02 May 2008

Bibby is horrible; Johnson, Childress don't mind


Now, obviously the big story from the Celtics/Hawks game tonight is that underdog Atlanta won and forced a Game 7.

But the small story is that Mike Bibby did everything he could to choke this game away for the Hawks.

Sure, Bibby has had great playoff performances in the past. But in the second half of tonight's game, he was nothing short of horrible.

His stat line shows 17 points on 6-17 shooting, 5-8 from the line, 0-4 from the 3. He also dished out seven assists, while not turning it over even once. Not bad.

But in the final fifteen minutes or so, he was a major detriment to the team. I saw him go 1-7 in his final eight shots, often missing as a result of poor shot selection. And when he did have a wide-open three, he missed badly.

Finally, at the free throw line, up two with 7.4 seconds left, he bricked the first to give Boston life in a situation where they should have had none.

Conversely, Joe Johnson was invisible most of the night, but hit big shots when it counted. Hitting the only 3 of the game as time was running out on the shot clock, converting free throws, he scored eight of his 15 in the final quarter.

Especially impressive considering the Celtics were double-teaming him all night.

Then there was Josh Childress, getting offensive rebounds in clutch situations, hitting tough layups or tip-ins, generally doing the little stuff to help his team to victory.

Bottom line: Bibby, stop shooting and give the ball to your younger guys, and you've got a great shot to win Game 7.

1 comment:

Nicholas G. James said...

Yeah, Bibby shot terrible last game, but he had like 17 points.