Keys for the Celtics in Game 7

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

If you're superstitious, you have to love Patrick Ewing's declaration yesterday on ESPN Radio in Washington, D.C., that the Magic will win tomorrow night's Game 7.

He's biased, of course, being an assistant with Orlando and all. But you had to appreciate the retort to the media by his former Knicks teammate, Doc Rivers: "Patrick Ewing did that? We feel great. We feel great about that. I've been on those Knicks teams where he had some predictions. But you know what I've always said about predictions, what else are you going to say? Are you going to say no? But the Patrick prediction makes me feel better."

Of course, we all said the same thing back in 2005 when the Indiana Pacers blew the C's off the door hinges in Game 7 of the first round, effectively ending the game before halftime. No way the Celtics lose this one. We've got these chuckleheads right where we want them. Although this Celtics nucleus is about 10 times more equipped against a breakdown like that, the possibility still lurks.

Which is why the following needs to happen tomorrow night:

Don't walk...RUN

Despite the great play from Glen Davis, Kendrick Perkins and even Brian Scalabrine (seriously), the Celtics' frontcourt is still overmatched without the presence of either Kevin Garnett or Leon Powe. Simply put, Rashard Lewis has great range for a power forward, and Dwight Howard is simply a freak of nature.

At every other level, you have seen overmatched teams find success playing at an uptempo pace. Charlestown High won four straight state titles doing nothing but running and pressing. In this year's tournament, Missouri flew under everyone's radar and made it all the way to the Elite Eight running Mike Anderson's "Fastest 40 Minutes" style of play (or alternately, if you prefer, "40 Minutes of Hell").

Whenever the Celtics have run in this series, they've found success. Rajon Rondo has proven as much, averaging double-digits in assists and rebounds. The Celtics should be running for the first five minutes of the second and fourth quarters to keep them off-guard. Rondo is a running point guard, give him the ball and let him do his thing.

Keep Big Baby out of foul trouble...

Doc Rivers said that if Glen Davis gets a foul in the first quarter, he'll sit him. This means Brian Scalabrine will probably enter the game in the first quarter. Listen, I've been hard on Scal during the playoffs, and granted he is the funniest and most affable guy in the C's locker room. But the man is just terrible at perimeter defense. You bring him out to the top of the key with his arms flailing, and he's about as effective as a tip jar at a tollbooth. He's probably a little better than me in my pickup games in Dorchester.

Inevitably, Big Baby is going to get a foul in the first quarter -- and probably a terrible call at that, because they're probably going to use the Inter-High officiating crew again. Kendrick Perkins is going to push the envelope and have four fouls in the third, because he's always a brawler at heart. And with that in mind, the Celtics just cannot afford to have their two best forwards on the bench in foul trouble. Baby needs to play smart, and know when and when not to make contact. Given that the officiating in the playoffs has been about as consistent as a Sonic Youth track, that's going to be pretty difficult. But it has to be done.

...but at the same time, why not Hack-A-Dwight?

To borrow from Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi, "You've heard of Hack-A-Shaq? How about Plight of Dwight?"

Like all centers with big hands, Dwight Howard is not exactly the world's best foul shooter. He is a career 58 percent free throw shooter, and has been a little better than 60 percent in this year's playoffs. In Game 2, the Celtics won 112-94 and Dwight went 2 for 8 from the stripe. In Game 6, an 83-75 Magic win, Dwight was just 5 for 12.

While I'm not exactly shedding a tear at the lack of minutes for Mikki Moore, you could employ him with a primary duty of double-teaming Howard and drawing contact. Howard will not shy from contact, but the chances of him missing at the free-throw line are pretty even.

Create shots for Ray Allen

Simply put, more than any other player on the roster, the Celtics DO NOT win when Allen goes cold from the field. Rivers felt after today's practice that Allen was due for a breakout night, and history has been on his side in the 2009 postseason.

A look inside the numbers

Conference Quarterfinals vs. Chicago
Game 1: 1-12 fg, 0-6 3pt, 4 pts
Game 2: 9-18 fg, 6-6 3pt, 30 pts
Game 5: 3-8 fg, 2-4 3pt, 10 pts
Game 6: 18-32 fg, 9-18 3pt, 51 pts

Conference Semifinals vs. Orlando
Game 1: 2-12 fg, 1-7 3pt, 10 pts
Game 2: 7-15 fg, 2-7 3pt, 22 pts
Game 3: 3-13 fg, 0-5 3pt, 8 pts
Game 4: 6-13 fg, 0-5 3pt, 12 pts
Game 5: 3-11 fg, 2-5 3pt, 13 pts
Game 6: 2-11 fg, 0-7 3pt, 5 pts

Good shooters don't stay cold this long. Make Allen your first option in half-court sets, whether they're anticipating it or not. He has the quickest release in the league -- give him a fraction of a second, and he'll make it happen.

Who is Chad Johnson?

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Chad Johnson was a wide receiver for the Bengals from 2001 - 2008. Johnson was considered one of the best in the game from 03-07 averaging 92+ receptions and 1373+ yards per season. Last season Johnson fell way off the map with 53 catches and 540 yards caused by his own injuries and multiple injuries on the offensive side of the ball.

This season Chad Johnson is not coming back to the Bengals, Chad Ocho Cinco is. That's right, the NFL had agreed to let the player formerly known as Chad Johnson wear his new name on the back of his jersey this season. But there's a catch, it's not exactly how he wanted it. Instead of Ocho Cinco, he'll be "Ochocinco" because that's how he wrote it when he legally submitted his name-change form last August in Florida.

"It's his legal name," Corry Rush, AFC information manager, said Thursday. Rush is not fooling around, on NFL.com his name has been change to Chad Ochocinco. The receiver said last year that he wanted his name to be "Ocho Cinco." Merchandise is selling on his Web site under the "Ocho Cinco" name.

I think its hilarious that he misspelled his own new name, it really shows his intelligence. So has the NFL created a monster with this or does it want to become the XFL? Maybe Michael Vick will be allowed to come back to the league only if he changes his name to Michael Dogkiller. How about Terrell Owens name change to Terrell Crybaby. The possibilities are endless. My worry is that more idiots like Ochocinco will decide to do this bringing down the league from a team oriented game to individuals promoting themselves. At least we Pats fans know it would never happen here in New England.