The Celtics started on a full tank of gas and brought this one home on fumes.
It was a man’s game.
This game had much more meaning for the Celtics than it did for the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers. In what become near playoff atmosphere basketball, the pressure was on the Celtics.
They needed to show that they are still alive and can play top level basketball for 48 minutes. They did all of that.
Ray Allen was supposed to be gone in a trade. Instead, he showed everyone why Danny Ainge decided not to pull the trigger on a number of scenarios. Ray broke out a recent shooting slump, hitting 4 of 5 threes, was 10 of 11 shooting at one point, and led both teams with 24 points, all in the first three quarters.
Ray had 8 straight Celtic points and 12 overall in the 3rd quarter as they built a 10 point lead.
Second Half Troubles Again
After the Celtics scored 53 first half points, scoring became much harder as both clubs played lock down defense in the second half. The Celtic starters also looked winded in the final period from playing so hard for so long.
While their offense and bench continues to have trouble, a return to Celtic style defense won this game for them.
The Celtics scored just 11 fourth quarter points and a mere 34 in the second half. After shooting 55% (22-40) in the first half, they shot just 15 of 44 (34%) in the second. Normally that would signal yet another loss, especially in the Lakers’ building. A 25 to 13 free throw attempt disadvantage would only add to thinking so.
Lakers Held to 2 Points
Their defense made it be enough by holding the Lakers to 38 second half points. After giving up a game long lead once again, Green Team defense locked in and held L.A. to 2 points in the last 7 minutes of the game.
They held L.A. to 17 points on 8 of 22 (36%) in the final quarter and .407 for the game to eke out the win.
Rondo…Little Man – Big Heart
Mercurial Rajon Rondo scored 14 points and none were bigger than his high arcing, running bank shot over Lamar Odom and a closing Ron Artest with 2:49 left in the game. It gave Boston an 87-84 lead. It would be Boston’s final score and their defense made it stand up.
Rondo 5 steals – Rest of Celtics – zero
The importance of Rajon Rondo’s performance in this game cannot be over estimated. He was literally all over the court and with his 5 steals was the single biggest reason why the Celtics won. He shot only 6 of 17 but had 11 assists, drew a technical for taunting early in the game, had 3 shots blocked, and blocked one himself.
But he led the team in confidence and aggressiveness early in the game when they needed it most.
Any questions of Rondo’s rise to become one of the league’s very best point guards are being put to rest by games like these. He craves the pressure and responds.
His steals, particularly in the first half, were very important. They were the only ones the Celtics got.
Two plus years ago, the Celtics handed Rondo the keys to a Lamborghini. He is now the engine.
Kevin Garnett
But it was not a one man show. It was a total team effort and Kevin Garnett was right there with his best game since his return. His defense was relentless and he hit some big time shots against a tough Laker defense.
When he did his left/right ball fake with his back to the basket, turned, and hit a fadeaway jumper over Andrew Bynum for a 25-18 first quarter lead, you knew he was locked in as he has not been for a while.
Energetic and enthusiastic, Garnett got in early foul trouble, reducing him to just 26 minutes of playing time. He finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks. But he was so good that the Celtics outscored the Lakers by 16 points in his time on the floor.
Kevin was as mobile and aggressive as I’ve seen in quite some time.
With the bench playing poorly and unable to maintain the lead that the starters built, and the lead evaporating as soon as Rondo would leave the game, Doc had little choice but run Rondo out there for 44 plus minutes.
The Beantown Ballers showed they still have a heart beating in the Green Team’s body with an outstanding effort in Lakertown.
Both teams missed players
The Celtics played without Eddie House and could have used him. Los Angeles played without Kobe Bryant and that is why Derek Fisher was shooting and missing a 20 foot jump shot as time expired with the game in the balance.
A true appraisal of this game may take a few more weeks of play before we can determine its importance. You could say that this was the first game of a truly concerted effort in a Celtic return to playing high level basketball.
They stormed out of the gate breathing fire and maintained control for most of the game while absorbing a number of intense and energetic assaults by a Laker team that was patient and oozing confidence.
Pau Gasol was a handful and showed what a great player he has become with 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting with 3 blocked shots. Lamar Odom also played big with 14 rebounds and a number of aggressive baskets, while blocking 2 shots and making 2 steals. Odom is always a match up problem for the Cs.
Perkins Big Block and Game
Playing a big game after slumping a bit recently was Kendrick Perkins. Kendrick shot 5 of 7 for 13 hard fought points, tied for game honors with 14 rebounds (3 offensive) and had a huge block of Ron Artest when Artest drove baseline on Pierce with the score 85-84 and 3:15 left to play.
With Rasheed Wallace shooting 2 of 11, and grabbing just 3 rebounds in 20 plus minutes, Doc had Perkins out there in the final minutes and it proved to be the correct move.
Perkins Regains Lead
The Celtics had gone scoreless for almost 4 minutes in the 4th period and had relinquished the lead to the Lakers at 84-80. Kendrick scored the next 5 straight Celtic points on a lay up and foul and a put back of a Ray Allen miss to go up 85-84 with 4:22 left.
Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce committed to playing solid defense but had some trouble offensively with Ron Artest guarding him. Paul finished with 11 points on 4 of 9 shooting with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and just one turnover in 41 plus minutes. He looked a bit slow or tired as he shot 0-3 in the 4th period attempting to go isolation a few times.
Paul also missed two big foul shots with 3 plus minutes left and the Celtics up just 85-84.
Bench
The Celtic bench was disappointing with just 12 points and generally was outplayed by the Laker bench.
Marquis Daniels played 13 minutes without taking a shot. Glen Davis had 4 points and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes and they need more from both of them.
Summary
The Celtics will be very happy to take this win and this overall effort. They looked quite good compared to recent efforts, though they still have things to work out.
Beating the Lakers, even without Kobe Bryant, is a step in the right direction. We will have to see if they can build off this in Portland tonight.
New York Knick 5′ 9″ combo guard Nate Robinson will be a Boston Celtic this time tomorrow according to a number of solid NBA reports.
The Celtics will send 6′ 1″ (listed) shooting guard Eddie House and little used second year player 6′ 5″ J.R. Giddens to the Knicks for the talented, but unwanted Knick guard, according to a tweet by Marc Spears of Yahoo! sports…
The other missing part of the Nate Robinson-Eddie House deal is expected to be Celtics guard J.R. Giddens, Y! Sports has learned.
Robinson has frustrated head coach Mike D’Antoni since last season and has been in D’Antoni’s doghouse for a while. Nate was benched for a 14 game stretch, nearly the entire month of December.
The Celtics have been seeking a better option to back up Rajon Rondo for a while. While not a true point guard either, Nate Robinson fills that need better than Eddie House or Marquis Daniels, who is needed to spell Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
Fan favorite and locker room good guy Eddie House will be taking that super quick release and deadly three point shooting to New York where he’ll play for his former coach in Phoenix, Mike D’Antoni.
Eddie House set a new Celtic record for accuracy for three point shooting last season (44.4%) , besting current GM Danny Ainge’s long standing mark.
More important, Eddie was an important part of the 2008 Celtics’ Championship Team. He was the first free agent signing after the Celtics obtained Kevin Garnett. House signed just a day or two later.
House also played an instrumental role in getting James Posey to follow him to Boston to help the Celtics try to win a title. House was with New Jersey, and if I recall correctly, then free agent Posey was thinking of going to the Nets when House helped persuade him to come with him to Boston. Posey signed with the Celtics and those two played big roles on that team.
Eddie ‘The Professional’ House will fit perfectly in NY with D’Antoni’s system. He already knows it. From Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston…
“I know the coaching staff, I know the system, I know the plays they run. I know my style fits right in. I’m feeling good right now about the way I’m playing. It’s going to be a good thing. You have to take it like that.”
Nate Robinson’s stats for this season: 13.2 pts, 45% FG, 37.5% three point average, 3.7 assists, 2.4 rebounds in 24:23 minutes in 30 games.
This is Nate’s 5th year in the league after starring at Washington. His best year scoring was 2008-9 when he averaged 17.2 points.
While not a natural point guard, Robinson handles the ball better and passes better than Eddie House. House can be effective without the ball in his hands. In fact, Eddie is at his best coming off screens as a ‘catch and shoot’ three point specialist.
Robinson needs the ball in his hands more to really be effective. He is better ‘off the dribble’ and can drive with some effectiveness.
According to 82games.com House shoots 94% jump shots (eFG .493%) and just 6% of his shots are inside shots (eFG .50%).
Nate Robinson shoots 75% jump shots (eFG .524%) and 25% are inside shots (drives) for an eFG of .542% which is decent for a guard.
But a big reason for getting Robinson was defense. Honestly, he is not know for his defense in NY. But in New York, who is? Though smaller, he is expected to be a better defender than Eddie House. Nate is much quicker and stronger than House. With his desire to go to the Celtics, where games really matter, it is expected that he will apply himself at that end of the floor here. Remember when we actually saw Sam Cassell and Stephon Marbury exert real effort on defense here?
Nate is 25 years old and those guys (and House) are all on the wrong side of 30.
I don’t know how many know this but….the Knicks were actually a better team with Nate on the floor vs. off. (+1.9). And that was true last season as well.
So, Nate Robinson is a superior and more versatile scorer overall, handles the ball under pressure better, and can defend better than Eddie House.
In a previous interview I did with House, he said that he was ‘a professional’ in how he goes about his business in the NBA. As an oft traveled player (the Knicks will be House’s 9th NBA team) that is important in handling the transitory life he has led. He will certainly be missed in the locker room, on the court, by fans and by the local media.
And this is where another difference shapes up between the two players.
Nate Robinson has a big personality, is a big fan of Will Farrell, and sometimes hasn’t been a true ‘professional’ in regards to his conduct.
Personality Clash with Coach D’Antoni
He first drew Mike D’Antoni’s ire last season for talking too much and drawing too many technicals on the court. D’Antoni (and the NBA) almost suspended him for pushing referee Kenny Mauer while trying to get at Hornet Chris Paul in game in late March of ‘09. Nate had 12 techs on the year at that time.
D’Antoni, in an article by Mitch Lawrence in the Daily News shortly after said…
“He just needs to understand that he does not need to complain to the referees, and I communicated that,” D’Antoni said. “That’s one part of his game that he has to get under control. With referees, you just can’t continuously complain and he has that bad habit and he has to break it.”
Apparently Nate has gotten the message as he doesn’t have a technical this season.
But this season Robinson made sports headlines for shooting at the opposing team’s basket after the buzzer sounded in a Nets game. Mike D. was livid with him and benched him for the rest of the game. Nate looked completely surprised at D’Antoni’s anger with him.
Nate continued to draw frustration from D’Antoni by being too playful and fraternizing with opposing teams before games. That was said to be the reason for Nate’s banishment to the bench in December, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
That eventually ended and Nate has played in all but 2 games since then. In dramatic fashion, Nate’s first game back he scored 41 points, with 8 assists and 6 rebounds in 38 plus minutes.
One thing you can be sure of, is that total commitment will be required from his Celtic team mates led by ‘Mr. Intense’, Kevin Garnett.
Like Stephon Marbury before him, the Celtics expect a new environment such as the Celtics provide will be beneficial to both parties.
There is no doubt that Nate Robinson is a talented basketball player with skills that the Celtics could use. He will be entering a locker room that has been dealing with some issues of their own.
He could be the spark plug off the bench that they need. Danny is counting on Doc to once again help what could be called a talented but unconventional personality adjust and be productive in the Celtics system.
Nate had said that the Lakers or Celtics were the only two teams he would approve a trade to. He got his wish as did the Celtics for an upgrade at back up point guard.
Robinson is rumored to be in Los Angeles already and will suit up for the Celtics’ game with the Lakers tonight.
The Celtics made them. The Kings didn’t…except when they didn’t want to.
Fittingly for this game, the free throw line is called the charity stripe. The magnanimous Kings gave generously and the needy Celtics took full advantage to pull out a win.
Boston was led by Paul Pierce and Rasheed Wallace with 17 points apiece. Once again the Celtics played solid defense but struggled on offense.
The Beantown Ballers came out of the All Star break a little soft, allowing the Kings to score 30 first quarter points.
Though outstanding defense was eventually played by the starters, neither Pierce nor Kevin Garnett seemed to be moving all that well in this game.
Half Enough?
It was again a tale of two halves. The Celtics scored 57 first half points, but added only 38 more in the second half. They held the Kings to 40 second half points. The Cs played solid defense for three quarters and young team jitters under pressure enabled them to eke out the win.
They held Sacramento to .381 shooting on the night and the Kings could only hit .633% of their foul shots compared to .839% of Gang Green’s. The paint was a difficult place to score for both teams (30-28 Kings).
Block Party
As did the Celtics, the Kings played an aggressive, pack-it-in, interior defense all night and held Boston to .375 shooting overall. They blocked 11 shots to Boston’s 7. Both teams executed solid game plans and the middle was a dangerous place to try to score. Besides Garnet and Glen Davis getting blocked three times each, Pierce and Kendrick Perkins were blocked twice each.
Boston Bench Mob Erupts
In a rarely seen turn of events this season, the Boston bench gave the Cs a second quarter jolt of energy and a lead that the starters (save Wallace replacing Perkins for most of the 4th) relinquished late in the 4th before fighting back to pull out the win.
With Marquis Daniels’ recent return, the bench players are completely healthy for the first time this season.
Marquis had 7 points, on one field goal and 5 of 6 from the line, all in the first half. Though he had difficulty putting the ball in the hole (1 of 5 shooting, including a couple of missed lay ups) the Celtics outplayed the Kings by 13 points when he was on the floor in the first half.
With Sacramento up 26-21 with 2 minutes left in the first quarter, the bench players caught fire and outscored the Kings 9-4 to close out the first period. Glen Davis and Rasheed Wallace each scored 4 points to tie the game 30 all after one.
They continued their assault in the second quarter as Wallace was 4-4 shooting for 10 points in 9 plus minutes that also included a steal and 2 blocked shots in the first half.
Davis Getting Better
Davis was active with 6 rebounds, 6 points, 3 assists and a blocked shot in 10 plus minutes of his finest basketball of the season. Glen finished with 8 rebounds, 7 points, but three shots of his own blocked in 17 plus minutes.
Though he continues to get his inside shot blocked at a high rate, he has been more active overall lately. The hope is that he will figure out how to reduce the Spaulding sandwiches while becoming more effective inside. Davis can be clever at times inside.
Glen let the ‘Rondo’ in him come out as he drove the paint and kicked long passes back out to an open Eddie House for assists on two three pointers in the second quarter.
Fast Eddie came in and lit up Sacramento for 3 three pointers and 9 points in nine minutes.
Great Pass
House, coming down the middle, had a great touch pass to Tony Allen on the right wing, who headed to the rim and was fouled by Francisco Garcia, who was playing in his first game of the year.
Free Throws Made the Difference
Foul shots are called free throws, but they were costly to the Kings as Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, and Jason Thompson went 0-6 combined at crucial points in the 4th quarter.
The veteran Celtics made theirs in the final 15 seconds to put away a hard fought win against the youthful Sacramento team. Rasheed Wallace, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce combined for 6-6 to hold on to a 95-92 win.
The Kings, the third youngest team in the league, gave the veteran Celtics all they could handle for 46 and a half minutes. They rebounded hard (48-45) and pushed the ball in transition for 15 fast break points to the Celtics 2 FB points. An advantage for most of the game, at that point their youth showed as did the experience of the Celtics.
Kings Take Lead, Celtics Play Cool and Win
Trailing since the second quarter, 6’ 9” rookie small forward Omri Casspi, who scored 19 points to lead all scorers, made his 3rd three point shot of the night to retake the lead 85-84 with 3:38 left in the game.
At that point, Celtic captain Paul Pierce awakened from a lethargic offensive game to score on a lay up to retake the lead 86-85.
The Kings prized second year player, 6’ 11” Jason Thompson, answered with his third jump shot of the quarter to retake the lead at 87-86. He hit three impressive jump shots in that quarter with Rasheed Wallace right in his face.
Big Shot Pierce
After Ray Allen missed a jumper, Pierce made the biggest shot of the game. It was an open three pointer to regain the lead, 89-87 with 1:38 left. The Celtics held onto the lead the rest of the way.
It was then that Casspi and Thompson missed 4 straight free throws, sandwiched around a Garnett contested lay attempt missed by Spencer Hawes that would have given the Kings the lead. ,
Garnett, who had his shot blocked by Casspi in the 1st quarter, was blocked for the third time in the game by Jason Thompson (4 blocks) with 28 seconds left.
With 15 seconds left, the Kings went to the fouling game, sending Rasheed to the line and he showed them how to make pressure free throws.
After 6’ 6” rookie phenom Tyreke Evans missed a lay up, he stepped back and hit a three point shot that got the Kings within one at 91-90 with 6 seconds left.
Evans was well guarded by Rajon Rondo for most of the game and shot 5 of 13 for 17 points. In Rondo-like fashion, Evans grabbed 11 rebounds to go with 7 assists.
The Kings were then forced to foul Ray Allen, who calmly sunk them both to extend the lead to three at 93-90.
Makes them when he doesn’t want to
At that point, Omri Casspi was fouled in the middle and went to the line. After hitting his first foul shot he was trying to miss the second in order to get the rebound, but he banked it in by accident.
Wallace played one of his best games as a Celtic, scoring 17 points in 24 minutes, going 6-6 from the line, 1 of 4 from the three point arc, grabbing 5 rebounds, blocking 3 shots, and adding a steal. But it was defensively that he really stood out. Wallace has had trouble playing help defense, Celtic style. Last night he looked much improved and it showed in the Kings’ points in the paint, FG% and total points when he was in.
Rajon Rondo scored just 4 points but had 6 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and played solid defense all night.
Kevin Garnett had 9 points on just 4 of 7 shooting, and led the Celtics with 9 rebounds. He played solid D and added a steal and a block in 30 plus minutes.
Ray Allen finished with 15 points on 5 of 15 shooting and was only 1 of 6 from the three point line. Ray is in a major three point shooting slump over the last 7 games, making only 8 of 34 attempts (23%).
Kendrick Perkins had 6 points on 2 of 7 shooting, 6 rebounds, and a blocked shot in almost 24 minutes.
Paul Pierce added 4 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and three turnovers (two offensive fouls) in 32 plus minutes.
The Celtic bench scored 44 of the Celtics’ 95 points. I’d have to check, but I’d assume that is close to a season high.
Summary
This game wasn’t supposed to be such a struggle. But I give some credit to an energized Kings team coming off an all star break where 2 of its own participated in the rookie game. This King team came to play last night. The rest of the blame goes to a Celtic starting unit that is still a work in progress.
What this means as the Celtics move on to play the Lakers, I don’t know. They have been without Kobe Bryant, out with an ankle sprain. But they have won 4 in a row without him.
I don’t know if Bryant will play on Thursday. Either way, the Celtics still have not put 48 minutes of solid basketball together and are working things out.
Ray Allen was kept out of the last game in New Orleans before the All Star break. It seemed possible at the time that the timing was related to all the trade noise generated directly around his name. You know. As in a precautionary measure before a big trade to prevent any last minute injury.
Steve Bulpett of bostonherald.com reports that Ray did indeed have back problems that were addressed in the Bahamas…
He missed last Wednesday’s game in New Orleans with back spasms, but four days in the Bahamas with several trips to the hot tub had him feeling better here.
Ray has been both healthy and in great shape this season. Yet, he has numbers that haven’t been this low since his rookie year. Some attribute it to natural aging. I’m not so sure. A number of things haven’t gone as planned this season particularly for the Celtics’ offense.
In case you might wonder if the back spasms might account for some of that decline, they just started happening a week ago.
Ray says there is still tightness but it’s better than it was. Bulpett again…
“I’m better than I was four days ago,” said Allen, who first noticed the problem at practice a week ago. “I’ve still got back tightness, but whatever was going on with my back, it seemed like it went away.
Regarding Kevin Garnett’s belief that this team can win as is, the Herald article addressed that too…
(Garnett) still believes this team can win.
“Absolutely,” said KG. “Absolutely. But we can’t win anything playing the way we’re currently playing. The game is not 40 minutes. It’s not 30 minutes. It’s 48 minutes, and we’ve got to put together 48 minutes of a game.”
Garnett can be loyal to a fault. It was said that he wanted to remain a Timberwolf even through another reshuffling of the deck there until he got the word that the Timberwolves’ owner Glen Taylor wanted to go in a new direction.
This has been a close knit team that has bonded deeply over the last 2 plus years. KG with Bulpett…
I root for everybody in here. We all wear the same jerseys. Guys in here actually give two cents about each other.
But Danny has been exploring improving the club through trades and Kevin is resigned to that as well.
But if Danny feels something needs to be done, that’s what’s going to happen regardless of who likes it and who doesn’t.”
If something’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. You’ve got to be able to be a man about it and understand that this is a business first and try to perform either way.”
So, the Celtics resume play tonight against the Sacramento Kings. The specter of change will hang over everything until Thursday.
Most expect Danny will do something. If not a medium move such as trading Glen Davis for D.J. Augustine, or expiring contracts for another role player, then possibly a major move involving Ray Allen could fall into place.
One of those Ray Allen rumors involves the team they play tonight. Shooting guard (Ray’s position) Kevin Martin, an explosive offensive player, has returned from injury and is trying to fit in with rookie sensation Tyreke Evans. Some say that isn’t going to work out as well as hoped.
In 20 games total, Martin is averaging just 20 points on 40% shooting, though his rebounding is up (4.4) and turnovers (1.8) are down. Kevin is a career 45% shooter and averaged 24.6 points last season.
The rumor here is essentially Martin and forward Andres Nocioni for Ray.
After a fast and surprising start (13-14), the Kings have fallen back to earth. They are 4-18 over their last 22 games. Tyreke Evans is a rookie-of-the-year candidate and, along with power forward Jason Thompson, is expected to be a cornerstone of the Kings growth plans.
The Kings have some other nice young pieces in Omri Casspi, the first Isreali born player in the NBA, Donte Greene, who they are having some success turning into a defensive stopper at small forward, and Spencer Hawes, a talented center who has yet to achieve any high level consistency.
Sacramento is on a modest 2 game winning streak, having beaten Detroit and New York before the break.
The Celtics are 0-2 coming in and are 9-13 since beating Orlando on Christmas Day, a high spot of the season. They are 5-5 since Garnett’s return.
The Celtics have a full roster, healthy and ready to play since Marquis Daniels returned 2 games ago. I say healthy, but Paul Pierce is still nursing a knee injury and sprained ankle.
(Garnett) started but played just 13 minutes in the All-Star game, totaling four points and three rebounds, and seemed miffed by questions about his health before Sunday’s game.
“I’ll speak one time about my health. It’s great,” Garnett said.
So we have to interpret ‘great’ in a relative way at this point.
The Celtics are rested. They begin the second half of the season tonight in search of the chemistry that has so mysteriously deserted them this season. The Kings are a good game to start with. It get much tougher after that with games against the Lakers on Thursday, Portland Friday and Denver on Sunday.
The Celtics have been in a funk and other league contenders are rumored to be making efforts to upgrade their own rosters for a title run.
With the window on the Big Three closing, Danny Ainge is reported to be entertaining offers for former UConn Husky Ray Allen and his $19.7 million expiring contract.
The main goal is to compete this season. Hopefully, a trade will upgrade the teams’ chances for a few years out, say until KevinGarnett’s contract is up.
Ray has been mentioned in separate deals for the Bulls’ Kirk Hinrich, the Kings’ Kevin Martin, and the Wizards’ Antawn Jamison.
While a number of league sources say that Danny is shopping Ray, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald says that Danny is gauging value for Ray but is reluctant to trade him.
Murphy….
The team continues to measure the veteran guard’s appeal on the market, but Ainge is reluctant to pull the trigger. Allen still is considered an important asset and likely will finish the season with the Celts.
‘Likely finish the season with the Celtics’ is the part that is hard to believe with so many rumors making it public.
But according to Murphy, the Celtics have decided not to take on 33 year old Jamison’s expensive ($30 million) two year contract calling him ‘too old and expensive.”
Garnett, Pierce and Rondo Protest Trade
While the Celtics main starters all say that breaking up the starting five isn’t necessary and they can get it together in the second half of the season, there has been little indication that will occur to this point.
Ray is aware of his name being out there and said this to A. Sherrod Blakely of csnne.com…
“Regardless of where I am, my job never changes,” he told CSNNE.com on Monday night. “One thing I learned when I first got to the league, there are so many things that you’re not going to be able to control, so don’t worry about them. That’s how I lived my life.”
And…
“Organizationally, we’re lucky to be part of an organization that wants to win,” Allen said. “From that aspect, winning a championship is not guaranteed. That’s why we’re all fortunate to be here. If that changes with me, I have to move on and figure out the best way that I can help myself.”
Teams have until Thursday to make trades. As teams follow through on trades and take certain players off the table, it may open up things for the Celtics to make a deal as it draws closer to the Thursday deadline.
Allen has been a fan favorite in his short time as a Celtic and it would be difficult to see him go. Ray has made it clear that he would like to remain a Celtic and re-sign with the team though he understands that this is first and foremost a business. Ray has been trade twice before, from Milwaukee to Seattle, and then to the Celtics.
The train wreck that is called the Washington Wizards have begun to disassemble a talented but highly dysfunctional team that never got untracked and was already reeling, when Gilbert Arenas’ locker room ‘cowboy-tricks-with-guns’ nuked any hope of reaching normalcy and potential for this group.
Buried deep in snow right now, D.C. has decided to plow its way out of a pile of ‘me first’ toxicity that was simply too deeply embedded for coach Flip Saunders to unravel.
Caron Butler aka ‘Tuff Juice’, one of UConn’s prolific swing men who made it big in the NBA, and a fan of Paul Pierce’s, is now a Dallas Maverick.
The Mavericks also receive 7′ Brendon Haywood, an under rated center who will serve them well.
As reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News…
The trade bringing Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to the Mavericks for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross was approved by the NBA on Saturday evening.
Deshawn Stevenson is a solid defender at the 2 guard spot.
Quick breakdown
Dallas just got quite a bit better. While both are swingmen, Butler is currently better than Josh Howard overall, though both have had their struggles this year. Caron has admittedly styled his game after Pierce’s, though he is more of a Pierce Lite, in my opinion.
Butler’s numbers this season are 16.9 points, 6.7 rebounds. 2.3 assists, FT 87%, FG 42% overall, and 26% from the three point line.
Caron is a two time all star and earlier in his career played with Kobe Bryant in L.A. Josh Howard was an all star as well, but Josh has been slowed by health issues this season.
Kobe on Butler in Sefkos’ article…
“You’re going to love him,” Bryant said. “I hate to say that, but you guys are going to absolutely love him. You put him on a contender and I’m telling you, you’re going to love him. And he’s tough as nails, too.”
Toughness is something that Dallas could really use.
Dallas needed to do something if they really want to be a contender in the west. Faltering of late, they are 2-5 over their last 7, have lost to the Lakers twice (once in a beatdown of 131-96) and are currently 32-20 overall. That won’t get it done if a title is what you are looking for.
What is unclear at this time is where Butler will play. Both he and Shawn Marion are better suited as small forwards. Butler can play some shooting guard (though he hasn’t played there much this season) so the natural assumption is that he will start and play there in place of Jason Terry or Juan Jose Barea. Marion will continue to start at the 3 (small forward), I assume.
It was rumored earlier in the year that Butler was having trouble fitting into in Saunders new offensive system and with teammate Arenas. A fresh start with a playoff bound team should help Caron.
Haywood Will Help
The sleeper part of the trade is 7’ Brenden Haywood, a center, who, not unlike the Celtics own Kendrick Perkins, has quietly improved his game over the years. He gives you 9.8 points and 10.3 rebounds in 33 minutes this season. He is a defensive factor and offers better balance at the center position than either Drew Gooden or Erik Dampier could give you.
This is the kind of center that Dallas has lacked for years. He has a very efficient, if modest inside game. 77% of his attempts are inside shots and he is scoring at .684 eFG rate. He has length and size and plays a solid interior defense.
Dampier has had troubles with his knees and Haywood takes a load of his shoulders now, though it remains to be seen who starts.
Donn Nelson said that Shawn Marion may move over and play power forward a bit to give Dirk Nowitzki more rest. Marion played power forward at times on the Suns with great effectiveness.
For the Wizards, Howard is solid if not quite up to what he was previously, Drew Gooden is better as a contributor off the bench, but can fill in at the 4 or 5.
Like Stevenson, 6’ 6” Quinton Ross is defensive minded and kind of an even swap, though Stevenson had a bigger role with Washington.
6’ 8” James Singleton has struggled to get minutes and appears to be a throw-in.
Contracts
Josh Howard has this year at $10.9 mil and team option for next season at $11.8 that I doubt will be picked up.
Drew Gooden is $4.5 (expiring)
Quinton Ross is $1 mil with a player option for $1.1 mil in ‘11.
James Singleton is $1 mil (expiring)
Caron Butler is at $9.8 mil this season and $10.5 next year.
Brendon Haywood is $6 mil (expiring)
DeShawn Stevenson is $3.8 this season with a player option for $4.1 next year.
Net result: Dallas adds around $1.6 mil. in additional guaranteed money for next season. Haywood will have be dealt with.
Summary
The problem with Dallas hasn’t been talent over the years, though a serious low post game has been largely missing. Dallas has not demonstrated it has the mental toughness and defensive commitment to get beyond teams like Denver or the Lakers.
Will any of that that change with this move?
Not enough to envision them beating either Denver or Los Angeles in a seven game series.
But I’ll leave the door open a bit. Rick Carlisle is a solid coach and I’ll be curious to see how well he can incorporate the new talent in over the last 30 games.
Caron Butler definitely gives Dirk and Dallas a top offensive option to take some of the burden off Nowitzki’s shoulders. Jason Kidd is great at getting people the ball where they work best with it.
Haywood and Stevenson makes the team stronger defensively. They should move up, but how much will be hard to tell. It should make Dallas the 3rd best team in the west.
He is no longer the player he was and that is where the story starts… and it ends.
Talk of Garnett’s returning to the level of play that he used to know, seems to be more of a hollow sound the further along we get in Kevin’s recovery from off season knee surgery.
In this contest, Garnett scored 7 points on 2 of 9 shooting with 7 rebounds, a steal and a block in just 26 minutes. Defensively, KG appeared to be a step behind David West much of the night. Garnett will still get a lot done on that end of the floor, but he will be doing it a slightly different way.
West blocked a Garnett lay up with 37 seconds left to seal a Hornet win.
And there are a series of other issues that are keeping this still highly talented team from playing near to its capabilities.
Ray Allen did not play last night, due to back spasms, or the Celtics say. With a number of Ray Allen trade rumors out there, one wonders if they weren’t being cautious, due a trade possibility on the near horizon. They begin their All Star break now. The trading deadline is February 18th.
There is that inconsistency thing again. Third quarters continue to be bad news.
(Another) Third Quarter Collapse
Against the New Orleans Hornets, a now 28-25 team with issues of its own, the Celtics fell apart in the third quarter yet again. It is a habit they can not seem to break. After holding the Hornets to just 14 second quarter points, Boston scored only 12 third quarter points and lost a 12 point half time lead.
The once mighty Celtics were outscored 29 to 12 in the third to go into the final quarter down 72-67.
4th Quarter
Early in the 4th period the Celtics closed to within one point twice on two consecutive Marquis Daniels shots.
The Celtics closed to with 3 at 81-78 on a Rasheed Wallace three point shot with 7:05 left in the game. The Cs would go scoreless for the next 3:30. Darren Collison would score 11 straight Hornet points in the period and the Celtics would make another belated attempt to close the gap in the waning seconds. The story is far too familiar and the results were the same. Another loss.
In a sloppily played game, players seemed to have their minds on the All Star break that begins after this game. There were 45 total turnovers, 23 by New Orleans and 22 by Boston.
More than a few times, the turnovers would be back-to-back on the same play.
Paul Pierce, who is also recovering from knee and ankle problems, led Boston with 15 points. Pierce added 8 turnovers to his 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. Pierce had 13 points at the half. But Pierce’s defense was uninspired for much of the evening, perhaps due to his lingering health issues.
Marquis Daniels had his best offensive game of the year with a season high 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block.
Celtics Bench a Bright Spot
In addition to Marquis Daniels well needed output, Rasheed Wallace scored 13 points and Glen Davis had 9 first half points on 4 of 6 shooting.
The Celtics bench got the Celtics its half time lead. Their defense tightened up and Wallace was working in the low post more, while Davis was hitting his shots (4 for 6) in the first half, but took only one second half shot.
Tony Allen, starting for Ray Allen, shot 6 of 9 for 13 points with 3 steals, 3 rebounds, one assist, and two turnovers.
The Celtics had one offensive rebound in the first half and they were out rebounded 46-37 in the game.
Rondo’s 4 assists were tied for his second lowest of the season and hadn’t been that low since November 14. He had 7 points in just 24 plus minutes, but added 3 steals and 3 rebounds.
Celtics Making Weaker Teams Strong
In another performance of erratic defense, ordinary Hornet players had extraordinary games. Yes, the Hornets only scored 93 points, but the high turnover rate helped keep the score down
New Orleans was without its leader, star point guard Chris Paul. But it hardly mattered as rookie substitute, Darren Collison, played nearly as well except for his 10 turnovers, a Hornets franchise record.
Collison carved up the Celtics defense with 27 points and 9 assists. Collison is, no doubt, an up and coming NBA talent. But isn’t RajonRondo supposed to be an All Defensive Team member and one of the top man-on-man defenders in the league?
Once by Rondo, or Eddie House, or Marquis Daniels, Collison scored multiple lay ups and short jumpers before late responding Celtic bigs would arrive.
Peja Stojakovic added 20 points, including 4 of 8 from the three point line against a soft Celtic defense. Peja has come alive in his last four games for a scoring average of 22.5. He shook off late closing Paul Pierce, undersized Tony Allen, and Marquis Daniels all night. His big explosion was in that devastating third quarter, when he scored 11 points.
In only his 10th game of the season, Morris Peterson had a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
So the Celtics continue their losing ways against better teams.
Can they turn things around? That is always a possibility. But there are no signs of how they are going to do that at this point.
This team has no real identity and strangely, they now seem to be lacking confidence and grit on the court. Those had been hallmarks of the team.
But the most important piece is Kevin Garnett. How Garnett goes, so goes the team.
The Boston Celtics got Marquis Daniels and Paul Pierce back and built a solid first half lead. But previous habits were not exorcised, as they once again were a Jekyll and Hyde team as they played ineffective second half basketball.
They lost to conference rival Orlando Magic, 96-89, and fell behind them to third place in the east in home court advantage.
But their problems and issues are much more immediate. While all the pieces are back, not all are at peak health and the Celtics haven’t really gelled as a team this season. They ended the series with the Magic 1-3 and are now 32-17 overall and fall to 15-9 at home.
Cs Fans Boo
The Celtics heard smatterings of boos in this game for the first time I can remember. They may have had a few in the Nets game as well. Clearly, they are not playing at their best right now.
Their biggest issue going forward is, ‘how much of the old Kevin Garnett will they get back by playoff time?’
Kevin had zero first half points on 0-5 shooting with 5 rebounds and what appeared to be solid defense. While his offense picked up in the second half, his defense no longer appears to be dominant enough to make everyone else that much better.
It is beginning to look like the Cs will have to compensate for a player who is about 85-90% of what he used to be. It is just enough of a reduction of ability to make Garnett and the team far more vulnerable.
Next on the list is getting Paul Pierce healthy with a troublesome ankle and knee. He is going to the All Star game and will shoot in the three point contest there as well. Hopefully he’ll come back in better shape.
Just back today, Marquis Daniels needs time to get back into game shape and rhythm.
Glen Davis hasn’t really gotten into a rhythm either and needs to figure out how to play more effectively closer to the basket.
Rasheed Wallace hasn’t really gotten into his best shape and has yet to really play a long stretch of Sheed-like basketball as we remember it.
All of that plays somewhat into today’s lost. But it was mostly about consistency as once again the Celtics couldn’t or just didn’t put together 48 minutes of basketball.
Third Quarter Collapse
After playing solid first half ball, building a 51-40 lead, and holding the Magic to .395 shooting, the Celtics collapsed completely in the third period, losing it 36-11. An 11 point lead turned into a 14 point deficit heading into the final quarter.
19-0 Run
After Rajon Rondo made a three point shot with the 24 second clock running down to make the score 60-51, the Magic went on a 19-0 run over the next 5 minutes to go up 70-60 with 1:45 left in the 3rd quarter.
During that run, Vince Carter hit 6 straight points and 9 points of the total to get Orlando going. Rashard Lewis hit 2 three pointers, Howard had an alley oop dunk on a pass from Matt Barnes and Jameer Nelson hit a layup before Tony Allen hit 2 free throws to stop the bleeding.
The Magic weren’t to be denied as they then scored the final 6 points of the quarter on 2 Lewis free throws, and 4 straight points by Jason Williams.
That makes it a 25-2 run in total. Call it a full fledged beat down. The Celtics used to give those. Now they are on the receiving end. The strange part is that it was only for a single quarter. The Celtics won every other quarter. The problem is internal.
Magic Get Long Ball Going
The Celtics’ perimeter defense broke down as the Magic scored 4 of 5 three pointers in the period and 11 of 22 from the arc overall and most were open shots. Matt Barnes and Vince Carter did the most damage with 3 of 4 from downtown each in the game.
The 3rd period ended with Orlando up 76-62. The damage was done.
4th Quarter – ‘Heinz’ time
After going down as many as 17 points, and getting no closer than 10 for most of the 4th quarter, the Cs made a late run to close to within 5 points with 43 seconds left on two Garnett free throws.
Once again, defensive stops, the part of the game the Celtics could always count on in previous years, were hard to come by. Rashard Lewis answered with a deep running jump shot to make it 96-89 with 18.8 seconds left to end any real hope of a comeback. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce each missed three point attempts before time ran out on them.
The Celtics did win the last quarter 27-20 and did it with the bench players on the floor for a long time, but they didn’t really challenged until time was just too short.
Rondo Continues to be Bright Spot
It is getting to sound like a broken record but…Rajon Rondo continues to be the most energetic player on the court for the Celtics…by far.
He gets a number of steals and rebounds based solely on hustle and extra quickness. He had at least 2 rebounds simply by getting to the spot a split second before a Magic player did.
Rondo led the Celtics with 17 points and came close to a triple double with 9 assists and 8 rebounds, while adding 3 steals. Amazingly, he had no turnovers.
Rondo’s jumper continues to improve as he hit 2-2 from the three point arc, and 7 of 13 overall.
Rondo’s game is solid in so many aspects, especially his ability to get his shot off around the rim. He put one in over Marcin Gortat while drawing the foul, making the score at the time 49-38, Celtics.
Howard in Foul Trouble
The Celtics got Dwight Howard in early foul trouble in the first half, causing him to play only eight minutes with 2 points and 3 rebounds. Though adding to his fouls (5 total) in the second half he played all but 2 minutes and scored 16 points while grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
Celtics Support Weak Ray Allen was second on the Celtics with 14 points on 4 of 13 shooting with 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 39 plus minutes.
Paul Pierce played 30 minutes on his tender ankle and scored 13 points on 5 of 12 shooting with 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and no assists.
Kevin Garnett finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 turnovers, and a steal in 31 minutes.
Kendrick Perkins played almost 22 minutes with just 2 points on three shots, with 3 rebounds, an assist and 2 turnovers.
Davis – Moving up, but not in a straight line
Glen Davis had his ups and downs, but generally looked better for the second game in a row. Perhaps he is pulling out of his funk. He is still getting his shot blocked far too often, but is trying to figure out ways to work effectively around the hoop.
He had a nice little running hook over 7’ Marcin Gortat, has hit a few jumpers, used a nice spin move on Ryan Anderson to get by him and squeezed off a lay up just before Howard could block it. Glen also had a big steal on Dwight in the 3rd.
Davis’ stat line was 9 points on 4 of 11 shooting (3 blocked), 7 rebounds, a steal, a block, and an assist in 22 minutes. He was active in the game and Doc rewarded him by playing him in place of Perkins/Wallace in the 4th quarter with the starting five.
The Puzzle Named Rasheed
Rasheed Wallace continues to perplex with 2 points on 1 for 6 shooting, 0-2 for the arc, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and the second worst plus/minus at –10 in just 19 minutes.
Marquis Daniels had 6 points on 3 of 6 shooting, 2 rebounds, and a steal in just 8 plus minutes in his return.
Of note: Wallace and Davis combined for zero assists in 26 plus minutes.
The Magic Killed at the Three Point line: 8 of 16 vs. 3 of 12 for Cs
Points Off Turnovers: 19-15 (Celtics)
Fast break Points: 8-5 (Celtics)
Second Chance Points: 11-10 (Celtics)
FG%: 46.3% – 42.2% (Magic)
Rebounds: 38-40 (Celtics)
Trade Ray?
Rumors will fly and fans will get more impatient after another game of giving up a solid first half lead only to lose again.
Rumors have the Bulls supposedly offering Kirk Hinrich and possibly Tyrus Thomas to the Celtics for Ray Allen and his expiring contract. Ainge has not accepted at this point and said he is not shopping Ray.
Ken Berger of CBSsports says the Cs likely will trade Ray Allen by the February 18 deadline. He mentions sharp shooting Kevin Martin of the Sacramento Kings as a possible target.
There is no doubt that the pressure will mount to do something with every loss.
In the meantime, the Celtics last game before the All Star break is Wednesday night in New Orleans against the Hornets.
