Celtics Fry Up Some Grit In The ATL

"We all grit, all grit and balls man, that's what it is." -Kevin Garnett after the Celtics game 2 win in Atlanta sans Rajon Rondo

Kevin Garnett you hit the nail squarely on the head. The 2012 playoff Celtics are made up of exactly that: grit and balls. Last night’s game reinforced to me after a laying stink bomb in Game 1 vs. the Hawks that this latest version of the Celtics has one more run left in their aging legs. Now I’m not going to take for granted the fact that the Celtics gutted out this latest playoff win against an Atlanta Hawks bunch that is soft, overrated, and in general has no clue how to win big games.

If you’re like me then when you saw Rajon Rondo bump the official and subsequently get ejected near the end of Game 1 you were resigned to the fact that Game 2 wasn’t likely going to go the Celtics way. I figured it would take a huge game from Paul Pierce, KG, and a host of role players to steal home court advantage from the Hawks. Paul Pierce did exactly that racking up 36 points (13 in the first quarter to set the tempo and 13 points in the fourth quarter when the Celtics needed a leader) and, in my eyes, even more impressively 14 rebounds. KG didn’t really show up early but he was there late and finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Guys like Marquise Daniels, Keyon Dooling, and Sasha Pavlovic did a great job of picking up the slack with the Celtics, and the NBA’s, assists leader sitting out the game due to a suspension.

This year Rajon Rondo has probably been the Celtics most indispensible player after he averaged 11.9/11.7/4.8 and 1.79 steals a game and was a key cog in the Celtics ability to pick up the pace on occasion. We all know if he had it his way he’d be breaking out with Avery Bradley by his side every play but when you’re made up of older, slower players that can’t always be the case. In Game 1 against the Hawks Rondo again delivered by pouring in 20 points and dishing out 11 assists but for the most part the Celtics looked old, sluggish, and disinterested. With Rondo out for Game 2 the Celtics did what this team needs to do to win and that’s not rely on Rondo to create every single shot but grind out games with tough defense and put together strings of good offensive sets that result in easy baskets or open jumpers. The Celtics did a great job of getting back to basics. That’s what the Celtics did down the stretch of the regular season when they beat the Heat twice, once with a full supporting cast once without, and showed the league that they still have enough heart and guts to hang with anyone.

The Celtics found themselves down 11 in the 3^rd quarter last night but they didn’t blink and came back to steal the game away from a Hawks team that is too immature to win big games, and honestly I don’t know if the team as currently constituted even with a healthy Al Horford will ever have the mental toughness to make a deep playoff run. The Celtics are exactly the team that the Hawks wish they could become: smart, full of guile, and unafraid. I loved watching the Celtics show the Hawks last night that they aren’t quite down yet while sending a message to the Heat who had the night off. With the Magic sans Dwight Howard and the Bulls getting blown out by the 76ers without D Rose it looks like the Celtics may have a date with destiny in the form of the Miami Heat.

Game 2 was a microcosm of what the Celtics need to do if they plan on raising banner 18 in the Garden. They aren’t going to out talent the Heat or even the Bulls in the East but they can out guile and out balls them. I’m going to say that the Hawks series is going the Celtics way the bigger question is whether it’ll be in 5 or 6 games. I’m not going to waste your time and talk about the Hawks at all because they are a soft team without the balls to take a series when it’s handed to them on a silver platter. The Celtics were in position to be put down 0-2 and the Hawks couldn’t finish them off. Hawks time to blow it up and realize you can’t build a championship team around Josh Smith and Joe Johnson.

With the fear of being redundant I’m going to say it one more time: the Celtics outclassed the Hawks in Game 2 and with Rajon Rondo coming back for Game 3 and beyond the Celtics might have the opportunity to form a lethal combination of grit and talent. If Ray Allen can come back healthy sometime before the Celtics second round series I think the Celtics will have a legitimate shot at getting to the Eastern Conference Finals and beyond. Pierce showed he could still dominate a game when he needs to do, which is always a nice ace in the hole to have if you’re Doc Rivers. Game 3 is tomorrow night in Boston tune in boys and girls it should be fun. 

Have fun watching Paul Pierce Tebow after drilling a free throw late

Geoff Jablonski