By Eric Berry<\/p>\n
We all know where the title of this blog hailed from don\u2019t we? Will Ferrell\u2019s follow up cry after his off-key rendition to Kansas\u2019 \u2018Dust in the Wind\u2019 in the movie Old School. Why did I think of that movie? Well, the correlation between what the Celtics need to do against the resurgent Cleveland Cavaliers and an \u201cOld School\u201d mentality is one in the same. It\u2019s time to lay Kurt Rambis, er, LeBron James out. The days of open range lay ups are over in this series. At least they should be anyway.<\/p>\n
If you want to see what the true mettle of the Boston Celtics is, you will find out in period 1 of Game 5. There cannot be any more half-hearted reach ins when a Cavalier is at point blank range. No more ill attempts at taking charges. Knock someone on their donkey. Namely, knock LeBron Raymone James Sr. on his butt. Send him to the line to earn his points. Read my lips, \u201cNO MORE LAY UPS!\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Kyle Korver, it\u2019s time to plant him like a Memorial Day tomato plant(at least that\u2019s when I plant my garden). Next time he comes off a screen thinking he\u2019s going to get a free look he gets a free subscription to \u201cDid you get the license plate to the truck that just ran me over?\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s the Celtics only chance. Get physical with the beast. Get physical with the most physical force on the court. That\u2019s part 1 anyway. Now for part 2 and some coach speak.<\/p>\n
Stop switching on a screen where Terry Rozier ends up guarding LeBron. It\u2019s like me posting up a 5-year old. Rozier has as much chance of stopping James as I do of winning Powerball. You either must double the King of Whine right away, or simply, get through the screen like a man. It\u2019s ok to switch on screens that I call \u201csame size\u201d screens. You know, where everyone is relatively around the same height. But, big to little? Rozier and LeBron? Um, nope.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s something I did notice that no one is talking about, however, from Game 4. The Celtics gave up 43 second half points. 43. They gave up 68 in the first half. Maybe, just maybe, they figured something out. The bad starts to games must come to an end for the C\u2019s or they won\u2019t have to worry about bad starts to games because they will be sipping drinks in the Caribbean. <\/p>\n
I have this weird feeling the Cavs are going to win Game 5. I think the Celts go to Cleveland and win Game 6, then come back to Boston for a decisive Game 7. Boston wins Game 7 after 3 straight games of battering LeBron. It\u2019s the only way they have a chance. <\/p>\n
By the way, I\u2019ve decided after watching this series that I would invite Satan to a card game before JR Smith. I cannot stand the way he acts\/whines. He acts like he deserves some sort of respect from officials. Without LeBron he\u2019d be on the end of a bench in Europe. He makes a shot and acts like he\u2019s some sort of God-like shooter. <\/p>\n
One last thing. The narrative is never, and I mean NEVER, is it LeBron\u2019s fault if the Cavs lose. It\u2019s always the supporting cast. If they win, he played incredibly, and his supporting cast FINALLY gave him some help. <\/p>\n
Wait, I have more. If the Celtics are going to win this series, Marcus Smart has got to stop shooting. Talk about playing the lottery. Every time he shoots it every Celtic fan in the world says a prayer on his behalf. We are reminded quickly that prayers are not answered by God on behalf of poor jump shooters, or teams winning or losing, despite what some athletes think. Marcus, stop shooting. Pass the ball and go hide in the corner. Brad Stevens has got to pick his spots in using Marcus Smart, plain and simple. <\/p>\n
One more thing. The officials. I know they have a thankless job. NBA players complain if they are the ones who are awarded free throws at times. Everyone complains. That said, watching Scott Foster ref a game makes me physically ill. I feel bad for him because maybe he\u2019s a nice guy off the court. In 2016 the LA Times conducted an anonymous survey of almost three dozen NBA players, head coaches, and assistants. Each were asked to name the league\u2019s three worst referees. You know who had 10 more votes than the runner-up? Yup, Scott Foster. The Celtics had about as much chance of winning Game 4 as I do winning Powerball. By the way, Foster officiated Game 4 of the Celts\/Sixers series. Do I need to tell you who won that one? Not the Celtics. However, if there\u2019s one guy I\u2019d love to have for Game 7 at Boston, it\u2019s Foster. No way he\u2019s letting us lose that game. He\u2019ll have 500K on it in Vegas. Celts in 7. Book it, bookie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Eric Berry We all know where the title of this blog hailed from don\u2019t we? Will Ferrell\u2019s follow up cry after his off-key rendition to Kansas\u2019 \u2018Dust in the Wind\u2019 in the movie Old School. Why did I think of that movie? Well, the correlation between what the Celtics need to do against the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[279,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n