http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Avy8j9Eg7qLrJUxkTKdRMqi8vLYF?slug=aw-celticsmagic052710 What? In his previous article he said that even if the Magic win the next two games, it would be fool's gold. Now, the Celtics are the ones with their backs against the wall? I'm rooting for Orlando, but I'd like to see some consistency from this guy. Yes, I know he mentions the injuries to Big Baby and Sheed (not actually sure if he mentions Sheed), and the possible suspension to Perkins, but it's pretty funny how his tone changed so completely.
Well yeah I agree that he is inconsistent. But he is kind of right. The Celtics should treat game 6 like game 7. Its do or die, of course they have another chance but its in Orlando.
Team A: Must win on the road or be eliminated. Must then win the next game or be eliminated Team B: home court where the game is not elimination. Will have 2nd chance, albeit tougher on the road, if lose. Why would any logical person say Team B has more pressure?
Because Team B has people injured and a possible suspension upcoming for their starting center against a team that's not only quickly gaining confidence but also has the premier center in the game. That's all.
Celtics are the older team and they are ones getting wracked with injury now, while the Magic looks like they're peaking with Lewis having found his shot and Nelson slowly but surely regaining his all star form. If it had come a game sooner I'd say the Magic has a pretty good chance of closing it out, however it may be too late. I guess we'll see. On topic, I think Woj was talking about 2 different things. His first article was bashing Rashard and Carter, while his 2nd is talking about how vulnerable the celtics have become after just a game. If you want you can think of it as woj destroying both teams.
Are the Magic like the 04 pistons that beat the star studded Lakers? Billups - Nelson Hamilton - Carter Prince - Barnes Sheed - Lewis Wallace - Howard Okur - Gortat Sura - Pietrus Williamson - Bass James - Reddick Hunter - Williams
Hmm I wouldn't put them in that category. If anything its actually the Celts that look more like Detroit. That team had amazing D and four all stars in their prime. Ben Wallace=Perkins (undersized Defensive dude) Rasheed=KG (all world talented pf) Rip=Ray Allen (shooter) Prince=Pierce (all around player) Billups=Rondo (all star pg) Okur=Rasheed Williamson-Big Baby Hunter=Nate
The whole "confidence" thing is BS. How did Orlando win on the road when the Celtics had the "confidence" of going 3-0 the previous three games? In the end, each game starts 0-0. As for the "premier starting center" thing, can't I say that Boston has the premier PF, SF, and PG over the Magic? As for injuries/suspensions, none of that happened to the 4 most important Celtic. Do you really think the Rockets would be dead two years ago if Hayes and Landry were injured instead of Yao?
Yeah, I don't believe in the whole confidence thing. Plus, you can bring up the injuries all you want... but at the end of the day, the Celtics still have Rondo, Garnett, Pierce, and Allen on the floor healthy for game 6. That's all they need IMO to beat the Magic, if they continue to play D. You can also mark down Perkins as a person who will play.
confidence matters a lot when it comes to shooting 3's, and the Magic are filled with 3 pt shooters. Also confidence matters when you have mentally weak guys like Carter and Lewis. Guys like them give up when it looks like they're gonna lose, but perk up and start playing hard when they think they can win it.
My thing with confidence is that historical records doesn't seem to support it. For example, when the home team goes 2-0 in the first two games, it usually turns out 2-1 after three games. When the underdog evens up the record at 2-2 with two straight home wins, the fifth game almost always goes to the home team. And so forth. Sure, this Magic team and this Celtic team may be different. But if I were betting on the game, I would easily bet the Celtics straight up in game 6.
There's also an issue of overconfidence, which the Celtics might have suffered from after going up 3-0. They thought the Magic would roll over and stopped playing so hard. I predict the Celtics will buckle down in Game 6 and destroy Orlando.
It's not different than a lot of fans and journalists. It's just emotional overreaction. Orlando still has to win back to back games.
Yeah. But weird how despite the fact that it keeps getting proven wrong again and again, people keep spewing the same stuff over and over. Remember how last year, the Rockets was up 3-2 going into game 6. And yet supposedly the Rockets had all the pressure? Then it also ended with a blowout. It's one of those things that people start to believe simply because it gets repeated again and again.
