Webber showing Celtics the way?

Got a little scared watching Inside The NBA on TNT last night when I realized that Chris Webber might be making more sense than Doc Rivers about what is currently ailing the Boston Celtics.
I'm trying real hard to remember the old saying that any NBA playoff series doesn't really begin until the home team loses a game, because the Atlanta Hawks have proven to be more than a handful in the opening round of the Eastern Conference postseason. Atlanta edged the Celtics again on Monday night, 97-92, to tie their best-of-7 quarterfinal series at 2-2 and put a temporary stop on the Banner 17 t-shirts that were being printed in The Hub. All that Celtics-Lakers nostalgia Finals talk seems like ancient history now, as Boston finds itself in a dogfight against a young, hungry team that took advantage of a Celtics' bunch that played some questionable basketball in Game 4.
Old pal Joe Johnson did in Boston in this one, pouring in 20 fourth-quarter points on his way to a game-high 35. Johnson, the highest of Boston's three first-round picks in 2001, teamed with Josh Smith to score all 32 of Atlanta's points in the final 12 minutes. The Celtics, particularly Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, looked old and slow trying to chase down the Hawks and their transition attack, and Atlanta blitzed Boston by 15 points in the fourth quarter to guarantee a trip back to Atlanta for Game 6.
The nervous silence that you might hear on Boston talk radio today should be replaced with some questions, and most of them will be directed at Rivers. The Sports Guy has never liked Rivers and been very public in his criticism, and I'm starting to see where he's been coming from. Rivers is very good with the media, and Bill Simmons has always contended that Rivers has received a bit of a free pass because of his easy-going nature and willingness to talk on the record about anything under the sun.
Let's try a few of these on for size, Doc.
First, where was the double team on Johnson and Smith? This looked like Detroit last year when the Pistons were overwhelmed by the human force that is LeBron James to the tune of 25 straight points and 29 of the final 30 that Cleveland scored in a Game 5 victory that ultimately proved to be the knockout blow. The Cavaliers sealed their trip to The Finals with another win in Game 6, but James' brilliance in the double-overtime thriller was the turning point. How can you not give Pierce and Allen, two players not known for their defensive abilities, some help? Deny Johnson and Smith the ball the second they come over the midcourt line. Make Mike Bibby, who had been horrible in the series until his 18-point effort in Game 4, beat you from long range. Force Al Horford to hit mid-range perimeter jumpers. Don't let Johnson get to the basket and prevent Smith from getting out ahead of the field while Horford cleans the glass (13 boards in Game 4).
Shockingly, Webber had the answer to this one. In between pimping his hometown Pistons as a superior team to the Celtics, Webber insisted that Johnson and Smith should never be allowed to touch the ball again in the series after their teammates didn't even attempt a shot during the fourth quarter on Monday. The fact that Webber, a player so maligned for his lack of clutch performances in big games on every level after his high-school career (think the Final Four timeout at Michigan and all those playoff near-misses with Sacramento), was able to see this and Rivers wasn't was maddening. Rivers must have wanted to make a few trips to The Gold Club or 112 and assured himself another chance when the Celtics return to town by failing to change his defensive tactics. 
Second, where was Rajon Rondo down the stretch? The Celtics were plus-7 with Rondo on the floor in the game and he has dominated Bibby in the series thanks to his superior quickness and lockdown defense. Rondo can break down just about any defender off the dribble and get into the lane, creating open jump shots for Allen, Pierce and James Posey and drawing help away from Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins. Rondo did struggle from the field (6-for-16), but his 12 assists against just two turnovers should have been enough to earn him the nod over Sam Cassell (no points in seven minutes) for the entire fourth quarter.
Finally, which of the New Three is going to step up and take the big shots down the stretch? Garnett's patented move is the fadeaway, not exactly the shot that you want under pressure, and he is reluctant to force shots in traffic even if he is deemed the go-to player. Minnesota fans watched for years while Garnett passed up shots to involve misfiring open teammates, the right play at the wrong time. Allen is a spot-up gunner who can't create his own shot, forcing someone like Rondo to draw the defense with penetration. Allen can also convert open looks on the fast break but, unfortunately, there aren't as many chances to run in the NBA playoffs because the tempo slows and defenses tend to clamp down after seeing the same opponent for several consecutive nights. Allen was 8-for-14 on Monday and 5-for-8 from 3-point range, putting him above Garnett in the pecking order.
Then we come to Pierce, a separate argument entirely. The Captain is used to being The Man in Boston's offense, especially during the playoffs. He was the primary option when he teamed with Antoine Walker to help lead the Celtics to their last appearance in the Eastern Conference finals, but Pierce was just 5-for-14 from the field on Monday and a crushing 4-for-8 at the foul line. How would he react to being told that Allen and Garnett will be taking some of the big shots in crunch time? Was Pierce's complete destruction on the defensive end Monday night at Johnson's hands too much for him to overcome mentally? You know it had to be eating at Pierce that Johnson, a guy Pierce probably hazed unmercifully in practice while Johnson was a rookie with the Celtics, was absolutely killing Boston with a performance that made him the night's unquestioned star. Will the anticipated pouting that was expected to come with Pierce's reduced offensive output finally happen? That would be a whole new set of problems for Rivers to deal with added to the questions posed above. Let's hope he's as capable as Webber of coming up with some of the answers, or Rivers might be making his own return to the TNT ranks in which he once served as a color man -- maybe for good.