Celtics v. Magic Series - Not Over Yet Boston Fans
In the wake of Glen "Big Baby" Davis' game-winning shot at the buzzer last night, I see many Celtics fans already celebrating a series win and looking towards King James and the Cavaliers. Let's not get ahead of ourselves Celtics fans - this series is by no means over.
Sure, Game 4 was a huge win. Opposed to being down 3-1, Boston now travels back to the Garden with homecourt advantage back on their side. And sure, nothing raises the morale of a team more than a buzzer beating shot which beats an opponent on the road. No matter how Boston won the game last night, Celtics fans should be asking themselves how their team shot 53% from the field and held the Magic's shooting percentage to 40% and barely won the game.
Now, Boston fans, you may say that the reason it was close was because the Celtics received two points from the bench and the team as a whole went 1 of 10 from the three point line. However, do you really think that your going to win the series by hoping guys like Eddie House, Stephon Marbury and Brian Scalabrine come off the bench and put up big production. Don't try to convince me that Glen Davis is going shoot 65% and score 21 points again because that probably won't happen.
On the other hand, the Magic had one of the worst shooting nights from beyond the arc. I bet if you told Stan Van Gundy that his team was going to shoot 5 of 27 (18.5%) from the three point line, he probably would have told you they would have been blown out. However, somehow the Magic remained in this game. There is no way that this Magic team, which has thrived this season on their ability to shoot the ball, will shoot as poorly from the three point arc as they did last night. Credit the Boston defense if you want, but Rafer Alston, Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick definitely had some open looks - they just couldn't cash them in for points. Look for that to change in the rest of the series. Especially if the rookie Courtney Lee starts to get more involved with shooting the three ball.
Keeping this in mind, there is no reason celebrations should be made in Boston. The series is evened at 2-2 going back to the Garden but I liked the Magic's chances just as much as the Celtics. Either way, this series is going to be exciting and may go 7 so fans on both sides better be ready for a nerve-racking series. Regardless of how long it goes, I still like the Magic to win the series and ruin Boston's hopes to repeat their championship.