Celtics Central

The final was 89-84. It was that close.

Some final scores aren’t as close as they appear.

A family week-end wedding (my son’s) keeps me from seeing this game.

So here is the NBA recap:

Here is the boxscore:

Stats of note:
Celtic Kendrick Perkins double double 15 points, 12 rebounds

Bobcat Raymond Felton had more turnovers (6) than points (4)

Enjoy!

The Celtics just keep getting better.

I did not see this one and wasn’t able to tape it so this recap is from the play-by-play and the boxscore.

Rajon Rondo started things early, assisting on 3 of the first four baskets the Celtics made. A Garnett jump shot, a Pierce lay-up and a Perkins dunk. He finished with 6 points, but had 12 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. They won going away.

The lead got as high as 30 points at 79-49 with 10:09 left in the game. It seems the starters as well as the bench were both just too much for the uncertain Sixers.

Ray Allen led the Cs with 23 points and continued his torrid three point shooting with 3 of 5 from the arc, giving him 13 of 19 from downtown in the last three games. Ray hit three straight threes in 1:18 minutes at one point late in the third quarter as part of 11 straight points in a 2:30 burst.

Kevin Garnett followed with 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting, but a season low 2 rebounds in 28 minutes. he has also had just 4 boards twice in the last 5 games.

Paul Pierce had a subdued 6 points in in 26 minutes on 1 of 6 shooting, while Kendrick Perkins provided 8 points, 7 boards and 4 blocks in 28 plus minutes.

Elton Brand led Philadelphia with 18 points on 8 of 14 shooting and 8 rebounds.

The Celtic bench was rolling with 43 points on the night, led by Tony Allen and Leon Powe with 10 each, followed by Glen Davis with 9 points and Eddie House with 8. Davis was 4 of 6 shooting with 5 rebounds, a steal, and an assist. After working inside more last game, Glen delivered three jump shots tonight.

The Celtics held the Sixers to 28 points for the first half as Philly finished with just 78 points on the night. Philly shot .413 on the night as the Celtics were over .500 at .513 and had only 10 turnovers a rarity for the Green. They lead the league in TOs.

So the Celtics keep rolling over people, and it seems they are getting better offensively with a 3rd straight game over 100. They assisted 30 times on 39 baskets as they are feeling the love of sharing that Rondo sets the pace on.

Let the good times roll.

Next up: Charlotte Bobcats tonight at 7:00 pm

The Celtcs are 14-2 and riding a 6 game winning streak, while the 7-8 Sixers are losers of their last two.

The Sixers are having a hard time adjusting their style to fit their high profile off season acquisition, power forward Elton Brand.

High expectations are dampered at the moment for Philly as scoring is a problem. They are in the bottom 7 teams with 95.1 points per game, though their defense is allowing only 93.2.

Adding a half court component, playing to Brand’s strengths, to their high flying fastbreak style is proving to be problematic at the moment. They need better, more consistent outside shooting to make it all work better.

In the process, Andre Iguodala’s game has taken a big hit, going from 19.9 points last season to just 13.6 this. Rebounder Reggie Evans has largely been removed from the equation as he averages just 10 minutes a game this seeason.

Rondo, Rondo, Rondo

Rajon Rondo is really bringing it of late, and that just makes things that much more difficult to game plan the Celtics. His recent average of 16 points per game puts that much more pressure on defenses that already had three tough choices to make on who to guard.

Rondo is 4th in the league in steals at 2.19 per 48 minutes.

Ray Allen has caught fire of late, with 10 of 14 from downtown, but has had a solid season generally.

The Celtics are starting to play with more dominance and could possibly have a similar regular season as last year when they had 66 wins. That would be an incredible accomplishment.

What is still working itself out is the bench, and the unknown is how much they can be counted on in larger roles in the play-offs. Continued improved play by Glen Davis and growth by Leon Powe will go far in determining the severity of the need for a taller back big as the year rolls on.

Game Time: 7:30

Call him the Pace Setter.

Four Celtics scored more than 20 points in defeating the Golden State Warriors 119-111.

Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson led the Warriors with 32 and 30 points each. New comer Jamal Crawford added 18 but bore the speed and wrath of newly aggressive Rajon Rondo.

Point guard Rajon Rondo continues his climb to that proverbial “next level” of play. He is pushing the ball with gusto and the team benefits from it in many ways. Their last 5 games have been solid wins with a 13.8 point margin of victory. Clearly, he is a major reason why.

Just as important, Rondo is driving more, scoring much more, yet is maintaining a well rounded game with killer rebounding and strong assist numbers.

His line score for this game: 22 pts on 9 of 15 shooting, 4-4 foul shooting, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 7 assists and 2 steals. His +18 was the team’s best.

Rajon is averaging 16.6 points over the last 5 games, tripling his scoring production. If he continues at this pace, he will soon be considered one of the Big Four and as Paul Pierce says, “We will be unbeatable.”

One thing to keep in mind is that much of this aggressiveness has come at the hands of a series of weak defending adversarial point guards. That does not diminish the strides Rondo is making. Merely noting the level of competition. There are few point guards in the league with his speed, and none with a game quite like his.

Ray Allen continues his torrid three point barrage with a second straight game hitting 5 of 7
shots from the arc, and his second straight 20 plus game with a team high 25 points. He is 18 of 29 (62%) from the field as well.

No doubt Rondo’s drives make the other team guard him, keeping the other team honest and opening up room for Ray, Paul, and Kevin.

That is evidenced by Kevin Garnett’s 21 points on 9 of 23 shooting, and 13 rebounds. KG added 4 blocks on the night.

Paul Pierce chipped in with 21 of his own on 6 of 14 shooting, while going 9-9 from the line. Paul rounded out his night with 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers.

Kendrick Perkins added 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. it was “technical foul free’ night for KP and the Celtics, who both lead the league in technical fouls.

Though the Celtic bench was generally outplayed, Tony Allen and Glen Davis contirbuted 9 points each.

The Celtics started strong, jumping out to a 35-28 first quarter lead on the strength of Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. The Warriors over took the Celtics with a 25 point swing to lead at the half by
67-54.

Boston finally clamped down in the second, allowing Golden State just 44 more points to regain the lead and pull away.

Boston is now pretty much on pace with last season’s incredible run at 14-2 and are starting to play like they really can. Rondo’s emergence will only exascerbate opponents’ headaches trying to defend this team.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Next up: The Sixers in Philly on Friday.

The Celtics don’t posterize players. They posterize opposing coaches.

It doesn’t happen on a single play. It is a game changing stretch that renders opposing teams and coaches helpless. They have done it three times in a row now.

Raptor coach ‘Subtle Sam’ Mitchell can be a very funny guy, in his own sarcastic way.

He wasn’t laughing or being sarcastic in the second half of today’s game against the re-emerging Celtic Machine. Was he looking up and down the bench for an answer? Definitely. Forlorn? At times. Astonished? Often.

Posterized? Absolutely.

The Celtic final numbers were preposterous. 118 points (from the 11th lowest scoring team in the league) .616% shooting from the field. .588 from the three point line. 48 points in the paint. And it was a team wide affair. Seven Celtics were in double figures. It easily could have been nine.

Ray Allen carved up the Rapts for a team leading 21 points on 8 of 12 from the floor and 5 of 7 three pointers in a team high 31:29 minutes.

The Celtics never trailed in the game. They led by as many as 24 points.

Sam’s astonishment was at the complete lack of competitiveness his team was displaying. His team was just a few more defensive lapses up and down the court from a 3-7 collapse, after a 3-0 season start to the season.

The Celtics jumped on the Ruptures with an uncharacteristically fast start. Four different Celtics scored as the Celtics ran off ten straight points to start the game. The Green Machine went up 22-6 before the Raptors recovered. Toronto fought back with a 10-2 run of their own.

Rajo Rondo and Kevin Garnett each had 9 points in opening quarter. Toronto point guard Jose Calderone was having difficulty keeping up with the fleet, aggressive, driving Rondo and the help defense was slow to react. Rondo finished with 15 points. KG even hit a rare three point shot for more preposterousness.

Rondo’s Run
Over the last four games, all blow outs, Rajon Rondo is averaging 15 points a game on 57% shooting and 71% from the foul line. Previously, he was averaging 7 points per game and 51% from the line. It’s not a coincidence that the games have been easier wins.

Tony Allen’s Run
He is averaging 14 points over three games, on a red hot 70% (16 of 23), most of them slashes to the hoop. He added 6 rebounds for the second time in three games

Toronto fought back to within four points at 36-32 on a Jermaine O’Neal jump shot. O’Neal left the game for good shortly after, re-aggravating his surgically repaired knee. Boston went on a 17-3 run that put the game out of reach for the rest of the contest, and I use the term ‘contest’ loosely.

The helpless look on Raptor Coach Sam Mitchell’s face for much of the second half is as close to one coach posterizing another as you will get. Doc Rivers’ team has now done it three times in a row – Detroit’s Michael Curry, Minnesota’s Randy Wittman and now Subtle Sam Mitchell of that previous pre-season contendor – the Toronto Ruptures – all had the same bewildered looks.

Those long stretches when the Celtics dissect a team at both ends of a court to take a game over are amazing to watch coagulate, seemingly, from out of nowhere. The stunned look on the opposing team’s coach’s face tells a story all by itself.

When Doc Rivers’ team plays that well, and your own team looks that bad, no matter what you try to do to change things – the resulting look on your traumatized face for long minutes of absolutely futile play by your team – well, hey….you’ve been posterized for all intents and purposes, Sam.

The Raptors Rupture = Celtic Rapture
It was all about defense and the lack of it by the Raptors.

With 15 points of his own, on 5 of 7 shooting, slashing Tony Allen joined Rondo on the international highway to the hole. It was easier than it should have been against a team as talented as this one. With O’Neal, they are not a particularly stout team. With O’Neal out, they are a small team. Today you could add ’slow’ to that description.

Even the home town fans began to boo after yet another easy penetration by the Celtics. After one more easy lay-up, where Toronto star Chris Bosh arrived a step too late, he slammed the ball down hard in frustration.

Toronto’s marshmallow defense allowed Kendrick Perkins to score on 6 of 8 inside shots for 12 points to go with his 8 rebounds and his now customary technical foul (league leading 8th).

Doc has spoken to the club about playing instead of talking, and refs are taking notice after complaints about the verbosity of Kevin Garnett and the Celtics by other teams. Paul Pierce was also assessed a technical for the category leading Celtics.

More Numbers
Leon Powe was 3-4 and 8 points. Kevin Garnett finished with 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting, 6 rebounds 5 assists, a steal and a blocked shot. All in a relatively easy 29 minutes.

In the last three easy wins, Pierce has been happy to lay low offensively. He scored 11 points on just 6 shots in 24 minutes. This, after scoring 12 and 9 previously. He added 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 4 turnovers.

Glen Davis added 7 points, and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Brian Scalabrine is making it a habit. He is now 6 of 8 in three point shots and has made one in 5 straight games now.

It was a case of the Irresistable Force meeting the Moveable Object. The Rapts gave up 60 points in the paint to the Nets in OT in their previous game.

Still, the Celtics have completely disarmed 3 straight teams now and they look like they are starting to find some rhythm offensively. They are already solid defensively. They are able to rest the Big Three as a result, because the bench is responding with strong performances.

Unusual Stat of the Game
Defensively challenged, league leading three point shooter, Jason Kapono play 11 minutes without taking a shot, and the Raptors were ‘plus eleven’ while he was in.

Next up: Golden State Warriors in Boston, Wednesday 7:30

The Boston Celtics jumped out of the Minnesota mud in the second half to soundly thrash an undersized and inept Timberwolve team, 95-78.

It was another team sharing of the wealth night as Kevin Garnett led 6 players in double figures with a mere 17 points. Rajon Rondo complemented that with another solid game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and made two long distance shots.

Al Jefferson led the Wolves with 23 points. Only one other Wolf (Sebastian Telfair with 13) made double digits.

Tony Allen was second on the team in scoring with 14 points and made his first three pointer of the year in the run and Rajon Rondo made two, yes two, three point shots on the night. His second one came from deep at the buzzer was sounding to end the quarter, emphatically destroying any hope that Minnesota had left. The quarter ended 71-49, Celtics.

Paul Pierce and Powe each had double doubles as Paul tied Leon for team lead with 11 rebounds, while Pierce scored 12 points on just 4 of 8 shooting. Powe added 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting and 5 of his rebounds were offensive.

The Wolves led at half time with a mutually inept 39-36 score. The Wolves kept within 4 points of the Cs until midway of the 3rd quarter. Then the roof fell in as the Celtics took control with a crushing 35-10 third quarter.

The game actually stayed close until Glen Davis went out with his 5th foul with 6:11 left in the 3rd, and Leon Powe entered as Kevin Love made a free throw to draw Minnesota within four at 46-50. From there the Celtics went on 21-3 run to close the quarter. Game over.

Paul Piece contributed 4 free throws, Powe had 4 rebounds and 3 points, while Garnett, Tony Allen and Rondo all added to the total during the 3rd quarter run.

In the first half the ball wasn’t going in for anyone. It continued that way for the Wolves in the second half as they finished shooting .313% and were at a dismal .230 after three.

The Celts had 20 assists to the Wolves 14 for the game. Surprisingly, Minnesota has the second best ‘assisted basket’ average in the league with 24 assists on 37 makes so far this the year. The Celtics’ defense put a stop to that tonight.

The problem is that they are not a good rebounding team, they don’t have a solid point guard, and they need some height. Al Jefferson isn’t the best passer and is stuck trying to do it all himself.

When I See These Two Teams Play
It will forever be known as The Trade. The Celtics, Kevin Garnett, and Al Jefferson revisit the “What Was, What Is, and What Might have Beens” each time the two teams meet.

Tonight we saw little progress by the young Wolves, as the Celtics finally clamped down on them to win going away.

Yet, looking at the two teams together and watch them play each other, you can’t help but reflect on the whole big deal.

Minnesota started last season 3-15 and 5-34 before putting together a decent record of 17-26 to finish the season.

They are 2-9 now and don’t seem to have the toughness to improve much this season. Things could easily change. But I thought from the outset this season that they did not have enough height to help Jefferson.

I know the league is going small, but Craig Smith can’t be your power forward if Jefferson is your center.

Coach Randy Wittman apparently sees that as well. He has been trying to incorporate Jason Collins into the starting line-up recently. That moves Jefferson to power forward, but that isn’t the long term answer either. Jefferson operates best at the center position.

Al Jefferson is still primarily an offensive player. Who knows if that ever changes.

Mike Miller, was a good addition. But they are not using his three point shot and passing ability as much as they should. Only he and Gomes have outside range, yet they aren’t establishing the outside game as much as you think they might. And certainly 4 shot attempts by Miller isn’t going to do it.

Whether it is a question of not having the tough minded difference maker on the Wolves team, or needing a better coach to get the most out of this group is up for debate. My opinion is that Wittman is not the disciplined coach that this group needs.

Yet, I remember Doc Rivers struggling with a similar situation just 2 years ago. Am I wrong?

Either way, this Timberwolves team is not playing up to the talent they do have at the moment.

It is still truly a very different tale of two cities.

There are all kinds of Detroit jokes and plays on words you could make.

Like the rest of Detroit, the Pistons are trying to create a hybrid vehicle.

But high scoring, light defending Allen Iverson guarding Rondo puts pressure on the rest of the Pistons’ defense, as Rondo had his season high and led both teams in scoring with 18. He was 7 of 11 shooting for the second straight game. Doc wanted him to be more aggressive. Done.

Simply put, the Celtics outplayed the Pistons in every aspect of the game last night.

Here is how bad it was for the Pistons…they led 13-2 to start the game. They were down by as much as 29 points at 92-63 with 5 minutes left in the game.

The Celtics outscored them 90-50 from that early lead until then.

The Big Three car companies are up at Capitol Hill making their case for a bail out for their survival.

Boston’s Big Three are making their own case for sharing the wealth. No bail out required. Detroit…not so much. They looked listless, out of gas and bailed out early, unlike Piston teams we have known in the past. The Celtics had 18 fast break points to the Piston’s 10.

Boston looked like they could get to the middle at will. I was surprised to see that they only outscored the Pistons in the paint 36-32. It looked much worse, and probably was until garbage time.

Even Pistons’ coach Michael Curry looked catatonic as the Pistons made uncharacteristically bad turnovers and missed their defensive assignments at an alarming rate. He showed little to no emotion as things got out of hand. He said before the game that this was an “attitude” game. It was indeed an attitude game – defensive by the Celtics and poor by the Pistons.

Rondo’s Very Good Night
The Celtics were led by mighty mite Rajon Rondo’s 18 points on a number of give and go lay-ups fed by both Garnett and Perkins, and straight up drives that broke through a surprisingly porous Piston defense.

Rondo made his first three point shot of the year. (Party to celebrate at The Fours later) He had 9 of Boston’s 21 first quarter points. He made 3 of 4 foul shots. He had 8 smart assists. He had three steals. He was so busy, he didn’t rebound tonight (one). All in 26:21 minutes. Whew. Is the Rondo slump over? It seems so.

Balance
Rondo led the team with 11 shot attempts. Not sure how long it’s been since that’s happened. But it was only 11 shots on a night of complete balance.

Kevin Garnett was next with 15 points on 6 of 10 in just 25 minutes, as Doc used the blow out and fine play from the bench to rest his meal Ticket and Ray and Paul. None played more than 28 minutes.

The Celtics had five players in double figures with Tony Allen at 13 points on 6 of 7 rim attacks for the most part. Tony added 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and some great defense throughout the game.

Ray Allen hit for 12 points on 3 of 7 shots. Eddie House made 2 consecutive threes in the span of 29 seconds to open up a Boston 9 point lead. House was 3 of 4 from downtown, also hoping to break his shooting slump and finished with 11 points, a steal, a rebound and a nice assist on a drive to a waiting Leon Powe. House finished with a + 17 in just 15 minutes.

Kendrick Perkins led both teams with 10 rebounds and padded his league lead in technical fouls (now seven, no one else has more than three) after saying something to Jason Maxiell, I believe.

Paul Pierce had just 9 points on 2 of 9 shooting, but he wasn’t needed for late game heroics on this evening.

All twelve Celtics played. All twelve Celtics scored. The bench contributed 42 points total.

The Celtics started in low gear once again as Detroit ran out to the 11 point lead in the first. The touring Beantown Ballers caught them by quarter’s end, and really never looked back. Once again the Celtic second unit outscored their opponents in the 2nd quarter, this time by
28-19.

The Celtics just solved the Piston defense rather easily all night. Whether it is due to the Iverson trade or not, I can’t say. But Rondo abused Allen most of the time he was in, instead of the opposite. Yet, the expected help defense wasn’t there.

An the other hand, the Celtics played a tenacious defense all night, holding the Pistons to 80 points on 42.6% shooting.

Boston is now 11-2 and by Doc’s own admission haven’t been playing their best ball. Tonight went a long way to correct things that have been problems.

Next up: Minnesota tonight in Minnesota at 8:00. Garnett’s returns to his “alma mater” should help pack the stands at the Target Center, in an otherwise dismal start to the season for the Timberwolves.

The absence of Kevin Garnett was supposed to leave a hole in the middle of the Celtics’ defense.

Instead it was the Knicks soft middle that was a major factor in this game as the Celtics scored 50 points in the paint to the Knicks 34, even without KG patrolling the paint. The Celtics needed the defensively challenged Knicks to break out of their scoring doldrums and light them up for a season high 110 points. The Green Machine is now 10-2.

The Celtics started slow and had 6 of their 13 turnovers in the first period, while Wilson Chandler got the Knicks off fast with 10 first quarter points. Chandler led the Knicks with 23 points on the evening.

Paul Pierce started with 9 first quarter points and brought the Celtics home with another W with 9 points in the last 5 minutes. Paul got a big three point shot from an unexpected team mate to help seal the win. The Celtics also got a strong team effort from everyone to control this game.

Celtics/Knicks Woof Fest
Without KG’s constant on court chatter, it also should have made the game quieter. Did I mention it was a Knicks/Celtics game?

Whenever these two teams get together, I don’t know what it is, but the jaws get moving and they don’t stop until the game is over – if we’re lucky.

Leon Powe and Zach Randolph exchanges pushes, gardening tips, and technical fouls. When Eddie House tried to break it up, Zach pushed House aside, and other team mates and referees got between them.

Quentin Richardson seems to have an infatuation with Paul Pierce, as he always engages Pierce in a running dialogue. Tonight was no different, as he and Paul talked throughout the 4th quarter, with Paul smiling as he shot free throws. Q even admitted after the game that he does most of the talking.

In a preseason game, Eddie House had a long conversation from the bench with Stephon Marbury, who was on the bench in street clothes tonight.

The game had lots of great basketball, social entertainment and a new player was dusted off, taken off the shelf, and got into the act. The new player was Brian Scalabrine, starting for Kevin Garnett.

Brian Scalabrine – Pinch Hitter
With a baseball manager’s intuition, Doc Rivers’ substitution for KG was a brilliant one. Scal played a strong game right out of the box and he went to the bench with the Celtics up 4 points after 7 minutes.

Brian came back to play almost 13 minutes in the second half where he scored 8 points including a big three pointer with 1:14 left as the Knicks were closing to within 5 points after being down 15. It gave the Cs a 8 point cushion. It was an “exhale now” shot.

Brian was 2 of 3 from downtown and you could see his delight with being able to come in and knock down a few after a difficult offensive start to his season.

Suns East
D’Antoni has the Knicks running and gunning and defending like his Phoenix Suns did. The problem is the defending part. The Knicks lead the league in scoring, but they also lead in points allowed. They chuck up threes (league leading 28 attempts) like you remember your intra-mural league team did.

They outscored the Celtics in fast break points 23 to 11.

It is working. The Knicks are 6-5 after not seeing the .500 mark for a few years… at least. D’Antoni has Zach Randolph performing at a high level, Chris Duhon running the show, Wilson Chandler filling the mobile power forward position, Jamal Crawford filling it up from outside, and Nate Robinson and David Lee bringing the energy and points off the bench. Now if they would just play defense.

Team Effort and the Numbers
The Celtics surrounded Paul Pierce and Ray Allen with a solid team effort in Garnett’s absence. All nine players scored at least 6 points each.

As a team the Celtics shot .532% The bench players played the entire 2nd quarter and came back from a deficit to lead by nine at the half.

Rajon Rondo was aggressive in the first quarter with 6 points, 4 rebounds and an assist. He
finished strong with 15 points on 7 of 11 shooting, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals. He even hit a few jump shots, a rarity last year, and a missing event this year. Rondo needs to be more aggressive this year and he was tonight.

Kendrick did much the same with 5 points, 5 rebounds and a blocked shot in the opening quarter. He finished with 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Ditto for Kendrick. He needs to step up his scoring a bit this season.

Ray Allen dropped 7 points in the second quarter and 6 in the third, but was 0-3 from the arc. He is shooting just 29% from downtown so far this season. Ray finished with 15 points, 4 assists, a rebound and a steal. Ray has now made 38 straight foul shots after going 5 for 5 last night.

Leon Powe had a season high 14 points, all in the first half. He added 7 rebounds and a blocked shot. He and Zach Randolph pushed each other and exchanged pleasantries and in the first half. They were both tagged with technicals.

Glen Davis played a solid game and showed some range with 3 outside jumpshots. He added 4 rebounds. The Knick defense left Davis open from the outside a la Rondo and Perkins. If that continues from opponents, he must demonstrate that he can hit the open jumper with consistency.

Eddie House added 8 points on 3 of 6 shooting, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in a solid 20 minute performance.

Tony Allen scored 6 points, and had 3 blocked shots, a steal, an assist, and a rebound, playing a good all around game.

But it was Paul Pierce who led the team with 22 points, providing the important 4th quarter points and leadership as they held off a Knicks run to get within 4 points after starting the quarter down as much as 15 points. Pierce finished with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 3 turnovers.

So the Celtics played with a few days rest for the first time in awhile and rose to the challenge of playing without their superstar.

Next up: Detroit Pistons in Boston on Thursday.