Game 2 Recap: Everyone Knows A Series Isn't Over Until You Lose At Home Duh
Wait you think this series is over? HA! Just need to win one on the road, doesn’t mean it can’t be Game 5. I’ve calmed down a bit after another disaster, so let’s take a look at what we learned….
Another strong opening quarter from the Celtics. For a team that tends to struggle in the opening quarter it is great to see this team get off to a great start in the second consecutive game. Avery finally woke up a little bit but the offense still was too stagnant for my liking. Even though the Celtics played well, they were unable to pull away due to Cleveland’s “ability” to get to the line. Pretty frustrating that the Celts would play so well, yet all the sudden their lead is gone while the Cavs weren’t even playing well.
Unfortunately, they just didn’t look right offensively. This was a game where they seemed to never really run a play, often holding the ball far too long, resulting in a contested deep 2, and more often than not, one and done possessions. Remember, it’s not even as if the Cavs have a good defense, and when the Celtics start playing hero ball, it tends to get them into trouble. They would shoot something terrible like 38% and were still in it, so that is encouraging.
Overall this game was decided in the third quarter. Take it however you want, but once the Celtics were in the bonus with about 8 MINUTES left in the 3rd, to Cleveland’s ZERO fouls, it was a wrap. If you look at how the Celtics matched up with Cleveland, you’d see they actually played them even for most of the game. The only difference was how frequently the Celtics suddenly found themselves fouling. And yes, it does go both ways. Once the Celtics got to the FT line, they were able to come back and pull within two at one point. My point is, when the Cavs were not getting help in the first half, they could not pull away. All of the sudden the third quarter starts and essentially they play the whole quarter in the bonus, that matters.
I do not know what Avery Bradley has to do defensively to not get a foul call other than not play a game in Cleveland.
End of rant.
Frankly if the Celtics would just decide to get a fucking defensive rebound, we probably are not having this conversation. Tristan Thompson. Find him and box him out. Problem solved. I will say this though, Mozgov is definitely better than I expected. He is a true “rim protector” He does a great job of making you change direction, and is great at defending players who drive right at him. Credit to him, he was probably the difference in this game.
However, the fact that both of these games in Cleveland were relatively close, there is no reason to think that once we get to the Garden, the whistles won’t turn. We saw positive things out of Isaiah, but NEED Avery to play a full 48 min. Overall the starters are letting this team down at the moment. Brandon Bass had a game to forget, and Evan Turner dropped his second poor performance in a row.
So here we are, down 0-2 but definitely still alive. Protect home court, put pressure on Game 5 and you have a chance. Remember in order to win this series in 7, we need to lose 3 games so no need to jump ship. If it was easy everyone would do it.
Bring on Thursday. Can’t wait for the Garden
Go Celtics.
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