The matchup - Celtics and Orlando

Orlando and Boston will be a rematch of last’s years EC semi finals where Boston jumped out to a 3-2 lead and then found themselves miles away from the nearest gas station while their tank was on “E”

So what has changed since last year?

For the magic, Vince has taken over for Hedo and Nelson is back in the starting lineup instead of skip to me lue. Courtney Lee is in NJ Matt Barnes was added and Jason Williams is the BU PG.

For the Celtics KG is back and playing well and Tony Allen is also heathy. Rasheed Wallace brings size off the bench and baby is a year older with a more determined game.

The Magic have won 8 straight games and as a result they have been able to go deep into their bench.

Just like Boston the Magic PG Jameer Nelson is leading them in scoring. He is a nifty PG that can make shots from the outside and get to the rim. Defensively he has quick hands but he is clearly a better offensive player than a defensive one.

The matchup between him and Rajon Rondo should be fun to watch. Nelson and nobody else in the NBA can keep Rondo from going to the hole when he wants to. If Rondo can stay in front of him and fight through the screens he can turn Nelson into a jump shooter. Advantage Rondo

Matt Barnes is an athletic player with some offense but he is just not strong enough to check Paul Pierce. Orlando actually uses two small forwards with Barnes playing 25.9 MPG and Michael Pietrus playing 22.5. Pietrus will give PP the most trouble because he is very physical and will not hesitate to launch a 3 pointer if you give him an inch of day light. Paul Pierce needs to turn it up because he really did not play well against the Cavs. Of course there is no Lebron James on this team so PP should be able to get off.

TA will also be a factor in this series. He is the only Celtics player that can defend 3 positions so I look for him to play more minutes backing up Rondo, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Advantage PP/TA

KG had his way with Jamison but Rashard Lewis presents a matchup nightmare for the Celtics because he is a great outside shooter and can still take it to the hoop. KG will need to close him out on the perimeter and be mindful of head fakes because Lewis will drive the ball. The Celtics defense can neutralize this by rotating a player over to cut Lewis off if he gets by KG. Lewis is a player that does not like to pass the ball (1.5 assists) therefore Boston should exploit this weakness by sending some double teams his way. KG burned the Heat and Cavs time and time again in the post so Boston should continue to feed the pig as Lewis has no chance of playing post defense against KG – Advantage KG

Dwight Howard is a beast but he has been in foul trouble during the playoffs averaging 4.8 fouls per game against the Hawks.. This is very significant. Howard gets a lot of points on oput backs so Boston needs to keep a body on him. This task goes to our unsung hero Kendrick Perkins. Perk may think he is on vacation after playing post defense against arguably the thickest player (Shaq) in the NBA. Perk needs to avoid early fouls so that his presence can be felt on the defensive end and on the glass. This matchup goes to Howard

Vince Carter was brought in because they lost Hedo to free agency. Carter is still a scorer so Ray will have his hands full staying with him. To Ray’s credit I thought he played the best defense that I have seen from him in the Cleveland series. We know what Ray is going to do. He will run a marathon each game and this will force Carter to expend a lot of energy chasing Ray around screen after collective screen. Advantage – EVEN

The bench matchups are also interesting. I have already mentioned Pietrus. Orlando used a lot of bench because they were blowing the Hawks out by 25 every game. That will not happen against Boston .

Rasheed Wallace gave us two good games against the Cavs. Guess what? That is all that we need from him. Baby will bring his own thickness to the contest and he also has several really good games especially game 5 where he just kept knocking down shots.

The key to the Celtics bench play is Tony Allen. Think of all the times he was a throw in for every trade scenario that we could come up with. TA is a monster defender at several positions. He can play Carter, Nelson, Pietrus, Barnes, Redick, Williams, etc. etc.

The coaches are a contrast in dress and style. Van Gundy is a pain in the ass just like his pain in the ass brother, Jeff. And what about the arms that are “too short to box with God? I hate his suits because everytime he lifts up his arms it looks like he is wearing a short sleeve jacket. Look I know I am being a bit petty here. Humor me a bit please. His voice makes me want to throw up in my mouth. Can you hear it?

The Orlando Magic are an illusion. Last year they pranced out to LA after beating a depleted Celtics team and now they also think they are entitled to another shot. Forget about it. They would be better off changing their name to the Orlando theme park or some other escape from reality.

Too many people picked the Cavs to crush the Celtics. Now let us see where they line up in this series.

I’ve lined up for the green. What about you?

dboss

dboss

here are the ESPN braintrust and actually 2 of them pick the C's!!
Wonder how they can call themselves "experts"?

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/matchup/_/teams/celtics-magic

beat

I dont think orlando is an illusion. I think they are a deep athletic tall squad chock fulla shooters. We have to get dwight in foul trouble. Doc must figure out what to do about the Lewis matchup draggin our best interior defender away from the hoop. Kg must punish Lewis inside.

I think Rasheed knows dwight's moves and has the length and smarts to bother him.

I look for Rondo to tear Nelson up.

I think we are smarter and tougher than them and that should counterbalance their youth and athleticism.

I look for a great series and I got high hopes.

Always for the green.

jeb you are correct they are a long athletic shooting team. They average 29 3 pointers per game. That's not a feature that will lend itself to winning a championship. What else can they do? Can they defend outside of Howard? If they get closed out on the perimeter can they drive the ball to the hole?

I still have no feeling for them being a great team. They get no props from me.

dboss

jeb dboss

they have yawned their way thru 8 games without hardly breaking a sweat.
They have not been pushed, shoved, clawed, clubbed, and knocked on their kiesters in a long time. Can they expect to turn it up several notches? Will they come out flat at home? That would not surprise me at all. I reme,ber last year they sort of shut off and tuned out the yelling little man with the short arms and Vienna Boys Choir voice.

If I were them i'd be a little concerned. I'm sure they thought they'd be playing somewhere else in game one!

beat

As usual, the name of the game for the away team is to steal at least one of the first two. The Celtics couldn't pick a better time to be coming off a series in which were conditioned to getting off to good starts and resisting any prolonged letup thereafter. It doesn't appear that Orlando has yet confronted that type of mental toughness in these playoffs. This represents a great opportunity for the Celtics to jump out to a lead while Orlando is in the process of acquiring the stern resolve they'll probably be needing throughout this series.

It seems to be that, with possible foul problems on the horizon, the pivotal players could very possibly be Tony, Sheed, Davis, and (a longshot) Quis for the Celtics. The Orlando player who most concerns me is Pietrus. In short, the Celts will very likely need the bench to come up big.

Sam

Dboss,
excellent read and by and large my own thoughts are almost the same word for word except for the fact i think the van gundy- Rivers matchup wasn't hit on enuff. I really think thats where the Celtics will find they have the largest advantage.

as far as how the series goes, im a bit worried. Rumors are abounding that Gino has taken a serieous liking to cheesecake and it's beginning to show around the waist a bit- especialy after the game 6 we just enjoyed. I'm personally worried if he's gonna be in shape when we get back to the finals.

Matty wrote:Dboss,
excellent read and by and large my own thoughts are almost the same word for word except for the fact i think the van gundy- Rivers matchup wasn't hit on enuff. I really think thats where the Celtics will find they have the largest advantage.

as far as how the series goes, im a bit worried. Rumors are abounding that Gino has taken a serieous liking to cheesecake and it's beginning to show around the waist a bit- especialy after the game 6 we just enjoyed. I'm personally worried if he's gonna be in shape when we get back to the finals.

Matty, It is your responsibility to ensure Gino is in top shape, a little bit of cheesecake is fine but we need him in top shape until we bring home #18. You may want to have KG talk to him and set him straight.

Here is some more tidbits of information to help us analyze the upcoming sereis.

Against the Cats, Orlando averaged 11 fast break pts per game and 26.5 points in nthe paint. Agaisnt the hawks they averaged 10.5 fast break points and increased their points in the paint to 41.

The Celitcs were 17.8 and 36 agaisnt the Heat and 13 and 42 against the Cavs.

The Celtics should be able to win both the battle for fast break points and points in the paint.

As I have indicated earlier the magic are in love with the three point shot. It is not just a weapon for them but in fact a significant part of their offense. they put up 70 shots per game thus far in the playoffs and 29 of them are behind the arc. That is pretty astounding. The main culprits are Lewis at 6.5, Nelson at 5.9 and Pieturs at 5.1. Vince also shoots 4.0 per game.

It is clear what Boston needs to do to win this sereis from a defensive standpoint. The Celtics must stay home on the shooters because orlando will move the ball around the perimeter to the open man and they do that really well.

I think boston needs to take a few things away from them. First the KG/Lewis matchup is a bit dicey because KG may not feel comfortable guarding Lewis out on the perimeter because KG is really a help defender in the post. I expect to see Boston counter by using PP at the PF slot with KG or Sheed or Perk in the middle. Lewis is a clumsy ball handler and if you force him to put the ball on the floor he will not be effective. When he tries to dribble the ball a trap should come immediately. He does not like to pass the ball either.

We may even see TA chcek lewis on the perimeter and Daniels could also see some action in that role.

The Magic are a soft team outside of Dwight. Boston just finished playing against the most physical team in the NBA. Boston needs to turn this into a brawl. No layups! Send Howard to the line, use all the bigs to pound on him. Let's see how the magic play when they are getting knocked around all game long.

The experts at ESPN are 8-2 in favor of the magic.

Even after seeing the Celtics clobber the Cavs including winning three straight games and winning 2 games on the road they still do not get it. Orlando is not better than they were last year.

I'm picking the Celtics in 5. The magic only have one way to win and once Boston takes that away (3 pt shots) they will wilt. Boston on the other hand can play multiple styles and beat teams in a variety of ways.

The Celtic are really good.

dboss

dboss...really good job and nice analysis. I really could not add anything.

I see the Celtics winning in 6 - but very easily could go 7 - as Orlando is going to have one night (hopefully not more than one) where they go off from outside and hit 16 or 20 3 pointers.

Celtics are battle tested and ready. Bring it on.

Dboss,

I don't believe the Magic are uni-dimensional on offense. In addition to the 3-ball, Howard can be an inside terror if Perk gets into foul trouble. If Perk's not in there to muscle Howard away from the hoop, the sheer distance between the basket and the perimeter represents a real challenge to Celtics defensive rotations. Moreover, Howard has better-tuned offensive moves than Shaq down low. Shaq missed a load of bunnies that Howard could very well make. It seems that Howard's constantly shooting that little hook and having it roll around and in.

IF the Celts can emerge victorious in this series, their defense will have withstood a wide variety of offensive challenges, preparing them pretty well for the finals. I believe the playoffs have served to continue honing a synergy that began to coalesce dangerously late in the season. After all the lessons they've had to learn in a relatively short period, the test provided by the Magic will hopefully represent graduation day. Because I believe (and I think the Celtics also believe) that they can improve despite their startling playoff results so far.

Sam

Sam

They are not uni-dimensional but if the Celtics take away the 3 pointer the Magic will struggle on offense.

Howard is better than Shaq but Shaq may be more difficult to check because of his girth. Like Shaq, Howard is a poor free throw shooter and Howard leads the team in free throw attempts by a 2-1 margin. His below 60% FT shooting is a weakness that needs to be exploited. We have 5 bigs as well as other players that can take some fouls and force Dwight to make shots at the line., Take away his dunks and he is clueless on offense.

The cavs series scared me because of Lebron but the Magic do not have anyone who is capable of scoring big, rebounding big and assisting big. They do not have a single all around player on the team. They have a nice collection of shooters that will move the ball around the perimeter. That is really the essence of their offense. Howard plays his superman role in the psot but he is still very limited in his offensive arsenal.

Howards's numbers for the playoffs are down because he has been in foul trouble. He is averaging 15.4 PPG and is 4th is shot attempts at 7.4 per game.

The Celtics just need to attack the basket and get Dwight in foul trouble and on defense just hammer the hell out of him.

Even with PP playing very poorly on offense for most of the playoffs the Celtics still dominated both series. Paul is due to break out.

That gives me great hope that Boston will dispatch the Magic in short order and go to the finals to face their arch rival.

dboss

Dboss,

I'm hoping for the same scenario.

As you know, I'm not much for rankings and "best evers." But to be in the final four this season has to go down as a major coup in Celtics history. We should all be very proud of this team, especially in comparison with the end of the Bruins' season. Buth teams surprised people with their playoff run; but the Celts are still in it.

I hope people will keep that in mind, regardless of how things now play out, when they think about (1) Doc's future with the team and (2) the team's needs for next season.

Sam

Sam-

you're forgetting about Sheed. When he was in Detroit, the Pistons absolutely had Orlando's number, even the last two years when the magic were the better team.

He has always defended Howard very well and given him trouble for whatever reason. (Interestingly enough, Howard has a lot of trouble with Pau also. Similar body types and high bball IQs (at least some of the time in Sheed's case.))

So even when Perk gets some fouls (which he will), Sheed will be a big help. Also, Howard himself is foul prone, especially on offense.

I think the Cs will be able to limit Howard with one defender in a away that they would never be able to if it was Shaq in his prime or Hakee, but Howard's game is simply too raw on offense.

With Howard limited in 1 on 1 coverage, the Magic won't get the wide open threes they thrive on. THey'll still win games, as Jameer is playing great, etc, but I def see Cs in 6.


And I think the Cs will go and win Game 1. THey are rolling, in perfect sync and are already playing at a high-intensity playoff level.

The MAgic have been sitting for a long time and will be rusty and out of sync. It's a perfect scenario to steal game 1.

beat wrote:dboss

here are the ESPN braintrust and actually 2 of them pick the C's!!
Wonder how they can call themselves "experts"?

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/matchup/_/teams/celtics-magic

beat

beat,

Holy crap! Whoda thunk it? There's actually a couple of smart ones there!

Legler, btw, was the ONLY one to pick the Celtics to win in '08. He's our good luck charm. Broussard's being brave and keeping his distance from the lowing herd.

Hollinger picks the Magic in 5. Why is that? Oh yeah, now I remember, it's because he's a pencil-necked stat geek who never played the game and whose stats don't take into account 'defense'.

Time for me to put on my apron and start practicing this recipe for them. There's eight of them picking the Magic and this recipe serves eight. Perfect. I don't have to make any adjustments.

Crow Kebabs
16 pieces of crow breast meat (no bones) (8 crows)
16 pieces of green pepper
16 cherry tomatoes
8 button mushrooms
8 ears of sweet corn
1 1/2 cups of Teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup melted butter
8 kabob skewers
Preparation
Cut each piece of crow in half and place in a covered bowl with the Teriyaki sauce over night. Clean and cut each ear of corn into 3 pieces. Cook in boiling salt water for 10 minutes. Alternately put corn (3 pieces), green peppers (3 pieces) and cherry tomatoes (3) along with 4 pieces of crow meat on each skewer. Use 1 mushroom to top each skewer. Brush with melted butter and place on preheated grill for about 4 minutes. Flip, butter again and place back on grill for another 4 minutes. Repeat one last time for a total of 12 minutes or until they appear done.


bob

.

Bob,

I just tried it. Tastes great. I'm putting the leftovers in the freezer for future reference.

BSH,

Sheed's definitely another Celtic who could make a difference. I really think he's deeply into the competitive spirit right now, and his six fouls look pretty good too.

Sam

bob

Great piece!!

We are having a bonfire tonight with "fireworks" up in the outback of tug hill. I'll dish up some of it for the masses.

I honestly think we win game 1 and role um up 4 straight! OK I jsut woke up from the dream, but really they are soft and NOT battle tested,our MASH unit last year took um to 7 and was up 3-2.

This isn't even going to be close.

As for the 29 treys per game, let um chuck all night. Only thing I don't like about it is the long rebounds but some of those will end up with easy hoops for us too.

We can harrass them enough so the trey% won't be great, I'm betting they go under 25% from out there maybe way less.

Biggest concern is the post D against Howard. He's still a little stiff with moves but has he gotten better?

Looks as if Orlando might be mouthing off and not taking us seriously or maybe it's a smoke screen. I'm betting they are friggin scared out of their gords. They were preparing for Cleveland as was the rest of the NBA but someone forgot to tell that to 12(15) guys in green i guess. We didn't get the right script. Funny how that works out.

beat

Sam-

Until Lebron recently surpassed him, Sheed has long been my least-favorite player in the NBA.

But I give him credit for coming through vs the CAvs with good offensive production in 2 games and good D and grabbing key rebounds in their 4 wins.

YEs he sucked all season, but he has stepped it up when it matters most and he hates Howard. I think Sheed will help them in this series as a relief defender for Perk.

And with Sheed stepping up offensively in two wins and TA and Baby in the other two, the Cs role players are really giving them a nice boost.

I don't see anyone besides Pietrus on Orlando's bench who is going to give them a real lift. Gortat will give them some good D and some boards, but I don't think Reddick, White Chocolate or Anderson are guys who are going to come through in a big way when the pressure's on.


beat- if the Magic are mouthing off they are in trouble, as it shows they're still not ready for primetime. Sounds like a when a little poodle is barking at a passing Rotweiler (to use Pierce's analogy) in an effort to puff themselves up.

Outstanding analysis, dboss. Muchos grazias.

One story line to look out for is the continued emergence of Rajon Rondo into a dominating force in the game. If he keeps playing this way, outshining the likes of Lebron, - or, if possible, gets better - , what the heck are we talking about? Rajon Rondo Superstar? The face of the Celtics? The face of the NBA? What a coup! The kid came from way back, against significant odds, and is now solidly in the lead down the stretch.

It's not so certain he can keep up the triple doubles against Nelson and Howard. Rajon will have some shots blocked, which is likely to piss him off rather than intimidate him. He's tough and skilled enough to outshine Howard, but he's got more than enough to occupy his attention with Nelson.

So, expect Rajon's defense to take over the spotlight this series. Howard is vulnerable every time he handles the ball and Rondo's a ballhawk. And if Rajon can find a way to shut down Nelson's offense, that would be a huge contribution.

I wonder what brand of HGH Lewis is ingesting these days. As a concerned fan, I'm calling for immediate drug tests of all participants remaining in the playoffs. How's that for a conspiracy theory?

KG should have a big advantage down low,I didn't notice Jamisons 3 point game having any effect on series,but Magic and Lewis will be much more commited to it so we shall see.Rondos on the ball pressure D will be the key in slowing Magic and Nelson from getting into their sets,on Magic don't see anybody that can apply that kind of fullcourt pressure to us.
Just read that Van Gundy has said he will use Barnes on Ray Allen and Carter on Pierce,good move to keep Carter fresher for his offense.At some point its gonna come down to which team is hotter from perimeter and with long rebounds off misses will be some running.The Magic have better shooters and a better more commited offensive system than the Lebrons with their one man show,but I see their defense as weaker too.
I expect us to play up on their shooters,daring them to drive then going into our mean help/half zone to further clog them up,then more kickouts by them,but if they're on this is a very diversified offense that anyone can step up in.
Bottom line I like us in 6.

Great analysis, dboss. I am not quite as optimistic as you, five games is too quick, I pick the Celtics in 6. I am looking for KG to absolutely kill this team. He is out there to prove that he is not old and out of shape. He will show ESPN, TNT, et al that he is a force to be dealt with. Perk is going to have to show us the game he showed us last year, giving Howard something to think about every time down the court. Howard's mouth is flapping already, so the Celtics will be riled up and ready for the kill.

I have never given up on this team this year. I know that they gave us all much to be concerned about during the regular season. However, this is the playoffs, and they have shown everyone that they are ready to put up another banner.

Won't Danny look great if this really takes place??????

Rosalie

5 games is a stretch...i know.. I am so amazed at the turnaround for this team. I had big concerns that they were not physically able to compete and now they look great.

As I watched the cavs series what I saw was one team forcing their collective will on another team.

Last year was a tough loss to the Magidc and the big difference is that this year we added two bigs (KG and Sheed) and Tony Allen can change the game defensively at the wing position. we really did not have a good defender at the wing last year and the magic only had to contend with baby and Perk down low.

I am not taking anything away from the Magic. I know they are a good team but I cannot think of any team in the history of the NBA that won a championship by shooting 29 3's per game.

Playoff basketball is a gruleing physical game where dirty work must be done down low. The magic are who they are. They shoot from the perimeter and rely on one guy to score in the paint.

I think Boston intends to take both of those away from the Magic.

5 games is definitely a stretch but if not for the game 1 meltdown against the cavs the Celtics would have won that series in 5 just like they did against the Heat.

It seems like most of the basketball world outside of Boston Fans are struggling with the reality of what is in front of them. They are still hung up on the way Boston played in the 2nd half of the regilar season. They just do not get it.

The Celtics are in the right frame of mind. They beat the Cavs and yet they say they have not done anything. Their goal is to win a championship!

The Magic have been preparing all season to play the Cavs. They did not expect Boston to be there but Boston expected to be where they are.

dboss

I just started corresponding on a Magic forum. I'm mainly trying to scare up some interest in a joint party in Florida next season. So far, I've only made a couple of posts on a thread I started. But it's interesting to catch the mood of the fans.

There's the usual amount of beating their chests about their team. But the is also an undercurrent registering something between curiosity and concern about how good the Celts have been playing. I was very cordial, and they commented on it. But I did find a way to slip in the fact that the Celtics team they saw during the season bore no resemblance to today's Celtics team.

I also asked whether there is any Celtics player they're concerned about as a possible "X" factor. And I was candid in admitting that my "X" factor for the Magic is Pietrus. Wouldn't he look good in a Celtics uniform in the future? (Dream on.)

Who knows? Maybe one or two of them might eventually find his way to our board. One never knows.

Sam

Sam,

I like the idea of recruiting/inviting a couple of fans from the opponents city. I think it adds significantly to our board, just think of the contributions our Laker fans make.

Good thinking and I hope a couple do join, at least for the series.

Perk sat out practice today with knee pain:


Celtics C Perkins sits out practice with sore knee

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP)—Boston Celtics center Kendrick Perkins(notes) is taking some time to rest his sore right knee before the Eastern Conference finals.

Perkins was held out of practice on Saturday. He wore wraps on both knees for most of the session and kept ice on the right one toward the end.

Perkins is expected to be the team’s main option for guarding Magic star Dwight Howard when the best-of-seven series begins in Orlando on Sunday.

Coach Doc Rivers said Perkins tried to practice but the knee “bothered him a lot.” Rivers told him to sit the practice out.