Tonight’s Bulls and Celtics Game 7 (NBA Playoffs 2009)

The NBA Playoffs Round 1 series between the Celtics and the Bulls has been an amazing one so far. They’re through six games. Four of them have gone to overtime for a grand total of seven overtimes to this point. Each team has already played more overtime periods in six games than any team has in a single post-season ever. Tonight’s game (8:15 EST) should be a classic. I expect the Bulls to pull it out, but I’ve put together a list of five things that each team needs to do and watch in order to win. These are not to be the only five teams, or even arguably all of the most important, but they’re the ones I’ll have my eye on.

Things To Watch For:

Celtics

1. Can they pick up Brad Miller? Yeah, I know. How are we even asking this question? No idea. Brad Miller is not a quick man. Give him the ball … his movements at that point can best be described as ‘glacial.’ In a few of the games to this point, including pivotal game six, Miller has made noise late in the game with quality looks at the basket picked up on horrifically slow drives. Is Miller the key for Chicago? Hardly. It’s more that he’s representative of the entire comprehensive strategy and effort of the Celtics D game in and game out.
2. Now, let’s say the defense is performing well enough to stop Miller. Can they contest shots on Salmons and Gordon? Now, at some point (especially with Gordon), checking these guys doesn’t matter. Unconscious is unconscious. BUT … they still have to make it as hard as they can.
3. Pierce or Allen? Pierce and Allen? It’s absolutely vital that the C’s win this game. It’s imperative that they try to get Pierce and Allen off in the same game. They’ve both had some great games this series. Hell, Allen’s coming off a 50+ point game. However, it wasn’t enough. They’re only running two of the ‘Big Three’ to begin with, and they need to make sure that they both perform.
4. Rondo. For the love of God, don’t get thrown out of this game. The league has had to release a statement following the last two games saying that they weren’t going to suspend Rondo. And you know what? They should’ve. He’s acted like an asshole. But that’s another story entirely. For this story, it’s important that he have a good game. He’s been a strong constant in this series. That needs to continue.
5. Strategy. Take the Bulls out of the game. They’re young. They should be able to be faded. Now, the Cs haven’t been able to do it yet, but this is game seven – in the Garden – defending champs. They need to do this. If they show the Bulls that they can hang with them in the first half, Vinnie’s going to give them the Rudy speech at halftime and walk them out of Boston with a victory. I promise.

Bulls

1. Ben Gordon. Someone put a boot on that dude’s arm. Really. He CANNOT SHOOT THIRTY TIMES IN THIS GAME. They need him. He’s vital. But he needs to do his thing at THE END of the game. Seriously, they can’t sleep on this.
2. Derrick Rose’s Defense. Today is the day you begin to play defense, young man. He’s been summarily smoked on the defensive end for the majority of the series to this point. He needs to get it together and shut Rondo down.
3. Derrick Rose’s Offense. Frequently of late, he’s been playing at one speed. It’s a speed that he frequently can’t handle. He needs to go back to two speeds: the one where he’s holding the ball and dishing to open men and the one where he’s blowing by defenders on the way to the rim. He’s running in the middle of the two all the time. It’s causing turnovers and missed opportunities – brings home stops for the Celtics.
4. Pierce’s elbow shot. Paul Pierce loves two shots more than any in the world. He loves the foul line elbow jumper from both the right and the left. It usually begins with his back to the basket. The Bulls have had ABSOLUTELY NO LUCK guarding this in this series. The only times they’ve gotten around it were because they were lucky and he missed. They need to stop this. I don’t care how, but it needs to go. He’ll kill them with this if they give it to him.
5. Confidence. The Bulls are a young team. They need to go out there and keep it close until the half. They’ve seen that they can play with the Celtics over the last two weeks. They need to remember it today.

I cannot wait to watch this game. THIS is where amazing happens.