Portland 91, Boston 86

Three in four now.

[recap] [box score]

I didn't get a chance to watch this one, but we're obviously struggling a little bit. The Blazers were without their best player, Brandon Roy, and we still couldn't get it done.

The good news is that Cleveland also lost Tuesday, so we remain percentage points ahead of them for the lead in the East (we have the same number of losses, but they've played fewer games than we have).

We'll try to right the ship Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Washington in Boston (no national TV).

Have a happy and safe New Year's celebration.

Boston 108, Sacramento 63

Not a whole lot to say substantively on a night when the Kings couldn't hit Mexico if they fell out of Texas.

[recap] [box score]

I don't take much joy in embarassing hapless Sacto on its homecourt, not when two of my favorite non-Celtic NBA players, Beno Udrih and Donte' Greene, play for them. They are without Kevin Martin, who is clearly their best player, and his backup, Francisco Garcia, didn't play the second half because of an injury. Neither guy is likely to have mattered tonight, but still, as blowouts go, given that we had just lost two in a row, this one could have been expected.

However, I will note the following: With 3:12 to go in the game and the score 104-58, Kings rookie Jason Thompson went to the line for a couple of free throws. At that moment, it occurred to me that Sacramento had not yet scored the number of points that Boston had scored in the first half (it was 59-34 at the break). When Thompson missed both freebies, I allowed myself the thought that perhaps the Kings would go scoreless the rest of the way, and we'd have scored all the points we needed to score in the first half. Alas, 34 seconds later, Quincy Douby knocked down a couple from the line, and there went that.

Still, it got me thinking a little bit about this, and whether it's ever happened in NBA history, or, say, the shot-clock era, to make it easier. More specifically, I noted that when Kevin Garnett knocked down a 22-footer to make it 64-34 with 10:38 left in the third quarter, Boston had scored every point it needed to score the rest of the game. The Cs could have gone scoreless for more than 22 and a half minutes and still theoretically have won.

I'm keenly interested in this stat for some reason, at least for the time being. Preliminarily, let's call it Time To Winning Points (TTWP). The Celtics' TTWP against the Kings was 25:22. Because I have no way of going back and figuring it out myself, I'm calling it a record and will be monitoring it via NBA boxscores for the rest of the season, and, perhaps, eternity. If someone with access to the Stats, Inc., database wants to check to see where Boston's accomplishment ranks all-time, or wants to email John Hollinger and bug him to do it, I'd be very interested in the results.

Note: After I wrote this, I went back and read some old posts, and realized that last year's 104-59 win over the Knicks was a good candidate for a game with a better TTWP than this one. However, a Ray Allen triple with 10:04 left in the third quarter gave us a 60-31 lead, making our TTWP for that game 25:56, 34 seconds longer than tonight against Sacto. The record stands!

-I want to take a moment to reflect on the Golden State loss, which came as a disappiontment, though not necessarily a surprise, when I saw the score in my grandmother's living room on Saturday morning. I was worried about that one, because I figured we'd have a big letdown after the Lakers game and maybe wouldn't be all that "up" for the Warriors, who like to go up and down and whose arena can be a nightmare for visiting teams. I figured we might get behind early and never really challenge, or maybe keep it close (Golden State's defense is horrible, so it's hard to fall too far behind) but not have anything left for a big push.

I was not expecting, however, to lose an eight-point fourth-quarter lead that had been as big as 14 in the second half.

Everyone seemed to chalk it up to being tired, but I just don't know. It's hard to say for sure without having watched the game, but it seems just as likely to me that this was just one of those days, one of those games that happens over the course of an 82-game season. And I know Perk didn't play (he aggravated his shoulder injury against LA), but you don't need a lot of size against Golden State, and it seems that it wasn't their inside guys who hurt us; the damage was done on the perimeter.

I said at the beginning of the season and have reiterated throughout that I don't mind losing to teams we won't have to worry about during the playoffs. I was taking for granted, however, that we'd earn home court advantage. After all, we just set the record for best 29-game start in NBA history; who'd have thought that Cleveland would match us nearly win-for-win and we'd gain all of one game on the Cavs during our 19-game winning streak? The bottom line is that these losses against the Woyas and the Pacers and the Nuggets become increasingly important now that the Cavs, who stand at 26-4 to our 28-4, seem poised to make their own run at history. The Cavs are good enough this year that home court advantage could well decide a playoff series with them, so every game matters.

To that end, then, it would be nice, rest of the NBA, if you'd stop giving away games to the Cavs at home. Cleveland beat Miami Sunday night to move to 16-0 at the Q; the Heat had a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and lost by seven. And this came on the heels of the Christmas Day game with Washington, when the lowly Wizards couldn't hold on to a seven-point lead with 1:39 to go, surrendering the game's final 11 points in a 93-89 loss. Watching that one after seeing Boston lose to LA was pretty sick.

-Speaking of the Warriors, which I was a few paragraphs ago, I'm sure there are some Lakers fans who would like to point out that those Warriors got crushed at Staples Center tonight, 130-113. Lest they get too excited, however, I'd like to remind them that LA's third loss of the season was to...the Kings, 113-101, and Sacto didn't have Martin in that one, either.

Next game is Tuesday, December 30, at Portland (10 pm Eastern, no national TV). I'll be in Atlanta for a wedding, but should be able to watch the game and post about it at some point on the 31st.

Los Angeles Lakes 92, Boston 83

Well, we weren't going to win 'em all.

[recap] [box score]

Up two points with four minutes to go in LA is about all we can ask for, and we were there last night. That we didn't close it out is disappointing, but the Lakers needed a big-time performance from Pau Gasol down the stretch to close it out, not to mention a couple of big three-pointers from Lamar Odom to even be in that spot. I'll take my chances against those guys.

I came into this season thinking that, even if we were the defending champs, the Lakers were the team to beat. That opinion hasn't changed all that much despite our record-setting start, although the Lakers' inability to play consistently good defense had me less worried about them as the season has progressed. If anything, then, that we were so close to winning in LA despite being thoroughly outplayed is fairly reassuring. It's kind of weird to say, but given that the Lakers got the contributions they were lacking last ear from guys like Gasol and Odom and still barely beat us, I feel pretty good about last night.

We're back in action tonight, at Golden State at 10:30 pm Eastern. The game's on NBATV, so I won't be able to see it. I'm also heading out of town for a couple of days, so I won't be able to blog about it either. I'll be back to post on Sunday, after we play the Sacramento Kings.

Boston 110, Philadelphia 91

A franchise-best 19th straight win. An NBA record 27-2 start. And a rare opportunity for Rhymes With Hondo to catch a Celtics game live.

[recap] [box score]

As most of you surely know, the Celtics lone trip West to play the Lakers comes Christmas Day. Since I'm back in DC, the only time I'll get a chance to catch the Cs live in LA will be on February 25, when they play the Clippers at the tail end of a six-game Western swing. So I took the opportunity of a few days between the end of school and the holidays to make a trip up to Boston to see friends and take in a game.

Of course, when I made the arrangements, I didn't know that it would be something of an historic evening. Being in the building to watch these records being set was a neat experience, though, even if the game -- the outcome being never really in doubt -- wasn't the height of excitement.

At any rate, I don't think I've been this excited for Christmas Day in like 20 years! This should be the game of the NBA season; the first Finals rematch, in a decades-old rivalry renewed last spring. Los Angeles isn't playing quite at its best: After a torrid start, they've lost three of their last ten, a completely respectable stretch in any normal year. This is not a normal year, however, as the Lakers 23-5 mark is actually third-best in the league, behind not only the Celtics, but the 24-4 Cavaliers. Defense, the main thing that LA critics harped on last year, again seems to be the problem, and the Lakers have lost the focus on that end of the floor that they had to start the year. It's hard to imagine, however, that focus and intensity on either end is going to be lacking Thursday night.

I think Rajon Rondo, who has been as important to this 19-game run as any other Celtic, will be the difference between winning and losing for the Cs. The Lakers effectively neutralized him for much of the Finals last year, sagging off of him and basically ignoring him when the Celtics were on offense. This year, teams do that at their own peril, as Rondo has taken a giant step forward, attacking the basket fearlessly and finishing often once he gets there. I don't necessarily think that the "Let Rondo beat us" strategy is necessarily a bad one -- it's hard to say, as a Boston opponent, that you'd rather have the ball in Paul Pierce's hands, or Ray Allen's, or Kevin Garnett's. But Rondo needs to take that as an invitation. He's done it a lot recently, but never in a game as big as this one, and less so on the road then at home.

Tip is at 5 p.m. Eastern on ABC. Merry Christmas.

Boston 88, Atlanta 85

The Hawks gave us exactly the kind of game we needed Wednesday night.

[recap] [box score]

A bunch of factors gave me a bad feeling going into the game: the fact that the game was in Atlanta, where we hadn't won in three trips during last year's postseason; the fact that Atlanta had just beaten a torrid Cleveland team; the fact that Paul Pierce had hurt his knee Monday night against Utah. The early going did little to allay those fears, as Pierce was moving around a little gingerly and Atlanta seemed to be getting to all the loose balls. To be fair, I didn't agree with Mark Jackson's second-quarter assessment that the Hawks were outworking or outhustling the Celtics. We were working plenty hard, but Atlanta is quicker as a team than we are and it was their superior athleticism that was carrying the day.

Kevin Garnett brought this one home with a dominating fourth quarter, something that, despite everything he's brought to this team, he's done only a handful of times in green and white. He did it by going making aggressive moves in the post, too, rather than finessing in those ridiculous turnaround jumpers he makes look so easy. It remains a mystery to me what causes Garnett to become aggressive with the ball and go to the cup, but but when he does, his size and athleticism make him an unstoppable force.

Rajon Rondo had another solid game, but he wasn't always the player he's been this year. He was really only aggressive towards the end of the first half -- after Atlanta had built a seven-point lead -- and then again in the fourth quarter. Still, his tendency has been to disappear for entire games on the road, so the fact that he looked to take it to the hole at all in the toughest environment he's been in this year is a really good sign.

I'm still concerned about what might happen if we once again lock up with Atlanta in a playoff series; they play us tougher than they play anybody else, their athleticism gives us problems, and Ray Allen still can't guard Joe Johnson. But Wednesday night was our first real test in a while, and we passed, on a night when no one was particularly hot from the floor.

We go for 17 straight at home against Chicago on Friday (no national TV). I'll almost certainly be drunkenly celebrating the end of my first semester of law school and therefore won't catch the game live, but I'll try to catch it in the archives of League Pass broadband sometime on Saturday and weigh in with some thoughts.

Boston 100, Utah 91

Late in posting this because of exams. But I took a much-needed break from studying torts Monday afternoon to watch the game against the Carlos Boozer-less Jazz.

[recap] [box score]

Quick thoughts:

-Career-high 25 points -- to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists -- for Rajon Rondo. What really set Monday night apart from his other great games this year, though, is that we ran the offense through him in the fourth quarter, trusting him with the ball in his hands with the game on the line. That's not really something we've done before, but if we can establish him as fourth option in the clutch, it will make our first three options that much more effective.

-With Eddie House out due to a death in the family, Gabe Pruitt got some run backing up Rondo. The kid responded in a big way, leading our bench scorers with eight points on a couple of threes and a pair of free throws. He played good defense and was the victim of a couple of poor calls (the officiating was as bad as I've seen it this year). I said in the offseason that I didn't think re-signing House or finding another backup point guard was as high a priority as finding a backup center because I had faith in Pruitt, and that hasn't changed, even though there's really no spot in the regular rotation for him, particularly since House has stepped up his game of late. But his jumper, his size, and his D make him a good fill-in for House and Tony Allen when they aren't available, and Doc should remember he's an option when the situation might call for it.

-The Jazz have two of my favorite non-Celtics in the NBA: Paul Millsap and Morris Almond. After starting the previous game as Utah coach Jerry Sloan looks for a solution at shooting guard, Mo got the DNP-CD against us, but Millsap kept the Jazz in the game with a career-high 32 points. I have been high on him since he came out of college, but mainly for his rebounding. I didn't realize that he had developed such a robust offensive game. It was a treat to watch his career day.

Viewing alert: Next game is Wednesday night at Atlanta (7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN). It sounds like Paul Pierce is going to give it a go with the knee injury he suffered in the closing seconds against Utah. If he can't go, we'll need someone to step up if we want our 16th straight win.

Boston 94, New Orleans 82

A good win over a strong team on a night we didn't play our best.

[recap] [box score]

The highlight reel found in the game recap has a couple of spectacular plays toward the end; 1) a steal by Glen Davis, followed by the 289-pound second-year player taking it 70 feet before dishing to Tony Allen (who provided a great finish while getting fouled -- pretty much the only thing he did right all night); and 2) a sweet give-and-go alley-good between Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Otherwise, this one was kind of ugly. Boston out-toughed New Orleans, although some of that is because the Hornets were without their starting center, Tyson Chandler, who hurt his neck in practice.

I though Davis and Leon Powe played very well, despite their modest stat lines. Eddie House provided the outside shooting we needed to put the game away. And it was good to see Paul Pierce, who had 13 of his 28 in the decisive third quarter, step up and play the kind of offensive game we know he's capable of but hadn't seen from him in a while.

Although Chris Paul had 20 points and 14 rebounds, that's really a deceptive stat line; the Celtics did a nice job of containing him all night. Holding a guy like Paul to five made field goals is an indication of why we are so good defensively; we stop the other team's star player from getting to the basket. A few times, it broke down a bit, as we left guys open under the basket in an attempt to keep Paul away from the tin, and he found them for easy layups. But our defense certainly frustrated Paul, whose overlooked dirty streak -- remember, he was suspended a game in college for punching Julius Hodge in the groin, something everyone seems to forget about -- came through late when he set a fairly vicious illegal screen on Kendrick Perkins (Perk did a nice job not reacting to it).

Fourteen in a row now, and Cleveland is still hot on our heels. Next game is Monday night vs. Utah (7:30 p.m. Eastern; no national TV). The Jazz have another great young point guard in Deron Wililams, but our job against him will be a little different. He doesn't drive to score as much as Paul does, so we'll need to jump the screen-and-roll a bit more to keep him from shooting if Rondo goes behind the screens, rather than sagging back and daring him to shoot outside, the way we do with Paul.

Boston 122, Washington 88

A sloppy third quarter on both ends made this far from a perfect outing, but this one wasn't ever in doubt.

[recap] [box score]

Not too much to say here, really. Washington is really bad right now. Everyone played well for us. The bomb squad saw extended minutes, and I loved Patrick O'Bryant's sweeping hook, Gabe Pruitt's jumper, and Glen Davis' 17-footer moving left while coming off a screen on an inbounds play (no idea where that one came from).

About the only thing to complain about is that Paul Pierce in a game we won by 34, but we just had three days off and I guess I don't mind that much. We needed him out there to start the fourth, anyway, as we had let the Wizards back to within striking distance.

Hosting New Orleans tomorrow night (8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN). The return of James Posey should be interesting. He'll get his ring in a small ceremony before the game, but knowing Posey and knowing the Celtics, this one will be extra intense.

-Got the current All-Star voting results in my e-mail inbox today, and the biggest outrage to me is not that Rajon Rondo has fewer votes than Washington's Gilbert Arenas, despite the fact that Agent Zero hasn't played this year. It's that Philly's Samuel Dalembert is second among Eastern Conference centers in votes, behind Dwight Howard. Dalembert is single-handedly killing one of my fantasy teams -- and to think, I could have had Emeka Okafor -- and if he makes the All-Star team, I'll take it as a personal insult.

Viewing Alert

Thursday if the first night of a national TV back-to-back for the Cs. Eight p.m. Eastern at Washington, on TNT.

The Wizards suck -- to be fair, they've had some injuries -- but they sucked last year and that didn't stop us from going 1-3 against them (after blowing them out in the season-opener). We never play well in Washington, but hopefully last year caught our attention and we'll come out focused and do what we need to tonight.

Those who don't follow the NBA should know that the Cleveland Cavaliers, our chief rivals in the East, are apparently playing out of their minds right now. Sure, they only have a ten-game winning streak to our twelve-gamer, but over that stretch, they are just eviscerating people, winning by an average margin of 20 points per game. Granted, the nine teams they've beaten over that stretch (they had the Knicks twice). That's a huge margin in this league, and people are taking notice. My daily newsletter from NBA.com had this story that mentioned the Cavs as contenders for the magical 70-win mark.

Allow me, however, to temper Cavs' fans enthusiasm just a bit: Of the nine teams the Cavs have beaten during their streak (they had the Knicks twice), only one (Atlanta, at 12-9) has a winning record. Collectively, the group is 72-116, a winning percentage of .383. While the Celtics' victims during their current streak haven't exactly been world beaters (.438) winning percentage, we have beaten Orlando (third-best record in the East); Portland (fourth-best record in the West); and Detroit (11-9).

We've had some close games; Cleveland hasn't. The streaks are comparable. I'm not ready to hand over the crown yet, nor am I prepared to say that either team has a good probability of 70 wins. There's a reason it's only happened once. Too much has to go right, and you have to bring it every night. Just a few weeks ago there was talk of the Lakers getting 70, but they went out and lost to the Pacers and then the Kings. The league is too good right now, in my opinion, for a team to hit that mark.

Boston 122, Indiana 117 (Overtime)

Man, I am sick of Indiana. Twice in five days, and three times already in the young season. At least we don't have to face them again until the end of February.

[recap] [box score]

This is one we probably should have lost. We didn't play any defense until the final minutes of the fourth quarter, and as well as Indiana shot -- 50.6% for the game, and that includes a 4-for-17 finish -- they would have blown us out had Danny Granger hit a few jumpers.

As it was, we needed a clutch Paul Pierce three -- after a huge offensive rebound by Eddie House that he probably won't get enough credit for -- just to send it to overtime, where the Pacers' shooting percentage finally regressed toward the mean. Credit Ray Allen and his 35 points the most for this one (Ray's been shooting the hell out of the ball lately), but in reality, a lot of people chipped in. That happens when you score 122 points.

The thing I liked most about this win was that we stuck with it. On the road against an opponent that doesn't really matter, we hung in, despite the fact that they were throwing everything in (including Marquis Daniel's halfcourt shot that beat the halftime buzzer). A lot of teams would have packed it in, and while I'm sure no one is satisfied with the overall performance, we got a win.

A rare three days off for Boston now, followed by a back-to-back Thursday and Friday at Washington and against New Orleans. I went to many a Celtics-Wizards game when I was living in DC, and I can remember us coming away with a win like once. We never seem to play well there, at least when I'm in attendance. Now that I'm out in California, maybe things will be different. Or maybe things will be different because the Wizards suck. This one's on TNT, so mark it down in case I forget to remind you later in the week.

Friday against the Hornets should be good, even though the Bees have played well below expectations this year. It'll also be the return of James Posey to Boston -- an emotional night to be sure. This game wil be televised on ESPN.

Boston 93, Portland 78

I expected more from the Portland Trailblazers.

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Rarely are you going to seen an NBA team -- never mind a team that has the second-best record in the West after 20 games -- play as poorly as Portland did last night in the last few minutes of the second quarter and then the third. Boston went on a 21-0 run at one point, as Portland went seven minutes without a point and nearly ten without a field goal. 21-0 runs and droughts of that kind just don't happen in the NBA, but they did last night, as Portland failed in transition defense and in genearting any sort of good shot on offense. Just a lot of standing around on both ends from the guys in the black jerseys.

The story of the night turned out to be Glen Davis living up to his Big Baby nickname and crying on the bench. If you weren't watching, about midway through the fourth quarter, Portland had cut a big lead to 13, in large part due to some poor play by the Boston bench. Upset at this, Kevin Garnett laid into the reserves during a timeout, and at one point, a visibly angry Davis left the huddle and went to the end of the bench, where he could be seen with tears in his eyes as he agitatedly yelled about something.

We don't know what Garnett said and as the game ended everything appeared to be okay as Davis exchanged a high-five with KG as the latter came off the court. However, Garnett said in a post-game interview that Davis was upset about some things, and that, in so many words, he needed to accept his role and stay within it. I don't think it's ultimately a big deal, but it deserves a few words.

The last several victories in this 11-game winning streak have come on the back of our starters, with very little help from the bench. I am sure this bothers Garnett, as he knows that we're going to need the bench if we want to win the title. As a team leader, part of his job is to do, essentially, what he did to hold the reserves accountable for their performance.

In Baby's defense, however, KG can be pretty abrasive and is probably prone to saying some pretty harsh things. Baby is a sensitive kid -- he's only 22 -- and he admires Garnett greatly; it's understandable that KG's criticism might grate on him a bit.

That's particularly true if Davis isn't comfortable with the role he's currently playing, which would be understandable. Despite his girth, Davis spent most of his college career at LSU playing in the high post. With Patrick O'Bryant apparently not ready to contribute yet, Davis and Powe are the only bigs off the bench. These two, who are really undersized fours, are being asked to play the four and five together.

Wednesday against Indiana, Davis missed a handful of 17-foot jumpers, a shot he had been taking (and making) recently. That's the game Davis would rather play, shooting from outside and using his footwork -- remarkable for man his size -- to move toward the basket. I think it's safe to say that KG, at least, feels that Davis should lay off those shots, and that this fact was made known between Wednesday night's game and Friday's.

I think the Boston locker room will take care of any disagreement between Garnett and Davis; KG himself said in the postgame that he'd "get real deep" with Davis to try to understand what he's going through. Davis will take some ribbing from teammates for his emotional reaction, and will probably get similar treatment in the media and from the opposition. That's not really a big deal.

The only issue will be getting or keeping Davis happy with his role on this team. Although I'm more of a Powe guy, we need Davis to play valuable minutes of the bench, even if he is playing out of position.

Next game is Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern against ... Indiana, again. This has been a ridiculously tough stretch for the Pacers, as this will be their fourth game since Tuesday against the best three teams in the NBA. No national TV for this one. No national TV for this one and I've got my contracts final to study for, but I'll watch the game on the Internet and post if anything noteworthy happens.

Viewing Alert

Boston goes for eleven in a row tonight when they host Portland. The game is on national TV: 8 pm Eastern on ESPN. Portland, atop the Northwest Division with a 14-6 record, is young and talented and entertaining to watch. They come in with a six-game winning streak of their own, including wins at Detroit, New York, and Washington last week. This one should be good.

So, watch.

Boston 114, Indiana 96

Revenge, Part I, is complete. The Celtics made reparations for one of their two losses so far this season by easily dispatching the Pacers.

[recap] [box score]

I had wanted to wait to write my Rajon Rondo post until I had more time and energy. He's the inspiration for the title of this blog; he deserves it. But the young man's performance tonight has forced my hand. Sixteen points, thirteen rebounds, seventeen assists, for those who didn't see it -- the first triple-double of his career. It was a singular performance in Rondo's career to date, for sure, but it was hardly an anomalous one. Anyone who had watched the Celtics closely over the last year-plus -- and these past two weeks, in particular -- knew he was capable of something like this.

At one point in the second half, Tommy Heinsohn exclaimed, in reference to Rondo, "Give that man a baton!" Heinsohn was invoking a common metaphor for a player taking control of a basketball game: a conductor overseeing his orchestra. The implication is that he was controlling the game.

And it's apt, for Rondo certainly had this game in his control. At a different point in the game, Heinsohn observed of the other Celtics, "They can't wait to get the ball to Rondo." And it's true. Every time a Celtic pulled down a defensive rebound, he turned in the direction of the high-pitched voice chirping his initials -- "KG! KG!" "PP! PP!" -- and fired an outlet pass. But I don't think saying that Rondo "controlled" this game does it justice.

See, there are a lot of guys who "control" games, in the sense of taking them over and determining their outcome. You give them the ball, they score, you win. Paul Pierce has been known to control games in this manner, often in the fourth quarter. Kobe Bryant controls games like this. So does LeBron James. Dwyane Wade, too.

The thing is, though, that when these guys take over or control a basketball game, the game's flow stops and revolves around them. Take Pierce, for example. When Pierce is on, the script for Boston's possessions is predictable: Rondo brings the the ball upcourt while Pierce battles for position with his back to the basket on the perimeter. Rondo loops a pass from an odd angle, high and short, and Pierce uses his position to go get it. Once he grabs it, he turns and faces, and the rest of the Celtics just kind of stand around in the corners of the court, giving Pierce the room he needs to operate. From there, it's a foregone conclusion that Pierce is going to look for his shot. The only remaining question is how: A drive to the bucket for a layup? An abruptly aborted drive that ends with his signature 15-foot pull-up jumper? A shot fake designed to get his defender in the air, so he can lean in and draw the foul?

Don't get me wrong -- when Pierce or Kobe or LeBron are "in the zone," it's a treat to watch. It's electrifying to see a guy scoring at will. But there's something about it that doesn't fit with the game of basketball.

Basketball -- the ultimate team sport, with all ten players on the court in constant motion, responsible for playing both offense and defense -- doesn't quite feel like basketball when so many players are thus reduced to spectators. You're aware that you're watching something special, and you're enjoying it greatly, but there's a part of you that notices that the game has been stripped of some of its essential principles. It's missing its flow, its interplay -- the very characteristics that define it.

When Rondo plays like he did on Wednesday night against Indiana, it's different. The game doesn't bog down and center around him -- it flows from him. He's not controlling the game; he is the game. He finds his opening and gets going to the basket, and that triggers the natural movement of a basketball team. Suddenly, every one of his teammates seems to be in the right place, and it's up to Rondo to pick from a variety of attractive options, be it a pass to a teammate or a layup for himself.

There are surely point guards in the league today who possess better court vision and innate "feel" than Rondo. And Rondo's effectiveness is surely enhanced by the fact that he's surrounded by exceptionally talented, even by NBA standards, teammates. His supporting cast subsidizes his offensive limitations. Because the team doesn't need him to score, he's free to over-penetrate where his counterparts might pull up for a shot.

For these reasons, I'm not saying that by any reasonable standard, Rondo is better or more valuable than the truly great point guards in the league right now, the Steve Nashes and Chris Pauls of the world. But he's my favorite point guard to watch, and not just because of the team name on the front of his jersey. I like him because when he's on, he improves the quality of the game. It's not that he makes others around him better; a lot of players do that. It's that his play tends to result in a purer form of basketball.

Boston 107, Orlando 88

I wasn't able to watch this one since it was on NBATV, but it's another convincing win over a top tier Eastern Conference opponent. Good first quarter, poor second quarter, and then it appears that Paul Pierce came out of the locker room after halftime and decided that there was no way we were losing tonight (17 points in the third after being held to five and committing three fouls in the first half). Good games from the rest of the starting five and particularly Eddie House of the bench, too.

[recap] [box score]

Since I didn't see it, I don't have any basketball to analyze, so I'll take a quick minute to talk about something that I've touched on briefly before and that is becoming an increasing concern for the Celtics: technical fouls.

We got five tonight: two on Sam Cassell, who got his from the bench; and one each on Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, and Kevin Garnett. We are far and away the most-penalized team in the league this year when it comes to technicals, but in and of itself, that's not a big deal. Technical fouls are a part of professional basketball and they aren't a big deal here and there, but we're treading on thin ice here. The NBA has rules about technicals, and those rules say that once you hit 16 technicals for the year, every subsequent technical results in a one-game suspension. It doesn't reset or anything like that for the playoffs, either (which makes sense; otherwise, you'd have guys going crazy trying to pick up technicals to get suspended before the playoffs).

Tonight's tech was Perk's ninth of the season, which means he's getting hit with one almost every other game, which, if you do the math, means that if he keeps up this pace, he's going to hit the limit before the All-Star break.

That is a problem. We can't have Perk missing playoff games left and right because of technical fouls. Sure, he's not the most valuable player on our team by a long shot, but he's the only true center we have that we can feel comfortable playing (Patrick O'Bryant isn't there yet). He's gotta keep himself under control.

Additionally, and this is something I warned Doc about re: Garnett in a previous post when KG got slapped with the one-game suspension for his altercation with Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut, Doc needs to be cognizant of the problem and limit Perk's time on the court as much as possible. I don't know what Perk did to get T'd up, but I know that at the time he got whistled, we were up 16 and there were under four minutes left. Perkins had re-entered the game a minute earlier for Glen Davis -- who was more likely than not winded at playing most of the fourth quarter, so it's not that I'm blaming Doc for this. But I hope it's something he pays attention to as the season wears on.