Boston vs. Indiana: Another Year, Another Series by Jeffrey "44Thrilla" Ross [imgl]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/mosdefjeff/bosind.jpg[/imgl]The Atlantic Division champion Boston Celtics will meet the Indiana Pacers in the first round...again. Jeffrey Ross takes a look at the recent playoff history of the teams, the player matchups, and how bench play will be very important in this series. However, he refuses to give a prediction as he would rather leave that to you...
<div align="center">http://www.nba.com/media/pacers/jackson_330_pierce.jpg"></div> [quoteright] Last year was a totally different story. The Celtics snuck into a playoff series that they shouldn't have ever been in in the first place. They were like a pack of twelve year olds watching an XXX film. They were scared, confused, and totally unsure of what was going to happen next. The series was extremely one-sided, and the Pacers brought out the broom to sweep the Celtics out of the playoffs. That's the history, too bad it will mean nothing. These two teams are totally different from what they were a year and two years ago. The Pacers are without Ron Artest, who was suspended seven games into the season. They also no longer have Al Harrington on the roster, somebody that was huge for the Pacers in the series last year. There's questions about Jermaine O'Neal's health, as well. They've been chugging along at a turtle's pace, losing three out of the last four while facing the injuries of Fred Jones, Austin Croshere, and Jamal Tinsley. Saying that this team is at full strength would be like calling the Sacramento Kings "lucky". [quoteright]"I can?t honestly say we?re playing well right now," said Coach Rick Carlisle. "We?ll have to piece it together. Boston, to me, has been one of the surprise teams this year. They?ve had a great year.?[/quoteright]Boston is different for other reasons. They are vastly improved from last year. A year that saw them make three trades involving starters, a coach quitting, and an alcoholic Vin Baker. They are now one of the deepest teams in the league, but most of their depth consists of very young players with little or no playoff experience. Still, they managed to win their division, thanks to an unusual midseason trade that brought Antoine Walker back to the team. Later, Gary Payton, who was traded in the deal, returned to the roster after being bought out by the Atlanta Hawks. Boston's team now consists of three solid stars, an explosive sixth man, a few role players, and loads of young talent. The ingredients are there, but the recipe will not be complete unless coach Doc Rivers can find the right rotation, something that he's struggled with all year. If you take a look at the matchups, the starters seem to be fairly even on paper. There's two perennial All-Stars in Paul Pierce and Jermaine O'Neal, and two crafty veterans and future hall of famers in Gary Payton and Reggie Miller. There's also two above-average scorers in Stephen Jackson and Antoine Walker, two underrated performers in Raef Lafrentz and Jamal Tinsley, and two hustle oriented role players in Jeff Foster and Tony Allen. That's why the bench play will be the difference in this series. Boston's bench is led by Ricky Davis, one of the best sixth men in the league. He has done an incredible job all year long of coming off the bench to change the tempo. He is a prolific scorer and he has the potential to change the whole series if he does what he's capable of. The Celtics bench also features Mark Blount, a former starter who was sent to the bench after the addition of Antoine Walker. He is an impressive jump shooter for a man his size, but his terrible hands and soft play often cancel that out. [quoteright] ?We?re ready," said Celtics Coach Doc Rivers. "We?re ready for the playoffs. We?ve got home court. I think our guys are up for the fight. ? I think our guys are in a great frame of mind right now."[/quoteright]The biggest question mark for the Celtics bench is how their first and second year players will handle the playoffs. Guys like Marcus Banks, Al Jefferson, and Delonte West have all had their moments this year. On one night they will look like a superstar, but on the the next they might look like shadows of themselves. If these guys can turn that question mark into an exclamation point, it should give the Celtics a big advantage in the series. Indiana's bench is depleted. Fred Jones and Austin Croshere are key reserves, but they are having respective injury problems. Jones has been bothered by a broken finger and Croshere has a sore lower back. Anthony Johnson is as solid a backup as there is in the league, but nobody knows whether or not Tinsley will be ready to go for Game 1. In addition to that, big men Jonathan Bender and David Harrison find themselves on the injured list. To ensure that coach Rick Carlisle doesn't have to cut down his rotations, the Pacers will need a solid effort from Dale Davis, Scott Pollard, Eddie Gill, and James Jones. They need to step it up and fill the void created by all of the injuries. But, most likely, the Pacers will have a shallow rotation due to Carlisle being uncomfortable with the situation his bench is in. Although, he may take into consideration the 20 point, 10 rebound, game that James Jones had against the Celtics earlier this year. KEY MATCHUPS: or vs. Reggie Miller has averaged 19.1 points in the Pacers final 25 games. He's playing his best basketball in years, and it's up to the tandem of rookie guards to keep him under control. You see, nobody knows who will be the Celtics' starter at the two. Tony Allen was the starter for most of the year, but Delonte West had replaced him before spraining his left hand. Either way, Miller needs to be clamped or he will explode. They also need to take advantage of Reggie's defensive weaknesses. vs. It will be interesting to see how well Stephen Jackson will play defensively against Paul Pierce. Jackson is not known for his defense, and Pierce will be looking to expose that. Jackson should try to establish himself on the offensive end in an effort to counter that. He has plenty of playoff experience and even has a championship under his belt, so he should be able to hold his own in this situation. This should be an interesting matchup. vs. This matchup obviously goes to Jermaine O'Neal. He is, by far, the better player. Antoine Walker knows that, and he'll be looking to close that gap. If Walker is handed the defensive assignment, he needs to really buckle down and concentrate on stopping O'Neal. On the other hand, O'Neal needs to do the same thing because everybody knows that Walker can really turn it on. **Quotes from Pacers.com
nice read, man. this should be a good, competitive series. wouldn't be surprised to see it go 6 or 7 games.
article Overall it was a pretty good article, though I thought you should have made a prediction. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">They were like a pack of twelve year olds watching an XXX film. They were scared, confused, and totally unsure of what was going to happen next.</div>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JWohl:</div><div class="quote_post">Overall it was a pretty good article, though I thought you should have made a prediction. </div> that was some funny stuff man
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JWohl:</div><div class="quote_post">Overall it was a pretty good article, though I thought you should have made a prediction. </div>I don't like to make predictions involving my favorite team. I used to, but I had very bad luck with it. I'm a very superstitious person.
okay <div class="quote_poster">Quoting 44Thrilla:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't like to make predictions involving my favorite team. I used to, but I had very bad luck with it. I'm a very superstitious person.</div> Okay, thats completely understandable
I'll make a prediction- Boston in 4, Indiana in 3. Indy obviously beat the Celts last year in the playoffs but without Walker, and the rookies. Who knows how much time they will get, but if they play with the intensity they did at the end of the NJ game, they may be in for a while. I think Jefferson will be a key to this game, he has played very well the last few weeks, putting in a lot of extra effort and he plays with a lot of heart as most of the team does. They want revenge and I don't think they will let this one slip away, you never know though.
You know, I'm not as uneasy about playing the Pacers this year as I have been in the last 2 seasons. Paul has played great lately, defering to teammates and distributing the ball for the first 3 quarters and taking over the 4th, like the Paul of old. And with Tinsley hurting (reports are he may not be back until game 3), O'Neal still not near 100%, Artest busy picking out what suits he's going to wear to court and Reggie hitting the wall (look at his stats the month of April - shot less than 40% from the field for the first time all season - I think all the minutes finally caught up to him) this is a series that the Celtics should win. I'm not saying that they're going to win it easy, far from it, but they should win the series. Whether it takes 4, 5, 6 or 7 games is no matter, they should get the job done eventually. They just have to make sure that they keep the rookies in check, cause this Pacers team is the mentally toughest team in the league and I would hate for the young guns to get tossed cause they get caught up in the emotion. Apparently, TA was bouncing off the walls at practice today. Thats the kind of thing they have to watch out for. And with that, I lay the over/under for Tony Allen picking up his first 2 fouls guarding Reggie Miller at 3 minutes....
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">And with that, I lay the over/under for Tony Allen picking up his first 2 fouls guarding Reggie Miller at 3 minutes....</div>Man, would I have lost big.
