plays. But in the clutch, Pierce is better at the step back jumper than Hedo so I'll give him the advantage.
Edge: Boston
Power Forward - Glen Davis vs. Rashard Lewis
This will be a tough match-up for the Celtics. Big Baby has played great and at one point in Game Seven when the Bulls were being picked apart by the pick and roll, Davis looked like one of the best big men in the league because of it. But he's going to have to stay out on the perimeter and move his feet fast enough to stop Rashard Lewis from driving after the pump fake. Big Baby having to defend Rashard Lewis is similar to an ugly girl who's all dressed up and standing next to good-looking girls. Big Baby moves well and defends well for a guy of his girth. But put him next to a perimeter guy like Lewis shows that he only moves well for a player his size and not compared to every player. Dress up and give an ugly girl a makeover and she just looks good for her. Put her next to pretty girls and you'll see that she's still ugly.
Edge: Orlando
Center - Kendrick Perkins vs. Dwight Howard
This is the battle that I'm looking forward to the most in this series. Kendrick Perkins does a great job of forcing offensive centers out of their comfort zone when they finally catch the ball. Few players need deep position like Howard does. So if Perkins can make him catch the ball two to three feet further than where he likes to, it could really limit his effectiveness on defense, which makes the three-point shooting of Orlando much tougher. And if Perkins can score three or four times in the post, it will be bonus points. But as good of a rebounder as Perk is, Howard should be able to dominate the boards and get some easy buckets/foul trouble for Perkins because of it.
Edge: Orlando
Bench - House/Marbury/Scalabrine vs. Pietrus/Gortat/Johnson/Redick
With Marbury afraid to make a play on offense and Leon Powe out for the playoffs, the thin Celtics bench now looks more anorexic than the new cast of 90210. Eddie House HAS to be effective with 10+ points on efficient possessions. And Scal has to be able to chip in a few unexpected points as well. Orlando on the other hand can run fairly deep if they need to and have some good shooting options off the bench. Orlando's bench will most likely win the battle here, especially if Eddie House can't get going.
Edge: Orlando
Coaching - Doc Rivers vs. Stan Van Gundy
I'm not quite sure what to feel about this match-up. Stan Van Gundy was essentially just out-coached by Tony DiLeo. And Doc Rivers pretty much broke even against Vinny Del Negro. That's an ominous sign going into this series. Doc will be able to invoke the cheers and inspiration of their run last year. And SVG should be able to get them to come firing out of the gate with the Celtics looking spent. But in late game situations, we're going to see the glaring holes of both of these coaches. Neither has really shown to be proficient in drawing up end of the game strategies and a game or two will probably come down to Hedo's terrible step back three against Pierce's forced step back 20-footer.
Edge: Even
X-Factor - Fresh Legs
It's really going to come down to how dead the legs of Boston are. Boston is still a better (slightly) and more dangerous offensive team than Orlando is. Both of these teams shoot the three fairly well and both teams close out on threes pretty well. But if Boston used up everything they have in squeaking by the Bulls then they might be too slow to stop the barrage of deep shots that Orlando likes to drop. If Boston can slow the tempo some and force the Magic to execute in the half court, they'll have a better chance of winning this series. But Orlando's main goal should be to tire out the Celtics by running as much as possible.
Prediction - Magic in 6 Games
I can't believe that I'm going against the Celtics in this one. I don't really want to but I just feel like they used too much energy against Chicago. They played seven overtime periods and every game but one came down to the wire. That toll of physical and mental exhaustion over a two-week span adds up far too much. If Kendrick Perkins can stay out of foul trouble, I'll change my pick to Boston in seven. But I just don't think the Celtics have enough left in the tank.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
