In order, why the C's lost to Cleveland:
5. Kevin Garnett is different. I am really worried about KG, and I mentioned this before in an email or a blog post I wrote about Doc, but I am willing to bet he is concerned as well. KG is a great player, and still great. He probably isn't All-Star great, and he certainly is a shadow of his former self defensively, but he, I think, is a little too wrapped up in his self. This may sound weird, but I think that Garnett used to be able to use his craziness and zaniness as a way to reign in his abundance of energy. His focus, in the '07-08 run was the thing that made him so unstoppable defensively. Now, I feel like his wacky streak is getting the better of him. There hasn't been an opening 6 minutes of a game in which he didn't acquire at least 1 PUTRID foul, that is usual a result of his personal insanity clashing up against his diminishing agility. In other words, I think KG is getting clumsy. A clumsy KG scares the crap out of me. We have to find his role, not just for this year but for the future, and I am not sure it is as big of a role as he may think it should be.
4. Verajao is phenomenal. I've said some hateful things about this guy, and I really don't want to like him, because he is forever going to make the teams I like lose. I certainly was critical of his contract (6 years, 50 million ish), but now I realize that was me being petty - and wrong. How many possessions did he keep alive with flat out hustle? He also is gifted offensively, in a very specific way. Sometimes you don't need to be good at everything, and being good at cutting, slashing, annoying, fouling, defending...those are enough checkmarks to impress me, and annoy the crap out of the C's.
3. Shaq got hurt and JJ Hickson got minutes. Its not really all about Hickson, but more about the fact that Mike Brown somewhat settled into a rotation in the 2nd half. I swear, if Shaq is healthy, we have a better shot at beating this time. Plus, is anyone else praying that they sign Big Z. back again? Every minute they have Big Z. is another minute Hickson doesn't play, and is anyone else concerned about the next 60 days as a warmup for Leon Powe? We all do remember that he was a crucial and integral piece of our '08 Championship, right? Again, I don't trust Mike Brown to get over himself enough to adjust his blue goggles and think for 5 minutes about his rotation, but if the team essentially forces itself into a rotation that includes big minutes for Hickson, solid contribution for Powe, and correct usage of Shaq, things may get dirty.
2. No Paul Pierce makes for a very easy game for Lebron. I am not sure if Paul alone would have won the game for the C's, but how much can we really take this loss to heart? If we went into a 7 game series against Cleveland and don't have Pierce (or KG, or Rondo or Perk or even Nate Robinson), don't we already know it's a lost cause? The only way to beat the Cavs is to be at full strength, and then play well. Lebron didn't break a sweat last night.
1. Mo Williams got hot. If he clanged those 2nd half 3's like he did in the first half, the C's keep running and moving, and spacing things out and passing, and potentially win. Mo Williams scoring at will is how I envisioned him when he joined the Cavs, and honestly it is what he should be able to do all the time. This guy is honestly a game-changer, and I don't think he has shown it yet.
Things I didn't mention, but should be on the list:
> Antawn Jamison is a top 5 offensive post player in the NBA right now. Give him the ball, 1 on 1, and he scores. We haven't even seen the start of this, yet.
> Players are, for no reason at all, terrified of taking a charge on Lebron. There are so many instances in which players can step in front of him. As much as Marv Albert wants to tell us it is because he is strong and fast, that's dumb. These guys aren't afraid of Lebron, its something else. I don't know what it is.
> The Cavs, with or without Pierce, are a better team
> The Celtics don't stay "up" for 48 minutes. This is well documented, and it's a mystery.
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