Hey all...sitting courtside in Boston. It's already electric. Got a look at the Celts' championship ring before they have been handed out and it's massive! Silver, with a square top you could park a car on. It's got a Celtic shamrock in the middle, encrusted with diamonds...on one side it has the players' name, and on the other side, it says "banner 17"..inside, it has Red Auerbach's name engraved. Very nice...
Now, I'd say it's time to have 'em made for Cleveland...
Here's a little banner play by play - John Havlicek came out with the trophy and handed it over to Paul Pierce. Commish, David Stern is here of course (the Cavs went back to the locker room as they said they would).
One by one...the front office has received their rings. Huge ovation for Danny Ainge as you might guess. This truly is what it's about, it's what drives everyone who takes part in a title. Doc Rivers got a huge standing "O"...well deserved...Doc is a class act.
Here comes the Big 3...Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. This stuff is all new to the young generation, who weren't around for the last title in 1985. You can close your eyes and just imagine this moment at The Q....wow!!!
Some quick observations - the Cavs are really getting the ball up the floor, off makes and misses...
And the ball is constantly moving...good signs!
Doc Rivers was incensed a while ago when Wally got the foul instead of LBJ's 2nd.
LeBron slid over to the "4" with a 16-8 lead...I love seeing him there...it will make him even more of a beast when he moves back to the "3".
The 2nd unit is hanging in there. Good presence from Lorenzen Wright - a bucket and interior toughness. Daniel's work on the floater continues to pay off...
Mike said he was going to try and go 10 deep...he has tonight...LBJ sat 6:30...
Mike will talk about protecting the ball - 10 turnovers - far too many, but luckily the Celtics have only cashed them in for 5 points.
But they are getting to the line - 21 times - a big number. They've outscored Boston, 19-9 at the stripe...
How about 'Bron's high handoff from Delonte...I thought the pass was headed out of bounds...Sick!!
The Celtics had gone 0-9 from 3 in the first half, but bagged those 2 early ones...that's where they'll miss Posey. Those opportunity 3's.
The FT disparity has evened up as the Celtics shot 10 of them in the quarter. The Cavs did not get to the line.
Great verbal battle between Sasha and Pierce...the entire Cavs bench was up when Sasha drew that last foul and got to the line..
Andy's energy right now is off the charts...
After Thoughts from Boston
These two teams picked up right where they left off in May...tough, physical basketball. To win in the garden, you literally have to beat Boston and they are not going to hand it to you.
22 turnovers were just too many to overcome. Mike Brown pointed to those mistakes and those 50-50 balls as he likes to call them - the loose balls that hit the floor. The Celtics won that dual.
The guys felt they played hard, just too many errors, and shots they missed, but the Celtics deserve a lot of credit for that.
Tony Allen and Leon Powe were huge, combining for 24 lunch bucket kind of points.
Andy was all over the floor in the 4th, answering any questions about how close he is to being 100%.
It's a long season...this kind of effort on the road will win a lot of ballgames.