6 Thoughts
1) "Guys - we're down 10 with a couple of minutes to go. We need a quick hoop. I want Rondo to penetrate, swing the ball back to the perimeter, and then hit Kevin Garnett on a roll to the rim. Kevin, you catch the ball on the dead run to the basket, elevate, and try to flush it over a rotating LeBron James...Actually, you know what? Do this - if he rises when you do, try to pull the ball back over your shoulder and out-hang him, take the contact, and then dunk it for the three point play, okay? Celtics on three: one, two, three, Celtics!" UH!!! OHHHHH!!!!! LET'S GO!!!
2) This game was a grind. Pretty much dead even for the first 42 minutes. Wade got off for 16 in the first half to give Miami a 5 point lead. The Celtics ground back in to the lead in the third quarter, before a LeBron spurt restored Miami's 5 point lead after 3. But with 6 minutes to go in the game, Dwyane Wade took Ray Allen off the dribble about 4 possessions in a row, finishing a couple, and finding LeBron for a hoop, and Miami pulled away down the stretch with a 14-0 run. When Garnett elevated on LeBron to flush, tried to pull the ball back to avoid the blocked shot, and LeBron just out-hungggg him before tomahawking the ball to the ground, it was over. Ballgame. Miami held serve, winning both games at home, and now have a chance to make Boston really feeeel it this weekend. Get one of the next two in Boston, and put them in a big, big hole.
3) Right now the games are breaking well for Miami. They are slow walk it up grinds, and both offenses struggle to create shots against excellent defenses. The difference so far has been two things. One, when Boston turns the ball over, Wade or LeBron - or both - generally turns it in to a quick two at the other end. Two, in the closing minutes, when plays have to be made off the dribble by stars, Wade and LeBron have made plays. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have not. Wade: 28 points and 8 rebounds. LeBron: 35 points and 7 rebounds. That's high, high volume, especially for a slow-paced playoff game with defenses designed to make everything tough for you. It will be different in Boston, for sure, but as long as those two stay at it, Miami is going to give itself a chance to be in every game.
4) After a 25 point game from Playoff James Jones in game one, the Heat got a goose egg from PJJ in game two. He's pacing himself. But, they were able to get contributions from other, more diverse, sources. Mike Bibby scored 8 points on 2-4 triples, had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and somehow got credited for 2 blocks, though I can't remember either one of them. Still, if you're scoring at home, that's 1.5 blocks per game in this series for Mike Bibby. Mike Miller added a triple, 2 rebounds, got landed on in a loose ball scramble by three hundred pounds of Baby Davis, and drew a charge on Rondo to take away a Boston transition basket in 6 action-filled minutes...But, together, all of that didn't match The Warden's efforts. He played 35 minutes, scored 6 points, had 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks. As always, the boxscore doesn't tell the whole story with Joel. During Miami's decisive fourth quarter surge, Joel forced misses on back-to-back Baby Davis drives, and then, off a missed Wade jumper, jarred an offensive rebound loose in traffic right to LeBron James on the block, who dunked, and got the foul, to give Miami its first 8 point lead with 5 minutes to go. Joel spent his 35 minutes checking Kevin Garnett, Baby Davis, and Jermaine O'Neal. Those three finished 12-34 from the floor. Do you think that is a coincidence? That is not a coincidence. Hardest-working man in the MVP business...
5) Plays of the game: 1) The aforementioned LeBron James giant-sized rejection of Kevin Garnett's dunk. 2) Dwyane Wade's transition Euro-step and-one layup, which completely spun Kevin Garnett around backwards. 3) tie: Dwyane Wade's ankle-breaking, crossover, step-back triple which faked Ray Allen to the floor; Joel's pterodactyl-like flight across the lane to block a late game Jermaino dunk try. And by the way, thus far in the series, the highlights almost all belong to Miami, and that's a big part of Boston's problem: they are getting out-athleticized. For them to get back in it, they need to execute better - going home should help solve that problem for them somewhat.
6) Television review: Mob Wives. First of all, I'm not sure that's the actual name of it. I could look it up, but I'm sure you get the idea. It's a reality show of mob wives, following their very interesting and rewarding day-to-day lives, which mostly consist of smoking cigarettes, cursing, cursing at their kids, and arguing on the phone with their husbands when they call from prison. Second of all, as we may have covered in this blog before, I'm not a big mob guy. I've never seen any of the Godfather movies. Check it - I saw number three, in the movie theater, but not only was it terrible, but I didn't even know the backstory. I did see Goodfellas, and I thought it was okay - it was kind of hack-y, but entertaining, I guess. Scorsese is such a dork with his brutal soundtracks that it tends to ruin his movies for me - "Clapton is so edgy!" I never saw Scarface - I think those are Spanish people, though, not the Mafia, although I'm not positive if they are the same thing. So I don't know a lot about what Mafia people are supposed to do. Still, this show is awesome. Growing up in Connecticut, I did have one friend, Belly, whose dad was a lawyer for mob interests. Everyone knew it - there are like 1,000 people, total, in my state, but they were kind of nice, Connecticut mafia guys, and in any case, Belly's dad was just a lawyer - and he had played minor league baseball, and used to come to our practices and throw an awesome curveball. Not really too threatening. Anyways, Mob Wives - everything these people do is what I was raised not to do. Like, the one husband who isn't in jail, just divorced and an absentee dad to his teenage son, is supposed to meet his ex-wife and son somewhere, and he doesn't show, so the wife calls him, and this is how the conversation goes: "You didn't show up, and you let your son down again." "Well, I was busy." "Don't give me that shit - you weren't busy, YOU MOTHERFUCKER! YOU'RE NEVER BUSY, YOU'RE JUST A FUCKING ASSHOLE!!!" "NO, I'M NOT, YOU'RE A BITCH, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH!!!" And then they start to really argue! Highlight of the episode I saw: when the supposed, I think, "hot" mob wife (mob people are not attractive, from what I can tell - Pacino, DeNiro, bloated Brando, Pesci - blechhhhh) gets a call from her jailed husband and asks him if he will be home Wednesday, since his parole hearing is Tuesday. "Ahh, I'm not too sure." "Whaddya mean you're `not too sure?'" "Don't worry about it." "Whaddya mean 'don't worry about it?'" "It's not your problem - I'll be home when I'm home." "YOU MOTHERFUCKER! TELL ME WHEN YOU ARE COMING HOME, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!!" "I'M NOT AN ASSHOLE, YOU'RE A BITCH, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH!!!" Literally, the woman has no idea how the legal system works - like the concept of a defined period of jail time - what other people commonly refer to as `a sentence' - has somehow totally eluded her in her 43 years on Earth, despite the fact she has a spouse for whom jail time is as common as a three day weekend. Overall, I give this show a 10 out of 10, and if I can remember the name of it, I will give it top priority on my dvr.
We are off all the way until Saturday, in Boston. That's a nice break - unfortunately, it favors the Celtics, who are back on their heels a little at the moment, and older and in need of more rest. Oh well. If you need me before then, DON'T CALL ME, BECAUSE I'LL BE BUSY, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH!!!
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