Aftermath Thoughts of Game 2: Celtics vs. Heat by Lauren Beasley
Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat Game 2 was intense; it was so intense that it went in to overtime. Boston Celtics started the game well and even headed into halftime with the lead. However in the second half it was a different story, Dwayne Wade finally got going and helped the Heat to get back in the game.
Mainly what I want to discuss is the final minutes of the fourth quarter along with overtime.
First I want to commend Rajon Rondo for an amazing performance. That was one of the best if not the best performance of great basketball that I have seen all year from a point guard. He truly did great. Unfortunately towards the end of the game he had no help from players like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, etc.
That is one of the main reasons why the Celtics lost in this game because the only player who played with heart and aggression was Rondo. The rest of the Celtics have to play for a full game if they plan to win any game against the Heat in this series.
I also felt the other reason the Celtics lost was because of their horrible rebounding in the second half. The sad thing is their horrible rebounding was on the defensive side, which allowed the Heat to stay in the game with second chance offensive opportunities and ultimately win the game.
Finally I want to discuss the Miami Heat and the three things that stuck out to me.
First, I have to give Udonis Haslem an ovation; he was the key factor once again to keep the Heat in the game with his good mid-range shooting and his good rebounding. He made some key places in the fourth quarter and overtime. Once again I say big thumps up to Haslem for that great performance last night.
Secondly, I have to credit Dwayne Wade, he came through in the clutch giving Miami the lead in overtime and making the free throws in the clutch to make sure they kept the lead. It’s not a surprise that Wade came through in the clutch, he has never had a problem taking the big shots and making them.
Last but certainly not least, I want to discuss LeBron James fourth quarter performance. I actually really want to discuss his last second shots in the fourth quarter.
Now I am not a LeBron James fan at all, I respect his game but I don’t like him. However, I will say that I am happy that James finally was aggressive at the end of the fourth quarter and finally took a clutch shot. Well actually he took two clutch shots, one was a missed layup, which he should have made but he was able to get his own rebound.
This is the part I really want to discuss, after James missed the layup and grabbed his own rebound, James had about 19 seconds left on the clock, he allows it to go down to about 10 or 9 seconds and then takes long mid-range jump shot fade away and misses it and the game goes in to overtime.
Now there are two things I don't like about that last second shot by James.
The first thing I don’t like about that shot from James was that he waited too long to make the play. Secondly James had Rondo checking him; it was horrible choice by James to shoot at long mid-range fade away, especially since that is not his shot at all. Plus once again I repeat he was getting checked by Rondo. James has about 8 inches over Rondo, and almost 100 pounds bigger than Rondo. On that play James should have taken it to the whole strong. More than likely James makes the shot if not he gets the foul call more than likely anyway.
I will say again, I like the fact that James was finally aggressive because I believe the first step to being clutch is first wanting to take the big shot, and then having the courage to take the big shot. So I am happy to see him at least trying but now he has to figure out how to make the clutch shot. I am interested to see what else James will do throughout the rest of the playoffs along with the rest of the Miami Heat.
I look forward to Game 3 of the Celtics vs Heat Series.
Mainly what I want to discuss is the final minutes of the fourth quarter along with overtime.
First I want to commend Rajon Rondo for an amazing performance. That was one of the best if not the best performance of great basketball that I have seen all year from a point guard. He truly did great. Unfortunately towards the end of the game he had no help from players like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, etc.
That is one of the main reasons why the Celtics lost in this game because the only player who played with heart and aggression was Rondo. The rest of the Celtics have to play for a full game if they plan to win any game against the Heat in this series.
I also felt the other reason the Celtics lost was because of their horrible rebounding in the second half. The sad thing is their horrible rebounding was on the defensive side, which allowed the Heat to stay in the game with second chance offensive opportunities and ultimately win the game.
Finally I want to discuss the Miami Heat and the three things that stuck out to me.
First, I have to give Udonis Haslem an ovation; he was the key factor once again to keep the Heat in the game with his good mid-range shooting and his good rebounding. He made some key places in the fourth quarter and overtime. Once again I say big thumps up to Haslem for that great performance last night.
Secondly, I have to credit Dwayne Wade, he came through in the clutch giving Miami the lead in overtime and making the free throws in the clutch to make sure they kept the lead. It’s not a surprise that Wade came through in the clutch, he has never had a problem taking the big shots and making them.
Last but certainly not least, I want to discuss LeBron James fourth quarter performance. I actually really want to discuss his last second shots in the fourth quarter.
Now I am not a LeBron James fan at all, I respect his game but I don’t like him. However, I will say that I am happy that James finally was aggressive at the end of the fourth quarter and finally took a clutch shot. Well actually he took two clutch shots, one was a missed layup, which he should have made but he was able to get his own rebound.
This is the part I really want to discuss, after James missed the layup and grabbed his own rebound, James had about 19 seconds left on the clock, he allows it to go down to about 10 or 9 seconds and then takes long mid-range jump shot fade away and misses it and the game goes in to overtime.
Now there are two things I don't like about that last second shot by James.
The first thing I don’t like about that shot from James was that he waited too long to make the play. Secondly James had Rondo checking him; it was horrible choice by James to shoot at long mid-range fade away, especially since that is not his shot at all. Plus once again I repeat he was getting checked by Rondo. James has about 8 inches over Rondo, and almost 100 pounds bigger than Rondo. On that play James should have taken it to the whole strong. More than likely James makes the shot if not he gets the foul call more than likely anyway.
I will say again, I like the fact that James was finally aggressive because I believe the first step to being clutch is first wanting to take the big shot, and then having the courage to take the big shot. So I am happy to see him at least trying but now he has to figure out how to make the clutch shot. I am interested to see what else James will do throughout the rest of the playoffs along with the rest of the Miami Heat.
I look forward to Game 3 of the Celtics vs Heat Series.