Sixers @ Celtics Game 7 Preview 2/2

John from Red's Army was awesome enough to answer some questions about the Boston Celtics chances on beating the Sixers in tonight's Game 7.  Check out his site  Red's Army.  He does an excellent job, one of the better Celtics sites around. 

How much injuries have affected  this team, especially against the Sixers?  I feel this series should have been over in 5 assuming everyone was healthy, do you agree with this assessment?

That's what I picked to start the series, and it easily could have gone that way.  Some of it was injuries, some of it is Philly's defense, and some of it is a simple lack of execution by the Celtics.  You can point to a lot of different things and say "if this was different, this series should be over".  It's a combination of stuff, but health is probably the biggest factor of them all.

It must be frustrating to lose one of the few rising young players you had in Avery Bradley, how has the series changed since he went out?

If I had to choose ONE thing that changed this series the most, it's losing Bradley.  Bradley's on-ball defense caused such huge problems.  And with him on the ball, you could let Rondo roam a little bit and pick off passes to start breaks.  Bradley's defense was actually a huge catalyst for the Celtics offense, and one of the reasons why the Celtics could score whatever easy points they did.  Without Bradley, the Celtics are now starting Ray Allen, who was already a step slower as a defender than he was a few years ago.  Now that Ray's playing on a bad ankle, he's a liability defensively.  It really hurts the team.

I can’t imagine the Sixers actually ending the big three era, do you feel nervous knowing there’s a chance you won’t get to see the big 3 play together again?

Absolutely.  There's no guarantee that Ray Allen will be back and we don't know how much time Kevin Garnett has left.  And to be quite honest, the "Big 3" era is over regardless of whether they come back.  Ray's not the starter anymore and KG's minutes have to be limited for him to be effective during the regular season.  So the Big 3 era is over anyway.  This is now Rondo's team, no matter how the team is constructed next year.

Which Rondo will show up?

We'll see triple-double Rondo tonight.  The Celtics almost always have big bounce-back games at home after a playoff road loss, and Rondo will be the reason why.  I'm not sure that he actually will get the triple-double.. but he'll have that kind of game.

Which is the one player from Philly you absolutely have to stop to have a better chance of winning game 7?

Pick a guard, any guard.   Jrue Holiday or Evan Turner, whichever one of those guys decides to be the penetrator,  Elton Brand has killed the Celtics for stretches, but any big that does hurt Boston often does it off a guard's dribble penetration.  If the Celtics force more outside shots, then they should be ok. 

Rondo and KG are the keys to getting a W tomorrow, what’d you think?  Any other keys to success?

If the Celtics win the points in the paint, they'll win the game.  However that happens, it has to happen.  That could mean Rondo layups, KG in the post, Paul Pierce slashing, Bass finishing inside... however they do it, they just need to do it.  That also means, as I just said, stopping Philly from getting penetration, and also limiting turnovers that lead to fastbreak points.  Points in the paint is where this game will be won.

Final prediction?

I like the Celtics to finish this off at home and I like them to do it easily.  I just don't see Philadelphia, with all their youth, being able to focus in the Boston Garden in a Game 7.  Meanwhile, I think the C's feed off that.  They have a history of looking really good at home after looking really bad on the road, so I just think this all comes together tonight in a big way for the Celtics.

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Sixers @ Celtics Game 7 Preview 1/2

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics are ending their second round series tonight. It has been a very tough series for each team, the Sixers have shown a lot of resiliency and Boston doesn't want to end their season and maybe the big three era tonight.  I talked to Sean O'Connor, he blogs for the Philadelphia 76ers site The Sixer Sense  and was kind enough to answer some questions for me.

 Did you ever expected the Sixers to be one game from reaching the conference finals?

Not at all before the playoffs began. The Sixers had limped into the postseason, nearly completing an epic collapse after a strong start to the season. Before the first round, I was just hoping the Sixers can extend the series versus Chicago past 4 games.  Of course, we know what happened there, with the injuries to Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah creating an opportunity for the Sixers to move on. Once that happened, I knew the Sixers would be in a dog fight with the Celtics. While I personally thought the series wouldn't get this far, I did expect a close, competitive series throughout, and so far that's occurred.

 What has impressed you more about the Sixers in this round?

Their resiliency. It's hard not to get down when shots aren't falling or when close games don't fall your way, but it hasn't gotten this team down. When the Sixers lost Game 1 down the stretch, they executed well enough in the same situation in Game 2 to come away with a victory. When they were blown out in Game 3, they came back to win at home going away in Game 4. When their shots aren't falling or the calls aren't going their way, they hustle back on defense and give it their all. I know it doesn't sound that impressive when referring to adults, but compared to many NBA teams and compared to even themselves from earlier this year they've handled adversity exceptionally well. 

The Sixers have never had the series lead , what makes you believe they will do that tomorrow?

Well, the stats do not favor the Sixers at all, that's for sure. But then again, this team has been defying odds the entire season, so winning tonight would be no different. 

What are the keys for Philly to get a game 7 win at the TD Garden?

Shooting the ball well, both from the floor and the line. During Game 5 in Boston, the Celtics were able to pull away due to an aggressive, physical defense that the Sixers could not score on. The physical nature of the defense, combined with lax whistles, pretty much wrapped up the Sixers. And a veteran team at home, I surmise, will get the same benefit of the doubt from the whistle-blowers in Game 7. Thus, the Sixers will have to make their fair share of jumpers to score on the Boston defense, and when they actually get to the foul line they have to convert at a higher percentage than they did in Game 6. 

Thoughts on Lavoy Allen?

 I was one of a few NBA-related people that knew much of Lavoy Allen before he came into the league. Having graduated from the same college Lavoy attended (Temple) and having seen many of their games, I thought I knew what his skills were and how he could adjust to the NBA. I was surprised at the selection but knew he had 3 things going for him: a decent jumper for a big, an unselfish attitude (which many confused for the lack of a motor), and a strong defensive background. I figured the first two could translate fairly well to the NBA game, the third was a bit of a mystery. Between the draft and training camp, Lavoy became noticeably bigger and stronger (he was much thinner in college) so that's something that maybe couldn't have been predicted, and that's helped him become a rotation player. With his newly found strength, he has become immovable in the post, which is kind of ridiculous for a guy his size. Otherwise, he had all the talents an NBA role playing big would need (in the Udonis Haslem model), he just needed to put all of them together.

Also, this is a good advertisement for him in free agency this summer. The Sixers strangely only signed him for one year, and he'll be a restricted free agent.

Jrue Holiday, has been the leading scorer in 2 of the 3 Philadelphia wins against Boston, he’s the one guy that has to play well for Philly to win.  Do you also feel that way?

Definitely. It's no secret that the Sixers struggle to find offense, and he's the best offensive player the Sixers have.

Lou Williams has been on a terrible slump lately, why has been the main reason for it?

 I can't pinpoint anything, mainly because Lou Williams always plays the same way - how well he plays just depends on whether or not he's hitting his shots. His shot selection is always questionable, and that's why Philly fans have a love-hate thing with him. I will point out, though, that the Sixers have performed significantly better with Lou on the floor during this series and that he suffered a back injury during the Chicago series. He might not be doing great, but the squad seems to be doing alright when he plays (probably because he's not Evan Turner, who has played even worse).

Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo have been the most dangerous Celtics in this round, how will Philly limit them?

The Sixers have basically told Garnett that he can have 20 footers whenever he wants them - they just want to keep him out of the paint. Elton Brand and Lavoy Allen have taken the task of battling Garnett on the blocks and have tried to do everything possible to keep him from getting the basketball close to the rim. When KG does get good position, though, the Sixers have been sending double teams to get the ball out of his hands. It worked in Game 6, as Garnett had 20 shot attempts and zero in the paint. I think if they continue to employ this strategy it will limit his effectiveness. 

Meanwhile, Rondo struggled in Game 6 with the Sixers pick-and-roll defense after abusing it in Game 5. The Sixers actually did a really solid job of first mixing up their pick-and-roll coverage packages, giving Rondo the difficult task of keeping up with what the Sixers were throwing at him. The rest of the team then got their hands into passing lanes, forcing some turnovers. I'm not sure this particular strategy will work again though, because Rondo will likely be expecting it and will know how to combat it. The best option for defending Rondo, to me, will always be forcing him to become a scorer. Keeping the ball in his hands and out of the hands of more efficient scorers will net the best result, and I imagine that's what the team will look to do. That's easier said than done, though.

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Mike Woodson signs a 3 year extension with the New York Knicks.

Mike Woodson signed a 3 year extension with the New York Knicks, removing his interim tag from the past season.  He started coaching the Knicks on March, 14, 2012 after Mike D'Antoni resigned from his duties after four seasons. Woodson helped the Knicks to a 18-6 record and 1-4 in the postseason.

Woodson getting extended isn't  a bad choice, the Knicks played with more passion and energy since he took over as the coach  (Carmelo Anthony, anyone?) What makes this a strange move, is the fact that ESPN writer Bill Simmons said Phil Jackson was more that interested in coaching the Knicks and he wasn't even given an interview due to Knicks owner, James Dolan, not wanting to have someone smarter than him.

Credit:  Real GM , I AM A GM.

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NBA All-Defensive teams Announced.

The NBA 2011-2012 most valuable player, Lebron James, was selected to the NBA all defensive First team, joining him are Serge Ibaka (Thunder) , Dwight Howard (Magic), Tony Allen (Grizzlies) and Chris Paul (Clippers)

Rajon Rondo (Celtics), Kobe Bryant (Lakers) , Kevin Garnett (Celtics), Luol Deng (Bulls) and Tyson Chandler (Knicks) were selected to The NBA all defensive Second team.

All 30 NBA head coaches were assigned to pick  players they felt made their own impact, they weren't allowed to pick players from their own teams.

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2011-12 NBA All-Rookie Team.

The NBA announced today the All Rookie First team.  Here are the players that were selected:

 Kyrie Irving (Cleveland)

Ricky Rubio (Minnesota)

Klay Thompson (Golden State)

Kenneth Faried (Denver) ,

Iman Shumpert (New York)

Brandon Knight (Pistons)

 Kawhi Leonard (Spurs)

Congrats to them.

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WCF Schedule (1) Spurs vs (2) Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder took care of the Los Angeles Lakers last night,  joining San Antonio in the West finals. These two playoffs teams are going to be playing each other for the first time in the postseason and it's going to be a hell of a series. I can't see any of these teams losing 4 times in 7 games.

 Here's the schedule. 

Game 1: Sun., May 27 at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Game 2: Tue., May 29 at San Antonio, 9 p.m.
Game 3: Thu., May 31 at Oklahoma City, 9 p.m.
Game 4: Sat., June 2 at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m.
Game 5: Mon., June 4 at San Antonio, 9 p.m.
Game 6: Wed., June 6 at Oklahoma City, 9 p.m.
Game 7: Fri., June 8 at San Antonio, 9 p.m. 

                                           
Photo credit:  Getty Images/NBA Yahoo Sports

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Instant Recap: EC 2nd round Celtics @ Sixers Game 3. May 16, 2012.

1st Quarter: 


6:43 -  Celtics lead 12-10. Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett are both 2-3 from the field, Brandon Bass went in for a dunk instead of his usual jumpers and Paul Pierce seems to be struggling (0-4 FG)  Jrue Holiday is still hot from the field, he nailed his first three pointer.

6:24 -  Kevin Garnett picked up his 2nd foul.

5:35 -  Thaddeus Young hit a jump shot, score is 14-12 Sixers.  Doc Rivers called a timeout.


3:28 -  Sixers lead 19-14 after Andre Iguodala made his first three of the night.

1:07   Paul Pierce had a thunderous jam.

0:00  After 1st Sixers have a 33-28 lead and shooting 61.9% from the field.    Jrue Holiday lead the way for the Sixers with 10 points.   Paul Pierce  had 9 points and Rajon Rondo 13 for Boston, the two of them scored the last 22 Celtics points.  The Bench scoring was one sided, Sixers bench scored 10 points, Celtics didn't even had a point.

2nd Quarter:


11:29 -  Young starts the quarter with a jump shot giving the Sixers a 35-28 lead.

9:33 -  KG has been unstoppable early in the quarter.  He's 3-3 from the field in the quarter.  35-34 Sixers

8:46 -  Celtics get their first points off the bench with a Pietrus triple.  37-37 all

7:03  Paul Pierce  returns to the game,  Pietrus  to the bench.  40-37 Celtics.

6:02 -  Brandon Bass suddenly got hot and made two straight jumpers.  44-39 Celtics

5:26 -  Boston has outscored the Sixers 16-6 in the quarter and have made 7 out of 10 shots in the period.

3:33 -  Spencer Hawes and one gives him his first points of the night.   Boston leads 49-43

3:10 -  Vintage KG, he continues hitting jumpers left and right. Is he ever going to miss?   Celtics are a +11 when KG's been on the floor.   Holiday and Young have 10 pts each.

1:37 -  Boston leads 56-43 after Pietrus hits his 2nd three   Cetics are on a 28-10 run.

0:00 - Halftime:  Celtics lead Sixers  60-49, Celtics double the Sixers score in the quarter 32-16 and have a 24-16 rebound advantage.


In game #2 of the seriies, the Celtics didn't scored their 60th point until 8:36 left in the 4th quarter.


Kevin Garnett:  17 & 9 (8-11 FG)
Rajon Rondo:  17 & 5   (6-9 FG)
Jrue Holiday: 10 & 5
Thaddeus Young:  10 points

3rd Quarter:


11:17 - Nice defense by Rondo, forcing a jump ball with Spencer Hawes. 


10:39 -  Garnett made yet another jumpshot, Celtics with biggest lead of the night. 62-49 


8:51 - Rondo made a floater,  Pierce got a three to go down & the  Sixers have no answer for the Celtics right now.   67-51 C's

7:46 -  Celtics have outscored the 76ers 11-2 in less than 5 minutes. They lead 71-51 


7:40  Lou Williams comes to the game and immediately makes a three for Philadelphia.

5:49 Sixers are frustrated and it shows. Iguodala fouled Paul Pierce while he attempted a three pointer.  Sixers are down 24.

3:48 Everyone scoring for the Celtics, Ryan Hollins just got a basket and a foul.  25 point lead for Boston. They are playing outstanding defense.

0:00 -  Celtics lead  89-66, C's outscored Sixers by 12 in the period.  This has been a massacre.


4th Quarter:  


8:17  Thaddeus Young (10-16 FG, 5 rebounds)  has been the Sixers only positive in this game, he has scored 12 of the Sixers 25 2nd half points.  The Sixers are still down by 21.

5:58 - Celtics have 101 points.

2:45 -  Celtics emptied their bench.  KG finished the game with 27 & 13, Rondo with 23, 14 & 6, Pierce had  24 and 12.   Very dominant performance by the Celtics all around.    Thaddeus Young had 22 for Philadelphia.

0:00 -  Celtics beat the Sixers 107-91  to take a 2-1 series lead.



Credit:  Getty Images/NBA Yahoo Sports


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Kyrie Irving wins the NBA 2011-2012 Rookie of the year award.

Cleveland's Kyrie Irving was named the NBA top rookie for this season, getting 117 out of 120 first place votes.  Irving averaged 18.5 PPG, 5.4 Ast and shot .518 From the field. 

Not only did he had good stats, he also proved he could be counted on when the game got tight, Irving was 4th in four quarter scoring with 6.4 PPG.

Lebron James, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson & Allen Iverson are joined by Kyrie Irving as the only number one picks to average at least 18 PPG and 5 Ast.

Photo credit:  Getty Images/NBA Yahoo Sports

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EC 2nd round: Sixers @ Celtics Game 2. May 14, 2012.

1st Quarter

The Celtics biggest lead in game 1 was 6, they started game 2 with a 9-0 lead and 5-5 from the field.

After the first 6 minutes the Celtics came out with a 15-7 lead, while the Sixers have struggled offensively. Boston has gotten 4 assists from Rajon Rondo (But passing on wide open layups)  and scoring balance from the rest of the starters.  Bass scored 6, KG had 4, Bradley 3 and 2 for Paul Pierce .

Sixers started to play better, yet they still trailed the Celtics 25-21 at the end of 1st quarter.  Rajon Rondo finished with 6 assists, Bass lead the way with 8 points,  Garnett had 4 & 4.  Sixers Jrue Holiday made 2 three pointers and 8 points, no other Sixer had more than 3 points in the quarter.

2nd Quarter

Jodie Meeks and Spencer Hawes  had 1 basket apiece and quickly erased Boston's four point lead.  Spencer Hawes jumpshot  gave the Sixers  their first lead of the game at the 8:07 left in the 2nd, showing a lot of poise.

Rondo returned to the game and immediately had a big impact, scoring on a floater and dishing an alley oop pass to Ryan Hollins.  The Sixers had 8 turnovers in the 2nd quarter after having just 1 in the first. Ryan Hollins drawn 2 offensive fouls.  With 2:56 remaining in the 2nd, both teams have combined for just 22 points.

Sixers took the lead again with a Jrue Holiday three, his third triple of the game, but it didn't last long. Paul Pierce had a three of his own and Celtics went to the half with a 38-36 lead.  Both teams combined for 28 points in 46 possessions in the 2nd quarter.     13 of Sixers 36 points were scored by Jrue Holiday, however, they went 15-41 from the field.

3rd Quarter


Sixers started the quarter with 4 turnovers and Boston took a early 5 point lead.    Under 6:00 to play in the third and Boston has 5 points, Sixers 4.  A very low scoring game.

Elton Brand scored 7 points in the third quarter, Lou Williams had a tip in,  Lavoy Allen made a  jumper and Philly got themselves a 51-47  lead. Their third of the game.  The Celtics started the quarter 4-14 FG along with  7 turnovers.   Sixers kept making shots and Celtics kept missing (4-17 from the field), Sixers ended the quarter on a 14-2 run and got a 57-49 lead at the end of 3.

4th Quarter 


It only took the Celtics 3 minutes to score 10 points in the 4th quarter, they had 11 points in the 3rd.  C's have outscored the Sixers 12-8, however, they are still down 65-61.   Witth 6:50 left in the 4th, Sixers have no team fouls, Boston has 2.

Kevin Garnett has dominated the 4th quarter, he has made three first goals and with 4:33 remaining, the game is tied at 65.  Philly can't get anything to go down, credit the Boston defense for that.  There had been 9 lead changes and 7 ties in the quarter alone.  Both teams started to make their three pointers.  Bradley, Holiday and  Ray Allen made 3 three pointers in a row.


Evan Turner made an impossible, circus shot, with 40 secs remaining to put Philly up 1.  76-75.  Celtics couldn't make a shot to put them ahead, they fouled Evan Turner and he made both free throws.
78-75 Sixers and Celtics, with no timeouts, have 12 seconds to tie.

Kevin Garnett was called for an offensive foul with 10 seconds remaining.  After two Sixers free throws, Ray Allen made a three to put Boston down just two, 80-78.  Sixers made 2 more free throws and KG made a three at the buzzer, and Philly won 82-81. 

Credit: Getty Images/NBA Yahoo Sports.

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May 13, 2012. Playoffs day 16 Clippers hold on and Heat stars beat Indy.

This game wasn't the best for NBA fans, both teams struggle to hit a shot, including free throws. But it didn't mattered how ugly it was, what it mattered was the win, and The Clippers got that by defeating the Grizzlies 82-72.  


Blake Griffin  scored just 8 points  (3-11 FG) however, the Clippers bench outscored the Grizzlies bench     41 - 11  and CP3 lead the way with 19 Points, 9 rebounds & 4 ast.

The Memphis Grizzlies had all the chances in the world to get away with this win  but the  turnovers, missed free throws, missed layups around the rim and not grabbing offensive rebounds killed them.  Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol both scored 19 points, they needed more from a third scorer, he never came.  OJ Mayo was 1-11 from the field,  Mike Conley 2-13 & Zach Randolph 3-12.

The Clippers are going to be facing the Spurs in the 2nd round. The Memphis Grizzlies? they will go fishing and evaluate how they can get back at least to the second round of the playoffs like last year.

Lebron James and Dwyane Wade scored 61 points combined to beat the Indiana Pacers 95-86 in game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals . The Heat  needed them more than ever due to the injury of Chris Bosh. Bosh left the game in the 2nd quarter cause of an abdominal strain and didn't come back.

Wade and James outscored Indiana 42-38 in the 2nd half.    The Pacers lost but they did some good things during this game and they should be able to keep doing them and especially now that Bosh is out.  They forced the ball down low to their big guys, Roy Hibbert and David West scored 17 points each and reserve, Tyler Hansbough had 8.  Unlike Indiana's bigs who did their part, Indy is going to need more production from Danny Granger (1-10 FG) and Paul George ( 1-5 FG) if they want a shot at cooling the Heat during the rest of the series.

Credit: Getty Images/NBA Yahoo Sports

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