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Scanning the blogs and beats following the Celtics’ exhilarating 76-72 win over the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals …
Gary Dzen, Boston Globe: "Cavaliers coach Mike Brown seemed to have his own explantion for LeBron’s 2-for-18 shooting night. "The one thing he tried to do was attack the rim," said Brown. "He didn’t get the calls, especially down the stretch. Guys have nights like that, but it is unusual to see him have a night like that from the field. He very seldom has a game like this, but he will bounce back and play a terrific game in Game 2."
WaitingForNextYear: "After a loss like that one it would be easy to play the what if? game. What if LeBron shot better than 11%? What if the team made more than 4 of the 18 triples they launched? What if Sam Cassell doesn’t channel his inner Robert Horry and make those key baskets in crunch-time? What if the ref had given Posey the foul he was obviously trying to give to LeBron on his last drive to the basket. What if the Cavs hadn’t missed another dozen lay-ups? Would this one have turned out differently?"
CelticsBlog: "We’re officially at the point at which I could write about James Posey after just about every game, particularly the victories. His numbers in the box score mean absolutely nothing to me. It’s just the whole package that this guy brings to the table that impresses virtually each and every time out. It isn’t just that he hit two threes, it’s the timing of those threes — one at the first-quarter buzzer to extend an early lead to double-digits and one early in the fourth to extend a tenuous lead from one to four. It isn’t all that impressive that the guy pulled down two boards in 25 minutes, but it’s worth remembering that he was there to grab one of (if not the) biggest of the game, the one that allowed the Celtics a chance to gain a two-possession lead with two free throws with 8.5 seconds on the clock."
Brian Windhorst, Akron Beacon Journal: "The Celtics did not perform any sort of special defensive voodoo on James; they just did what they do best. They stayed very close to their individual men and attempted to form a mini-zone near James when he had the ball. The antidote for that is James’ ability to create off the dribble and to draw double-teams. But two second-half offensive fouls seemed to strip him of his aggressiveness for a time, and he started dribbling more instead of attacking. That prompted his teammates to stop moving as much. Double-teamed when he came off screens, James also wasn’t as effective as usual in finding open teammates because the Celtics were sticking close to them."
Kevin McNamara, Providence Journal: "Just a few minutes into Game One of the Celtics-Cavaliers series, Paul Pierce picked up two quick fouls. That brought Posey into the game and into James’ gym shorts. Whenever James had the ball at the top of the key, waiting to make his move, Posey stood in his defensive stance a few inches away. The shadow technique worked wonders."
Red’s Army: "I’ll go so far as to say I will gladly sacrifice Paul Pierce’s offensive numbers if it means he plays LeBron like that for the rest of the series. He sacrificed his body and took two huge charges. He forced LeBron into a number of turnovers … including a crucial traveling call late in the game. Both Posey and Pierce kept LeBron in front of them for most of the game … and forced him to shoot (and miss) jumpers. It was a great defensive effort last nigh t… and I want to make sure its known out there that the Celtics defense threw LeBron off."
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald: "Danny Ainge was just doing his due diligence last summer when he asked Wally Szczerbiak about Kevin Garnett. The Celtics had learned that Garnett could be available, and Ainge wanted to know as much as could about him. The message from Szczerbiak was fairly well to the point: Get him. Now. "I knew KG’s an impact player,” the former C’s guard said … "No question. I talked to Danny a little bit about KG. He asked me a few questions about him. I played with him 6 years and, hey, he’s a hell of a player. He’s a perennial All-Star and an MVP. I knew he’d make a big difference when they brought him in."
Windhorst, Akron Beacon Journal: "A big moment in the game was when Mike Brown put Joe Smith in for Ben Wallace on offense with 50 seconds left. That made sense at the time, but it backfired when the Celtics didn’t called timeout after Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ tip in that tied the game. The Celtics went right to Kevin Garnett, who made a great move for the go ahead layup. Wallace played pretty good tonight, he made Garnett get most of his points shooting jumpers and that is something they’ll live with. Maybe he couldn’t have stopped that move, either. But you’d rather have Wallace in there than Smith at that point. Z could’ve come over to double, which was what they were doing with him, as soon as he saw him make his move but he didn’t."
Dan Ventura, Boston Herald: "Sam Cassell spied the media throng in front of his locker room and the eyes lit up. While he jokingly claimed his job isn’t to deal with the reporters, the reason there was an overflowing crowd in front of his locker was because he did exactly what the Celtics expected him to do when he signed a free agent contract in early March. Cassell scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3-point baskets …"
