A Vintage Boston Team Just Won Their 14th Straight Over Stubborn Philly
This year will go down as a vintage year for the Boston Celtics. Old vines make the best wine they say. This maturing version of the Boston Celtics are as good an example of that as you can find. Those who know anything about truly fine wine will know exactly what I am talking about.
For those who enjoy fine wine, as I do, there are few earthly pleasures as sublimely enjoyable as a great wine that has matured and come into perfect balance, offering you a subtle, mostly indescribable experience. Watching this Celtic team this season comes as close as you can to that experience, if ever a sports team could.
The 76ers had a good game plan. They played with energy. They play fast break basketball. They are playing better defense. They knew Rondo wasn’t there. They took the ball out of Paul Pierce’s hands, the man who has stepped up in Rondo’s absence. Good idea. In the end, they lost.
Why? Because these Celtics are like no team I’ve seen in a long, long while. It used to be that when Rondo went out, the offense stopped, or at least herked and jerked and sputtered as it tried to impersonate (badly) a unit (I use that term loosely) that knew what it was doing. It really didn’t. Now they are even finding a way without him.
More than any Celtic team I’ve watched in years, this version keeps its composure, plays defense and passes the ball. Usually, if you get two of those three, you are doing well. They do a great job of spreading the floor…almost always. When one player gets the ball, they clear the area and become an open passing target, or to allow the player with the ball room to operate on their match up. Offensively, their floor spacing is impeccable. It is almost without flaw.
That Ray Allen had 6 assists, that Marquis Daniels had 5 assists, that Shaq had 9 rebounds and 13 points including at least 3 alley oops is no aberration or fluke. Even while making just 39% of their shots in this game, the ball movement and sharing has been a joy to watch. Few were forced shots.
Vintage Season
Like a fine wine, they lose some sharpness and youthful intensity as they age, but they more than make up for it by rounding completely into balance with complexity and subtleties that take years of bottle age to foster. The lost energy of youth is more than made up for by the blending, composure and chemistry that only age can give you. This team is a wonderful taste of a great wine in a great vintage by a master level wine maker.
The Stages of Wine
Fine wines start out, youthful, intense, even harsh, full of unsubtle, only partially blended fruit. It ages into greatness, blending the strength of its youthful fruit into something somewhat less intense, but far more complex and far better to drink. It hits its full prime and optimum for a while, exploding with a taste of awe inspiring greatness and then begins a slow decline that is, surprisingly, every bit as fun to drink and enjoy. It starts to show tinges of brown around the edges of the red ripeness and offers an intriguing and slightly different but wonderfully mellow taste as it signals that this is just the beginning of the end.
Like a little salt and pepper in a man’s beard, and a look of wisened experience, age ads to it distinguished appeal. New layers of complications only make it more fun to drink as you contemplate its future but hopefully much delayed decline. How long can this finely vinified and vintage wine go?
Only great vines producing great fruit, vinified properly by an experienced wine maker who knows what he has, can produce a team that has a season like these Boston Celtics are having. Swirl it. Sniff it. Sip it. Savor it. This team has everything a great maturing wine from a great year has. Enjoy the greatness. In a very full way, I am enjoying watching this team play.
Starting off the game 0-7, Paul Pierce’s shots were in and out for one half. Glen Davis could not get much to go down either and finished 2 for 9. Except for Ray Allen (8 for 17 and game high 22 points), no one could really get rolling offensively for the Cs.
Yet, Pierce, Davis, Allen and even Nate Robinson made shots that were part of the Celtics’ move to take this win. Shaq has shot under 50% only 4 times this season in 17 games. He is averaging 67.3% by getting him the ball close in and The Big…. Basketball Player still knows what to do with it and is doing it well.
Unsung and underrated (or too reserved or timid, depending on who you talk to) Marquis Daniels had 2 great feeds to Shaq for baskets, including another low riding pass for a quick dunk alley oop, and an interior pass on a drive for another dunk. Shaq is getting back on defense, even against a fast breaking team like the 76ers.
In a game where Kevin Garnett played 32 minutes and took just 10 shots, he was still the most significant player on the floor defensively. He had numerous deflections and harassments throughout the game, a couple of huge, huge steals, and the biggest block of the game on Andre Iguodala underneath the hoop. In his 32 minutes, the Celtics were + 15 points over the 76ers.
Paul Pierce was harassed by Andre Iguodala all night as usual when these two teams meet and shot just 4 of 15, but hit 2 very big shots, a two and a three pointer to help bring a moribund Celtic offense to life. Pierce also did another outstanding job on Andre Igluodala as these two fine defensive players have been canceling each other out offensively of late.
After being held to a season low 38 points in the first half on a good game plan and execution by Doug Collin’s Sixers, the Celtics had a 16-4 run to start the 3rd quarter to take the lead at 54-50 with 6:41 left in the quarter. Allen, Garnett, Pierce, Robinson and O’Neal all scored during the run.
Shaq has his two crowd energizing Daniels assisted dunks and Ray Allen and Von Wafer hit big three pointers as the Celtics played even with Philadelphia the rest of the quarter, beating Philly 27-16 in the third and leading 64-61 heading into the last period.
A game long foul shooting drought ended in the 4th period. At one point, the Sixers enjoyed a 28-7 advantage in free throw attempts over the Celtics. The Celtics finally got to the line in the decisive 4th period, taking 14 foul shots to the Sixers 3 attempts. The Celtics made 16 of 21 on the game and that includes Shaq’s 3 for 7 night. Their only other miss was by Ray Allen who went 4 of 5.
In the 4th period, though struggling with his shot, Davis went to work early for 4 points over Elton Brand. With Rondo out and a game changing steal in order, Pierce stepped up and took one away and with a somewhat surprising burst of energy, headed directly to the Sixer’s hoop and dunked with an exclamation point over a fast closing Lou Williams. That brought the Cs to within 72-70.
The Celtics then made 8 straight pressure foul shots (including Shaq, KG, Ray and Paul at 2 apiece) around a Kevin Garnett jump shot, as they battled back and forth with a tenacious Philly team. It took Pierce’s right side jump shot with 1:36 left to give the Celtics a 4 point lead at 82-78 that would mean the game.
Nate Robinson would have a big steal against Iguodala with 50 seconds left and Kevin Garnett would block Iguodala’s shot on a drive in traffic with 14:9 seconds left and an 82-80 Celtic lead to preserve the victory.
Numbers Game
The numbers were ugly and it was a defensive game for both teams. Philadelphia actually shot better with a .431 mark, took 15 less shots, due in part to 10 more free throw attempts and had only 7 fast break points to the Celtics 14.
The Celtics had 34 points in the paint to the Sixers 18, a low number indeed, considering they are still considered a fast break team, even though Collins has instituted a more traditional offense that makes better use of Elton Brand in the half court.
The Celtics, the worst offensive rebounding team in the league also surprised by grabbing 12 o-boards to the Sixers’ 6. To illustrate the tightness of this contest, neither team ever led by more than 8 points.
Blending Grapes
Blending grapes, those that are added in smaller quantities to enhance the character of the main wine grapes are critical to making a wine great or greater or less so if they don’t assimilate well with the main blend.
In this version of the Celtics, Shaq, once the dominant flavor of his teams, has become a sublime and complex blending grape, making this a far better team. He gives the team’s flavor more backbone. Few would have thought so initially. Glen Davis has been an important and flavorful addition, as well. Nate Robinson spices things up. They only await the return of Delonte West to make this wine complete.
It is a special vintage as far as Celtic teams go. I am enjoying every sight, sound, smell and taste of this well blended, mature, and quietly exciting wine…I mean team. It is shaping up as a very special year.
The Celtics are now 22-4, and will take their 14 game winning streak to play on Christmas Day against the revamped Orlando Magic. Make no mistake, this is quite a Celtic vintage.
We just have sit back, swirl the glass, savor the bouquet, taste the taste that only a great and mature wine like this can offer. Enjoy each game that this unique team performs….and wait and see if the wine peaks at the right time.
The Celtics’ ship keeps rocking, but they keep rolling over opponents.
Just the right combination of defense and offense and a triple double from Paul Pierce helped the Rondo-less Celtics prevail for their 13th straight win.
This winning streak continues with increasingly difficult challenges facing the Celtics. The Cs are depleted at center and back up guard and now Rajon Rondo, arguably the most difficult player to replace, is out for 2 weeks.
A Quiet Triple Double?
Surprisingly, (unless you have been watching this team play) Pierce’s triple double wasn’t even the highlight of the game. Nate Robinson, starting in place of the injured Rajon Rondo, played 42 minutes of solid all around basketball spiced up by few highlight hustle plays. That effort combined with Ray Allen’s and Glen Davis’ ‘right time’ scoring in the critical 4th period made the difference in this game.
“We’re putting him in Rondo’s spot, and making him the facilitator With this team, especially with the injuries we have, he’s been a great utility guy. -- Celtics Head coach Doc Rivers on Pierce
The numbers speak for themselves. Pierce led the Celtic numbers parade with an impressive 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting, a perfect 6 at the charity stripe, a Rondo-like 12 assists and 10 rebounds, 4 steals and a big block to stop a Collison drive. Even that block was aided by sensational defense by Nate Robinson as he smothered Darren’s drive and altered his shot. Team offense. Team defense. Sharing. Three Celtics shared team scoring honors, Pierce, Robinson and Davis with 18 points a piece.
This is the first time ever in Paul Pierce’s 13 year career he has distributed double digit assists 2 games in a row. There is no truth to the rumor that David Stern will be adding Paul Pierce’s name to the point guard slot for All Star balloting. But if he keeps this up, he should. More impressive was the way Pierce did it. Consistently and as quietly as a triple double could be – if that is even possible. More than ever, with Rondo out, Paul Pierce is conducting the offense as best he can from his position on the floor.
Defense? Super scorer Danny Granger, Pierce and Marquis Daniel’s assignment, had 19 points but finished at an inefficient 5 of 20 shooting to get them.
Ray Allen was instrumental in this win and finished with 17 points including some nifty drives with difficult shot angles getting laid in. He added 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and a big steal as the Cs made the extra pass all night. Extra passing – beautiful to watch, it makes a team harder to defend and for great success. With the chemistry and unselfishness these players are showing, they are making it look easy. The Green Machine shot .539 on the day.
They also held Indiana to .354 though the Pacers shot 20 more attempts and had a 16 to 4 advantage in the offensive rebound category.
Roy Hibbert, the fast developing 7 foot center was held to 17 points on 8 of 23 shooting by Shaq, Kevin Garnett, Glen Davis and Semih Erden. Shaq and Garnett did most of work holding Hibbert down.
Garnett was also quietly effective with just 9 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, but most importantly with his usual team anchoring defense.
Shaq came back from a 4 game absence to start and score 11 first quarter points, while playing solid defense and posterizing Jeff Foster with a power dunk. The Celtics will start games by feeding the Big Green Giant on the post for dunks, alley oops and lay ups while hoping to draw fouls and get teams into the penalty situation. It works amazingly well.
Whatever difficulty Glen Davis had stopping the much taller Roy Hibbert at one end, he more than made up by becoming a match up problem at the other end by getting hot in the last period and scoring 10 of his 18 points then. Davis helped grow and maintain the late lead the Celtics wrestled from the Pacers.
Nate Robinson ignited the crowd in the 3rd period with a steal and ensuing layup and the Celtics fed off that energy to finally begin to pull away. Robinson also went to the ground between multiple Pacers to chase down and wrest a loose rebound from them and then got it to his team mates.
Glen Davis was accidentally elbowed by Shaq while both were going for a rebound and was bleeding inside his mouth in the 3rd quarter. But he returned to the game in short order.
This season has been an imperfect but exuberant run to the top of the Eastern standings so far and has a magical feel to it. It is in its imperfections and bumps in the road caused by a slew of injuries that are igniting that exuberance. Shaq has been a big part of it all and has been more than one could possibly hope for. But the entire team is playing well.
They play tough, smart, and flowing basketball. They are doing it even without Rajon Rondo.
They may be rocking, but that’s how they roll.
The Celtics are now 22-4 and play the 76ers Wednesday before playing on Christmas Day against the new look Orlando Magic.
These young athletic Hawks used to give the aging Celtics big trouble. But the experience, depth and concentration of these versatile Celtics seem to be taking advantage of the Hawks lately.
Boston Celtics’ 12th straight win continues their march towards their goal of a better season ending record as they beat the Atlanta Hawks 102-90.
They were without Rajon Rondo and Shaq but were led in another strong all around showing by their three remaining stars, Nate Robinson and Glen Davis. Thrown in some solid work by an improving Semih Erden, who started at center again and you have the ingredients necessary to beat a Hawks team that has now lost 3 of its last 4 games, including a loss to a floundering Detroit team.
Triple the Double Double Pleasure
Double doubles abounded with Paul Pierce assuming distribution duties with 10 assists to go with 15 points, Kevin Garnett taking game honors with 14 rebounds, while scoring 17 points, and Glen Davis tying for game honors with Ray Allen in scoring with 18 points while grabbing 10 boards.
Ray Allen sparked the second half separation from the Hawks by locking in for 17 of his points after intermission.
The Celtics were playing the second half of a back-to-back after beating a roaring New York Knicks team and ending New York’s 8 game winning streak with a last second shot by Paul Pierce. They are now 4-2 in the second half of back-to-backs.
The Celtics are a heady 21-4, lead the East, and second only to the quiet rampage of the San Antonio Spurs (22-3).
The Green Machine’s solid core of Ray, Paul, and Kevin are playing together better than they ever have. There are numerous games now where Ray and Paul have big games together. That has previously not been the case.
A Healthier Garnett
Kevin Garnett is the single biggest difference in this squad. We can argue whether he is all the way back or not, but he is back enough to be a consistent difference make almost every game. Shall we say he is 90% back? Whatever number it is, it looks like enough to make this team a top contender for the NBA title again. His impact is simply huge.
Role Players are Stepping up
Semih-Good
Due to injuries to Jermaine O’Neal and Shaq, rookie 7 footer Semih Erden has been thrust into a bigger role than expected and under the circumstances had been inconsistent but improving as he goes. Semih has now hit 9 of his last 10 shots and 15 of his last 21 shots over 5 games, albeit mostly dunks and lay-ups for a 71%. He is beginning to slow down his game just enough to show that he has a knack for scoring around the basket.
While he didn’t grab a rebound in almost 24 minutes, he did provide interior defense as the Celtics out scored the Hawks in the paint 50-36. The future career of the 60th pick in the draft 2 years ago looks bright. But more important, at age 24 and a veteran of pressurized Euro league and World Games play already, he is mature and experienced enough to handle the pressure. At the same time, he is dealing with his own shoulder injury. He is a respected gamer on a team of tough, no nonsense gamers.
“Big night for Semih,” Garnett said. “I thought Semih gave us some valuable minutes tonight (24). I thought he was active.
“What y’all don’t know, man, is that kid has a lot of confidence in himself. He has a lot of confidence in himself, and he’s very skillful either hand. (He) had a lot of post-game moves. He has a brilliant game. You know, he played against Shaq and J.O. in camp, and he held his own — and that’s saying a lot.
Rivers Taking Prudent Way With Shaq
Talking about gamers, Doc Rivers and the Celtics are taking a more cautious approach with Shaquille O’Neal and his sore shin and calf. Shaq even believes he may have had more NBA championships if some earlier career injuries were treated in this manner. From Yahoo…
Shaquille O’Neal believes he may have even more championship jewelry if other teams he’s been on had treated his injuries the way the Celtics are dealing with his sore shin and calf.
The Celtics are….[] keeping O’Neal out longer rather than rushing him back through a cortisone injection.
“They don’t want me to do it the old conventional way,” he said. “They want me to do it the right way.
“That’s not hard, because a couple of times it could have cost me. I have four (rings), and in my mind I could have had seven. So a couple of times it could have cost me.
“This is a team that we know if we do it right, we’re going to get it done.”
Jermaine O’Neal is now practicing with the team and could be playing soon.
Nate Robinson Stepping Up
With Rajon Rondo now out for up to 2 weeks, the spotlight is on Nate Robinson. He scored 14 points with 5 assists and 3 steals, though he did have 6 turnovers. The most important number for Nate was the +20 for the team when he was in the game. Nate played Rajon’s 41 minutes and will continue to until Rajon’s knee, ankles and feet are healed enough to play again.
Celtics -The Big Green Amoeba
This season, the Celtics appear to bend and be able to adjust to all roster and injury challenges. They are doing that at both ends of the court. While not always pretty, they adapt and find ways to continue to be effective, even with the loss of Kendrick Perkins, Delonte West, Jermaine, Shaq, and now Rajon Rondo.
Shaq has been more effective here than his past 2 stops. Jermaine has rarely seen a live court this season. West was supposed to be the key cog for the second unit. Rajon is arguably the team’s most irreplaceable player.
Yet, the Celtics are rolling along with 12 straight wins and atop the East. As Jeff Clark at Celticsblog has pointed out, they have been here before. In the KG Era, they always start fast before January, and then have hit the skids for various reasons the past 2 years.
Can They Continue This Roll?
Hard to tell, because losing Rajon may be the biggest difficulty to overcome over a longer stretch of games. The offense will have to find new ways to move the ball as they did last night against the Hawks.
There is no doubt that that Hawk guard Jeff Teague would not have had the career type game he had last night with 18 points on 8 of 11 shooting with multiple drives to the hoop with a healthy Rondo and either O’Neal playing. The league’s top point guards will be a source of concern for the Rondo-less Celtics.
Avery Bradley Opportunity?
Like Semih Erden, no one expected rookie Avery Bradley to have to play a serious role on this team. With his natural defensive skills will he be asked to step up and guard the opposing point guatds in the coming weeks? He came into the league with the notion that he has ‘NBA ready’ defensive ability. Maybe we will find out if that is really true.
‘Amoeba’ Paul or ‘Larry’ Paul?
Paul Pierce’s 10 assists were huge as he continues to take a Larry Bird-like approach to his team, seeing what needs to be done and doing it – irrespective of his own stats. Scorer, rebounder, assists, defender – Pierce can do it all. This season he will be asked to do just that. It seems that it is different things on different nights, but Pierce has been up to the challenge.
Pierce’s versatility is one big reason why the Celtics can adapt to so many different situations. Ray Allen’s versatility is another. Ray is hitting his signature three pointer at a career high 44.3% and he continues to hit pressure shots and game winners for this team. Ray’s defense goes largely unappreciated and underrated. Ray can also see the court well and drop dimes, rebound when it is needed, and fill in gaps offensively.
At age 35, and in terms of energy is this Celtic team’s version of Hondo Havlicek, he is constantly moving and the major reason the Celtics motion offense is in motion. I marveled as he led a couple of fast breaks late in the game last night.
Glen Davis
If Glen Davis has been intriguing in the past for his potential, it is this season that he is proving he can deliver on a consistent basis. He now averaging 11.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 28 plus minutes per game. He has 6 straight double digits scoring games with 5 of the 6 games at 16 points or more. More important, he is doing it in the flow of the offense and his jump shot is reliable night in and night out. He is starting to rebound better and is looking for passing opportunities. He brings energy, confidence and composure to the second unit. Another part of the Celtic Amoeba, Glen has adapted his game to whatever the team needed.
But I will end with the biggest reason for the Celtics success and long term chances. It is the play of Kevin Garnett. He is the driving force behind this team and the reason the defense works so well. Having healthy depth will also be critical to how far this team goes, but the early outlook is promising. The Heat and Magic will provide serious bumps in the road, but the Celtics are as ready as either of those teams and are on course for another title run.
If you haven’t been watching, get NBA League Pass and tune into one of the most interesting teams in the history of the NBA and a team that plays the game right as they search for combined success, validated by another NBA title.
The Celtics continue their run with their 10th straight win and do it emphatically with a 93-62 beat down of the Charlotte Bobcats.
The most impressive stat was replacement starting center Semih Erden’s +34 for the game and that was followed closely by his 40 minutes played. That the Celtics played such great defense with Shaq, Jermaine sitting down with a recovering Kendrick Perkins was…frankly….a bit Semih-surprising.
The first half rhythm resembled something like a middle aged white guy using that free introductory dance lesson at a Fred Astaire Studio. But team chemistry eventually showed it self and trumped rhythm as the needed ingredient to pull away from a Bobcat team that looked stuck in cement.
Remember, Erden is a new dance partner for the Cs and has been spending his time learning the NBA way of things. As a 25 year old rookie, he has been experiencing the ups and downs of learning the league, his team and playing with his own injuries.
Having Kevin Garnett as a rock solid defensive partner as well as the consistent and constantly improving Glen Davis certainly helped. Garnett had an efficient 23 minute double double with 11 rebounds and 13 points to go with a steal and a block. David added 16 points, 7 rebounds and a block in 23 plus minutes.
Ray Allen shared game scoring honors with Davis at 16 points while adding 6 boards and 2 steals as the Celtic performed larceny all evening with 15 steals. Rajon Rondo led with 5 steals and Marquis Daniels was 2nd with 3 more.
Erden played solid defense, grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking 4 shots to go with 10 points.
Paul Pierce was a player who couldn’t find his shooting rhythm, going 1 for 9 and missing many open jumpers, but playing great defense on Gerald Wallace and holding him to just 2 of 15 shooting. Pierce got 3 blocks and played passing lanes for 2 steals.
Marquis Daniels also effectively helped stop Wallace and added 10 points and 6 rebounds to his 3 steals for another solid night.
Rajon Rondo had 8 assists, 5 rebounds to go with 7 points and his usual tough defense and game controlling offense.
The Celtics aren’t beating the cream of the league. Quite the opposite for the most part. But that is what happens when you play in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. Even when they played the Denver Nuggets, Carmelo Anthony was out. The fact that they are winning these games is a tribute to their rediscovered tenacity after last season’s mediocre run.
They have a much tougher opponent coming up in the red hot Knicks who have won 7 in a row and are 9 in 1 over the last ten games. New York stands at a healthy 15-9 right now and are being carried by an increasingly dominant Amar’e Stoudamire surrounded by an improving set of role players.
“I keep saying that it’s going to be scary when we get healthy. If we continue to win with the bodies that we’re putting out there — I really can’t wait for February and March when we’re healthy. We have to grind these wins out like we did tonight.”
…. Celtics forward Paul Pierce
And that is the main point of what is happening right now.
The Boston Celtics won their 9th straight game, beating the Philadelphia 76ers on an alley oop to Kevin Garnett from… who else…Rajon Rondo with 1.4 seconds left.
The revitalized and longer Celtics may be leading the league in lobs and all oops with KG much healthier and Shaq now manning the middle.
They played this one absent a legit center as Shaquille O’Neal could not play. Jermaine O’Neal is still out and Kendrick Perkins is recovering from off season surgery. Delonte West is out with a broken wrist.
They are 18-4 and atop the Eastern Conference and second in the league only to the surprising San Antonio Spurs (18-3), who are rejuvenated this season with Tim Duncan taking a lesser role offensively.
They appear to have learned their lessons from last season. Home court means something and not having it just might cost you a championship.
See Saw Ending – Fight to the Finish
Last night they traded big basket after big basket in the final minutes to steal one from a game fast breaking Philly unit. The energetic Celtics even kept up with the young speedsters there-losing that battle by just 22-20.
Ray Allen hit a huge three pointer when he was left wide open with 1:04 left to give Boston a 98-97 lead. After Andre Iguodala scored on a jumper to regain the lead, Glen Davis knocked down another huge jump shot with 27.4 left to take the lead back again.
Davis, a critical player in this game due to both O’Neals being out, was in foul trouble in the first half, but came back to score 16 points in 26 minutes, with 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. He showed he can be counted on with pressure shots once again.
After that shot, Iguodala drove right on a strong defending Paul Pierce and lofted a fading extended arm semi-hook that retook the lead for the Sixers with 6.6 seconds left.
After a time out, the Celtics came back with somewhat of a surprise play as Paul Pierce or Ray Allen are normally the ones who take the final shots. I fact, that was the idea, make them think Pierce would be getting the ball.
“We worked on that last week and the whole timing of it was off,” Rivers said. “We tried to run it earlier in the year and we had bad timing. It’s just funny how things work out. It was a low clock, the ball was in our best player’s hand, we have shooters on the floor. The whole sell was to Paul — he sets the fake pick, then Kevin [sets a real one]. It worked and it was good that it worked.
“We can do [the lob] now. Last year, Kevin would have missed the lob. Or we wouldn’t have thrown the lob,” Rivers said.
Even Rajon Rondo on a drive might have been more expected. But KG is a clutch player in his own right and the alley oop, which Garnett banked in, took Philly by surprise. That was the game, but KG also stole the inbounds pass just to make sure.
As the final minutes drew near Ray Allen scored 7 straight Celtic points and finished as the game’s high scorer with 23 points on 7 of 10 shooting, 2 of 3 three pointers, and 7-7 from the foul line.
Rajon Rondo was his usual spectacular self with 14 assists, while adding 19 points on 9 of 14 shooting, with 5 boards and 3 steals.
Nate Robinson had 9 points on 3 three pointers, all in the first half, to help the Celtics stay with the 76ers.
The rookie from Turkey, Semih Erden started at center and played 17 minutes adding 8 points and 3 rebounds.
Kevin Garnett anchored the defense with 3 blocks and his usual active floor game and helped with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
The Celtics shot .559 on the game. They lead the league in that statistic.
The Celtics once again are an exciting team to watch play. They are not perfect, but they are as close you can expect with all the injuries. The Cs play unselfish basketball and have multiple options at crunch time.
Paul Pierce took just 8 shots and that may as big an example of this team’s unselfish play as any. He finished with a modest 8 points, but added 8 rebounds, and very solid defense on Andre Iguodala, the Sixers go-to guy and top offensive player, doing what the team needed with their length on the bench. Iguodala scored 14 points on 5 of 14 shooting, but added 11 assists of his own.
15 offensive rebounds helped keep the 76ers in the game, with 8 by Elton Brand. Without Shaq, the 76ers scored 40 points in the paint by combining fast breaks and seams in the Celtics interior defense.
Still, you have to like this effort by the Celtics against a team that had won 5 straight games at home until this contest.
Doc Rivers…
“We just felt like we didn’t play great. We shot the ball great (55.9 percent) and in some ways stole the win. And players all know—and so do coaches—when you get away with one, and we got away with one tonight.”
And that is a good sign.
Next game is Saturday at 7pm at Charlotte against the Bobcats.
The Boston Celtics extend their winning streak to 7 games and are now first in the Eastern Conference with a 16-4 record.
I’m not sure what was more important, that the Celtics played so well without the irreplaceable Rajon Rondo or that the 7’ Nets center Brook Lopez looked so timid even after his last performance and public dressing down by his coach.
Forget the ‘let down game’ idea I mentioned pre-game. The Killer Cs heated up after seesawing through the first period, as a maligned bench unit helped push things firmly into the Celtics’ hands. They outscored the Nets 30-12 with Marquis Daniels and Glen Davis contributing 8 points apiece in the crushing quarter.
More important, the bench played solid defense to go with their scoring. Avery Bradley got an early look and played 5 first half minutes, while Von Wafer also got 6 first half minutes.
Nate Robinson became the starter on a very late scratch, when Rondo told Doc he couldn’t go just minutes before the start of the game. Nate responded with 8 first quarter points and ended up leading the Celtics with 21 points and 6 assists.
Glen Davis was aggressive offensively with 12 first half points and 16 for the game to go along with 9 rebounds. He was missing an assortment of jumpers, but strong scoring at the rim in the face of New Jersey’s frontline.
After grabbing just 2 rebounds with no defensive boards in the Nets previous game against Charlotte, he only corralled 6 rebounds to go with 5 points in 21 minutes Sunday. Avery Johnson said that he is being asked to do a lot more things this season in their schemes, but that is no excuse for a center to have no defensive rebounds. Lopez rebounding is down significantly this season under his new head coach.
The Celtics attacked the middle with great success, finishing with 52 points in the paint to the Nets 28. It didn’t matter if it was Lopez, Johan Petro, Kris Humphries, Derrick Favors, or Troy Murphy, the Celtics constantly drove middle and/or Rondo was regularly hitting back door cutters who made lay-ups behind a sleeping Nets defense.
From the look of things, it appears that Avery Johnson has a lot of work to do with this team.
Shaq once again looked sharp as the Celtics were +15 points in his 12 minutes of play. The Celtics out rebounded the Nets 49-36 on the day as Kevin Garnett led with 13 rebounds, while adding 13 points and 4 assists.
But the biggest plus point spread occurred with Nate Robinson at + 29 points on the game. Net guard Devin Harris is just returning from injury and appears not to be 100% yet. He played 24 unimpressive minutes and Nate took full advantage of both Harris and Jordan Farmer.
I don’t know whether the Celtics are playing so well that they are making teams look that bad, or the teams they are playing are just that bad. They shot their league leading average of 51% on the day and made short work of the rebuilding Nets.
Bench Gets Lots of Playing Time
Semih Erden got a lot of minutes and a lot of shot attempts but had a tough day. He finished with just 4 points on 4 shot attempts and 2 of 6 free throws, but even Nets color man, Mike Fratello said that the refs were allowing the Nets to surround and foul him with few calls being made in the rookie’s favor.
Rookie guard Avery Bradley was looking for his shot, putting up 7 attempts in 15 minutes, but only converting for 4 points on the game. He did play solid defense along with his other bench mates.
Von Wafer showed that he can still score with 8 points off 5 shots in just 18 minutes. Wafer added a steal and a block.
The Celtics are remaining focused and keeping away some bad habits at least well enough to keep winning games they should be winning. At times they are downright dominant. Today was one of those days.
Next up are the Denver Nuggets at home on Wednesday night.
Just reported from Red’s Army via Rich Levine….Rajon Rondo is out for today’s Nets game. That actually fits in with the rest of my post.
Sorry I haven’t been able to post anything for a week. My plate has been full with my full time work.
All I’ve missed reporting on is a Celtic 6 game winning streak! It all started after an embarrassing loss to the Toronto Raptors.
While not perfect, the Green Machine has looked pretty good in disposing of Atlanta, New Jersey, Toronto (revenge), Cleveland, Portland and Chicago. They play the Nets again at 1pm today.
The point spread in this streak is a whopping 12.2 points. That is a Philadelphia Cream Cheese, championship quality spread. They blew out the Cavs (106-87) and the Hawks (99-76). Atlanta and Chicago were the only teams over .500 in that group. Only the Celtic bench stopped the Chicago win from being a blow out. The Bulls defense looked just abysmal and hardly representative of former Celtic coach and now head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Raptors Turning it Up
But surprisingly, the Raptors are 6-4 over their last 10 games. They are now 8-11 and I never expected them to get that close to .500 this season. Their talented rookie 1st rounder Ed Davis has just returned from injury and that can only help them.
Pressure on the Bench
The Celtics bench is under duress with Delonte West and Jermaine O’Neal out for extended periods. Those are 2 key contributors and their loss has been felt. They gave up a second quarter 14 point lead against the Bulls and have been erratic otherwise.
Maybe it’s time to see what Von Wafer, Avery Bradley, or even Luke Harangody can do in real time. With Rajon Rondo, you only need to fill 10 minutes a game to give him enough rest. He has been playing through plantar fasciitis, ankle tweaks, and hamstring issues for a while. It would be nice if they could find a way to let him sit for 20 minutes in some games.
In the meantime, the Nets are mired in a 2-8 run right now. Sounds like a perfect time for a Celtic let down. These are the games that give the Celtics trouble. Bad teams playing badly.
Every Bad Team is a ‘Trap’ Game
The Green Machine seems to have learned their lesson, but they have a habit of dropping their guard in situations like these. I still contend that the Nets are not as bad a team as their record indicates. If they can get Brook Lopez motivated and Derrick Favors keeps improving, they have a solid core with point guard Devin Harris leading the way.
So this would be a good time to try and surprise a Celtic unit that has been unprepared for bad teams playing well against them. The Celtics should look at this game as a chance to build a lead and let the bench continue to get experience and figure things out. Hopefully they can keep it close and let the starters rest. Only Dallas’ 9 game winning streak is longer at the moment.
Davis’ Game on the Move
Glen Davis has been a constant off the bench. His defense and shooting have helped all season. Where his game should be rounding out is with a bit more rebounding and the addition of some passing. Everything Davis does is done better ‘on the move.’
Big Baby – Passing The Next Step?
Glen has demonstrated the ability to pass well at times in the 4 years he’s been in the league. But if you look at his career record, you will see long strings of zeros or ‘one assist’ with some ‘two assists’ sprinkled in along the way in the assists category.
4 Assists
When players are asked to play certain defined roles within a team concept, they often concentrate on those specific roles to the detriment of other aspects of the game. I highly doubt that Doc said to just shoot the ball no matter what, but Davis has been largely open in the past because his outside shooting game was never respected by opposing defenses. You are open. You shoot.
On top of that, when you are 6’ 8” and largely land bound (or is it large and land bound?) and asked to patrol the middle in the land of the NBA’s leaping Sequoias, you are going to get a lot of basketball sandwiches to eat. Davis did last season and seems to have learned from the experience.
Ties Regular Season Career High
It went unnoticed as non-news but Davis recently had 4 assists against the Cavaliers. That tied his career regular season high. He has done it only one other time…2 years ago on March 4th 2009, against the New Jersey Nets. Hardly time to break out the champagne, celebrate and send out news releases, but it is noteworthy if he continues to add include that aspect to his growing game.
Davis’ all time high is 6 assists and he did that in the playoffs against the Bull April 23rd 2009, along with 6 steals, 3 blocks and 14 points in that game.
As Glen’s weight has shrunk in the NBA, his game had grown. I’ve been a believer that his game has always been there, it has just needed the playing time and team style to develop properly.
With his own focus on scoring now much more stabilized, consistent and moving forward, the next step is to see the floor better and look for passing opportunities because defenses are now paying him more attention.
We have actually witnessed that more in recent games. His interior passing has improved as defenders come to stop his assaults at the rim. Weakside cutters will get the ball at least some of the time when Glen attacks the hoop.
Glen’s assists at a career high of 1.3 per game, but that is a far cry from what he can be producing. He has had 3 assists or more only 10 times in his 3 plus years in the NBA and that includes the playoffs.
In his defense, he was never asked to be a play maker. The offense never ran through him and he was often where the ball stopped. Understanding that he was supposed to shoot open jumpers and put back offensive rebounds, I’m sure there were times where there were other better options to be sought out.
I believe you can put the ball in Davis’ hands, put the offense in motion and he can find the right option and get it to him. With Glen now moving better and more confidently on offense, plays can be designed that way with effectiveness. It may not happen this season, but maybe it should, especially with the second unit. They often need help scoring the ball.
Can Davis Make Things Easier For Others?
It might be too early to try it, but I can’t see why he can’t do that. Davis’ scoring has moved up a level. Maybe it’s time to see if he can make those around him better. Davis has never been asked to do that and it is quite possible he has that ability to make things easier for others.
That seems to be a next logical step…for Glen Davis…and the Celtics’ second unit. All the players are supposed to keep the ball moving, and Davis now gets a number of isolation opportunities and ‘pick and pop’ sets, but maybe a few more sets should be designed around giving Davis passing options when he begins his moves.
Davis’ recent 4 assist game was a highly unusual exception. Maybe it shouldn’t be.
The Boston Celtics worked off their turkey legs and returned to their predatory ways by beating the Toronto Raptors 110-101, a team that beat them just 3 games earlier.
Rondo Returns
Instead of seeing Von Wafer or Avery Bradley get their first rotation minutes while Marquis Daniels moved over to back up Nate Robinson at point guard, we got to see the return of Rajon Rondo.
After missing 3 games with a hamstring injury, Rajon talked his way back into playing and delivered 14 assists in 35 minutes. He also had 3 steals and 8 of the team’s turnovers.
The Celtics knew what they had to do and that was attack the middle. The Raptors are soft inside and got softer when Reggie Evans went down with was later determined to be a broken ankle. Evans went out early last season as well. He is the only player on the team that can reasonably be defined as a physical player. Just call them the Toronto Jelly Donuts. Everyone goes for that tasty soft middle.
Behind strong performances by Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal, the Celtics trampled inside for 64 points in the paint. KG led with 26 points on 10 of 18 shooting with 11 rebounds. Shaq once again proved adept going right to the rim with a perfect 5 for 5 shooting, with a just as amazing 6 for 8 foul shooting for 16 points total, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Shaq on a Tear
Upon his signing, it was hoped and expected that Shaquille O’Neal would offset some defensive shortcomings with a positive at the other end of the floor. But none expected this.
If he keeps it up and can get enough attempts (I’m not sure what the minimum would be to qualify) he could break the NBA record for FG%. Right now Shaq is shooting 69% over 11 games. It is hard to believe, but over the last three games he has taken that number up…to near perfection. Shaq has missed just three shots and has gone 20 for 23 shooting. That is 87%.
He has done it against the Raptors, Nets and Hawks, none of which have the toughest nor biggest frontlines. But Shaq also had his worst shooting game of the season against the same Raptors the last time . He went 2 for 8.
Revenge?
In a game the Celtics apparently snoozed, Andre Bargnani put up 29 points and blocked a Kevin Garnett shot on a drive. Raptor reserve power forward Amir Johnson went off for 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Reggie Evans grabbed 17 boards.
This time Shaq finished with 16 points and 9 boards to go with Garnett’s effort. Bargnani and Johnson both ended up with 11 points this time.
The Celtics ended up with 5 players in double figures. After KG’s 26, Glen Davis and Paul Pierce added 18 points each, Ray Allen had 17 more including 3 three pointers in the first period.
Ray Allen Hot Too.
Ray added a season high 8 assists to go with 2 blocks and a steal. Including a cold start to the season, Ray is shooting 45.2% overall from the arc. He is hitting at a 53% clip from downtown since November 5th.
Rebounding
After paying more than lip service early to Doc’s plea for more rebounding from the Celtics small men, that seems to have been overlooked lately. Both Ray and Paul are down to lower numbers. Pierce is back down to 4.9 boards while Ray is at 3.4 for the season. Those are only slightly higher than last season and lower than what they are capable of when focused upon it.
Even in this win, the non-physical Raptors out rebounded the Celtics for the second time, this time 44-35.
Bench Falters
The Celtic starters pushed the lead to 22 points in the 3rd quarter and the game was all but decided. Then the Boston bench largely let the Raptors get within 6 points at 99-93 before the starters again put the game out of reach.
“It’s unfair, but let’s be unfair for a moment – in the first and third quarters (combined) they scored 35 points on our starters (last night),” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “The other two quarters were 32 and 34 (points by Toronto), and that’s on our second unit.
“That’s the only thing I talked about after the game. I thought our second unit was frustrated because offensively things weren’t going well for them both times out on the floor. So they decided they weren’t going to defend because they were frustrated with their offense.”
Because the Celtics killed the Raptor starters, the Raptors bench played more minutes than usual and were led by Linas Kleiza’s 18 points, and Leandro Barbosa’s 14. Due to the trade of Jarrette Jack to the Hornets, point guard Jose Calderon returned to starting and added 15 assists.
Stat of note: The Celtics assisted on 21 of 22 first half field goals. That is just crazy good team basketball.
But Doc Rivers isn’t sure it’s quite time for Bradley, who’s missed time with an ankle problem.
“He’s been through three full practices this season, including training camp,” the coach said. “And he’s a rookie, and we’re going to throw him on the floor. So we may at times, but we’ve just got to protect him. We don’t want to ruin him.”
G Von Wafer wasn’t known as a defensive player, but coach Doc Rivers said that’s how he’ll have to get his playing time. “Defense and Von Wafer can now go together,” he said. “And that’s a great thing. It really is. He’s bought in, and it’s a great lesson for him: just hang in there. And he did.”
