Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
"It had an impact, but not that big," said Rivers. "It was with us. Maybe mentally, guys were worried about fouls. I told them at halftime, I don't care if everybody fouls out by the third quarter -- don't change. We were winning because we were attacking. [The Cavaliers] won the game because they attacked in the second half.
"You can't worry. We had enough guys. I told the bigs that. I told [Davis], 'I don't care if you foul out in the first half. You have to be energy guy.' I'm using Baby as an example, but he went away from being an energy guy because he was concerned about his fouls. I thought, overall, in the second half, we just went away from what we're supposed to be."
Echoed Rondo, Boston's offensive spark plug all night: "We stopped being aggressive. Not just offensively, but defensively as well. We stopped our pressure, they started attacking us, and we fell back on our heels."
Davis picked up three fouls in little more than five minutes of court time in the first half. Rasheed Wallace earned three quick ones as well. Paul Pierce picked up his third foul with 1:57 to go in the first half, limiting his ability to attack, particularly in the pivotal third quarter.
"I got my third foul, which really hurt me in the first half, and I wasn't as aggressive in the third quarter as I wanted to be," said Pierce. "I can't really worry about that. I just have to continue to play and be aggressive on both ends of the court and see what happens.
Chris Forsberg: Refs not the difference
I did my fair share of bitching about the refs. We all did. So did Cavaliers fans, I'm sure. But Doc is right. You can't let it change your game.
Go watch that Mo Williams steal and dunk on Pierce again. Watch Pierce tippy toe and get his steps right to go up and try to block Mo's shot rather than beat Mo to the spot and try to either take a charge or change his shot.
The result was an emotional, in-your-face dunk that got Williams and the rest of the Cavs off their heels and into an aggressive frame of mind.
So you've got to keep marching forward in this series, Celtics, no matter what. We could have used Marquis Daniels more. We could have used Shelden Williams. The bodies exist. They may not be the best bodies around, but they're bodies nonetheless. And if that's what its going to take to maintain our aggressiveness, then so be it.
Because the Celtics backed off last night. And that's why they lost.
On Page 2, The Rondo effect
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
“He’s an engine,” Williams said. “He’s a tough cover. But as a team in the second half we did a good job on him. When you turn the ball over you play into his hands.”
Said James: “He poses a threat to our interior. He’s able to get a layup or can kick out, and we have to do a better job of keeping him out of the paint.
“Rondo’s going to be a really good point guard in this league.”
Rajon Rondo went nuts in Game 1. Every time you looked up, he was at the rim. He cannot be stopped.
The question, however, is how the Big 3 are handling Rajon's domination of the game. In the box score, Rondo took 10 shots, but he went to the line 14 times, so he really took about 16 or 17. (By the way, Rondo was 12-14 from the line. Not bad, huh?).
But when push came to shove at the end of the game and the Celtics needed big buckets, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett were cold. Rondo did have 12 assists... so I'm by no means accusing him of being selfish. I'm just asking the question... Is the Big 3 going cold just a coincidence, or does Rondo have to find a better way to integrate them in the midst of him demolishing the Cavs?
The rest of the links:
Herald: Celtics miss their shot | Late fall looks familiar | Powe plays inside game | Coach-less clubs turn to Thibodeau | Globe: Late fade puts C's in hole | Big momentum changer was powerful stuff | Hopes sank with misses | Obvious difference was in grey area | Time to call on experience, guile | ESPN Boston: Cold Truth | Mo dunks on C's | Cavs hold home court | CSNNE: Celtics let one slip away | WEEI: Lebron: I came out tentative | Celtics Blog: Difficult loss overshadows impressive performance by Rondo | North Station: Need for Sheed increases