We beat the Thunder. Great.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Far more important is that Russell Westbrook's 23 points keyed an 11-point, come-from-behind victory for the Los Angeles Udrihs, one of my fantasy basketball teams, in the league quarterfinals. Next up is the league's best team, but I've got a three-game advantage on him this week. Good scheduling for me.
KG didn't play again, and probably won't play Wednesday against Charlotte. It's a light week for the Cs; after the Bobcats, the Hawks come to town on Friday. And then no game until the following Wednesday. No TV for a while, either.
Glen Davis took an (inadvertent) elbow to the dome from Kevin Durant, but came back and played an excellent fourth quarter. I don't think it will keep him out of action, which is good, since we're running kinda low on bodies.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Boston 99, Atlanta 93
This game was broadcast on NBATV, so I can comment only on what I can glean from the box score.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Kevin Garnett sat this one out with soreness in the knee that had kept him out for the past month or so. It's unclear, at this point, if he'll play Sunday against Oklahoma City, but I wouldn't count on it, even though the discomfort was so minor that Garnett reportedly didn't see a doctor. This also probably sets back his timetable for returning to full service. He'd averaged about 16 or 17 minutes in his four games back, and was reportedly set to play another eight per game starting next week. They've been very cautious -- perhaps overly so -- in bringing him back, so I would expect a full night out of Garnett until the playoffs. I'm not yet concerned about him not being full-strength for the playoffs, but it's something to keep an eye on.
With Garnett and Leon Powe out, heavy responsibility -- along with the start -- went to Glen Davis, and he responded in a big way with 19 points, tying a career-high with 12 rebounds. But the man they call Big Baby was just one of a handful of second-team players who came up big Friday night. Eddie House led the way with 12 points off the bench, and Stephon Marbury finally found his shooting stroke, hitting three of four three-pointers on his way to 11 points, his high since joining the Celtics 15 games ago. Hopefully Marbury, who has struggled mightily with his jumper, will get a little rhythm going. Mikki Moore had ten rebounds in 30 minutes, his playing time increased because Kendrick Perkins played just 21 minutes before fouling out.
Boston also put in a solid defensive effort, an encouraging sign for a team that really struggled on that end of the floor without Garnett. The Hawks shot 42% for the game and scored only 60 points through three quarters.
Ray Allen and Paul Pierce had 22 and 21 points respectively, but this one's a loss without the play of the second team. Perkins and Rajon Rondo had off-nights, KG and Powe were out, and the second team stepped up and filled their shoes, on the road, against the fourth-place team in the East.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Kevin Garnett sat this one out with soreness in the knee that had kept him out for the past month or so. It's unclear, at this point, if he'll play Sunday against Oklahoma City, but I wouldn't count on it, even though the discomfort was so minor that Garnett reportedly didn't see a doctor. This also probably sets back his timetable for returning to full service. He'd averaged about 16 or 17 minutes in his four games back, and was reportedly set to play another eight per game starting next week. They've been very cautious -- perhaps overly so -- in bringing him back, so I would expect a full night out of Garnett until the playoffs. I'm not yet concerned about him not being full-strength for the playoffs, but it's something to keep an eye on.
With Garnett and Leon Powe out, heavy responsibility -- along with the start -- went to Glen Davis, and he responded in a big way with 19 points, tying a career-high with 12 rebounds. But the man they call Big Baby was just one of a handful of second-team players who came up big Friday night. Eddie House led the way with 12 points off the bench, and Stephon Marbury finally found his shooting stroke, hitting three of four three-pointers on his way to 11 points, his high since joining the Celtics 15 games ago. Hopefully Marbury, who has struggled mightily with his jumper, will get a little rhythm going. Mikki Moore had ten rebounds in 30 minutes, his playing time increased because Kendrick Perkins played just 21 minutes before fouling out.
Boston also put in a solid defensive effort, an encouraging sign for a team that really struggled on that end of the floor without Garnett. The Hawks shot 42% for the game and scored only 60 points through three quarters.
Ray Allen and Paul Pierce had 22 and 21 points respectively, but this one's a loss without the play of the second team. Perkins and Rajon Rondo had off-nights, KG and Powe were out, and the second team stepped up and filled their shoes, on the road, against the fourth-place team in the East.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Orlando 84, Boston 82
What's Doc Rivers waiting for?
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
I'm not going to blame this loss on Doc Rivers. Boston played terribly for much of the game and wouldn't have been a possession from winning if it weren't for some poor shooting by Orlando.
Nor am I prepared to say that this game mattered that much. Sure, a win would have given the Celtics a near-lock on the second seed in the East -- and with it, home-court advantage in a semifinal series with these very same Magic -- but all is not lost. Orlando has a game on Boston in the loss column, but Boston, for now, has the tiebreaker of a better conference record. And frankly, even though the Cs have now lost seven of their last eight games in Orlando, I don't think they need homecourt to beat the Magic in a seven-game series.
Still, homecourt advantage would have been a nice thing to have in the back pocket, a nice safety blanket, and Wednesday night was a real shot at locking it up. With that in mind, then, why did Kevin Garnett play only 17 minutes?
Oh, I know the given reason. He's coming off the knee injury, and Doc wants to bring him back slowly, play him eight minutes in the first quarter and then eight minutes in the third quarter, just like a preseason game, no exceptions.
I appreciate that if Boston had a choice of what they could have this postseason, homecourt versus Orlando or a fully healthy KG, they should choose the latter without hesitation. But Garnett is a professional athlete, and a highly-conditioned one at that. Moreover, he's undoubtedly going to play more minutes per game as the regular season winds down; the Boston Globe is reporting that KG will play an additional eight minutes per game starting next week.
Given that, then, would it really have hurt to play him, say, 21 or 22 minutes instead of 17 last night? Might his presence on the court, in the stead of Glen Davis, opened up the court a bit more for Paul Pierce or Ray Allen? Might he have grabbed an offensive rebound the Celtics didn't otherwise get? Might he have scored the basket needed to win the game?
I don't know the answers to those questions. But the risk of playing KG an extra three minutes this one time was minimal, and the potential rewards were great. With an effective three-game lead on Orlando, it's likely that the Celtics could have essentially mailed in the final week of the regular season, resting Garnett as well as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen for the playoff run, without fear of losing homecourt advantage. Now, it appears that Boston will have to choose one or the other.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
I'm not going to blame this loss on Doc Rivers. Boston played terribly for much of the game and wouldn't have been a possession from winning if it weren't for some poor shooting by Orlando.
Nor am I prepared to say that this game mattered that much. Sure, a win would have given the Celtics a near-lock on the second seed in the East -- and with it, home-court advantage in a semifinal series with these very same Magic -- but all is not lost. Orlando has a game on Boston in the loss column, but Boston, for now, has the tiebreaker of a better conference record. And frankly, even though the Cs have now lost seven of their last eight games in Orlando, I don't think they need homecourt to beat the Magic in a seven-game series.
Still, homecourt advantage would have been a nice thing to have in the back pocket, a nice safety blanket, and Wednesday night was a real shot at locking it up. With that in mind, then, why did Kevin Garnett play only 17 minutes?
Oh, I know the given reason. He's coming off the knee injury, and Doc wants to bring him back slowly, play him eight minutes in the first quarter and then eight minutes in the third quarter, just like a preseason game, no exceptions.
I appreciate that if Boston had a choice of what they could have this postseason, homecourt versus Orlando or a fully healthy KG, they should choose the latter without hesitation. But Garnett is a professional athlete, and a highly-conditioned one at that. Moreover, he's undoubtedly going to play more minutes per game as the regular season winds down; the Boston Globe is reporting that KG will play an additional eight minutes per game starting next week.
Given that, then, would it really have hurt to play him, say, 21 or 22 minutes instead of 17 last night? Might his presence on the court, in the stead of Glen Davis, opened up the court a bit more for Paul Pierce or Ray Allen? Might he have grabbed an offensive rebound the Celtics didn't otherwise get? Might he have scored the basket needed to win the game?
I don't know the answers to those questions. But the risk of playing KG an extra three minutes this one time was minimal, and the potential rewards were great. With an effective three-game lead on Orlando, it's likely that the Celtics could have essentially mailed in the final week of the regular season, resting Garnett as well as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen for the playoff run, without fear of losing homecourt advantage. Now, it appears that Boston will have to choose one or the other.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Celtics Win Fourth Straight
Things are looking up since the last time I posted, though I haven't seen much of the team lately.
It didn't start that way. Tuesday night, we apparently played a terrible defensive game and gave up 127 points to Chicago. (I missed this one, as I was enjoying sublime food and company at Delmonico steakhouse in the Venetian -- highly recommended, and if you don't get the banana cream pie for dessert, you are cheating yourself.)
On Wednesday, we needed overtime to beat the Heat without Dwyane Wade - but we were still missing Kevin Garnett, as well as Ray Allen (who missed only that game with a hyperextended elbow suffered the previous night against Chicago) and Leon Powe (who will miss a couple of weeks due to a knee injury also suffered against the Bulls), as well as Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine (out indefinitely with a thumb injury and post-concussion syndrom, respectively). I caught only the fourth quarter and overtime of this one, at a bar at Treasure Island.
On Friday, we stole one from San Antonio, the second-best team in the Western Conference at the time, when the Spurs choked from the free throw line down the stretch. I didn't see this one, as it was on NBATV.
Saturday night, we beat the hapless Memphis Grizzlies behind a career-high 24 points from Glen Davis, standing in for Powe. Ironically, it was just a couple of weeks ago that Powe, his minutes increased due to injuries to Garnett and Davis, notched a career-high 30 points against the same Memphis squad. This one was also on NBATV.
And Monday night, we avenged an embarassing loss last month by pasting the Los Angeles Clippers. I caught this one on TV. The Clippers are terrible, and so are their announcers.
The four-game winning streak is important, as it has kept the Celtics a game ahead of the Orlando Magic for the second spot in the East, with an all-important showdown between the two teams coming up on Wednesday night in Florida (VIEWING ALERT: 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN). Thanks to our injuries, which begat our losing at the beginning of the month, and Cleveland's strong play, we're four games out of first in the East and the race for home court advantage is for all practical purposes over.
What's important is that we're getting healthy. Garnett has been back for three games and has, by design, averaged about 17 minutes per night in those outings. He says he's ready to play more, but Doc is (rightfully) being careful with him. That Garnett has missed a month isn't really a bad thing; he has plenty of time to round back into playing shape before the playoffs and he should be comparatively well-rested for the post-season.
Having Garnett back is very reassuring, however, particularly on the defensive end, where we'd struggled in his absence. Despite his limited minutes, Boston's opponents in the three games he's been back have averaged 80 points per game. Granted, no one is going to confuse the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Clippers with, say, the New York Knicks or Golden State Warriors, but it's nice to see that the C's still have it on that end.
One concern I do have, however, is the wear on Paul Pierce's tires. In the 13 games Garnett missed, Pierce averaged right around 40 minutes per game, two minutes more than his season average and four minutes more than he averaged last year. Injuries are to blame and you can't fault Doc for it, but it would be nice to find a way to rest him a little bit down the stretch.
A win on Wednesday would go a long way toward making that happen. Beating the Magic would effectively put us three games up on them; two in the standings, and another because we'd have the tiebreaker by virtue of a 3-1 head-to-head record. That'd probably be enough of a cushion, given our relatively favorable remaining schedule, to rest the big guns at times over the last few weeks of the regular season.
It didn't start that way. Tuesday night, we apparently played a terrible defensive game and gave up 127 points to Chicago. (I missed this one, as I was enjoying sublime food and company at Delmonico steakhouse in the Venetian -- highly recommended, and if you don't get the banana cream pie for dessert, you are cheating yourself.)
On Wednesday, we needed overtime to beat the Heat without Dwyane Wade - but we were still missing Kevin Garnett, as well as Ray Allen (who missed only that game with a hyperextended elbow suffered the previous night against Chicago) and Leon Powe (who will miss a couple of weeks due to a knee injury also suffered against the Bulls), as well as Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine (out indefinitely with a thumb injury and post-concussion syndrom, respectively). I caught only the fourth quarter and overtime of this one, at a bar at Treasure Island.
On Friday, we stole one from San Antonio, the second-best team in the Western Conference at the time, when the Spurs choked from the free throw line down the stretch. I didn't see this one, as it was on NBATV.
Saturday night, we beat the hapless Memphis Grizzlies behind a career-high 24 points from Glen Davis, standing in for Powe. Ironically, it was just a couple of weeks ago that Powe, his minutes increased due to injuries to Garnett and Davis, notched a career-high 30 points against the same Memphis squad. This one was also on NBATV.
And Monday night, we avenged an embarassing loss last month by pasting the Los Angeles Clippers. I caught this one on TV. The Clippers are terrible, and so are their announcers.
The four-game winning streak is important, as it has kept the Celtics a game ahead of the Orlando Magic for the second spot in the East, with an all-important showdown between the two teams coming up on Wednesday night in Florida (VIEWING ALERT: 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN). Thanks to our injuries, which begat our losing at the beginning of the month, and Cleveland's strong play, we're four games out of first in the East and the race for home court advantage is for all practical purposes over.
What's important is that we're getting healthy. Garnett has been back for three games and has, by design, averaged about 17 minutes per night in those outings. He says he's ready to play more, but Doc is (rightfully) being careful with him. That Garnett has missed a month isn't really a bad thing; he has plenty of time to round back into playing shape before the playoffs and he should be comparatively well-rested for the post-season.
Having Garnett back is very reassuring, however, particularly on the defensive end, where we'd struggled in his absence. Despite his limited minutes, Boston's opponents in the three games he's been back have averaged 80 points per game. Granted, no one is going to confuse the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Clippers with, say, the New York Knicks or Golden State Warriors, but it's nice to see that the C's still have it on that end.
One concern I do have, however, is the wear on Paul Pierce's tires. In the 13 games Garnett missed, Pierce averaged right around 40 minutes per game, two minutes more than his season average and four minutes more than he averaged last year. Injuries are to blame and you can't fault Doc for it, but it would be nice to find a way to rest him a little bit down the stretch.
A win on Wednesday would go a long way toward making that happen. Beating the Magic would effectively put us three games up on them; two in the standings, and another because we'd have the tiebreaker by virtue of a 3-1 head-to-head record. That'd probably be enough of a cushion, given our relatively favorable remaining schedule, to rest the big guns at times over the last few weeks of the regular season.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Milwaukee 86, Boston 77
I am in Las Vegas for a couple of job interviews. I flew in yesterday and caught the second half of this one in the Venetian sports book. I shouldn't have bothered.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
This was just a terrible offensive performance from everybody but Kendrick Perkins, who had 26 points. And you can find faul with Perk, too: He had 12 rebounds, but nine of them were on the offensive end. As a team, we gave up 21 offensive rebounds, too many to win a game where we weren't scoring.
Next game is Tuesday at Chicago, and we host the Heat on Wednesday on ESPN (7 p.m. Eastern).
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
This was just a terrible offensive performance from everybody but Kendrick Perkins, who had 26 points. And you can find faul with Perk, too: He had 12 rebounds, but nine of them were on the offensive end. As a team, we gave up 21 offensive rebounds, too many to win a game where we weren't scoring.
Next game is Tuesday at Chicago, and we host the Heat on Wednesday on ESPN (7 p.m. Eastern).
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Boston 102, Memphis 92
Last night was the Leon Powe show.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It was a career gane for the third-year man out of California. Powe, taking advantage of extended playing time due to injuries to Kevin Garnett and Glen Davis, had 30 points, 11 rebounds, and an uncharacteristic five blocked shots against the Grizzlies. RwH has always been a big Powe fan, and it's very satisfying to see him have a game like this.
RwH has also, however, always been lukewarm towards Celtics coach Doc Rivers, at least as a bench coach, and it will be interesting -- and by "interesting," I mean "potentially very frustrating" -- to see what happens when Davis comes back. Of the two somewhat undersized power forwards -- undersized in terms of height, that is -- Powe is clearly the better player, a fact that seems clear to everyone but Rivers. After declaring in the preseason that Powe would be the first forward off the bench, Rivers quickly started giving more and more playing time to Davis.
Big Baby hasn't been bad this year, and when he's hitting his jumper, as he has been the last month or so, he's an effective player. But he doesn't mix it up underneath the way Powe does, doesn't crash the boards as well, and can, when he's not hitting that J, shoot us out of some games.
Powe, on the other hand, always plays hard and gives us the rebounding we desperately need from the second team. He doesn't necessarily "need the ball" to score; he gets a lot of buckets off of offensive rebounds and by being in the right spot at the right time. And because he operates so close to the basket, he takes better shots, shooting almost 52 percent to Davis' 43 percent. He also takes the most free throws of any Celtic not named Paul Pierce, a remarkable statistic given that he plays less than 18 minutes per game.
However, Powe can get out of rhythm a little bit: There are times when he just doesn't seem to have his footwork down or his confidence up, and the result can be some ugly and embarrassing post moves. It's important for Powe to have a defined, regular role on the team. If Doc jerks him around too much, there's a real risk that we'll lose his effectiveness for several games.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It was a career gane for the third-year man out of California. Powe, taking advantage of extended playing time due to injuries to Kevin Garnett and Glen Davis, had 30 points, 11 rebounds, and an uncharacteristic five blocked shots against the Grizzlies. RwH has always been a big Powe fan, and it's very satisfying to see him have a game like this.
RwH has also, however, always been lukewarm towards Celtics coach Doc Rivers, at least as a bench coach, and it will be interesting -- and by "interesting," I mean "potentially very frustrating" -- to see what happens when Davis comes back. Of the two somewhat undersized power forwards -- undersized in terms of height, that is -- Powe is clearly the better player, a fact that seems clear to everyone but Rivers. After declaring in the preseason that Powe would be the first forward off the bench, Rivers quickly started giving more and more playing time to Davis.
Big Baby hasn't been bad this year, and when he's hitting his jumper, as he has been the last month or so, he's an effective player. But he doesn't mix it up underneath the way Powe does, doesn't crash the boards as well, and can, when he's not hitting that J, shoot us out of some games.
Powe, on the other hand, always plays hard and gives us the rebounding we desperately need from the second team. He doesn't necessarily "need the ball" to score; he gets a lot of buckets off of offensive rebounds and by being in the right spot at the right time. And because he operates so close to the basket, he takes better shots, shooting almost 52 percent to Davis' 43 percent. He also takes the most free throws of any Celtic not named Paul Pierce, a remarkable statistic given that he plays less than 18 minutes per game.
However, Powe can get out of rhythm a little bit: There are times when he just doesn't seem to have his footwork down or his confidence up, and the result can be some ugly and embarrassing post moves. It's important for Powe to have a defined, regular role on the team. If Doc jerks him around too much, there's a real risk that we'll lose his effectiveness for several games.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Save Us, Rondo!
Good news: Looks like Rajon Rondo will return from his ankle injury tonight against Memphis.
(Hat tip to Rusty for passing along this link.)
(Hat tip to Rusty for passing along this link.)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Miami 107, Boston 99
Strange game.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
As shorthanded as Boston was, losing this one was almost expected. The personnel problems were exacerbated by foul trouble in the first quarter; Kendrick Perkins picked up two quick fouls, and Mikki Moore came in and was whistled for four -- yes, four -- by the end of the first quarter. They weren't necessarily bad calls, but the officials, knowing that we were shorthanded, didn't do us any favors. They called a very tight game.
Nevertheless, we were up 55-50 at halftime, thanks to stellar play from Ray Allen and Leon Powe. We finally wore down a bit and Miami started to pull away, going up 15 in the fourth quarter. Jermaine O'Neal was then called for a flagrant foul and a technical for throwing Bill Walker to the ground and then barking at him, and that seemed to spark us, as Eddie House finally hit some shots and we cut the lead to 1. We actually got the stop we needed, too, but House couldn't corral the rebound with a Heat player hanging all over his back. Dwyane Wade completed a three-point play with the extra possession, and although we cut it to one again, we couldn't get the stops we needed.
With all these injuries, and with the Clippers blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to the Cavs Tuesday night, we can probably forget about home court advantage. The key now is to get healthy.
Next game is Friday against Memphis, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
As shorthanded as Boston was, losing this one was almost expected. The personnel problems were exacerbated by foul trouble in the first quarter; Kendrick Perkins picked up two quick fouls, and Mikki Moore came in and was whistled for four -- yes, four -- by the end of the first quarter. They weren't necessarily bad calls, but the officials, knowing that we were shorthanded, didn't do us any favors. They called a very tight game.
Nevertheless, we were up 55-50 at halftime, thanks to stellar play from Ray Allen and Leon Powe. We finally wore down a bit and Miami started to pull away, going up 15 in the fourth quarter. Jermaine O'Neal was then called for a flagrant foul and a technical for throwing Bill Walker to the ground and then barking at him, and that seemed to spark us, as Eddie House finally hit some shots and we cut the lead to 1. We actually got the stop we needed, too, but House couldn't corral the rebound with a Heat player hanging all over his back. Dwyane Wade completed a three-point play with the extra possession, and although we cut it to one again, we couldn't get the stops we needed.
With all these injuries, and with the Clippers blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to the Cavs Tuesday night, we can probably forget about home court advantage. The key now is to get healthy.
Next game is Friday against Memphis, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Orlando 86, Boston 79
I don't really know how to feel about this one.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's hard to be too upset at this loss given the injuries we have. Kevin Garnett was out again -- word is that the absolute earliest he'll play is next Sunday -- and Rajon Rondo missed this one with the ankle injury he suffered but was able to play through against Cleveland on Friday. Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine continue to miss time with various injuries, and Glen Davis went out in the second half of this game with a bad ankle.
At the same time, that shouldn't be an excuse for not showing up until the third quarter, which is basically what happened. Boston got down by as many as 22 before making a late run -- Ray Allen, who was spectacular in the fourth quarter, actually had a decent look from three that would have tied it -- and you just can't do that against a good team like Orlando. The energy that carried the day against the Cavs was completely absent for the first 24 minutes against the Magic. The second half was better, thanks in particular to Leon Powe, who played his second straight inspired game and really did the best he could despite having to guard Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis -- two different matchup problems for him.
Stephon Marbury got the start in Rondo's stead and was largely ineffective. I like the move of starting him instead of Eddie House, even though House knows the offense better, just to get Marbury more comfortable. We need him to be more assertive on offense, a little more like the Marbury of old. He was too passive today. I think he's clearly worried about fitting in and conscious of disrupting championship chemistry, and he's been too unselfish in his first few games with the team. Boston didn't bring him in to pass up layups.
It's a delicate situation with Steph, because he's proven to be, shall we say, emotionally fragile, and the last thing you want is to send him a bunch of mixed messages. He's been reading and hearing about how he he's going to come in and destroy the Celtics, and for many reasons, he wants to avoid doing that. But the truth is, the Celtics need a little bit of his famously large ego, particularly with so many key players out. Marbury is capable of taking over offensively -- was capable, anyway, and I think still is -- and Doc Rivers needs to figure out a way to get him to do it, selectively.
So, while the loss was understandable, it's still frustrating, and the injury to Rondo comes at the worst possible time. If he misses any more time with KG out, we're in danger of losing games we "shouldn't" lose, which may very well mean that Friday's win, which seemed so important at the time for home court advantage purposes, may end up completely moot. Boston's next game is Wednesday at Miami, and while the Celtics are better than the Heat, it's a lot to ask to beat them on the road missing two starters and a handful of bench guys. But it may very well be that Boston will need to do exactly that, with no excuses.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's hard to be too upset at this loss given the injuries we have. Kevin Garnett was out again -- word is that the absolute earliest he'll play is next Sunday -- and Rajon Rondo missed this one with the ankle injury he suffered but was able to play through against Cleveland on Friday. Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine continue to miss time with various injuries, and Glen Davis went out in the second half of this game with a bad ankle.
At the same time, that shouldn't be an excuse for not showing up until the third quarter, which is basically what happened. Boston got down by as many as 22 before making a late run -- Ray Allen, who was spectacular in the fourth quarter, actually had a decent look from three that would have tied it -- and you just can't do that against a good team like Orlando. The energy that carried the day against the Cavs was completely absent for the first 24 minutes against the Magic. The second half was better, thanks in particular to Leon Powe, who played his second straight inspired game and really did the best he could despite having to guard Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis -- two different matchup problems for him.
Stephon Marbury got the start in Rondo's stead and was largely ineffective. I like the move of starting him instead of Eddie House, even though House knows the offense better, just to get Marbury more comfortable. We need him to be more assertive on offense, a little more like the Marbury of old. He was too passive today. I think he's clearly worried about fitting in and conscious of disrupting championship chemistry, and he's been too unselfish in his first few games with the team. Boston didn't bring him in to pass up layups.
It's a delicate situation with Steph, because he's proven to be, shall we say, emotionally fragile, and the last thing you want is to send him a bunch of mixed messages. He's been reading and hearing about how he he's going to come in and destroy the Celtics, and for many reasons, he wants to avoid doing that. But the truth is, the Celtics need a little bit of his famously large ego, particularly with so many key players out. Marbury is capable of taking over offensively -- was capable, anyway, and I think still is -- and Doc Rivers needs to figure out a way to get him to do it, selectively.
So, while the loss was understandable, it's still frustrating, and the injury to Rondo comes at the worst possible time. If he misses any more time with KG out, we're in danger of losing games we "shouldn't" lose, which may very well mean that Friday's win, which seemed so important at the time for home court advantage purposes, may end up completely moot. Boston's next game is Wednesday at Miami, and while the Celtics are better than the Heat, it's a lot to ask to beat them on the road missing two starters and a handful of bench guys. But it may very well be that Boston will need to do exactly that, with no excuses.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Boston 105, Cleveland 94
Best win of the year.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
In a game that Boston essentially needed to win to stay alive for home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, they could not have played much better on either end of the floor.
Defensively, they frustrated LeBron James, holding him to 5-for-15 shooting and forcing him into four turnovers. Beyond those numbers, though, James looked uncomfortable the entire evening, unassertive. It was the same defensive scheme more or less contained James during much of last year's epic Eastern Conference finals. I can't remember watching a game where James played this ineffectively.
Offensively, they shot better than 54 percent against what was the league's stingiest field goal percentage defense (Boston is now a tenth of a percentage point better in that category), and assisted on 31 of 45 baskets. Paul Pierce led the way with 29 points and nine assists, but it was Leon Powe's best game of the year -- 20 points, 11 rebounds off the bench -- that keyed the victory.
Powe, along with Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis, just played harder and tougher than Cleveland's frontline the entire evening. It was the same kind of thing we saw against the Lakers in last year's Finals. The difference, however, is that guys like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, while highly skilled, have something of a "soft" reputation. Cleveland's frontline, especially Anderson Varejao and the newly-reacquired Joe Smith, is a physical group that doesn't get outworked very often. Yes, the Cavs were without a key piece of that frontline, Ben Wallace, but his absence is more than balanced -- much more than balanced -- by the fact that his opposite number, Kevin Garnett, was missing from the Celtics' lineup.
No Garnett. His replacement (Davis) ejected in the third quarter for a flagrant-two on Varejao. A Rajon Rondo slowed by an ankle injury suffered early in the game. Twelve free throw attempts to Cleveland's 38.
And a relatively comfortable 11-point victory.
Boston's next game is another big test with playoff implications, a home date with Orlando on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern (no national TV).
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
In a game that Boston essentially needed to win to stay alive for home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, they could not have played much better on either end of the floor.
Defensively, they frustrated LeBron James, holding him to 5-for-15 shooting and forcing him into four turnovers. Beyond those numbers, though, James looked uncomfortable the entire evening, unassertive. It was the same defensive scheme more or less contained James during much of last year's epic Eastern Conference finals. I can't remember watching a game where James played this ineffectively.
Offensively, they shot better than 54 percent against what was the league's stingiest field goal percentage defense (Boston is now a tenth of a percentage point better in that category), and assisted on 31 of 45 baskets. Paul Pierce led the way with 29 points and nine assists, but it was Leon Powe's best game of the year -- 20 points, 11 rebounds off the bench -- that keyed the victory.
Powe, along with Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis, just played harder and tougher than Cleveland's frontline the entire evening. It was the same kind of thing we saw against the Lakers in last year's Finals. The difference, however, is that guys like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, while highly skilled, have something of a "soft" reputation. Cleveland's frontline, especially Anderson Varejao and the newly-reacquired Joe Smith, is a physical group that doesn't get outworked very often. Yes, the Cavs were without a key piece of that frontline, Ben Wallace, but his absence is more than balanced -- much more than balanced -- by the fact that his opposite number, Kevin Garnett, was missing from the Celtics' lineup.
No Garnett. His replacement (Davis) ejected in the third quarter for a flagrant-two on Varejao. A Rajon Rondo slowed by an ankle injury suffered early in the game. Twelve free throw attempts to Cleveland's 38.
And a relatively comfortable 11-point victory.
Boston's next game is another big test with playoff implications, a home date with Orlando on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern (no national TV).
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Boston 115, New Jersey 111
It's good to pull out a win in a game we almost gave away, but we really can't be happy with the way we're playing right now.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Boston's defense tonight was as bad as I've seen it in last season-plus (and I've seen nearly every game during that time). The numbers don't quite show it -- New Jersey shot just under 50 percent from the field -- but trust me, it was terrible, at least until the last couple crucial possessions. In particular, there were several occasions where Nets, notably Vince Carter, encountered nary a green-jerseyed help defender on drives to the basket that originated from outside the three-point arc.
Three offensive stars for the Celtics in this game -- four if you count Ray Allen, who tied the game at 111 with a three-pointer on a well-drawn up play after Boston had squandered a 12-point fourth quarter lead:
-Paul Pierce had 31 points on 12-of-14 from the field, and contributed another cold-blooded game-winner;
-Rajon Rondo, who had 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter; and
-Kendrick Perkins, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds in his first really strong game since Kevin Garnett was injured on February 19 against Utah. Perk had nine points in the third quarter -- he and Rondo did most of the scoring in that period -- and recorded his lone block of the game on a Devin Harris layup attempt with 45 seconds remaining and the score tied after Allen's three-pointer.
Boston escaped in this one and will have to play worlds better when they host Cleveland on Friday (viewing alert: 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN). The Cavs, who like the Celtics clinched a playoff berth with a win Wednesday night, lead the Eastern conference by one game. The teams have split two meetings thus far, with a fourth and final showdown (until the playoffs, and probably the Eastern finals) scheduled for April 12 in Cleveland. It's bad luck that it appears that the Celtics won't have Garnett -- not to mention Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine -- in the home leg of those two games, as the Cavs are nearly unbeatable at Quicken Loans Arena (27-1 on the year, and the tiebreaker for home court advantage, should the teams finish the regular season with the same overall record, is head-to-head record. Since Boston, even at full strength, cannot reasonably expect to win in Cleveland on a given night, home court may be at stake on Friday night.* And given that Boston, even at full strength, cannot expect to win in Cleveland on a given night, home court advantage might very well decide who represents the East in the Finals.
So yeah, Friday's kind of a big game.
*I don't know what the next tiebreaker is if two teams end up with the same overall record and split the head-to-head series. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate hearing; it may be that it's something that Cleveland has the advantage in, anyway.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Boston's defense tonight was as bad as I've seen it in last season-plus (and I've seen nearly every game during that time). The numbers don't quite show it -- New Jersey shot just under 50 percent from the field -- but trust me, it was terrible, at least until the last couple crucial possessions. In particular, there were several occasions where Nets, notably Vince Carter, encountered nary a green-jerseyed help defender on drives to the basket that originated from outside the three-point arc.
Three offensive stars for the Celtics in this game -- four if you count Ray Allen, who tied the game at 111 with a three-pointer on a well-drawn up play after Boston had squandered a 12-point fourth quarter lead:
-Paul Pierce had 31 points on 12-of-14 from the field, and contributed another cold-blooded game-winner;
-Rajon Rondo, who had 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter; and
-Kendrick Perkins, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds in his first really strong game since Kevin Garnett was injured on February 19 against Utah. Perk had nine points in the third quarter -- he and Rondo did most of the scoring in that period -- and recorded his lone block of the game on a Devin Harris layup attempt with 45 seconds remaining and the score tied after Allen's three-pointer.
Boston escaped in this one and will have to play worlds better when they host Cleveland on Friday (viewing alert: 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN). The Cavs, who like the Celtics clinched a playoff berth with a win Wednesday night, lead the Eastern conference by one game. The teams have split two meetings thus far, with a fourth and final showdown (until the playoffs, and probably the Eastern finals) scheduled for April 12 in Cleveland. It's bad luck that it appears that the Celtics won't have Garnett -- not to mention Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine -- in the home leg of those two games, as the Cavs are nearly unbeatable at Quicken Loans Arena (27-1 on the year, and the tiebreaker for home court advantage, should the teams finish the regular season with the same overall record, is head-to-head record. Since Boston, even at full strength, cannot reasonably expect to win in Cleveland on a given night, home court may be at stake on Friday night.* And given that Boston, even at full strength, cannot expect to win in Cleveland on a given night, home court advantage might very well decide who represents the East in the Finals.
So yeah, Friday's kind of a big game.
*I don't know what the next tiebreaker is if two teams end up with the same overall record and split the head-to-head series. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate hearing; it may be that it's something that Cleveland has the advantage in, anyway.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Detroit 105, Boston 95
We need Kevin Garnett back.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Rather than be refreshed after the All-Star Break, too often since Garnett went down we've looked sluggish on both ends of the court. It's ab obvious thing to say, but there's an important element of intensity missing when he's out of the lineup.
Some good things came out of this game with the Pistons, however. Glen Davis is getting good enough at that 17-foot jumper that I'm almost comfortable with him taking it as long as he's wide open. Kendrick Perkins showed a lot more post-up game than I had seen in a while. And Paul Pierce, who had recently looked like he was nursing some sort of injury beyond the dislocated thumb he suffered against the Clippers last Wednesday, had a familiar spring in his step (a spring that slowed considerably as the afternoon wore on; Pierce didn't come out of the game until the final seconds).
***
It looks like we bit too early on Mikki Moore. Sunday night, power forwards Joe Smith and Drew Gooden were bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Sacramento Kings, respectively. Smith was a rumored buyout candidate all year and was definitely on Boston's wish list, but it appears that Boston brass decided they couldn't take the chance that they wouldn't become available. Smith and Gooden would be more useful, but we'll have to make do with Moore. The front office's collective hands may have been tied by the injuries to Garnett and Brian Scalabrine, too; we needed someone, fast.
The Celtics lose twice in this situation, however. Not only do they no longer have room on their roster to sign one of these veteran big men, but as both Smith and Gooden have ties to Cleveland, one of them -- most likely Smith -- is going to end up on the roster of the strongest competition in the East. Come to think of it, that may have been a consideration in locking up Moore; there was no guarantee we'd get Smith even if he was bought out.
Having seen Moore for a couple games now, I'm a little concerned. The issue is that Moore is smaller than I thought. I'm not the most devout follower of the NBA outside the Celtics, and I always assumed he was a banger, probably because he always has kind of a mean look on his face. But he isn't. He's seven-feet tall and weighs 225 pounds, and his arms are, well, skinny for an NBA player his size. I like Moore's jumper, but I wish he was a little bit bigger and more physical.
Next game is Wednesday at New Jersey (no national TV). Friday is the big showdown with the Cavs in Boston, at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Rather than be refreshed after the All-Star Break, too often since Garnett went down we've looked sluggish on both ends of the court. It's ab obvious thing to say, but there's an important element of intensity missing when he's out of the lineup.
Some good things came out of this game with the Pistons, however. Glen Davis is getting good enough at that 17-foot jumper that I'm almost comfortable with him taking it as long as he's wide open. Kendrick Perkins showed a lot more post-up game than I had seen in a while. And Paul Pierce, who had recently looked like he was nursing some sort of injury beyond the dislocated thumb he suffered against the Clippers last Wednesday, had a familiar spring in his step (a spring that slowed considerably as the afternoon wore on; Pierce didn't come out of the game until the final seconds).
***
It looks like we bit too early on Mikki Moore. Sunday night, power forwards Joe Smith and Drew Gooden were bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Sacramento Kings, respectively. Smith was a rumored buyout candidate all year and was definitely on Boston's wish list, but it appears that Boston brass decided they couldn't take the chance that they wouldn't become available. Smith and Gooden would be more useful, but we'll have to make do with Moore. The front office's collective hands may have been tied by the injuries to Garnett and Brian Scalabrine, too; we needed someone, fast.
The Celtics lose twice in this situation, however. Not only do they no longer have room on their roster to sign one of these veteran big men, but as both Smith and Gooden have ties to Cleveland, one of them -- most likely Smith -- is going to end up on the roster of the strongest competition in the East. Come to think of it, that may have been a consideration in locking up Moore; there was no guarantee we'd get Smith even if he was bought out.
Having seen Moore for a couple games now, I'm a little concerned. The issue is that Moore is smaller than I thought. I'm not the most devout follower of the NBA outside the Celtics, and I always assumed he was a banger, probably because he always has kind of a mean look on his face. But he isn't. He's seven-feet tall and weighs 225 pounds, and his arms are, well, skinny for an NBA player his size. I like Moore's jumper, but I wish he was a little bit bigger and more physical.
Next game is Wednesday at New Jersey (no national TV). Friday is the big showdown with the Cavs in Boston, at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
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