[外電] Sixers Roll Celtics With Huge Comeback
http://tinyurl.com/7yrwug5 Depressed Fan
They wouldn't be the Sixers if they didn't kick you in the behind just when
you started to give up hope. In what had to be the most improbable comeback
of my lifetime, the Sixers took a 14-0 start and spat it out. They took a
horrific ending to the first half that saw them trailing by 15 and laughed it
off. They took an 18-point, third-quarter deficit and gave it the finger.
They simply would not be denied. They simply would not quit when everything
and everyone said they should. (game capsule).
Here's your rotation chart. Note the two runs that nearly killed the Sixers,
to start and end the first half. Then take a look at the entire second half.
Not a single negative rotation in the bunch:
http://www.depressedfan.com/img/g76rot051912.jpg
I'm going to start in an unlikely place: Evan Turner. Turner was atrocious
tonight. 5/22 from the floor. He threw up enough bricks to build a couple of
houses. If you're looking for a reason the team shot so poorly in the first
half, he's right there at the top of the list. That being said, his play on
the offensive end was a key to the win. I know it sounds counter-intuitive,
considering how many shots he missed and had blocked, but his relentlessness
set the tone for the entire team. It was almost comical. He was like Tanner
in The Bad News Bears. The little guy, in a fight with with a bunch of
bullies who kept getting knocked down and knocked down and knocked down, but
he refused to stay down. He refused to stop attacking. Turner was bordering
on out of control, but every time he touched the ball, he was going right to
the rim. He didn't care if there were five Celtics waiting there to block his
shot, he was going to attack the paint come hell or high water. Obviously,
you'd prefer if the guy attacking the hoop was actually producing something
out of those drives, but for whatever reason, his effort had a ripple effect.
It's like the rest of the team watching him banging his head against the wall
and they just knew they had to do the same. Boston got complacent with their
lead. Happy to shoot jumpers. Turner and the Sixers didn't get caught up in
that game. If I never see Turner throw up a dozen bricks again I'll die a
happy man, but tonight, he set the tone.
The game began to turn on a couple of technical fouls in the third quarter.
On the first, Kevin Garnett stole the ball at mid court, and then threw a
forearm at Andre Iguodala. It was a cheap shot, though he didn't really
appear to make much contact. On the very next play, the Celtics dumped the
ball down to Garnett in the post with Brand on him. Garnett made a move
across the lane and Brand paid him back in spades for the cheap shot on his
teammate. Garnett got a forearm right to the face, Brand was whistled for a
technical and Garnett played his favorite game "Someone hold me back! I'm a
super-tough 150lb seven-footer. Hold me back!" The free throw gave the
Celtics a 50-33 lead with 9:42 left in the third. Over the next 21:42, the
Sixers would outscore the Celtics 59-33.
I spent the fist couple of paragraphs talking about emotional keys to the
game, and I believe both were important, but there's plenty of real-world
production to be thankful for as well. First, Doug Collins made a simple
adjustment with his big man rotation. Aside from staring the first and third
quarters, he mirrored Kevin Garnett with Lavoy Allen. Lavoy was brilliant on
the defensive end. If you go back and look at the tape, whenever Garnett
caught the ball in the post with anyone else on him, he'd take two or three
dribbles and wind up backing his man down into the paint. When Lavoy was on
Garnett, he moved in the opposite direction. When Garnett went up for shots,
Lavoy was in his jock. The kid is absolutely fearless and Garnett doesn't
have room to breath when he's in the game. It was a huge adjustment by
Collins, and a great job by the kid to stay out of foul trouble.
Another great adjustment by Collins was his decision that he wasn't going to
overreact to Boston's small lineup. Through the first three games of the
series, when Rivers went to Pierce at the four, Collins mostly went small
with Iguodala at the four to guard him. Not tonight. Tonight, he basically
said "You're doing me a favor by going small." Tonight, he stuck with Allen
at the five and Thad at the four when Boston went small, and it paid huge
dividends. Thad was guarding smalls on the defensive end, usually Avery
Bradley, and on the offensive end, he was torturing the Celtics with his
offensive rebounding, interior passing and size advantage. Thad was a
difference-maker in the second half for the Sixers, after seeming like the
Celtics' best friend in the first half with three turnovers and at least
three or four more fumbles or bad passes that luckily didn't wind up going
the other way.
One more turning point came with 9:09 left in the third quarter. Jrue picked
up his fourth foul and headed to the bench. Lou Williams came into the game,
and I noted in the game thread that this was probably the end of the season.
Collins really had no choice but to play Lou the remaining 9 minutes of the
third quarter in a game that seemed to be slipping away. After a bad first
half, Lou probably played the best half of his career in a situation when
they needed him more than ever. Boston continued to double him, continued to
play him physical, and instead of allowing himself to be pushed to the
sideline, Lou split the doubles consistently, got into the lane and either
drew contact or found an open teammate for a jumper when the defense
converged on him. He was nearly flawless in the second half.
More kudos to Doug Collins for pressing the right button in the beginning of
the fourth quarter. He went with the dreaded Lou, Meeks, Turner combination
in the back court (and I ripped him for it), but Meeks was shot out of a
cannon, especially on the defensive end where he caused a few turnovers and
really locked in on Ray Allen. Jodie gave them a definite spark and even hit
a three in a huge spot (off a drive-and-kick by Lou.).
And finally, after starting the game 0/5 from the field, Andre Iguodala
absolutely put this game away with three huge jumpers late in the fourth.
First, a catch-and-shoot three from the left wing, then a step-back deuce
over Ray Allen, and finally the coup de grace, a catch-and-shoot three from
the right wing with 36 seconds left on the clock to give the Sixers a 5-point
lead, off of (you guessed it) a drive-and-kick by Lou Williams.
It's not nearly how you'd draw it up, but the Sixers will live to fight for a
couple more days, at least. The pressure shifts squarely onto Boston's
shoulders for game five, and their old guys had to play a ton of
pressure-packed minutes in this one. Don't get too high, don't get too low.
Great, great job tonight, but you're only halfway there. Do it again.
Player of The Game: Four viable candidates in Lavoy, AI9, Thad and Lou. Who
am I to disagree with Iguodala, though. Lou gets the nod for his 15 big
points, and 8 bigger assists.
Series: 2-2
Next Game: Monday night, at Boston.
So much happened in this game, I'm sure I left a bunch out. What a night.
Enjoy your weekend, Sixers fans. Secure in the knowledge they'll be back for
another game in Philly, and hope will still be alive no matter what happens
in game five.
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