As faithful readers know, I am not of the mind that the loss of James Posey is the huge deal that some make it out to be. However, credit George Karl with an interesting lineup that specifically exploited the lack of a legit backup small forward–like James Posey.

In the second quarter, Karl used PG Anthony Carter and C Nene and surrounded those two with three listed small forwards: Carmelo Anthony, Renaldo Balkman and Linas Kleiza, all of whom are 6-foot-8. The Celtics had their usual second unit on the floor with Paul Pierce which led to two specific matchup issues: Tony Allen on Carmelo (length problems) and Big Baby on Balkman (quickness problems).

The unusual lineup really messed with the Celtics on the offensive end as they only managed to score five points in the first six minutes of the second quarter and their six-point lead went poof. Karl hinted at this in his pregame chat, by the way. We’ll be back for the second half in a bit.

Quick addendum: Just got the halftime stats and Carmelo, Kleiza and Balkman went 7-for-11 for 15 points and 12 rebounds in the second quarter.