Boston 113, Philadelphia 110

[recap] [box score]

I was tired and not feeling particularly well while watching this game, so I don't have too many observations. Rasheed Wallace is still shooting terribly from deep; Rajon Rondo needs to exert his influence more consistently; and teams are knocking down a lot of jump shots against the Celtics.

I don't have data, but it's seemed to me over the past couple of years that the Boston defense forces opponents to shoot from the outside. This year, those shots seem to be going in more consistently. Whether that's due to a defensive deficiency or just a run of bad luck, I can't say. Philly was red-hot from deep until the fourth quarter, when they cooled off just enough. I will say that all is clearly not right with the defense; Wednesday, we gave up more uncontested layups than I remember seeing in a single game in quite a while.

Quick strategy note to pay attention to moving forward: Up three with 3.7 seconds left, the Celtics employed the intentional foul strategy, denying the Sixers an opportunity to tie the game with a three. This tactic is often urged and yet rarely implemented.

For me, I like it a lot better in the college game. In the pros, the combination of the continuation rule and the rule that a team can advance the ball to midcourt with a timeout make it much harder to pull off. Fouling essentially extends the game -- which is what the trailing team is trying to do -- and requires you to shoot FTs at least as well as your opponent.

Anyway, we did it, and it worked. I don't ever recall seeing Doc do this before; I wonder if it's something we'll do moving forward, or if Philly's performance from three-point land on Wednesday made it more attractive than usual.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.