ROUND #1 PLAYOFF > POST GAME INDY - HOME - IND 91, BOS 99 Final

They had me worried there for a bit.  Down 11 with about 11 left in the game.  Instead of Indy imploding in the 3rd it was us.  

We needed to right that ship, and fast, and along came Captain Drew (a nautical allusion, we have no team captain).  What a game by him!  15-26, 6-10 from 3.  6 rebounds and 7 assists.  2 blocks.  That's right, 2 blocks by Kyrie Irving.  Who had the other 3 blocks by the Celtics?  Horford (2) and Baynes (1).  And 6'2" Kyrie Irving.  9 of his 37 came in the 4th (3-5, 2-3 from 3) when we stormed back for the win going away.  Have we played better without Kyrie this year?  Yes, but when he's like this there is no substitute, at least not on our roster.

Here's Kyrie in his post-game interview.  Listen to him talk about how great it was to play playoff basketball in Boston and how he is just "happy to be a part of this lineage" and how "it felt good to be here in this position, in this arena" and that "lacing it up for the Boston Celtics in the playoffs, there's nothing like it" (starting about 4:13 of this tape).  After all the shit thrown at him for, what is attributed to him as pouting, we should also listen to him when he says the right things too.  Kyrie is a different type of bird and he is a fierce competitor who hates to lose, and that's a good thing.  I think it is we, as fans, that don't want to hear any dissonance in their joy and desire to play for us.  That's one of the reasons why we hate Kyle Draper and Gary Tanguay and how sometimes Scal pisses us off, but we love Tommy despite that fact that he sometimes goes off the rails.  They don't talk like green-blooded homers and Tommy is a Celtic green bloodbank.  Ok, in Tanguay's case it's because he doesn't know shit-from-shinola but with the other two it's because they aren't into the Celtics heart-and-soul like we are.  Kyrie isn't a "I'll never say I'm happy when I'm not" type of guy.  He wears his irritations on his sleeve, and I wish he wouldn't, but if that's who he is then we need to also listen to when he goes the other way and just understand neither positions are written in stone.  Until Danny re-signs him, then it won't matter anymore, and make no mistake about it; Danny's #1 priority this off season isn't to trade for Davis, it's to re-sign Kyrie.  If AD helps him convince Kyrie to stay here then that's why he'll do the deal.  It's not just about AD being a generational player, it's about synergy from Danny's point of view.  AD upgrades our front court but he also solidifies our back court by hooking Kyrie.






Although Jayson Tatum made a reasonable argument he is.  His 26 came on 11-20 and he really came on in the 4th when we needed to make our run.  10 of Tatum's 26 came in the 4th quarter on 4-9 shooting.  His 4th quarter was so clutch.  As Celtic fans we live for the playoffs and the playoffs are about which teams and players on those teams up their game above their regular season averages.  This game is one of those statement games by Jayson Tatum.




Hayward with a nice, but not particularly impressive, 13 points on 4-7.  He was, however, the best scorer off our bench.  Only 3 scorers in double digits for us.  That's why someone who can be unstoppable like Kyrie is so important.  He didn't get much help.

Jaylen with a good game.  Got a couple of fouls early on that made it hard for him but he played well.  9 rebounds.  9.  

Rozier with good defense in the 4th on their guards.  Didn't score much  (what else is new?) but he was out there a long time in that 4th quarter, the one where they only scored 12 points.  He also had 6 assists.

We outrebounded them 48-36.  Brown's 9, Kyrie's 6 and Rozier's 6 were big contributions.  We expect our bigs to rebound, and Hayward is a good rebounder too, but when our back court is grabbing 44% of our rebounds that's really, really good.

Horford almost didn't play because he had flu-like symptoms before the game.  He didn't score much, in fact he didn't score any points through 3, but he scored all 4 of his in the first minut of the 4th quarter to set the tone.  He wanted to win and made that clear.

Bogie went off, and it didn't matter.  With Marcus Smart sidelined he is the new Flop Grand Master.  Danny should present him with a piece of the parquet, he goes out of his way to go down on it as often and with as little encouragement as possible.

Thaddeus Young with 8 or 9 steals in 2 games, and we still haven't figured out you can never, ever let him go to his left and that his left is the only direction he will end up going to.

The refs made their mistakes, but they went both ways.  Fouls that maybe shouldn't have been called weren't called both ways.  Fouls that maybe should have been called were called both ways.  That's all I ask for.

Indy didn't need to win Game 1, they just needed to steal one of these two.  They didn't, and now their backs are against the wall.  They not only have to win both in Indy (they were 29-12 at home this season, which is really good.  We were 28-13) but then they'll still have to come back to Boston and win a split in the remaining 2.  I'm going Celtics in 6, maybe even 5.  They'll win the next one in Indy, in front of their home crowd and with a chip on their shoulder, and then they will either lose game 4 or they'll win it and then lose in Boston and then in Indy as they run out of gas.  If they lose one of the next 2 games in Indy it'll be 5.  They had their shot to win this game, not just being up 11 after 3 but in the last minute of the game.  Up 3, with just one minute left.  Check out the coaches, first Larannagga and then Brad, waving at Tatum to get up on Bogie after Tatum hits his big corner 3 on the drive-and-kick by Jaylen.  Brad was very animated, pointing, waving and yelling at players to specific spots.





http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401126860







bob


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worcester wrote:I called MM our most consistent player this year, so he then goes 0-8.

The guys really enjoyed playing together last night. It was a team effort with lots of grit and joy.

Tatum really rose to the occasion. Jaylen played well despite taking few shots, and his pass to Jayson at the end was a superb assist.

One medical observation: When Al got cut, I did notice his blood was green.

worcester,

Thanks for mentioning Morris. I was going to cite him in my post but forgot. AWFUL. If there's a silver lining here it's that we won despite him and he can't go worse than 0-8!!


bob


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dbrown4 wrote:I think this firmly establishes Kyrie's worth to the team especially in the playoffs.  Love him or not, think he's out in left field or not, he has something no one else on the team has including the coach...A championship ring.

I don't think Boston has had someone like Kyrie.  Even Bird would not take over a game like Kyrie does.  Bird would always spread the wealth by rebounding, assisting, passing, etc.  But with this team, if you want/need points, give the ball to Kyrie.  He may throw you the ball if you are wide open underneath the basket and no one within a mile of you, but otherwise he's taking the shot to win.  

I saw Bird live in ATL with Dominique, Doc, et al in the Spring of 1986.  Close game through out but toward the end, someone missed an assignment and left Larry wide open behind the 3-point line.  Game, set and match.  Hitting a three then was like hitting an 8-point shot.  I believe there was about 2 minutes left or just under.

Even though we expected to win these two games, the next test for us doubting Thomas's is how do we perform on the road in the playoffs.  And as far as we're concerned, will win win tonight or on Sunday.  We don't need moral victories.  I don't believe that what Kyrie is going to deliver.
We don't need both, would love to wrap this up by Sunday, but we certainly can't lose both.

db          

dbrown,

While I absolutely concur with your argument I feel I need to correct one point. Aron Baynes has a ring too, from when he was in San Antonio. Was he a starter or a major player like Kyrie? No, that's why I agree with your points overall, but he has "been there, done that" and deserves credit for it.

If it's all about #18, then a player who plays above their regular season play is a valuable player. Kyrie, certainly, is showing he is that.


bob


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