The Taste Is In The Gristle: Celtics at Magic, Game 4
- Glen Davis is going to get paid a HUGE contract next year, and then shoot .300. I say this not because I’m bitter, but because we’ve seen it oh so many times. Great shot, kid. Great shot.
- The Celtics shot 53% from the field, shot only one fewer free throw, got 39 from Pierce and Allen, got 21 from Glen freaking Davis, managed to not foul anyone out, and got a way with a world of flops.
- The Magic shot 40% from the field, 19% from the arc, even though they had open looks all night, SVG played Rafer Alston when he was a -14734834347347384374 for the game, did not play Gortat more than 9:32, Howard had foul trouble, Hedo had a wretched night, and Redick was 0-5 from the arc.
- And the Boston Celtics needed a desperation, 18 foot jumper from Tons of Fun to win the game.
- There are two ways to look at this. Either this Boston Celtics team possesses a greatness that cannot be defined, that just finds a way to win, that never gets up and will always get big contributions from role players, and has juevos of titanium steel alloy, or…
- The Orlando Magic gave this one away, and there’s no way what occurs tonight is repeated, the Magic have way too much ammo, and this was the Celtics last night in victory.
- I lean towards the latter.
- The Magic played horrible. I predicted a 15 point Boston win last night and again today, and when the Celtics went up by 9 in the third, I was sure it was over. But Boston let them back in it, because the Magic have too much firepower. Thankfully for the C’s, the triggers were off, and Orlando can’t do anything the easy way.
- SVG gets this loss. No question. He buried this team. He overplayed Rafer Alston, who somehow managed to miss runners, jumpers, three pointers, one handers, two handers, gimmes, tough shots, and granny shots. Yet SVG kept going to him. At what point is SVG going to realize that his best chance to win is Lee, Hedo, Lewis, Gortat and Howard? He lets the Boston bigs double team Howard, then refuses to give Gortat the chance to play cleanup man. He watches Alston kill possessions, with the Celtics giving him shots and him still missing, and yet sticks with him over Anthony Johnson. The pride of coaches in the playoffs just floors me. This one is on you, Stan Van Gundy.
- The Celtics did some neat things to get Allen sprung tonight. He didn’t have a huge night and missed some daggers, but had a pretty good night and kept them honest. They were running pick and pops with him and Pierce, making them decide which poison to drink.
- Perkins did a fantastic job on Howard tonight. The refs let him shove Howard away from the basket, and when they stopped, he just played smart defense and got the stops. Also hit a few drop hooks that should have been in the third row.
- Hedo was horrible tonight, in every conceivable way. The Celtics are in his head a little bit, flashing at him and making him question his dribble.
- Courtney Lee needs to do a better job of not second guessing shots and taking the three. He’s got the trigger. They’re not going to get there in time, kid.
- Glen Davis. Really? That’s the answer?
- I really thought Boston would put away this game more convincingly, but a win’s a win. I like Orlando in Game 5 on the road.
- Pierce looked healthier than I’ve seen him this offseason. He attacked the basket, hit shots, and when he hit the pivot, I wasn’t afraid his knee was going to buckle.
- The Magic have all the pieces of a killer ultra-long, hyper-athletic lineup. Then SVG gets involved and we get Alston-Pietrus-Hedo-Battie-Howard/Gortat lineups. If SVG can learn to harness what’s referred to in some circles as “playing the talented players” then they can win this thing. If he sticks to his guns, the Magic are going home and Boston will lose to Cleveland in 2.5 games. Glen Davis will not be getting that shot versus Cleveland’s D.
- Glen Davis may show up to camp at 300 lbs with all the bacon that new contract is going to buy him.
- And he can throw away all the kids he wants.
