Mar 26, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce (right) drives to the hoop against New York Knicks small forward Steve Novak (16) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics are heading back home down 2-0 to the New York Knicks, but could have been up 2-0 if they close out 2nd half in both Game 1 and Game 2 in New York.

In Game 1 they were shooting more than 50% in the first half, but dropped off to under 30% in the 2nd half and only could muster up seven points off the bench.

The second game same story, but this time it wasn’t the bench that held them back it was poor defense in the 2nd half as well as their horrific offense in which they only scored 23 points in the 3rd and 4th quarter combined.

If your part of Celtic nation their is no need fret as I’ll list three reasons and explain in depth on how the Celtics can come back into this series and potentially win it in seven games.

The 1st reason is that the Knicks ran off the crowd in New York in the 2nd half of both game 1 and 2 and the Celtics came out flat in both. You can expect this same tactic to work for the Celtics in Boston right in front of the TD Garden faithful, in both games the Celtics ended the first half with the lead and coming out in the 2nd half at home is going to potentially to come out and not offensively and defensively fall flat. You can also expect the recent events of the Boston Bombings to play a huge factor in this team to put in max effort to win two at home.

The 2nd reason is Jeff Green, when Jeff Green is on his game and when he is attacking the basket it’s a long night for the opposing defense. Since the lost of Rondo, Jeff has played a larger role in this offense before the departure of Rondo, Green was averaging 9.6 PPG 3.2 RPG 0.9 APG in 26.9 MIN.  Since January 27th his averages have been 12.9 PPG 5.8 RPG 1.5 APG in 31.2 MIN.

Apr 23, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green (8) drives to the hoop past New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) during the first quarter of game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Green also causes match up problems when running the floor with Pierce as it forces the Knicks to use their PF to guard Green and this can cause problems as Green has deep game and can dribble around bigger players and get to the basket. At the end of the day it’s up too Green how far the Celtics go. If he plays to his full abilities the Celtics are going to go far in this years playoffs, if not well get ready for the off-season.

The final and 3rd reason is Kevin Garnett in order for the Celtics to be successful they need KG to not get in foul trouble early in the game. KG according to Doc Rivers was on pace to have great night and because of the horrendous calls from the referees he wasn’t able to put 1+1 together.

If all three reasons executed to perfection you can expect the Celtics not only win the next two games, but even expect some of emotion to carry over to NY and steal a win at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks defense isn’t as good as holding two hall of famers and a player in Jeff Green coming into his prime to 23 points in two quarters the Celtics are bound to bounce back if they follow my script.

Apr 14, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (12) is defended by San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

While it wasn’t far fetched to picture these two teams playing against one another in the playoffs coming into the 2012-13 NBA season, I don’t think anyone expected for it to be this soon as the Los Angeles Lakers (45-37) and San Antonio Spurs (58-24) will face off in the opening round.

The Spurs and Lakers are two of the more veteran squads in the NBA and though many faces have changed over the years, these are the two teams who have largely ruled the Western Conference in the 2000′s.

Sadly, Kobe Bryant won’t be joining us for this series after tearing his Achilles on April 12 against the Golden State Warriors but this is still a compelling series.

Despite the Spurs superior record during the regular season, these two teams were very evenly matched in their three games. Every game was decided by five points or less and the Spurs won two of three games between the long time rivals.

We will break down the series by positions, bench and coaching.