This is really painful for me to write, but I'll deal w/ it. Before I even get into how great Ray Allen was last night, we have to give props to the Bulls. Yes, even us Celtics fans. The Bulls did what no one thought they could do and force a game 7 in Boston on Saturday night. The MVP for the Bulls was John Salmons. I specifically wrote yesterday that the Celts can't let this guy get going but that's exactly what he did. He lit the Celts up for 35 points last night, going 13 for 22 and 5 for 9 from behind the arc. Brad Miller, a man who clearly doesn't get laid, was clutch last night. The problem for the Celts however is that they let him. They gave him wide open looks and allowed him to get a lay-up at the end of regulation. Derrick Rose played older than his age again by scoring 28 points and dishing out 7 assists. But he should have because he barely had to work on defense due to Rondo's lack of aggressiveness. As much as I hate Noah, he's a tough player who loves the game and came up with the biggest steal of the game, slamming it down in the 3rd overtime. I hate the Bulls but give them their props.
I used to respect Chicago as a tough city with a passionate love of sports. But last night was ridiculous. They were screaming at Rondo all night and bitching over every call. Are you fuckin kidding me? Newsflash people: Rondo's hit on Brad Miller in Game 5 was not that bad! A 6-1 guard tried to block a 7-0 center. He inevitably missed and hit his face. There was no malicious intent, nor did he hit him that hard. Grow up the fuck up Chicago and tell your lovable Brad to stop being a pussy. Did you see the hit from Thomas last night on Pierce? That was harder than Rondo's. Pierce had to leave the game bleeding and get stitches inside his nose. Did he bitch? No. Will the Boston fans scream at Thomas all night? No. These are hard playoff fouls. No big deal, stop bitching. And I'm sorry. I love Tommy, but even he needs to stop bitching. WHO GIVES A FUCK WHAT THE BULLS PUT ON THEIR BLACKBOARD BEFORE GAMES. WHO CARES IF THEY WANT TO BE PHYSICAL! Be more physical and keep your composure. The officiating has been terrible, but can we please stop bitching and play basketball. There are way too many bitch fouls being called and it makes me not even want to watch the game. But they are being called, so deal with it and play better and tougher.
Ray Allen played out of his mind last night. He had a career playoff high 51 points and killed Chicago all night. The shots he hit were incredible. It's not like he just hit wide open shots and lit them up. He drilled greatly contested shots all night and was unstoppable. My personal favorite was the one over Noah in the corner. He had an amazing season and is having an even better playoffs so far. Any idiot that worried about him after game 1 clearly doesn't know Ray Allen or basketball.
Big Baby also stepped up and made huge clutch shots. His 23 points on 10 of 18 shooting was impressive. He is making a name for himself on the national stage, and I expect him to get paid next season. The Truth played well but didn't dominate like I thought he was going too. He still ended up with 22 points but only shot 5 for 13 from the field. If Ray didn't play like Larry Bird, then they would have been smoked. Pierce is better than that and needs to step up. I have faith in Pierce and expect him to come through in game 7, just like last year's game 7 against Lebron. I usually shit on Scal and hate when Boston fans jizz all over him when he touches the ball, but he played like a true professional last night. He gave the Celts some life off the bench and didn't allow the Celts to get in a larger deficit than that what they already were in.
The biggest disappointment for the Celtics was Rajon Rondo. Yes, he had 19 assists and 9 boards, but his offense was stagnant. He was not aggressive and did not make Rose work on the defensive end. The Celtics are at their best offensively when Rondo is aggressive. He can get into the lane at will and either create for himself or penetrate and dish when the Bulls have to switch. I don't know if the Chicago crowd got to him or not, but he was not aggressive and the offense suffered because of it.
People will pick and choose plays here and there. There's a lot of woulda coulda shoulda. But I think that's bull shit. The game is 48 minutes, and the game shouldn't have even made it into overtime. Why? Because the Celts didn't play the way they are capable of playing. They still couldn't guard a pick and roll. The were not aggressive and did not go to the basket. The refs were calling pathetic fouls early in the game, so any smart basketball team should try and go to the basket and get fouls. But they took way too many jump shots. Ray was amazing, but others needed to go to the basket. They didn't take advantage of the refs' bad calls and let Chicago off easily defensively. Their offense in the 4th quarter has not been fun to watch. There is still 4 minutes in the game left. Why do they play like there's only 44 seconds left? Their aggressiveness offensively was not there last night and the Bulls capitalized. Also, Chicago's bench outscored the Celtics 35 to 11. Unacceptable.
Great game but a tough loss. However, is there really anything better than a game 7 on a Saturday night in Boston?
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