And that pretty much made the regular season worth it...

OK, so I was off 11 points on my final score prediction. I'll take the 30 lashes with the proverbial wet noodle. But this game, as Sam eluded to, may be the one we will mark as the "CLE (and the rest of you playoff wannabes) start crapping in your pants" game. Indeed the drudgery of the lessons from the regualr season weren't all for naught. We've been there before. This game actually should not surprise us. Not counting chickens yet, but this team looks hot, maybe better than '08, but we will wait for press conformation on that. Their heads are still way to far up you know whose behind to notice the Celtics yet, even with that impressive performance for a bunch of "old geysers". And that's just the way we want it. After being bitten a thousand times this season, we're still looking around nervously for the egg.

Let's see, greatest margin of victory for teams so far in the playoffs with 2-0 records (and everyone for that matter)...hummm, by far.

I don't think Q or anyone on Miami will be using the ol' "Let's try to get someone ejected on the Celtics to try and steal one on the road" game plan again. Now Miami is in the fight for their playoff lives. What are the percentages after winning the first two games in a best of 7, 80%? Well that's like getting pocket Aces against any other pocket pair. They can be cracked. After three, I think it goes to almost 100%. Then I'll shut up. I will not rest, though, until the Celtics go down to Miami and innihilate them again for Game 3. This Game 2 was significant on so many levels but they have their foot on their neck with 2 solid back-to-back games under their belt. But a third is clearly more necessary and important now more than ever. Now we are going to find out come Friday why we were one of the best road teams in the league and apply what we learned over and over again during the season.

I'm willing to place a small side bet that CLE does not win Game 3 in Chicago. Just ain't gonna happen. That will be the first chink in their armor.

Keep in mind, though, we haven't done anything out of the ordinary yet. We were supposed to win our two home games. Nothing happens in the playoffs until someone wins on the other's home court. So now, come Friday, we will get our chance. With our performances on the road this season, I'm liking our chances for broom madness, but let's get to Game 3 first.

Glen really stepped it up. REALLY stepped up. KG should be proud. At the start it looked like he was going to get mugged to death. But he is infectious and relentless. And Ray was, well...RAY!! As is HooRAY!! That was the inside-out game worked to perfection.

Reggie Miller has always been gracious toward Ray and always appears to be cheering him on to take over the top 3 point scoring title from him. Never liked Reggie as a player because he was always on the other team, but definitely respected and respect him.

Rondo close to triple double territory there. Perk became Dwight Howard on a couple of plays. Rasheed even poked his hand in there and forced a TO, but was a horrendous -12. How does Finley just keep coming off the bench cold hitting those threes like that? That's a nice little X-Factor. Defense was good and Miami helped tremendously by going ice cold twice in one game. We're done at home for two games. On to Miami. It will be interesting to see how KG responds. Plus, he got some quality time with DA last night. Interested in what he learned.

dbrown

As for the 2-0 records going on and winning the series.

The C's have never lost after going 2-0. Think the record is like 30 something and 0.

beat

Bob

Not quite right. We lost a game seven in 73 to the Knicks. Last year was the first time we lost a series after being up 3-2.

beat

dbrown,

"Perk became Dwight Howard on a couple of plays."

Actually, my thought at the time of the blocked shots was, "Hey, we got the ball, that is so much better than when Howard blocks it into the third row."

Howard's blocks seem more impressive and they do get the crowd into it (at home) or silence the crowd (away) but they don't result in a turnover and change of possession.

Perk's blocks were, if memory serves me right, recovered by us, usually leaving us off to the races with a fast break situation.

Big difference. I'll take Perk's method every time.

gyso

The Celtics certainly inflicted more than a flesh wound to the Heat by the margin of last night's victory. I'm not ready to call it a mortal wound yet. Dwayne Wade is a proud and talented athlete and I don't expect him to take this without a retaliatory response. He more than anyone is responsible for the tradition the Heat have as a franchise mirrored in their only title in '06. I think the C's can use game 2 as a definite confidence booster. However, it would be wise to note that the Heat probably will circle the waggons to make a stand. The C's need to be ready for a Sunday punch from Miami on Friday. If the Heat wait for Sunday to throw the punch, then for them, it will surely be too late. Let's remember despite what history tells us, we still need two more wins to advance to face the CAVS. No way do I want the C's to assume a Tracy McGrady mindset here. The Lion is wounded, let's go to South Beach to finish the job!-MD.

I don't know, Bob. Your decimating arguments against unarmed men and women over there on bdc are loaded with carefully constructed historical statistical references to prove your points. Embrace them!! Yeah, I know you can make the numbers say anything you want. I majored in math and statistics. But I know you are a here and now person. Believe me, I'm in a business where we must disclaim "Past performance is no indicator of future performance" at every opportunity.

Bob And DB

I am certainly in total agreement with both of you. The fact that something has never happened generally means that the odds of it eventually happening increase over time.

I think I said yesterday somewhere on this site, we need not only to take each game at a time but EACH possession at a time. If we continue to push pace and don't try too many high risk passes, we'll be in every game and win more than lose. And in the playoffs playing .5714285 % ball can equal a championship! (thats winning 4 out of each 7).

beat

Here's betting Wyc wouldn't mind losing one in Miami, thereby having another home game and couple of more millions. The bottom line is, in these troubling times we need to tease every penny we can out of the box, so a Game 5 in the Garden is financially quite attractive.

It's no secret that Paul Pierce enjoys the pleasures of Southern cities and he seems to have a motto this year, something like, let's keep our eyes on the prize, but take it easy and have all the fun we can on the way. There's no better place to have fun than South Beach. I look for the Celtics to win the next game, have a hell of a time on the town, and lose the one after that, just for the fun of it.

Spike

Your making Wyc sound like Stern!

beat

beat

Didn't mean to. I expect Wyc would have no problem with a sweep, - just wanted to make a point about how this is the time when teams make their gravy. And how much partying might go on over a few glorious days in the 80 degree weather. In fact, if only Bob and Sam had organized a playoff party in Miami . . .

It's the referee situation that may turn scary, as anyone who watched the first half of the second game could see. Sheed gets elbowed, elbowed while KG is suspended for that very offense, and Sheed gets the technical. Don't tell me that ref wasn't waiting and anticipating what he was going to do. They called another (non)foul on Sheed a minute or so later. There were bad calls and noncalls galore before the Celtics ran away with it.

Then, there was the play in the first game when Paul was attacked by two Heat players and knocked out of bounds right in front of the ref.

Well, the way to avoid the league's attempts at game fixing is to destroy the opponents with indomitable effort, put the games beyond the ref's (read Stern's) control. So far, so good.

spike

Spike

Thats the one variable that will always concern me. Refs/League

There is no doubt in my mind the league has a view of whom they want in the finals......................after all it is all about money. Of course finding the so called proof of this is elusive at best. Sure a lot of what Donahue said in his book is probably false but the baseball world said most of what Jose Canseco wrote about was bunk too. But a lot of that has been proven true.

We have good/great players but we don't have the icons like Bird was. And the league loves it's icons. It's not the Cavs and Bron. It's Bron and the cavs. Same with Kobe and the lakers. Teams come second/ icons first.

The effort to put games beyond the reach and the scope of a crooked ref(s) and league seems foolish to even discuss, yet you don't have to look far to see calls/ or non calls that make you wonder.

Think we are still flying under the media radar for now and hope that it stays that way. But with another ars kickin this weekend a few will take notice.

beat

beat wrote:Bob

Not quite right. We lost a game seven in 73 to the Knicks. Last year was the first time we lost a series after being up 3-2.

beat

Celts also lost game 7 to Philly in '82 when Tiny Archibald dislocated his shoulder in game 2, fell behind 3-1 in that series, even won games 5 and 6 to force a game 7 without him and then lost. And Celts lost a game 7 to Indiana in 2005. Plus lost to Cleveland in 7 in '92.

the way we beat the Lakes was to just flat swarm them and do it so fast the refs couldnt really get in it. I f we are to beat the Cavs it will take the same swarm and more. Stern is like a crow if it's shiny he'll pick it up. They want Jame's baaaddddd. Only problem? Everybody but James wets his pants come playoff time for the cavs...Williams is already deferring and has that confused look in his eyes. Dancing is right out the window.

I think it was being ahead 3-2 in a finals series that went to a Game 7. Hell, I honestly don't know now. Those guys just make shit up. We all believe it because its the CELTICS and we have the most and we're the best!! It sounds right!!