Felger & Mazz: Tanguay Analyzes Game 6, Previews Game 7
Gary Tanguay of Comcast SportsNet joined Felger and Massarotti in studio to talk some Boston Celtics, last night's 82-75 Game 6 loss, and Saturday night's Game 7 versus the Philadelphia 76ers.
Why do the Celtics struggle with close out games on the road? How do the Celtics compare to the rest of the NBA in closeout games? What makes last nights game different from other close out games?
Tanguay said Game 6 was not just about the Celtics losing. He said the Sixers deserve their share of credit, too.
"Last night to me wasn't about just losing focus. I think that Philadelphia prevented them from doing some things. ... I thought Philadelphia did some things defensively that took the Celtics out of their offensive game."
Is Kevin Garnett afraid to play in the paint against the Sixers?
"They will not win in Game 7 if he takes jumpers at the top of the key," Tanguay said.
How much is the absence of Avery Bradley hurting the Celtics? Tanguay says it shouldn't be much.
"Rondo has no excuse," Tanguay said. "Rondo has just as much speed as Avery Bradley. He should be the same on-the-ball defender as Avery Bradley is. He has the skills, but he won't do it. That's where I think he deserves criticism for last night."
Tony agreed.
"He doesn't want to do it," Mazz said. "He's never wanted to do it. He cheats and he gets steals off of team defense ... and he's good at that. But on a night like last night, you gotta step up. And on top of that, go to the basket and play some defense. Those are basic things. That's where it starts. You play defense, you go to the basket, you're going to hang in that game."
