Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers says 2-1 lead not enough to relax - NBA Update
Boston Celtics finally erupted in the 3rd game of semi-finals against Philadelphia 76ers. After two neck to neck games, they pulled away a 16 points margin victory in the 3rd, leading the 2nd round
with a 2-1 advantage.
For Greens’ Coach Doc Rivers this was simply not enough to relax.
The 1st two games went down the wire and the fate was decided at the last second. C’s got lucky in the 1st as they pulled the 1 point lead in the last 3.4 seconds and it was pretty much the same in the 2nd
game, where a clock stopper 3-pointer brought them as close as 82-81.
That was the reason Rivers didn’t show any mission accomplished attitude after game 3. Talking to the media after the game he said that they have a long way to go. He acknowledged the fact that Sixers outplayed them in both the
games and bagging one means nothing.
“Who said we came to get one?’’ Rivers replied to media. “We never said that. You guys said it. We’re taking it one at a time. The key for us is keep our focus and energy high - not play like you’ve won one, so you can relax. To
win the series, that’s the point here”.
Coming into the game 3 Rivers and squad had to overcome a lot of snags. They have got injured Paul Pierce and the biggest problem of all how to provide Kevin Garnett inside the post, as Philly defence clamped down on Greens compelling
their lead scorers to melt down.
But in the 3rd game things didn’t remain the same. Greens took full advantage of the fact that Sixers cannot shadow all of them. Ray Allen, who could only score 3 points revealed the strategy.
“They’re trying to take me and Paul [Pierce] out of the game,’’ Allen said. “All of our set stuff, they’re trying to stop. So when I come off screens, they’re contributing two guys to me. So to have some type of impact, I’ve got
to make sure that I’m giving help on the big guy down low and rebounding. That’s been our Achilles’ heel all year”.
The strategy actually did work and Sixers home-crowd watched their team taking the fall, speechless, shaking their heads in disbelief.
Coming into the 4th game Greens learnt one thing for sure. They have to keep striking and push them hard. Provide the ball to their sharp shooters by rotating the players. Moreover their forwards especially Brandon Bass
has to improve, the forward lost his shooting touch in the 2nd round, but Rivers encouraged him to take shots and redeem his mid-level range. The results were encouraging after going 5-for-15 in game 2 the forward was 50% from the floor.
The coach said that in the 4th game Greens will have to play an all-offensive game, as Sixers will strike with everything to get in par with them.
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