[recap] [box score]
This was not your typical 16-point blowout.
I think most people expected the veteran Celtics to come out strong at home in Game 5 against Philadelphia, taking back the control they gave up in blowing a big second-half lead on Friday. But it was the Sixers who seemed to dominate the first 24 minutes, making shot after shot and being opportunistic in transition. Boston didn't play poorly in the first half, but with the halftime score 50-47 in favor of the visitors, it certainly felt like the Celtics were the ones hanging on for dear life. (Looking back, there was reason to believe that things would swing toward Boston in the second half. Philly was scoring mainly on jump shots -- leading to a big free throw advantage for Boston that helped us stay close -- and they were hitting some tough looks. Boston was often getting better shots, but they simply weren't dropping.)
And it got worse before it got better. Trailing by six early in the third quarter, Kevin Garnett threw an uncertain pass out front that Andre Iguodala stole. Trying to prevent an easy dunk, Paul Pierce reached out and grabbed the Sixers forward. It was a good thought and a defensible reaction, but the result was a clear path foul, two shots and the ball -- potentially a four- or five-point possession, one of the biggest momentum-grabbing moments that can happen in a professional basketball game. But Iguodala missed both free throws, and Philly turned it over on the ensuing possession. And then, as Philly coach Doug Collins pointed out, the game turned, irreversibly, in favor of Boston.
That was when Brandon Bass, of all people, took over. He scored 18 points in the third quarter alone, two more than the entire Philly team combined. He did it first inside, with a handful of explosive dunks in traffic, precisely the kind of finish we never got from Glen Davis. He then moved out to more familiar territory, drilling a number of the midrange jumpers that have been his staple all season. Bass, who had been solid but not spectacular in the Philly series after having a tough time against Atlanta, had a game-high 27 points, and tied for the team lead with six rebounds.
If Bass gets the game ball, he owes an assist to Rajon Rondo (which he gave, by the way, in his post-game comments to David Aldrich). Rondo was, of course, the catalyst for many of Bass' buckets. But while his primary role was distributor, particularly in the third quarter, he provided much needed scoring at crucial moments -- initially in the first quarter to keep the game close; most crucially in the fourth quarter, after Boston had extended its lead out to double digits, when the offense has historically bogged down.
Honorable mention to Greg Stiemsma, who had eight of his ten points in the first quarter and blocked three shots in just 14 minutes of game action. Stiemsma has played sparingly this series and didn't see the court in Game 4, which is an indictment of Doc, really, now that we know that the rookie's foot injury isn't what kept him out of action. He was a little late closing out on a couple of Lavoy Allen foul line jumpers, but his first-quarter offense was crucial and on one second-half possession, he made a great catch on a tough pass from Ray Allen, then made a pretty left-handed dish that resulted in a couple of Bass free throws. His health permitting, Stiemsma needs to be the first big man off the bench moving forward, not Ryan Hollins.
Speaking of Ray Allen, since I gave him a hard time for his defense in Game 4, I should wrap up this post by acknowledging his play on that end of the court in Game 5. Retaking his place in the starting lineup from Avery Bradley, whose bum shoulders kept him out of this game, Allen contributed little offensively, canning one three-pointer early but making just one other shot the rest of the way. But Allen was more or less as effective as he's ever been for Boston on defense, fighting through the pain of bone spurs in his ankles to stay in the faces of Philly's younger, quicker shooters. Boston's entire defense was really good in the second half, and it feels wrong to single out just one guy. But Ray deserves special mention because of everything he's going through.
Garnett and Pierce were their usual excellent selves. Garnett against Philly's bigs is a better matchup than Pierce (with the sprained knee) versus Iguodala, and so KG is carrying a bigger offensive load than we've come to expect. Garnett overcame a slow start to score 20 points on 8-for-17, while Pierce scored 16 points, going a perfect nine for nine from the free throw line.
Back to Philly for Game 6 on Wednesday (8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN). Twice before, Boston has seized the momentum in this back-and-forth series, and twice, Philly has answered -- though to be completely honest, Boston has been complicit both times. With all the injuries, avoiding Game 7 would be huge. Boston is fully capable of winning Game 6 -- Boston has fairly dominated three of the four halves of basketball played in Philly thus far in the series -- but it's not going to be easy. It'll take the same kind of effort, only better, with one less day of rest than we had between games 4 and 5. And I expect we'll have to do it without Bradley again; Doc's pre-game comments on Monday seemed to suggest that he may be only sporadically available the rest of the way. Things aren't getting any easier, but that seems to be when these Celtics play their best.
Showing posts with label Andre Iguodala. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andre Iguodala. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Philadelphia 92, Boston 83
[recap] [box score]
I don't want to write about this game any more than you want to read about it, so this will be uncharacteristically brief. If you hadn't heard, Boston went up 14-0, had an 18-point lead in the third quarter, and lost.
Philly's execution was much better than Boston's in the fourth quarter, but this game was really lost in the third. Boston went cold, stopped going to Kevin Garnett in the post, and started forcing passes and turning the ball over. Meanwhile, some questionable calls against the Celtics allowed Philly's free throw advantage to balloon to something like 30 to 12, and Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, and Brandon Bass all picked up their fourth fouls. With our short bench, and the fact that Bass was having his first good game in a while, having those guys sitting really hurt -- Garnett couldn't take his normal rest (which hurt in the fourth) and the offensive sparkplugs we so desperately needed were on the sidelines.
I thought Doc made some tactical errors in the fourth, too. Most importantly, I thought it was a big mistake to counter Philly's small lineup of Jrue Holiday-Louis Williams-Andre Iguodala-Thaddeus Young-Lavoy Allen with Rondo-Bradley-Ray Allen-Pierce-Garnett. Specifically, Allen instead of Bass or Mickael Pietrus made little sense to me. Allen is not a good defender, and this lineup has him trying to guard bigger men -- Iguodala or Young -- while dealing with bone spurs in his ankle that make it impossible for him to establish a strong, solid base.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be so bad, because Allen, when healthy, poses obvious matchup problems on the other end. But Allen isn't healthy, and whether it's because he's out of game shape or because his ankles are really bothering him, he's been almost a complete non-factor in this series. Because he's not able to free himself up on offense, he doesn't balance out the liability on the other end of the court.
I get that Doc trusts Ray, and that Young, a combo forward, poses a tough matchup for Bass, as well. But if you have to live with a mismatch on the defensive end, you need to be able to balance it on the offensive end, and Bass does that better than Allen in Allen's current condition. And if not Bass, then how about Pietrus, who was a non-factor on offense but who at least has a chance of guarding someone.
The other mistake, I thought, was putting Rondo on Williams and Bradley on Holiday. The Sixers were playing through Williams, who came up with some big buckets. Rondo is no slouch defensively, but Bradley's supposed to be our lockdown guy, and Rondo was having problems with Williams.
We've got an extra day of rest before Game 5 on Monday, and it's one we need. Garnett played 40 minutes tonight, and this should give us some time to get Allen and Pierce (whose knee, for the second straight game, didn't appear to hamper him much) a little healthier. It does mean an extra day to stew while the Sixers have an extra day for their confidence to grow, something that could be a concern under certain circumstances. But the Celtics are veterans, familiar with this process, and used to not having things come easily. I expect they'll answer the bell yet again and win Game 5, and eventually, the series. But games like this, in addition to being frustrating to watch, may come back to haunt the team -- if not this series, then the next one.
I don't want to write about this game any more than you want to read about it, so this will be uncharacteristically brief. If you hadn't heard, Boston went up 14-0, had an 18-point lead in the third quarter, and lost.
Philly's execution was much better than Boston's in the fourth quarter, but this game was really lost in the third. Boston went cold, stopped going to Kevin Garnett in the post, and started forcing passes and turning the ball over. Meanwhile, some questionable calls against the Celtics allowed Philly's free throw advantage to balloon to something like 30 to 12, and Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, and Brandon Bass all picked up their fourth fouls. With our short bench, and the fact that Bass was having his first good game in a while, having those guys sitting really hurt -- Garnett couldn't take his normal rest (which hurt in the fourth) and the offensive sparkplugs we so desperately needed were on the sidelines.
I thought Doc made some tactical errors in the fourth, too. Most importantly, I thought it was a big mistake to counter Philly's small lineup of Jrue Holiday-Louis Williams-Andre Iguodala-Thaddeus Young-Lavoy Allen with Rondo-Bradley-Ray Allen-Pierce-Garnett. Specifically, Allen instead of Bass or Mickael Pietrus made little sense to me. Allen is not a good defender, and this lineup has him trying to guard bigger men -- Iguodala or Young -- while dealing with bone spurs in his ankle that make it impossible for him to establish a strong, solid base.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be so bad, because Allen, when healthy, poses obvious matchup problems on the other end. But Allen isn't healthy, and whether it's because he's out of game shape or because his ankles are really bothering him, he's been almost a complete non-factor in this series. Because he's not able to free himself up on offense, he doesn't balance out the liability on the other end of the court.
I get that Doc trusts Ray, and that Young, a combo forward, poses a tough matchup for Bass, as well. But if you have to live with a mismatch on the defensive end, you need to be able to balance it on the offensive end, and Bass does that better than Allen in Allen's current condition. And if not Bass, then how about Pietrus, who was a non-factor on offense but who at least has a chance of guarding someone.
The other mistake, I thought, was putting Rondo on Williams and Bradley on Holiday. The Sixers were playing through Williams, who came up with some big buckets. Rondo is no slouch defensively, but Bradley's supposed to be our lockdown guy, and Rondo was having problems with Williams.
We've got an extra day of rest before Game 5 on Monday, and it's one we need. Garnett played 40 minutes tonight, and this should give us some time to get Allen and Pierce (whose knee, for the second straight game, didn't appear to hamper him much) a little healthier. It does mean an extra day to stew while the Sixers have an extra day for their confidence to grow, something that could be a concern under certain circumstances. But the Celtics are veterans, familiar with this process, and used to not having things come easily. I expect they'll answer the bell yet again and win Game 5, and eventually, the series. But games like this, in addition to being frustrating to watch, may come back to haunt the team -- if not this series, then the next one.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Philadelphia 82, Boston 81
[recap] [box score]
I'm going to get to the officiating in a second, but I want to be clear about one thing: It didn't cost us the game. The Celtics take sole responsibility for this loss. They came out with good energy and a good pace, scored the first nine points of the game, and then decided that -- just like in Game 1 -- they didn't need to show up again on the offensive end until the fourth quarter. Boston played with fire, and got burned when the Sixers hit a couple of big, tough shots.
Now, the officiating. Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that Kevin Garnett sets more moving screens than anyone in the league, that he had been setting them all night, and that the screen he set on Andre Iguodala to free up Paul Pierce on Boston's final meaningful possession was, in fact, a bad one. You still can't suddenly start calling moving screens in the final seconds of a game like that. You want to call moving screens? Fine: Do it early, make it clear that you're not putting up with it tonight. But you can't let a guy screen one way all night and then ding him for it on the game's most crucial possession.
The really frustrating thing for me is that I don't think it was a bad screen at all. The initial contact was fine, and then you can see KG leaning towards Iguodala ... but he never actually touches him. I suppose I can see why the ref called it, but he was standing right there and looking right at it. And I'm doubly frustrated because KG had been getting mauled all night inside without getting anything from the officials. It's annoying that the guy who was fouled all game is the one hit with the ticky-tack foul in the crucial moment.
But, again, the bad call didn't cost Boston the game, and as Charles Barkley said afterwards, that's why you don't screw around in the playoffs. Boston didn't put forth a maximum effort, and as a result, they lost. A bunch of weird stuff unlikely to repeat itself had to happen in order for them to lose, but Boston deserves the blame for letting themselves get into a position where that stuff could beat them.
A few additional comments:
1. Pierce was moving better to start this game, but he looked out of synch all night and was totally ineffective on offense. Down the stretch, you could see Rondo was hesitant to go to him, looking him off in the marginal situations in which he used to force the ball to him. The knee has to be bothering Pierce more than he wants us to believe.
2. In the first half we gave Philly a heavy dose of Brandon Bass pick-and-pop, but it was all baseline, and not at his preferred spot, the elbow. I'm not sure if the Sixers were forcing us into that or what, but Bass has been struggling in the playoffs and a good way to get him going would be to start giving him the ball in the spots in which he's comfortable.
3. The role players were really good tonight. Ryan Hollins and Greg Stiemsma brought a lot of energy, as did Keyon Dooling, and Mickael Pietrus nailed a couple huge three-pointers in the fourth quarter. They gave the starters more than they should need to win.
Back to Philly for Game 3 on Wednesday. If this is the Sixers' best shot, and I think it might be, then we should win the series without too much trouble.
As long as we show up, that is.
I'm going to get to the officiating in a second, but I want to be clear about one thing: It didn't cost us the game. The Celtics take sole responsibility for this loss. They came out with good energy and a good pace, scored the first nine points of the game, and then decided that -- just like in Game 1 -- they didn't need to show up again on the offensive end until the fourth quarter. Boston played with fire, and got burned when the Sixers hit a couple of big, tough shots.
Now, the officiating. Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that Kevin Garnett sets more moving screens than anyone in the league, that he had been setting them all night, and that the screen he set on Andre Iguodala to free up Paul Pierce on Boston's final meaningful possession was, in fact, a bad one. You still can't suddenly start calling moving screens in the final seconds of a game like that. You want to call moving screens? Fine: Do it early, make it clear that you're not putting up with it tonight. But you can't let a guy screen one way all night and then ding him for it on the game's most crucial possession.
The really frustrating thing for me is that I don't think it was a bad screen at all. The initial contact was fine, and then you can see KG leaning towards Iguodala ... but he never actually touches him. I suppose I can see why the ref called it, but he was standing right there and looking right at it. And I'm doubly frustrated because KG had been getting mauled all night inside without getting anything from the officials. It's annoying that the guy who was fouled all game is the one hit with the ticky-tack foul in the crucial moment.
But, again, the bad call didn't cost Boston the game, and as Charles Barkley said afterwards, that's why you don't screw around in the playoffs. Boston didn't put forth a maximum effort, and as a result, they lost. A bunch of weird stuff unlikely to repeat itself had to happen in order for them to lose, but Boston deserves the blame for letting themselves get into a position where that stuff could beat them.
A few additional comments:
1. Pierce was moving better to start this game, but he looked out of synch all night and was totally ineffective on offense. Down the stretch, you could see Rondo was hesitant to go to him, looking him off in the marginal situations in which he used to force the ball to him. The knee has to be bothering Pierce more than he wants us to believe.
2. In the first half we gave Philly a heavy dose of Brandon Bass pick-and-pop, but it was all baseline, and not at his preferred spot, the elbow. I'm not sure if the Sixers were forcing us into that or what, but Bass has been struggling in the playoffs and a good way to get him going would be to start giving him the ball in the spots in which he's comfortable.
3. The role players were really good tonight. Ryan Hollins and Greg Stiemsma brought a lot of energy, as did Keyon Dooling, and Mickael Pietrus nailed a couple huge three-pointers in the fourth quarter. They gave the starters more than they should need to win.
Back to Philly for Game 3 on Wednesday. If this is the Sixers' best shot, and I think it might be, then we should win the series without too much trouble.
As long as we show up, that is.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
A Few Thoughts on the Sixers
I know Game 1 is just a few hours away (8 p.m. Eastern), but I fell asleep at like 9 o'clock last night. This is a hurried attempt to get a few words up about Philly before the series starts.
1. The regular season games weren't competitive. The teams played three times, each registering a blowout, with Philly taking the other game rather comfortably. How much does this matter? Not a whit. This is the playoffs, and as hard as it is to glean anything useful about a playoff series from regular season games, it's even harder when the regular season matchups were as anomalous as these were.
2. Additionally, it's even harder to predict postseason success based on regular season performance with Philadelphia because of how deep they are. They've got eight guys who averaged around 25 minutes or more this year (Boston has five). But rotations tend to tighten up in the postseason, and that obviously negates some of the advantage of having a deep bench. Against the Bulls in the first round, for example, Thaddeus Young played three or four minutes per game fewer than he did in the regular season, and Jodie Meeks' playing time all but disappeared.
3. With a deep bench usually comes balanced scoring, and Philly is no exception. All eight of those guys who play at least 25 minutes per game average at least 8.4 points, but no one averages more than Louis Williams' 14.9. In fact, two of their top three scorers, Williams and Young, come off the bench.
With that said, their best player is Andre Iguodala, who has subordinated his own scoring in recent seasons to adjust to the brand of ball Philly has been playing. (He was rewarded with his first All-Star appearance this year.) Iguodala creates for his teammates from the three position as well as anyone in the league right now not named LeBron James, but he's a capable scorer who will have the ball in his hands in crunch time. It was just last year, in fact, that Iguodala scored a couple of tough baskets late in games against the Celtics; if memory serves, one was a game-winner and the other would have been if not for some last-second heroics from the Celtics. Iguodala is also a good defender, and while it's not like Paul Pierce has struggled against the Sixers in his career, he'll have to work hard for everything he gets.
4. I really believe Pierce's knee is the x-factor here. He's really hurting. Atlanta doubled him a couple of times in the second half of Game 6 and Pierce turned it over, both times because he was unwilling or unable to put all his weight on that injured leg and make a strong, assertive pass out of the double. He left a couple crucial jumpers in the Hawks series woefully short, likely due to not getting his usual lift. Even on the late layup he did score in Game 6, he barely got off the ground. Philadelphia is pretty good defensively, and if Pierce isn't close to 100 percent, then it's hard to see where the points are going to come from.
5. I wouldn't be totally surprised if Doc puts Ray Allen back in the starting lineup at some point during this series. Avery Bradley really struggled offensively in the Hawks series, shooting just 37 percent from the field and making two of ten three-pointers. With Pierce hobbled, Boston may want to spread the floor for him, and Allen does that in a way that Bradley doesn't. Doc also might want to make sure the first unit has enough offense, in case Pierce struggles, to avoid getting into a hole early. Most importantly, though, is that moving Bradley back to the second team means that he's in a better position to guard Williams, Philly's most dangerous scorer.
6. Finally, I'm a firm believer that in the playoffs, experience really matters. Both teams were equally unimpressive in closing out their first-round victories, but Chicago -- without Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, remember, gave away Game 6 by missing some free throws and not getting back on defense on Iguodala's game-winning coast-to-coast drive. Boston, on the other hand, won it by making some big stops and big baskets (and, okay, getting a little lucky that Al Horford missed a free throw). When it was over, Philly celebrated like crazy, while Boston looked relieved and a little annoyed that they hadn't taken care of business more convincingly. This stuff matters.
I haven't been able to articulate this very well, but I also think Doug Collins respects Boston and Doc too much for his team's good. Collins has done a good job in Philly, but I always feel like he talks about the Celtics not as an opponent, but more as an analyst, which was his role before he went back to the bench. In recent days, we've seen a number of coaches making public statements about the other team; Frank Vogel of Indiana, for instance, came out and said that Miami, the Pacers second-round opponent, were the floppingest team in the league. I don't think actually saying that makes a difference to the referees, but it shows the players that you're on their side. Collins, on the other hand, came out in March and said that he wouldn't sleep on Boston in the East -- this while the two teams were battling for the top spot in the Atlantic division. It may be nothing, but I'd choose my words more carefully if I were him.
1. The regular season games weren't competitive. The teams played three times, each registering a blowout, with Philly taking the other game rather comfortably. How much does this matter? Not a whit. This is the playoffs, and as hard as it is to glean anything useful about a playoff series from regular season games, it's even harder when the regular season matchups were as anomalous as these were.
2. Additionally, it's even harder to predict postseason success based on regular season performance with Philadelphia because of how deep they are. They've got eight guys who averaged around 25 minutes or more this year (Boston has five). But rotations tend to tighten up in the postseason, and that obviously negates some of the advantage of having a deep bench. Against the Bulls in the first round, for example, Thaddeus Young played three or four minutes per game fewer than he did in the regular season, and Jodie Meeks' playing time all but disappeared.
3. With a deep bench usually comes balanced scoring, and Philly is no exception. All eight of those guys who play at least 25 minutes per game average at least 8.4 points, but no one averages more than Louis Williams' 14.9. In fact, two of their top three scorers, Williams and Young, come off the bench.
With that said, their best player is Andre Iguodala, who has subordinated his own scoring in recent seasons to adjust to the brand of ball Philly has been playing. (He was rewarded with his first All-Star appearance this year.) Iguodala creates for his teammates from the three position as well as anyone in the league right now not named LeBron James, but he's a capable scorer who will have the ball in his hands in crunch time. It was just last year, in fact, that Iguodala scored a couple of tough baskets late in games against the Celtics; if memory serves, one was a game-winner and the other would have been if not for some last-second heroics from the Celtics. Iguodala is also a good defender, and while it's not like Paul Pierce has struggled against the Sixers in his career, he'll have to work hard for everything he gets.
4. I really believe Pierce's knee is the x-factor here. He's really hurting. Atlanta doubled him a couple of times in the second half of Game 6 and Pierce turned it over, both times because he was unwilling or unable to put all his weight on that injured leg and make a strong, assertive pass out of the double. He left a couple crucial jumpers in the Hawks series woefully short, likely due to not getting his usual lift. Even on the late layup he did score in Game 6, he barely got off the ground. Philadelphia is pretty good defensively, and if Pierce isn't close to 100 percent, then it's hard to see where the points are going to come from.
5. I wouldn't be totally surprised if Doc puts Ray Allen back in the starting lineup at some point during this series. Avery Bradley really struggled offensively in the Hawks series, shooting just 37 percent from the field and making two of ten three-pointers. With Pierce hobbled, Boston may want to spread the floor for him, and Allen does that in a way that Bradley doesn't. Doc also might want to make sure the first unit has enough offense, in case Pierce struggles, to avoid getting into a hole early. Most importantly, though, is that moving Bradley back to the second team means that he's in a better position to guard Williams, Philly's most dangerous scorer.
6. Finally, I'm a firm believer that in the playoffs, experience really matters. Both teams were equally unimpressive in closing out their first-round victories, but Chicago -- without Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, remember, gave away Game 6 by missing some free throws and not getting back on defense on Iguodala's game-winning coast-to-coast drive. Boston, on the other hand, won it by making some big stops and big baskets (and, okay, getting a little lucky that Al Horford missed a free throw). When it was over, Philly celebrated like crazy, while Boston looked relieved and a little annoyed that they hadn't taken care of business more convincingly. This stuff matters.
I haven't been able to articulate this very well, but I also think Doug Collins respects Boston and Doc too much for his team's good. Collins has done a good job in Philly, but I always feel like he talks about the Celtics not as an opponent, but more as an analyst, which was his role before he went back to the bench. In recent days, we've seen a number of coaches making public statements about the other team; Frank Vogel of Indiana, for instance, came out and said that Miami, the Pacers second-round opponent, were the floppingest team in the league. I don't think actually saying that makes a difference to the referees, but it shows the players that you're on their side. Collins, on the other hand, came out in March and said that he wouldn't sleep on Boston in the East -- this while the two teams were battling for the top spot in the Atlantic division. It may be nothing, but I'd choose my words more carefully if I were him.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The Next Lamb: The Philadelphia 76ers
Game 27: Philadelphia (11-17) at Boston (22-4)
Defensively, Boston had real trouble defending the three-point arc in the previous matchup; Philly was nine for 19 from deep, with Jodie Meeks (4-for-4) and Louis Williams (4-for-5) doing most of the damage. Paul Pierce did a nice job on Andre Iguodala last time (though Iggy made a couple of very tough shots that almost won the game down the stretch), but Pierce's job is tougher now that he's taken over ballhandling duties with Rondo out of the lineup.
Wednesday, December 22
7:30 p.m.
TV: NBA League Pass
Last meeting: Boston 102, @Philadelphia 101 (12/9/2010)
I'm writing this just a couple of hours after Philadelphia went into Chicago and lost by 45 -- yeah, 45. Obviously, if that's the Philly team that shows up Wednesday night in Boston, than the Celtics don't have much to worry about.
But I wouldn't expect that. Philly -- despite Tuesday night's loss and despite a mediocre record -- had won eight of 11 before the debacle against the Bulls, looking to turn around a season that they started 3-13. One of the three losses during their recent strong stretch came against Boston, a game that the Celtics stole on their final possession with a wonderfully drawn-up play that resulted in a Kevin Garnett layup off an alley-oop from Rajon Rondo.
I watched that game, but didn't have time to record my thoughts afterwards in a blog post, so I'm left to try and dig anything out of my memory that I can. (I know it was less than two weeks ago, but I've got a lot of stuff moving in and out of my brain during final exams.) Offense wasn't Boston's problem in that game; the Cs shot nearly 56 percent against the Sixers -- who are actually second in the league in opponents' field goal percentage at 43.5 percent (but who surrendered like 64 percent shooting to the Bulls Tuesday). One area of concern, offensively, is that Rondo had one of his bigger offensive outputs that night (19 points, 14 assists) and while his ankle rehabilitation seems ahead of schedule, it's unlikely that he'll be available Wednesday night to carry any sort of offensive load. His absence should be offset somewhat by the presence of Shaquille O'Neal, who missed the Philly game but returned to the lineup on Sunday against the Pacers. Shaq should also help on the boards, where Philly held a 39-33 advantage, including a 15-5 edge on the offensive glass.
Defensively, Boston had real trouble defending the three-point arc in the previous matchup; Philly was nine for 19 from deep, with Jodie Meeks (4-for-4) and Louis Williams (4-for-5) doing most of the damage. Paul Pierce did a nice job on Andre Iguodala last time (though Iggy made a couple of very tough shots that almost won the game down the stretch), but Pierce's job is tougher now that he's taken over ballhandling duties with Rondo out of the lineup.
It's the second half of a back-to-back for the 76ers, but the starters didn't play as much as they usually would against Chicago because of the blowout -- so fatigue shouldn't be as much of a factor, even though the Celtics haven't played since Sunday afternoon. How the 76ers respond to such a dreadful performance is an interesting question. On the one hand, they could come out eager to prove themselves and erase the memory of the previous night's performance. On the other hand, less than 24 hours may not be enough time for a young team to regroup. I'm not sure how Philly will react, but if the Celtics can jump on the Sixers early and get the crowd into the game, it could be another early night for Philly's starters.
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