Before the 2008 playoffs are through, there is an 87% chance that Sam Cassell will give me a heart attack while watching a Boston Celtics game.
In the past 20 years, only Antoine Walker ranks higher than Cassell in terms of how fast you can go from loving the guy on the floor to demanding that he sit on the bench the rest of the playoffs.
Literally every time Sam I Am touches the ball, I cringe. I slide down in my seat and just wait for something really good or really bad to happen, it’s never just in between. The thing about Sam Cassell is that he is the opposite of Rajon Rondo on the floor. Rondo is a pass 1st, drive to the hoop and miss an easy lay-up after a sick move 2nd, and shoot 3rd point guard. Cassell is a shoot 1st, dribble around the court and then shoot 2nd, complain about a foul call or non-foul call 3rd, and pass 4th point guard.
That being said, when Cassell is on, I’m speechless. Look, I love that we have a point guard that can really score when need be. I was screaming for him to have the ball instead of Rondo during the last possession of Game 6 against the Hawks. Of course Doc didn’t call a timeout and run a play for one of our shooters and instead Rondo looked around helplessly before heaving up a shot that had no chance of touching the rim, but that’s a topic for another day.
I do know that if the Celtics want to win, Rondo needs to be in the game. It’s just a fact at this point. I’m all for having Cassell come in if Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are out of the game and we need a perimeter scoring threat, but damn Doc, Rondo had a great first half and along with Garnett was the reason we were even in the game. On the other hand, Cassell was on fire in the fourth quarter and may have been the reason we won the game.
But what if Cassell bricks those three pointers? What are we saying the day after? Let’s say he doesn’t go 4-8 from the field and 2-4 from beyond the arc. I can assure you that everyone would hate on Cassell and it would be unlikely that we would see him log 18 minutes ever again this series.
I can understand that maybe we needed some offense because of the lack of production we were getting out of Pierce and Allen last night, but I can’t get past the fact that Cassell took just as many shots as Rondo did in 10 less minutes and how he failed to register even one assist. I can remember watching him take a contested three pointer last night when James Posey, who is a better three point shooter, was wide open calling for the ball. Cassell saw Posey and decided to shoot it anyway, failing to hit the rim and getting called for a shot clock violation
So why did Cassell take that shot? Because he is his own worst enemy, that’s why. As soon as he hits a shot, count on seeing him take eight more by the end of the quarter. At times I just can’t watch. It is a love-hate relationship, we love him when he scores, and we hate him when he misses. The thing is, his game never changes and never will. It is take it or leave it with him.
Rajon Rondo will have to prove that he can score in the clutch and hit free throws or he will be watching close games like yesterday’s game from the bench.
