Everyone looking for a continuation of the great basketball we saw against Chicago… sorry, ain’t gonna happen in this series. The Celtics flat out sucked for most of this game, yet they still managed to cut a 30 point lead down to 3. The bench was pretty good early, especially Stephon Marbury. He banged his first 4 shots, but then he never really saw the floor in the second half. But the real turning point in this came with 4:00 to go in the first half, when Paul Pierce hit the bench with his 3rd foul. At that point, it was 39-32 Orlando. At the half, it was 54-36. By the time the Celtics finally woke up in the 3rd quarter, the hole was too deep.

But there’s no way in hell the Celtics are losing this series. This Orlando team is the same Orlando team I’ve seen all season: play well in stretches, build a lead, then go a long time doing stupid things like jacking a 3 with 19 showing on the shot clock when you have a 20 point lead. They’ve been doing it all year. They’re going to keep doing it. If the Celtics didn’t suck ass tonight, they would have taken advantage of it.

There were missed opportunities all over the place in the second half. Orlando turned it over and the Celtics returned the favor. C’s got a stop on D, then can’t convert on their end. It happened over, and over, and over, and over again. The Celtics should have tied the score up by the mid-fourth quarter instead of being down 9.

Here’s something the Celtics figured out in the second half, but they should have known from the beginning: You take it at a shot blocker. Yes, he’s going to get some blocks. But he’s also going to get some fouls. And he’s also going to leave his man. And he’s also going to get himself out of rebounding position. When you get tentative against a shot blocker, you’re fucked. You challenge them. Always.

Rajon Rondo sucked in this game. He had flashes… but he turned the ball over in too many key spots. They said he showed up at the arena an hour before the game, which is not like him. He’s usually there 3 hours or so ahead of the tip. Who knows what that’s about. Ray Allen wasn’t much better. When was the last game 1 where he showed up?

Brian Scalabrine was the best Celtic on the floor. He did a great job defensively on Rashard Lewis. He hit big shots. He made smart plays. He’s the only guy on this team that played consistent basketball all night. Kendrick Perkins was right there too. He played Howard as well as could be expected. If he keeps doing that, we’ll be alright.

Ultimately, nothing in this game made me change my opinion of Orlando: They’re a good team, not a great one. They’re not built for the playoffs because they don’t know when to stop jacking 3′s, slow things down, and put a team away. If Rondo and Ray even stepped up with average performances, the C’s would have won by double digits. I’m sticking by my prediction: Celtics in 6.

John – Red’s Army