The C’s eliminated the New York Knicks from the playoffs on Sunday afternoon, blowing them away in Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden to finish the job. They became the first team to advance to the postseason’s second round this year, and the first Celtics squad since 1992 to sweep any playoff series. Not too shabby.
Let’s explore seven thoughts on the C’s at this point in their postseason journey.
1. By losing four games to the Celtics this past week, the Knicks fell to 0-10 in postseason games since their last win, way back on April 29, 2001 in Toronto. They’re also 0-10 in another department — games against the Celtics this season. They went 0-2 in preseason play, 0-4 during the regular season, and then 0-4 in the playoffs. This will require a check with Elias — has any team ever gone 0-10 against a single opponent in a single season?
2. The Celtics’ MVP in the first round may well have been Ray Allen, who shot 57.4 percent from the field, 100 percent from the free-throw line and an other-worldly 65.4 percent from 3-point range in four games against the Knicks. Allen went 17-for-26 from long distance in the series, raising his career 3-point percentage in the playoffs to 41.2 percent. That sounds pretty good, but it’s actually only fifth among active players. Raja Bell, Trevor Ariza, Jamal Crawford and Jared Dudley are all between 42 and 47 percent in the postseason.
3. Mike D’Antoni sparked controversy on Sunday by saying he’d like to see Rajon Rondo play in Minnesota. A reporter actually asked Rondo the Minnesota question to his face after Sunday’s game, with Paul Pierce sitting right next to him at the postgame podium. Both instantly rejected the question, with Pierce snapping a quick “I’m not answering that” back at the reporter, and Rondo simply offering “Everyone has an opinion.” Sounds like the Celtics are sick of hearing people badmouth their floor leader.
4. What a difference a year makes for Jermaine O’Neal. A year ago, J.O. was getting destroyed in the first round of the playoffs by Kendrick Perkins, as the C’s big man muscled the Heat center out of the paint all series long. Now in 2011, J.O. is Perk’s replacement, and he’s looked solid through four games. The funny thing is his numbers are quite comparable — 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game this postseason, versus 4.2, 5.6 and 2.0 last year — but he’s been much more effective physically this year. His box-outs, his screens and his ability to protect the rim all look better by leaps and bounds.
5. You may have missed it if you blinked, but Troy Murphy snuck into the playoffs by playing three minutes at the end of Game 3 against the Knicks. Murphy, who turns 31 next week, now has his first three minutes of NBA playoff experience to his name. It’s been the year of postseason droughts ending — the Pacers’ Mike Dunleavy finally cracked his first playoffs at 30, and two Hornets broke in as well. Emeka Okafor (28) and Jarrett Jack (27) finally got their feet wet. Detroit’s Chris Wilcox, a nine-year veteran at age 28, is now the oldest playoff virgin left.
6. The Celtics caught a break on Sunday afternoon — not only did they get a win to finish off their playoff series, but the Heat didn’t. Thanks to a 10-run from the Sixers in crunch time, that series is headed back to Miami again, with Game 5 set to tip off Wednesday night. That means the next round of the playoffs won’t get underway until Saturday, at the earliest. The C’s are guaranteed a week of rest, and with their creaky knees and achy feet, they could certainly use it.
7. Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t need any more motivation to return to the Celtics and help them this postseason. He’s already got plenty. But here’s a little extra nudge for the Diesel — with 17 points against the Hornets on Sunday night, Kobe Bryant now has 5,144 playoff points for his career, fourth all-time. He’s in hot pursuit of Shaq, who’s sitting in third at 5,248. By the end of Tuesday night, Kobe will be within 100 of overtaking his rival.
Shaq can’t take this sitting down. He’s got to get back on the floor and do something about it.
