By Eric Berry
We all know where the title of this blog hailed from don’t we? Will Ferrell’s follow up cry after his off-key rendition to Kansas’ ‘Dust in the Wind’ in the movie Old School. Why did I think of that movie? Well, the correlation between what the Celtics need to do against the resurgent Cleveland Cavaliers and an “Old School” mentality is one in the same. It’s time to lay Kurt Rambis, er, LeBron James out. The days of open range lay ups are over in this series. At least they should be anyway.
If you want to see what the true mettle of the Boston Celtics is, you will find out in period 1 of Game 5. There cannot be any more half-hearted reach ins when a Cavalier is at point blank range. No more ill attempts at taking charges. Knock someone on their donkey. Namely, knock LeBron Raymone James Sr. on his butt. Send him to the line to earn his points. Read my lips, “NO MORE LAY UPS!”
As for Kyle Korver, it’s time to plant him like a Memorial Day tomato plant(at least that’s when I plant my garden). Next time he comes off a screen thinking he’s going to get a free look he gets a free subscription to “Did you get the license plate to the truck that just ran me over?”
It’s the Celtics only chance. Get physical with the beast. Get physical with the most physical force on the court. That’s part 1 anyway. Now for part 2 and some coach speak.
Stop switching on a screen where Terry Rozier ends up guarding LeBron. It’s like me posting up a 5-year old. Rozier has as much chance of stopping James as I do of winning Powerball. You either must double the King of Whine right away, or simply, get through the screen like a man. It’s ok to switch on screens that I call “same size” screens. You know, where everyone is relatively around the same height. But, big to little? Rozier and LeBron? Um, nope.
Here’s something I did notice that no one is talking about, however, from Game 4. The Celtics gave up 43 second half points. 43. They gave up 68 in the first half. Maybe, just maybe, they figured something out. The bad starts to games must come to an end for the C’s or they won’t have to worry about bad starts to games because they will be sipping drinks in the Caribbean.
I have this weird feeling the Cavs are going to win Game 5. I think the Celts go to Cleveland and win Game 6, then come back to Boston for a decisive Game 7. Boston wins Game 7 after 3 straight games of battering LeBron. It’s the only way they have a chance.
By the way, I’ve decided after watching this series that I would invite Satan to a card game before JR Smith. I cannot stand the way he acts/whines. He acts like he deserves some sort of respect from officials. Without LeBron he’d be on the end of a bench in Europe. He makes a shot and acts like he’s some sort of God-like shooter.
One last thing. The narrative is never, and I mean NEVER, is it LeBron’s fault if the Cavs lose. It’s always the supporting cast. If they win, he played incredibly, and his supporting cast FINALLY gave him some help.
Wait, I have more. If the Celtics are going to win this series, Marcus Smart has got to stop shooting. Talk about playing the lottery. Every time he shoots it every Celtic fan in the world says a prayer on his behalf. We are reminded quickly that prayers are not answered by God on behalf of poor jump shooters, or teams winning or losing, despite what some athletes think. Marcus, stop shooting. Pass the ball and go hide in the corner. Brad Stevens has got to pick his spots in using Marcus Smart, plain and simple.
One more thing. The officials. I know they have a thankless job. NBA players complain if they are the ones who are awarded free throws at times. Everyone complains. That said, watching Scott Foster ref a game makes me physically ill. I feel bad for him because maybe he’s a nice guy off the court. In 2016 the LA Times conducted an anonymous survey of almost three dozen NBA players, head coaches, and assistants. Each were asked to name the league’s three worst referees. You know who had 10 more votes than the runner-up? Yup, Scott Foster. The Celtics had about as much chance of winning Game 4 as I do winning Powerball. By the way, Foster officiated Game 4 of the Celts/Sixers series. Do I need to tell you who won that one? Not the Celtics. However, if there’s one guy I’d love to have for Game 7 at Boston, it’s Foster. No way he’s letting us lose that game. He’ll have 500K on it in Vegas. Celts in 7. Book it, bookie.