Celtics-Pistons: Boston, Satisfied With One Road Win, Falls Flat in Game 4

Disappointing.

That pretty much describes the Celtics' performance tonight in Game 4 against the Pistons, a 94-75 loss that tied the series 2-2.

Losing is understandable.  Detroit was not going to go away easily, and you knew, especially with the Pistons playing at home, that the Celtics would have to play at their best in order to win tonight.

Play their best? Not exactly.  This was the eighth loss of the playoffs for the Celtics, but as far as I am concerned, it was the most disappointing.

The Celtics hung around for most of the game, despite being clearly outplayed.  The game remained relatively close, not because of anything the Celtics did, but more because the officials called a very close game, sending Boston to the line 39 times.  But even with 32 points from the free throw line, the Celtics never really threatened Detroit in the second half.

I imagine the game was called this way, at least in part, in response to comments from some of the Boston players after Game 3, when Detroit turned on the physical play in the fourth quarter but the refs kept their whistles silent. Not that an NBA official would ever be influenced by something other than what occurs on the court.

Often I am annoyed when commentators blame losses on a lack of effort.  It isn’t always effort; sometimes, a team gets beaten because they just got outplayed.  Tonight, the Celtics, for one of the few times all season, lacked effort. 

Maybe they would have lost anyway, but as a team, the Celtics did not come to play.  It was as if they were completely satisfied with getting one game in Detroit, and figured anything more would be a complete bonus.

I don’t know who will go on to win the series, but it would be a major mistake for Boston to be satisfied right now.  No Celtic should be thinking just because two of the next three are in Boston they are going to win this series. 

If they don’t bring a better team effort and play smarter basketball, their season will end in the Eastern finals.

Maybe I shouldn’t write so soon after a loss, because it is possible I am allowing emotion to get in the way of intelligent thoughts.  I am trying to be rational while wondering if there is any way Jason Maxiel should almost single handedly outscore the Boston bench (14-18).

I wouldn’t have been shocked if Boston lost tonight.  I wasn’t shocked that Detroit came out on fire to begin the game, jumping out to a 10-0 lead.  But what bothers me so much right now is what I saw throughout the game.

There was no sense of urgency.  I heard Mark Jackson say that before the game he spoke to a Celtic who thought the Pistons had all the pressure.  I cringed when I heard him say that.  Even the most anti-Piston person out there would have to admit that pressure won’t be the reason Detroit loses.

With the exception of Kendrick Perkins and James Posey off the bench, no Celtic came to play.  Paul Pierce who had been aggressive offensively early in games 1-3, didn’t show any aggression early on in the ball game.  He appeared content.

Ray Allen continued to struggle offensively, while "holding" Richard Hamilton to 8-of-10 from the field.

But the two most disappointing players on the court for the Celtics tonight were Rajon Rondo and, surprisingly, Kevin Garnett.

When Rondo plays well, the Celtics win.  Tonight, he didn’t play well.  It can be easy to forget that he is only a second-year player, and maybe I am being too harsh.  But I thought his head just was not in the game.

Most of all, though, I am disappointed in KG.  I am not here to criticize KG because he is not the scorer everyone wants him to be.  I have accepted him for all the great things he does on the court. Whether he scores or not, energy has never been his problem.

Until tonight.

He finished with 16 points (6-of-16 from the floor) and 10 rebounds, but the effort was not there from him.  Two moments from the game typify his lackadaisical performance.  In the third quarter,  there was a jump ball.  The 6-foot-11 athletic Garnett was going up against the 6-foot-9 (with chronic knee problems) Antonio McDyess.  McDyess won the tap, and it wasn’t even close.

McDyess, by the way, was the best player on the floor tonight, with a line I wish I saw out of Garnett: 21 points (8-of-14) and 16 boards.

Then early in the fourth quarter, there was a loose ball.  Three Pistons were in the area, and Kendrick Perkins was the lone Celtic.  Detroit came up with the ball.  As the camera began to zoom out, you saw KG just standing still around the free-throw line.  He made no effort to get the loose ball.

Any team can have an off night where the energy just isn’t there.  This Celtics team, however, developed a well-deserved reputation during the regular season of not having those off nights. Until tonight.

This has been a strange series. It's tied 2-2 and the teams on paper appear evenly matched.  Yet there really hasn’t been a close game down the stretch.  I have no idea what to expect in the remainder of the series.

Hopefully tonight’s effort from the Celtics was just an aberration, and I won’t again be wondering why Boston chose the Eastern Conference Finals to bring their worst effort.