Cavs/Celts Game 3

[motherscratcher]

Let me step into the room and see if everyone is okay here tonight...

Turn the lights on, no one swinging from the shower curtain....

Okay. Good.

See ya Sunday.

David Carradine and Michael Hutchins must not be Cav's fans.

[swerb]

Great win tonight. No let up at other either end. Great to see this team respond like that. Chance to end this series on Mothers Day.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Let me step into the room and see if everyone is okay here tonight...

Turn the lights on, no one swinging from the shower curtain....

Okay. Good.

See ya Sunday.

lol. A shower curtain could never hold the weight of an adult male.

[Gradysmanldy]

Just got back from the bar. Unfuckingbelievable Cavs win. Win out with my Mo Williams jersey, and got laughed at when they saw it. Same guys had nothing to say after the game. :)

I cant believe the Cavs maintained that kind of focus on both ends for the full 4q's of fun. Im not sure which is sexier, the 120+ offense or the 100- defense.

I turned to my buddy at one point in the 4th and said, "You know who sucked for cleveland in this game?" got a blank stare, and responded with "Yeah, I cant think of anyone either, better luck Sunday"

Best words to describe how they played in game 3? Tough, focused. Felt like every play they were getting a body on someone, getting to the rim, and boxing the eff out. Like sweet symphony music. Shaq's activity was especially welcome.

[Gradysmanldy]

Btw, Ey, when a 3-10 makes the Boston honks clamor for more PT, you KNOW the bench is crap.

[British_Pharaoh]

Brown really shook these boys up Tuesday

what a great response

Welcome back HCA

[British_Pharaoh]

Worst home loss in playoff history for the C's

[Prosecutor]

Speaking of offensive efficiency, Pluto made a couple of points in how the Cavs offensive approach was different from Game 2 to Game 3:

"Those 21 points [in the first quarter] came in the flow of the game, James not hesitating. He caught a pass, and either shot it, drove to the basket or passed....Finally, the Cavs treated Shaquille O'Neal as what he's become at this stage of his career -- a role player whose forte is defense and rebounding. They stopped forcing the ball inside to him, waiting for him to shoot."

That's what I noticed most - the movement and flow of the offense. Very few times did they dump it in to Shaq and stand there watching him bang. Very few times did LeBron dribble away the shot clock while the rest of the team stood in the corners and watched. It seemed like they were running a play on every possession, which is what I like to see. When they didn't run a play they took advantage of mismatches, like when West went one-one-one.

Speaking of role players, Mo turned out to be a role player last night. He only took four shots from the field. No forcing up 3's in transition. I think he only took two jumpers all night. He didn't play as many minutes as usual because West was shooting so well, but when he played he just blended into the offense and took what the defense gave him.

As for the defense, Pluto wrote:

"Then Brown had his players try to entice Rondo in taking jump shots, perhaps the weakest part of the star point guard's game. He finished with 19 points, but couldn't drive at will or tilt the momentum in his team's direction."

The adjustment was that the Cavs stayed closer to the Celtics shooters to prevent Rondo from passing off, limiting him to 8 assists versus 19 in Game 2. Nice adjustment by Brown (for those who think he's the worst coach in the NBA). Let's see how the Celtics adjust back in Game 4, if they can.

Finally, welcome back LeBron. Showing early that he could knock down the jumper and putting up 21 in the first quarter served notice that he was back and ready to re-establish the Cavs superiority. I have to believe the Celtics were emotionally deflated after that first quarter.

I never thought I'd see the Cavs got 31-34 from the line. Was that a fluke or was everybody just focusing more? I almost wished they'd saved some for the close games.

Great job by Jamison on the boards. 12 rebounds while battling Garnett, Perkins, and Baby, all of whom have a significant height or weight advantage. Shaq can't play major minutes so somebody has to get on the glass when he's down.

Well, that's the formula. Have LeBron get going early and let the rest of the team play in the flow of the offense. Get the ball to whoever is hot, in this case Jamison and West. Don't keep forcing it to Shaq or expect Mo to be Scotty Pippen. And don't force the 3-point shots against this team. Make them work on defense. Take it to the hole or shoot open 15-footers.

I agree Game 3 was a perfect storm. Even the free throws were dropping. The Celtics were humiliated with the worst HC loss in their history. They'll come out hard tomorrow. I expect they'll try to get Ray Allen going. He always seems to get hot when the Celtics beat the Cavs. I also wonder if they'll go to their bench quicker if Allen or Pierce aren't producing.

[OldDawg]

Agree with Pluto's analysis. LBJ dominated the 1st quarter and made it look easy. It all did seem in the flow of the game. He did not bully and force his way into shots.

Good Jamo showing. His runner is smooth. Would like to see his J come back.

Mo attacking the hoop a few times was good to see.

And the Shaq man looking comfortable in the post. Did not look hesitant.

Pierce has been absent. Lets keep it that way. I know we have played some good D on him, but he has missed some wide open Js in this series.

And who was that team in Cavs jerseys on the foul line??

Great game across the board. Again, Cavs made it look easy. Now lets go for the jugular Sunday to really pi$$ off the Boston fans. And so we can finish them off in our barn. I say at our place we pass out white towels to the fans that sit right behind the bench!!!

EDIT: I am telling you that Boston sets more illegal screens than any team in the NBA. They stick elbows, hips, knees out on defenders all the time. It was good to see them call an illegal screen on them last night. Bout time.

[Prosecutor]

"Mo attacking the hoop a few times was good to see."

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Mo has been probably more effective this series going to the hole than shooting jumpers. When he had that spurt in Game 1 he was driving to the rim. I think he's figured out that he can do that against Boston because other than Garnett they don't have any shot blockers. Perkins, Davis, and Sheed and not leapers and they're not that tall. Once Mo gets by Rondo he's been able to get to the rim and finish. He even had a 3-point play off a layup yesterday, which is rare for him.

He won't be able to do that against Dwight Howard but it's working against the Celtics. Delonte has had some success going to the hole as well. I'd like to see the Cavs guards continue to penetrate and either finish at the rim or dump it off to Shaq, AV, JJ, or Jamison.

[British_Pharaoh]

I am fuxking hammewrd but I'm happy with this arrangemanet


cavs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No recollection

[Frank Duffy]

First, that was great. Nothing like winning, and LB comes through.

But... boy, did everything go right or what? What if Parker is 0 for 3 on threes instead of 3 for 3, and the lead goes down to 10 - 12 instead of 20. What if Delonte doesn't make 3 of 4 jumpers. What if the fouls are a little more even. What if the refs didn't have contempt for Big Baby. (Did you hear the hilarious crashing sound it made when Powe put him on his back near the end?)

LB was great, but will he shoot like Joe Dumars every game? And what about that D. They never stopped KG at all, or Rondo much. Allen and Pierce didn’t shoot well - bec of us? Don't know.

It would be very nice to win on Sun., but it should be more like game 1. Someone will have to step up. They have a lot of ways to win. Yesterday, most everybody stepped up (like someone mentioned, Mo had that rare non-spectacular, non-crap, useful game.) Monday, no one stepped up. Game one, Mo (and Delonte) did. Hopefully one or two will be ready.

(Mysterious sentence in Windy's article today about maybe LB got some treatment we'll never be told about. (hint hint) Boy, I hope so.)

[OldDawg]

"Mo attacking the hoop a few times was good to see."

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Mo has been probably more effective this series going to the hole than shooting jumpers. When he had that spurt in Game 1 he was driving to the rim.

I think Mo's not going to the rim that much is a little bit of a product of being on the floor with LBJ. LBJ can turn anyone into a stand-still spot-up jump shooter. It is good to see him begin to mix in his drive. If he can do that and make jumpers, he will really be a plus to the cavs' attack. EYE has been on here countless times saying LBJ has taken away a big part of Mo's game.

AP is going to the rim a little more in the post season than he did in the regular season as well. He has been decent doing that. He looked ugly yesterday when he tried to drive and dish... a little awkward... I believe he turned it over.

Speaking of TOs, the only stretch of the game that scared me was when we first started to build the early lead, we turned it over 4 straight possessions. I was afraid that would bite us in the butt.

[FUDU]

First, that was great. Nothing like winning, and LB comes through.

But... boy, did everything go right or what? What if Parker is 0 for 3 on threes instead of 3 for 3, and the lead goes down to 10 - 12 instead of 20. What if Delonte doesn't make 3 of 4 jumpers. What if the fouls are a little more even. What if the refs didn't have contempt for Big Baby. (Did you hear the hilarious crashing sound it made when Powe put him on his back near the end?)

LB was great, but will he shoot like Joe Dumars every game? And what about that D. They never stopped KG at all, or Rondo much. Allen and Pierce didn’t shoot well - bec of us? Don't know.

It would be very nice to win on Sun., but it should be more like game 1. Someone will have to step up. They have a lot of ways to win. Yesterday, most everybody stepped up (like someone mentioned, Mo had that rare non-spectacular, non-crap, useful game.) Monday, no one stepped up. Game one, Mo (and Delonte) did. Hopefully one or two will be ready.

(Mysterious sentence in Windy's article today about maybe LB got some treatment we'll never be told about. (hint hint) Boy, I hope so.)

Frank part of the game plan was to NOT stop Rondo, from shooting anyway. Rondo is not going to be stopped from driving all that much, especially if you try to stop him from driving. So if you play off him significantly, with a guy like AP (a good defender) you have a nice cushion to keep Rondo in front of you. If Rondo is in front of you he isn't going to hurt you nearly as much. It is when Rondo is no longer in front of you when he is dangerous. AP is good enough on D and just long enough to still get up close enough to distract Rondo shooting. We saw what happens with that plan, he cannot score enough to keep up. KG going off isn't going to hurt us, nor did it.

[OldDawg]

Don't know if you guys noticed, but another interesting part of the Cavs game plan was to press Rondo in the back court, even occasionally doubling him with the guy guarding the inbounder. It seems the Cavs know Rondo has to log a ton of minutes for the Cs to have a chance. I believe the Cavs wanted to wear him down some with the back court pressure. As they approached the half court line, the D ran hard off of Rondo to give him all that cushion and not let him drive.

[leadpipe]

First, that was great. Nothing like winning, and LB comes through.

But... boy, did everything go right or what? What if Parker is 0 for 3 on threes instead of 3 for 3, and the lead goes down to 10 - 12 instead of 20. What if Delonte doesn't make 3 of 4 jumpers. What if the fouls are a little more even. What if the refs didn't have contempt for Big Baby. (Did you hear the hilarious crashing sound it made when Powe put him on his back near the end?)

LB was great, but will he shoot like Joe Dumars every game? And what about that D. They never stopped KG at all, or Rondo much. Allen and Pierce didn’t shoot well - bec of us? Don't know.

It would be very nice to win on Sun., but it should be more like game 1. Someone will have to step up. They have a lot of ways to win. Yesterday, most everybody stepped up (like someone mentioned, Mo had that rare non-spectacular, non-crap, useful game.) Monday, no one stepped up. Game one, Mo (and Delonte) did. Hopefully one or two will be ready.

(Mysterious sentence in Windy's article today about maybe LB got some treatment we'll never be told about. (hint hint) Boy, I hope so.)

Frank part of the game plan was to NOT stop Rondo, from shooting anyway. Rondo is not going to be stopped from driving all that much, especially if you try to stop him from driving. So if you play off him significantly, with a guy like AP (a good defender) you have a nice cushion to keep Rondo in front of you. If Rondo is in front of you he isn't going to hurt you nearly as much. It is when Rondo is no longer in front of you when he is dangerous. AP is good enough on D and just long enough to still get up close enough to distract Rondo shooting. We saw what happens with that plan, he cannot score enough to keep up. KG going off isn't going to hurt us, nor did it.

They made the guy a scorer yesterday, which is exactly what they wanted to do. Without his facilitation, the rest of that team struggled.

[peeker643]

Don't know if you guys noticed, but another interesting part of the Cavs game plan was to press Rondo in the back court, even occasionally doubling him with the guy guarding the inbounder. It seems the Cavs know Rondo has to log a ton of minutes for the Cs to have a chance. I believe the Cavs wanted to wear him down some with the back court pressure. As they approached the half court line, the D ran hard off of Rondo to give him all that cushion and not let him drive.

Was talking to my buddies while watching the game about that very thing. They also trapped Rondo in the backcourt a couple of times and changed up their looks.

I do recall Rondo against Parker one time in the backcourt giving AP a little hesitation dribble and then sprintong 80 feet to the rim for a layup with AP never catching up.

That man is quick and fast.

[OldDawg]

Additionally, as a result of the Cavs pressing tactic, Boston a couple of times had Ray Allen or Pierce bring the ball up. I like that on two fronts... Allen or Pierce bringing it up is a good thing, because they are not running off screens or spotting up, ... and Rondo not bringing it up is a good thing because it eliminates that initial threat of penetration by Rondo.

I do think the emergence of Rondo has also led to the submergence of two of the big three. It seems Allen and Pierce haven't got into the flow and are not the primary looks that they are used to being. Possibly the Cs staff has sought to exploit the Cavs weakness to the point where they have lost what got them there.

[e0y2e3]

Pluto is a dumbass, we started out the past two games w/ the same philosophy, just our ridiculous inability to make any of the easy bunnies led to a total offensive breakdown.

And in the second quarter in game 2 Mo went on the attack. He just also promptly muffed every shot he took during that two minute stretch.

[e0y2e3]

Don't know if you guys noticed, but another interesting part of the Cavs game plan was to press Rondo in the back court, even occasionally doubling him with the guy guarding the inbounder. It seems the Cavs know Rondo has to log a ton of minutes for the Cs to have a chance. I believe the Cavs wanted to wear him down some with the back court pressure. As they approached the half court line, the D ran hard off of Rondo to give him all that cushion and not let him drive.

Was talking to my buddies while watching the game about that very thing. They also trapped Rondo in the backcourt a couple of times and changed up their looks.

I do recall Rondo against Parker one time in the backcourt giving AP a little hesitation dribble and then sprintong 80 feet to the rim for a layup with AP never catching up.

That man is quick and fast.

Yeah, I don't expect us to pressure him in the backcourt for the duration of the series. He can KILL us easily if he smokes Parker back there, which is reasonably likely. We caught them off guard once, need to be quick to stop doing it once he adjusts.

[e0y2e3]

GREAT recap from Wojo on this (que fundamentals and his "but he was mean to LBJ three years ago whining bullshit):

BOSTON – LeBron James(notes) had never seemed moved, nor impressed, with his coach’s diatribe. After a decided Game 2 loss, Mike Brown marched to the podium and derided his Cleveland Cavaliers with ominous words and weighty warnings. Nevertheless, the perfectly placid response of the NBA’s MVP suggested a far different, a far more measured, disposition.

While the rest of Cleveland worked itself into a frenzy with fear that one more championship season had reached the cusp of crumbling, James raised only his eyebrows to the chorus, never his voice. Everything about James’ vibe was simply, “Relax everyone, I’ve got this.”

Perhaps no one wanted to believe, but yet it’s turned into the surest truth of this wobbly Eastern Conference semifinal series. James has hold again, and resistance remains futile. Whatever pain had plagued that right elbow faded with every arcing jump shot and determined drive to the rim. LeBron was LeBron again, and order was restored to his championship destiny.

“If you remember me,” James reminded Friday night, “I was real calm. There was no reason for me as a leader to be very angry or feel like it was pressure time for us. … You guys [were] like, ‘Why do you seem so calm and Mike seems so, um …’ ”

So um … um … James didn’t finish the sentence on the podium Friday night, because he had finished it on the Garden floor. James had come out of the corner like a young Mike Tyson, all haymakers and hellfire, beating bloody these Celtics with a barrage straight out of their worst nightmare. The Celtics never gathered themselves, never responded.

Twenty-one of his 38 points came in the first quarter of the Cavaliers’ 125-94 victory, and James had just delivered a Game 3 victory. He hadn’t just won for the first time at Boston in five playoff tries, he had delivered the Boston Celtics the worst home postseason loss in franchise history. Most of all, James had delivered on his greatness. The Cavs take a 2-1 series lead, and maybe much of that Boston belief that the Cavs had become vulnerable, that Boston had jarred them.

Everything changed for the Cavaliers because James no longer babied that right elbow. He didn’t grab it. He didn’t flinch. Perhaps rest had shooed the pain away, but the floor spaced, the ball moved and the shots fell at the rapid rate of 60 percent Friday night. For everything James delivered, this victory had been a window into the wheels turning together. Antawn Jamison(notes) had 20 points and 12 rebounds and kept learning how to play off Shaquille O’Neal(notes). Anthony Parker(notes) and Delonte West(notes) made 9 of 11 shots.

The Cavaliers were determined defenders, turning Rajon Rondo(notes) into a jump shooter and Paul Pierce(notes) and Ray Allen(notes) into invisible, old men. For the most part, these were the Celtics of the regular season: wildly up and down, maddeningly inconsistent. That’s who they’ve been all season, and that’s somehow who they still were with three full days’ rest.

Rasheed Wallace(notes) disappeared again. Glen “Big Baby” Davis did nothing. Coach Doc Rivers had watched two days of lousy preparation, poor practices and he feared the worst for Game 3. He understood LeBron James was going to come for these Celtics, and he watched his team become willing victims. Just once they tried to foul James hard. Kendrick Perkins(notes) crushed that right arm on a breakaway, earned himself a flagrant and watched James just bounce to his feet, dismiss the blow and carry on.

“Enough with the elbow injury, all right?” Rivers insisted. “… But I don’t think we have any resistance. I mean, he was playing HORSE.”

For the Cavs, this was the most heartening game of the playoffs. All around James, there hadn’t been a game this season when all of these parts that were assembled for a championship chase had worked so perfectly. Jamison had come to understand that you give Shaq the ball but never leave him on an island. Move, cut, give him a chance to make a pass. Give him the chance to make a move to the rim.

All these little things had started to illuminate for the Cavs because LeBron James understood that a road playoff game was no place to ease into a game. At home, you can do it. The crowd carries your teammates. Get them involved early, get them going and then you can close the game late.

“Guys are more confident at home, guys shoot the ball better at home,” James said.

As much as anything, these Cavaliers needed to see James push past the issues with his elbow, push past the discussion of a diminished LeBron and watch him dominate again.

Nothing makes these Cavs so alive, so dangerous, as the understanding that the MVP has taken the first, boldest step for them and appears unstoppable again. Everything else followed for the Cavs, everyone joined into the music with him and the Celtics never stood a chance. This was one of those nights when the bell sounded and LeBron James came out of his corner with haymakers and hell’s fury.

All these years, all these playoffs games, and no one had ever delivered a beating to basketball’s greatest dynasty the way James did Friday night. He had listened to his coach rant and rave after a Game 2 loss, and he did everything but roll his eyes and dismissively wave it away. Did you hear him yell? Did you hear him panic? He left it to Mike Brown and everyone else, because ultimately James understands the truth of the matter: Once and for all, LeBron James controls everything here.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... cavs050710

[davemanddd]

so since the cavs won via the blowout, are they "moralized"??? hee-hee!!!

[peeker643]

GREAT recap from Wojo on this (que fundamentals and his "but he was mean to LBJ three years ago whining bullshit):

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... cavs050710

Slamming the emotional accelerator to the floor and then jumping hard on the emotional breaks during the postseason is risky business. It eats through stomach lining. That's cool if that's what you're looking for because this stuff is a different animal for different people.

We do it here on these boards all the time. What Woj points is true: these guys know what they need to do and how they need to do it. They're also more talented and deeper than their opponent.

The takeaway is that for at least one night James reinforced to many what they believe him to be and that is simply the capability to be great every single night he feels like being great. You saw some Jordan in him Friday night: cold, calculating, focused but detached.

Dude is the 4-star general. When he goes, how he goes and where goes, his guys follow if he's ready to give everything he has and bring them with him.

I said it Friday to the guys I was watching with but if the Celtics had mounted any type of competitiveness in Game 3 I have no doubt in my mind that LBJ throws in 55-60. Maybe more. There's simply no doubt.

When the best player in the game wants it more than any other player in the gym then, well, as the slogan goes, that's where amazing happens.

[Prosecutor]

"Perhaps rest had shooed the pain away, but the floor spaced, the ball moved and the shots fell at the rapid rate of 60 percent Friday night...This was one of those nights when the bell sounded and LeBron James came out of his corner with haymakers and hell’s fury."

That's what I noticed and what Pluto commented on - "the floor spaced, the ball moved". No dumping it in to Shaq relentlessly in the first quarter and then watching him bump, grind, and miss a 5-footer, or get called for an offensive foul. No LeBron dribbling away the shot clock from a staionary position on the 3-point line. The floor spaced, the ball moved, the offense flowed.

"Pluto is a dumbass, we started out the past two games w/ the same philosophy, just our ridiculous inability to make any of the easy bunnies led to a total offensive breakdown."

I suppose we disagree here but I thought the Cavs came out with a different offensive philosophy in Game 3. LeBron came out aggressively as opposed to passively, as he did in Game 2 when he only took five first half shots. The Cavs put up 12 three-point shots, not 21. More plays were run to get to the rim or to get high-percentage two-point shots. Less reliance on Mo and Shaq to beat their man and score. It looked different, and the 65 first half points were a little different, too. And the points kept coming in the second half, as opposed to the 12-point 3rd quarter in Game 2.

Different LeBron, but also a different approach. By the way, if this team is so emotionally fragile that a few missed shots by Shaq early in the game leads to a "total offensive breakdown", then they're not winning anything this year.

[Orenthal]

so since the cavs won via the blowout, are they "moralized"??? hee-hee!!!

[e0y2e3]

I'm talking about the very start of Game 2 Pros, you know, when Shaq was getting feeds from LBJ and missing them and LBJ missed a five footer and made a layup in the first 1:30.

The offense turned into what you explain when they failed to execute right off the bat. We start out early w/ ball movement and open looks. After a few misses everyone devolved into grossness. Jamo opened game two off a feed going to the basket. We also had a couple of very costly early turnovers.

Brown said it point blank, they just upped the intensity and execution, the game plan on O was the same.

And if you don't think this team can miss a few shots and turn into the LeISO offense then you haven't been watching them during the LBJ era. That is standard.

[Frank Duffy]

First, that was great. Nothing like winning, and LB comes through.

But... boy, did everything go right or what? What if Parker is 0 for 3 on threes instead of 3 for 3, and the lead goes down to 10 - 12 instead of 20. What if Delonte doesn't make 3 of 4 jumpers. What if the fouls are a little more even. What if the refs didn't have contempt for Big Baby. (Did you hear the hilarious crashing sound it made when Powe put him on his back near the end?)

LB was great, but will he shoot like Joe Dumars every game? And what about that D. They never stopped KG at all, or Rondo much. Allen and Pierce didn’t shoot well - bec of us? Don't know.

It would be very nice to win on Sun., but it should be more like game 1. Someone will have to step up. They have a lot of ways to win. Yesterday, most everybody stepped up (like someone mentioned, Mo had that rare non-spectacular, non-crap, useful game.) Monday, no one stepped up. Game one, Mo (and Delonte) did. Hopefully one or two will be ready.

(Mysterious sentence in Windy's article today about maybe LB got some treatment we'll never be told about. (hint hint) Boy, I hope so.)

Frank part of the game plan was to NOT stop Rondo, from shooting anyway. Rondo is not going to be stopped from driving all that much, especially if you try to stop him from driving. So if you play off him significantly, with a guy like AP (a good defender) you have a nice cushion to keep Rondo in front of you. If Rondo is in front of you he isn't going to hurt you nearly as much. It is when Rondo is no longer in front of you when he is dangerous. AP is good enough on D and just long enough to still get up close enough to distract Rondo shooting. We saw what happens with that plan, he cannot score enough to keep up. KG going off isn't going to hurt us, nor did it.

They made the guy a scorer yesterday, which is exactly what they wanted to do. Without his facilitation, the rest of that team struggled.

Yup. But Rondo shot pretty well, no? And is AP on Rondo why Allen and Pierce shot badly? I hope so. And KG was terrific as a stretch 4. Just saying, I'm optimistic but I don't expect this to be easy.

[Prosecutor]

I'm talking about the very start of Game 2 Pros, you know, when Shaq was getting feeds from LBJ and missing them and LBJ missed a five footer and made a layup in the first 1:30.

The offense turned into what you explain when they failed to execute right off the bat. We start out early w/ ball movement and open looks. After a few misses everyone devolved into grossness. Jamo opened game two off a feed going to the basket. We also had a couple of very costly early turnovers.

Brown said it point blank, they just upped the intensity and execution, the game plan on O was the same.

And if you don't think this team can miss a few shots and turn into the LeISO offense then you haven't been watching them during the LBJ era. That is standard.

It's true the Cavs got off to a rotten start offensively in Game 2 with Shaq missing his shots and the missed layup by LeBron. But it's not like the Celtics sprinted out to a 20-4 lead and the Cavs panicked. The Celtics got off slow as well and the first half was close the whole way, with the game basically tied at halftime 52-48. No reason for everyone to "devolve into grossness." In fact, they were in better shape at halftime than in Game 1 when they were down by 11.

If the whole thing fell apart because they missed a few makeable shots in the first minute and a half of the game, then this team is too emotionally fragile to go anywhere. And the coach is incapable of getting them back on track. Sorry, I just don't see it that way.

I could be wrong, but my impression was that Brown's game plan was to go to Shaq early and often in Game 2 to try and 1) get him going, and 2) get the Celtics bigs in early foul trouble. It didn't work, but it was still anybody's game at halftime. It was the atrocious 31-12 3rd quarter when the devolution into grossness really came into play.

They didn't start Game 3 by going to Shaq five times right off the bat, or throwing up a lot of 3-pointers. I saw floor spacing and ball movement. I saw LeBron looking to score early, and he scored a lot. Yes, there was better intensity and execution like you said, but it just looked to me like the plan was different. The results definitely were.

[e0y2e3]

Again, have you watched this team in the LBJ era?

When the offense isn't flowing they stagnate and stare at him waiting from him to create.

It's been their MO forever.

If you want to avoid the fact that the gameplan was the exact same and when the flow wasn't their to start they stagnated be my guest. You pick some pretty fucking stupid things to try and draw a line in the sand over. This team has done this for YEARS.

Also, Shaq took exactly two more shots in the first half in game 3 than game 2. It's been noted by several people the biggest adjustment on Shaq possessions was Jamo actually moving w/ out the ball so should could look to dish as well as back down.

If you don't understand the ability of this team to lose their flow and turn into LeISO though, there is no hope for you because seven years of data has somehow flown over your head.

And the score was only close at halftime in game 2 because the Celtics were fouling like it was going out of style and turning the ball over like mad. Our offense had nothing to do w/ that score and we should have been down at least ten at the half. The score at the half of game 2 is 100% irrelevant when discussing the flow of our offense and a big fat straw man.

[leadpipe]

First, that was great. Nothing like winning, and LB comes through.

But... boy, did everything go right or what? What if Parker is 0 for 3 on threes instead of 3 for 3, and the lead goes down to 10 - 12 instead of 20. What if Delonte doesn't make 3 of 4 jumpers. What if the fouls are a little more even. What if the refs didn't have contempt for Big Baby. (Did you hear the hilarious crashing sound it made when Powe put him on his back near the end?)

LB was great, but will he shoot like Joe Dumars every game? And what about that D. They never stopped KG at all, or Rondo much. Allen and Pierce didn’t shoot well - bec of us? Don't know.

It would be very nice to win on Sun., but it should be more like game 1. Someone will have to step up. They have a lot of ways to win. Yesterday, most everybody stepped up (like someone mentioned, Mo had that rare non-spectacular, non-crap, useful game.) Monday, no one stepped up. Game one, Mo (and Delonte) did. Hopefully one or two will be ready.

(Mysterious sentence in Windy's article today about maybe LB got some treatment we'll never be told about. (hint hint) Boy, I hope so.)

Frank part of the game plan was to NOT stop Rondo, from shooting anyway. Rondo is not going to be stopped from driving all that much, especially if you try to stop him from driving. So if you play off him significantly, with a guy like AP (a good defender) you have a nice cushion to keep Rondo in front of you. If Rondo is in front of you he isn't going to hurt you nearly as much. It is when Rondo is no longer in front of you when he is dangerous. AP is good enough on D and just long enough to still get up close enough to distract Rondo shooting. We saw what happens with that plan, he cannot score enough to keep up. KG going off isn't going to hurt us, nor did it.

They made the guy a scorer yesterday, which is exactly what they wanted to do. Without his facilitation, the rest of that team struggled.

Yup. But Rondo shot pretty well, no? And is AP on Rondo why Allen and Pierce shot badly? I hope so. And KG was terrific as a stretch 4. Just saying, I'm optimistic but I don't expect this to be easy.

Doesn't matter if he shoots pretty well. Again, Said they made him a scorer. This helped the team D on everyone else because they weren't getting room service looks.