Great Celtics moment

The series was on its way to being tied. I was already hearing in my head the Laker lovers talking about the series being tied but the Lakers having all the momentum. Those two Celtics wins, they'd say, were a long time ago. They'd say the Celtics couldn't finish the blowout they had going, but the Lakers could.

Then the SS Kobe hit the iceberg. And the Zen master is being outdone by Doc Rivers. The Celtics have outscored the Lakers in every third quarter of the series by AT LEAST 8 points. AT LEAST 8 points in a single quarter in every game, coming out the most intense period of in game coaching is significant.

Doc should get MAJOR props for the way he's using his talent perfectly. The three superstars are a no-brainer, but the way he's out coached Jackson with the matchups is the key to the series. He's pushing all the right buttons and pulling all the right levers. And his consistency in dealing with the team, in both mood and coaching messages, has been pitch perfect.

And I don't want to too my own horn, or anything, but during his runnig diary last night, espn's Bill Simmons made the following observation:

8:46: Capital letters coming ...

RAY ALLEN!
RAY ALLEN!
RAY ALLEN!

After a Lakers basket, Allen whittled the next 20 seconds off the clock before completely abusing Vujacic for a back-breaking layup. (Special thanks to Gasol for not helping in time -- I'm starting to think Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and two draft picks was a fair trade.) Boston by five, 17 seconds left. I'm not kidding, Ray-Ray is in "I'm destroying Papa Shuttlesworth and I'm not signing that letter of intent!!!" mode right now. This seems like a good time to mention he has played the entire game. Amazing. This was like J.D. Drew's $14 Million Grand Slam in October, only for two solid hours. I'm stunned and continue to be stunned.

You might remember noternie making this comparison THREE WEEKS AGO:
"From the Good News/Bad News category: Yesterday I suggested that Ray Allen would become the JD Drew of the Celtics. Granted, it's not a perfect comparison as Drew struggled mightily all season last year before hitting the playoff grand slam while Ray has struggled only a few weeks. Anyway, I hoped Allen was watching yesterday's game and that Drew's latest grand slam would trigger the memory of his more dramatic one last year and get Allen off the schnide. It worked as Allen finally started knocking down jump shots and looked much more confident."

Look for Simmons to discover Andrea Bocelli, the newest female singing sensation, sometime in July. I'm not accusing him of plagarism, but I'm clearly an influence.