| 20 May 2010
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Boston Celtics 95, Orlando Magic 92
Poor decision-making and missed opportunities at the end of games are often the biggest killer in the NBA playoffs. Yes, teams have rebound, defend and shoot the ball to win most times but if they can’t execute at the end of games then it’s really hard to come away as the victor.
There were three plays towards the end of Game Two in which Orlando gave away opportunities to even up the series.
The first play came with around 3:20 left in the game. Vince Carter and Dwight Howard run a pick-and-roll at the top of the key and Kendrick Perkins is forced to switch out on Vince. Vince drives to his left but instead of turning the corner on the much slower Perkins and taking the ball all the way to the basket, he decides to take a step-back fadeaway jumper from the baseline that caroms off the rim. At that point in the game the Magic had wrestled some momentum from the Celtics and could have extended their one point lead to three.
But that didn’t happen. Vince’s horrible shot and the ensuing rebound allowed Boston to take the lead. They took the ball down the court, ran the shot clock almost all the way down and got a turnaround jumper in the post by Kevin Garnett. It was a big four-point swing that took Orlando right out of the driver seat and into some stinky duffel bag that was fastened to the top of the station wagon.
The second play was with 34 seconds remaining when Vince Carter received the ball at the top of the key again but this time drove right by Glen Davis before getting fouled by Paul Pierce. I’ve been arguing to defend Vince throughout the majority of this season and the playoffs. He’s looked at as a choker and someone who doesn’t come up big in clutch situations. With the help of a fuzzy memory and some 82games.com stats, I’ve been able to provide information contrary to the reputation of him being a choker. So what does he do? He misses two clutch free throws when his team is down three with 31 seconds left and Orlando’s season basically on the line. Thanks, Vince.
The third play happened when the Magic elected not to foul on Boston’s final possession. With a 6.6-second difference between the shot clock and the game clock, Orlando decides not to foul and to try to make a defensive stand. They get a missed jumper from Kevin Garnett and JJ Redick grabs the rebound with 7.8 seconds left on the clock. The problem is that he begins to dribble the ball up the floor before Stan Van Gundy and players can call timeout, negating them being able to advance the ball to halfcourt. Also, in the process Redick manages to run the clock to under four seconds before the refs blow the whistle for the timeout.
On the inbounds pass, which is coming from about 60 feet rather than less than half the length of the floor, Redick misses a wide-open Rashard Lewis at the three-point line and opts to give the ball to Jameer Nelson behind the halfcourt line. Nelson is forced to throw up a running 40-footer to try to tie the game and comes up well short. Redick’s two miscues on the same possession shot Orlando in the foot and helped them go down to Boston 0-2, heading back to Beantown.
The Celtics didn’t exactly set John Stockton and Karl Malone on fire by executing impeccably down the stretch but they also didn’t do similar stuff that the Magic did to cost them this game. Boston showed much more poise and patience while the Magic looked like they’ve never been this far in the playoffs before (which is troubling considering they represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals last season).
Why The Celtics Won This Game
Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce carried the scoring load for this team and put them in an excellent position to win the ball game. Both players dominated the first half by racking up 35 of their combined 53 points for the game. Rondo continued to blow by Jameer Nelson and make things happen all over the floor with his scoring and passing ability. Pierce on the other hand had 22 of his 28 points in the first half by getting to his spots on the floor and shredding the Orlando defense. They’ve had pretty much no answer for him in either game and aside from forcing him into five turnovers each contest, they’ve allowed him to find his scoring rhythm once again.
Why The Magic Lost This Game
The Magic wasted a brilliant 30-point effort by Dwight Howard. He got the Celtics into foul trouble and made great adjustments and moves around the basket that we didn’t see in the first game. While Vince Carter wasn’t great, he was at least aggressive in scoring 16 points on 15 shots. His teammates on the other hand were too passive. Matt Barnes, Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis combined to shoot 8/27 from the field. They have to assert themselves offensively and avoid more lackluster performances if they’re going to make this a series.
Heading Into Game Three
Even though Boston has proven that they’re clearly the better team in these first two games, I have a hard time believing that this Orlando team will be swept at any point in the playoffs. Last year when they were down three games to two in their series against Boston, they responded by winning Game Six and Game Seven. This team has a lot of firepower and a lot of heart and I’m not ready to proclaim the Celtics as a broom-carrying winner just yet (although they’re definitely going to win the series). Only way Orlando avoids getting swept is by winning Game Three.
Prediction: Orlando steals back Game Three
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