[recap] [box score]
Rajon R-ndo did a very bad thing tonight.
Here's the video, in case you weren't watching the game. Basically, with the Celtics down four and about 40 seconds to go, Brandon Bass was called for a loose-ball foul by official Mark Davis after a wild scramble. R-ndo didn't like the call and got in Davis' face; Davis turned to the scorer's table to ring him up; R-ndo took a step forward, tripped slightly, and then quite deliberately bumped Davis in the back with his chest. Davis rightly tossed him; Atlanta made three of the four ensuing free throws, and that was that.
I want to address a few of the talking points surrounding the incident before getting on with analyzing the basketball game (though the Celtics played so badly that there's little to talk about in that regard).
1. It was a foul on Bass. People like to get upset at officials for calling fouls on these types of plays, but I thought Davis handled this one perfectly. He let Bass and Josh Smith scramble for the ball, and once Smith had it, Bass ended up with his arm across Smith's face and neck. The ball was no longer loose at that point. Not that it being a bad call would excuse what happened after that, but anyone using the classic "if the refs called the game right, the players wouldn't get upset" argument is even more wrong than usual. It was a clear foul.
2. R-ndo definitely tripped when he took that step towards Davis. He did not, contrary to his claim after the game, trip into Davis. He inadvertently stepped on Davis' foot and that caused him to stumble towards the official, but R-ndo quite deliberately closed the gap between the two.
3. My prediction is that R-ndo will get a one-game suspension. From what I understand, one game is the minimum required by NBA rules. There are arguments, I think, for giving him more, including his two-game ban earlier this year for tossing the ball at an official. But I think public opinion is a big factor in deciding the length of these suspensions that the NBA hands down, and the majority of the talking heads seem to be saying that they don't think R-ndo should be suspended. That's obviously not happening; there's no chance he gets off scot-free. But since the general sentiment seems to be that his punishment should be minimal, a suspension that lasts for multiple games won't play well. (And I think that's particularly true in light of some overly paternalistic officiating in the Heat-Knicks game and the absences of Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose from these playoffs due to injuries.)
4. There probably are few, if any, bigger R-ndo fans-slant-apologists than I, but there's no excusing what he did. He lost his cool, and it cost his team a chance at the game -- and put them in a hole for at least the next game, as well. I don't love him any less for it, but he messed up and he deserves the criticism that's coming his way.
Back to the Xs and Os. It's really a shame that R-ndo's night ended the way it did, because he was really the only Celtic who was consistent throughout the game. After subordinating his own scoring for most of the second half of the season, R-ndo recognized that the usual suspects weren't off to a great start and kept the Cs remotely close during a torrid first quarter from the Hawks. He finished with 20 points and 11 assists on 10-for-18 from the floor, the most shots he's taken since March 4.
Other than that, it was a very uneven performance for the Celtics. They were terribly defensively at the start, though it was exacerbated by some really good Hawks shooting, but turned up the pressure considerably in the second half. Kevin Garnett was awful to start, opening 1-for-9, but made seven of his last ten and finished with 20 points and 12 boards. Paul Pierce never really got going, though, to his credit, he did about as good a job on Joe Johnson defensively as Johnson did on him. I thought Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass were non-existent all night. Greg Stiemsma had nine rebounds, but other than that, the bench didn't contribute anything.
Assuming R-ndo only misses a game, and even assuming that Atlanta wins that game, I don't think Sunday's game changes much regarding the outcome of the series. Boston came out incredibly flat, something I don't think you'll see again now that the Hawks have their full attention. Garnett and Bradley got plenty of the open jump shots they've been making recently; they just missed them. I do think Bass is going to have a tough time scoring against Smith, but I expect to see some of these shots go down and I think we'll see a different Paul Pierce in from here on out.
Defensively, we showed what we were capable of in the second half. The effort wasn't there in the first, but it's worth noting that the Hawks came out on fire. Smith was excellent all night, but he hit a number of tough jumpers that I'm sure we're comfortable with him taking the rest of the series. Kirk Hinrich was key, as well; he hit a couple of threes early and then made some tough shots in the third quarter when Boston seemed on the verge of making a run.
Game 2 is Tuesday night on NBA TV. I'll have an update with the length of Rondo's suspension once it's announced.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Derrick Rose Tears ACL
In case you hadn't heard -- which is pretty much only possible if RwH is your exclusive source for basketball news -- Derrick Rose, Chicago's point guard and last season's MVP, tore his left ACL in the waning moments of the Bulls' Game 1 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. The Bulls were the top overall seed in the playoffs, and so this news affects the entire league, but it has a Boston nexus for two reasons.
First, and most importantly, the Celtics were lined up to the play the Bulls in the second round if they can get by the Hawks in the first round. That potential matchup obviously looks a little different now. The Bulls have had plenty of practice playing without Rose -- this is something like his sixth discrete injury of the season -- and they've done extraordinarily well without him: By my count, they went 18-9 in games in which Rose didn't play, including two wins over the Celtics. But there's a difference between winning regular-season games and winning playoff games. And there's a difference between beating a young, fracturing Philadelphia team in the playoffs, something I still fully expect them to do, and beating an experienced, veteran-laden Boston team (that's peaking at the right time) in the playoffs. It can be done, but it would require guys like C.J. Watson and John Lucas to replicate their excellent regular season performances in the first significant postseason action of their careers. And it means that a guy like Luol Deng, who has already stepped up his game this season, to elevate it yet another level or two. It's just a huge ask. The Celtics' road to the Eastern finals is undoubtedly a bit easier than it was when they woke up on Saturday morning -- as long as they get past Atlanta.
The other Boston connection is that Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau, Doc's defensive right-hand man during the championship season, is coming under a little bit of fire for the fact that Rose was still on the court with under 90 seconds to go in a 12-point game. Personally, I don't think it's fair to blame Thibs. While it's true that Chicago probably wasn't going to lose that game, it's the playoffs, and in the playoffs, you want to be sure -- and that means keeping your starters in until the other team removes theirs. And Rose hasn't been on the court much lately, so it makes some sense to get him some reps in late-game situations.
I've always been critical of Doc for playing the guys for too long, but that's mainly because of their advanced age. Rose, despite all his injuries, can play major minutes at his age, and arguably needed those minutes to get into playing condition. And this wasn't a physical or chippy game, either, which might have counseled getting Rose out earlier than usual. Indeed, Rose's injury came on a play in which there was absolutely no contact; he drove into the lane and came to one of his patented, violent jump stops. His knee buckled on the landing.
Chicago fans are justifiably angry and disappointed at the misfortune that has befallen them. But the odds of getting injured in any given 90-second period of a basketball game are so slim that it makes little sense to worry about them. I'v heard some people opine that, because Rose's injury was non-contact, it was inevitable; that if it didn't happen in the closing seconds of this game, it was bound to happen soon. I'm not sure there's any medical evidence behind that, but the point is right. If Rose had torn his ACL during practice, or at a shootaround or walkthrough, would Thibodeau be getting the same kind of criticism? I doubt it, and that's the point here: the injury had nothing to do with the situation in which it occurred. It was incident to Rose being a professional basketball player. It's unfortunate, but it's one of those things that happens. Bulls fans may need to blame someone, and Thibodeau is going to be that person. But it's not his fault.
First, and most importantly, the Celtics were lined up to the play the Bulls in the second round if they can get by the Hawks in the first round. That potential matchup obviously looks a little different now. The Bulls have had plenty of practice playing without Rose -- this is something like his sixth discrete injury of the season -- and they've done extraordinarily well without him: By my count, they went 18-9 in games in which Rose didn't play, including two wins over the Celtics. But there's a difference between winning regular-season games and winning playoff games. And there's a difference between beating a young, fracturing Philadelphia team in the playoffs, something I still fully expect them to do, and beating an experienced, veteran-laden Boston team (that's peaking at the right time) in the playoffs. It can be done, but it would require guys like C.J. Watson and John Lucas to replicate their excellent regular season performances in the first significant postseason action of their careers. And it means that a guy like Luol Deng, who has already stepped up his game this season, to elevate it yet another level or two. It's just a huge ask. The Celtics' road to the Eastern finals is undoubtedly a bit easier than it was when they woke up on Saturday morning -- as long as they get past Atlanta.
The other Boston connection is that Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau, Doc's defensive right-hand man during the championship season, is coming under a little bit of fire for the fact that Rose was still on the court with under 90 seconds to go in a 12-point game. Personally, I don't think it's fair to blame Thibs. While it's true that Chicago probably wasn't going to lose that game, it's the playoffs, and in the playoffs, you want to be sure -- and that means keeping your starters in until the other team removes theirs. And Rose hasn't been on the court much lately, so it makes some sense to get him some reps in late-game situations.
I've always been critical of Doc for playing the guys for too long, but that's mainly because of their advanced age. Rose, despite all his injuries, can play major minutes at his age, and arguably needed those minutes to get into playing condition. And this wasn't a physical or chippy game, either, which might have counseled getting Rose out earlier than usual. Indeed, Rose's injury came on a play in which there was absolutely no contact; he drove into the lane and came to one of his patented, violent jump stops. His knee buckled on the landing.
Chicago fans are justifiably angry and disappointed at the misfortune that has befallen them. But the odds of getting injured in any given 90-second period of a basketball game are so slim that it makes little sense to worry about them. I'v heard some people opine that, because Rose's injury was non-contact, it was inevitable; that if it didn't happen in the closing seconds of this game, it was bound to happen soon. I'm not sure there's any medical evidence behind that, but the point is right. If Rose had torn his ACL during practice, or at a shootaround or walkthrough, would Thibodeau be getting the same kind of criticism? I doubt it, and that's the point here: the injury had nothing to do with the situation in which it occurred. It was incident to Rose being a professional basketball player. It's unfortunate, but it's one of those things that happens. Bulls fans may need to blame someone, and Thibodeau is going to be that person. But it's not his fault.
Hurried Playoff Predictions
For the last couple of years, my buddy Kevin and I have each made our NBA playoff predictions, and then completely forgotten to go back and see how we did. We're keeping the tradition alive this year, although just barely. Here are my off-the-cuff playoff predictions:
EAST
Bulls over 76ers in 4
Celtics over Hawks in 6
Heat over Knicks in 5
Pacers over Magic in 5
Bulls over Celtics in 7
Heat over Pacers in 5
Heat over Bulls in 6
WEST
Spurs over Jazz in 4
Clippers over Grizzlies in 7
Thunder over Mavs in 5
Lakers over Nuggets in 5
Spurs over Clippers in 5
Thunder over Lakers in 7
Spurs over Thunder in 7
FINALS
Spurs over Heat in 7
Immediately, I hate these picks. I really wanted to Boston to beat Chicago, but it's hard to deny that the Bulls under Thibodeau seem to have our number. And it feels a little funky to pick San Antonio to win, but they're really good; Duncan looks great, Parker's been phenomenal, and their bench is good enough to win a game or two in the playoffs -- which is rare, because the bench almost never matters in the postseason.
Here are Kevin's picks:
Bulls over 76ers in 5
Celtics over Hawks in 6
Heat over Knicks in 5
Pacers over Magic in 5
Bulls over Celtics in 6
Heat over Pacers in 5
Heat over Bulls in 7
Spurs over Jazz in 4
Grizzlies over Clippers in 7
Thunder over Mavs in 6
Lakers over Nuggets in 6
Grizzlies over Spurs in 6
Thunder over Lakers in 6
Thunder over Grizzlies in 6
Heat over Thunder in 6
EAST
Bulls over 76ers in 4
Celtics over Hawks in 6
Heat over Knicks in 5
Pacers over Magic in 5
Bulls over Celtics in 7
Heat over Pacers in 5
Heat over Bulls in 6
WEST
Spurs over Jazz in 4
Clippers over Grizzlies in 7
Thunder over Mavs in 5
Lakers over Nuggets in 5
Spurs over Clippers in 5
Thunder over Lakers in 7
Spurs over Thunder in 7
FINALS
Spurs over Heat in 7
Immediately, I hate these picks. I really wanted to Boston to beat Chicago, but it's hard to deny that the Bulls under Thibodeau seem to have our number. And it feels a little funky to pick San Antonio to win, but they're really good; Duncan looks great, Parker's been phenomenal, and their bench is good enough to win a game or two in the playoffs -- which is rare, because the bench almost never matters in the postseason.
Here are Kevin's picks:
Bulls over 76ers in 5
Celtics over Hawks in 6
Heat over Knicks in 5
Pacers over Magic in 5
Bulls over Celtics in 6
Heat over Pacers in 5
Heat over Bulls in 7
Spurs over Jazz in 4
Grizzlies over Clippers in 7
Thunder over Mavs in 6
Lakers over Nuggets in 6
Grizzlies over Spurs in 6
Thunder over Lakers in 6
Thunder over Grizzlies in 6
Heat over Thunder in 6
Friday, April 27, 2012
Boston 87, Milwaukee 74
At this point in the season, the game is "whatever." Rajon R-ndo returned and notched double-digit assists again -- 15 of 'em, in just 25 minutes of court action. (Rondo took just one shot, an end-of-the-clock job, and was the only one of the 13 Celtics who played who didn't score.)
The one thing I want to talk about is the fact that Paul Pierce suffered a mild toe injury in the first quarter. It's probably nothing serious, but I don't understand why Doc decided to play Pierce and KG tonight after sitting them last week against Atlanta. If the goal was home court advantage against the Hawks (which we would've earned tonight only by winning and having Atlanta lose at home to a Dallas team who is resting guys for the postseason), we should have played all out for it from the get-go. It doesn't make sense to do it now; no circumstances have changed. If, on the other hand, the goal was to get some guys in synch with R-ndo, then I guess I can buy that.
Anyway, the first playoff game is Sunday night, 7 pm Eastern, in Atlanta, on TNT, the third game in the second consecutive quadruple-header in what is the NBA playoffs' version of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Atlanta's going to be without Al Horford for the entire series, and likely will be without Zaza Pachulia for the first couple of games. That's good news for Boston, as it eliminates a big part of their offensive rebounding, which is an advantage every team has on us.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Boston 78, Miami 66
[recap] [box score]
Our bench is better than Miami's bench, which we knew. That's all that's worth saying about a hideous game in which LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh sat for Miami, and Rajon R-ndo, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen sat for Boston. Paul Pierce played 18 minutes (I'm not really sure why), and the only other regular starters -- Mario Chalmers and Dexter Pittman for the Heat, Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass for the Celtics -- played between 26 and 30 minutes apiece. Sasha Pavlovic and Marquis Daniels were the stars for Boston, putting together nice second halves after Boston trailed by 10 in the third period.
Boston stayed alive for home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs against Atlanta, but the Hawks beat the Clippers as well. That means the Celtics will need to beat the Bucks and have the Hawks lose to the Mavericks -- who are in full-on, rest-up-for-the-playoffs mode -- to get that home-court. It looks very likely we'll be opening the post-season at Philips Arena.
Let me use this otherwise boring post to go on record about something that I've been saying offline for a couple of weeks now: I'm not at all convinced we're going to see Ray Allen on the court again this year. He's got bone spurs in his ankle, and although he says they aren't as severe as the ones that required surgery a while back, he doesn't seem to be getting any better. Maybe I'm being paranoid -- I hope I am -- but the whole thing smells a lot like KG's knee in 2009: an injury, the severity of which we're not told until later, and then a return date that keeps getting pushed back. We know how that story went; here's hoping this one has a happier ending.
Our bench is better than Miami's bench, which we knew. That's all that's worth saying about a hideous game in which LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh sat for Miami, and Rajon R-ndo, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen sat for Boston. Paul Pierce played 18 minutes (I'm not really sure why), and the only other regular starters -- Mario Chalmers and Dexter Pittman for the Heat, Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass for the Celtics -- played between 26 and 30 minutes apiece. Sasha Pavlovic and Marquis Daniels were the stars for Boston, putting together nice second halves after Boston trailed by 10 in the third period.
Boston stayed alive for home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs against Atlanta, but the Hawks beat the Clippers as well. That means the Celtics will need to beat the Bucks and have the Hawks lose to the Mavericks -- who are in full-on, rest-up-for-the-playoffs mode -- to get that home-court. It looks very likely we'll be opening the post-season at Philips Arena.
Let me use this otherwise boring post to go on record about something that I've been saying offline for a couple of weeks now: I'm not at all convinced we're going to see Ray Allen on the court again this year. He's got bone spurs in his ankle, and although he says they aren't as severe as the ones that required surgery a while back, he doesn't seem to be getting any better. Maybe I'm being paranoid -- I hope I am -- but the whole thing smells a lot like KG's knee in 2009: an injury, the severity of which we're not told until later, and then a return date that keeps getting pushed back. We know how that story went; here's hoping this one has a happier ending.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Atlanta 97, Boston 92
[recap] [box score]
Remember when I said that with Rajon R-ndo, Ray Allen, and Mickael Pietrus out, Doc Rivers had no choice but to play Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett Friday night against the Hawks? Yeah, I was wrong about that. Doc elected to sit the veterans and take on Atlanta with the following active roster:
Starters: Avery Bradley, Keyon Dooling, Sasha Pavlovic, Brandon Bass, Greg Stiemsma
Bench: Marquis Daniels, Ryan Hollis, E'Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson
Hey, it's not really any worse than the roster Toronto beat us with a few weeks ago.
Anyway, the fun thing is that we nearly pulled it off. The Celtics JV team hung around most of the game, never staying down by double-digits for very long, then surged to within one point in the fourth quarter. Boston had three, maybe four possessions to take the lead, too, but couldn't convert. Atlanta got some timely jumpers from Willie Green to hold us off, and then Joe Johnson applied the kill strike, an and-one off of a drive past Daniels with under two minutes to go that put the Hawks up four. He added two free throws on the next possession after Boston couldn't answer, and after that, the Cs just couldn't quite catch up.
As surprising as the outcome was given the players involved, I actually had a hunch it might be a close game when I heard the ESPN broadcast team quote Josh Smith as saying that the Hawks wanted to blow the Celtics out. Smith should get a lot of credit for getting his act together somewhat and really trying to become a leader, but he's still a headcase, and I knew that putting that kind of pressure on himself was going to have negative consequences. Indeed, though Smith added three blocks and three steals to 19 points and 12 rebounds, he committed seven turnovers, many of which were on bizarre passes that stunk of trying to do too much. And while he's largely moved inside the three-point line this year, he still can't seem to quit the long jumpers that have prevented him from becoming a truly elite weapon.
The funny thing is that it's not like Boston played out of its mind, either. Bradley was sensational; I'd figured that his recent effectiveness was due in part to getting good looks by virtue of the defense concentrating mostly on his teammates, but he was option 1 Friday night and the Hawks knew it, and he still managed a career-high 28 points on 12-for-22 from the field. Daniels, Dooling, and Hollins were better than they have been in quite a long time, but Bass really struggled with Smith's length on his way to 4-for-15, Stiemsma only played 9:35 before sitting due to the plantar fascitis that has prevented him from practicing for much of the second half of the season, and JJJ badly missed a couple of wide-open jumpers on those possessions where we could have taken the lead. (To be fair, he hasn't gotten significant playing time in quite a while.) We really were close to winning this game.
Close, of course, only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The announcers were trying to say that the win would be psychologically damaging to Atlanta because they had to gut it out against Boston's bomb squad, but, with the possible exception of Smith, I don't think NBA players think that way. The Hawks must have relaxed when they learned that all those guys for Boston would be out; they got the win, so who cares? Next game.
One last thing: I didn't think to mention this in Thursday's post because I was convinced that Pierce and Garnett would play due to sheer necessity, but Boston has three days off between now and and its next game. That's a lot of time to rest. I don't know how much Pierce and KG are hurting, and we had played 11 of the 15 previous nights, short-handed for many of them. So I'm going to give Doc the benefit of the doubt, particularly because we'd be playing for home-court in the first round only. The only way we'll feel the pain of this loss is if we end up losing Game 7 in Atlanta in the first round. But it's worth mentioning. As is this.
Have a good weekend, all. Tuesday night against the Heat on TNT at 8 Eastern, though who knows who will suit up.
Remember when I said that with Rajon R-ndo, Ray Allen, and Mickael Pietrus out, Doc Rivers had no choice but to play Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett Friday night against the Hawks? Yeah, I was wrong about that. Doc elected to sit the veterans and take on Atlanta with the following active roster:
Starters: Avery Bradley, Keyon Dooling, Sasha Pavlovic, Brandon Bass, Greg Stiemsma
Bench: Marquis Daniels, Ryan Hollis, E'Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson
Hey, it's not really any worse than the roster Toronto beat us with a few weeks ago.
Anyway, the fun thing is that we nearly pulled it off. The Celtics JV team hung around most of the game, never staying down by double-digits for very long, then surged to within one point in the fourth quarter. Boston had three, maybe four possessions to take the lead, too, but couldn't convert. Atlanta got some timely jumpers from Willie Green to hold us off, and then Joe Johnson applied the kill strike, an and-one off of a drive past Daniels with under two minutes to go that put the Hawks up four. He added two free throws on the next possession after Boston couldn't answer, and after that, the Cs just couldn't quite catch up.
As surprising as the outcome was given the players involved, I actually had a hunch it might be a close game when I heard the ESPN broadcast team quote Josh Smith as saying that the Hawks wanted to blow the Celtics out. Smith should get a lot of credit for getting his act together somewhat and really trying to become a leader, but he's still a headcase, and I knew that putting that kind of pressure on himself was going to have negative consequences. Indeed, though Smith added three blocks and three steals to 19 points and 12 rebounds, he committed seven turnovers, many of which were on bizarre passes that stunk of trying to do too much. And while he's largely moved inside the three-point line this year, he still can't seem to quit the long jumpers that have prevented him from becoming a truly elite weapon.
The funny thing is that it's not like Boston played out of its mind, either. Bradley was sensational; I'd figured that his recent effectiveness was due in part to getting good looks by virtue of the defense concentrating mostly on his teammates, but he was option 1 Friday night and the Hawks knew it, and he still managed a career-high 28 points on 12-for-22 from the field. Daniels, Dooling, and Hollins were better than they have been in quite a long time, but Bass really struggled with Smith's length on his way to 4-for-15, Stiemsma only played 9:35 before sitting due to the plantar fascitis that has prevented him from practicing for much of the second half of the season, and JJJ badly missed a couple of wide-open jumpers on those possessions where we could have taken the lead. (To be fair, he hasn't gotten significant playing time in quite a while.) We really were close to winning this game.
Close, of course, only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The announcers were trying to say that the win would be psychologically damaging to Atlanta because they had to gut it out against Boston's bomb squad, but, with the possible exception of Smith, I don't think NBA players think that way. The Hawks must have relaxed when they learned that all those guys for Boston would be out; they got the win, so who cares? Next game.
One last thing: I didn't think to mention this in Thursday's post because I was convinced that Pierce and Garnett would play due to sheer necessity, but Boston has three days off between now and and its next game. That's a lot of time to rest. I don't know how much Pierce and KG are hurting, and we had played 11 of the 15 previous nights, short-handed for many of them. So I'm going to give Doc the benefit of the doubt, particularly because we'd be playing for home-court in the first round only. The only way we'll feel the pain of this loss is if we end up losing Game 7 in Atlanta in the first round. But it's worth mentioning. As is this.
Have a good weekend, all. Tuesday night against the Heat on TNT at 8 Eastern, though who knows who will suit up.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Viewing Alert
At Atlanta: Friday, April 20, 7 p.m. Eastern, ESPN.
Friday's game in Atlanta could be huge, or it could be totally meaningless. It all depends on Doc Rivers' tack in the final week of the season, and, to a lesser extent, whether we win or lose.
I should explain. The NBA's somewhat unique playoff seeding rules mandate that no division winner can be seeded any worse than fourth, regardless of regular season record. As the champions of the Atlantic Division, then, the Celtics cannot be any worse than the four seed in the East.
However, home-court advantage during a playoff series is determined by overall record. And so if Boston, the four seed, has a regular season record that it worse than their opponent's, that opponent will have home court advantage in the first-round playoff series.
Currently, the 37-26 Celtics are a half-game behind the 37-25 Hawks in the standings, which means that if the season ended right now, Boston would be opening the playoffs in Atlanta. The Celtics control their own destiny, however; they already have the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Hawks, and a win over Atlanta plus victories in their final two games against Miami and Milwaukee would make whatever the Hawks do after Friday's game irrelevant for purposes of home-court in the first round.
There's another major consideration, of course, one that comes up every season, but is of particular concern in this abridged season: rest. Doc has to decide whether to go all out for home-court advantage or give the guys some time off to ensure that they're relatively fresh for the playoffs. I haven't seen anything that indicates which way he's leaning.
We probably won't know by how he approaches Friday's game, either. Rajon R-ndo, Ray Allen, and Mickael Pietrus all stayed back in Boston with injuries, which means that Doc has little choice but to play the rest of the guys at least regular minutes. And if Boston loses, I think Doc will lean towards rest, if he wasn't already: Boston would be a game and a half back with two to play, meaning they'd have to beat the Heat and Bucks and hope Atlanta loses to two of the Knicks, Clippers, and Mavericks next week, all at home.
But if Boston can pull out a win on Friday night, things get interesting. The other issue is that while some guys undoubtedly could use the rest, others -- like Allen, assuming he's available -- could use a game or two to get back up to speed.
Or, it might not matter; Doc may decide to rest guys no matter what, and it'd be hard to blame him. But if you're searching for a storyline with the division wrapped up, this is it.
Friday's game in Atlanta could be huge, or it could be totally meaningless. It all depends on Doc Rivers' tack in the final week of the season, and, to a lesser extent, whether we win or lose.
I should explain. The NBA's somewhat unique playoff seeding rules mandate that no division winner can be seeded any worse than fourth, regardless of regular season record. As the champions of the Atlantic Division, then, the Celtics cannot be any worse than the four seed in the East.
However, home-court advantage during a playoff series is determined by overall record. And so if Boston, the four seed, has a regular season record that it worse than their opponent's, that opponent will have home court advantage in the first-round playoff series.
Currently, the 37-26 Celtics are a half-game behind the 37-25 Hawks in the standings, which means that if the season ended right now, Boston would be opening the playoffs in Atlanta. The Celtics control their own destiny, however; they already have the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Hawks, and a win over Atlanta plus victories in their final two games against Miami and Milwaukee would make whatever the Hawks do after Friday's game irrelevant for purposes of home-court in the first round.
There's another major consideration, of course, one that comes up every season, but is of particular concern in this abridged season: rest. Doc has to decide whether to go all out for home-court advantage or give the guys some time off to ensure that they're relatively fresh for the playoffs. I haven't seen anything that indicates which way he's leaning.
We probably won't know by how he approaches Friday's game, either. Rajon R-ndo, Ray Allen, and Mickael Pietrus all stayed back in Boston with injuries, which means that Doc has little choice but to play the rest of the guys at least regular minutes. And if Boston loses, I think Doc will lean towards rest, if he wasn't already: Boston would be a game and a half back with two to play, meaning they'd have to beat the Heat and Bucks and hope Atlanta loses to two of the Knicks, Clippers, and Mavericks next week, all at home.
But if Boston can pull out a win on Friday night, things get interesting. The other issue is that while some guys undoubtedly could use the rest, others -- like Allen, assuming he's available -- could use a game or two to get back up to speed.
Or, it might not matter; Doc may decide to rest guys no matter what, and it'd be hard to blame him. But if you're searching for a storyline with the division wrapped up, this is it.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Boston 102, Orlando 98
[recap] [box score]
Another night, another double-digit assist game for Boston's point guard.
"Wait a minute," you're saying. "Didn't Rajon R-ndo sit this one out?" Indeed; the sixth-year point's back seized up on him after that hard fall he took Tuesday night in New York, and so he sat this one out amid a stretch of 23 consecutive games with double-digit assists. And while it was Sasha Pavlovic who took his spot in the starting lineup, it was Paul Pierce who filled his role on the court. Pierce had 11 assists in the first half on the way to a career-high 14 for the game. There aren't many small forwards in the league who can score 43 points one night and then come back the next night and run the offense and get everyone involved the way Pierce did in the first half. Those who can -- James and Anthony -- are considered among the best in the game. Pierce doesn't have the legs to bring it as consistently as those young guys do, but it's stretches like this one that remind the rest of the league of what we as Celtics fans already know: that Pierce is one of the best players of his generation -- and one of the most under-appreciated, too.
The 14 assists from Pierce was something we'd never seen before, but the fourth quarter was oh-so familiar. Faced with a scrappy Magic team that simply wouldn't go away, Pierce scored seven of his game-high 29 in the final 2:47, draining a huge jumper over old friend Glen Davis with seven seconds left, then sealing the game with two free throws -- his tenth and eleventh of the game, giving him a two-night mark of 28 for 30 from the stripe.
Pierce had help: Avery Bradley made ten of 14 shots on the way to 23 points; Brandon Bass had 21; Kevin Garnett chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds. But the Celtics clinched a share of the Atlantic title and no worse than a four seed, and they did it on the back of the Captain and the Truth.
Another night, another double-digit assist game for Boston's point guard.
"Wait a minute," you're saying. "Didn't Rajon R-ndo sit this one out?" Indeed; the sixth-year point's back seized up on him after that hard fall he took Tuesday night in New York, and so he sat this one out amid a stretch of 23 consecutive games with double-digit assists. And while it was Sasha Pavlovic who took his spot in the starting lineup, it was Paul Pierce who filled his role on the court. Pierce had 11 assists in the first half on the way to a career-high 14 for the game. There aren't many small forwards in the league who can score 43 points one night and then come back the next night and run the offense and get everyone involved the way Pierce did in the first half. Those who can -- James and Anthony -- are considered among the best in the game. Pierce doesn't have the legs to bring it as consistently as those young guys do, but it's stretches like this one that remind the rest of the league of what we as Celtics fans already know: that Pierce is one of the best players of his generation -- and one of the most under-appreciated, too.
The 14 assists from Pierce was something we'd never seen before, but the fourth quarter was oh-so familiar. Faced with a scrappy Magic team that simply wouldn't go away, Pierce scored seven of his game-high 29 in the final 2:47, draining a huge jumper over old friend Glen Davis with seven seconds left, then sealing the game with two free throws -- his tenth and eleventh of the game, giving him a two-night mark of 28 for 30 from the stripe.
Pierce had help: Avery Bradley made ten of 14 shots on the way to 23 points; Brandon Bass had 21; Kevin Garnett chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds. But the Celtics clinched a share of the Atlantic title and no worse than a four seed, and they did it on the back of the Captain and the Truth.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
New York 118, Boston 110
[recap] [box score]
Look at New York's three-point shooting on Tuesday -- 19 for 32 -- and you'd think that the Knicks were simply too hot to be beat. And while it's true that they were on fire from behind the arc, the fact is that Boston's defense was as bad as it has been all season. The rotations were off all night, and even when they made an adjustment to better guard the three-point line, they left the paint wide open, ceding a number of easy baskets to Tyson Chandler.
And yet the Celtics gave themselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter, mostly thanks to Paul Pierce, who had a season-high 43 points, largely on the back of a 17-for-18 performance at the free throw line. Battling foot injuries, though, he was almost as ineffective on defense as he was effective on offense, and Carmelo Anthony got plenty of his 35 points against Pierce. (Melo added 12 boards and ten assists for his second career triple-double.)
Other than Pierce's offense, Avery Bradley was a bright spot for the Cs, draining 5-of-6 three-pointers, most from the corners. It's beginning to look like his outside shot, which was atrocious at the beginning of the season, has improved permanently to something respectable. Rajon R-ndo had 13 points and 13 assists -- remarkably, something of a pedestrian performance for him lately -- but sat for some of the second half after falling awkwardly on his back after colliding with Chandler on a rebound. R-ndo refused to go back to the locker room for treatment, however, and gamely finished out the game
Really, though, the big story in this one was the difference in bench production. In about 50 minutes of court time, the Boston reserves scored a total of two points. The Knicks got 25 each from Steve Novak and J.R. Smith, who combined to go 15-for-20 from beyond the arc.
To be fair to Boston's second unit, two of Boston's top reserves (Bradley and Brandon Bass) have moved permanently to the starting lineup, and the next two missed the game -- Ray Allen was a late scratch with his lingering ankle injury after participating in shootaround, and Mickael Pietrus went back to Boston to have fluid from his knee drained. But I can't help but contrast the Celtics with, say, the Spurs, who I watched dismantle the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers in the nightcap. San Antonio has like 11 guys who play and contribute, while there are nights, like tonight, where you wonder how Keyon Dooling and Marquis Daniels and Sasha Pavlovic even have NBA jobs.
Anyway, back at it Wednesday night, 8 Eastern, in Boston against Orlando. I think our magic number is two; we just need some combination of two wins and Knicks losses and we've got the division, unless we lose our last four and Philly wins its last five. With a road game in Atlanta and then a home date with the revenge-minded Heat looming before the season finale against Milwaukee, it'd be nice to get this one against the Magic to take some of the pressure off.
Look at New York's three-point shooting on Tuesday -- 19 for 32 -- and you'd think that the Knicks were simply too hot to be beat. And while it's true that they were on fire from behind the arc, the fact is that Boston's defense was as bad as it has been all season. The rotations were off all night, and even when they made an adjustment to better guard the three-point line, they left the paint wide open, ceding a number of easy baskets to Tyson Chandler.
And yet the Celtics gave themselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter, mostly thanks to Paul Pierce, who had a season-high 43 points, largely on the back of a 17-for-18 performance at the free throw line. Battling foot injuries, though, he was almost as ineffective on defense as he was effective on offense, and Carmelo Anthony got plenty of his 35 points against Pierce. (Melo added 12 boards and ten assists for his second career triple-double.)
Other than Pierce's offense, Avery Bradley was a bright spot for the Cs, draining 5-of-6 three-pointers, most from the corners. It's beginning to look like his outside shot, which was atrocious at the beginning of the season, has improved permanently to something respectable. Rajon R-ndo had 13 points and 13 assists -- remarkably, something of a pedestrian performance for him lately -- but sat for some of the second half after falling awkwardly on his back after colliding with Chandler on a rebound. R-ndo refused to go back to the locker room for treatment, however, and gamely finished out the game
Really, though, the big story in this one was the difference in bench production. In about 50 minutes of court time, the Boston reserves scored a total of two points. The Knicks got 25 each from Steve Novak and J.R. Smith, who combined to go 15-for-20 from beyond the arc.
To be fair to Boston's second unit, two of Boston's top reserves (Bradley and Brandon Bass) have moved permanently to the starting lineup, and the next two missed the game -- Ray Allen was a late scratch with his lingering ankle injury after participating in shootaround, and Mickael Pietrus went back to Boston to have fluid from his knee drained. But I can't help but contrast the Celtics with, say, the Spurs, who I watched dismantle the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers in the nightcap. San Antonio has like 11 guys who play and contribute, while there are nights, like tonight, where you wonder how Keyon Dooling and Marquis Daniels and Sasha Pavlovic even have NBA jobs.
Anyway, back at it Wednesday night, 8 Eastern, in Boston against Orlando. I think our magic number is two; we just need some combination of two wins and Knicks losses and we've got the division, unless we lose our last four and Philly wins its last five. With a road game in Atlanta and then a home date with the revenge-minded Heat looming before the season finale against Milwaukee, it'd be nice to get this one against the Magic to take some of the pressure off.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Celts Finish Up the Back-to-Back-to-Back the Right Way
Order restored. After the debacle in Toronto, wins in Jersey and Charlotte -- the latter with Kevin Garnett (rest) and Paul Pierce (sore foot) hanging back in New York to get ready for the Knicks on Tuesday. We're up three-and-a-half on Philly and four on New York with five to play, but Indiana has played well recently and so we're pretty much locked in to the fourth seed. With Dwight Howard resting a herniated disk over the next 10-14 days, it looks like Atlanta will beat out Orlando for the five; that means it's very likely we'll get the Hawks in the first round.
Some stats from the last two games, which I couldn't watch:
* Avery Bradley averaged 20 points in the two games, making 5-of-7 three-pointers along the way (he hit three in a row from the exact same spot against Jersey);
* Rajon R-ndo had 4 points and 15 assists on Saturday, but with KG and Pierce out, he needed to pick up more of the scoring load against the Bobcats, and he did with 20, the most points he's scored since dropping 24 on the Lakers on March 11. But he didn't let it affect his playmaking for others: he had another 16 assists on Sunday, making 22 straight games with double-digit helpers.
* Greg Stiemsma had six blocked shots against the Bobcats.
* Brandon Bass had 18 points and 11 rebounds against the Nets -- his third double-double in four games -- then matched a season-high with 22 points (to go along with nine boards) against the Bobcats.
* Charlotte has now lost 16 consecutive games -- for the second time this season.
The next four Boston games are on national TV: Tuesday at New York (8 Eastern, TNT); Wednesday vs. Orlando (8 Eastern, ESPN); Friday at Atlanta (7 Eastern, ESPN); and next Wednesday vs. Miami (8 Eastern, TNT).
Some stats from the last two games, which I couldn't watch:
* Avery Bradley averaged 20 points in the two games, making 5-of-7 three-pointers along the way (he hit three in a row from the exact same spot against Jersey);
* Rajon R-ndo had 4 points and 15 assists on Saturday, but with KG and Pierce out, he needed to pick up more of the scoring load against the Bobcats, and he did with 20, the most points he's scored since dropping 24 on the Lakers on March 11. But he didn't let it affect his playmaking for others: he had another 16 assists on Sunday, making 22 straight games with double-digit helpers.
* Greg Stiemsma had six blocked shots against the Bobcats.
* Brandon Bass had 18 points and 11 rebounds against the Nets -- his third double-double in four games -- then matched a season-high with 22 points (to go along with nine boards) against the Bobcats.
* Charlotte has now lost 16 consecutive games -- for the second time this season.
The next four Boston games are on national TV: Tuesday at New York (8 Eastern, TNT); Wednesday vs. Orlando (8 Eastern, ESPN); Friday at Atlanta (7 Eastern, ESPN); and next Wednesday vs. Miami (8 Eastern, TNT).
Friday, April 13, 2012
Toronto 84, Boston 79
[recap] [box score]
I'm not even going to talk about this game -- why put more effort into my post than the Celtics put into the game? Just a complete no-show from the start until the last few minutes. At least Philly lost to Jersey, so we're still three up on them (and the Knicks, who crushed Washington) for the Atlantic.
Back at it tomorrow night in Jersey against the Nets.
I'm not even going to talk about this game -- why put more effort into my post than the Celtics put into the game? Just a complete no-show from the start until the last few minutes. At least Philly lost to Jersey, so we're still three up on them (and the Knicks, who crushed Washington) for the Atlantic.
Back at it tomorrow night in Jersey against the Nets.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Boston 88, Atlanta 86 (Overtime)
[recap] [box score]
Tuesday night's win in Miami told us something about this Celtics team's confidence and ability to play at a high level. Wednesday night's triumph over Atlanta back in Boston told us something about this Celtics team's guts.
After that incredible offensive display on South Beach, after all those minutes in a highly intense game, most people would have given the Cs a free pass tonight against the Hawks. But I liked something that Tommy Heinsohn said during the broadcast -- that if you lose this one, you undo all the good work you did the night before. So the Celtics, instead of resting their legs or resting on their laurels or both, came out and fought for this win every bit as hard as they had fought for the one the night before.
It wasn't pretty. The whole night, Boston seemed a half-step behind, physically or mentally. They committed 19 turnovers, a full handful of which were caused by a simple lack of concentration. Particularly in the second half, you could see our legs getting tired, and the results: a slower pace, and flat jump shots left short. But Boston dug deep and never gave up on the defensive end, getting just enough stops to pull out a big win.
Some notes:
* Ray Allen sat out with soreness in his ankle, the same one that kept him out earlier. I think the idea here is that Doc wants to make sure that Ray's healthy for the playoffs, and not that Ray suffered some kind of setback, but it's a little disconcerting that he apparently hasn't fully healed.
* The Celtics controlled the glass, outrebounding the Hawks 56-39 and grabbing 15 offensive boards. I always thought of the Hawks as a tough team to keep off the glass, but with Al Horford out, they really don't go to the boards that well. The Boston bigs rebounded well, but I thought a big key was the small guys rebounding down on the defensive glass. Rajon R-ndo had ten boards, Mickael Pietrus had six, and Paul Pierce had five.
* Speaking of Pietrus, this was his first game since his concussion on March 23. He looked pretty good, knocking down a couple long jumpers and playing some solid defense. His return is welcome, especially if Allen is going to miss a bunch of time.
* Despite shooting just 3-for-16, R-ndo was brilliant, again. His stats were gaudy; 10 points, 10 boards, 20 assists -- his sixth triple-double of the season (a league high) -- but I thought the big key was his energy. Boston's lost a lot of close games over the last several year's due to slowing the pace way down on offense, and R-ndo, after playing more than 40 minutes the night before, took each and every outlet pass and raced up floor, forcing his teammates to at least get into their stuff at a reasonable pace if not attack on the fast break. The kid played 47 minutes tonight and looked just as fresh at the end as he did at the beginning. Words cannot describe how much I love watching him play.
* Boston did a nice job shutting down Atlanta's attempt at a game-winner at the end of regulation. Jannero Pargo was inbounding the ball on the far side without about six seconds to go, and he tossed the ball to Joe Johnson. As Johnson caught it, Pargo started to cut across the floor to the opposite wing, and R-ndo left him to double. Pargo took a little while to figure out that he was open and that he should get to some place he could shoot from, and he ended up with a rushed three at the horn that missed. I'm not sure if R-ndo or Doc gets the credit for that decision, but it really caught the Hawks by surprise and might have saved the game.
* Scary moment near the end of the game when Brandon Bass came down awkwardly and spent several moments on the ground, holding his knee. He stayed in the game, however, and it looks like Boston dodged a bullet there.
* The officials made two of the worst calls I've ever seen in overtime, both resulting in Boston turnovers. I haven't been able to find a video of them, but I'll post one if I can later. Just another thing the Celtics had to overcome.
So, here's the deal. We've mercifully got a day off before embarking on our road back-to-back-to-back in Toronto, New Jersey, and Charlotte. We've got a three-game cushion on Philly for the Atlantic crown, which would mean dodging Chicago and Miami in the first round. The final five games of the season are tough: at New York, home to Orlando, at Atlanta, home to Miami and Milwaukee. A sweep of these three upcoming games would probably give Doc the luxury of resting a few guys before the playoffs.
A sweep is a big ask at the end of what will end up being a very long week. But at this point, I'm not saying anything's out of the realm of possibility.
Tuesday night's win in Miami told us something about this Celtics team's confidence and ability to play at a high level. Wednesday night's triumph over Atlanta back in Boston told us something about this Celtics team's guts.
After that incredible offensive display on South Beach, after all those minutes in a highly intense game, most people would have given the Cs a free pass tonight against the Hawks. But I liked something that Tommy Heinsohn said during the broadcast -- that if you lose this one, you undo all the good work you did the night before. So the Celtics, instead of resting their legs or resting on their laurels or both, came out and fought for this win every bit as hard as they had fought for the one the night before.
It wasn't pretty. The whole night, Boston seemed a half-step behind, physically or mentally. They committed 19 turnovers, a full handful of which were caused by a simple lack of concentration. Particularly in the second half, you could see our legs getting tired, and the results: a slower pace, and flat jump shots left short. But Boston dug deep and never gave up on the defensive end, getting just enough stops to pull out a big win.
Some notes:
* Ray Allen sat out with soreness in his ankle, the same one that kept him out earlier. I think the idea here is that Doc wants to make sure that Ray's healthy for the playoffs, and not that Ray suffered some kind of setback, but it's a little disconcerting that he apparently hasn't fully healed.
* The Celtics controlled the glass, outrebounding the Hawks 56-39 and grabbing 15 offensive boards. I always thought of the Hawks as a tough team to keep off the glass, but with Al Horford out, they really don't go to the boards that well. The Boston bigs rebounded well, but I thought a big key was the small guys rebounding down on the defensive glass. Rajon R-ndo had ten boards, Mickael Pietrus had six, and Paul Pierce had five.
* Speaking of Pietrus, this was his first game since his concussion on March 23. He looked pretty good, knocking down a couple long jumpers and playing some solid defense. His return is welcome, especially if Allen is going to miss a bunch of time.
* Despite shooting just 3-for-16, R-ndo was brilliant, again. His stats were gaudy; 10 points, 10 boards, 20 assists -- his sixth triple-double of the season (a league high) -- but I thought the big key was his energy. Boston's lost a lot of close games over the last several year's due to slowing the pace way down on offense, and R-ndo, after playing more than 40 minutes the night before, took each and every outlet pass and raced up floor, forcing his teammates to at least get into their stuff at a reasonable pace if not attack on the fast break. The kid played 47 minutes tonight and looked just as fresh at the end as he did at the beginning. Words cannot describe how much I love watching him play.
* Boston did a nice job shutting down Atlanta's attempt at a game-winner at the end of regulation. Jannero Pargo was inbounding the ball on the far side without about six seconds to go, and he tossed the ball to Joe Johnson. As Johnson caught it, Pargo started to cut across the floor to the opposite wing, and R-ndo left him to double. Pargo took a little while to figure out that he was open and that he should get to some place he could shoot from, and he ended up with a rushed three at the horn that missed. I'm not sure if R-ndo or Doc gets the credit for that decision, but it really caught the Hawks by surprise and might have saved the game.
* Scary moment near the end of the game when Brandon Bass came down awkwardly and spent several moments on the ground, holding his knee. He stayed in the game, however, and it looks like Boston dodged a bullet there.
* The officials made two of the worst calls I've ever seen in overtime, both resulting in Boston turnovers. I haven't been able to find a video of them, but I'll post one if I can later. Just another thing the Celtics had to overcome.
So, here's the deal. We've mercifully got a day off before embarking on our road back-to-back-to-back in Toronto, New Jersey, and Charlotte. We've got a three-game cushion on Philly for the Atlantic crown, which would mean dodging Chicago and Miami in the first round. The final five games of the season are tough: at New York, home to Orlando, at Atlanta, home to Miami and Milwaukee. A sweep of these three upcoming games would probably give Doc the luxury of resting a few guys before the playoffs.
A sweep is a big ask at the end of what will end up being a very long week. But at this point, I'm not saying anything's out of the realm of possibility.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Ray A Sixth Man?
I should preface by saying that I've been busy and out of town and haven't had much chance to watch the Celtics or even read about them since Ray came back after missing six games with a bad ankle. So I'm basing this whole post on what I saw against Miami Tuesday night, what I can glean from the box scores of previous games, and from the pre-game interview Doc gave prior to the Miami game.
When I first heard that Allen was coming off the bench, I was concerned about the effect of the move on Ray. Not because I thought he'd sulk the way you'd worry about with some guys; he's too much of a professional for that. But even in a profession where routine is such a big part of success for so many, Ray is extraordinarily regimented: eating the same pre-game meal; arriving at the arena hours early; getting up a certain number of shots before tip. Before last week, Allen had come off the bench four times in his NBA career, the last time being in November of 2002, early in his final season in Milwaukee (he would be traded to Seattle later that season). How, I wondered, would a mid-season change in routine affect his performance on the court? At the very least, it seemed like the uncertainty would shake his confidence a little bit. Ray knows that his routine works; no matter how confident he is in his abilities, he has no point of reference as to how he'd play in a bench role.
Doc's pre-game interview on Tuesday assuaged some of those fears. According to Doc, while he had broached the topic with Allen earlier in the year, it was Ray's own suggestion that set the change in motion. So any discomfort Allen might feel from the unfamiliar situation seems to be minimized.
The effect on the team's play as a whole remains to be seen, though it's hard to argue with the early results. Avery Bradley was outstanding in the starting shooting guard slot while Allen was out (the team won five of six during that stretch) and after losing to Chicago last Thursday in Allen's first game off the bench, the Celtics have now won three in a row. Bradley gives Boston a different look on offense, a player who looks to attack without the basketball, in many ways a more suitable running mate for Rajon R-ndo. And, of course, Bradley's tenacious defense is an upgrade on that end of the floor.
In addition, Allen's move to the bench gives the second unit some real scoring punch, which has been sorely needed ever since Brandon Bass moved into the starting lineup after injuries ended the seasons of Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Wilcox. Doc's monitoring of Kevin Garnett's minutes (limiting him to five- or six-minute stretches until the fourth quarter) means that KG has been spending more time with the second unit, and suddenly he and Ray give that lineup some real weapons.
On the other hand, Allen is the greatest three-point shooter of all-time, and he's still one the game's premier weapons from downtown. Employing him in a Kyle Korver-type role seems like a waste. He only took seven shots against Miami on Tuesday, and two of them were end-of-the-shot-clock jobs -- contested, off-balance looks that he was forced into. The problem, at least against the Heat, seemed to me to be that he wasn't getting the ball in the exact right spot at the exact right time. Allen's offense with the Celtics has been based on precision, running through a series of screens that are designed to lose his defender for a fraction of a second, just enough time for him to catch and release. If the timing is off, the moment is gone, and Bradley hasn't yet developed the chops to deliver the ball on time, every time. Keyon Dooling didn't play against the Heat for some reason, but I haven't seen much during this season or Dooling's career that suggests that he's the solution. That means to be effective, Allen is still going to have play a lot of minutes with R-ndo, which either means even more minutes for R-ndo or limited minutes for Bradley, whose minutes this whole thing is supposed to maximize.
Then again, it could just be me over-reacting to one game. Ray did take nine and ten shots, respectively, against Philadelphia and Chicago, just a couple below his season average, and he took 18 shots against Indiana. And he's shown throughout his career that he can come into a game cold or out of rhythm and still hit a big shot (he proved it yet again just last week, burying a late three against the Spurs that gave us a shot at the win).
The results so far have been great. But it's a risk. In order to make a deep playoff run, we're going to need Ray Allen making big shots in the fourth quarter. We know we can get those shots out of starter-Ray. We don't yet know if we can get them out of sixth man-Ray.
When I first heard that Allen was coming off the bench, I was concerned about the effect of the move on Ray. Not because I thought he'd sulk the way you'd worry about with some guys; he's too much of a professional for that. But even in a profession where routine is such a big part of success for so many, Ray is extraordinarily regimented: eating the same pre-game meal; arriving at the arena hours early; getting up a certain number of shots before tip. Before last week, Allen had come off the bench four times in his NBA career, the last time being in November of 2002, early in his final season in Milwaukee (he would be traded to Seattle later that season). How, I wondered, would a mid-season change in routine affect his performance on the court? At the very least, it seemed like the uncertainty would shake his confidence a little bit. Ray knows that his routine works; no matter how confident he is in his abilities, he has no point of reference as to how he'd play in a bench role.
Doc's pre-game interview on Tuesday assuaged some of those fears. According to Doc, while he had broached the topic with Allen earlier in the year, it was Ray's own suggestion that set the change in motion. So any discomfort Allen might feel from the unfamiliar situation seems to be minimized.
The effect on the team's play as a whole remains to be seen, though it's hard to argue with the early results. Avery Bradley was outstanding in the starting shooting guard slot while Allen was out (the team won five of six during that stretch) and after losing to Chicago last Thursday in Allen's first game off the bench, the Celtics have now won three in a row. Bradley gives Boston a different look on offense, a player who looks to attack without the basketball, in many ways a more suitable running mate for Rajon R-ndo. And, of course, Bradley's tenacious defense is an upgrade on that end of the floor.
In addition, Allen's move to the bench gives the second unit some real scoring punch, which has been sorely needed ever since Brandon Bass moved into the starting lineup after injuries ended the seasons of Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Wilcox. Doc's monitoring of Kevin Garnett's minutes (limiting him to five- or six-minute stretches until the fourth quarter) means that KG has been spending more time with the second unit, and suddenly he and Ray give that lineup some real weapons.
On the other hand, Allen is the greatest three-point shooter of all-time, and he's still one the game's premier weapons from downtown. Employing him in a Kyle Korver-type role seems like a waste. He only took seven shots against Miami on Tuesday, and two of them were end-of-the-shot-clock jobs -- contested, off-balance looks that he was forced into. The problem, at least against the Heat, seemed to me to be that he wasn't getting the ball in the exact right spot at the exact right time. Allen's offense with the Celtics has been based on precision, running through a series of screens that are designed to lose his defender for a fraction of a second, just enough time for him to catch and release. If the timing is off, the moment is gone, and Bradley hasn't yet developed the chops to deliver the ball on time, every time. Keyon Dooling didn't play against the Heat for some reason, but I haven't seen much during this season or Dooling's career that suggests that he's the solution. That means to be effective, Allen is still going to have play a lot of minutes with R-ndo, which either means even more minutes for R-ndo or limited minutes for Bradley, whose minutes this whole thing is supposed to maximize.
Then again, it could just be me over-reacting to one game. Ray did take nine and ten shots, respectively, against Philadelphia and Chicago, just a couple below his season average, and he took 18 shots against Indiana. And he's shown throughout his career that he can come into a game cold or out of rhythm and still hit a big shot (he proved it yet again just last week, burying a late three against the Spurs that gave us a shot at the win).
The results so far have been great. But it's a risk. In order to make a deep playoff run, we're going to need Ray Allen making big shots in the fourth quarter. We know we can get those shots out of starter-Ray. We don't yet know if we can get them out of sixth man-Ray.
Boston 115, Miami 107
[recap] [box score]
This win's even better than the one back in Boston ten days ago. Any good team, like the Heat, can have an off night on the road, especially at the end of a long trip away from home. Any good team, like the Celtics, can put together a dominant performance in its own barn and wax a good opponent. Beating that same opponent on their floor in a payback game less than two weeks later, however, is not something every team can do.
I hope you watched this one, because it was an entertaining basketball game, but if you didn't, here's how it went: Miami predictably jumped out to a hot start, but Boston kept it close; Boston went on a big run to end the first quarter and led by double digits for most of the rest of the half; Miami kept chipping away in the third quarter to stay within striking distance; Boston lost their composure on a couple of early possessions and the Heat cut the lead to one point; Doc Rivers brought Rajon R-ndo and Kevin Garnett back a bit earlier than usual and, with the building going crazy and the game seemingly slipping from their grasp, they (along with Paul Pierce) calmly put the game away.
Those are the broad strokes, but there are some interesting details, and the most interesting is Boston's shooting a percentage: a torrid 60.6% for the game. Some will no doubt point out that the fact that the Celtics shot better than 60%, made 9 of 14 three-pointers and 20 of 25 free throws, and still only won by eight, is worrisome. There's some truth to that; Boston had to make a ton of plays to win this game, and they played exceptionally well -- a few more empty possessions at the wrong time could have brought a different result. But there are a couple counter-points to that.
First, while it's true that by the end of the game, Garnett and Pierce had to make some really tough shots, the whole game wasn't like that. Boston got pretty much anything it wanted in the first half, in which they scored 65 points, the most by a Heat opponent this season.
Second, the Heat had to make a bunch of tough shots, too, just to stay in it. And yeah, maybe Miami is more capable of making tough shots on a consistent basis because they have superior one-on-one players who don't rely as much on the jumper as the Cs do, but Boston has always been comfortable with letting individuals do their own thing against them. James had his usual game against Boston: huge numbers (36 points, even boards, seven assists) and a loss. Dwyane Wade was assertive in stretches (the second and fourth quarters), but when they play Boston, the two Heat superstars still take turns more than they seem to play together. Chris Bosh was once again a non-factor for much of the game, and once you get past him, you simply have to hope that the rest of Miami's unspectacular supporting cast doesn't have a big night. Those are chances I'm willing to take.
The big downside to this win was the minutes: 40-plus for R-ndo and Pierce; 39 for Brandon Bass; 33 for Garnett. (It's hard not to contrast Doc Rivers with San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, who left Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili at home on Monday night for a road game in Utah, even though the Spurs were tied atop the Western Conference at the time and fighting with Oklahoma City for home-court advantage.) The big concern with the minutes is the schedule; Boston heads back home on Wednesday to play the Hawks, then get one day off before a back-to-back-to-back in Toronto, New Jersey, and Charlotte. That many minutes, and that short of a rotation (Doc only played eight guys) could really come back to hurt the team.
Only eight guys played, but all played well. Garnett was the star, shooting 11-for-14 and finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds, but Pierce led the team in scoring with 27 points. R-ndo had 18 points and 15 assists (the 18th straight game he's had double-digit dimes), and Bass also notched a double-double with 12 points and ten boards. Avery Bradley had five early points, keeping the Heat from getting going, and finished with 11. Off the bench, Greg Stiemsma (eight points, seven boards) and Sasha Pavlovic (2-for-2 from deep) did most of their damage in the first half. Ironically, Ray Allen, who was 3-for-7 on the night, was the only Celtic who didn't make at least half his shots from the field.
Speaking of Ray, he came off the bench for the fourth straight game. I've gotta post about this...
This win's even better than the one back in Boston ten days ago. Any good team, like the Heat, can have an off night on the road, especially at the end of a long trip away from home. Any good team, like the Celtics, can put together a dominant performance in its own barn and wax a good opponent. Beating that same opponent on their floor in a payback game less than two weeks later, however, is not something every team can do.
I hope you watched this one, because it was an entertaining basketball game, but if you didn't, here's how it went: Miami predictably jumped out to a hot start, but Boston kept it close; Boston went on a big run to end the first quarter and led by double digits for most of the rest of the half; Miami kept chipping away in the third quarter to stay within striking distance; Boston lost their composure on a couple of early possessions and the Heat cut the lead to one point; Doc Rivers brought Rajon R-ndo and Kevin Garnett back a bit earlier than usual and, with the building going crazy and the game seemingly slipping from their grasp, they (along with Paul Pierce) calmly put the game away.
Those are the broad strokes, but there are some interesting details, and the most interesting is Boston's shooting a percentage: a torrid 60.6% for the game. Some will no doubt point out that the fact that the Celtics shot better than 60%, made 9 of 14 three-pointers and 20 of 25 free throws, and still only won by eight, is worrisome. There's some truth to that; Boston had to make a ton of plays to win this game, and they played exceptionally well -- a few more empty possessions at the wrong time could have brought a different result. But there are a couple counter-points to that.
First, while it's true that by the end of the game, Garnett and Pierce had to make some really tough shots, the whole game wasn't like that. Boston got pretty much anything it wanted in the first half, in which they scored 65 points, the most by a Heat opponent this season.
Second, the Heat had to make a bunch of tough shots, too, just to stay in it. And yeah, maybe Miami is more capable of making tough shots on a consistent basis because they have superior one-on-one players who don't rely as much on the jumper as the Cs do, but Boston has always been comfortable with letting individuals do their own thing against them. James had his usual game against Boston: huge numbers (36 points, even boards, seven assists) and a loss. Dwyane Wade was assertive in stretches (the second and fourth quarters), but when they play Boston, the two Heat superstars still take turns more than they seem to play together. Chris Bosh was once again a non-factor for much of the game, and once you get past him, you simply have to hope that the rest of Miami's unspectacular supporting cast doesn't have a big night. Those are chances I'm willing to take.
The big downside to this win was the minutes: 40-plus for R-ndo and Pierce; 39 for Brandon Bass; 33 for Garnett. (It's hard not to contrast Doc Rivers with San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, who left Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili at home on Monday night for a road game in Utah, even though the Spurs were tied atop the Western Conference at the time and fighting with Oklahoma City for home-court advantage.) The big concern with the minutes is the schedule; Boston heads back home on Wednesday to play the Hawks, then get one day off before a back-to-back-to-back in Toronto, New Jersey, and Charlotte. That many minutes, and that short of a rotation (Doc only played eight guys) could really come back to hurt the team.
Only eight guys played, but all played well. Garnett was the star, shooting 11-for-14 and finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds, but Pierce led the team in scoring with 27 points. R-ndo had 18 points and 15 assists (the 18th straight game he's had double-digit dimes), and Bass also notched a double-double with 12 points and ten boards. Avery Bradley had five early points, keeping the Heat from getting going, and finished with 11. Off the bench, Greg Stiemsma (eight points, seven boards) and Sasha Pavlovic (2-for-2 from deep) did most of their damage in the first half. Ironically, Ray Allen, who was 3-for-7 on the night, was the only Celtic who didn't make at least half his shots from the field.
Speaking of Ray, he came off the bench for the fourth straight game. I've gotta post about this...
Thursday, April 5, 2012
San Antonio 87, Boston 86
[recap] [box score]
Crazy game that I wish I could write more about, but I'm waking up in just a few hours to drive to Vegas to celebrate the ending bachelorhood of longtime RwH reader The Assistant Commissioner, so I need my sleep.
The Spurs scored 55 points in the first 19 and a half minutes of the game, mostly with the pick-and-roll that inexplicably seemed to baffle the Celtics. They then scored 13 points over the next 16 and a half minutes, as they went cold from the floor and Doc Rivers' small lineups troubled them. Boston, though, went cold the same time San Antonio did, and could barely catch up, much less distance themselves, during the stretch. The Cs finally did pull ahead, but a couple of big rebounds and shots from the Spurs gave them a four-point lead with less than a minute to go.
Ray Allen, who struggled in his return to action, nonetheless buried a three from the corner, and Boston got the stop it needed. But Paul Pierce couldn't shake Tim Duncan and his 17-footer at the horn was contested, and off the mark. Boston's win streak ended a five games; San Antonio's moved to nine.
Truthfully, Boston gave away this game; there was a long stretch there in the second half where any sort of effective offense could have pulled them away from the Spurs. But too many guys were eager to be the one to hit the tying or go-ahead basket -- the "hero shots" Doc is always ranting about -- and we wasted opportunities.
It feels especially like a wasted opportunity because the Sixers, who lost narrowly in Miami on Tuesday night, got blown out at home by Toronto on Wednesday. That means the Celtics still hold a game-and-a-half lead on them for the Atlantic crown, which is the good news, but the bad news is that Boston missed an opportunity to put another game between them and Philly.
VIEWING ALERT: Boston's got another chance to pick up a half-game on Thursday night in Chicago. That one's on TNT at 9:30 p.m., Eastern, and is supposed to mark the return of Derrick Rose.
Crazy game that I wish I could write more about, but I'm waking up in just a few hours to drive to Vegas to celebrate the ending bachelorhood of longtime RwH reader The Assistant Commissioner, so I need my sleep.
The Spurs scored 55 points in the first 19 and a half minutes of the game, mostly with the pick-and-roll that inexplicably seemed to baffle the Celtics. They then scored 13 points over the next 16 and a half minutes, as they went cold from the floor and Doc Rivers' small lineups troubled them. Boston, though, went cold the same time San Antonio did, and could barely catch up, much less distance themselves, during the stretch. The Cs finally did pull ahead, but a couple of big rebounds and shots from the Spurs gave them a four-point lead with less than a minute to go.
Ray Allen, who struggled in his return to action, nonetheless buried a three from the corner, and Boston got the stop it needed. But Paul Pierce couldn't shake Tim Duncan and his 17-footer at the horn was contested, and off the mark. Boston's win streak ended a five games; San Antonio's moved to nine.
Truthfully, Boston gave away this game; there was a long stretch there in the second half where any sort of effective offense could have pulled them away from the Spurs. But too many guys were eager to be the one to hit the tying or go-ahead basket -- the "hero shots" Doc is always ranting about -- and we wasted opportunities.
It feels especially like a wasted opportunity because the Sixers, who lost narrowly in Miami on Tuesday night, got blown out at home by Toronto on Wednesday. That means the Celtics still hold a game-and-a-half lead on them for the Atlantic crown, which is the good news, but the bad news is that Boston missed an opportunity to put another game between them and Philly.
VIEWING ALERT: Boston's got another chance to pick up a half-game on Thursday night in Chicago. That one's on TNT at 9:30 p.m., Eastern, and is supposed to mark the return of Derrick Rose.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Boston 91, Miami 72
[recap] [box score]
One of my friends texted me after the final buzzer and asked me if this was a "statement win" for the Celtics. I didn't respond, in part because I hate communicating via text, in part because I'm not sure I believe that such games exist in today's NBA, and in part because I didn't really know how to answer. Let me take a moment now to address it.
What statement might Boston have made? A statement to the Heat that they wouldn't be a pushover in the playoffs? That's hardly a statement that needed to be made; anyone who thought that this group of aging but competitive veterans would simply roll over in May and June hasn't been paying attention. A statement to the rest of the league that they're a contender? Not with the game at home and the Heat so obviously disinterested, and playing their third game in four days.
In today's NBA, there are simply too many games and too many variables for any single regular-season game to have much meaning beyond its effect on the standings. It was a big game for Boston in the sense that the Celtics had to have it to stay a game ahead of Philly in the standings, and the Celtics played like it. It was a big game for Miami, too, as Chicago's loss to Oklahoma City gave the Heat an opportunity to close the gap between them and the Bulls for the East's top seed and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. But the Heat didn't play it was a big game, and it would be folly to judge them too harshly by it. (More on this later, though.)
Honestly, the fact of the matter is that Boston is probably still a dog to win the Atlantic, which likely means the seven seed, and it seems a bit silly to talk about statement wins when you're the seven seed. Moreover, the Celtics and Heat clash two more times before the regular season runs out, and Sunday's win really will only be a small part of the conversation should these two teams end up linking up in the playoffs.
So I guess my answer is no, I don't consider this a statement win, and I am skeptical that any such thing exists.
With that said, this was a fun game to watch from a Boston perspective and it does give us fans some hope that our team can make a bit of noise in the playoffs. Rajon R-ndo was spectacular, establishing himself early by going hard to the basket for seven of Boston's first nine points, then spending most of the rest of the game setting the table for his teammates. His final statline included 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists, yet another triple double (he's the league leader in that category, by the way). R-ndo has been extremely passive offensively the last several games, but he was aggressive from the beginning and pushed the tempo throughout; on one second half play, you could see him gesturing at his teammates to run the floor with him. We're a different team (in a good way) when he's aggressive on offense and we're a different team (in a bad way) when we slow the pace down. If anything, hopefully this game gives Doc something to remind the guys about later in the year when we inevitably start trying to ice games with isolations late in the shotclock.
R-ndo was spectacular; everyone else wearing white was somewhere between solid and very, very good. Avery Bradley continues to play extremely well in Ray Allen's absence -- it's the same old song with him, really; a tenacious on-the-ball defender who bails his teammates out a couple of times a game on offense with timely cuts to the basket. Paul Pierce led the way with 23 points; Brandon Bass had a double-double, making all ten of his free throws; and Kevin Garnett chipped in with 10 points, eight rebounds, and his usual terrific defense that shut Chris Bosh completely down. Greg Stiemsma and Keyon Dooling did a nice job off the bench for a second unit that has seen a couple of its members promoted to the A-team due to injuries to the regular starters.
As for Miami, there's really nothing good to say here. Aside from the second quarter, when Dwyane Wade put the team on his shoulders for a bit, the Heat didn't look engaged at all. LeBron James was unassertive, Wade seemed distracted, and Bosh was a total non-factor (I think he had their first four points, then didn't score again). No one came in and sparked them. I kept waiting for a hard foul or some jawing to wake them up a bit, but no one -- not even newly acquired Ronny Turiaf -- could muster even that.
The buzz around the NBA is that the Heat have been wretched, by their standards, on the road since the All-Star break, and it's for that reason that I don't want to read too much into this game. For it to be a big game, both teams have to be aware of the importance of it, and nothing Miami did on the court on Sunday suggested that they were. My hunch is that it'll be a different story down in South Beach next Tuesday, that the Heat will regain their motivation during their upcoming five-game homestand, and that the postseason questions surrounding them will once again be not whether they'll feel the urgency of the situation, but whether they'll wilt under the pressure of it.
One of my friends texted me after the final buzzer and asked me if this was a "statement win" for the Celtics. I didn't respond, in part because I hate communicating via text, in part because I'm not sure I believe that such games exist in today's NBA, and in part because I didn't really know how to answer. Let me take a moment now to address it.
What statement might Boston have made? A statement to the Heat that they wouldn't be a pushover in the playoffs? That's hardly a statement that needed to be made; anyone who thought that this group of aging but competitive veterans would simply roll over in May and June hasn't been paying attention. A statement to the rest of the league that they're a contender? Not with the game at home and the Heat so obviously disinterested, and playing their third game in four days.
In today's NBA, there are simply too many games and too many variables for any single regular-season game to have much meaning beyond its effect on the standings. It was a big game for Boston in the sense that the Celtics had to have it to stay a game ahead of Philly in the standings, and the Celtics played like it. It was a big game for Miami, too, as Chicago's loss to Oklahoma City gave the Heat an opportunity to close the gap between them and the Bulls for the East's top seed and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. But the Heat didn't play it was a big game, and it would be folly to judge them too harshly by it. (More on this later, though.)
Honestly, the fact of the matter is that Boston is probably still a dog to win the Atlantic, which likely means the seven seed, and it seems a bit silly to talk about statement wins when you're the seven seed. Moreover, the Celtics and Heat clash two more times before the regular season runs out, and Sunday's win really will only be a small part of the conversation should these two teams end up linking up in the playoffs.
So I guess my answer is no, I don't consider this a statement win, and I am skeptical that any such thing exists.
With that said, this was a fun game to watch from a Boston perspective and it does give us fans some hope that our team can make a bit of noise in the playoffs. Rajon R-ndo was spectacular, establishing himself early by going hard to the basket for seven of Boston's first nine points, then spending most of the rest of the game setting the table for his teammates. His final statline included 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists, yet another triple double (he's the league leader in that category, by the way). R-ndo has been extremely passive offensively the last several games, but he was aggressive from the beginning and pushed the tempo throughout; on one second half play, you could see him gesturing at his teammates to run the floor with him. We're a different team (in a good way) when he's aggressive on offense and we're a different team (in a bad way) when we slow the pace down. If anything, hopefully this game gives Doc something to remind the guys about later in the year when we inevitably start trying to ice games with isolations late in the shotclock.
R-ndo was spectacular; everyone else wearing white was somewhere between solid and very, very good. Avery Bradley continues to play extremely well in Ray Allen's absence -- it's the same old song with him, really; a tenacious on-the-ball defender who bails his teammates out a couple of times a game on offense with timely cuts to the basket. Paul Pierce led the way with 23 points; Brandon Bass had a double-double, making all ten of his free throws; and Kevin Garnett chipped in with 10 points, eight rebounds, and his usual terrific defense that shut Chris Bosh completely down. Greg Stiemsma and Keyon Dooling did a nice job off the bench for a second unit that has seen a couple of its members promoted to the A-team due to injuries to the regular starters.
As for Miami, there's really nothing good to say here. Aside from the second quarter, when Dwyane Wade put the team on his shoulders for a bit, the Heat didn't look engaged at all. LeBron James was unassertive, Wade seemed distracted, and Bosh was a total non-factor (I think he had their first four points, then didn't score again). No one came in and sparked them. I kept waiting for a hard foul or some jawing to wake them up a bit, but no one -- not even newly acquired Ronny Turiaf -- could muster even that.
The buzz around the NBA is that the Heat have been wretched, by their standards, on the road since the All-Star break, and it's for that reason that I don't want to read too much into this game. For it to be a big game, both teams have to be aware of the importance of it, and nothing Miami did on the court on Sunday suggested that they were. My hunch is that it'll be a different story down in South Beach next Tuesday, that the Heat will regain their motivation during their upcoming five-game homestand, and that the postseason questions surrounding them will once again be not whether they'll feel the urgency of the situation, but whether they'll wilt under the pressure of it.
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