canadajerseys
06-09-2010, 03:22 AM
First, the 47-0 Phil Jackson record. And now, the 10-0 Game 3 record. As widely documented, ever since the 2-3-2 format was implemented in the Finals, when the first two games were a split, whoever took Game 3 won the series.
At some point, Phil Jackson will win Game 1 but lose the series (unless he retires before it can happen). At some point, a team will win one of the first two Finals games, lose the third, and come back to win the series.
And I really hope that team is the 2010 Celtics.
This team is capable of doing it. This team is capable of winning it all. We have the talent. Ray Allen was a total stinker tonight, but we saw in Game 2 what he's capable of. KG finally came alive tonight, after being completely out of it the first two games and people saying he had finally, totally succumbed to age. We know what a great offensive player Pierce can be, and we know how Rondo can completely take over all aspects of a game. We know how solid of a low-post defender Perk can be. We've all been surprised by the appearance of good Tony. We've all seen Glen Davis and his unrelenting hustle plays. Sheed has shed his regular-season self and morphed into what we all expected when he came to Boston. Nate can provide a much-needed spark off the bench and can play well enough to buy Rondo some rest.
If only we'd see all of this come together. If only we'd see all of this happen in the same game. We have yet to see a game where at least half of the team is playing well.
And yet we are down only 2-1. I'm not entirely comfortable using the word "only," because I feel it undermines the odds and the history we're up against. But what I mean is that 2-1 is as close as a three-game series can be. And really, Game 3 was ours for the taking, if only we did the things that we needed to do that were more or less within our control. Like making our free throws. Going up for the rebound with two hands and aiming to grab the ball, rather than going up with one hand and attempting only to swat at the ball. Avoiding silly fouls on gambles and just playing tight, honest D. Game 3 might have been ours had we done these things.
Unfortunately, we didn't do those things tonight, and the Lakers took Game 3 from us, leaving us in a historically undesirable position. But the series isn't over. We need to win three more games, and we get four tries--not exactly a comfortable margin for error, but not impossible either. Remember, just two rounds ago, we were in a similar position, having split the first two games in Cleveland and then losing Game 3 at home to go down 2-1. We managed to come back and get three more wins to take the series. And we didn't even need all four tries to do it.
I guess not all history is against us, after all.
At some point, Phil Jackson will win Game 1 but lose the series (unless he retires before it can happen). At some point, a team will win one of the first two Finals games, lose the third, and come back to win the series.
And I really hope that team is the 2010 Celtics.
This team is capable of doing it. This team is capable of winning it all. We have the talent. Ray Allen was a total stinker tonight, but we saw in Game 2 what he's capable of. KG finally came alive tonight, after being completely out of it the first two games and people saying he had finally, totally succumbed to age. We know what a great offensive player Pierce can be, and we know how Rondo can completely take over all aspects of a game. We know how solid of a low-post defender Perk can be. We've all been surprised by the appearance of good Tony. We've all seen Glen Davis and his unrelenting hustle plays. Sheed has shed his regular-season self and morphed into what we all expected when he came to Boston. Nate can provide a much-needed spark off the bench and can play well enough to buy Rondo some rest.
If only we'd see all of this come together. If only we'd see all of this happen in the same game. We have yet to see a game where at least half of the team is playing well.
And yet we are down only 2-1. I'm not entirely comfortable using the word "only," because I feel it undermines the odds and the history we're up against. But what I mean is that 2-1 is as close as a three-game series can be. And really, Game 3 was ours for the taking, if only we did the things that we needed to do that were more or less within our control. Like making our free throws. Going up for the rebound with two hands and aiming to grab the ball, rather than going up with one hand and attempting only to swat at the ball. Avoiding silly fouls on gambles and just playing tight, honest D. Game 3 might have been ours had we done these things.
Unfortunately, we didn't do those things tonight, and the Lakers took Game 3 from us, leaving us in a historically undesirable position. But the series isn't over. We need to win three more games, and we get four tries--not exactly a comfortable margin for error, but not impossible either. Remember, just two rounds ago, we were in a similar position, having split the first two games in Cleveland and then losing Game 3 at home to go down 2-1. We managed to come back and get three more wins to take the series. And we didn't even need all four tries to do it.
I guess not all history is against us, after all.