The Big Apple Sweep.

So it is possible to win another game after winning the first three in a playoff series, eh? Wow, surprising!

I am very willing to admit that I thought the Knicks would give the Celtics a little more of a run for their money. I watched the C's collapse as the season closed out, look old and slow, and predicted that we'd be lucky to get out of the first round, and getting out of the second would be a pipe dream. Boy, am I glad to be wrong. The Celtics found that metaphorical next gear, motivated by the raspy voice of Doc Rivers, and closed out a strong first round sweep of New York with a 101-89 game four victory.

I could say that the Celtics only looked this strong because of the Knicks' injuries. I could say that the Celtics were able to take advantage of playing the one team as weak as they are at the 5. I could say all that, but I won't. The C's rose to the challenge, and deserve all the credit. They held the Knicks to 34% shooting from the field in a game where New York was playing for their playoff lives. That says a lot. Carmello tried to carry the team again, but three of the five starters had 6 points or less, and you're not going to be hanging on with that kind of situation.

Rajon Rondo looked like the MVP of the Green Army in this one. That could partially be because the Knicks didn't really try to guard him very much. They took the "he's a passer not a shooter" approach to covering Rondo, and he took every opportunity to torch them for that choice. He provided highlight after highlight in game four, netting 21 points and 12 helpers, perfecting his pin point passing and tear drop drives to the lane. KG was the other double doubler (hold the fries), with 26 and 10, and he led the C's in points. When Garnett is leading the team in points, the Celtics are going to be rolling.

Ray Ray had 14, Popeye had 13, as Jermaine O'Neal didn't really help out at all. He finished with 2 and 6, and I'm wondering how far we can actually go beyond round one with this huge hole and the 5. You can't win championships with Jermaine O'Neal at the 5 in 2011 (or maybe ever), right? A hugely underrated positive was the production from Glen Davis. Big Baby's highlight was a sweet on-the-run slam after a handoff from Ray Allen, and he finished with 14 and 5. Finally some production from the bench in this series! 

The props need to be handed out to the C's on a night when Ray Allen had an off game. The C's usually need Allen to be on his game to roll to a win, but they were able to beat the Knicks in a huge game despite Allen's failings yesterday. That says a lot about where this team is at right now. Sure, Jesus Shuttlesworth scored 14, but he shot just 5 for 13 and 2 for 6 from deep. That's a serious off day for Ray, and like I said, the C's took a big step forward by winning despite his performance. 

With the sweep, the Celtics are the first team into the second round, as the other Eastern Conference series are all at 3-1. With the Bulls, Heat, and Hawks all about to close their series out, we are looking at a strong final four in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It's setting up to be an exciting ride. And for the C's, it's going to be gut check time.

Unless the 76'ers can win 3 in a row (and, of course, they won't), the Celts will play the Heat in the second round, while the Bulls face the Hawks. This is a serious second round series for the Green Army, going head to head with the annointed-by-ESPN wonder team from Miami, and it's going to be completely crazy. I don't think you could have scripted up a more exciting second round.

Can we beat them, though? That, I'm not sure of.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē