North Station Sports

If the bench effs up, KG will kill them. Fact.

Now that initial excitement over the dominating series win over the Heat has waned and the dark shadow of LeBitch and his gimpy elbow loom large on the horizon.  When looking back on the performance of the C’s first round ousting of Miami, I have to see the team objectively for what they are.

The starters, for the most part, absolutely carried the team playing huge minutes and getting double figures from at least four of the five every night.  Rondo flirted with triple doubles, Garnett chipped in with 15.8 PTS a night, Ray shot the lights out from downtown (19-36, 52%) and Pierce does what he does when called upon.

But what of the bench?

Sure, Glen Davis had that bust out 23 point game two but the next three games went downhill faster than a fat paraplegic with no brakes.  The following games were 4, 2 and 7 point productions respectively.  He averaged 8.8 PPG for the series which isn’t bad considering what else came off the bench.

Rasheed Wallace’s post season high water mark is 6 PTS in the blowout second game and set a scorching pace with 3.8 PPG.  Sheed did grab a few rebounds but none were of the offensive variety.  Not that I expected much out of Wallace and am somewhat delighted that he has fallen out of favor with Doc, though not enough to give Shelden Williams a few minutes.

Tony Allen is providing strong defense off the bench and isn’t as totally inept at handling the ball as some TA detractors would like you to think.  Tony only committed 4 turnovers in 54 minutes off the bench and averaged 6 PPG, though 14 PTS came in the first game explosion.  With as many turnovers that Boston has been prone to cough up, TA has been surprisingly sure handed.

Now that I made my weekly TA apologist statement, let me point out the five million dollar man sitting on the bench that Rivers assured the media/fans/critics would win them a game.  Nathan Robinson has been chilling out at the end of the bench next to a ginger in a suit and watching the games as a fan rather than a vested member.  Sure, Doc paired down his minutes along with Daniels comma Marquise, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t expect garbage when they do get some minutes.

Basically, while I don’t think that the Cav’s bench is very strong, the Celtics need to be aware of their own shortcomings.  The return of Ilgauskus means that a big man is going to have to cover him about fifteen feet away from the bucket, thus giving LeBron more room to maneuver inside when Shaq isn’t on the floor.

Rasheed is going to have to contribute 10 PPG in order for the C’s to be competitive in the series and he’ll have to be committed to defensive assignments as well.  I’m not saying that Boston can’t win without Rasheed, but it’s going to be hard if he is going to be Hacky McFoul Brick when called upon.

There is a cliché about bench players stepping up when they are home but the Celtics reserves need to find a way to steal some momentum when they are in the game.  Basically, they don’t need to win the game, just don’t lose it.

I see the Cavs coming out swinging in the first game with an amped up crowd and bad blood between the teams being the prime motivator but don’t be surprised is Boston can muster a split of the first two games.  The starters will find a way to win.

As long as the bench doesn’t lose.

HackingEthics

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