NBA Playoffs 2012: Boston Celtics Show They Still Have Heart of Champion

No Rajon Rondo. No Ray Allen. No problem.

The Boston Celtics were embarrassed in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series against the Atlanta Hawks. They lacked intensity and desire in the early portion of the contest, and demonstrated a lack of urgency. To make matters worse, their best player and only true point guard, Rajon Rondo, threw a tantrum in the final minute that resulted in him not only getting ejected, but also receiving a suspension for Game 2.

Pessimism was permeating throughout the city of Boston. Would this be it for the Big Three? With Rondo suspended and Ray Allen out indefinitely with an ankle injury, it seemed as if the Hawks would take a two-game lead in the series and put the Celtics in a huge hole.

Paul Pierce was coming off a horrendous performance, shooting just 5-of-19 from the field and seeming uncomfortable throughout the contest. Maybe all the games and mileage was wearing on the 34-year-old veteran.

Kevin Garnett also wasn’t himself in Game 1. Josh Smith was routinely able to beat him off the dribble and Garnett struggled to hit open jumpers that he usually nails with ease.

Pierce and Garnett, the unquestioned leaders of the team, were needed now more than ever. They needed to get their teammates up for this crucial game, and raise their own level of play as well.

That’s exactly what they did. Pierce came out of the gates firing and regained the confidence he nearly lost in Game 1. Garnett wasn’t allowing Smith any easy lanes to the basket, and his intensity was back to its usual unparalleled level.

Early on it seemed as if the Celtics would cruise to a victory. The Hawks were on their heels and Boston had numerous opportunities to take the game over.

However, the Celtics were not able to capitalize on their early success and relinquished their lead by halftime. The team's offense became stagnant, and it seemed as if Rondo’s absence was becoming more and more problematic as the game wore on.

The Celtics offense continued to struggle in the third quarter. Points were extremely hard to come by. Fortunately, their defense picked it up a notch and they were able to cut the Hawks lead to five points by halftime.  

To start the fourth quarter, things stayed pretty much the same. Pierce, who had started the game off so well, was making bad decisions and he ended the game with eight turnovers. There was no ball movement and no easy baskets were being manufactured.

Midway through the quarter things began to change. The Celtics weren’t going down without a fight.

Their defense raised their play to an even higher level. Avery Bradley, who seemed out of his element in Game 1, was blocking shots and forcing turnovers. He was back to being the guy who terrorized opposing offenses seemingly on every possession.

Garnett, for the first time in quite a while, started posting up hard, driving his defender toward the basket and drawing fouls. His aggressiveness showed that Garnett was willing to do whatever it took to win and knew the team needed a spark.  

The biggest move of the night came from Celtics coach Doc Rivers.

Pierce had been covering Hawks star Joe Johnson all night long. Rivers saw that this was tiring him out and in order to give Pierce more energy on the offensive end where the team needed him most, he put Mickael Pietrus on Johnson.

This move worked out extremely well. Pierce started creating open shots for himself and was hitting them left and right. Pietrus also did a great job covering Johnson and forced him into taking several difficult shots.

Pierce, as he has done so many times during his career, carried the Celtics on his back late in the fourth quarter and hit several big shots that ultimately gave his team an 87-80 victory.

The Boston Celtics are a team that has absolutely no quit in them. The resilience they showed in their Game 2 victory over the Atlanta Hawks proves that whether they win or lose, they’re not going down without a fight.