‘Net Zero’ had a whole new meaning in the first half of this contest.
That was the combined effort of the entire Net team in the first half.
First Half Demolition
The Celtics ran up a 30 plus point lead and went to the break more than doubling the Nets score at 71-35.
Rajon Rondo finished the game with more assists than the entire Net team (14-13), as the Celtics had their way with the Nyets.
Paul Pierce, who led all scorers with 24 points, made a three point jump shot to start the game and the Celtics never trailed as they destroyed the hapless Nets 111-87. It was never even that close. The lead was as high as 36 points. Pierce added 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
This game was so ‘in-the-bag’ that little used J.R. Giddens logged 16 minutes and the invisible man, Bill Walker, saw 6 minutes of daylight.
The Celtics simply got whatever they wanted.
Rajon Rondo continues his superior play, making his case for an All Star bid by continuing to direct the offense masterfully and with unselfish, smart play through out.
First Half Demolition
Ray Allen was a perfect 3-3 shooting with a three pointer and 4-4 from the free throw line for 11 half time points. He finished with 15 points in 25 minutes.
Glen Davis scored 11 points in 7 minutes off the bench in the first half, including corraling his own missed foul shot and hitting a jumper to amend the miss. Five Celtic players were in double figures by the break.
The Celtics shot .684 from the field and were 5 of 10 from the three point line. They were out rebounding the Nets by 25-13 and had 21 assists on 26 baskets.
Kendrick Perkins led the Celtics’ defensive effort with 3 first half blocks, finishing with 5 on the game. Perkins finished with 12 points on 6 of 9 shooting and 8 rebounds.
Play of the game (and NBA.com number play of the night)
Paul Pierce saw Tony Allen getting behind the defense and lofted an alley oop to a spot Allen came out of nowhere to collect and twist it into an authoritative slam, making the score 48-25. Tony finished with 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting, with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers.
The Nets shot .306 in the first half on 11 of 36 attempts with 5 assists total.
This was as much of a contrast of two teams with opposite realities and destinies as you will see. The Celtics are all about right now. Even depleted of two of their best players (Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace) and Rondo and Pierce playing with assorted bumps and bruises, they are focused on another run at the NBA title.
The Nets are young and inexperienced and trying to avoid NBA history for having the league’s worst record ever and get to next year when their financial prospects do a complete turnaround as the Russian Mark Cuban gallops in on his shining white horse with rubles aplenty. They will be a completely different club next year.
As bad as their now 3-35 season has gone, the Nets totally embarrassed themselves and the league with a first half performance that an intramural league crowd would be ashamed of watching. They didn’t compete in the least. It was truly a pathetic performance.
The blame should start with Kiki Vandeweghe, General Manager turned reluctant coach, for allowing that to occur. If it had continued through out the entire game I would calling for him to be fired and someone…anyone else to take over.
The second half was credible enough to withhold my fire, but not my disgust.
The Nets finally did come out and ‘at least’ compete in the second half, outscoring a Celtic combine that was in ‘conserve-the-lead-mode’ at that point. The Nets ‘won’ the second half 52-40 as the Cs rested the starters for all of the 4th period.
On the Celtics side, there were some nice performances by Giddens who score 6 points on 3 of 5 shooting. Those points included a highlight reel reverse dunk and Giddens grabbed 7 boards.
Bill Walker showed that individual offense is never a problem for him as he hit a jumper and drove for vicious dunks twice and scored 6 points with 2 boards and 2 assists in just 6 minutes.
Brian Salabrine started strong with 8 first quarter points on 3 of 6 shooting with 2 three pointers finding their mark. Brian finished with 11 points, 4 boards and 4 assists in 28 minutes. If you get a chance, go over to Celticsblog and check out Brian Scalabrine’s dance after a Bill Walker dunk. Hilarious! (It is near the end, you have to watch a few other plays first)
Davis managed to foul out but added 13 points and 4 offensive boards. Shelden Williams grabbed 6 boards in 17 plus minutes, but took just two shots, coming up empty.
Eddie House was off, ending up 1-9 shooting, but had 2 steals.
If anyone was left in Izod Center after half time to witness it, it would be a miracle. Getting home to watch High School Reunion on TVLand would be a compelling reason to dismiss them selves after such a first half travesty.
The Celtics came out and made 12 of 18 first quarter shots and they must have been completely surprised at how little resistance the Nets’ defenders gave them. The Nets pretended to defend and the Celtics had a field day sharing the ball and taking it to them. I’m sure that Celtic practices are harder.
The Celtics ended up with 56 points in the paint, as Brook Lopez stood alone trying to stop the swarming Green. He finished 4 blocks and 18 points. Yi Jianlian had 2 points at the half but added 17 garbage time points. In 33 plus minutes Yi grabbed just 3 rebounds and had no assists. Yi has just 6 assists in 12 games this season.
Devin Harris had one point and was 0-6 at the half, while Rajon Rondo had 10 assists and 7 points on 3 of 4 shooting. Rondo’s plus/minus was +32…at the half. Harris? His was –36 at the half.
Harris has been plagued by tendinitis in his shooting arm all year and a shift from a pick and roll offense to an isolation and post up offense featuring the Nets shining new center Brook Lopez. Rumors are that even Harris, previously untouchable, is now available for the right trade.
Boston is now 27-10 overall, but just 6-5 with at least one starter out.
The Celtics get no rest as they come home to play the Chicago Bulls tonight at 7:30.
Throw Brian Scalabrine’s great performance out the window. Throw Rajon Rondo’s out there, too. Paul Pierce? Ditto.
Go figure. This was a game that I was going to save time by writing up my notes as I watched throughout the first half. Little did I know that the entire complexion of the game would change drastically midway through the 3rd period.
The Hawks scored a real victory. Did they get a moral victory as well? Rasheed Wallace joined Kevin Garnett with a mild injury that Coach Rivers decided would keep Wallace sidelined.
Joe Johnson played a masterful game, scoring 36 points, a career high against the Celtics. For the second straight time, Jamal Crawford was a huge factor for the Hawks, scoring the last 6 points of the game to garner the third straight win for the Hawks against the Celtics, and finished with 17 points off the bench.
But let me state right now, this could be the most misleading or misinterpreted win/loss of the ongoing relationship between these two teams.
What was supposed to be just another regular season game had already assumed a bit more significance because the Hawks had won the previous two times they played.
You could have bet the house that the Celtics would win this game.
Glen and Glenn
I can throw away my notes away because they really didn’t matter after Glen Davis was called for a controversial flagrant foul on Marvin Williams on a drive midway through the third period. On an angle you would see from the Celtic bench, it looked like little contact other than going for the ball. From another camera angle, you could see Glen’s other hand also on top Williams, helping push him down.
Earlier in the game, Zaza Pachulia was called for a flagrant foul for whacking Perkins in the head while attempting to stop a lay up.
The Celtics were already finding it hard to get meaningful fouls called, while the Hawks didn’t seem to be having the same problem. Taking into account that Heinsohn is a true homer, he called this one of the worst officiated games of the year. It did appear that some obvious fouls weren’t called, and, inconsistent with the theory of hometown calls, the foul total was in favor of the Hawks.
One example was a great defensive play by Shelden Williams on…who else… Marvin Williams on a drive. He got all ball but was called for a foul. But those kinds of calls happen all the time. Still it would have been nice to see Shelden get rewarded for a great play. There were others with Ray and Paul, but again, you have to play through that.
To the Celtics, and their fans in the Garden, it was flagrantly foul officiating.
By half time, the free throw attempts were 13–6 in Atlanta’s favor. It wasn’t because the Cs were shooting jump shots either.
Pent up Celtic emotions came boiling out for Doc Rivers and normally staid, composed Armond Hill.
The Celtics were up 67-57 and in control of the game when the flagrant foul unleashed Doc’s outburst, Hill’s follow up T, and the resulting Hawk parade to the foul line changed everything. After shooting 5 consecutive foul shots due to 3 technical fouls and 2 more for a shooting foul, momentum began to shift.
It also turned into a playoff atmosphere, because everyone in Celticland wanted to win this game.
Fans mockingly cheered when a foul was finally called on Mo Evans guarding Paul Pierce.
Thibodeau’s Strategy Could Be Questioned
Associate Head Coach Tom Thibodeau took over after Rivers was thrown out.
But one could wonder if Tom Thibodeau coached from pressure or from best logic. He played the entire starting five, with only Glen Davis replacing Brain Scalabrine, for the entire 4th quarter. Brian Scalabrine, Tony Allen, Eddie House, and Shelden Williams would not be seen beyond the 3rd quarter.
On the second night of back-to-back games, an already sore Rajon Rondo played 45 minutes and Paul, Ray, Kendrick played 42 plus minutes. Boston scored 16 points in the 4th quarter, while shooting 5 for 16.
The Hawks made 4 of the 5 foul shots making it 67-61, and they maintained the ball. The undermanned Celtics slowly lost the lead. Crawford tied it up at 75 with 1:22 left in the third.
The Celtics regained a small lead and maintained it until Joe Johnson made a tough fade away jumper with 7:27 left in the game. The game was back and forth after that, with Johnson hitting multiple big shots and scoring twelve 4th quarter points. His last three shots tied or regained the lead for the Hawks.
Ray Allen hit a big three point shot to regain the lead at 91-89. Rajon Rondo hit a lay up to regain the lead at 93-92. Down 93-96, Davis made a driving lay up, was fouled and hit the free throw to tie at 96.
After that Jamal Crawford took over for the win.
In defense of Thibodeau, Glen Davis had a solid 4th quarter offensively, scoring 9 of the Celtics’ 16 points on 2 of 4 shooting while hitting 5 straight clutch free throws.
It was unusual that Paul Pierce played the entire quarter, but took just two shots in such a crucial situation, scoring zero.
The Celtics had been playing an inspired game with Rasheed Wallace sitting this one out with a sore foot. Brian Scalabrine got the starting nod and ended his shooting slump, making three of three from the arc in the first half. More important, he played really solid defense on the high flying Josh Smith, holding him to 4 first half points on 2-6 shooting.
Rajon Rondo was putting on a magnificent performance, scoring almost at will. Rajon came out super aggressive, blowing by Mike Bibby whenever he desired. He conducted a lay up drill and hit another three point shot and a jumper. He was also drawing the defense and kicking it out…textbook fashion. Rondo finished the first half with 17 points on 8 of 12 shooting with 6 assists.
Rajon finished the game as the Celtic scoring leader with 26 points on 12 of 20 shooting, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, was blocked four times, and had three turnovers
Paul Pierce picked it up late in the first half with a couple of three pointers and rebounded and passed well, going into half time with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Paul finished with 19 points, 3 of 6 from the arc, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 turnovers.
Ray Allen finished with 16 points on 5 of 10 shooting, 3 of 5 from the arc, 5 rebounds, three assists and two turnovers.
Glen Davis was more focused and aggressive in this game, going 2-2 in the first half. He grabbed just 4 rebounds in 27 minutes. Glen played together with Shelden Williams in the first half and they were +5 together. Williams hit a lay up off a Pierce pass and generally played well against his old team.
Summary
The main thing to take from this game is not that the Celtics are in trouble against the Hawks. It is that it took such a game changing incident and the lack of two key Celtic bigs for the Hawks to win this game.
No doubt the Hawks are a young, talented, athletic team. The kind that gives the Celtics trouble. I know they beat a healthy Celtic team in Boston in November. They have now beat them three straight times.
But they are not a true rival until they can beat a fully healthy Celtic team that is concentrating fully on winning. I think the Celtics feel the same way.
The problem at the moment is that the Celtics are rarely fully healthy and rarely fully concentrated on winning.
It was an interesting game as it was. It would have been even more interesting and a different game if Wallace had played.
Kendrick Perkins had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 6 turnovers. Three were traveling calls.
Brian Scalabrine played, by far, his best game of the year.
Rajon Rondo continues his assault on the league and his march toward stardom with a triple double against the Celtics’ kissin’ cousins, the Toronto Raptors. Rajon finished with 22 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds.
Rasheed Wallace dropped triples of his own on them with 5 three point shots made ( 7 attempts). Wallace, starting again for the injured Kevin Garnett, had his biggest offensive game as a Celtic. He led Boston with 29 points on 9 of 12 shooting. His previous Celtic best was 20 points.
There are just some teams that the Men in Green have little respect for, even with their emotional and defensive leader out of the line up. I said before that the Raptors area highly skilled team. They are even playing solid defense now, holding opponents to an average of 94 points over their 9 game run. That number is skewed somewhat by a 94-64 beating of the Pistons, but still solid.
Yet, when it comes to a playing against a physical team like the Cs, the word soft still comes to mind. The Cs don’t seem to regard Atlanta highly enough and now get beat because of it. The same can’t be said for the Raptors. They were of 8 of 9 in wins coming in, but the Cs beat them for the 7th straight time.
Raptors Declawed
Boston pushed a game Chris Bosh (31 points) a little further towards the free agency door as they stopped a three game Raptor winning streak and 6 game Toronto home winning streak this time. The undermanned Cs squashed a Raptor five game winning streak on Jan. 2, without Rajon Rondo in that game.
It is like the little brother that keeps playing his stronger, better older brother in the back yard. No matter how hard he tries, the result is always the same.
The Celtics maintained a lead, tenuous at times, for the entire game. After making multiple runs throughout the game, the Raptors made it interesting almost to the very end by getting it to within 4 with 1:46 left at 104-108. Perkins then made two huge free throws after missing four straight up to that point and Pierce hit an 18 foot elbow jumper to put it out of reach.
Fast Celtic Start, Raptors Chase Cs
The Celtics started the game fast with a 10-0 run. Rondo drives and dishes to Wallace and Perkins for lay ups to start things out. Then Ray And Paul drained three pointers. It was looking too easy, and they had the Air Canada Center as quiet as library. But the Cs don’t seem to really have a blow out mentality with KG out.
The Raptors quickly answered back with a 13-7 run to get it down to a three point lead, 13-16. The Raps continued their run, getting to 19-21 with 4 minutes left, before Rondo banked in an end of shot clock three pointer. Rajon then made a fast break lay-up off a Raptor miss to get it back up to 26-19.
Rondo finished the quarter with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Eddie House came alive in the second quarter with 8 points and two threes in a row to keep the Raps at bay. It seems like it’s been a while since Eddie has really impacted a Celtic win. He finished with a respectable 11 points on 3 of 9 from downtown, but no assists, rebounds or steals.
Everybody Loves Ray
Ray Allen hit a difficult mid range banking jump shot over the outstretched arms of Jose Calderon in the second period. Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram has a good article on Ray and mentions Ray attacking the basket more this season…
So Rivers has urged Allen to take the ball to the basket when his defender rushes out at him, and he has. Allen is averaging 4.09 layups or dunks this season compared to 2.86 a year ago. When Allen drives, opponents are careful not to foul him because he’s a career 89.3 percent foul shooter.
Where Ray Allen separates himself from his team mates is in his “off court” plus-minus stats. Imagine that – there’s a stat for what you do when you’re not on the court! Ray Allen is the only Celtics player where the opponents outscore the Celtics when the player is not on the court. The Celtics are -2.6 per net 48 minutes when Ray’s not playing. No other Celtic can claim to have a negative “off-court” effect on the team, and it is not even close. This pushes Ray’s net contribution (add on-court, subtract off-court) to +13.8.
Coincidentally, (or not) Ray’ s plus/minus was a team high +13 in this contest. Quiet Ray just plays, passes, scores, and draws enough attention to keep the court spaced for everyone else.
Sheed, Bosh, And Bargnani
Rasheed Wallace, Chris Bosh and Andre Bargnani displayed the kind of offensive talent from 6′ 11 and 7′ players that only the NBA provides. They all hit multiple jump shots and three pointers through out the game and especially in the 3rd period. Bargnani scored 11 points on two three pointers, a dunk, a jump shot and a free throw in the 3rd.
Wallace countered with three three pointers of his own, to go into the 4th quarter with 22 points. Bosh added 10 points on 3 jumpers, including his banker and 4 free throws
Bargnani looks much more confident, aggressive and smoother lately. Besides hitting the open three, he demonstrated he can score off the dribble and was taking it to the middle with more success in this game. While Bosh’s offensive capabilities are well known, he put on a clinic with 19 first half points and kept it up in the second half.
Boston extended the lead to 15 points 70-55, then the Raptors closed to within six at 80-74 on two Jarrett Jack free throws. Ray Allen hit a jumper and Rondo stole a pass, getting the ball to Perkins for a right side 10 foot jumper to go back up 84-74. The Celtics had it back to a 13 point lead as the 3rd quarter ended on a Rondo lay up 83-70.
Celtics Close with Clutch Play
The 4th quarter saw the Raptors close to 108-104, but Perkins was fouled by Jack after grabbing a rebound and made two clutch free throws after missing his previous four straight tries. Then Rasheed made a huge steal off a Bargnani pass and Paul Pierce hit just his 4th basket of the game, a 18 ft. right side jumper to ice the game 112-104 with 46.5 left. Perkins blocked a Hedo Turkoglu left side running jumper for his 4th block of the game right after that.
Rondo’s 13 assists were largely fundamental, but he had a nice lead pass with reverse spin on it, putting right in Paul Pierce’s hands for two on a fast break off a Bellinelli drive and miss that was rebounded by Wallace. It was like one of those moving timing passes in football.
Though the Raptors just beat San Antonio and Orlando, they haven’t been able to solve division leader Boston. It has been rumored lately that Bosh is leaning towards testing free agency this summer. That has led to more rumors of teams trying to trade for Bosh before Feb 18th, the trade deadline. An offer of Andrew Bynum from the Lakers was said to have been rebuffed.
Rondo All Star Campaign Continues
Rondo was 9 of 17 shooting and made his 3rd straight three point shot. That alone is cause for celebration. He added 4 steals and made 3 of 4 foul shots, another skill he seems to be improving everyday. Rondo is 17 of 21 from the free throw line in his last 4 games. If Rondo can hit outside shots even semi-regularly, he becomes a monster to defend. Continue foul shooting like he has and the sky is the limit for his potential.
Rasheed Wallace came up big with the 29 points in just 34 minutes, including 5 of 7 three pointers, and 2 blocks, a huge steal, and no turnovers.
Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kendrick Perkins all had 16 points a piece, and Eddie House was the 6th Celtic in double digits with 11 points in 16 minutes. Glen Davis shot only 1 for 5, blocked twice, had 2 turnovers, a steal, and was out of sync offensively but added 6 rebounds, (5 offensive) and drew a timely charge in 18 plus minutes.
It is understood that the Celtic defense is just not the same with Garnett out. That is why winning 114-107 was okay. The Raptors are an extremely capable offensive team (rated 5th of 30). The Celtics shot 50.6% to the Raptors 48% on the night.
As Butch Cassidy said to Sundance, “Just as long as we come out ahead.”
Before fouling out after 43 minutes, Bosh led both teams with 31 points and 13 rebounds. Andre Bargnani supported Bosh with 23 points on 8 of 16 shooting, 4 of 7 three point shots, and added 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, a steal. Bargnani looked better today than I have seen him, as he is appearing to assert himself more as time goes by.
The Celtics look for payback as they play tonight in Boston against the Atlanta Hawks. The Cs have lost both games they played with the Hawks this season.
Boston came out of half time with a 45-39 lead. Then the sky caved in.
They were holding the Hawks to 42% shooting, while shooting 46% themselves and were 7 of 12 from the three point line. It was time to extol the positives of having Rasheed Wallace on the team with Kevin Garnett out. Wrap this one up, boys and put a bow on it.
But hold on. The Celtics rarely make things easy this year.
The Hawks went on a 20-6 rampage to start the 3rd quarter. From there, Jamal Crawford did what he does, and that is score the ball, with 14 fourth quarter points on 5 of 6 shooting to hold off a Celtic come back that got them to within 2 points on a Paul Pierce jump shot, at 76-78, with 5:26 left.
If this team has exhibited one thing this season, it is an inability or unwillingness to play 48 minutes of hard basketball. The Hawks simply out played and athletic-ed (new word) the Celtics, particularly in that 3rd quarter.
Atlanta came out and went on a 20-6 run to obliterate both the lead and the Celtics chances of getting revenge for an eye opening loss in Boston to these same Hawks. They had beaten Atlanta 9 times in a row there. The Celtics swept the season series last year. After seeing this game, you get the feeling that the Celtics still do not take this team seriously.
Atlanta outscored them 29-15 in the third. It was a well rounded effort all night by the Hawks with all 5 starters in double figures when the quarter ended. Bibby was active with deflections and Josh Smith had a big time block on a Perkins jam attempt. When it was over, no Hawk scored 20 but Jamal Crawford came out of nowhere in the 4th period to lead the team with 18 points. That included a ridiculous, quick recovery, rain making three pointer from the corner with a Perkins foul added in for good measure.
The Celtics shot 5 of 22 in the third and finished the game at .408.
Rajon Rondo had 10 assists, 5 rebounds and 11 points, including 2 for 2 on three point shots, but wasn’t any where near the factor he was against Miami.
Now the Celtics are down 0-2 to a conference rival that looked ‘not quite ready for prime time’ by losing 4 straight, including 2 in a row to Cleveland, after blowing leads going into the 4th quarter both times. After a ‘players only’ team meeting, the Hawks beat the Nets to stop the bleeding, but Boston made them better in a hurry.
Paul Pierce led Boston with 21 points after scoring just 5 first half points. Paul scored 9 fourth quarter points, but missed his last two shots and made a bad turnover on a pass in the last minute and a half. He finished shooting 8 of 16 with 2 three pointers.
With Marquis Daniels still out and Tony Allen out with illness, Pierce had 6 steals but 4 turnovers and no assists in 40 plus minutes.
Ray Allen added 15 points with 3 of 7 from downtown, but only 5 of 16 overall
Rasheed Wallace fell in love with the three pointer again, but shot just 1 for 8 from downtown, including 0-5 in the second half, scoring 11 points on 5 of 15 for the game, grabbing just 3 rebounds, and dishing 4 assists in almost 39 minutes.
More important, Wallace was late reacting on a number of help situations around the basket, resulting in easy hoops for Atlanta bigs. It wasn’t until the 4th period that Rasheed seemed to get interested in tighter defense.
Kendrick led the team with 14 rebounds (4 offensive), adding 15 points, a block, and 3 turnovers. Kendrick got into an energetic discussion with Josh Smith at one point, but managed to avoid another technical foul.
Two things stick out. The starters were clearly outplayed by the Hawks. Yet, it the bench scoring, or lack of it, that made the difference. Eddie House added 7 points, Glen Davis 4, and Shelden Williams a single point to the Hawks 24, led by Crawford’s 18.
With Garnett, Tony Allen and Daniels out, Doc played three starters 40 plus minutes and Wallace and Perkins around 38 minutes.
Though there were a few calls that the Celtics didn’t get, including a Bibby knock away from Rondo, the Celtics had only 14 fouls called on them on the night. I have to go back and check but that might be a season low.
Neither team got a lot done in the paint as Boston scored 30 to the Hawks 36 points in the paint.
This game had more big shots in it than a Mafia wedding, a politician’s birthday party in the Virgin Islands sponsored by lobbyists or, for the more genteel, a round of Masters golf.
In what turned into an exciting contest to watch, the Celtics came back from 11 down in the 4th quarter to beat the Miami Heat in overtime, 112-106.
Bookmark this game as another important move forward and milestone of growth for the Celtic’s mercurial point guard, Rajon Rondo. Let notices go out to all star voters everywhere. A(n) (All) Star is Born.
Returning to the line up after resting his sore hamstring for a game, Rajon Rondo led the Celtics in scoring with 25 points on 9 of 12 shooting while making multiple big shots.
Rondo is making strides as a true leader, including scoring leader, and is reducing his weaknesses as he goes. Of major note, Rondo was 7 for 8 from the free throw line in this closely contested game. Dwarfing even the significance of that, Rajon scored 6 huge points in overtime, including a couple of teardrops and a lay up that looked like Rondo was already by the hoop.
To me, Rondo has crossed the Rubicon. After a game like this, there is no turning back. He can now take what he did here and build on it. There will still be games and moments when he won’t come through and he will miss foul shots and jumpers. But it won’t seem so impossible any longer. His success is becoming more frequent now. You can see the progress.
His efforts secured a Celtic win after rescuing the Celtics with .6 seconds left in regulation. Those who saw it were watching the birth another reliable option in crunch times.
Moments earlier, it appeared that a Celtic victory had been stolen away. And before that, Celtic strategy and Paul Pierce’s decision could be questioned.
With time running down, Doc put the ball into Paul Pierce’s hands as he is want to do. Paul held the ball at the top as time ran off the clock. With the offense spread flat, so Pierce could work one on one, Paul attempted to go middle, but was defended fairly well and he got off a weak version of finger roll that didn’t even make the hoop. Hardly the best strategy for a game deciding sequence.
Stolen Moment
With 3 seconds left and the score tied at 99, Ray took the in bounds pass. He stumbled as he tried to make a move around Dwayne Wade. Wade, who scored 44 points in the night, stole the ball and drove for a quick dunk, leaving just .6 seconds left on the clock.
All appeared lost. That is to everyone but Rondo. From Yahoo Sports….
“We’ve been working on that play for a long time, actually since last year,” Rondo said. “As soon as Wade stole the ball, I knew exactly that was the play we were going to run.”
‘The play’ was a side in, in bounds pass to Rajon at the far side of the rim. Paul Pierce throws a perfect ‘alley oop’ lead pass to Rondo. Rajon catches and shoots a lay-up at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime 101 all. That had to be the biggest single shot of Rondo’s young career. But he didn’t stop there.
Ray Allen scored nine 4th quarter points, including two huge three pointers and a technical foul shot moments earlier, aiding a Celtic 11 point comeback to take the lead.
Quentin Richardson’s ill-timed tech
With 1:35 left and the Celtics having just regained the lead at 95-93, Richardson was called for a foul against Pierce that shouldn’t have been called, or called against Pierce. Richardson’s anger against the call resulted in a technical foul that Ray Allen hit, making it 96-93.
Shortly after, Pierce who appeared okay in the game but a bit rusty, made a big block on a Mario Chalmers lay up attempt, preserving the lead.
In the overtime, with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce missing consecutive shots, Rajon Rondo stepped forward to hit a jumper and a tear drop and a lay up. Ray Allen also made a driving lay up to go up 106-103 and with 16 seconds left, then made two foul shots for the final points of the game, putting it out of reach.
It should be noted that Kendrick Perkins got 4 critical rebounds and hit one of two foul shots in overtime. Kendrick scored 17 first half points and finished with 20, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks including one on Jermaine O’Neal late in the fourth.
You just never know when a great game will break out. There were enough shooting stars to make an astronomy club giddy. Rasheed Wallace, Dwayne Wade, Udonis Haslem, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo all made a number of clutch shots resulting an adrenaline saturated 4th quarter and overtime with multiple clutch performances.
In the big shot category, Rasheed Wallace hit two big three pointers and had a Kendrick Perkins assisted dunk in the Celtics 4th quarter surge to the lead. His last of three three pointers tied the score at 93 with 2:54 left . Wallace fouled out with a minute left in regulation, but not before scoring 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting and grabbing 9 rebounds.
Udonis Haslem had eight 4th quarter points as Miami built their 11 point lead.
Ray Allen scored 22 points and besides scoring so many big points, he added 4 steals, 2 blocked shots and 3 rebounds.
Paul Pierce had a tough time finding the hoop, going 4 for 12, but added 8 of 9 free throws as he was aggressive in getting to the line. Paul added 6 rebounds and 5 assists as he filled in wherever he could.
After giving up 35 first quarter points, Wallace and Perkins and the rest of the Cs settled down, though the Celtics gave up 56 points in the paint. Miami shot just .408. for the game. With 14 offensive rebounds, the Heat had 16 second chance points to the Celtics 6 on six offensive rebounds.
It wasn’t one of Glen Davis’ better games. He couldn’t seem to get untracked. He scored one point with 3 rebounds in almost 20 minutes.
Tony Allen played somewhat better with 9 points in 19 minutes but had 3 turnovers.
Dwayne Wade had 18 first quarter points while being guarded solely by Ray Allen and with little help. The Cs changed things up after that.
This was a game that neither team could take control of and keep. The Celtics had 24 turnovers led by Rondo with 6 and Pierce with 5. That factor alone kept the Heat in the game. The Heat had only 11 turnovers.
So the Celtics pull one out with some clutch play making and shooting. They mostly pulled it out because of Ray Allen’s clutch shooting and the emerging scoring ability of Rajon Rondo.
And in this game we get a glimpse of what Rasheed Wallace can do as a starter and in the absence of Kevin Garnett. Except for almost getting another very untimely technical at the end when he drew his 6th foul, he shows he can still produce at key times over the course of a game.
The Celtics are now 25-8 and they have won two straight games.
The Celtics next game is Friday in Atlanta against the Hawks.
It was day two of the new year. While other parties had wound down, the Beantown Ballers had finally found something to celebrate by putting their northern neighbor on the rocks.
With Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo all out with injury, the Boston Celtics stopped the 5 game winning streak of the Toronto Raptors 103-96.
A surprisingly tenacious team defense got the Celtics the lead for good early in the second quarter and they held off a Raptor 4th quarter run to hold on to win # 24 against 8 losses. They limited the Raptors to just 40 points in the middle 2 quarters, building an 11 point lead at 78-67.
Ray and ‘Sheed Lead the Way Ray Allen led with 23 points and Rasheed Wallace started, adding 16 more as the two of them hit most of the big shots in the game. But they also got nice support from Glen Davis (15 pts), Kendrick Perkins (14 pts), Tony Allen (14) and Eddie House (12) to stop the Raptors in the Garden.
Giddens For the Defense J.R. Giddens got the first start of his 2 year NBA career and played small forward taking Paul Pierce’s place. Giddens did a credible job defensively against Hedo Turkoglu in 20 minutes of play. Helping to set an early defensive tone, Giddens deflected a pass from Jarrett Jack to Tony Allen in the first quarter. JR scored just 2 points on three shots, but added 2 rebounds, an assist, a steal, a block and 2 turnovers.
Tony Allen Contributes Again
Tony Allen started again and, playing point guard, distributed 7 assists to lead the team and tie for game honors. He contributed 5 rebounds, a steal, a block, and 3 turnovers in 35 plus minutes.
Glen Davis Solid
Apparently recovered from a sprained ankle, Glen Davis played a solid supporting role, providing energy, 5 rebounds, 5 of 9 shooting overall with 5 of 7 free throws for his 15 points in 19 plus minutes. Glen was able to put in a number of contested lay ups, while also drawing numerous fouls against the Raptor bigs.
It was a game that the Celtics could have put in some false effort, played ugly, and after three quarters said ‘oh well’ and folded their tents to head off to a three day lay off. The ‘shortage of man power’ excuse was there. But that would have meant a 4 game losing streak and a lingering bad taste in their mouth.
Instead, the Raptors are a team that the Celtics choose to abuse. They scored 68 points in the paint on them once this season and added 48 more in this contest. Boston’s depleted line up shot a crisp .514 and they out rebounded the Raptors 36-28.
Need for Sheed
This was a game where having a player of Rasheed Wallace’s caliber made a big difference, especially in comparison to Andre Bargnani. With out much effort Wallace shot 6 of 11 on the night and generally manhandled Andre Bargnani.
Wallace added 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. There aren’t too many big men with the versatile inside/outside game that Wallace has that can put up those kind of stats. His effort was huge in winning this game.
Wallace helped get things started in the first quarter with 2 three pointers. In the critical 4th quarter, he scored a turnaround bank shot over Bargnani making the score 86-81, and then stole a Marcus Banks pass.
Toronto Closes with a Kick; Celtics Respond
Celtic defense faded towards the end of game as the Toronto made a late 4th quarter run to cut the lead to 5 or 6 points a number of times. They did with open three pointers by Marco Bellinelli, Jack and Bargnani along with a Bosh hook shot and dunk.
The Celtics answered with 3 baskets for 7 points by the constantly moving Ray Allen, a ‘Sheed dunk around a stuck-in-cement Bargnani, and a clutch Tony Allen lay up right into the defending Chris Bosh.
A Ray Allen lay up made it 101-94 with 48 seconds left. After a Chris Bosh banked hook shot made it 96-101 with 35 seconds left, the Raptors would not score again.
Paint Protectors
Perkins, and Wallace did a good job of protecting the paint, allowing just 30 points. Toronto averages 41 points in the paint. This was even with some addition pressure on the Celtic bigs. There was one sequence where Perkins appeared a bit upset when he had to foul an uncontested Jack to stop a lay up. The very next time down court, a Marcus Banks driving lay up attempt was snuffed by Eddie House with a solid foul.
Eddie shot 4 for 11, including 2 for 6 from the three point line, adding 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 28 plus minutes.
Since Jarrett Jack has been inserted into Toronto’s starting line up, they were 7-4 until last night. Former Celtic point guard, Marcus Banks, has also found some daylight with the Raptors during their recent run after languishing of the bench for three different teams for the past few years.
While Celtics defense was good enough to keep the offensive minded Raptors (8th in the league in scoring at 103.3) at bay, a porous Raptor defense (they are the second worst in the NBA points allowed) could not do the same.
Ray Allen Active on Offense
Ray Allen often lost his defender on 180 degree screens and pin downs underneath the basket and then split interior defenders Bosh and Bargnani for well timed lay ups.
Perkins led the Celtics with 10 rebounds and shot 5 of 8 with a steal and a blocked shot but had 4 turnovers.
Brian Scalabrine played 15 scoreless minutes, while Shelden Williams added 2 points, an assist and a steal in 11 plus minutes.
‘Les’ Gives More
Rookie guard Lester Hudson acquitted himself well in 12 plus minutes, scoring 5 points on 2 of 3 shooting, while adding 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 turnovers. He played reasonably good defense as well.
The Celtics gave up just 3 fast break points to a Raptor team that averages 13.4. The Celtics had 13 fast break points of their own.
All things considered, this was a solid win for the Celtics. They had been losing games they should have won. This time they played with effort and purpose. No doubt Toronto is one of the league’s softer teams. Their 5 game winning streak including a win over New Jersey, a win over Charlotte and two over Detroit. The lone quality win was against New Orleans if you want to call it that.
Still, I have to think they will start to play somewhat better as the season goes on. Their lack of effort and execution on defense is glaring. Celtic fans should be thankful they are what they are.
Boston plays again Wednesday in Miami against the Heat.
We will start the new year with some holiday meditations on the recent state of the Celtics from Celtics Town’s Jay King. Another Celtic starter gets some unplanned but necessary rest. Jay gives his thoughts on the situation. Be sure to check out Jay’s site when you get a chance.
What’s that sound? Could be opportunity knocking for some players buried deep on the bench.
by Jay King
Rajon Rondo has now joined the long list of Celtics down with injury. Against Toronto on Saturday, he’ll sit the game out along with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Marquis Daniels.
With the injury list growing longer every day, it finally looks like the young guys might get their chance (J. R. Giddens is apparently slated to start against Toronto). If you ask me, though, their opportunity should have come a long time ago.
With four of their rotation players out with injury last game, including two of their stars, I thought Doc Rivers would finally give Bill Walker, Lester Hudson, and J.R. Giddens an opportunity to play.
And he did… for a combined 16 minutes of garbage time at the end of a blowout.
So why is Doc still not giving the young guys a chance, even with an old, injury-ravaged roster? It comes down to one of two things:
1) Doc might not have any faith in the young guys on this roster, or…
2) Doc might not have any faith in any young guys, period.
I think it’s more likely answer number two. For years, Doc has kept young players glued to the bench. Ryan Gomes, Glen Davis, Leon Powe, Rajon Rondo… the list goes of players who have paid their dues earning splinters on the bench before finally earning the role they deserve goes on and on. Doc has been set against using young players ever since… well, ever since a group of predominantly young players helped lead him to a 24-58 record. (Wouldn’t you be against young players, too, if you had watched Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green and co. almost get you fired?)
Still, it’s time the young guys get a shot. If you’re like me, you want to see the young ‘uns get a chance for a couple reasons: First of all, they can give the vets a rest. How many times have you seen Ray Allen register a 40-minute night, as you sit at home wondering, “Doc, why is Allen still in the game? There are five minutes left, the Celtics are up by 30 points, and he’s already played 43 minutes…”
I know Doc wants to keep his veterans in rhythm by playing them at least a certain amount of minutes every game, and I understand that completely. But it isn’t like I’m asking for Ray to play 20 or 25 minutes a game… I just want him to play a few minutes less than the 36.1 mpg he’s played so far this season. Maybe it’s just me but, if I’m Doc, I don’t want my 34-year old shooting guard leading my team in minutes. I just don’t.
The second reason for giving the youngster’s a chance? They might actually be good. If Doc’s string of keeping good young players stapled firmly to the bench holds true, Hudson could be the next Rondo, Giddens could be the next Gomes, and Walker could be, well, hopefully anybody but Gerald Green. (On the other hand, Hudson could be the next J.R. Bremer, Giddens could be the next Kedrick Brown, and Walker could be the next, well, Gerald Green.)
The point is, we don’t know. Granted, I don’t know what happens in practice. I don’t know how poorly or how well the young guys play when I can’t watch on t.v. But with injuries mounting like snowflakes during a Nor’easter, it’s time to give them a chance to prove during a game situation whether or not they deserve minutes.
Led by a game but hurting Rajon Rondo, the injury depleted Celtics dropped their third straight road game, ending the year on a losing note. But to keep a balanced outlook heading into the new year… being 23-8 after dropping three games in a row ain’t that bad.
Amare Stoudamire and Channing Frye scored 26 points each to defeat the short-handed Celtics and sweep the season series 2-0. They are now 21-12 and a surprise team in the west.
Key off season acquisition Channing Frye (who would have thought I’d be saying that) took advantage of slow defensive reactions to drop in 6 three pointers along the way. His 26 points were his season high. He also led both teams with 10 rebounds, and added 2 blocks and 2 steals.
Picked up from the Portland scrap heap, Frye has become a deadly three point shooter (5.6 attempts per game with red hot 43% accuracy) and a cog in the run-and-gun Phoenix offense. After being buried on the plodding Trailblazers’ bench, may he give thanks for his good fortune. Credit the Suns for seeing the potential and to Frye for coming through when given the chance.
Talking about players in the right situation, Eddie House led the Celtics with 19 points in 21 plus minutes off the bench. He hit 5 of 7three point shots. SheldenWilliams added a season high 14 more in 19 minutes in a losing effort. Ray Allen added 15 points to lead the starters.
Other than the hot Eddie House, the Cs shot 1 for 16 from downtown. No three point contagion on this team on this evening.
If we want to take something positive from this, it would be the offense by the two bench players, House and Williams.
Tony Allen started for Paul Pierce again and filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, 6-6 from the free throw line, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals but 4 turnovers in 31 plus minutes. While not his best showing, Tony continues to be a productive player with the minutes he has been given. Along with Rondo, Tony is disruptive defensively when he is out there.
This now sustained effort by TA can either work toward redemption with the team or, at least, make a trade much more possible, as the February 18 deadline approaches. Either way, it is a good thing for the Celtics and a player who has had some major ups and downs in his career. Tony is balling again.
Early Celtic Cave In
After opening the game 12-8, the Celtics disappeared over the next 5 plus minutes. A 16-0 Sun run turned into a 20-2 avalanche to go up 28-14. The Celtics would try but would never get closer than 9 after the first quarter.
Facing a Celtic frontline without nemesis Kevin Garnett, Amare Stoudamire smelled blood and wreaked immediate havoc. He made his first 8 shots, 9 of 10, and scored 18 points in the first quarter. The only thing keeping Stoudamire from having a bigger game was himself. He got into foul trouble with 2 right away and then got a 3rd when he tried to return midway in the second quarter. He played only 22 minutes on the night.
Channing Frye-d the Celtics the rest of the way with 15 second half points when the Suns built a 23 point lead.
The Suns continue to play excellent basketball after beating the Lakers a couple of nights ago and the Celtics last night. They are now 21-12, ahead of all preseason predictions and are 12-2 at home for the 3rd best home record in the league.
Celtic Defense? Not tonight.
With Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett out, decommissioning two thirds of the Big Three, Rajon Rondo played hurt. Marquis Daniels and Glen Davis were also out. We knew it would take a strong effort by players who aren’t used to carrying the load to win this game against one of the toughest home teams in the league.
The chances of the Celtics pulling out a victory against the speedy Phoenix Suns were slim. After the first quarter they were none.
Seeing Rajon Rondo get beat regularly by Steve Nash, we now know why Baron Davis and Monte Ellis had big games against a point guard who prides himself on defense. Rondo has been bothered by a lingering hamstring injury and it showed, as Nash got by Rajon far too easily.
In ordinary circumstances, Rondo might not have played at all. All things considered, he actually played fairly well offensively and gamely the entire contest. Rondo finished with 13 points, 8 assists and 2 steals.
The problem was that Rondo’s defense had an excuse. Rasheed Wallace’s and Kendrick Perkins’ didn’t. Even the Sun’s announcers made light of it with the following observation…
“Channing must be the invisible man, because the Celtics don’t see him.”
Right from the start, Celtic rotations, particularly Wallace and even Perkins to some extent were late to non-existent. Wallace just didn’t get around quickly at all. Even when the Celtics opened the game 12-8, Stoudamire was able to score much too easily. He made his first 8 shots.
Wallace was more effective on the post last night and should have had a field day against Channing Frye. But he continues to like the long ball, though he is shooting just 28% and was 0-4 in this game.
Rasheed finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds, a block and a steal, but generally not the best overall effort for a guy with a high basketball IQ.
I also thought that Bill Walker might see some meaningful minutes. But he was the last to get any PT and only came in for the last 3:23 of garbage time. J.R. Giddens led the ‘end of game’ unit with 7 plus minutes and hit a jumper and another shot, while grabbing 3 boards.
Lester Hudson played about 5 minutes with 2 points, an assist, a rebound, and 2 turnovers.
Kendrick Perkins tried to help defensively a number of times but there was no ‘helping the helper’ and KP was slow to go and guard the three point line as well. Kendrick finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds, but was 1 of 5 on free throws. Perkins also got another technical foul for arguing with the refs.
The Boston Celtics lost their 3rd straight road game on their “That’s not supposed to happen” west world road trip.
After starting the season 13-1 on the road, thoughts of the Beantown Ballers threatening to make a new record were visualized in some conversations. Like winning 73 games, we can put that thought to bed now.
Not that a Celtic win wasn’t possible. It was. But it wasn’t going to happen with the lack of team defense the Celtics played. All Celtic scoring was met by equal Sun scoring and more, including Leandro Barbosa chalking up 17 points with 10 in the final quarter.
The Suns finished shooting .506 to the Celtics’ .422. The Celtics actually had 20 fast break points to the Suns 11.
Inside scoring was about equal at 46-40 (Celtics)
Rebounding: 42-38 Suns
Points Off Turnovers: 13-13
Second Chance Points: 18-19 (Suns)
The Celtics next game is Sunday January 2, 2010 against the Toronto Raptors in Boston.
