Published: May 07, 2008 01:48 pm            

Come playoff time, Sam's still the man

BOSTON — Sam Cassell was wondering what the big fuss was around his locker about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday night.



In 15 seasons, he has accumulated 15,635 points, making 5,698 shots, 672 of which were 3-point bombs.



The 13 points he scored, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter, aren't anywhere near his career high. Heck, twice in the 2004 playoffs he had 40-point games.



"It's not that hard," said Cassell, who canned two three-pointers in the tightly contested fourth quarter. "It's just making shots."



Making shots? Tell that to LeBron James, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. The three All-Stars combined to make only four of 36 shots in a game that looked more like a boxing match than a graceful playoff basketball game.



The Celtics eventually pulled out the ugly Eastern Conference semifinal opener over Cleveland, 76-72, thanks to Kevin Garnett, who had eight fourth-quarter points, including four points in the final two minutes and, of course, Cassell.



Nights like this are the reason Cassell asked out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers and then called Danny Ainge looking to be part of a championship run.



The Celtics had everything except a Plan B if Rajon Rondo was struggling. But Tuesday night was a Plan C. Rondo (15 points, 5-of-8 shooting) was great. But the Celtics needed points.



Enter Cassell.



Celtics coach Doc Rivers stopped trying to order Cassell to pass-before-shooting weeks ago.



He realized it was too late. The 38-year-old guard, after 15 years of running and mostly gunning in the National Basketball Association, simply has it in his blood.



"If Sam has the shot, he's going to shoot it. That's just the way it is," said Rivers. "Even if he doesn't have the shot, he'll try to create one. That's Sam."



Well, Cassell's philosophy, which doesn't always jibe with the Celtics' ball-movement-based offense, won the Celtics an important playoff game.



"I guess you could say that's why he's here," said Rivers.



Cassell's minutes have been spotty almost since the day he arrived.



Depending on the circumstance, Cassell has played anywhere from 28 minutes in a game to never getting off his butt.



He has scored two points four times since arriving on March 5, twice as many times as he has topped 20 points. His minutes have fallen from about 18 minutes per game in the regular season to 13 minutes a tilt in the playoffs.



Predicting his role is next to impossible.



"We don't know before a game how much (Sam) is going to play," said Rivers. "But we needed him."



While Rajon Rondo was probably the best player on the floor in the first half (eight points), the Celtics' offense was stale from the opening tap. As good as the Celtics defense was, the offense was that bad.



With all of the doubling the Cavs were doing, somebody had to hit a few open shots.



Both Cassell's fourth quarter 3-pointers put the Celtics ahead by four (59-55 and 64-60).



"Man, it was fun out there," he said. "I was really enjoying. How can you not enjoy this atmosphere. This is playoff basketball."



Garnett and James Posey finished off the Cavs for good with a clutch jumper by KG and two clutch free throws by Posey in the final seconds.



But the save goes to Cassell.



"It's not easy after starting all these years to be coming off the bench," Cassell said. "But I'm learning. I'm sort of getting used to it. But I want to play, especially now."



We will see him again. It might be a day or week from now. But Cassell's shot is going to come in handy before the golf clubs come out.



Bill Burt writes for The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass. He can be reached at bburt@eagletribune.com.

        

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