Kevin Garnett has been awesome all year for us… and he's been great all series too. But when he's got no energy out on the floor… then the Celtics don't have any energy. He's that important. One play typifies what KG gave us last night.
8:18 in the 2nd quarter… Sam Cassell shoots a 3 from the right wing. KG is on the opposite side… and is defended by Rasheed Wallace.
Notice the open space. As the ball is in mid-air… everyone turns and looks toward the rim. Notice… a lack of boxing out… and still… plenty of open space for KG to walk right into the middle of the lane.
So the shot comes off the front of the rim… the middle of the lane is STILL open… and everyone is standing there and looking at the ball. Still… no boxing out to speak of. Maybe KG can take a couple of big strides and sneak in for the offensive board.
Nope… KG has barely moved. And guess where the ball went.
KG had plenty of time to get to the EXACT spot that the ball ended up. Instead… one of the best rebounders of our generation stayed 18 feet from the hoop… let Detroit grab the board… and turn it into a Jason Maxiell jumper… and a 33-19 lead. A rebound and dunk might have energized this team. It would have cut the lead to 10… and who knows what happens after that.
KG wasn't alone in bringing no energy to this game… but as we all know… he's our "energy guy." Its obvious that when he doesn't have it… very few others have it. The only guy I saw out there with any sort of fire was Kendrick Perkins… and he's the 5th offensive option… so that doesn't help us much.
So here we are again… tied at 2 after 4 games of a playoff series. We're officially in a "playing with fire" situation. Lose game 5… and now we've got to win 2 in a row. Luckily, there's no way Detroit brings it for 3 straight games… so I'll bet the family jewels that this one is going to 7…. again. Let's hope San Antonio and LA beat the hell out of each other.
Herald: Celtics make Big mistake | Pistons tie series | Detroit win no shock | Celtics have point of concern | KG: Defense disappoints | Bad boys in stands too | McDyess driven by ring | Big 3 fail to make big impact | McDyessswitches roles with Billups | KG: man on a mission | Globe: All tied up | Pistons keep churning | Big disappointment for Big 3 | McDyess got ball rolling | Pistons put it on the line | Billups has come a long way | Motown's been Hunter's town | Veterans can deal with kid stuff | T&G: Cassell struggling as a sub | Detroit Free Press: Billups must play better | Pistons hate 'comeback' role | CBS: Celtics lack killer instinct | ESPN Daily Dime: Mr. Big Shot delivers | SI: McDyess is a man on a mission
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