The Boston Celtics picked up a long armed defensive minded 6’2″ guard from Texas in Avery Bradley and 6′ 8″ power forward Luke Harangody from Notre Dame who will see if his game will translate to the NBA.
Here is the low down on the Celtics draft from Celtics Blog and Jimmy Toscano…
“I would definitely love to be one of the top defenders in the league and I want to try to get Rookie of the Year- that’s my goal,” said Bradley.
Bradley, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound freshman guard out of Texas, was drafted by the Celtics with the 19th pick in the draft.
He started 32 of 34 games as a freshman for Texas averaging 11.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals.
While Bradley’s college numbers are not out-of-this-world great, a lot of what Bradley does won’t show up on the stat sheets.
“I love his speed, I can tell you that,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “He has unbelievable speed, a good in-between game; he can make the spot up jump shots.”
and….
“He’s an NBA defender right now, and he can play point guard defense on anybody in the league, and that’s huge for us. But he has to learn the position; he has to be a point guard. So with Rondo in front of him he’ll be a good teacher.”
I write this article with peace. Peace in my heart that the Celtics were not robbed of anything and were clearly outplayed by a irrepressible Laker team…and I use the word team in the best possible way. Let there be no tears for the Celtics.
This was a defensive series and the Celtics were out defended by the Lakers. That was the difference in the series.
While Kobe Bryant almost lost the game for the Lakers with far too much individual play while shooting 6 of 24, the rest of the Lakers put the Celtics in lock down on the defensive end for the second straight game.
Rebounding
When I say that the Lakers rebounded, I mean from a couple of double digit deficits, one as high as 13 points, and simply rebounded the ball.
The Lakers rebounded with impunity at both ends of the floor, finishing with 23, yes 23 offensive rebounds to the Celtics’ 8 and 50 to 40 overall. Though Bryant was kept under wraps by the Celtics offensively and took too many bad shots while adding only 2 assists, Bryant led both teams with 15 rebounds.
Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest stood tall for the Lakers. Rajon Rondo was kept under control, as were Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, especially as the game wore on.
Ray Allen
What do you say about a guy who played magnificent defense on the game’s most dangerous offensive player for most of the game, yet had a godawful offensive game himself?
Ray’s defense against Bryant helped keep the Celtics in it. He stuck to him like glue, did not bite on fakes, and made him take ‘out-of-rhythm’ and off-his-spot shots all night. He led the Celtics with 3 steals, mostly off of Kobe. That he would be ‘the Kobe defender’ in the Finals and would do it so well is something I would have never predicted before this year, heck, before the playoffs started. His help defense from his team mates was excellent. When Kobe would attempt to drive there were three Celtics there to prevent it.
Yet it was the Ray shooting blanks that was one of the biggest single factors that kept the Celtics out of it. He was defended well, but he simply missed shots he could have…should have made as well. Ray went 3 for 14 with 2 three pointers but was in search of the lost cords until the end. It wasn’t just his shooting. He had 4 turnovers and they were not smart passes to begin with.
Ray Allen invoked his lost clutchness one last time to make his last shot of the season, a three pointer to get Boston within 3 at 76-79 with 51 seconds left. Though giving life to a now desperate Celtic team, Ray was an abysmal 2-13 shooting until then.
The Celtics started hot and slowly cooled off under increasingly good Laker pressure. They shot 56% in the first quarter and led 23-14. They were 10 of 18 shooting to open the game. They would only make 19 more shots the rest of the entire game.
Not counting the 3 of 4 shots they made to keep it close at the end, the Celtics shot just 16 of 49 in between that and the first quarter for a 33% rate. The Lakers shot slightly less for the entire game, but they rebounded like men on a mission, more than making up for their off target shooting.
Pau Gasol was huge with 18 rebounds, 2 blocks and 19 points on just 6 of 16 shooting. With Bynum playing only 18 minutes due to his knee injury, Pau held the fort down in the middle with great success. Rondo rarely penetrated to cause any great damage.
Rondo’s numbers were solid with a near triple double of 14 points and 10 assists with 8 rebounds, but Rajon was not allowed to control the game in any major way. With the Lakers missing so many shots it should have been a transition bonanza for Rondo and the Celtics. But the Lakers’ offensive rebounding and solid transition defense prevented Rondo and the Celtics from running most of the night.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 18 points, while adding 10 rebounds, but hurt his shoulder in the second half while shooting a corner jumper. He was immediately doubled in the 4th quarter, forcing the ball into the hands of Rajon Rondo and anyone other than KG.
The Laker defense was masterful and the Celtics did not make enough passes to break it down.
Kevin Garnett played well with 17 points on 8 of 13 shooting, adding 4 blocked shots but had only 3 rebounds over 38 minutes.
Rasheed Wallace played well in Kendrick Perkins’ absence, grabbing 8 rebounds to go with 11 points and 2 blocked shots with solid defense on Gasol and Bynum.
Glen Davis added 9 rebounds in 21 minutes, and played his heart out. But like the rest of the Celtics, was a few inches short of stopping Gasol at times.
It turned out Phil Jackson was right about the Celtics giving up 4th quarter leads. They did it again and it cost them the NBA title. The Lakers outscored the Celtics30-22 in the final stanza to win the game and the title.
You could see it coming when the Celtics could not extend two double digit leads. The Lakers slowly got the score back down by immediately double teaming Pierce, Garnett, or Ray Allen when they got the ball. The Celtics did not react as smart as they needed to and too many times played individual ball, forcing up tough shots.
But give the Laker defense credit. They held down a Celtic offense in ways I never thought they could and they did it twice to close out the series. In the end they were the better team, as well. That was the shocker.
But for the reasons mentioned, I have no ax to grind in spite of the foul shooting discrepancy (37 attempts to 17) in the Lakers’ favor. The Celtics did not react intelligently to the Laker ‘on ball’ pressure. Because of that they lost the game.
I was most frustrated at Ray’s shooting and his turnovers and frustrated at the lack of ball movement of offense. Of all people, I thought Ray would make some shots. That great defense on Kobe took its toll on the other end. The Celtics did not play as loose and confidently as they should have. They were supposed to be the experienced pressure shot makers.
The Celtics, a strong rebounding team the previous 2 seasons, were also done in by their season long lack of rebounding habits. Out positioned and out muscled, they took a beating underneath.
As much as I like Rasheed Wallace, and he played very well with a bad back that was clearly bothering him in this game, the Celtics missed Kendrick Perkins in the middle the last two games. That KP was playing hurt for the series is, I think, an unwritten story.
Both teams played with great energy. One played smarter and more clutch. It wasn’t the Celtics.
The Lakers locked up the Celtics and the Series at 3-3 with an impressive win.
You almost knew it would go something like this. The Lakers clobbered the Celtics 89-67 in the series first blow-out.
The Lakers took an early lead and never looked back. I had hopes that the Celtics had learned their lessons from the season and would put L.A. away in game 6 to close it out without a game 7 in L.A. But they always seem to let up with leads. That has even been the case for much the playoffs. The Lakers simply wanted it more.
Now they have to do it the hard way, with their backs against the wall. Fortunately, they only seem to play their best that way. Unfortunately, the Lakers aren’t like the other teams they have been playing.
The entire season comes down to one game now. It is an away game and unfortunately, the Lakers play very well at home. Fortunately, the Celtics play very well on the road.
So two very confident teams will meet one more time on Thursday night for all the marbles. One will leave justified in their confidence. The other will leave with something less and an off season to wonder what could have been.
I still say the Celtics are the better team. I still say the Celtics have more talent top to bottom. The Celtics have more shot makers. The Celtics have more scorers. The one surprising thing is that the Celtics might not be the best defensive team. The Lakers’ defense has been just great.
If the Celtics are to win, they have to be better at offense and defense. Their defense has been rock solid for the most part all season and more so in the playoffs. It is their offense that has sputtered from time to time this season. It certainly sputtered in last night’s game. 67 points. Wow. That qualifies as a beat down.
The Lakers have done a nice job of containing Rajon Rondo. That has been key for them. Rondo makes the Celtic offense go and is a big play player at the defensive end. Doc Rivers and Rondo must find a way.
Both teams could be without their starting centers. I asked in an article yesterday, if Perkins was injured. There is no doubt about that now, after he sprained his knee in the first quarter and left the game in pain.
Andrew Bynum left early with great pain as well. So which team will be able better to play without a key big man? The Lakers have been doing so without Bynum many times in the past. The Celtics have not. Perkins is a quiet, I mean not so quiet contributor to the starting 5 and it will create a bit of a chemistry issue for them.
On the other hand, they got Rasheed Wallace and have Glen Davis. Davis has played with the starter as a starting forward last season with Garnett out. It is quite a different thing to be playing starting center.
That leaves Rasheed. How interesting is it that the Celtics’ season could come down to such an enigmatic personality? He can certainly fill win for Perkins. But what happens to the second unit? In a game 7, the bench players will be on a very short leash. They will either provide instant relief or be on the bench for the rest of the game.
Doc will ask the starters to play big minutes, I’d imagine. But before he does, I hope he gives Nate Robinson and Glen Davis an opportunity to help. They can in short minutes.
It will be a game of will. It will be a game of rebounding, transition play and defense. But it mostly will be a game of will. One prize, two teams competing for it.
There is no doubt that the two best teams in the league will decide which one is the single best.
The Boston Celtics are up 3 games to 2 and can finish the job in Los Angeles tonight.
This series and the previous one have followed a similar pattern. Cavs and Lakers take an early lead. Celtics figure it out and storm ahead and finish the job. Orlando got smoked early, won two, and fell.
There is no telling how either team will respond tonight. The Celtics have a habit of easing up with leads in games, and even did it with games in Orlando in that series. The Lakers will be home and feel more comfortable there, I’m sure.
By this time in the playoffs, the refs should be calling the games even, no hometown discounts. These are the most important games of the year. Their calls have been more even in the last 2 games and should stay that way.
At this point, Andrew Bynum is injured and showing the effects of that injury. Even with him, the Celtics have been exposing the Lakers. Without him, they will need something special to stop the now confident Celtics 2 games in a row.
Lamar Odom has largely disappointed as has Ron Artest. Pau Gasol has the unfortunate luck of facing Kevin Garnett, who in even in his recovery year, is proving to be healthy enough to create big problems for Pau and the Lakers.
The one constant has been Rajon Rondo. His play has steadied the Celtics and he has delivered big play after big play. The moxie that Rajon demonstrates continues to amaze. He even is willing to stand up for his teammate, Kevin Garnett, to Artest, one of the league’s bullies. Rondo is intimidated by no one it appears.
Who would have thought that letting Trevor Ariza go and picking up Ron Artest up would be such a bad move?
Ray Allen has completely surprised me with his total commitment to defense against Kobe Bryant and has done it extremely well. His offense has suffered for it, but the Cs need him at the other end more, if Paul Pierce is be fresh enough to be able to give them the points he can produce.
At this point, the Celtics seem to be getting better and the Lakers worse. The Boston Celtics have slowly put a strangle hold on what most in the national media felt was a superior team.
This was by most accounts to be Kobe’s 5th championship. All they had to do was roll over the Celtics. The coverage has been, in large part, unfair to the Celtics. It had all the earmarks of an anointing.
Most annoying has been Kobe’s ‘post game press conferences after losses. Frankly, his demeanor is off-putting. He also acts as if this shouldn’t be happening to him. It is pouty and a bit boorish.
This team has been a Cavs team in disguise, it appears. It is Kobe and little else. That is the fault of Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant.
In a larger way it is the Celtics fault. They are used to dealing with star centered teams by this point. They keep the other players covered and put enough pressure on the star to have to do too much. It takes the rest of their team out of rhythm and makes them spectators.
On the other side of the floor, the Celtics talent level and scoring balance has been the difference. While they have struggled offensively during the season, they have the experience under pressure and the talent level to find a shooter who can do real damage, even against the solid defense that a team like the Lakers have played. That scorer, and scorers, can change from game to game.
It has been a fantastic series with the NBA’s two finest teams. It the end, it may be that ‘team thing’ that wins out. That is the way it should be.
Beating L.A. in L.A. would be a wonderful thing to do. I expect the Lakers to come out with great energy. But I expect the Celtics to weather it and bring home Title 18. Only a team effort by the Lakers can change that.
(Edit note: some think that KP has a block recently. I can’t find confirmation. Even if true, the basis of the article holds true.)
Is Kendrick Perkins playing hurt?
Here is a thought.
Maybe Andrew Bynum isn’t the only center playing hurt. The reason I ask is that I was checking out some stats for aberrations and things that stood.
I couldn’t believe it at first when I saw it. Perkins hasn’t blocked a single shot against the Lakers. He hasn’t blocked one in 7 straight games. His last blocked shots were May 24th against Orlando.
That ended a streak of 15 straight games with at least one block and usually more. That is an unusual statistical aberration. Even if he is just concentrating on playing position defense, he usually gets one here and there.
In observations of late, his offense has seemed to be more limited, as well. It is not just that he is back to gathering the ball more, a bad habit we thought he was rid of. He is not a big leaper, but he can get up there when he wants to. He doesn’t seem to be getting any lift on his shot and was blocked a few times in game 1.
He used to be able to come over and rise up behind a small and block the shot of the player that the small was guarding. We haven’t seen that in a while either.
If Kendrick Perkins is hurting, he would never complain. And the Celtics would never let you know unless it was obvious. He played last year’s playoffs with a troublesome, often painful shoulder and never said a word.
Maybe it is just the way Doc wants Kendrick to play defense. Stay down. Stay solid. Stay in the middle. But maybe, just maybe, it is something more. I have absolutely nothing to base that on, but some observations and that unusual blocked shot stat.
Even with the extended swat slump, Perkins is 6th in the playoffs in block percentage at 5%, right behind Bynum at 5.3% Hmmm….
Throw A Party
Here is another stat aberration….
Rasheed Wallace just played 14 plus minutes in a playoff game with getting a single foul. It is his very first game without one in the 22 games they have played. It is party time. He played very well in that game, too.
One more Celtic stat of note….
Besides playing solid man defense, Tony Allen has the 2nd best steal percentage in the playoffs at 3.2, behind Manu Ginobili’s 3.9. Now if he could just work out the kinks in that jumpshot….
Oh yeah, in case you don’t know, the Celtics try to close out the Lakers tonight in L.A.
I’m about to write a sentence that nobody would have believed a month ago.
“The Boston Celtics are one win away from another NBA Championship.”
They would have said, ‘Nice fiction writing. The Fantasy section is two aisles over.’
As amazing as the Celtics run to the 2008 NBA title as, and it was amazing, it won’t really compare to getting title 18 this season, if they get that next win. Incredibly, they now have 2 chances in L.A. to do just that. They head to L.A. up 3-2.
As I wrote before the game on Celticsblog.com, they should have too many weapons for any defense. They are finally proving that they do.
Paul Pierce led a solid team effort to a Celtic 92-86 win over the Lakers. They are the first team to win 2 games in a row. He scored 27 points and got the Celtics going with 8 first quarter points, 15 at the half, and 26 at the end of three periods on 12 of 18 shooting.
The Celtics rode Pierce as he had it going all game. He was in rhythm and created space with jab steps, feints and step backs all night. He hit 2 threes, had a steal and 2 blocks. Ron Artest was the victim most of the time and he couldn’t do anything about it. At one point Kobe asked to guard Pierce, but Phil Jackson didn’t let him.
It was the same with Pierce. He wanted to guard Kobe during Bryant’s 3rd quarter hot streak. Doc Rivers also declined the request. It wasn’t that Ray Allen wasn’t playing good defense. He was playing very solid defense. Kobe was just making shots no one else could.
It was shades of Pierce’s shoot out with Lebron James in their game 7 two years ago. This time Kobe Bryant had 38 points, including 19 straight to Paul’s 11 in the 3rd period. During Kobe’s one man barrage, the Celtics not only weathered it, they extended the lead to 11, before the Lakers climbed back at the end of the period.
Let me repeat, Kobe Bryant scored 19 straight points for the Lakers in the 3rd period. He was the only one who scored for them until the very end. It was a deadly and magnificent scoring exhibition by the Laker shooting guard. It was also neutralized by some nifty scoring by the Celtics as well.
2 out of 3 Ain’t Bad; It is a Victory
The Celtics finally got strong games from more than one of the Big Three. Kevin Garnett was masterful at both ends of the floor, adding 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots and 3 turnovers. Those are a lot of stat lines being filled in for the big guy. His defense was excellent on Pau Gasol and the Lakers.
Rajon Rondo played an incredible game at both ends of the floor. He finished with 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting, with 8 assists, 5 rebounds, a huge steal from Kobe and a block. He had a huge steal right near the end and shortly after made an incredible lay-up off a Paul Pierce save of an in bounds pass with 45 seconds left to give the Celtics.
Rondo also had a big tip-in off a missed shot in the 4th quarter, and was fouled by Lamar Odom who knocked Rondo to the ground, as was clear on re-plays. It wasn’t called.
As big as Rajon played, Rondo did play a schizophrenic game by making a number of very bad passes. It was his worst passing game in the series by far. It did hurt the Cs and kept them from extending the lead a number of times. Luckily, he was also the one making incredibly big plays for the Celtics. Antoine Walker-ish, but with much more important big plays.
Normally, I put the team stat lines at the end of recaps. But they do a fine job of telling the story of this game, so here they are:
1) The Celtics shot an incredible .563 to the Lakers .397.
2) The Cs slightly outrebounded the Lakers 35-34
3) The Celtics had 21 assists to the Lakers 12.
4) The Lakers shot 26 foul shots to the Celtics 13.
5) Celtics had 16 turnovers; Lakers = 13
6) Celtics blocked 7 shots; Lakers blocked 1
7) Cs won the points in the paint: 46-32 Points off TOs: Lakers 18, Celtics 15
9) Fastbreak Points: Celtics 14, Lakers 2
The biggest difference was that the Celtics had 4 guys solidly in double figures. The Lakers had Kobe’s 38 points. Next highest was Pau Gasol with 12 points and no one else made double digits.
Turnovers Played a Big Part
While the Celtics almost gave their lead away in the first half with 10 aggressive but mostly careless turnovers, the Lakers had only 5 but added 8 more in the second half. The Celtics constantly stole the ball on entry passes to the middle and turn them into fast breaks.
Big Plays
There were a number of them already mentioned.
6’ 4” Tony Allen had the block of the night on a 7’ 0” Pau Gasol drive to the rim, saving a sure 2 points. Fantastic, athletic play and a momentum killer.
Rasheed Wallace hit a huge three pointer at the start of the 4th period when the second unit was in but struggling to score. It extended the Celtic lead to 76-67 with 10 minutes left. It also loosened up the second unit and bought time.
Rajon Rondo had a number of highly difficult lay-ups again, as he cut and zig-zagged through the forest of Laker big men to somehow find the rim on a number of occasions.
Nate Robinson made two big shots but his biggest play was to find Ray Allen open underneath the rim and the Laker defense for an easy two points.
True to Form
Even as the Celtics buckled down to get this crucial win, they continued to have a few issues with each other. It will all come out in the off season, but it has become a slowly unfolding story that the Celtics have had internal squabbles this season.
A hot shooting Paul Pierce was clearly perturbed with Rajon Rondo ignoring him when he was open and was supposed to get the ball as the first half neared the end. Instead, Rondo passed the ball to Ray Allen who ended up being covered and passed the ball back. Rajon then looked for Pierce after Paul had his back turned and was heading off the court before the buzzer sounded.
Pierce denied it as he was being interviewed coming off the floor at half time by Doris Burke. Doc Rivers acknowledged it but down played in the post game press conference, saying ‘that’s our team this season.’ (paraphrase)
The Celtic bench extended the lead in the first half, but didn’t do quite as well in the second half, observed Doc.
Kendrick Perkins played pretty well, grabbing 7 rebounds, 4 offensive and played solid defense in the middle. He finished with 4 points on 2-2 shooting.
The Celtics simply had too many weapons. According to Rick Kamla of the NBA Channel, this is the first time ever in the playoffs that Rondo, Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen all shot 50% or better in the same game.
Battle of the History Statistics
The Celtics are undefeated when they have a 3-2 lead in the Finals. So take that with your Phil Jackson 70 something and zero statistic when his team wins the first game. Something has got to give.
Creative Writing or Creative Playing?
With a story line that seemed straight out of a creative writing assignment from high school, the Celtics have come alive in the post season. They have taken down the league’s best two teams in the regular season, and now are on the verge of re-writing “How to Win an NBA Championship.”
It might be called ‘How to Win the NBA Title Without Really Trying (In the Regular Season)’
Or…
‘We Were Really Dragged, But Nothing Gets Us Down – Once the Playoffs Begin.’
All they have to do is burst the national media’s bubble and their love affair with Kobe Bryant and his assumed right to a 5th NBA title.
I couldn’t think of a better ending to a crazy season.
Most called it a fantasy. Others will call it a mystery. I’m just hoping it becomes history – NBA history… soon.
Points off TOs: Lakers 18, Celtics 15
