Hero-itis

At least the Celtics tried last night. I just wish the focus would have been, too. After looking dominant for the first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics suffered a set back and lost their rhythm on a night when the Orlando Magic decided to show up and play. This loss wasn't totally disheartening and dreadful to watch (like game 3 of the Cleveland Series, for example), but it didn't lack in frustration, head scratchers or angry outbursts directed at my TV. A loss is never a good thing, and watching game 4 gave me PTSD flashbacks of this regular season where Orlando looked like world-beaters and the Celtics looked completely disjointed.

The Celtics looked like they all wanted to be the hero last night, and as a result the wheels completely fell off their offensive game. The Celtics couldn't or didn't want to move the ball last night, and they let the Orlando defense clamp down and force Boston into uncomfortable situations. The Celtics not named Ray Allen could not buy a basket from downtown (Orlando was not great at shooting the 3, but the Celtics were AWFUL) yet still chucked up enough threes to build a brick house (Ray Allen: 5-7 on 3-pointers in game 4, other Celtics: 0-11. Yikes). The Celtics weren't listless during game 4 and actually did a remarkable job of coming back to force OT considering how bad they were, but they simply couldn't get anything done on offense and couldn't stop a fired up Magic team.

Speaking of the Magic, this is probably a situation where I need to give credit where it is due. Orlando played hard for an entire game for the first time this series and executed a brilliant game plan on both ends of the floor. They escaped with a gritty victory and now have some momentum heading into a game 5 in Orlando that may well be the last at Amway Arena. The Magic were more aggressive and decisive in game 4, which put the Celtics on their heels and created more easy scoring opportunities that had been scarce until now.

Jameer Nelson played better than Rajon Rondo for the first time this series and was an effective playmaker throughout. Nelson also sealed the game for the Magic in overtime by hitting consecutive 3-pointers, both of which registered a collective 9.0 on the ridiculous scale. The first shot was a rushed three-pointer from the left wing that was heavily contested and banked in, breaking the 86-86 tie that had ended regulation. After a Celtic miss, Nelson then dribbled down the right side and was blanketed by the Celtics yet still chose to launch another 3 from 27 feet away from the hoop. Swish. Nelson took the game from a dead tie to a 6-point Magic lead in less than 45 seconds and the Celtics never regained the lead. I didn't care much for the results of those two possessions last night, but I will absolutely live with those looks and the consequences for the Celtics.

Jameer Nelson may have made the lucky shots to ice the victory for Orlando last night, but their real hero was Dwight Howard, who made his best and most dominant contribution to this series on both ends of the floor. Howard finished with 32/16 and 4 blocks on an efficient 13-19 from the floor but a miserable 6-14 from the free-throw line. The stat line for Howard is impressive enough, but it doesn't begin to tell the whole story of how he affected last night's game (fortunately for you guys, I am here to fill in the details). Dwight Howard flat out controlled the paint on both ends of the floor last night largely because of his work on the glass (and also because the refs let him camp out for five seconds at a time in the key). The Celtics couldn't handle Howard on the glass (he had 5 offensive rebounds) and paid dearly for it. Instead of making him work out of the post for his shots, the Celtics let Howard grab misses in position to dunk or lay the ball in and then failed several times to wrap him up and send him to the line after an offensive rebound.

Orlando came out and played like they had nothing to lose (maybe because they didn't?) and the Celtics came out and played like they all wanted to put the Magic to sleep by themselves. That kind of basketball isn't what got the Celtics to this point, and if they continue to do this they may be in real trouble. I certainly got ahead of myself yesterday and was perhaps put in my place by the turnout of the game, but that doesn't mean I am prepared to give in to the front-running hysterics and declare that this ship is going down. No team in NBA history has ever come back form a 3-0 deficit, and it will not be happening this year. The Celtics will be more focused in game 5 and the Magic still haven't shown that they have what it takes to play consistently against this Celtic team. It's very hard to beat anyone four times in a row in this league, so don't panic and tune in for game five on Wednesday!