Boston 86, New Jersey 76

Ugh.

[recap] [box score]

• First of all, poor New Jersey. The only regular starter who played was center Brook Lopez. They started Rafer Alston (filling in for Devin Harris), Trenton Hassell (Courtney Lee), Bobby Simmons (Chris Douglas-Roberts), and Josh Boone (Yi Jianlian). They played their guts out -- just as they did in a narrow loss the night before in Philadelphia -- but you aren't going to win starting three career journeymen and Rafer Alston. The Nets are 0-7, and with a Wednesday home date against Philly followed by a weekend back-to-back in Florida, it looks very likely that they'll have to wait at least another full week before they get their first win.
• Doc Rivers again tried an all-bench lineup to start the second quarter, but House, Giddens, Wallace, Scalabrine, and Shelden Williams couldn't get anything going. Without Marquis Daniels, who missed this game while tending to personal matters, the second unit needs Pierce or Ray Allen to spark the offense. That three-minute stretch was the best indicator we've had of how good Daniels has been thus far.
• I won't be at all surprised if Giddens doesn't have a job in the NBA next year.
• The Nets committed 23 turnovers, an incredible 20 of which were Boston steals. Rajon Rondo led the way with 5 thefts, but in all, six other Celtics got at least one: Rasheed Wallace (4 steals), Kevin Garnett (3), Brian Scalabrine (3), Paul Pierce (2), Eddie House (2), and J.R. Giddens (1). Boston had active hands and jumped passing lanes all night, but New Jersey also threw quite a few balls directly to men wearing green jerseys.
• One such steal by Eddie House was basically an outlet pass, and House turned it into a two-on-one break down the right side, with Scalabrine filling the left lane. House dropped a perfect bounce pass that caught Scal in stride; for a great number of NBA players, this was a catch, two steps, and a jam. Scal being who he is, however, stopped more or less on a dime and backed the ball out. Seeing it teed up so perfectly for Scal, I was led to contemplate whether he could still dunk. I know what you're thinking: "He's 6'9", of course he can dunk." Well, I played with a guy in high school who was 6'8", and he could only throw it down if he could take one step, gather, and jump off of two feet; in other words, he could only really do it in practice. Again, I know what you're thinking: "Okay, but he was an NBA player?" No, he wasn't, but he also wasn't a 31-year-old with a bad back, an extra 20 pounds or so on his frame, and a nickname ("Veal") that isn't just a play on words. It's entirely possible that he can't. Even if you disagree with me, you wouldn't feel very comfortable betting on it, would you?
• Scal did give us the lead for good by burying a three (our first successful attempt from long distance) on the first possession of the fourth quarter. He hit a long two a couple trips later. I can't believe I'm saying it, but we may want to keep him around all year, rather than trade his expiring contract for another piece.
• Boston's lineup for the final four minutes: House, Allen, Pierce, Garnett, Kendrick Perkins. Rondo sat the entire fourth quarter and didn't look terribly amused about it while sitting on the bench.
• They mentioned on the broadcast that this was the 50th anniversary of the first meeting between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. Ironic for me, because I just finished the Russ v. Wilt chapter of Bill Simmons' new book, The Book of Basketball. I'm no Sports Guy fanboy, but I'm excited for the rest of this book. Simmons has bitten off a lot -- he defines his purpose as "evaluating why certain players and teams mattered more than others" -- but as an NBA fanatic first and a journalist (I use that term loosely) second, he seems up to the task. I'll have a full report once I finish the nearly 700-page treatise.

Off 'til Wednesday, when the Jazz come to town. Three days off should be a welcome break for the Cs, who have played a league-leading eight games in the season's first twelve days (a few teams have only played five games, and Golden State has played just four). This should be a chance for the team to get back in the practice gym to work out some of the kinks from the last two games, as well as to get some well-deserved rest.