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UNLUCKY 7'S

I seriously started this post 2 hours ago but an Entourage marathon (self-induced since it was On Demand) has fully absorbed my afternoon. There is no doubt that this show keeps at least a dozen no talent, super hot blondes in work every week. It's like a charity for ex-Stuff Magazine models. Who doesn't need a buddy to hit it big in Hollywood?

I have been uniquely fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the last 2 games 7s in which a Boston team has been involved. Last October there was the ALCS game 7 in the Bronx. We all know how that ended.

Saturday night at the TD Banknorth Garden was a parallel universe in which all the good from October was flipped reversed and smashed on the parquet floor. In short, it was like being a Yankee fan during ALCS game 7... Okay not even close, there is no way an NBA Playoffs Round 1 game 7 can compare with that but it still wasn't a picnic.

Anyway, before the lowlights, a couple of highlights. My buddies Brian and Alex came through huge with 4 3rd row loge tickets for face. They're such good guys that they gave up their ridiculous seats so that they could go home for mother's day. Kinda warms your heart doesn't it? Celebrity sightings: David Givens, Daniel Graham, Deion Branch, and David Ortiz all within 25 feet of our seats. Why was every Boston sports star whose name begins with a D within our sightline?

For the first 10 minutes of the game it felt like a playoff atmosphere in the Garden. It was loud, it was full, fans were waving little white towels provided by the Celtics at the door. The scene was encouraging to those of us who are hopeful that the C's will shortly return to glory, but it died, hard. One of the Pacers most important game 7 achievements was the silencing of the crowd over their 11-2 run to start the 3rd quarter. You could hear the change falling out of my pocket as I slumped in my seat.

The first half was closely played, that is to say it was poorly played. Bad shooting, bad officiating (MUCH more on this later), bad transition defense, and bad coaching. Both teams were lucky not to be down 20 at the half, if either had been able to shoot in the first half they could have put the series away. And in reality it was the Pacers who seemed to blow the most opportunities despite the fact that they went into the locker room with a 35-32 lead.

The second half was a disaster. There is no way around the fact that the Celtics just forgot to come out of the gate. They were outscored 29-18 in the 3rd and 33-20 in the 4th and at one point were down 29 midway through the final period.

All of this happened with Reggie Miller, allegedly making one final stand to extend his career, on the bench while his back-up Fred Jones lit it up with 13 of his 16 in the final 12 minutes. In his last 3 games Jones had 5 points...combined. Miller finished the game with 5 points in 28 minutes and was essentially a cheerleader.

"Allen Iverson without the skills" thug Stephen Jackson scored 24 points and was the difference in the game. There weren't many big shots taken because it was an utter annihilation but Jackson keyed the runs in both the 3rd and 4th quarters. With over 4 minutes to play it was over and Doc was emptying the bench.

So, how the Boston Slant asks, did this happen?

First, the Pacers forced the Celtics to play their style of play, slooooowwww. The first 24 minutes were so agonizingly slow that at the half we were looking at a game that might not get out of the 60's. It was like watching BC all over again.

That being said, the Celtics failed on both ends of the floor within the game they were forced to play. They shot a abysmal 37% from the field and only managed to take 16 free throws. The Pacers shot a hardly blistering 47% but it, along with their 30 free throw attempts was enough. What really had me tearing my hair out was the fact that the Celtics were missing easy shots, 10-12 footers with a hand barely in their face, while the Pacers seemed to always be shooting uncontested. Indiana's ball movement, which was by no means stunningly impressive, made the Celtics look as though they have never seen a skip pass or heard of weak side help.

The real key was that Indiana just wanted it more. They came out to start the 2nd half with purpose and out shot, out defended, and so completely out played the Celtics that they deserved to win. Maybe it was for Reggie, maybe it was to get another crack at the Pistons but whatever it was the Pacers were motivated and the Celtics were not. It's as simple as that.

70 points represents the second lowest total for a Celtics team in the playoffs. How can a team lay down so meekly in a game 7 at home? The Mavs or Suns might score 70 in a half in their series.

This game was so ugly that Larry Bird, sitting behind the Pacers bench, got up and left with 3:30 to play. Larry, Pacers executive, Celtics legend who perhaps had more invested in this game on both sides than a parent watching brother play brother was out the door before the final buzzer. Embarrassing.

While the Celtics certainly played their way right out of the playoffs on Saturday there is no doubt that they were ushered there by some absolutely atrocious officiating. With all the haze surrounding the refs in this year's playoffs it's easy, as a losing fan, to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon, I won't do that. But I will say that this game was called in one-sided fashion, causing myself and other fans to question the integrity of the refs and their objectivity. Most likely we were just being outraged fans who felt that their team didn't get a fair shake, but after two consecutive possessions where Pacers guards penetrated and threw up wild shots only to be bailed out by foul calls while on the other end Pierce and Payton were absolutely mauled by Jermaine O'Neal all of our eyebrows were raised. If this game was fairly called the Celtics would have lost by 20 instead of 27 so it doesn't matter, they still couldn't shoot, and I'm sure that the refs tried to be professional. That doesn't change the fact that they blew it badly on at least half a dozen occasions and gave fodder to an already alarming debate.

Of course it's hard to speculate on any Pacer-friendly NBA conspiracy because with their victory they have earned the right to play the Pistons in the series the NBA has dreaded since November 19th. Some in Detroit and Indiana are actually saying that this series should be played in empty arenas, which might not be a bad idea since every game in Detroit is going to be delayed and interrupted by some type of bomb threat. With that in mind I cannot be too upset that the Celtics lost this series. Sure I'm incensed at the way they played on Saturday, but had they won the Pistons would have pounded them in 5 and the season would be over anyway. At least now we get to see Reggie's career end at the hands of a maniacal baseball bat wielding Pistons fan.

So now that we've put the '04 - '05 season to rest it's time to look towards next year, and all I can ask is that Danny Ainge controls himself at the wheel. Don't make 48 non-sensical deals in the next two months, all of which will be undone in February when you bring back all of the traded players and we end up with the exact same team. Sign Antoine, so what if you hate his game he balls hard and the C's only won the Atlantic because of him, but don't get saddled with a lousy long term deal. Lock him up for the short run and then deal him if you don't like the results.

Most importantly hold onto this youth that we've acquired here. Al Jefferson is going to be a star in this league and his development should be priority number one, when Pierce is done Jefferson will be the face of this franchise and as he rises the combination of the two should make for decent teams. That, along with Tony Allen is enough of a nucleus even if you lose Walker. But you must get rid of Mark Blount and make getting a viable veteran big man priority number 2. LaFrentz is not the answer, nor was he when they drafted him. Please never again draft big white kids from Kansas, it'll be like Alex Smith in 5 years.

That's it, draft smart and hold onto what you've got. It's not complicated Danny, but it requires that you control that itchy trigger finger of yours, which isn't your strong suit, especially after such a miserable collapse. I bet you want to trade everyone don't you, just scrap the whole team and trade them for some more big white kids, maybe some Europeans this time? DO NOT!

Alright enough whining, there's lots of news to talk about in the next post, either tonight or tomorrow. Cla Meredith, Terry Francona, Barry Bonds, the Yankees, Steve Nash, and another tongue lashing for Skip Bayless from the B-Slant.