The Good – Ryan Hollins seemed to find some real chemistry with Rondo, hitting a couple baskets in stride, and grabbing 3 offensive rebounds. If he continues to play like this look for Doc to extend his minutes in the playoffs which could help the rest of the bigs on the team.
The Bad – Doc Rivers is a great coach, but tonight I thought he looked un-Doc like. He didn’t have a time out in reserve for the last play, something he usually is good at keeping track of, and this was directly responsible for the rushed and sloppy play at the end of the game. If he had that timeout the team could have had a set half-court play, and Rondo wouldn’t have been forced to waste time getting the ball up the court. Doc also kept Pierce in too long, when it was clear he was ineffective either from fatigue or injury.
The Breakdown – The Celtics had moments where they seemed on the verge of breaking the game open in the 1st quarter, but their offense seemed to stall and breakdown for long stretches. They probably could have won this game easily if they stayed more consistent throughout the whole game.
The one positive thing to take out of this game is the gut check feeling that the Celtics are better, and it is their series to win or lose. With this group of proud veterans I would say they will put things right and close out this series, most likely in Game 6.
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