This article from Jack Jemsek of Celtics Stuff Live is from a few weeks ago, but it is well researched and still relevent.
After an encouraging win last night against the Celtics’ kissin cousins, the Charlotte Bobcats, a team they seem to own this year and the previous win against the Detroit Pistons, another team with problems, are they on an upward trend?
With this team, it is hard to say. Ask me again in a week or so.
Here is a piece from Jack Jemsek’s article describing the Celtic’s uncanny ability to lose leads and keeping Ray Allen…
Ten collapses in games after substantial leads had been secured is a lot to suffer in approximately six weeks. Most definitely, following the Celtics has not been for the faint of heart for their fans. Enter the blasphemous “Trade Allen” or “Do Something” demands by their fans as the trade line approached (I recall a Celticsblog.com poll indicating about 2/3 voting to trade Ray with over a 1,000 votes cast). I was a proponent of “stay the course” with the Big Three, and fortunately that is what the Celtics chose to do. Of course I’m a half century old and appreciate what a healthy veteran can accomplish, but I just don’t see urgency.
Besides retaining their key personnel (which Eddie House was not), finishing the season and getting a decent seed would seem paramount. I see this as a “fork in the road” moment for the team.The rest is here and documents each of those lost leads game by game. There is more and it is a good read.
I want to let you know that I will be changing the frequency of writing on Celtics Central.
Due to other priorities and time constraints, I can not write as often as I would like to.
No, I am not jumping off the bandwagon as the Celtics sink.
I didn’t jump on the bandwagon when they traded for Kevin Garnett.
Just to keep the record straight and head off any misinterpretation, I started blogging regularly 2 years before the big trade.
If and when I can clear my schedule going forward, I will try to write more regularly again.
I thought of daily linking of other stories here, but even that requires a bit more time than I can currently give. Besides, there are a number of other fan sites that already do that. I don’t see a need for it.
In the meantime, I am exploring adding another writer to take over the lion’s share of writing here.
Unless and until that happens, I will put up one analytical or opinion-type article approximately once a week.
Whether the Celtics fall apart, get it together and contend for the title…or something in between…they are still our team. I will still be rooting for them in any circumstance. I hope you will keep the faith, too.
Clearly there is an underlying story (or two) to their current troubles. I will keep watching them play and hope they can work things out.
As I have said for the last 5 years (and really since childhood) …Go Celtics!
Don’t forget to check out and participate at Celtics Blog for your daily fix of Celtic news.
The Boston Celtics once again started like gangbusters but finished like lambs, or change that to that very, very tired, slow moving gangbusters. After jumping out to as much as a 13 point lead, Gang Green was busted by 20 points….and going away in the end.
It is a story we have seen many times this season.
It must have been a satisfying win for the league leading Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics started the season off with a win in Cleveland and the Cavs hadn’t won in Boston for three years, including that famous 7 game playoff series in 2008.
While you can say that the Celtics played about 24 solid minutes of basketball and 24 minutes of trying to hang on, it was more of a straight line decline over the last three periods, after a terrific start.
Unfortunately, the good teams can wait the Cs out now with the understanding that there will be a time in the game to strike and reverse whatever Boston has accomplished up to that point.
Injuries Still Rule
In fairness, the Celtics still cannot field a complete team. Paul Pierce, the team’s leading scorer and captain, did not play due to flu, a sprained thumb, a sprained ankle, and bothersome knee. His replacement, Marquis Daniels almost did not play due to flu as well.
Paul hasn’t been playing well for a while and the thumb injury has affected his shooting, so he will sit for a few games.
Daniels ended up playing, solving Doc’s dilemma of who to put on Lebron James. Though James ended up scoring a game high 36 points, Daniels did a credible job for part of the time.
Shaq Goes Out With Sprained Thumb Glen Davis best defensive play of the game was spraining Shaquille O’Neal’s thumb while stripping Shaq of the ball underneath the basket in the first half. Shortly after Shaq called time out and took himself out of the game and did not return. It was later reported to be a ‘significant’ sprain by the TNT announcers.
Varejao Takes Over
Alas, it didn’t matter, as Anderson Varejao played an outstanding game at center in his place. Varejao was active all evening and finished with 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting with 10 rebounds.
He set a wicked screen on Rondo in the 4th period that Rondo backed into hard and fell while trying to follow Mo Williams to the right corner. Mo could have eaten dinner, dessert, and sipped coffee with all the time he ended up with before hitting that three pointer that made 90-83.
Perkins the Human Pinball
Verajeo also played the enforcer and pushed Kendrick Perkins after Lebron pushed Kendrick and Perkins pushed back a bit. It happened quickly and it looked like Perkins was like being knocked like a pinball between the two of them. Kendrick turned and walked away immediately. The refs correctly assessed Verajeo a technical foul, James a personal foul and Perkins nothing.
Perkins finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds in 25 plus minutes.
Rondo Runs Out of Gas
With Paul Pierce out, it fell upon Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen to try to pick up the offensive slack.
Rajon Rondo started like a house afire, scoring 10 of the Celtics first 12 points and had 8 assists and 14 points at the half. Rajon played almost the entire game without break, only coming out with 2:50 left and the Celtics 16 points behind, 101-85.
You knew Rondo, the energy bunny, was spent early in the 4th quarter when he missed a driving lay up he normally makes, got the rebound and missed the easy put back as well. It was right after Mo Williams gave the Cavs the lead at 79-78 and signaled the beginning of the end for the Celtics.
Slippery Slope
Boston shot 70% in the first quarter for a 31-21 lead. They shot an anemic 31% the rest of the way. They scored 32 second half points while the Cavs scored 60, almost getting doubled.
For the Cavs it was just the opposite as they started just .364% in the first quarter and went 59% the rest of the way. Boston finished at .407 shooting while Cleveland finished at .526% shooting.
After one period, Boston was out rebounding the Cleveland 14-6. The Cavs out rebounded the Cs by 37-26 the rest of the way.
Ray Allen was the only other offensive option that could be counted on and Ray came through with his 5th straight game over 20 points, finishing with 21 on 7 of 13 shooting, including 4 straight three pointers made before missing his last 4, in 35 plus minutes.
With LeBron scoring double digits every period until the last, the Celtics were doing a credible job on the rest of the team until Mo Williams exploded in the final decisive period with 14 points including 4 big three pointers that wrestled the lead from the Celtics.
Rajon owned Williams in the opening quarter. By the 4th it was reversed. You know your team is in dire straits when their destiny rests with Rondo shooting jumpers and three point shots. Rajon led the team with 19 attempts, making 8. He was just 2 of 10 after the first quarter. In the final quarter, Rajon was left open outside and went 1 for 6, including an air ball three.
Celtics Bench Lets Them Down
Whatever efforts the starters exerted, they were offset by a poor showing from the Celtic reserves. Interior defense by Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis was left wanting as the game went wore on. The bench gave up the lead and were outscored by double digits on the game.
Rasheed missed two wide open threes and an 8 foot turnaround fade away from the left baseline in the critical opening moments of the 4th quarter.
Tony Allen had a couple of nice offensive plays with a quick put back of an errant Wallace shot and a driving, twisting lay up in traffic that would score well in the Olympics’ gymnastics.
Garnett Still Not The Same
Kevin Garnett was strangely absent from the offensive scheme, especially in the last period, taking just two shots, missing one and getting fouled on the other. He finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, for his first double digit rebounding game since Dec. 18 against Philly, and only his 7th time all season.
Garnett started strong and looked good early on with 4 points and 4 rebounds in the first quarter. By the end of the game he looked tired though he only played 28 plus minutes.
Glen Davis had trouble scoring, finishing with 2 points on 1 of 5 shooting and with just 3 rebounds in 16 minutes, though he did pick up a couple of nice charges.
Davis operated a nice little two man game with Nate Robinson, setting two nice high screens that ended with Robinson open jump shots that Nate nailed in the first half.
Besides Lebron James, Mo Williams, and Anderson Verejao, Delonte West played well with 8 rebounds and 5 assists, as did second year player J.J. Hickson. Hickson was active at both ends of the floor and added 8 hustle points.
So the Celtics continue to show inconsistency and can use the excuse of injury for part of it. Getting this team healthy seems to be a difficult task. Getting a full game effort is still a mystery.
Nate Robinson had his Celtic debut and it was, ironically, against his old team, the Knicks, at TD Garden.
But it was Ray Allen with 24 points and a big block, and Rajon Rondo with 16 assists and 15 points that led the Celtics to victory.
Both teams sported different starting 5s with Marquis Daniels taking the injured Paul Pierce’s place for the Celtics. Newly acquired Sergio Rodriguez and Tracy McGrady have been starting for the Knicks of late.
Ray Allen Torrid Pace Continues
After enduring weeks of trade rumors, Ray Allen busted out a hot streak after the trade deadline, and added to it last night with 24 points for his 4th straight game over 20 points. He also had a big block on Wilson Chandler with 48 seconds left and the Celtics up by three points.
Rajon Rondo handed out 7 assists in a 38 point Celtic first quarter and continued his passing attack throughout, finishing with 16 total dishes, tying his season high from the 3rd game of the season against the Bulls.
When Ray gets in a groove, he gets in a groove. He shot exactly 9 for 14 in each of the past three games and is shooting 65% over the last 4 games for an average of 23.5 points per game. He was averaging just 16 points a game before that.
Rondo continues his move into the Big Four with a big game in the absence of Paul Pierce. He also logged double digit assists for 4 straight games for only the second time this season.
Eddie House Returns to Standing Ovation
During a time out with5:33 left in the first quarter, The Celtics did an Eddie House tribute on the Jumbotron and the crowd gave him a 90 second standing ovation.
When Nate Robinson came in a short while later for the Celtics, the fans also gave him a long standing ovation.
Robinson looked like he was pressing a bit and scored 4 points with a rebound, an assist, 2 steals and 2 turnovers in 16 minutes of play.
House had also had 4 points, but added 5 assists, 5 rebounds, a steal, and 4 turnovers in 26 plus minutes.
Bill Walker Contributes
Former Celtic Bill Walker also played, garnering 12 minutes. scoring 7 points, including a long alley oop from another Knick newcomer, point guard Sergio Rodriguez. Sergio threw the alley oop from beyond the three point line at the top of the circle. Adding a sideways dunk in transition, Walker also drained a three pointer while going 3 for 5 shooting for 7 points.
The Celtics scored at will it seemed but had trouble keeping the Knicks down. The Knicks made great use of the pick and roll play with David Lee, as he led all scorers with 28 points. The Celtics were late rotating defensively much of the time.
Marquis Daniels started in place of the injured Paul Pierce (thumb, ankle, knee) and did a credible job, scoring 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting including a three pointer, while posting the best plus/minus on the team at +13 in his 28 minutes in the game.
Celtics Paint Attack
Marquis Daniels was a part of the Celtic effort to attack the smaller Knicks inside. Short on height ( I like that expression lol) with the trade of Jared Jeffries, the Cs took advantage. Marquis was solid in posting up (or losing) his defender, making 3 of 4 shots inside.
Ray Allen actually had 6′ 3″ Sergio Rodriguez, on him for a portion of the game. As quick as Rodriguez is offensively, is how slow he is defensively. Sergio was nailed to the ground on one play when Ray blew by him for a lay up. Ray was the ‘post up’ king as he was a perfect 6 for 6 on inside attempts in this contest.
Kendrick Perkins had a field day inside as well, going 5 for 5 underneath.
The Celtics were 23 of 28 in the paint for a crushing 82% finish rate.
Knicks Respond in Kind
The only problem was that the Celtics’ defense wasn’t much better as the Knicks were 16 of 21 for a 76% finish rate in the paint. They were led by David Lee with a perfect 7 for 7 in the painted area.
Kevin Garnett, known as a great pick and roll defender before his injury, added 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and zero turnovers in almost 31 minutes. KG was rebound conscious and did a great job, grabbing 27.8% of all defensive rebounds while he was in.
Rasheed Wallace actually did a solid job rebounding in his 20 minutes, grabbing 30.8% (5) of all defensive rebounds in his time in the game.
Kendrick Perkins led the Celtics with 3 offensive boards, 5 total rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting in 28 minutes.
Sergio Rodriguez showed a bigger game than I thought he had with 18 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals (after an eye opening 8 steals last night), and 3 of 4 from the three point line. Defense is his biggest issue and that won’t be as big of a problem on the Knicks, where defense is not stressed as much as offense.
D’Antoni experimented with with his line ups, even having Al Harrington, Danilo Gallinari, Eddie House, Sergio Rodriguez, and David Lee on the court at the same time.
The Celtics prevailed in a game that seemed more suited to the Knicks and without Paul Pierce, so I’ll chalk it up as progress, even though the defense was less than one would expect from the Celtics.
Boston’s three game winning streak and post All Star game resurgence ended in Denver as sharp shooter J.R. Smith held off all Boston attempts to get close in the 4th quarter with 16 rally killing points after scoring only three points up to then.
Ditch Digging Again
The Celtics dug a first quarter hole as they allowed the Nuggets to score 37 points, a season high, and fell behind by 20.
The Beantown Ballers never led in this game, but they never gave up either. They slowly climbed the mile high mountain, tying it up at 66 all on a Marquis Daniels lay up with 4:57 left in the third. That ended up being their best punch of the night.
Denver went on a 10-2 run, including 6 straight points by Carmelo Anthony and were never really challenged again.
Ray Stays Hot
Boston was led by Ray Allen, who has continued his hot streak, with 25 points on 9 of 14 shooting in a game high 43:12 minutes. Ray added 5 rebounds (4 in the first half), 4 assists, a block, and 2 turnovers.
Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and Marquis Daniels all tied for second with 15 points apiece.
Rondo added 11 assists, but had difficulty with the stronger Chauncey Billups. Rajon added 5 rebounds, 2 steals, a block and 4 turnovers in 37 plus minutes.
Chauncey Billups, who has been known to give Rajon Rondo trouble in the past, led all scorers with 26 points on 7 of 11 shooting, 10 for 10 from the free throw line, while adding 7 assists.
Pierce Still Not Right
Attacking the Celtics at their weak point from the get-go, they went right at a hobbled Paul Pierce in the first quarter with Carmelo Anthony, as he scored 10 points to lead the Nuggs. Pierce has a sprained thumb and is dealing with an infected knee, which has been noticeably slowing him down. They finally started doubling him up whenever he went to the post.
Carmelo scored 23 points to go with a season high 8 assists, as the Celtics had no one who could really handle him tonight.
Pierce made as good of a go as he could yesterday, but he could not hold the ball well to shoot.
Paul went 2 for 10 shooting with 1 of 4 on free throws and looked uncomfortable shooting all night. Pierce tried to make for the poor shooting by doing other things. He had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 4 shot blocks including one each of Carmelo, Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups.
This game was a good heat check for the Celtics after they destroyed the Trailblazers in Portland on Friday. What the Celtics found out was that they haven’t gotten rid of their self defeating tendencies yet.
First Quarter a Killer
The first quarter lack of cohesion and energy probably cost them the game. Denver is a very talented and solid team who have the 3rd best home record in the NBA at 24-5 (after this game). Getting down by 20 was a bit too much to ask of the recovering Celtics to make up under those circumstances.
Green Fights Back
But with the score at 66-61, they tied it up in the third quarter behind a nice pass from KG to a cutting Ray Allen for a lay up and foul for the three point play to make it 66-64. Shortly after, Rajon Rondo rebounded a Ray Allen miss and ‘hook passed’ it to Marquis Daniels on the left block, who layed it in to tie the game at 66 all.
Marquis Daniels had probably his strongest game off the bench this year with a season high 15 points on 7 of 8 shooting with 6 rebounds.
Kendrick Perkins played well, but was in foul trouble for most of the game. He had 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting, with 4 rebounds in just 23 plus minutes.
Kevin Garnett played okay but was not dominant. He shot 7 of 13 with just 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal.
Glen Davis was active on the boards with 7 rebounds, 4 big ones on the offensive boards, adding 6 points in 17 minutes, but is still getting blocked too much (3 times).
Birdman Leads Block Party
The Celtics did an adequate job on the Denver starting bigs, but Chris ‘Birdman’ Anderson wreaked havoc on the Celtics in his 32 minutes. Anderson had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 big blocks in his 32 minutes.
The Celtics had 12 blocked shots led by Pierce’s 4, and 8 more swats were made by Denver.
Anderson’s energy and blocks caused the Celtics some problems in this game. After scoring on a fast break dunk, Birdman flapped his wings as he came back down court.
But it was Carmelo, Chauncey and J.R. that killed them overall. Smith ripped off 5 three pointers in the 4th period, and most were momentum stoppers or helped build up a big lead.
The Celtics had an outrageous 68 points in the paint to the Nuggets 48, but the Green Team could not hit the deep ones, going 2 for 13 from the arc.
Defense wasn’t all that good by either team as both teams shot over 50% percent and both scored well over 100 points. The Celtics had trouble with transition defense and that is why the Nuggets were able to get off many of those threes.
Denver is a confident team and with all the Celtic troubles since Christmas, top teams in the NBA feel that they can beat Boston even if the Celtics play well for portions of the game. Boston needs to fuel a run with 48 minutes of focus to overcome such teams.
The Celtics return home for a game on Tuesday against the Knicks. Nate Robinson, who the Celtics just received from the Knicks for Eddie House, will play that night against his former team.
The Boston Celtics play the Portland Trailblazers tonight at 10:30 pm Eastern.
No Recap on this game.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to do a recap of the game tonight. If time allows, I will try to do one later on Saturday.
At any rate, the Celtics newest addition, 5′9″ Nate Robinson, will not play tonight. Doc has set Sunday against the Nuggets as Robinson’s Celtic debut.
But Marcus Camby, the Trailblazer’s newest pick up, will play at center, and start as well.
Due to season ending injuries to Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla, the big man starved Blazers, went out and picked up a fine short term answer in shot blocker/rebounder Marcus Camby. Camby can also hit the mid range jumper and plays solid interior defense.
Portland gave up PG Steve Blake and forward Travis Outlaw to get Camby. They are still hoping to get into the playoffs and make some noise when they do.
Brandon Roy, out since Jan 20th with a hamstring injury, will also play tonight.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe just tweeted that Paul Pierce will be a game time decision with a sprained right thumb.
The Celtics started on a full tank of gas and brought this one home on fumes.
It was a man’s game.
This game had much more meaning for the Celtics than it did for the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers. In what become near playoff atmosphere basketball, the pressure was on the Celtics.
They needed to show that they are still alive and can play top level basketball for 48 minutes. They did all of that.
Ray Allen was supposed to be gone in a trade. Instead, he showed everyone why Danny Ainge decided not to pull the trigger on a number of scenarios. Ray broke out a recent shooting slump, hitting 4 of 5 threes, was 10 of 11 shooting at one point, and led both teams with 24 points, all in the first three quarters.
Ray had 8 straight Celtic points and 12 overall in the 3rd quarter as they built a 10 point lead.
Second Half Troubles Again
After the Celtics scored 53 first half points, scoring became much harder as both clubs played lock down defense in the second half. The Celtic starters also looked winded in the final period from playing so hard for so long.
While their offense and bench continues to have trouble, a return to Celtic style defense won this game for them.
The Celtics scored just 11 fourth quarter points and a mere 34 in the second half. After shooting 55% (22-40) in the first half, they shot just 15 of 44 (34%) in the second. Normally that would signal yet another loss, especially in the Lakers’ building. A 25 to 13 free throw attempt disadvantage would only add to thinking so.
Lakers Held to 2 Points
Their defense made it be enough by holding the Lakers to 38 second half points. After giving up a game long lead once again, Green Team defense locked in and held L.A. to 2 points in the last 7 minutes of the game.
They held L.A. to 17 points on 8 of 22 (36%) in the final quarter and .407 for the game to eke out the win.
Rondo…Little Man – Big Heart
Mercurial Rajon Rondo scored 14 points and none were bigger than his high arcing, running bank shot over Lamar Odom and a closing Ron Artest with 2:49 left in the game. It gave Boston an 87-84 lead. It would be Boston’s final score and their defense made it stand up.
Rondo 5 steals – Rest of Celtics – zero
The importance of Rajon Rondo’s performance in this game cannot be over estimated. He was literally all over the court and with his 5 steals was the single biggest reason why the Celtics won. He shot only 6 of 17 but had 11 assists, drew a technical for taunting early in the game, had 3 shots blocked, and blocked one himself.
But he led the team in confidence and aggressiveness early in the game when they needed it most.
Any questions of Rondo’s rise to become one of the league’s very best point guards are being put to rest by games like these. He craves the pressure and responds.
His steals, particularly in the first half, were very important. They were the only ones the Celtics got.
Two plus years ago, the Celtics handed Rondo the keys to a Lamborghini. He is now the engine.
Kevin Garnett
But it was not a one man show. It was a total team effort and Kevin Garnett was right there with his best game since his return. His defense was relentless and he hit some big time shots against a tough Laker defense.
When he did his left/right ball fake with his back to the basket, turned, and hit a fadeaway jumper over Andrew Bynum for a 25-18 first quarter lead, you knew he was locked in as he has not been for a while.
Energetic and enthusiastic, Garnett got in early foul trouble, reducing him to just 26 minutes of playing time. He finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks. But he was so good that the Celtics outscored the Lakers by 16 points in his time on the floor.
Kevin was as mobile and aggressive as I’ve seen in quite some time.
With the bench playing poorly and unable to maintain the lead that the starters built, and the lead evaporating as soon as Rondo would leave the game, Doc had little choice but run Rondo out there for 44 plus minutes.
The Beantown Ballers showed they still have a heart beating in the Green Team’s body with an outstanding effort in Lakertown.
Both teams missed players
The Celtics played without Eddie House and could have used him. Los Angeles played without Kobe Bryant and that is why Derek Fisher was shooting and missing a 20 foot jump shot as time expired with the game in the balance.
A true appraisal of this game may take a few more weeks of play before we can determine its importance. You could say that this was the first game of a truly concerted effort in a Celtic return to playing high level basketball.
They stormed out of the gate breathing fire and maintained control for most of the game while absorbing a number of intense and energetic assaults by a Laker team that was patient and oozing confidence.
Pau Gasol was a handful and showed what a great player he has become with 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting with 3 blocked shots. Lamar Odom also played big with 14 rebounds and a number of aggressive baskets, while blocking 2 shots and making 2 steals. Odom is always a match up problem for the Cs.
Perkins Big Block and Game
Playing a big game after slumping a bit recently was Kendrick Perkins. Kendrick shot 5 of 7 for 13 hard fought points, tied for game honors with 14 rebounds (3 offensive) and had a huge block of Ron Artest when Artest drove baseline on Pierce with the score 85-84 and 3:15 left to play.
With Rasheed Wallace shooting 2 of 11, and grabbing just 3 rebounds in 20 plus minutes, Doc had Perkins out there in the final minutes and it proved to be the correct move.
Perkins Regains Lead
The Celtics had gone scoreless for almost 4 minutes in the 4th period and had relinquished the lead to the Lakers at 84-80. Kendrick scored the next 5 straight Celtic points on a lay up and foul and a put back of a Ray Allen miss to go up 85-84 with 4:22 left.
Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce committed to playing solid defense but had some trouble offensively with Ron Artest guarding him. Paul finished with 11 points on 4 of 9 shooting with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and just one turnover in 41 plus minutes. He looked a bit slow or tired as he shot 0-3 in the 4th period attempting to go isolation a few times.
Paul also missed two big foul shots with 3 plus minutes left and the Celtics up just 85-84.
Bench
The Celtic bench was disappointing with just 12 points and generally was outplayed by the Laker bench.
Marquis Daniels played 13 minutes without taking a shot. Glen Davis had 4 points and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes and they need more from both of them.
Summary
The Celtics will be very happy to take this win and this overall effort. They looked quite good compared to recent efforts, though they still have things to work out.
Beating the Lakers, even without Kobe Bryant, is a step in the right direction. We will have to see if they can build off this in Portland tonight.
