Celtics Central

This is just a quick hit of thoughts after the Detroit game.

It was as close of a loss as you can get to a team that I myself said had to be the favorite – or, at least couldn’t claim underdog status because of their total time together. It proved to be the difference.

I was wrong though, when I said that the Celtics would win. Talent, and enthusiasm did not trump experience. I should have known better.

But I’m sticking to my belief that this game tape will be reviewed and it will start wheels in motion regarding those last two roster spots.

Already there is noise coming from Gary Payton that he could help the Celtics. Earlier rumors regarding Gary had me saying – ‘no thanks.’

I’m not as sure anymore. Eddie House is not going to get any better as a ball handler than he is now. The Celtics often walk the ball up anyway. Payton will get calls from the referees and is a wily ball handler. But, whether it is Payton or someone else, the Celtics should address that need. When Rondo goes out, they have no one who can face the ‘on ball’ pressure to get it over half court in an efficient and aggressive manor. Good teams will pounce on that. In the play-offs every possession is important. You can’t leave yourself open to that kind of weakness.

There were also inquiries from the Celtics about Chris Webber, another player I didn’t really want here. My feelings have softened on him as well. But it seems that he is going back to Detroit in January according the latest rumors.

This is the other need made evident in this game. There is a need for a dependable back up big man who can finish at the hoop. Kendrick Perkins misses too many opportunities at point blank range and has no offense away from the hoop whatsoever. KP can D up pretty well and has a place on this team. The Celtics need someone with at least a solid elementary offensive game from the center position.

Even a slowed down Chris Webber (who is really a PF) would help tremendously on the offensive end of the court. His defense was terrible in last year’s play-off when LeBron shredded the Pistons. But that could be adjusted for by the Celtics, better than Detroit did last year, I feel. The Celtics have Garnett. The Pistons don’t.

Anyway, I don’t time right now to elaborate on more thoughts about the Detroit game. I will later though.

Boston plays the Chicago Bull tonight at 7:00. It should be another hard fought game against an experienced, well coached team. This is not an automatic win. Let’s see how the boys in Green respond to their first trip back to earth, after such a strong start. The Bulls will smell blood and try to add to the Celtics worries, I’m sure.

See you after the game.

T

Two tough teams collided tonight. One with great experience. The other with great success.

The one with the experience got the success. The one with the success got the experience.

It’s an old saying but the results were the same. Experience will usually beat talent when most everything else is equal.

The winning points were scored on clutch foul shots by Chauncy Billups after he up faked Tony Allen at the top of the key, with .1 second left. The Celtics had scored 6 straight on 2 threes (House and Ray Allen) with a minute left to tie the game before the winning move and foul shots.

It will be interesting to hear what comes out of the Celtic War Room after tonight. The team lost a few key battles – The Battle of Point Guards and the Battle of the Bench.

Boston’s First Big Test

If it was pass/fail – they failed. If it was graded – they get a C +. The C + is only because of the strong 6 point comeback on threes by Eddie House (at 1:01 mark) and Ray Allen (0:18 sec) to tie it up. The team folded under pressure in the second half. The bench was ineffective, even bad, for most of the game.

There were things to be hopeful for and things to be concerned about, as this game took a dramatic turn in the 2nd half for a Celtic team that looked like it was in control. The second half is supposed to belong to the dominant team. Tonight that team was Detroit.

Ultimately, Detroit was one Chauncy Billups up-fake better than Boston. The game was that close. I thought that it shouldn’t have been. In the second half, the Pistons took it to the Cs and they looked confused, frustrated and almost ready to give in. Almost.

What started as the Rondo and Ray Allen First Half Show ended up as the Billups Clutch Shooting School of the 4th Quarter.

Rajon’s dazzling 10 point And-1 first quarter display of offense gave way to wise and wiley Chauncy’s 4th quarter 12 point Final Assault take over. What happened in between was a Celtics controlled first half, followed by a decisive 3rd quarter take over by the Pistons. They didn’t take over the lead, but they took over the game. The lead would come later.

As expected, the point guard play was pivotal to this game.

What will be talked about most was Rajon’s inability to stop Billups.

Rajon gives up size. Billups is a master of drawing fouls. Billups is a renowned clutch shooter. Rajon is 6’3” with long arms that automatically get 4” shorter when he gets into foul trouble. Rajon couldn’t be aggressive with Chauncy in the 4th. I’m not sure it would have mattered anyway. Billups schooled Rondo and anyone else who was guarding him, with pump fakes, lean ins, and drives and fadeaways. Some will say…What’s new? We knew that would happen.

The second ‘I told you so’ was Eddie House’s inability to play point guard and bring the ball up under strong defensive pressure. When Detroit turned up the heat in the 3rd quarter, House coughed up the ball a few times like it was greased.

Doc immediately called time out and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen became the de facto point guards, while House got an unwanted rest.

If this is a precursor of things to come in the play-offs, the Celtics want ad for another PG should be hitting the NBA Daily Times tomorrow. Tony Allen is proving to be a great defender but a ball handler he is not. New Jersey Nets GM Rod Thorn will be saying, “I told you Eddie was a 2 guard.”

The 3rd ‘I told you so’ was the play of Perkins. Kendrick missed multiple chances under and around the hoop for easy put backs. 2 were fumbled outright, though I think the TOs were given to the passers, at least one was blocked, and while he got to the line on a few others, he rarely turns it into a three point play. He doesn’t finish strong or clever enough and should learn to use his body better to block off the defender.

K-Perk played 35 minutes and was 2-6 with 6 boards and a block. I know there is more to his game than those stats. (There has to be.) His defense is pretty good most of the time. The Celtics outscored the Pistons in the paint 36-18. I realize that Perkins played a big part in that. Not making those point blank shots hurts the team.

The point of discussion here is the need for another big. That also is a “What’s new?” for the Celtic critics.

The fact that the Cs have opened up 2 roster spots could be nothing,or it could signal further moves to address these needs.

A number of interesting things occurred in this game.

1) The Celtics did not get a big lead.
2) The Pistons did not shoot well (except from downtown)
3) The Celtics lost the 3rd quarter, 16-13, for the first time in 10 home games.
4) The Celtics were controlled when it counted for really the first time this year.
5) In a season of blow outs, the Celtics biggest lead was 10. The Pistons was 7.
6) The ‘balanced’ Pistons had 49 points from their 2 guards. Only one other player hit
double digits (McDyess had 13)
7) The Celtics bench contributed exactly 5 points – from Eddie House.

What importance will Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers place on this game to determine what is needed to get the team where it wants to go?

Kevin Garnett led the team with 26 points, 12 boards and 2 steals. Ray Allen supported with 24 points on 9-13 (3-5 from downtown).

To be fair, the Celtics did not respond well to the Pistons pressure. Paul Pierce did not have a great game offensively, though he helped hold Prince down quite well (1-10 and 2 points). Having him take those last few shots can come into question. The refs were not calling many fouls. It was a physical game. Paul was out of sync with his shooting rhythm (11 points on 5-16) and wasn’t getting to the line (1-3 on the night).

The team’s motion offense and ball movement disappeared when the Pistons clamped down. Glen Davis played poorly. James Posey and Tony Allen played hardly at all.

Both teams treated this as a play-off type game. The Celtic starters all played 34 minutes or more with Garnett and Pierce playing around 40. The Pistons starters all played 37 minutes, except for Prince who played 33.

So Boston’s 9 game winning streak and 12 game home undefeated streak comes to an end.

How much importance is put on this game will be minimized publicly, I’m sure. Behind closed doors is another matter.

The test that everyone has been waiting for is here. Even Detroit has been waiting for this game. They want to prove they are still the team in the East to beat.

The funny thing is that both teams can claim to be underdogs. It’s a good motivator. The Boston Celtics have the league’s best record at 20-2. The Detroit Pistons are the former World Champions who have gotten close other times. They have been together as a team for a while. The Celtics are playing their 23rd game together. The Pistons have played more play-off games than that.

So…who is the real underdog?

I’m going with the Celtics. For what Rasheed said and everyone else knows. The Celtics haven’t won anything. They haven’t played a top team yet this year. They are the new big guys on the block, but they have been beating up the weaker kids for the most part. Here comes Roscoe from Detroit, the neighborhood’s other tough kid.

How do they stack up?

Top defense number one meet top defense number two

The Celtics give up 86.6 points. Detroit gives up 91.2 points.

Top point spread differential meet second best point spread differential

Celtics have an astounding 14.1 point margin of winning – Detroit is at 8.5 per

Detroit is the league’s top team at not getting their shots blocked (3.5 per) and not getting the ball stolen (only 5.8 per), and least amount of TOs (11.3). They protect the ball very well.

Detroit is 17-7, but 8-2 over their last 10 games. Boston is 20-2 and on a 9 game winning streak.

The argument against the Celtics being the underdog

The Pistons have lost 7 games while playing the 2nd weakest schedule in the league.

That is even worse than the knock against the Celtics for much the same reason. The only teams that the Pistons have beaten with good records are Orlando (2nd game of the season) and New Orleans, currently 15-11.

The Celtics lost to Cleveland when Lebron was playing and lost to the Magic. The Celtics have beaten Toronto 3 straight times. The Raptors are 15 – 8 when not playing Boston.

The Pistons have lost to teams like Sacramento, Portland and Chicago (twice), as well as the Lakers, and Utah. Like the Celtics, no true top teams were played there either.

The Pistons have been winning with bigger margins lately (12.6 over the last 10 games) moving then closer to what the Celtics are doing.

So this is really a test for both teams. Some might say that both teams are overrated due to weak schedules. I think not.

I picked the Pistons for a slight decline in performance and wins this year. So far that is not been the case. They are on target for another 50 plus win year.

The Pistons might play their two new players – Primo Brezec and Walter Hermann – obtained from Charlotte for Nazr Mohammed a few days ago.

The Celtics released Brandon Wallace. That leaves them with 2 open spots. Is another move coming soon to fill those spots?

I expect the Celtics to win this game and establish themselves against better opponents starting now. A loss will continue to raise doubts about their ability to beat the better teams.

One team’s doubts will be erased tonight.

The Celtics decisively defeated the Toronto Raptors Sunday afternoon, 90-77.

Scratch one more competitor.

It was a simple math calculation: A+B=C.

A) TJ Ford was out with a serious injury, courtesy of Al Horford’s unintentional flagrant foul.

B) There was no one on the Raptors who could defend Rondo.

C) Rondo had his own way with the Raptors in the first half. It wasn’t even fair.

Simply put, Rajon Rondo was sensational in the first half today. The only thing better than Rondo was the Celtics team defense. That was superb. Sensational and superb. Two strong adjectives. Both accurate.

My favorite play was a cross court pass to Rondo standing near the baseline 3 pt line. Instead of taking the open jumper, Rondo blasts to the paint and posts up Chris Bosh no less, with a great reverse lay-up right under his nose. Awesome move. Celtics up 46-28.

Earlier Rondo stole a pass, bolted right for the hoop, and lofted a perfect alley -oop for a Garnett one handed catch and slam .

Rondo twisted his way to a couple of other eye opening finishes. He also hit two open jumpers like they were lay-ups. If he finds the confidence to do this regularly, he will no longer be dropped off of, and he will still be able score his points.

Most every NBA guard can make moves like that once in a while. But putting together a series of moves as Rondo did tonight and is doing fairly regularly is showing that Rondo could end up being a special player and a top NBA point guard. The great ones do it night in and night out.

He has a way to go. That is for sure. But it is not as long a road as it looked at the beginning of the season. He is distributing much better now than then. His shot is coming around. At times, he can drive and score or dish with the best of them. The signs are there. It is up to Rondo to make it happen.

The Celtics started Tony Allen again with Ray Allen getting extra rest for his bruised ankle. He will be needed against Detroit on Wednesday. The Celtics started strong and with good defensive energy for the first time in while.

They led 27-17 after one and got it up to 40-19 by the 7:08 mark of the 2nd quarter. Toronto only had a ridiculous 21 points until the 4:21 mark heading towards the half. I say this because Toronto was playing good ball coming in. They were on a 4 game winning streak.

Granted, not having Ford hurts. But they are known as a team with 2 excellent point guards. Jose Calderon is known for getting as good results with the team when Ford is out, as Ford does. The Celtics’ defense simply inflicts season lows (or near so) for teams on a regular basis when they cross paths. Teams leave with Celtic tire tracks across their backs.

Here is how bad it was for Toronto – they finished the half with a strong 17 to 10 run and still only had managed 36 points to the Celtics 50.

The Celtics out shot them 58% to 28% for the half. Paul Pierce led with 12 points. Rondo had 10 with 3 assists.

Pierce went to work right away against rookie Jamario Moon, and he delivered with 6 quick points. Pierce added 4 foul shots working over Moon’s replacement, Carlos Delfino, giving him 10 points in the first quarter.

The 3rd quarter saw the Celtics build the lead to 20 after a Raptor run could only get them to within 12. Garnett scored 6 and got 4 each from Tony Allen and Rondo. Rondo hot a jump shot at the buzzer for his final points of the game (14).

Pierce received a technical after getting smacked across the face by Delfino on a drive and getting no call. It was noted by Tommy Heinsohn, but obvious to anyone watching, that Bosh was getting hometown calls and Pierce was getting…very little in return.

Glen Davis continued his NBA education, hustling on defense, playing fairly well, scoring a little, but attracting fouls like um…a rookie attracts fouls.

Jason Kapono started to get hot at the end of the 3rd. He continued in the 4th and the Raptors made another run of 7 straight points to get the lead down to 10 (71-61).

It is telling to see who responds to those moments for any team.

1) Garnett stroked his mid range jumper to stop the bleeding.
2) Pierce made a little turnaround after losing his defender to regain momentum.
3) House hit a confidence busting 3 pointer as the 24 second clock shot clock buzzer rang out to build the lead back up to 17.
4) James Posey grabbed 3 rebounds during this Celtic mini run.
5) The Cs were not challenged again. The Celtics are all contributing as a team.

Tony Allen continues to look like he’s fitting right in. He played 44 minutes, had 10 points, 5 boards and played excellent defense again. Anthony Parker finished 2-8 and 6 points and 2 steals. Tony picked up a big steal to disrupt the Raps when made their run in the 4th.

Not to be considered an afterthought, Garnett’s defense was once again the lynchpin of it all. His 16 points were 2nd to Pierce’s 18, who led 7 Celtics in double figures. Garnett also led with 6 assists and had 8 rebounds. Mortal by KG standards, but once again, more than enough to win handily.

It is understood that a recovering Bargnani played only 10 minutes and Ford was absent. So some of what happened must be understood within that context. From a Celtic point of view, there was much to be pleased about.

Can these Celtics actually be getting better?

That is a scary thought for the rest of the league. What could a 20-2 team possibly do to get better?

They are winning with the three stars scoring less. They are winning with one of the stars out.

They are often holding leads with Garnett on the bench.

They are sometimes extending leads with Garnett on the bench.

The entire team is getting involved in the important parts of the game. They are playing more as a team every game.

Rondo is improving. Tony Allen is improving. Glen Davis is getting comfortable in his role. Kendrick Perkins is solid and steady. Eddie House is finding ways to help besides hitting the three. James Posey has been huge for this team.

James Posey

James Posey appears to be absolutely motivated. I don’t believe that he was playing this kind of inspired ball last year. He has been really surprising to me. He feels that he is a bigger part on this team than he was in Miami. At least, it sounds like that from Doc Rivers comments about him. You can see it in the way he interacts with all of the other players.

No Longer Just the Big Three

The ‘other’ players (not named Pierce, Garnett or Ray Allen) as developing into part of the regular attack and hit big shots, make big passes, and get big rebounds. Defensively, the team is contesting most every shot. They are doubling – and doubling again on the same play….. often.

The team’s overall effort is becoming more of a blend than at the start of the year. That only bodes well for the team as the year goes.

The Celtics biggest test of the season so far, comes this Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons. That is one of only three teams (Cleveland and Orlando are the others) in the east that is playing well, and has the components to beat the Celtics. They appear to be the toughest hurdle for the Celtics’ drive to the Finals. Everyone’s eyes will be on that game, to measure the true ability of this Celtic team.

The Celtics beat the Bucks 104-82 at TDBanknorth Garden tonight.

The Celtics will never be mistaken for Dorothy. It’s not Kansas they’re looking for. Yet, they are, no doubt, on a special road. It is a road they hope leads to the Championship Finals.

Teams like the Bucks turn into Oz characters like the Scare(d) Crow, heartless Tin Man, and the cowardly Lion. The Celtics turn into the Wicked Beasts of the East, or the defensive Wizards of the Emerald City. And they prove once again, there is ‘no place like home’.

If you want further proof that this is no 3 man show, tonight’s game will do just fine.

The Celtics played their first game of the year as the ‘big three minus one’. Ray Allen was in street clothes due to a bruised ankle from a few weeks ago.

Their winning streak (7-0), home unbeaten streak (11-0), and a chance to tie the Celtic all time best start was on the line against a team that is 2-10 on the road, but had just beaten the east’s other top team handily, the Orlando Magic.

48 basketball minutes later……8 straight…12-0 at home….. and the record?…. tied.

Some say that all you need to watch of basketball games is last 3-4 minutes to see how the game turns out. Those people certainly are not watching Boston Celtic basketball this year.

Celtic games, especially at home, are often like fights early in Mike Tyson’s career. Get there early if you want to see any competition. My advice – Don’t waste any time at half time getting back to your seat for the start of the second half. There are lots of 3rd quarter knock outs.

That quarter unleashes the Celtic horde and they do it with defense. They are simply pummeling opposing teams into submission after the half time break with amazing regularity. Tonight was no different.

In the first half, the Bucks played the Cs pretty even by going to an effective zone defense that closed off the middle from inside scoring. The outside and mid range shot was there, but the Celtics were missing Ray Allen, and missing those shots. Tony Allen started in Ray’s place and while he played well, a deadly outside shooter he is not. Only Paul Pierce was trying to take advantage of the sagging defense and he wasn’t very effective either.

On the other hand, Rajon Rondo became ‘The Driver’ of the offense with Kevin Garnett. Rajon had a superb first half offensively. He was making all the right plays, and was just trying to get his teams mates going. He drove, drew the D, and dished for open Js that just weren’t falling for his mates. He still managed 5 assists by half time and 8 for the game. When left open, he was scoring with mid range Js and drives. The only thing he wasn’t really doing in the first half, was pushing the ball.

The Celtics were led by Pierce (14 points), KG (12 points, 4 rebounds), Rajon (8 points) in a fairly quiet opening 24 minutes. The Celtics went into the locker room with a slim 46-44 lead, helped by 10 Bucks TOs, many of the unforced kind.

Same game. 2nd half. Different results. The Celtics once again played their trademark 2nd half suffocating defense and Rondo and the Cs started pushing the ball to get shots before the zone defense of the Bucks could set up. The Bucks crumbled quickly, and the Celts started to pull away. They never looked back. Cs win the quarter 32-15. The pulse in the Bucks was gone before the period ended. They must have felt like Dorothy’s house dropped on them.

The Bucks actually took the lead 49-48 on a Mo Williams 3 pointer, before the Celtics went on an 17-4 run. Pierce made 3 straight from deep, when they needed it, in the critical 3rd quarter, to ice the game. They were sandwiched around 6 Rondo points and 4 Tony Allen points. Rondo made a nice J on the run to make it 68-53. Garnett had an aggressive spin move around Yi for 2, just before.

Meanwhile Tony played excellent defense on high scoring Michael Redd. Redd finished with 7 points on 3-9 shooting. Allen outscored Redd this game, with 11 points and 4 steals. No way Ray Allen holds Redd to that number. According to Jimmy Golen, AP sportswriter (Yahoo Sports), Redd hasn’t been held that low since 2004.

Paul missed his next four from downtown, but the game was well in hand and it wouldn’t affect the outcome. Paul finished with 32 points on 9-22 shooting to lead both teams. He made 5 of his first 7 from downtown. He was 9-9 from the foul line. He effectively came forward to shoulder the offensive leadership with Ray Allen out and the Bucks clamping down in the middle.

Rajon Rondo finished as the 2nd leading scorer with 17, contributing 8 assists and
4 rebounds to the winning cause. 48% from the line for the year, he was 4-4 tonight. It was an excellent all around game for Rajon with just a few exceptions on defense.

Glen Davis played with hustle but not always intelligently, He tried to shoot over 7 ft Jake Voskuhl a few times, without luck. Once he got the ball from Pierce in the box, who saw the mismatch Davis had with Simmons guarding him. Davis, instead, passed back out to Tony Allen. Go figure. He finished 2nd to Garnett’s 7 boards with 6 of his own in 19 minutes.

Kendrick Perkins returned and added 5 boards, 4 points and a block in 28 minutes.

One tremendous play was a Tony Allen steal that turned into an old fashioned, unselfish Celtic fastbreak, Allen to Rajon, back to Allen, to Garnett in the middle for the slam. The ball never touched the ground the whole way. It was practice drill perfect.

The 4th quarter saw Doc empty the bench and Gabe Pruitt went 3-3 with a nice steal and some excellent floor play to go with it.

The Celtics continued their hot foul shooting with 26-30, to the Bucks 10 of 13 tonight.

The Celtic streaks all continue, as this team looks to make basketball history with one of the greatest turn arounds ever in the NBA.

As they head down the yellowbrick road, other teams must fear more than…. Garnett, Pierce and Allen —oh my!

Next up: At Toronto on Sunday.

You don’t believe it?

You want evidence.

Here it is:

.50% vs. 64%

That is the big three’s point contributions of the most recent 5 games and the team’s very first 6 games of the season.

It is that dramatic.

Unplanned? I don’t think so.

And if you’ve missed it, I’m not surprised. The change has been slow and gradual. The Boston Three Star (BTS) Express has become the Soul Train. Everyone is climbing on board. Well, James Posey, Glen Davis, Rajon Rondo, and Eddie House are on the train now.

The conductor of the subtle change must be Doc Rivers himself. No one likes to give him credit for anything. He is putting the players in and taking them out. But it is more than that. While the big three are getting slightly reduced playing time lately, the shot attempts aren’t being quite so monopolized by Allen, Pierce and Garnett anymore.

The role players aren’t getting their points in garbage time anymore. They are integral parts of getting leads, holding leads, and staving off comeback bids by their opponents.

That wasn’t happening early in the year. Garnett, in particular, was the balloon the Celtics clung to. When he went out, Celtic leads popped like a pin in a balloon. It was that simple. That is changing.

I think things are being discussed behind closed doors. The team know that it can’t all revolve around one player and go deep into the play-offs. The engine to this drive for a title is Kevin Garnett. Garnett’s numbers have changed significantly of late.

Kevin is averaging 16.2 points and 7.2 boards over the last 5 games. After grabbing double digit rebounds in 11 of the first 12 games, he has done that once in the last 8 games. Yet, the team is maintaing a 7 game winning streak.

The old Bill Russell led Celtic teams never worried about individual stats and it looks like this team won’t either. Role players are always important.

The chief contributor, but by no means only one, is James Posey. An 8 point season average, he has amped up to 10.6 per game of late (last 5 games) while adding 5.2 boards. His shots have often been big ones, and he is a hustler and key contributor on defense. James Posey is
solid on both ends of the floor, calm under pressure, and even hits his foul shots (86%)

New to the party, but perhaps a significant addition is Glen Davis. Big Baby is fitting in and making his time productive. He is at 8.8 points and a solid 6.6 rebounds over the last 5. As a second round rookie, Glen has become a part of the highest profile rotation in the league. He is giving them things they need, like scoring and rebounding.

Rajon Rondo is still up and down offensively, but overall is scoring 8.8 and 4.4 boards (last 5) to go with his solid passing.

Eddie House is showing up for 9 points a game of late, tries to play defense, and can hit that big three when you need it. You can’t leave him alone and that alone helps the rest of the team.

Even Tony Allen is helping out when he gets minutes – 6.6 points and 4.6 boards in 3 games before the most recent games, because he hasn’t seen much PT in the last 2 games.

But most important is that Doc is giving Garnett rest, and the team is playing well. That helps in 2 huge ways. The team needs the role players to help beat other teams. That is starting to happen. Garnett only knows one way to play, and Mr. Intensity needs to be rested from time to time.

The 50% contribution by the team’s top three scorers is similar to the championship team benchmark of the times, the San Antonio Spurs. Some may remember my article on MVN about scoring balance.

Here is the part about the Spurs….

By comparison, here are the recent Spurs stats:

2005-6 top 3 = 52.6pts = .504% (104 pts total)

2004-5 top 3 = 52.9pts = .504% (104.9 pts total)

2003-4 top 3 = 49.8pts = .496% (100.4 pts total)

They run from 10% – 20% lower, therefore, more evenly spread in total distribution of points.

But this year things were different. The Spurs ‘top 3′ (Duncan, Parker, Ginobili) this past season averaged 20, 18.6, 16.5 and the next highest scorer averaged 9.0 (Finley), for a Celtic-like 56% monopolization of scoring. You would think that someone could put the screws into an imbalanced scoring distribution like that, wouldn’t you? It didn’t happen and they are the champs again.

I would like to see the scoring balance continue. I’m not worried at all about Garnett’s numbers. In fact, I like it the way things are going with him. He can take over most anytime he wants to. It is time to find out who can help the team win games under pressure.

House, Davis and Posey have a chance to be part of something special as rotation players. Rondo has special challenges to meet and will have more time to grow into his role.

Lately, this group is becoming a team in the truest sense of the word. They will stand up to the Spurs, Suns, Pistons, Mavericks, and Jazz better by having more guys able to help when the three stars are being occupied by a defensive crowd.

Tonight they face the Milwaukee Bucks and Yi. Something tells me the ratings will be up in China for this game. They will be watching to see Yi, they will get to see Garnett.

The Celtics look to keep a 7 game win streak and 12 game home unbeaten streak alive. The Bucks have great offensive talent. They are said to be committed to playing defense this year – even Michael Redd. This Buck team has not been a strong defensive set of players in the past. Let’s see how well they stand up to the best defensive team in the NBA.

Edit:
Perkins is will start, meaning that Davis will come off the bench. Pollard is also injured (back). What Big Baby doesn’t give the Cs in height, he gives in width and enthusiasm.

Isak Dinesen said…”God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road.”

God made Big Baby round so he could roll over the competition.

It is hard to tell where this Celtic Love Train will end up but….

The Celtics rock and Big Baby rolls tonight.

Two streaks continued as the Celtics slowly put an anaconda-like strangle hold on the Kings in the 2nd half of a tightly contested game, choking the Kings into submission.

The Celtics are 11-0 at home. The Kings are winless on the road, 0-9.

Sacramento could only muster only 33 second half points and 14 in the 4th quarter. They had taken a 45-44 half time lead.

It was the 4th lowest point total allowed by the league’s best defensive team this year.

The Celtics continue to look more like a team. They do not need Garnett to have big games to win against teams like the Kings. KG picks his spots now. He finished with 11 points and 6 boards. But really, they didn’t need him to do more. Davis helped out quite a bit on the boards, and Garnett’s defense was superb again.

Kevin got in foul trouble in the 2nd quarter, picking up his third. When he went out (4:51 mark of the 2nd) was when the Kings made their run to take the half time lead. They outscored the Cs 14-6 to take the halftime lead.

The Celtics looked like they were adjusting to playing with Davis at certain points, but the transition was a big success.

Big Baby Plays Well

Glen Davis had 16 points for 2nd best on the Cs, in 26 foul free minutes. He led both teams with 5 offensive boards and had 9 total on the night. He played under control and wisely stayed placid in the 1st quarter, when refs would be watching closely. In short, he played with distinction in his very first NBA start.

Glen aggressively attacked the glass and kept a number of rebounds active and away from the Kings. He had 2 strong put backs of his own and went 10-10 from the line with guard-like precision.

Paul Pierce had 14 first half points to lead the Cs attack. He also finished with a game high 26 points, garnering 7-8 FTs down the stretch. His defense on Ron Artest was excellent and over powered Ron a few times on drives at the other end. Watching that match up is always fun.

Garnett hit a big fadeaway to get the Cs up 70-64. House added a big three to get the lead back up to a comfortable 9 points (73-64) and James Posey made shots and free throws to spread that lead out. The role players are coming through regularly.

Rondo added 5 assists, and 2 steals, but was 0-4 and scoreless for the game in 26 minutes, leading to more 2nd half minutes by House, who kept the defense from collapsing on KG and others.

Ray Allen continues to come out of his shooting slump, hitting 2 consecutive threes and 3-6 from downtown on the night. He finished with 15 points and 4 assists.

Only one star was dominant offensively tonight, yet the team won easily. They are learning about energy conservation. They will need it later in the year. There is no need to pummel a team like the Kings into a 35 point loss.

By doing it this way, it can come back to bite you on occasion. But an unplanned loss to a lesser team once in a while, is worth it to have your players ready for May. The only concern is that it could build bad habits into the team. Right now, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Sacramento new comer Beno Udrih looked good in defeat, demonstrating a nice array of offensive moves and spearheading the 2nd quarter run to the front with 7 points. John Salmons and Artest provide a pesky defensive effort for the beleaguered Kings.

The Celtics did not shoot a high pct. for the entire evening (.391), but enjoyed an huge advantage at the line. They shot 32 foul shots to the Kings 12, making 30 of them. That is how you win games and conserve energy.

So the pregame expectations were reversed regarding trips to the line. The final score was not.
The Kings shot over .500 percent in the first half. That was down to .443 by the end of the game, as the Celtics got serious about defense in the 2nd half.

The Kings were held to their lowest total of the season. The Celtics, except for Ray Allen did not shoot well from downtown (6-22). You could say they are finding it harder to get up for games like these. You may be right. They still won….. easily. Good teams do that.

Boston is leading the league with a lofty 18-2 record and the league’s top defense, statistically.

Next up for Boston: Milwaukee Bucks in Boston on Friday.

The Celtics, the team with the league’s best record at 17-2, take on the Sacramento Kings, 8-12, Wednesday night at the TDBanknorth Garden.

Here are the statistics of note:

The Celtics are undefeated at home and going for 11 straight victories there. Sacramento has yet to win on the road in 8 chances.

About the Kings:

a)They average 99.8 points per and give up 102.9.

b) They are outrebounded by 2.9 per game (4th worst)

c) The Kings have the lowest assist totals (16.9) in the league – even worse than the selfish Knicks. Until Beno Udrih arrived it was even worse.

d) They get to the line a lot. They have the 3rd most foul shot attempts – 29.6, 2nd most makes – 23.6, and 3rd best pct. at .79.7%.

e) They don’t shoot much from downtown (bottom 25% – 15.4 per)

f) They don’t block many shots and have the 2nd worse differential in the league at -1.8

g) They are the 10th worse in field goal defense – 46.4%

The Kings are without:

Shareef Abdul-Rahim – out for season – knee
Mike Bibby – until mid December – thumb
Kevin Martin – 4-6 weeks – groin

Being without Bibby and Martin hurts the team the most. Yet, Udrih and John Salmons have come in and done credible jobs in their absence. Udrih is a better scorer than distributor at the moment. Salmons can score, make steals, and play good defense.

There are rumors (again) that the Kings are trying to move Bibby now that Beno has proven to be starting PG material.

Ron Artest is the scoring leader in Martin’s absence with 20.3 pts. per and assists with 4.3.

Everything points to another Celtic blow-out win. The Artest/Pierce match up is always fun to watch. Sacramento is just starting a tough road trip and should have some energy. The Celtics counter by being at home, well rested, and working on a 6 game winning streak.

Though the Kings will play hard, this should be decided by early in the second half if previous patterns run true. They, like most teams, have no answer for Kevin Garnett. Salmons and Artest will try to make life difficult for Pierce and Ray Allen.

Rajon Rondo against Udrih should also be interesting.

With Perkins’ toe injury, and Pollard’s ongoing problems, it is likely that Glen Davis will get his first career start. He should flourish against this team, unless he gets into foul trouble, which is also likely, due to his emotional approach to the game.

Maybe there will be another Leon Powe sighting.

The Celtics are trending toward a more balanced offense of late. That trend should continue. Sacramento will kick and scream but, unless lightning strikes, will have little to say in the outcome of this game.

T