Unlikely hero

Battie leads Celtics' defensive charge in Game 2

Paul Pierce barely could make a free throw -- let alone a jump shot. Antoine Walker disappeared for long stretches. And Jason Kidd looked like he was playing one-on-five.

It's a good thing Tony Battie was around to become the hero of Tuesday night's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Nothing against the 6-foot-11 Celtics center, but isn’t this the time of year when the game’s superstars are supposed to shine? Not in this year's wacky Eastern Conference, apparently.

Instead of big-time heroics by marquee players, we'll have to settle for surprising performances from players like Battie, a guy once dubbed "El Busto" by his own coach.

It might not have Shaq shaking in his Guccis, but the Celtics will take it. Thanks in large part to Battie’s effort at both ends, Boston held off New Jersey in Game 2 to even their series at a game apiece. Just as they said they would after their embarrassing Game 1 defeat, the Celtics played much better defensively and on the backboards Tuesday night.

For three quarters at least, the Celtics blanketed the Nets with a swarming team defense. They fronted the post, rotated to help and attacked the ball when the Nets dribbled into the paint. Meanwhile, they guarded the "backdoor" like a pack of hungry dobermans.

When Todd MacCulloch caught a lob pass over Battie, Walker was there to block his shot. When Richard Jefferson tried to penetrate, three green jerseys were in his face. When Jason Collins put the ball on the floor, the Celtics stripped him clean.

Battie, the No. 5 pick in the 1997 Draft by the Nuggets, was all over the floor. When he wasn’t badgering MacCulloch into fumbling the ball away, he was blocking shots or racing the court for killer putbacks off the offensive glass. Take that, Dan Issel!

New Jersey, quite simply, needs to get in the open court to win. The Nets don’t have enough good jump shooters, so they rely on transition opportunities and layups off their cut-and-slash Princeton offense. The Celtics did a great job getting back in transition, then swarming any Nets player who caught one of Kidd’s laser passes under the basket.

The Celtics also hammered the Nets on the offensive boards. At times it seemed like Gang Green had all five guys going to the glass, a wise move since they were missing so many shots. Their effort not only led to numerous second-chance points, but it also kept Kidd from getting out on the break.

Until the final quarter, when they stopped playing defense and began taking ill-advised shots, it was an impressive performance for the Celtics. They now know they can stop the Nets in the half court, much like they did to the Pistons in the last series. For them, it’s really a matter of effort.

Still, there is something about the Celtics that is very shaky, and we’re not talking about Walker’s shimmy dance after a basket.

They seem to have a compulsion to be their own worst enemy: Game 1 sleepwalks; blown leads; wild 3-pointers; missed free throws.

They aren’t your father’s Celtics, that’s for sure. But in an Eastern Conference finals in which Battie can become the star, they might be good enough.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

 

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