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I feel hungover, but I didn't drink last night. I'm trying to look at game 6 and figure out why we couldn't seal the deal. But after 6 games of similarly inconsistent play, I'm at a loss for anything new to say. So I'll just let Rondo sum it up for me.
“We didn’t run out of gas,” Rondo said. “I guess we just choked. We turned the ball over and things did not go our way. We did not get stops. We turned the ball over and things did not go our way. We did not get stops. Turnovers led to a lot of points. We did not get to the free throw line like we wanted to. We only got there 13 times. We were not the more aggressive team tonight. They fought back and stuck with it. We did not get the punch out.”
Everyone's looking at Ray Allen for an answer, mostly because he hasn't been able to provide one on the court. Yes, he's missed some open looks, but the Magic gameplan has been to stick to him wherever he goes.
“The game plan is to stay with him at all times,” Rashard Lewis said. “He runs off a lot of screens and even if he’s coming off a screen from the bigs, we have to help, we have to start on him and then the whole defense has to shift over. But even if we’re double-teaming Paul Pierce, we’re trying to leave Rondo, make him make the jump shot.
“But the guy guarding Ray Allen or Eddie House has to stay home, stay on him tight because all it takes is for him to hit one three-pointer and he gets himself going. He’s that type of shooter that won’t miss the rest of the night if he gets himself going,” Lewis said.
And for those of you concerned about the officials.. don't be. Yes, they were wildly inconsistent (again) in this game, causing fans of both teams fits. Sometimes you could chalk things up to "they were calling it tight" or "they were letting them play," but Lord knows what they were calling last night. Glen Davis nearly broke Rafer Alston in half and didn't get called for it... then they call touch fouls. Who knows what they were thinking. What I do know is that this is the NBA, and Orlando's 31-13 edge in free throws will be remedied in game 7. We know it will. And on Monday morning, Orlando fans will have legitimate gripes about all the touch fouls early on JJ Redick and Courtney Lee... which will give Ray and Eddie House open looks and chances to bury the Magic from the outside.
We all know it's coming. Because we're on this end of it, I'll take it. But I don't like it. I don't like that NBA officiating has become that predictable. You can't watch a game anymore with anyone without it becoming a topic. It's sad really.
Herald: Champs in foul mood after loss | Celtics can't do trick | Celts hand Magic trip back to Boston | Fatigue sets in | Magic get defensive at home | Perk's dirty work | Doc balances life apart from family | Globe: Celtics give it away | Game 6 photos | Game 7 tickets on sale at 11 am | Big rebound game from Howard | Celts need Allen of old to reappear | Foul troubles hurt Davis and Perkins | Howard lets his game do the talking | Pruitt ready to heat up this summer | Camerato: the evolution of Kendrick Perkins | Rockets force game 7 | NBA slowly moving to more replay
