[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.
Showing posts with label Orlando Magic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orlando Magic. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Boston 91, Orlando 83
[recap] [box score]
What's worse? Losing by 31 on the road to a team missing its starting backcourt, or blowing a 27-point at home to that same team missing that same starting backcourt?
I'm guessing it's the latter, but only the Orlando Magic know for sure.
Orlando, which bounced back from that embarrassing loss in Boston on Monday by winning in Indiana on Tuesday, got off to a rough start Thursday as well. Dwight Howard picked up two fouls in the first three minutes, Boston led 8-2 and everyone was wondering if Monday actually was a fluke after all.
But after a Stan Van Gundy timeout, the Magic spent the next 20 minutes of game time threatening to run the Celtics out of the building. The went on a 30-8 run to close the quarter, taking a 32-16 lead behind 12 points from Ryan Anderson. The second quarter brought more of the same, the lead ballooning to 27 before settling in at a still-comfortable 21.
If you turned it off at that point, I don't blame you. The Celtics were listless in the first half. Paul Pierce, the only guy in uniform capable of creating any sort of offense for himself or others, had done almost nothing. Avery Bradley had done less than nothing, suffering through one of his nights where he can't seem to hang onto the ball, a Tony Allen-esque performance. Brandon Bass was hesitating on his jumper, the first time all season I've seen him look reluctant to shoot. Only Mickael Pietrus, who hit a few early jumpers, and Kevin Garnett, who slid over to the five with Jermaine O'Neal sidelined by sore knees and defended Howard very well, played even decently in the first half.
Towards the end of the second quarter, coming back from a timeout, TNT played a clip of one of Doc Rivers' huddles. They were down 25 at the time, and he told his team they were still in it, pleading with the players to cut into the lead, just a little bit. "At least Doc's trying," I said to myself. I remember being impressed at how convincing Doc forced himself to sound.
I did not necessarily expect the players to listen.
Look, I've watched enough of the NBA to know that no halftime lead is safe. And I know the kind of heart that beats deep in the chests of Pierce, Garnett, and Rivers. But the NBA season is a long, exhausting slog -- made even longer and more exhausting this year by the condensed schedule -- and there are nights when you just don't have it. Indeed, there are nights when saving your strength for the next night is probably the smart thing to do.
Thursday night could have been one of those nights. Down three starters and 21 points, in the first of three games in four nights (and 11 in 17 -- the Celtics don't have two consecutive off-days until February 17 and 18), no one would have been been surprised or complained if the Cs folded the tent early.
But they didn't. Even when the comeback seemed to die in its early stages as Boston squandered three possessions in the first half of the third quarter that would have cut the lead to 13 or 12, they persisted. Indeed, Orlando still led by 18 with about two minutes left in the third. But Boston finished the period on a 10-3 run, and Doc all but sprinted off the bench to encourage the guys as they came off the floor.
The fourth was stunning in the swiftness with which Boston took over the game. They ratcheted up the defense and started making shots on offense, and it took them just four-and-a-half minutes to complete a 15-1 run, taking the lead on an E'Twaun Moore three-pointer.
From there, the offense more or less stalled, but the defense never let up. Howard finally made his team's first field goal of the quarter with 5:56 remaining, cutting the lead to one, but the Magic wouldn't make another shot until Hedo Turkoglu buried a three-pointer with 39 seconds left to cut the Boston lead to 87-83. Orlando, which had scored 58 points in the first half -- one more than it got in the entire game on Monday -- managed just 25 in the second, including a mere seven in the final quarter. The Magic players let their frustrations boil over, forcing bad shots and earning two late technical fouls arguing a couple admittedly tough calls that didn't go their way.
As badly as Orlando imploded, however, Boston's defense was absolutely tenacious in the second half. With Bradley having such a nightmare evening offensively (and with Keyon Dooling lasting just a half before getting hurt in his return after seven missed games due to injury), Doc turned to the rookie Moore, who responded in a big way. He harassed Chris Duhon and a hobbled Jameer Nelson all over the court, forcing Orlando to get into its offense late. Garnett played Howard largely without the benefit of a double team and held him to 50 percent shooting and eight trips to the free throw line. Even Bass, who doesn't have much of a defensive reputation, got into the act, making a late steal and staying in front of Turkoglu on the perimeter as Hedo pounded the ball, looking for a driving lane.
Offensively, Pierce was the catalyst, getting hot early in the fourth against long-time antagonist Quentin Richardson before finding Bass for a couple 20-footers on the pick-and-pop when Orlando started running two defenders at him. But the revelation was Moore, without whom we simply would not have won the game. Moore had 16 points, including a perfect four-for-four on three-pointers. Three of his triples came at the end of the third and the first half of the fourth -- he accounted for points 3 through 5, 11 through 13, and 23 through 25 of the 25-4 run that saw Boston go from down 18 points to up three. His lone two-point field goal was just as crucial; Howard cut the Boston lead to one, Moore caught a hit-ahead pass and attacked the rim despite not having numbers. His soft floater over Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson bounced all over the rim before dropping through, preserving the Celtic lead.
After the game, Boston celebrated about as much as you'll ever see from an NBA team during the regular season, at least in the absence of a buzzer-beating game-winner. Watching Doc and the guys hug and pound each other on the back as though they had just won a playoff series, I couldn't help but get a few goosebumps. For the last four years, we've been chasing championships, and when you have realistic expectations of winning the last game you play in June, nights like this one tend to be forgotten.
The NBA is a business, but at bottom, it's still basketball. And I fell in love with basketball long before I truly understood the NBA. So I don't feel at all bad for enjoying this win without worrying about whether Boston can turn around, or is turning around, its season. Of course I'm going to swell with pride watching a couple of veterans play their asses off to pick up their fallen teammates while their coach exhorts them from the sideline; I wouldn't be a fan if I didn't.
Maybe this season will be worth watching after all.
What's worse? Losing by 31 on the road to a team missing its starting backcourt, or blowing a 27-point at home to that same team missing that same starting backcourt?
I'm guessing it's the latter, but only the Orlando Magic know for sure.
Orlando, which bounced back from that embarrassing loss in Boston on Monday by winning in Indiana on Tuesday, got off to a rough start Thursday as well. Dwight Howard picked up two fouls in the first three minutes, Boston led 8-2 and everyone was wondering if Monday actually was a fluke after all.
But after a Stan Van Gundy timeout, the Magic spent the next 20 minutes of game time threatening to run the Celtics out of the building. The went on a 30-8 run to close the quarter, taking a 32-16 lead behind 12 points from Ryan Anderson. The second quarter brought more of the same, the lead ballooning to 27 before settling in at a still-comfortable 21.
If you turned it off at that point, I don't blame you. The Celtics were listless in the first half. Paul Pierce, the only guy in uniform capable of creating any sort of offense for himself or others, had done almost nothing. Avery Bradley had done less than nothing, suffering through one of his nights where he can't seem to hang onto the ball, a Tony Allen-esque performance. Brandon Bass was hesitating on his jumper, the first time all season I've seen him look reluctant to shoot. Only Mickael Pietrus, who hit a few early jumpers, and Kevin Garnett, who slid over to the five with Jermaine O'Neal sidelined by sore knees and defended Howard very well, played even decently in the first half.
Towards the end of the second quarter, coming back from a timeout, TNT played a clip of one of Doc Rivers' huddles. They were down 25 at the time, and he told his team they were still in it, pleading with the players to cut into the lead, just a little bit. "At least Doc's trying," I said to myself. I remember being impressed at how convincing Doc forced himself to sound.
I did not necessarily expect the players to listen.
Look, I've watched enough of the NBA to know that no halftime lead is safe. And I know the kind of heart that beats deep in the chests of Pierce, Garnett, and Rivers. But the NBA season is a long, exhausting slog -- made even longer and more exhausting this year by the condensed schedule -- and there are nights when you just don't have it. Indeed, there are nights when saving your strength for the next night is probably the smart thing to do.
Thursday night could have been one of those nights. Down three starters and 21 points, in the first of three games in four nights (and 11 in 17 -- the Celtics don't have two consecutive off-days until February 17 and 18), no one would have been been surprised or complained if the Cs folded the tent early.
But they didn't. Even when the comeback seemed to die in its early stages as Boston squandered three possessions in the first half of the third quarter that would have cut the lead to 13 or 12, they persisted. Indeed, Orlando still led by 18 with about two minutes left in the third. But Boston finished the period on a 10-3 run, and Doc all but sprinted off the bench to encourage the guys as they came off the floor.
The fourth was stunning in the swiftness with which Boston took over the game. They ratcheted up the defense and started making shots on offense, and it took them just four-and-a-half minutes to complete a 15-1 run, taking the lead on an E'Twaun Moore three-pointer.
From there, the offense more or less stalled, but the defense never let up. Howard finally made his team's first field goal of the quarter with 5:56 remaining, cutting the lead to one, but the Magic wouldn't make another shot until Hedo Turkoglu buried a three-pointer with 39 seconds left to cut the Boston lead to 87-83. Orlando, which had scored 58 points in the first half -- one more than it got in the entire game on Monday -- managed just 25 in the second, including a mere seven in the final quarter. The Magic players let their frustrations boil over, forcing bad shots and earning two late technical fouls arguing a couple admittedly tough calls that didn't go their way.
As badly as Orlando imploded, however, Boston's defense was absolutely tenacious in the second half. With Bradley having such a nightmare evening offensively (and with Keyon Dooling lasting just a half before getting hurt in his return after seven missed games due to injury), Doc turned to the rookie Moore, who responded in a big way. He harassed Chris Duhon and a hobbled Jameer Nelson all over the court, forcing Orlando to get into its offense late. Garnett played Howard largely without the benefit of a double team and held him to 50 percent shooting and eight trips to the free throw line. Even Bass, who doesn't have much of a defensive reputation, got into the act, making a late steal and staying in front of Turkoglu on the perimeter as Hedo pounded the ball, looking for a driving lane.
Offensively, Pierce was the catalyst, getting hot early in the fourth against long-time antagonist Quentin Richardson before finding Bass for a couple 20-footers on the pick-and-pop when Orlando started running two defenders at him. But the revelation was Moore, without whom we simply would not have won the game. Moore had 16 points, including a perfect four-for-four on three-pointers. Three of his triples came at the end of the third and the first half of the fourth -- he accounted for points 3 through 5, 11 through 13, and 23 through 25 of the 25-4 run that saw Boston go from down 18 points to up three. His lone two-point field goal was just as crucial; Howard cut the Boston lead to one, Moore caught a hit-ahead pass and attacked the rim despite not having numbers. His soft floater over Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson bounced all over the rim before dropping through, preserving the Celtic lead.
After the game, Boston celebrated about as much as you'll ever see from an NBA team during the regular season, at least in the absence of a buzzer-beating game-winner. Watching Doc and the guys hug and pound each other on the back as though they had just won a playoff series, I couldn't help but get a few goosebumps. For the last four years, we've been chasing championships, and when you have realistic expectations of winning the last game you play in June, nights like this one tend to be forgotten.
The NBA is a business, but at bottom, it's still basketball. And I fell in love with basketball long before I truly understood the NBA. So I don't feel at all bad for enjoying this win without worrying about whether Boston can turn around, or is turning around, its season. Of course I'm going to swell with pride watching a couple of veterans play their asses off to pick up their fallen teammates while their coach exhorts them from the sideline; I wouldn't be a fan if I didn't.
Maybe this season will be worth watching after all.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Boston 87, Orlando 56
[recap] [box score]
Raise your hand if you predicted a 30-point game Monday night.
:Raises hand:
Actually, that's not entirely accurate. I predicted an even larger margin of victory.
"Darn," I said to my girlfriend when we I saw all the Celtics who were inactive for the game, using a word that is a bit stronger than "darn."
"We're going to lose by 100."
I was exaggerating, of course, but not by much. A blowout seemed imminent. Rajon R-ndo, Ray Allen, Keyon Dooling, and Mickael Pietrus were all in civilian clothes with various maladies. That's our starting point guard, our starting shooting guard, and the two men who back them up, all out of commission. In addition, Chris Wilcox, one of just three big bodies on the Boston roster, was down with an injury -- with the league's most dominant center since Shaq's heyday coming into town. How could the Celtics keep it competitive, never mind win?
The answer, of course, is that I have no idea. I can't explain why Kevin Garnett looked better than he has all season, why Marquis Daniels and Jermaine O'Neal played with more energy than they have in weeks, or why Sasha Pavlovic was flying around the court, making steals and blocking shots. And I certainly have no explanation for why the now 11-5 Magic played as poorly as they did, setting a franchise record for offensive futility.
I'd like to say that the Celtics turned a corner tonight, but Orlando was so bad that this game is probably best described as an anomaly, just another funny night in an NBA season that promises to be even more full of surprising results than usual. The win is significant, sure, and could be a big confidence boost moving forward, but as fans, I would caution against reading much into the margin of victory and the dominating nature of the performance.
With that heaping spoonful of salt served, I'd be remiss to not mention that the defense, almost from the beginning, was excellent. Garnett and Pavlovic each had steals on one of Orlando's first three possessions. O'Neal blocked two shots and drew a charge in the first seven minutes. Howard had 12 points in the first quarter, but went 0-10 the rest of the way. Boston doesn't double Howard much, and O'Neal and Greg Stiemsma did a good job, as Kendrick Perkins did before them, of pushing Howard a bit farther from the basket than he likes, forcing him into a number of tough running hooks.
No one was better defensively than Avery Bradley, however. He had three steals and one block, and hounded Jameer Nelson into at least two other turnovers with the kind of hounding, full-court defense you don't often see in the NBA. His only two baskets came early in the first quarter, and his offensive limitations will probably limit his role considerably once the regulars heal, but he didn't turn it over once on Monday, a major plus after he coughed it up six times against Washington on Sunday.
Honestly, you could go down the roster tonight and say nothing but good things about everyone who suited up. Garnett had a double with 14 points and ten rebounds, adding five steals and two blocks for good measure. Paul Pierce with a 19/5/7. Brandon Bass burning his old team, tying Pierce for game-high honors with 19 points. Even JaJuan Johnson, the only one of ten Celtics in uniform who didn't play until garbage time, had a thunderous jam and a nice baseline turnaround. (His other two shot attempts were blocked, however -- so much for nothing but good things.)
A few non-game related notes:
* Glen Davis got a nice acknowledgement from the team and the crowd, in recognition of his four years of service in green. He then went out and made two of nine shots, making the Celtics fans even more appreciative of Bass than they already were. Von Wafer got no such recognition, and took out his aggression with five quick points in the final seconds.
* As they do a few times a year, Tommy Heinsohn and Mike Gorman brought Celtics CEO and co-owner Wyc Grousbeck to the broadcast table for the second quarter. I love it when they do this; I don't know if other teams do it, but they should. Grousbeck didn't sugarcoat the team's early season struggles, noting that the team wasn't ready (read: was out of shape) when they tipped off in December. He didn't speak entirely frankly about the potential of blowing up the Big Three, but he didn't talk with blind optimism about the team, either. He's less caustic than Danny -- I don't know, but listening to him talk makes me more confident that whatever decisions the front-office makes will be good ones.
* Line of the night, from Grousbeck, on Kendrick Perkins: "He's a great guy. He told us he wasn't gonna re-sign here, but he's a great guy."
Orlando will look to work out its frustation against Indiana on Tuesday night. They won't have to wait long for revenge, either; Boston travels to Florida on Thursday for the rematch. The Celtics are off until then, which hopefully will some of Boston's injured players a chance to get healthy. I've got a feeling we'll need them next time around.
Raise your hand if you predicted a 30-point game Monday night.
:Raises hand:
Actually, that's not entirely accurate. I predicted an even larger margin of victory.
"Darn," I said to my girlfriend when we I saw all the Celtics who were inactive for the game, using a word that is a bit stronger than "darn."
"We're going to lose by 100."
I was exaggerating, of course, but not by much. A blowout seemed imminent. Rajon R-ndo, Ray Allen, Keyon Dooling, and Mickael Pietrus were all in civilian clothes with various maladies. That's our starting point guard, our starting shooting guard, and the two men who back them up, all out of commission. In addition, Chris Wilcox, one of just three big bodies on the Boston roster, was down with an injury -- with the league's most dominant center since Shaq's heyday coming into town. How could the Celtics keep it competitive, never mind win?
The answer, of course, is that I have no idea. I can't explain why Kevin Garnett looked better than he has all season, why Marquis Daniels and Jermaine O'Neal played with more energy than they have in weeks, or why Sasha Pavlovic was flying around the court, making steals and blocking shots. And I certainly have no explanation for why the now 11-5 Magic played as poorly as they did, setting a franchise record for offensive futility.
I'd like to say that the Celtics turned a corner tonight, but Orlando was so bad that this game is probably best described as an anomaly, just another funny night in an NBA season that promises to be even more full of surprising results than usual. The win is significant, sure, and could be a big confidence boost moving forward, but as fans, I would caution against reading much into the margin of victory and the dominating nature of the performance.
With that heaping spoonful of salt served, I'd be remiss to not mention that the defense, almost from the beginning, was excellent. Garnett and Pavlovic each had steals on one of Orlando's first three possessions. O'Neal blocked two shots and drew a charge in the first seven minutes. Howard had 12 points in the first quarter, but went 0-10 the rest of the way. Boston doesn't double Howard much, and O'Neal and Greg Stiemsma did a good job, as Kendrick Perkins did before them, of pushing Howard a bit farther from the basket than he likes, forcing him into a number of tough running hooks.
No one was better defensively than Avery Bradley, however. He had three steals and one block, and hounded Jameer Nelson into at least two other turnovers with the kind of hounding, full-court defense you don't often see in the NBA. His only two baskets came early in the first quarter, and his offensive limitations will probably limit his role considerably once the regulars heal, but he didn't turn it over once on Monday, a major plus after he coughed it up six times against Washington on Sunday.
Honestly, you could go down the roster tonight and say nothing but good things about everyone who suited up. Garnett had a double with 14 points and ten rebounds, adding five steals and two blocks for good measure. Paul Pierce with a 19/5/7. Brandon Bass burning his old team, tying Pierce for game-high honors with 19 points. Even JaJuan Johnson, the only one of ten Celtics in uniform who didn't play until garbage time, had a thunderous jam and a nice baseline turnaround. (His other two shot attempts were blocked, however -- so much for nothing but good things.)
A few non-game related notes:
* Glen Davis got a nice acknowledgement from the team and the crowd, in recognition of his four years of service in green. He then went out and made two of nine shots, making the Celtics fans even more appreciative of Bass than they already were. Von Wafer got no such recognition, and took out his aggression with five quick points in the final seconds.
* As they do a few times a year, Tommy Heinsohn and Mike Gorman brought Celtics CEO and co-owner Wyc Grousbeck to the broadcast table for the second quarter. I love it when they do this; I don't know if other teams do it, but they should. Grousbeck didn't sugarcoat the team's early season struggles, noting that the team wasn't ready (read: was out of shape) when they tipped off in December. He didn't speak entirely frankly about the potential of blowing up the Big Three, but he didn't talk with blind optimism about the team, either. He's less caustic than Danny -- I don't know, but listening to him talk makes me more confident that whatever decisions the front-office makes will be good ones.
* Line of the night, from Grousbeck, on Kendrick Perkins: "He's a great guy. He told us he wasn't gonna re-sign here, but he's a great guy."
Orlando will look to work out its frustation against Indiana on Tuesday night. They won't have to wait long for revenge, either; Boston travels to Florida on Thursday for the rematch. The Celtics are off until then, which hopefully will some of Boston's injured players a chance to get healthy. I've got a feeling we'll need them next time around.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Boston 91, Orlando 80
[recap] [box score]
Precious little time to blog about this game, as my Internet cut out right around kickoff time yesterday and I couldn't get it restored until this morning (with a lot on my plate today).
Bullets:
- Marquis Daniels' freak injury -- a bruised spinal cord -- is going to have him out at least a month and quite possibly longer. Daniels' personal long-term health is of course the most important concern and in that regard the news is good -- given how long he stayed on the court, it could have been a lot worse. On the court, his absence means that four of Boston's top reserves -- him, both O'Neals, and Delonte West, will likely be out of the lineup this week when Miami and the Lakers come to Boston. Thankfully, Von Wafer has played a lot better of late -- maybe he can fill some of the void Daniels leaves. Expect to see more of Luke Harangody than we have of late. The other big question will be how much Doc is willing to play Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in some of these "big" games. The Heat are bearing down on us for home-court advantage in the East.
- Rajon Rondo was spectacular, playing as aggressively as we've seen him all year. It was the kind of game we need from him offensively against the strong defensive teams in the league. Opponents have their hands full with Pierce, Allen, and Garnett, and are willing to let Rondo beat them if he can. There'll be plenty of opportunities for Rondo to take over games like this in the playoffs, and we'll need him to do it from time to time if we're going to win a title.
- I don't know what to make of Orlando these days, though I'm leaning heavily -- as I have been since the December trades that shook up their roster -- towards worrying less and less about them. Gilbert Arenas, plucked from Washington for Rashard Lewis, has been a disaster. He didn't score on Sunday. The other new key additions, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson, have been decent, though inconsistent, and not a huge upgrade over Vince Carter. And the loss of Marcin Gortat, as I've said here before, gives the Magic zero reliable big man depth behind Dwight Howard -- whose petulant elbow to Kendrick Perkins' sternum on Sunday led to his 14th technical foul on the season, just two away from suspension. Getting back Brandon Bass, who is having an excellent year, will help some, but it's still a three-man rotation at the 4/5 spots (Howard, Bass, and Ryan Anderson). It's enough to win a game or two, but a whole series against a team like Boston? I don't think so.
- Boston's at Charlotte tonight, then has the Lakers on Thursday (on TNT) and the Heat on Sunday (ABC).
Monday, January 17, 2011
Boston 109, Orlando 106
Welcome back, Kevin.
Sidelined by a right calf injury since December 29, Kevin Garnett returned to the Boston starting lineup Monday night and scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and brought the Celtics alive with his trademark energy and chatter. His biggest contribution, however, was a game-sealing steal of a Jameer Nelson pass in the final seconds. After deflecting the pass and securing the ball, Garnett flung out to a streaking Ray Allen, who dribbled off some clock before getting fouled and icing the game at the free throw line.
It was, more or less, a perfect return for KG in the eyes of Celtics fans. Garnett played 31 minutes and moved well for each and every one of them. Call me paranoid if you wish, but I know I wasn't the only Boston fan waiting to see KG in action before I believed that this most recent injury wasn't serious. The memory of two seasons ago, when Garnett and/or the team hid the severity of his knee problems for weeks, is simply too fresh.
This game was about far more than Garnett's healthy return, however. Doc Rivers, as expected, had the fellas play Dwight Howard more or less straight up. No double teams, no putting him at the line at every opportunity. Just straight-up defense, following the philosophy the Cs have been successful with over the past three-plus seasons: Let their best player get his and worry about shutting down the other guys.
The other guys, in the case of the Magic, are good enough to beat you on many nights, and they almost did. Howard had 33 points and 13 rebounds, and his teammates made 11 of 27 three-point shots in support. But they cooled down just enough in the fourth quarter for the Celtics -- who shot 60 percent from the field but just 3-for-10 from behind the arc -- to avenge the Christmas Day loss.
The one issue I had with the way the Celtics handled Howard was that they didn't attack him on the offensive end. Shaquille O'Neal drew a foul on Howard within the first two minutes of the game, but only took seven shots the whole night. Indeed, Howard ended the game -- after nearly 44 minutes of court time -- with just that one foul. Howard is more than capable of playing defense, and I get that Doc is loathe to change the game plan because of just one guy. But Shaq had a couple of buckets early, and it would have been worth it to see whether he could have kept rolling and/or gotten Howard into foul trouble. During one second-quarter sequence, Howard drew Shaq's second foul on an extremely dubious call, getting to the line simply by bringing the ball into Shaq's forearm. It looked bad when the ref called it and a replay on the Jumbotron confirmed that it was a bad call. The next Celtic possession was a perfect opportunity to go to O'Neal and give the officials an opportunity for a makeup call. Instead, Boston went to Paul Pierce. It didn't cost the Celtics any points, as Pierce hit a jumper, but Shaq picked up his third on the next Orlando possession, sending him to the bench. Had Boston gone to O'Neal, it might have been Howard headed to the bench for the rest of the half, rather than Shaq.
Speaking of Howard and the officials, I yelled at my television enough during the game that I feel obligated to mention the officiating, which was horrible in my estimation. In addition to the O'Neal foul mentioned above, Howard was the beneficiary of a bad call on Garnett's third foul late in the second period. Howard was trying to seal Garnett in the post, and Garnett fought throw Howard holding him off with his left arm to steal the entry pass. Danny Crawford apparently thought that KG grabbed Howard's arm to accomplish this, when in fact it was Howard, if anyone, who committed the foul. For someone who constantly complains that he doesn't receive enough protection from the officials, Howard certainly got plenty of it Monday night.
It wasn't just Howard; the Magic shot 36 free throws to Boston's 26, despite taking 27 three-pointers to Boston's ten and despite the fact that Boston scored a ton of points in the paint. Free throw discrepancies in favor of Orlando are rather commonplace given some teams' preferred strategy for defending Howard, but as I mentioned, Boston wasn't wrapping him up every time he caught the ball in a dangerous position the way some teams do. There's just no way Orlando should shoot that many more free throws while also shooting that many more jumpers. And I haven't yet mentioned what I considered to be the most egregious call of the game, a moving screen on KG that nullified a Ray Allen three with less than two minutes to play. I get that KG moves on screens, like basically every NBA big man, but under two minutes in a tie ballgame is a wacky time to start making that call, especially when Howard had been stepping into screens on the other end all night. The inconsistency drove me crazy.
Not to ramble on and on about Howard, but this game underscored for me the reason why I'm not overly concerned with the Magic, at least not as currently constructed. By giving up center Marcin Gortat in the Vince Carter-Jason Richardson trade with Phoenix, Orlando has left itself with no viable backup for Howard. And while Howard is young and fit and fully capable of playing as many minutes as he did, he's also foul prone and if the game had gone differently, Orlando could have found itself in some trouble -- and that's with Kendrick Perkins and Jermaine O'Neal out with injuries. Even so, there were a handful of occasions that Howard didn't challenge easy shots around the basket, and he didn't block a shot in a game for the first time since Game 2 of the Boston series last May. I have to think Howard is more conscious than ever about foul trouble, which negates some of his shotblocking ability and makes Orlando's defense that much less effective.
In order to get a backup, however, Orlando would probably have to part with either Ryan Anderson or J.J. Redick, young players who, like seemingly everyone else on the team, are real threats from downtown. Anderson entered Monday's game late in the first quarter and promptly hit four threes to bring the Magic back from an early ten-point deficit, and while Redick spent much of a crucial second-half stretch being taken to school by Ray Allen, he has -- against all odds -- became a vital role player that I know Orlando doesn't want to part with. Given that Gilbert Arenas has not emerged as much of a threat since arriving from Washington in the trade for Rashard Lewis, the loss of either one of those guys would be a major hit to their depth. And yet it's hard to see the Magic getting through Boston and the Lakers in the postseason without a backup center.
There was more to this game -- Pierce patiently waiting as Boston rode Allen's hot hand until the final minute, when he calmly sank a jumper after being fouled by Richardson to put the Cs up three; Glen Davis finally refusing to settle for jump shots; Nate Robinson's continued struggle to find his role in the absence of Delonte West -- but that's enough for now. The focus shifts to Detroit -- surprise blowout winners over the reeling Mavericks on Monday afternoon -- on Wednesday, with Utah coming in on Friday and road games in Portland, Phoenix, and Los Angeles against the Lakers to finish out the month.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Orlando 86, Boston 78
Caught the first quarter and second half of this one sandwiched around Christmas dinner.
[recap] [box score]
Saturday's game was an ugly, low-scoring affair, which was a pattern when the Magic and Celtics met last year -- during the regular season, anyway. I could say that the Cs would have won had they made a bunch of shots they usually make, but the same is true of Orlando. It was one of those games where both teams played pretty good defense, and the effort on that end was magnified from some pretty poor shooting from both sides.
From a Boston perspective, we lost this game because we didn't have Rajon Rondo, plain and simple. Nate Robinson had his worst game as Rondo's understudy, making just two of 15 shots, the majority of which were good looks. The Magic basically could leave Robinson alone on offense, the same way opponents do against Rondo -- but Rondo provides much more playmaking and doesn't use as many possessions as Nate does shooting jumpers. And while Robinson did a nice job keeping Jameer Nelson in check for most of the game, he lost him on a screen on a key possession late, as Nelson hit a three that I believe gave the Magic the lead for good.
While the Celtics probably would have won with Rondo, Robinson wasn't the only Celtic who had a bad game. Ray Allen mad just three of 13 shots, and Shaquille O'Neal had just two points and fouled out despite playing fewer than 13 minutes.
Of course, the Magic have some "we would have won easily ifs" of their own, most notably the fact that Dwight Howard scored just six points against a depleted Celtics frontline (Kendrick Perkins is of course out, and Jermaine O'Neal made his first appearance since November 8). More disturbing is the fact that Howard took just four shots. He was in a bit of foul trouble for most of the game, but his teammates weren't looking for him much even when he was on the floor.
This will be something to watch with Orlando's new look. While some of the departed Magic players -- guys like Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus -- weren't exactly shy about hoisting shots, they were mostly spot up guys (or run off of screen guys). On the other hand, the new Magic players -- guys like Hedo Turkoglu and Gilbert Arenas -- tend to pound the ball a bit more and look for their own shot.
Howard is a really important offensive weapon. He's improved his arsenal this year, and because he's a poor free throw shooter, teams send him to the line a ton -- so he gets the opposition into foul trouble and helps put his team in the bonus situation fairly early in the quarter. But he's not so polished as to consistently demand the ball in the post, and the new additions may make it easier, in a sense, to forget about him on offense. That wasn't the case leading up to the Boston game (Howard had big offensive nights in those) but the Celtics have been very good over the past few seasons at taking away one part of your offense and forcing you to rely on another part (usually outside shots). It will be interesting to see if the Magic make Howard a focal point against the Celtics in future meetings (including, potentially, the playoffs). While the Celtics have generally done a decent job on Howard the past couple of seasons, I'm sure they'd rather have Brandon Bass (21 points on Sunday) try to beat them.
[recap] [box score]
Saturday's game was an ugly, low-scoring affair, which was a pattern when the Magic and Celtics met last year -- during the regular season, anyway. I could say that the Cs would have won had they made a bunch of shots they usually make, but the same is true of Orlando. It was one of those games where both teams played pretty good defense, and the effort on that end was magnified from some pretty poor shooting from both sides.
From a Boston perspective, we lost this game because we didn't have Rajon Rondo, plain and simple. Nate Robinson had his worst game as Rondo's understudy, making just two of 15 shots, the majority of which were good looks. The Magic basically could leave Robinson alone on offense, the same way opponents do against Rondo -- but Rondo provides much more playmaking and doesn't use as many possessions as Nate does shooting jumpers. And while Robinson did a nice job keeping Jameer Nelson in check for most of the game, he lost him on a screen on a key possession late, as Nelson hit a three that I believe gave the Magic the lead for good.
While the Celtics probably would have won with Rondo, Robinson wasn't the only Celtic who had a bad game. Ray Allen mad just three of 13 shots, and Shaquille O'Neal had just two points and fouled out despite playing fewer than 13 minutes.
Of course, the Magic have some "we would have won easily ifs" of their own, most notably the fact that Dwight Howard scored just six points against a depleted Celtics frontline (Kendrick Perkins is of course out, and Jermaine O'Neal made his first appearance since November 8). More disturbing is the fact that Howard took just four shots. He was in a bit of foul trouble for most of the game, but his teammates weren't looking for him much even when he was on the floor.
This will be something to watch with Orlando's new look. While some of the departed Magic players -- guys like Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus -- weren't exactly shy about hoisting shots, they were mostly spot up guys (or run off of screen guys). On the other hand, the new Magic players -- guys like Hedo Turkoglu and Gilbert Arenas -- tend to pound the ball a bit more and look for their own shot.
Howard is a really important offensive weapon. He's improved his arsenal this year, and because he's a poor free throw shooter, teams send him to the line a ton -- so he gets the opposition into foul trouble and helps put his team in the bonus situation fairly early in the quarter. But he's not so polished as to consistently demand the ball in the post, and the new additions may make it easier, in a sense, to forget about him on offense. That wasn't the case leading up to the Boston game (Howard had big offensive nights in those) but the Celtics have been very good over the past few seasons at taking away one part of your offense and forcing you to rely on another part (usually outside shots). It will be interesting to see if the Magic make Howard a focal point against the Celtics in future meetings (including, potentially, the playoffs). While the Celtics have generally done a decent job on Howard the past couple of seasons, I'm sure they'd rather have Brandon Bass (21 points on Sunday) try to beat them.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Next Lamb: The Orlando Magic
Game 28: Boston (23-4) at Orlando (17-12)
Turkoglu was a key part of Orlando's Finals run two years ago, then bolted to Toronto for a hefty contract. He was miserable as a Raptor (both in mood and in performance), lobbied for and got a trade in the offseason, and was basically as ineffective in 25 games in Phoenix as he was in Toronto. He's moved into the starting lineup in Lewis' place in three games with the Magic, going 3-for-15 in his first two outings before bouncing back with a respectable 5-for-10 against the Spurs.
Saturday, December 25
2:30 p.m. Eastern
ABC
If you are but a casual observer of the NBA, you are probably surprised to see the 17-12 record next to the Orlando Magic. Over the past few seasons, the Magic have emerged as an Eastern Conference rival, reaching the conference finals last season and beating Boston and Cleveland on the way to an NBA Finals loss to the Lakers the season before. When this current season opened, not much had changed, and Orlando was expected to make another deep playoff run. After consecutive wins at Chicago and Detroit in the first three days of December, the Magic were 15-4, and everything seemed hunky-dory.
But Orlando lost its next four games, beat the Clippers, then lost to Denver, and the front office decided to shake things up. They sent Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus, and Marcin Gortat to Phoenix for Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Earl Clark, and shipped Rashard Lewis off to Washington for Gilbert Arenas. They promptly dropped three more -- to Philly (the day of the trades, so they were shorthanded), at Atlanta, and to Dallas -- before snapping San Antonio's ten-game winning streak Thursday night.
More thoughts on this rather shocking attempt to rebuild on the fly in a moment. In terms of the Christmas Day game, it's tough to know what to expect. Sure, the Magic still have Dwight Howard, who has put up gaudy numbers the last four games and looks to have developed a little bit more of an offensive game in the offseason, and they still have Jameer Nelson, their sharpshooting point guard. But Carter and Lewis were starters, and Pietrus and Gortat were rotation players. It's going to take some time for them to jell, and so it's hard to use Saturday's matchup as any sort of measuring stick. They certainly looked impressive in putting up 123 points against San Antonio, but the Spurs were on the second night of a back-to-back and haven't been nearly as good defensively this season as we're accustomed to.
Looking toward the rest of the season and beyond, it's certainly a bold move. Frankly, it seemed to me that the front office panicked a bit: No one likes to lose five out of six, but four of those losses came on the road to possible playoff teams (Milwaukee, Portland, Utah, and Denver) and the fifth was to a solid division rival (Atlanta). Obviously, the goal in Orlando is a championship and you have to be able to beat those types of teams, even on the road, to win a title, but it seems like an over-reaction to turn over so much of the roster in response to a little slide. My hunch is that Orlando perhaps wasn't happy with its roster heading into the season and had been looking to make moves, and that this is the time that a deal to their liking materialized.
From an Xs and Os perspective, one glaring hole this leaves on the Magic roster is backup center, of which Gortat was one of the league's most effective (and highest-paid). It's especially glaring given the makeup of the various title contenders. That is, if the Magic are to win the title, then they have to plan, at least, on beating Boston and the Lakers. That means going through Kendrick Perkins, Shaquille O'Neal, and Jermaine O'Neal (who should return to action Saturday, by the way) in the former case, and Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom in the latter case. The loss of Gortat leaves Howard and the undersized Brandon Bass (a Glen Davis-ish player) as Orlando's only viable bigs, which you have to think isn't going to be sufficient to beat the Celtics or Lakers. The team has said that it will look to add another big via trade before the trade deadline in a couple of months, but one would be justified in wondering where that player will come from and at what price he will come.
As for the other losses and additions, Richardson should fill in reasonably well for Carter. A little more consistent, perhaps, a little less injury prone, but not as dynamic as Vince, and not as a good a passer. He can fill it up, though, and is a threat beyond the arc. Clark is a non-factor for the foreseeable future; Phoenix didn't pick up his contract option for next year and it's hard to see him breaking into the rotation this season. The key to this deal is Turkoglu and Arenas, and how well they make up for the departure of Lewis and Pietrus (plus whatever they have to give up to get a replacement for Gortat).
Turkoglu was a key part of Orlando's Finals run two years ago, then bolted to Toronto for a hefty contract. He was miserable as a Raptor (both in mood and in performance), lobbied for and got a trade in the offseason, and was basically as ineffective in 25 games in Phoenix as he was in Toronto. He's moved into the starting lineup in Lewis' place in three games with the Magic, going 3-for-15 in his first two outings before bouncing back with a respectable 5-for-10 against the Spurs.
When he's at his best, Turkoglu is a catalyst. He would take some of the ballhandling responsibilities away from Nelson the way he did in 2008-09, when Nelson shot a career-best 50.3 percent from the floor and 45.3 percent from three. (Recall, too, that Orlando made its big postseason run that year with Nelson out of the lineup due to late-season shoulder injury). I, for one, am not at all sure that Turkoglu is, or ever will be, close to his best, but it's possible that his decline in effectiveness over the past season-plus was due to unhappiness. Even if his best days are behind him, he won't be much of a downgrade over Lewis, a fairly one-dimensional three-point shooter with similar career percentage behind the arc to Turkoglu.
Arenas is a huge x-factor. With his recent injury history, it's easy enough to think of him as washed up, but he's only 28, and if he regains his form, he's instantly one of the most dangerous men in the NBA with the basketball in his hands. It appears that he's taking on a role with the second unit, and that strategy has to be right: No matter what you think of Nelson, both Turkoglu and Arenas need the ball to be effective, and they cancel each other out a little bit if they have to share it. But if he is playing well, he's a sixth man of the year candidate type player, injury/foul insurance for Richardson and Nelson, and another option late in the game. Of course, who knows how often he'll play well. I've only seen him once this year, when the Celtics pasted the Wizards, and I wrote then that Arenas did nothing but stand around shooting three-pointers all night. Gil was clearly unhappy with his situation in Washington, though, and perhaps his play will change with a change of scenery. Orlando's certainly counting on it.
As for Arenas' much-publicized off-court issues (you know, the gun in the locker room thing), most reports suggest that once the hammer came down, he put that stuff behind him. (Indeed, it may have contributed to his melancholy demeanor this season). Still, Arenas has always been a peculiar, unique character, and a guy like that -- particularly one who likes to shoot as often as he does -- is always capable of disrupting a locker room. I'm not saying that I think Arenas will try to stir things up, but if he does, I'm not sure Orlando has the personalities required to prevent it from becoming a big distraction. I think Stan Van Gundy is a good coach, but he's high-strung; Dwight Howard is an easy-going guy, but he's young and sensitive. No one in that locker room has won anything, and Arenas was brought in as part of a plan to put the team over the top. The ingredients are present for a bit of a meltdown, though I expect Arenas to behave.
I haven't even addressed defense, in part because it's always a little difficult to tell how individual defenders will fit in with specific defensive schemes. I can say with certainty that Turkoglu's a pretty bad on-ball defender and that while Arenas has been a big steals guy throughout his career, he's not a lockdown type of guy. Howard is perhaps the league's premier shotblocker and he can erase a lot of mistakes, but he's also foul-prone, a characteristic that is magnified by the fact that he doesn't have a backup, at least while the team looks for a replacement for Gortat. Pietrus was a pretty good defender, too, and there isn't anyone on the roster that immediately comes to mind as someone to fill that role.
In short, the Magic have taken a big risk here. Once the team gets acclimated with itself, they've probably done no worse than tread water offensively -- with a chance at great improvement on that end -- but they've probably gotten worse defensively, a big deal for a team coached by Van Gundy that has hung its hat on defense. In theory, they're less reliant on jumpshots -- a big criticism I've had with them -- but now they're more reliant on "outscoring" opponents, as opposed to winning games on the defensive ends. They've also taken some risks with their team makeup.
Moreover, it's unclear whether this team will come together fully this season, and, if it does, whether it's even enough to beat the league's elite. The best they can hope for is probably something akin to their 2008-09 team, and that squad needed seven games to beat the Kevin Garnett-less Celtics in the Eastern semis and never really challenged the Lakers in the Finals. With the Celtics certainly better this year and the Lakers, Spurs, and Heat hanging around as well, it's tricky to see this team getting it done -- particularly if it needs to sacrifice a player like J.J. Redick to pick up a backup pivot. While some may applaud the Magic for making this kind of bold move in the middle of the season, it says here that it won't be enough to push them over the top.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Links of the Day (October 19, 2010)
- With so much talk surrounding the Heat, Celtics, and the defending champion Lakers, Zach Lowe reminds us not to forget the Magic. They're doing their best not to let us by eviscerating opponents in the preseason: New Orleans by 54, Chicago by 38, Atlanta by 29. They're big enough to bang with LA, deep enough to match up with Boston, and both those things give them a good chance to wear out Miami. Of course, they had that talent and size and depth last season, and the season before that. For me, it's always been psychological with Orlando; Dwight Howard's still maturing, and guys like Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis don't seem to embrace the moment. We're a long way from finding out if anything's changed, but it will be an interesting thing to look for come playoff time.
- Doc Rivers doesn't have cancer. Neither do I, but I didn't have a biopsy on lesions found in my throat.
- More Celtics news: The team signed Milwaukee draftee-turned-waivee (!) Keith "Tiny" Gallon to a non-guaranteed contract. Gallon is almost certainly headed to the Developmental League, where the team will be able to keep an eye on him with the Maine Red Claws. The ironically-nicknamed Gallon (he's pushing 300 pounds) was part of a dysfunctional Oklahoma team last year in his sole college season, but he's compared by many to Glen Davis because he's skilled and not quite tall enough to be as wide as he is.
- This clip isn't likely to turn into an NBA Read to Achieve ad.
- I know very little about advanced statistics, but over at Pick and Scroll, you can now calculate them yourself.
- The NBA has banned shoes it says enhance vertical leap. The manufacturer -- who, to be fair, isn't exactly eager to dispute that claim -- is certainly taking advantage of the publicity. For any public relations students that may be reading, here is the company's press release. At least they'll save money on endorsement contracts.
- This Blake Griffin jam is why I'm excited to be living in Los Angeles this season, but why must the Clippers suffer the indignity of playing a home game, even in preseason, with the Lakers floor at Staples? Because the Lakers hosted a preseason game immediately after, that's why.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Orlando 96, Boston 89
Another mystifying second-half collapse gave Orlando its third win over Boston in four games this season.
Up 11 points at the half in front of the home crowd on Super Bowl Sunday, Boston was outscored 36-11 in a decisive third period. Should the teams finish the regular season with identical records, the Magic would have the tiebreaker for home court advantage.
There are, of course, more important considerations. Namely, what the hell is going on with the Celtics? Sunday's game followed a familiar pattern: The good guys getting out to a comfortable lead, then giving it away with disturbing alacrity, as though it were their intention to do so. This recent trend is getting old, it's getting frustrating, and it's getting worrisome.
Here's something I do like, though: Doc Rivers' post-game acknowledgement that "we played like crap" and that Boston is not, at least now, better than Orlando -- or Atlanta or Los Angeles, for that matter. In both this season and last, the team has experienced serious post-Christmas struggles, and has -- Rivers included -- been very slow -- very slow -- to admit same. And while the cocksuredness that came with rolling to the 2008 championship has its benefits, it may also explain some of the terrible second-half performances we've seen recently. I don't know that "complacency" is the right word, but something approaching it is really the only logical explanation for why this team so often goes from Jekyll to Hyde in the same game. Acknowledging this shortcoming rather than sweeping it under the rug and saying "everything will be fine" is the first step towards rectifying it.
On the bright side, Marquis Daniels returned to action after a lengthly layoff and looked like he hadn't missed a beat, scoring at will in the second quarter against the over-matched J.J. Redick. His return should help solidify the bench, which got good performances Sunday from Glen Davis and Eddie House, and a very bad one from Rasheed Wallace.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Boston 96, New Jersey 87
Eddie House's ten-point fourth quarter probably saved us. Other bright spots included Ray Allen's second-half shooting and 13 points off the bench for Glen Davis, just his fourth double-digit scoring game in 20 contests this year.
VIEWING ALERT: Orlando comes to Boston tomorrow for the teams' final matchup of the regular season (ABC, 2:30 p.m. Eastern). Paul Pierce, who has missed the last two games with a foot injury suffered Monday in Washington, practiced on Saturday, which makes it seem like he's more likely to play than not. We beat Orlando on Christmas Day without Pierce, but we'd obviously rather have him in the lineup. On the other hand, though a strained foot doesn't seem like the type of injury that will get worse, it's also not the kind of thing we want bothering him the rest of the year. If he needs to rest to get healthy for the second half of the season, I don't mind being shorthanded against the Magic.
TMJF: Happy 21st birthday, Jonny Flynn! The rookie point guard celebrated an hour or two early last night, scoring 19 points in Minnesota's surprising 117-108 win in Dallas over the Mavericks. Flynn, who will return to Dallas next weekend as part of the NBA All-Star rookie-sophomore game, also handed out seven assists against just one turnover.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Celts drop two to conference rivals
Orlando 96, Boston 94 [recap] [box score]
Frankly, this admittedly brutal back-to-back went about as badly as it could have gone.
Boston led by as many as 15 at the Magic on Thursday, and held a three-point lead with less than a minute left, but blew the game late. It was the team's first loss after leading by double digits in the fourth quarter during the Kevin Garnett/Ray Allen era. And it was a soul-crushing defeat for a team that entered the game with already shaken confidence.
Friday night in Atlanta went exactly the way you wouldn't want the second game of a very tough three-in-four-nights stretch to go: A very physical, exhausting game; an early deficit followed by a big third quarter rally; and then a fourth quarter in which the Hawks made all the big shots. The result has negative psychological consequences, too: It completed the first regular season sweep by Atlanta in eleven years, and Boston has now ceded second place in the East to the Hawks.
There are reasons for optimism. Orlando shot 40 free throws to Boston's 18 and yet still didn't lead until fewer than five minutes remained; Boston was still in the driver's seat in the last minute and easily could have won despite the free throw discrepancy. Against Atlanta, the Celtics played terribly all night and still were within one possession of the lead as the fourth quarter dawned. But there are too many negatives right now to dwell on the positives without being a typical fan blogger, a role I'm desperately trying to fight off after being told that lately I've been viewing the officiating, Tommy Heinsohn-style, through green-shaded glasses.
The biggest concern may be Kevin Garnett's health. A recap of The Big Ticket's last 11 months: Boston's title defense is apparently temporarily derailed when he injures his knee in Utah on 2/19/09; after sitting 13 games, he returns for four games under a strict minutes cap; he's held out of the next several games as his return gets pushed back over and over;fans are told he'll definitely be back for the championship run; on the eve of the playoffs, we learn that he won't be back for the postseason; he has surgery in the offseason; he returns in time to start 2009-10, only with a noticeable hitch in his gait and diminished explosiveness; he gradually shakes the rust off, looking more or less like a slightly elderly version of his old self; he hyperextends the knee after Christmas; what was supposed to be a few-game absence stretches to ten games as his return is again pushed back; and he shows few ill effects in wins over the Blazers and Clippers in his first two contests back.
Here's what's worrisome: Against Orlando, KG was back to being the player he was at the beginning of the season -- which is to say, not KG. Twice he failed to get high enough to convert one of his signature alley-oops, and he was outjumped for rebounds on a number of occasions. Against Atlanta, he looked a bit better, throwing down a couple of ferocious dunks, but he again lost out on a couple of boards he would have easily snared two years ago. It's debatable if Boston is a legitimate title contender even with a healthy-as-he's-gonna-be KG; if he's not even that, we have no shot. (Celtics Blog ran this excerpt from John Hollinger regarding KG that more or less sums up my feelings on the situation.)
Speaking of, now is as good a time as any to address the question of whether Boston has realistic championship hopes at this stage. The Celtics are not, I don't think, a full tier below the Lakers, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Orlando. They may well be a player short, however, of being better than those squads. Rasheed Wallace was supposed to be that player, but his inconsistent scoring and tiresome act vis-a-vis the officials have minimized his impact.
It could be that that player is Marquis Daniels. Boston misses Daniels' play on both ends of the floor; he's a strong defender on the wing and he organizes the second team offensively, subordinating his own offense for the benefit of others. That latter quality is lacking in most of the bench guys. We need him around to get better looks for Eddie House, to coax the most out of Glen Davis, to get Wallace into the post. If it's not Daniels, then Danny Ainge will have to make a move, though it's not clear to me who that trade would be for or even who might be included in such a deal.
Sunday we host the Lakers (12:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC). LA's on the seventh game of an eight-game roadtrip. Even though I know Doc won't do it (and rightly so), part of me wants Boston to treat this one like a post-season game and go all out. We need the confidence, we need the swagger, we need to re-establish our home floor as a nearly impossible place to win.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Catching Up
It's been...two weeks since you heard from me.
(Did I really just mark my return by paraphrasing a Barenaked Ladies song?)
Yes, two weeks without a post, part of which time coincided with a stretch where I was actually too busy to watch basketball, a concept I heretofore didn't think was possible (which may explain my poor GPA from the previous year). We've gone 4-2 in my blogging hiatus:
Boston 110, Memphis 105 (12/14) - Paul Pierce's 19 points led six Celtics who scored at least 13 in what I was told was a very entertaining game with a Grizzlies squad that is on the rise.
Philadelphia 98, Boston 97 (12/18) - The final two of Elton Brand's 23 points off the bench came on a tip-in with 7.7 seconds left, snapping Boston's 11-game win streak. I didn't get a chance to watch this one, either, but we had a 15-point lead in the third quarter, not the kind of margin we typically blow at home. Also, Rasheed Wallace was ejected for the first time this season.
Boston 122, Minnesota 104 (12/20) - I was supposed to watch this one in person but, as the folks at Delta/Northwest are about to find out, I missed it due to some serious ineffeciencies and incompetencies in their systems. Pierce had 29 points to lead seven Celtics in double figures, and made all six of his three-point attempts. Minnesota's leading scorer on the night? Jonny Flynn, with 21 points.
Boston 103, Indiana 94 (12/22) - I was able to get to Beantown in time for this game, and for a while, it hardly seemed worth my effort: The Cs trailed by 15 at the break. Despite playing without Kevin Garnett, who suffered a thigh bruise in the Minnesota game and was a late scratch, Boston need just more than seven minutes to erase that entire deficit, then put the game away in the fourth. It was a truly dominant second half, as Indiana scored just 37 points in the final 24 minutes. (This was one of those games were Indy was throwing in everything for the first half, then got cold in the second.) Ray Allen led Boston with 23 points, and Pierce scored 21 despite missing his first ten field goals.
Boston 86, Orlando 77 (12/25) - Christmas Day 2009 was better than the 2008 version (when the Celtics lost to the Lakers). Boston avenged an early-season home loss to the Magic with this road win. Offensively, Orlando was about as bad as you'll ever see a legitimate title contender be, scoring just eight second-quarter points. Boston was only marginally better, grabbing a 38-27 lead, but it was enough to hold on when things returned more to "normal" in the second half.
A little bit of good news/bad news for Boston. The good news was that they won this game without Paul Pierce; the bad news was that they won this game without Paul Pierce. The Celtics captain has a knee infection and is supposed to miss a couple of weeks. That we won such a big game without Pierce is encouraging, but we missed him two days later (see below) and it's a little unfortunate that we go into one of our big West Coast trips without our closer.
This was the second straight game with the Magic that could be called an abomination offensively for both teams (or, more charitably, a masterpiece defensively for both teams), which stands in sharp contrast to games 6 and 7 of last year's Eastern Conference semifinals, when Orlando made just about everything they put up on their way to stealing the series. I don't have an explanation for it, other than that these are the two best defensive teams in the East.
This game was huge, though, in terms of home court advantage (never too early to start thinking about that).
Los Angeles Clippers 92, Boston 90 (12/27) - A frustrating, annoying loss, sure, but one that probably doesn't matter. For the second straight year, Boston lost to the other team from L.A. in an eminently winnable game. (Walking out of the Staples Center last year while being taunted by Clippers fans is a low point in my life.)
Rajon Rondo will end up shouldering most of the blame here: Tied at 90 with 1.5 seconds to go, he missed two free throws, then allowed Baron Davis to catch the ball too easily on LA's ensuing inbounds play (though Baron still made a very difficult fallaway for the win).
Offensively, I'm still deciding whether I liked the call on our final possession, an isolation for Rondo at the top of the key with the shot clock off. The issue wasn't whether he was going to beat Davis off the dribble; he had been doing it all night. The issue is what happens once he does.
What happened on this occasion was that Rondo found himself in the clear, the Clippers' help arriving late. As he went to the bucket, Davis reached back and grabbed his right arm, smartly preferring to send the 53% free throw shooter to the line than give him a relatively uncontested layup.
What might have happened is that Rondo, after beating Davis, encounters one or more Clipper defenders, and kicks to an open teammate on the perimeter (Boston had four decent-to-excellent options from outside on the floor at the time: Garnett, Wallace, Eddie House, and Ray Allen).
The problem with what did happen is that Rondo is a 53% free throw shooter and has not, to my recollection, ever found himself in a spot where he was shooting potentially game-winning free throws. The problem with what might have happened is that NBA players tend to waste too much of the clock before making their move in these situations, and NBA defenses are usually pretty good about rotating to the first open man (it's the second pass that usually gets them). So Rondo, having started his move late, might have found a temporarily open teammate, but their shot might not have been a good one, and they wouldn't have had time to make the second pass to someone who was wide open. A high pick-and-pop with Garnett or something for Ray Allen coming off screens is SOP for us here, without Pierce.
On the other hand, Rondo is our point guard and our future, and at some point, he'll have the ball in his hands more often than not in these spots. On the road against the Clippers in mid-December, with no Pierce and the score tied, isn't a bad time to start breaking him in.
It's a shame that Rondo missed those free throws, because he had played a very strong game to that point, and it came on the heels of a 17/13/8 performance against the Magic (he had points/assists double-doubles against Philly and Minnesota, his fifth and sixth in the first nine games in December). He's playing more consistently aggressively than we've ever seen him, and I hope this isn't a setback in his mindset.
A couple of notes on other players:
Tony Allen has now played nine games on the season, starting each of the last two with Pierce and Marquis Daniels out. While he still has caused me to roll my eyes at times -- he's almost always in the wrong place on offense, and left two midrange jumpers against Orlando short before rocketing a third off the backboard -- he's acquitted himself pretty well, averaging eight points and four rebounds, and hitting double figures four times. Last night against the Clippers was his best game back: 10 points and 10 rebounds in nearly 40 minutes, with four steals, including two late in the fourth quarter that really should have saved the game for us. I still think we're betting off trading him once Daniels is close to coming back (Pierce should be back by then), but I need to give him his due when he deserves it.
Glen Davis made his return to the lineup against Orlando, prompting my buddy Joel to send this sarcastic text message (I'm paraphrasing): "Glad Big Baby has stayed in shape while he was out. He looks like he ate Eddie House." Davis did nothing noteworthy against the Magic, but had eight points and six boards -- five on the offensive glass -- against the Clippers. He also threw in a running left-handed hook which, it goes without saying, is not what I expected.
In a related story, Shelden Williams got the DNP-CD against the Clips, his second in three games, which means it looks like his run as a rotation player may be coming to an end. He's still around to help out in case of foul trouble/injury/Wallace suspension, but with Davis likely to get more minutes and he gets back into playing shape (has Big Baby ever been in playing shape?), I wouldn't expect to see Williams take his warmups off before garbage time too often.
TMJF:
The Wolves have played seven times since the last time I blogged, and have gone 4-3 in those games. They're also on a two-game winning streak, their first of the year. I haven't had a chance to see any of it, except the 110-108 win at Utah in which Jonny Flynn wasted Deron Williams on Minny's final posssession for the game-winning bucket.
Stat lines from the seven games are below:
Wolves 110, Jazz 108: 29 minutes, 11-19 FG, 4-6 3FG, 2-3 FT, 28 pts, 1 reb, 5 assts. 1 stl, 4 TOs
Clippers 120, Wolves 95: 30 minutes, 3-12 FG, 0-3 3FG, 3-4 FT, 9 pts, 3 rebs, 3 assts, 3 TOs
Wolves 112, Kings 96: 26 minutes, 5-8 FG, 2-2 FT, 12 pts, 1 reb, 5 assts, 1 stl, 2 TOs
Celtics 122, Wolves 104: 31 minutes, 8-15 FG, 1-3 3FG, 4-4 FT, 21 pts, 2 rebs, 2 assts, 1 stl, 4 TOs
Hawks 112, Wolves 87: 27 minutes, 5-13 FG, 1-2 3FG, 5-6 FT, 16 pts, 1 reb, 2 assts, 1 stl, 4 TOs
Wolves 103, Nets 99: 37 minutes, 9-19 FG, 1-5 3FG, 3-4 FT, 22 pts, 1 reb, 5 assts, 4 stls, 3 TOs
Wolves 101, Wizards 89: 25 minutes, 2-12 FG, 1-2 3FG, 3-4 FT, 8 pts, 3 rebs, 6 assts.
(Did I really just mark my return by paraphrasing a Barenaked Ladies song?)
Yes, two weeks without a post, part of which time coincided with a stretch where I was actually too busy to watch basketball, a concept I heretofore didn't think was possible (which may explain my poor GPA from the previous year). We've gone 4-2 in my blogging hiatus:
Boston 110, Memphis 105 (12/14) - Paul Pierce's 19 points led six Celtics who scored at least 13 in what I was told was a very entertaining game with a Grizzlies squad that is on the rise.
Philadelphia 98, Boston 97 (12/18) - The final two of Elton Brand's 23 points off the bench came on a tip-in with 7.7 seconds left, snapping Boston's 11-game win streak. I didn't get a chance to watch this one, either, but we had a 15-point lead in the third quarter, not the kind of margin we typically blow at home. Also, Rasheed Wallace was ejected for the first time this season.
Boston 122, Minnesota 104 (12/20) - I was supposed to watch this one in person but, as the folks at Delta/Northwest are about to find out, I missed it due to some serious ineffeciencies and incompetencies in their systems. Pierce had 29 points to lead seven Celtics in double figures, and made all six of his three-point attempts. Minnesota's leading scorer on the night? Jonny Flynn, with 21 points.
Boston 103, Indiana 94 (12/22) - I was able to get to Beantown in time for this game, and for a while, it hardly seemed worth my effort: The Cs trailed by 15 at the break. Despite playing without Kevin Garnett, who suffered a thigh bruise in the Minnesota game and was a late scratch, Boston need just more than seven minutes to erase that entire deficit, then put the game away in the fourth. It was a truly dominant second half, as Indiana scored just 37 points in the final 24 minutes. (This was one of those games were Indy was throwing in everything for the first half, then got cold in the second.) Ray Allen led Boston with 23 points, and Pierce scored 21 despite missing his first ten field goals.
Boston 86, Orlando 77 (12/25) - Christmas Day 2009 was better than the 2008 version (when the Celtics lost to the Lakers). Boston avenged an early-season home loss to the Magic with this road win. Offensively, Orlando was about as bad as you'll ever see a legitimate title contender be, scoring just eight second-quarter points. Boston was only marginally better, grabbing a 38-27 lead, but it was enough to hold on when things returned more to "normal" in the second half.
A little bit of good news/bad news for Boston. The good news was that they won this game without Paul Pierce; the bad news was that they won this game without Paul Pierce. The Celtics captain has a knee infection and is supposed to miss a couple of weeks. That we won such a big game without Pierce is encouraging, but we missed him two days later (see below) and it's a little unfortunate that we go into one of our big West Coast trips without our closer.
This was the second straight game with the Magic that could be called an abomination offensively for both teams (or, more charitably, a masterpiece defensively for both teams), which stands in sharp contrast to games 6 and 7 of last year's Eastern Conference semifinals, when Orlando made just about everything they put up on their way to stealing the series. I don't have an explanation for it, other than that these are the two best defensive teams in the East.
This game was huge, though, in terms of home court advantage (never too early to start thinking about that).
Los Angeles Clippers 92, Boston 90 (12/27) - A frustrating, annoying loss, sure, but one that probably doesn't matter. For the second straight year, Boston lost to the other team from L.A. in an eminently winnable game. (Walking out of the Staples Center last year while being taunted by Clippers fans is a low point in my life.)
Rajon Rondo will end up shouldering most of the blame here: Tied at 90 with 1.5 seconds to go, he missed two free throws, then allowed Baron Davis to catch the ball too easily on LA's ensuing inbounds play (though Baron still made a very difficult fallaway for the win).
Offensively, I'm still deciding whether I liked the call on our final possession, an isolation for Rondo at the top of the key with the shot clock off. The issue wasn't whether he was going to beat Davis off the dribble; he had been doing it all night. The issue is what happens once he does.
What happened on this occasion was that Rondo found himself in the clear, the Clippers' help arriving late. As he went to the bucket, Davis reached back and grabbed his right arm, smartly preferring to send the 53% free throw shooter to the line than give him a relatively uncontested layup.
What might have happened is that Rondo, after beating Davis, encounters one or more Clipper defenders, and kicks to an open teammate on the perimeter (Boston had four decent-to-excellent options from outside on the floor at the time: Garnett, Wallace, Eddie House, and Ray Allen).
The problem with what did happen is that Rondo is a 53% free throw shooter and has not, to my recollection, ever found himself in a spot where he was shooting potentially game-winning free throws. The problem with what might have happened is that NBA players tend to waste too much of the clock before making their move in these situations, and NBA defenses are usually pretty good about rotating to the first open man (it's the second pass that usually gets them). So Rondo, having started his move late, might have found a temporarily open teammate, but their shot might not have been a good one, and they wouldn't have had time to make the second pass to someone who was wide open. A high pick-and-pop with Garnett or something for Ray Allen coming off screens is SOP for us here, without Pierce.
On the other hand, Rondo is our point guard and our future, and at some point, he'll have the ball in his hands more often than not in these spots. On the road against the Clippers in mid-December, with no Pierce and the score tied, isn't a bad time to start breaking him in.
It's a shame that Rondo missed those free throws, because he had played a very strong game to that point, and it came on the heels of a 17/13/8 performance against the Magic (he had points/assists double-doubles against Philly and Minnesota, his fifth and sixth in the first nine games in December). He's playing more consistently aggressively than we've ever seen him, and I hope this isn't a setback in his mindset.
A couple of notes on other players:
Tony Allen has now played nine games on the season, starting each of the last two with Pierce and Marquis Daniels out. While he still has caused me to roll my eyes at times -- he's almost always in the wrong place on offense, and left two midrange jumpers against Orlando short before rocketing a third off the backboard -- he's acquitted himself pretty well, averaging eight points and four rebounds, and hitting double figures four times. Last night against the Clippers was his best game back: 10 points and 10 rebounds in nearly 40 minutes, with four steals, including two late in the fourth quarter that really should have saved the game for us. I still think we're betting off trading him once Daniels is close to coming back (Pierce should be back by then), but I need to give him his due when he deserves it.
Glen Davis made his return to the lineup against Orlando, prompting my buddy Joel to send this sarcastic text message (I'm paraphrasing): "Glad Big Baby has stayed in shape while he was out. He looks like he ate Eddie House." Davis did nothing noteworthy against the Magic, but had eight points and six boards -- five on the offensive glass -- against the Clippers. He also threw in a running left-handed hook which, it goes without saying, is not what I expected.
In a related story, Shelden Williams got the DNP-CD against the Clips, his second in three games, which means it looks like his run as a rotation player may be coming to an end. He's still around to help out in case of foul trouble/injury/Wallace suspension, but with Davis likely to get more minutes and he gets back into playing shape (has Big Baby ever been in playing shape?), I wouldn't expect to see Williams take his warmups off before garbage time too often.
TMJF:
The Wolves have played seven times since the last time I blogged, and have gone 4-3 in those games. They're also on a two-game winning streak, their first of the year. I haven't had a chance to see any of it, except the 110-108 win at Utah in which Jonny Flynn wasted Deron Williams on Minny's final posssession for the game-winning bucket.
Stat lines from the seven games are below:
Wolves 110, Jazz 108: 29 minutes, 11-19 FG, 4-6 3FG, 2-3 FT, 28 pts, 1 reb, 5 assts. 1 stl, 4 TOs
Clippers 120, Wolves 95: 30 minutes, 3-12 FG, 0-3 3FG, 3-4 FT, 9 pts, 3 rebs, 3 assts, 3 TOs
Wolves 112, Kings 96: 26 minutes, 5-8 FG, 2-2 FT, 12 pts, 1 reb, 5 assts, 1 stl, 2 TOs
Celtics 122, Wolves 104: 31 minutes, 8-15 FG, 1-3 3FG, 4-4 FT, 21 pts, 2 rebs, 2 assts, 1 stl, 4 TOs
Hawks 112, Wolves 87: 27 minutes, 5-13 FG, 1-2 3FG, 5-6 FT, 16 pts, 1 reb, 2 assts, 1 stl, 4 TOs
Wolves 103, Nets 99: 37 minutes, 9-19 FG, 1-5 3FG, 3-4 FT, 22 pts, 1 reb, 5 assts, 4 stls, 3 TOs
Wolves 101, Wizards 89: 25 minutes, 2-12 FG, 1-2 3FG, 3-4 FT, 8 pts, 3 rebs, 6 assts.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Orlando 83, Boston 78
I pity the beat writer who has to come up with a recap for this one. It was a game without a lede.
[recap][box score]
We on the Boston side can play the "What if..." game, although it's more accurately the "How often..." game: How often are we going to shoot 2-for-19 from three-point range? Those on the Orlando side, however, can respond with "How often are we going to make just 15 of 26 free throws and commit 20 turnovers?" The statistical anomalies more or less balance each other out.
Really, it boiled down to the fact that Orlando had a stretch where their shots were falling (the first quarter), whereas Boston never really got going. That's it, plain and simple. Even as Boston cut a 16-point first quarter deficit to one just before halftime, I never felt confident in our ability to score on a given possession. Nor could I really say how we ended up scoring 29 points in that period. Some free throws here, a basket in transition there, a jumper or two sprinkled in. The offense just never was clicking. The same was true after we went down 66-57 late in the third. We came back to tie the score at 78, but it took nearly a whole quarter to do it. Holding a team as good as the Magic to 12 points in 11 minutes is a terrific defensive effort, but scoring just 21 points during that stretch wasted it.
There are a couple of positive things to take from the game. Other than the first period, the defense was very good, which it hasn't been at all recently. Additionally, our two big off-season acquistions, Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels, were arguably our best players tonight. Despite his terrible shooting night, Wallace had a major positive effect, grabbing 13 rebounds and making three steals in a season-high 33:38 of court time (he played the last 19 and a half minutes after Kendrick Perkins went to the bench with his fifth foul 4:30 in to the third quarter). Daniels' stat line wasn't nearly as full, but he made a lot of little plays that helped us get back in it.
Some quick bullets:
[recap][box score]
We on the Boston side can play the "What if..." game, although it's more accurately the "How often..." game: How often are we going to shoot 2-for-19 from three-point range? Those on the Orlando side, however, can respond with "How often are we going to make just 15 of 26 free throws and commit 20 turnovers?" The statistical anomalies more or less balance each other out.
Really, it boiled down to the fact that Orlando had a stretch where their shots were falling (the first quarter), whereas Boston never really got going. That's it, plain and simple. Even as Boston cut a 16-point first quarter deficit to one just before halftime, I never felt confident in our ability to score on a given possession. Nor could I really say how we ended up scoring 29 points in that period. Some free throws here, a basket in transition there, a jumper or two sprinkled in. The offense just never was clicking. The same was true after we went down 66-57 late in the third. We came back to tie the score at 78, but it took nearly a whole quarter to do it. Holding a team as good as the Magic to 12 points in 11 minutes is a terrific defensive effort, but scoring just 21 points during that stretch wasted it.
There are a couple of positive things to take from the game. Other than the first period, the defense was very good, which it hasn't been at all recently. Additionally, our two big off-season acquistions, Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels, were arguably our best players tonight. Despite his terrible shooting night, Wallace had a major positive effect, grabbing 13 rebounds and making three steals in a season-high 33:38 of court time (he played the last 19 and a half minutes after Kendrick Perkins went to the bench with his fifth foul 4:30 in to the third quarter). Daniels' stat line wasn't nearly as full, but he made a lot of little plays that helped us get back in it.
Some quick bullets:
- Perkins picked up his fourth foul trying to draw a charge on Rashard Lewis with 8:47 on the clock in the third quarter. As mentioned above, he picked up his fifth a minute later, with Wallace at the scorer's table waiting to check in for him. Why do I mention it? Because Doc Rivers had two opportunities to get Perk out of there before he picked up his fifth (immediately after the foul, and when Rajon Rondo commited a loose-ball foul on the other end) and didn't do it. It probably didn't hurt us because Wallace filled in so well, but it's still a mistake that shouldn't be made.
- For the second time this year, Eddie House played the crunch time minutes in place of Rondo. I've been thinking about it for an hour or so, and I still can't decide how I feel about it. On the one hand, Rondo wasn't having much of an effect on the game and House's defense, normally a reason for Rondo over House, wasn't a problem. On the other hand, the big reason to play House over Rondo is House's outside shooting, which wasn't there at all tonight. The other argument for House is that his presence forces the opposition to play honest defense, and the rest of the Celtics got some good looks at three-pointers as Orlando ran at House on ball reversals; they just didn't knock them down. But House can't break down his man like Rondo can, and Rondo taking the ball to the basket often results in an open look for a teammate. Maybe I'd be singing a different tune if Wallace had knocked down a couple of the threes he took off of House passes, but I would've gone back to Rondo a bit sooner. We weren't hitting our jumpers and a still-hobbled Paul Pierce was having a tough time getting his own shot. We needed someone to create.
- On a related note, some of you are no doubt saying something to the effect of "No team should ever shoot 2-for-19 from three-point range" -- the idea being that if you're that cold, you should look for a different way to score. There's some truth to that, but the looks Boston got were by and large good ones. Orlando played pretty good defense, Rondo wasn't playing down the stretch, and Pierce really struggled to create for himself. Those were the shots that were available, and on a normal night, they knock enough down that it's not an issue.
- I thought Pierce did a very nice job of battling Dwight Howard on several defensive rotations, keeping the big guy out of scoring position while our bigs recovered.
- During the broadcast, ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy noted that Kevin Garnett tonight surpassed 40,000 career minutes. I hopped on to Basketball Reference to see where that ranked all-time (25th) and discovered something a little unsettling; among active players, Boston has four of the top 12 in minutes played. I knew we were old, but that was still pretty unsettling.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Boston 105, Miami 98
The Celtics were once again a little shaky in the fourth, but made the necessary plays in the final minutes and won their sixth straight.
[recap] [box score]
Cleveland's win over Philadelphia clinched home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs (and LA's loss at Portland gives them a leg up on securing homecourt for the Finals, should they get there). However, Boston's win combined with Orlando's surprising loss to New York in the Magic Kingdom gave the Celtics a leg up on the second seed in the East. Boston leads Orlando by two games, and if I understand my tiebreakers correctly, the "magic number" is one: Any Boston win or Orlando loss in the season's final three games gives Boston the #2.
Next game is Sunday, Cleveland, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. I have a feeling that Doc Rivers is going to play this game down, as he has with any "big" matchup all year -- for Doc, all regular season games are worth the same. I think that's probably the smart play, particularly in this case. The Celtics likely won't need the game for seeding purposes. It's best not to over-extend this late in the season, and there's some psychological risk in going all-out in this game and not quite getting there. On the other hand, a victory, on Cleveland's home floor, without Kevin Garnett, could be damaging to the Cavs, especially if the Celtics are treating it like any other game. The Cavs have been nearly invincible at home, losing only to the Lakers so far, and realizing their own basketball mortality might have a negative impact.
Or it might not. I'm grasping at straws a bit. Cleveland's really good this year.
Speaking of Garnett, the word is that he'll play in the season finale on Wednesday.
[recap] [box score]
Cleveland's win over Philadelphia clinched home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs (and LA's loss at Portland gives them a leg up on securing homecourt for the Finals, should they get there). However, Boston's win combined with Orlando's surprising loss to New York in the Magic Kingdom gave the Celtics a leg up on the second seed in the East. Boston leads Orlando by two games, and if I understand my tiebreakers correctly, the "magic number" is one: Any Boston win or Orlando loss in the season's final three games gives Boston the #2.
Next game is Sunday, Cleveland, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. I have a feeling that Doc Rivers is going to play this game down, as he has with any "big" matchup all year -- for Doc, all regular season games are worth the same. I think that's probably the smart play, particularly in this case. The Celtics likely won't need the game for seeding purposes. It's best not to over-extend this late in the season, and there's some psychological risk in going all-out in this game and not quite getting there. On the other hand, a victory, on Cleveland's home floor, without Kevin Garnett, could be damaging to the Cavs, especially if the Celtics are treating it like any other game. The Cavs have been nearly invincible at home, losing only to the Lakers so far, and realizing their own basketball mortality might have a negative impact.
Or it might not. I'm grasping at straws a bit. Cleveland's really good this year.
Speaking of Garnett, the word is that he'll play in the season finale on Wednesday.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Boston 104, Atlanta 92
So much for the Hawks.
[recap] [box score]
After a young Atlanta took the eventual world champs to seven games in the first round of last year's playoffs, the Hawks were lauded as up-and-comers in the East. And while they still have a pretty good hold on the fourth seed and thus a first-round playoff series at home, they hardly seem like a team that can challenge any of the Eastern conference's best three teams when the playoffs begin in a couple weeks.
Friday night's win over the brooding Hawks marked a season sweep for the Celtics, and came (again) without the services of Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe. The final margin was only 12 points, but it got to 20 in the fourth quarter, and it was the kind of game where the outcome never seemed in doubt in the second half.
Major credit goes to our undermanned frontcourt. Our three frontcourt players had great games: 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 blocks for Kendrick Perkins; 19 points for Glen Davis; 9 points and 6 boards off the bench for Mikki Moore. These guys played Al Horford and Josh Smith to a stalemate, and Perk anchored a defense that held Atlanta to 35.6 percent shooting. Defensively, let's also give some credit to Ray Allen, who did a great job of checking Joe Johnson. Johnson, you may recall, gave the Celtics all sorts of problems in last year's postseason.
Four days off now until our next game on Wednesday against New Jersey. The peculiarities of the NBA schedule give us a very light slate the rest of the way. So while the other teams are beating each other up, we can rest a little bit and try to get everyone healthy.
Speaking of "beating each other up," third-place Orlando clobbered first-place Cleveland on national TV last night, the kind of loss that made the Cavs, now losers of two straight after a franchise-best 13 consectuive wins, seem mortal in a way they hadn't before. The Cavs still have a vise grip on the Eastern Conference's top seed, so Boston would actually like to see Orlando losing more down the stretch than Cleveland.
Speaking of the playoffs, I've been thinking for a while now that with Detroit's struggles this season, the Celtics might have to go through Detroit, Orlando, and Cleveland to reach the Finals, quite a gauntlet. This group of Pistons have a championship ring, have gone to six consecutive Eastern Conference finals, and now have Allen Iverson, the kind of player you never want to go against in a playoff series.
Or, I should say, had Allen Iverson. The Pistons announced yesterday that Iverson would miss the rest of the season with his back injury, though there's plenty of speculation that The Answer's discontent at coming off of the bench played a role in this decision. Whatever the reason, Detroit now induces less fear, and Boston may not even have to worry about them; Saturday's loss to Philadelphia (in which the Sixers clinched a playoff spot) put the Pistons in eighth place in the East, half a game back of Chicago and two ahead of Charlotte.
[recap] [box score]
After a young Atlanta took the eventual world champs to seven games in the first round of last year's playoffs, the Hawks were lauded as up-and-comers in the East. And while they still have a pretty good hold on the fourth seed and thus a first-round playoff series at home, they hardly seem like a team that can challenge any of the Eastern conference's best three teams when the playoffs begin in a couple weeks.
Friday night's win over the brooding Hawks marked a season sweep for the Celtics, and came (again) without the services of Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe. The final margin was only 12 points, but it got to 20 in the fourth quarter, and it was the kind of game where the outcome never seemed in doubt in the second half.
Major credit goes to our undermanned frontcourt. Our three frontcourt players had great games: 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 blocks for Kendrick Perkins; 19 points for Glen Davis; 9 points and 6 boards off the bench for Mikki Moore. These guys played Al Horford and Josh Smith to a stalemate, and Perk anchored a defense that held Atlanta to 35.6 percent shooting. Defensively, let's also give some credit to Ray Allen, who did a great job of checking Joe Johnson. Johnson, you may recall, gave the Celtics all sorts of problems in last year's postseason.
Four days off now until our next game on Wednesday against New Jersey. The peculiarities of the NBA schedule give us a very light slate the rest of the way. So while the other teams are beating each other up, we can rest a little bit and try to get everyone healthy.
Speaking of "beating each other up," third-place Orlando clobbered first-place Cleveland on national TV last night, the kind of loss that made the Cavs, now losers of two straight after a franchise-best 13 consectuive wins, seem mortal in a way they hadn't before. The Cavs still have a vise grip on the Eastern Conference's top seed, so Boston would actually like to see Orlando losing more down the stretch than Cleveland.
Speaking of the playoffs, I've been thinking for a while now that with Detroit's struggles this season, the Celtics might have to go through Detroit, Orlando, and Cleveland to reach the Finals, quite a gauntlet. This group of Pistons have a championship ring, have gone to six consecutive Eastern Conference finals, and now have Allen Iverson, the kind of player you never want to go against in a playoff series.
Or, I should say, had Allen Iverson. The Pistons announced yesterday that Iverson would miss the rest of the season with his back injury, though there's plenty of speculation that The Answer's discontent at coming off of the bench played a role in this decision. Whatever the reason, Detroit now induces less fear, and Boston may not even have to worry about them; Saturday's loss to Philadelphia (in which the Sixers clinched a playoff spot) put the Pistons in eighth place in the East, half a game back of Chicago and two ahead of Charlotte.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Orlando 84, Boston 82
What's Doc Rivers waiting for?
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
I'm not going to blame this loss on Doc Rivers. Boston played terribly for much of the game and wouldn't have been a possession from winning if it weren't for some poor shooting by Orlando.
Nor am I prepared to say that this game mattered that much. Sure, a win would have given the Celtics a near-lock on the second seed in the East -- and with it, home-court advantage in a semifinal series with these very same Magic -- but all is not lost. Orlando has a game on Boston in the loss column, but Boston, for now, has the tiebreaker of a better conference record. And frankly, even though the Cs have now lost seven of their last eight games in Orlando, I don't think they need homecourt to beat the Magic in a seven-game series.
Still, homecourt advantage would have been a nice thing to have in the back pocket, a nice safety blanket, and Wednesday night was a real shot at locking it up. With that in mind, then, why did Kevin Garnett play only 17 minutes?
Oh, I know the given reason. He's coming off the knee injury, and Doc wants to bring him back slowly, play him eight minutes in the first quarter and then eight minutes in the third quarter, just like a preseason game, no exceptions.
I appreciate that if Boston had a choice of what they could have this postseason, homecourt versus Orlando or a fully healthy KG, they should choose the latter without hesitation. But Garnett is a professional athlete, and a highly-conditioned one at that. Moreover, he's undoubtedly going to play more minutes per game as the regular season winds down; the Boston Globe is reporting that KG will play an additional eight minutes per game starting next week.
Given that, then, would it really have hurt to play him, say, 21 or 22 minutes instead of 17 last night? Might his presence on the court, in the stead of Glen Davis, opened up the court a bit more for Paul Pierce or Ray Allen? Might he have grabbed an offensive rebound the Celtics didn't otherwise get? Might he have scored the basket needed to win the game?
I don't know the answers to those questions. But the risk of playing KG an extra three minutes this one time was minimal, and the potential rewards were great. With an effective three-game lead on Orlando, it's likely that the Celtics could have essentially mailed in the final week of the regular season, resting Garnett as well as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen for the playoff run, without fear of losing homecourt advantage. Now, it appears that Boston will have to choose one or the other.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
I'm not going to blame this loss on Doc Rivers. Boston played terribly for much of the game and wouldn't have been a possession from winning if it weren't for some poor shooting by Orlando.
Nor am I prepared to say that this game mattered that much. Sure, a win would have given the Celtics a near-lock on the second seed in the East -- and with it, home-court advantage in a semifinal series with these very same Magic -- but all is not lost. Orlando has a game on Boston in the loss column, but Boston, for now, has the tiebreaker of a better conference record. And frankly, even though the Cs have now lost seven of their last eight games in Orlando, I don't think they need homecourt to beat the Magic in a seven-game series.
Still, homecourt advantage would have been a nice thing to have in the back pocket, a nice safety blanket, and Wednesday night was a real shot at locking it up. With that in mind, then, why did Kevin Garnett play only 17 minutes?
Oh, I know the given reason. He's coming off the knee injury, and Doc wants to bring him back slowly, play him eight minutes in the first quarter and then eight minutes in the third quarter, just like a preseason game, no exceptions.
I appreciate that if Boston had a choice of what they could have this postseason, homecourt versus Orlando or a fully healthy KG, they should choose the latter without hesitation. But Garnett is a professional athlete, and a highly-conditioned one at that. Moreover, he's undoubtedly going to play more minutes per game as the regular season winds down; the Boston Globe is reporting that KG will play an additional eight minutes per game starting next week.
Given that, then, would it really have hurt to play him, say, 21 or 22 minutes instead of 17 last night? Might his presence on the court, in the stead of Glen Davis, opened up the court a bit more for Paul Pierce or Ray Allen? Might he have grabbed an offensive rebound the Celtics didn't otherwise get? Might he have scored the basket needed to win the game?
I don't know the answers to those questions. But the risk of playing KG an extra three minutes this one time was minimal, and the potential rewards were great. With an effective three-game lead on Orlando, it's likely that the Celtics could have essentially mailed in the final week of the regular season, resting Garnett as well as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen for the playoff run, without fear of losing homecourt advantage. Now, it appears that Boston will have to choose one or the other.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Orlando 86, Boston 79
I don't really know how to feel about this one.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's hard to be too upset at this loss given the injuries we have. Kevin Garnett was out again -- word is that the absolute earliest he'll play is next Sunday -- and Rajon Rondo missed this one with the ankle injury he suffered but was able to play through against Cleveland on Friday. Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine continue to miss time with various injuries, and Glen Davis went out in the second half of this game with a bad ankle.
At the same time, that shouldn't be an excuse for not showing up until the third quarter, which is basically what happened. Boston got down by as many as 22 before making a late run -- Ray Allen, who was spectacular in the fourth quarter, actually had a decent look from three that would have tied it -- and you just can't do that against a good team like Orlando. The energy that carried the day against the Cavs was completely absent for the first 24 minutes against the Magic. The second half was better, thanks in particular to Leon Powe, who played his second straight inspired game and really did the best he could despite having to guard Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis -- two different matchup problems for him.
Stephon Marbury got the start in Rondo's stead and was largely ineffective. I like the move of starting him instead of Eddie House, even though House knows the offense better, just to get Marbury more comfortable. We need him to be more assertive on offense, a little more like the Marbury of old. He was too passive today. I think he's clearly worried about fitting in and conscious of disrupting championship chemistry, and he's been too unselfish in his first few games with the team. Boston didn't bring him in to pass up layups.
It's a delicate situation with Steph, because he's proven to be, shall we say, emotionally fragile, and the last thing you want is to send him a bunch of mixed messages. He's been reading and hearing about how he he's going to come in and destroy the Celtics, and for many reasons, he wants to avoid doing that. But the truth is, the Celtics need a little bit of his famously large ego, particularly with so many key players out. Marbury is capable of taking over offensively -- was capable, anyway, and I think still is -- and Doc Rivers needs to figure out a way to get him to do it, selectively.
So, while the loss was understandable, it's still frustrating, and the injury to Rondo comes at the worst possible time. If he misses any more time with KG out, we're in danger of losing games we "shouldn't" lose, which may very well mean that Friday's win, which seemed so important at the time for home court advantage purposes, may end up completely moot. Boston's next game is Wednesday at Miami, and while the Celtics are better than the Heat, it's a lot to ask to beat them on the road missing two starters and a handful of bench guys. But it may very well be that Boston will need to do exactly that, with no excuses.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's hard to be too upset at this loss given the injuries we have. Kevin Garnett was out again -- word is that the absolute earliest he'll play is next Sunday -- and Rajon Rondo missed this one with the ankle injury he suffered but was able to play through against Cleveland on Friday. Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine continue to miss time with various injuries, and Glen Davis went out in the second half of this game with a bad ankle.
At the same time, that shouldn't be an excuse for not showing up until the third quarter, which is basically what happened. Boston got down by as many as 22 before making a late run -- Ray Allen, who was spectacular in the fourth quarter, actually had a decent look from three that would have tied it -- and you just can't do that against a good team like Orlando. The energy that carried the day against the Cavs was completely absent for the first 24 minutes against the Magic. The second half was better, thanks in particular to Leon Powe, who played his second straight inspired game and really did the best he could despite having to guard Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis -- two different matchup problems for him.
Stephon Marbury got the start in Rondo's stead and was largely ineffective. I like the move of starting him instead of Eddie House, even though House knows the offense better, just to get Marbury more comfortable. We need him to be more assertive on offense, a little more like the Marbury of old. He was too passive today. I think he's clearly worried about fitting in and conscious of disrupting championship chemistry, and he's been too unselfish in his first few games with the team. Boston didn't bring him in to pass up layups.
It's a delicate situation with Steph, because he's proven to be, shall we say, emotionally fragile, and the last thing you want is to send him a bunch of mixed messages. He's been reading and hearing about how he he's going to come in and destroy the Celtics, and for many reasons, he wants to avoid doing that. But the truth is, the Celtics need a little bit of his famously large ego, particularly with so many key players out. Marbury is capable of taking over offensively -- was capable, anyway, and I think still is -- and Doc Rivers needs to figure out a way to get him to do it, selectively.
So, while the loss was understandable, it's still frustrating, and the injury to Rondo comes at the worst possible time. If he misses any more time with KG out, we're in danger of losing games we "shouldn't" lose, which may very well mean that Friday's win, which seemed so important at the time for home court advantage purposes, may end up completely moot. Boston's next game is Wednesday at Miami, and while the Celtics are better than the Heat, it's a lot to ask to beat them on the road missing two starters and a handful of bench guys. But it may very well be that Boston will need to do exactly that, with no excuses.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Utah 90, Boston 85
A frustrating loss, but one that needs to be kept in persepective.
[recap] [box score]
The big difference in tonight's game was that Kevin Garnett went out just before halftime with what they're calling a sprained right knee. Apparently the knee has been bothering him a bit of late, and when he went up for a rebound on a break, he seemed to tweak it a bit on takeoff. It was a scary moment, as it always is when there's a non-contact knee injury. But it looked like KG wanted to return, and probably would have if it was, say, the playoffs. As frustrated as I get when the Celtics lose, shutting him down for the night in the hopes that he can come back Sunday against Phoenix was the right move.
And yes, Utah was also missing their power forward, Carlos Boozer. But Boston is definitely the least deep of the title contenders this year; more than any other team, the Celtics are reliant on their starters, in particular Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. We can't realistically expect to win against a good team like the Jazz without one of those three, particularly in a place as difficult to win as Utah.
This game was winnable, though. The Celtics hit just 19 of 29 free throws. And I didn't much like the offense down the stretch. We went to the pick and roll with Rondo and Pierce, like we did against Dallas last week, but Pierce wasn't hitting his shots, probably because he played more than 45 minutes and was battling a very physical Utah defense the whole night (because I'm trying to keep this loss in perspective, I'm not going to complain about the officiating, which was inconsistent, at best, all night). Pierce picked up one offensive foul on that play, and missed almost everything else. We went to the well too early, and too often. When we have Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo (who caused some problems for Deron Williams in the fourth quarter), we shouldn't run that play into the ground. We've got other options.
The cap to the frustrating night came when Utah missed a free throw with eight seconds left up three, but got the offensive rebound and sealed the game. Boston had no timeouts left, and the three-point shooting team was in. With no timeouts remaining, Doc couldn't sub in, and that left Allen and Pierce on the low block, and Utah overwhelmed them and got the board. When I was watching them line up, I was worried about that exact thing happening, but I guess with no timeouts, there's nothing Doc could have done.
Time to put this one past us. Hopefully KG will be fine for Sunday (2:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC) and we can get a win against a Suns team that has put up an average of 141 points in two games since firing Terry Porter. Alvin Gentry has re-installed their uptempo offense, and even though both those offensive explosions came against the hapless Los Angeles Clippers, 141 points against any NBA team is impressive.
Patrick O'Bryant, we hardly knew ye. The young center -- whom Boston signed as a free agent in the offseason -- was shipped to Toronto in a three-way deal that resulted in Raptors reserve point guard Will Solomon being sent to Sacramento. Boston's take? Another heavily-protected second-round pick from Sacramento, quite similar to the Cassell deal. Like the Cassell move, this is a clear money-saving measure - the picks are protected enough that it's quite possible we'll never actually get them.
I had hoped that O'Bryant -- our only true backup center -- would evolve into something under the tutelage of Clifford Ray, but it seems as though he lacks the toughness, defense, and half-court offense to fit into the Celtics' current plans.
Shipping Cassell and O'Bryant out leaves us with two roster spots open to sign players who may be bought out in the coming days. The most desirable target is Oklahoma City veteran power forward Joe Smith, who was part of the Tyson Chandler trade a few days ago that was rescinded after Chandler failed a physical. Smith has been a buyout candidate all year, and would be a very nice fill-in for our undersized bench corps.
The other rumor is Sacramento power forward Mikki Moore, whom the Kings were allegedly trying hard to move before the trade deadline. I'd rather have Smith, but Moore would be better than nothing.
I suppose it's possible that if Boston signs both of them if both are bought out. However, I still wouldn't rule out Cassell returning to the team. I have to wonder if the injury to Tony Allen had something to do with the O'Bryant trade: did we move Cassell with the intention of signing a guy like Smith, then have second thoughts about leaving our backcourt so thin when it was realized that Allen would miss two months? It's hard to imagine that the front office didn't at least suspect that Allen would miss significant time, but anything's possible. Either way, a frontcourt contributor has to be our top priority, but I would be surprised to see a backcourt acquisition down the stretch here. The Knicks' Stephon Marbury is probably the target, though we still need him to be bought out before we can sign him. If not the Starchild, then Cassell seems like the most likely option. I don't know of other guards who are likely to be bought out. Under NBA rules, Cassell cannot re-sign with Boston until 30 days have passed from the day he was traded, but I can't see any other team picking him up in the interim. Even if there was interest from other contenders, I'm sure his preference would be to return to Boston.
There were some rumors that we were trying to get Andres Nocioni, traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Kings as part of a deal for Brad Miller and John Salmons. I can see the appeal of Nocioni -- a tenacious defender with a bit of a mean streak who can hit the three; someone in the mold of James Posey, who was so key to the title last year and who signed with New Orleans in the offseason. But the rumored deal included some size: O'Bryant, Scalabrine, Glen Davis, along with Tony Allen. I've gotten conflicting reports on whether it was just all or some of that group, but either way, I'm glad we didn't do it. We could probably use Nocioni, but it doesn't make sense to bolster the wing at the expense of an already undersized second-team frontcourt.
Despite a lot of small deals, it was a relatively quiet trade deadline in terms of biggest impact deals. The biggest move and the one that matters to the Celtics was the Orlando Magic acquiring Houston point guard Rafer Alston (the Rockets then filled their hole at the point by acquiring Memphis' Kyle Lowry, who will share time at the 1 with Aaron Brooks). Jameer Nelson's season-ending shoulder injury left the Magic with a big hole, and if Alston can knock down some three-pointers, the Magic might not miss a beat.
[recap] [box score]
The big difference in tonight's game was that Kevin Garnett went out just before halftime with what they're calling a sprained right knee. Apparently the knee has been bothering him a bit of late, and when he went up for a rebound on a break, he seemed to tweak it a bit on takeoff. It was a scary moment, as it always is when there's a non-contact knee injury. But it looked like KG wanted to return, and probably would have if it was, say, the playoffs. As frustrated as I get when the Celtics lose, shutting him down for the night in the hopes that he can come back Sunday against Phoenix was the right move.
And yes, Utah was also missing their power forward, Carlos Boozer. But Boston is definitely the least deep of the title contenders this year; more than any other team, the Celtics are reliant on their starters, in particular Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. We can't realistically expect to win against a good team like the Jazz without one of those three, particularly in a place as difficult to win as Utah.
This game was winnable, though. The Celtics hit just 19 of 29 free throws. And I didn't much like the offense down the stretch. We went to the pick and roll with Rondo and Pierce, like we did against Dallas last week, but Pierce wasn't hitting his shots, probably because he played more than 45 minutes and was battling a very physical Utah defense the whole night (because I'm trying to keep this loss in perspective, I'm not going to complain about the officiating, which was inconsistent, at best, all night). Pierce picked up one offensive foul on that play, and missed almost everything else. We went to the well too early, and too often. When we have Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo (who caused some problems for Deron Williams in the fourth quarter), we shouldn't run that play into the ground. We've got other options.
The cap to the frustrating night came when Utah missed a free throw with eight seconds left up three, but got the offensive rebound and sealed the game. Boston had no timeouts left, and the three-point shooting team was in. With no timeouts remaining, Doc couldn't sub in, and that left Allen and Pierce on the low block, and Utah overwhelmed them and got the board. When I was watching them line up, I was worried about that exact thing happening, but I guess with no timeouts, there's nothing Doc could have done.
Time to put this one past us. Hopefully KG will be fine for Sunday (2:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC) and we can get a win against a Suns team that has put up an average of 141 points in two games since firing Terry Porter. Alvin Gentry has re-installed their uptempo offense, and even though both those offensive explosions came against the hapless Los Angeles Clippers, 141 points against any NBA team is impressive.
Patrick O'Bryant, we hardly knew ye. The young center -- whom Boston signed as a free agent in the offseason -- was shipped to Toronto in a three-way deal that resulted in Raptors reserve point guard Will Solomon being sent to Sacramento. Boston's take? Another heavily-protected second-round pick from Sacramento, quite similar to the Cassell deal. Like the Cassell move, this is a clear money-saving measure - the picks are protected enough that it's quite possible we'll never actually get them.
I had hoped that O'Bryant -- our only true backup center -- would evolve into something under the tutelage of Clifford Ray, but it seems as though he lacks the toughness, defense, and half-court offense to fit into the Celtics' current plans.
Shipping Cassell and O'Bryant out leaves us with two roster spots open to sign players who may be bought out in the coming days. The most desirable target is Oklahoma City veteran power forward Joe Smith, who was part of the Tyson Chandler trade a few days ago that was rescinded after Chandler failed a physical. Smith has been a buyout candidate all year, and would be a very nice fill-in for our undersized bench corps.
The other rumor is Sacramento power forward Mikki Moore, whom the Kings were allegedly trying hard to move before the trade deadline. I'd rather have Smith, but Moore would be better than nothing.
I suppose it's possible that if Boston signs both of them if both are bought out. However, I still wouldn't rule out Cassell returning to the team. I have to wonder if the injury to Tony Allen had something to do with the O'Bryant trade: did we move Cassell with the intention of signing a guy like Smith, then have second thoughts about leaving our backcourt so thin when it was realized that Allen would miss two months? It's hard to imagine that the front office didn't at least suspect that Allen would miss significant time, but anything's possible. Either way, a frontcourt contributor has to be our top priority, but I would be surprised to see a backcourt acquisition down the stretch here. The Knicks' Stephon Marbury is probably the target, though we still need him to be bought out before we can sign him. If not the Starchild, then Cassell seems like the most likely option. I don't know of other guards who are likely to be bought out. Under NBA rules, Cassell cannot re-sign with Boston until 30 days have passed from the day he was traded, but I can't see any other team picking him up in the interim. Even if there was interest from other contenders, I'm sure his preference would be to return to Boston.
There were some rumors that we were trying to get Andres Nocioni, traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Kings as part of a deal for Brad Miller and John Salmons. I can see the appeal of Nocioni -- a tenacious defender with a bit of a mean streak who can hit the three; someone in the mold of James Posey, who was so key to the title last year and who signed with New Orleans in the offseason. But the rumored deal included some size: O'Bryant, Scalabrine, Glen Davis, along with Tony Allen. I've gotten conflicting reports on whether it was just all or some of that group, but either way, I'm glad we didn't do it. We could probably use Nocioni, but it doesn't make sense to bolster the wing at the expense of an already undersized second-team frontcourt.
Despite a lot of small deals, it was a relatively quiet trade deadline in terms of biggest impact deals. The biggest move and the one that matters to the Celtics was the Orlando Magic acquiring Houston point guard Rafer Alston (the Rockets then filled their hole at the point by acquiring Memphis' Kyle Lowry, who will share time at the 1 with Aaron Brooks). Jameer Nelson's season-ending shoulder injury left the Magic with a big hole, and if Alston can knock down some three-pointers, the Magic might not miss a beat.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Boston 100, Philadelphia 99
I picked a bad night to be busy. Ray Allen hits a game-winner and I missed it because I was busy with law school stuff.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
You can look at the box score and highlights yourself. The one thing I want to say is that for those who have followed Paul Pierce's career, it's so refreshing to see him notch the game-winning assist. Not that he's an inherently selfish player; just that there was a time when everyone knew who was taking a last-second shot for Boston.
Nice screen by Glen Davis to free Ray, too. Davis had a double-double starting for Kevin Garnett, who missed his second straight game due to illness. I think I'd better get used to Davis over Powe in the lineup.
As alluded to at the end of the ESPN clip, above, Boston now owns the two longest winning streaks in the NBA this year; the 19-gamer that ended Christmas Day in Los Angeles, and this current 12-gamer. Our next game? Thursday night against those very same Lakers, at 8 p.m. on TNT. Actually, they aren't "those very same Lakers": They are of course without Andrew Bynum, though that didn't matter much against New York on Monday night - Kobe Bryant set the Madison Square Garden single-game scoring record by dropping 61 on the Knicks (highlights). I don't think the Lakers can beat us with Kobe dominating the ball like that - we're much better defensively than the Knicks. There's some speculation that Bryant went out and played the way he did because he felt responsible for Bynum's knee injury (Kobe fell on Bynum's leg, causing the torn MCL). It will be interesting to see if Kobe continues in the "I've gotta do everything" mindset, or reverts back to trusting his teammates like he did so well last year.
Speaking of Bynum, another contender suffered an injury loss that deals a serious blow to their title chances. Orlando Magic PG Jameer Nelson tore the labrum in his right shoulder after being fouled by Dallas' Erick Dampier Monday night. He may miss the rest of the season.
I' m not as high on Nelson as this guy is (scroll down to the comments section to see the friendly back and forth we had about Jameer) but this is obviously a big blow to Orlando, whose backup point guard is journeyman Anthony Johnson, and whose backup to Anthony Johnson is ... nobody. They've got to make a move, but whatever move they make, it won't compensate for the loss of Nelson. They should still win the Southeast (they currently have a nine-game lead on Atlanta), but barring similiar injuries in Cleveland or Boston, they are facing a second-round playoff series on the road. Pretty harsh for a team that's started 36-11.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
You can look at the box score and highlights yourself. The one thing I want to say is that for those who have followed Paul Pierce's career, it's so refreshing to see him notch the game-winning assist. Not that he's an inherently selfish player; just that there was a time when everyone knew who was taking a last-second shot for Boston.
Nice screen by Glen Davis to free Ray, too. Davis had a double-double starting for Kevin Garnett, who missed his second straight game due to illness. I think I'd better get used to Davis over Powe in the lineup.
As alluded to at the end of the ESPN clip, above, Boston now owns the two longest winning streaks in the NBA this year; the 19-gamer that ended Christmas Day in Los Angeles, and this current 12-gamer. Our next game? Thursday night against those very same Lakers, at 8 p.m. on TNT. Actually, they aren't "those very same Lakers": They are of course without Andrew Bynum, though that didn't matter much against New York on Monday night - Kobe Bryant set the Madison Square Garden single-game scoring record by dropping 61 on the Knicks (highlights). I don't think the Lakers can beat us with Kobe dominating the ball like that - we're much better defensively than the Knicks. There's some speculation that Bryant went out and played the way he did because he felt responsible for Bynum's knee injury (Kobe fell on Bynum's leg, causing the torn MCL). It will be interesting to see if Kobe continues in the "I've gotta do everything" mindset, or reverts back to trusting his teammates like he did so well last year.
Speaking of Bynum, another contender suffered an injury loss that deals a serious blow to their title chances. Orlando Magic PG Jameer Nelson tore the labrum in his right shoulder after being fouled by Dallas' Erick Dampier Monday night. He may miss the rest of the season.
I' m not as high on Nelson as this guy is (scroll down to the comments section to see the friendly back and forth we had about Jameer) but this is obviously a big blow to Orlando, whose backup point guard is journeyman Anthony Johnson, and whose backup to Anthony Johnson is ... nobody. They've got to make a move, but whatever move they make, it won't compensate for the loss of Nelson. They should still win the Southeast (they currently have a nine-game lead on Atlanta), but barring similiar injuries in Cleveland or Boston, they are facing a second-round playoff series on the road. Pretty harsh for a team that's started 36-11.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Boston 90, Orlando 80
Boston passed an important test tonight.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's far too early to call this NBA season a four-horse race, but at this stage, four teams have established themselves as the cream of the crop: Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando in the East, and the Los Angeles Lakers in the West. After an opening-night win against the Cavaliers and a blowout of the Magic that was win number nine of a 19-game winning streak, the Celtics had lost their last two matchups with this crew: a tight one in LA on Christmas Day, and a 15-point debacle in Cleveland two weeks ago. The Cs had ripped off six straight wins since dropping that one to the Cavs, but there was a lot more at stake Thursday night in Orlando.
Boston came away with a relatively comfortable victory, opening up an eight-point halftime lead, and letting the Magic closer than that margin just twice, when Jameer Nelson sandwiched buckets around a Glen Davis jumper to twice cut the lead to seven with fewer than three minutes to play. But it didn't necessarily come easily, as this was one of the ugliest games of the season. Both teams looked disjointed offensively from the get-go; the building was pretty much dead, despite a reported sellout crowd; the officiating was disruptive and inconsistent.
The offense was ugly. It was a lot of Paul Pierce going one-on-one with an overmatched Hedo Turkoglu, with an unexpected contribution from Davis, whose jumper was falling tonight.
Here's how bad the offense was: The Celtics registered nine assists on 35 baskets, a rate of just over 25 percent. Compare that to team averages for the season coming into the game: 22-plus assists per game (4th best in the league); assists on nearly 61 percent of all baskets.
Nine assists is a very low number. I don't have time to check to make sure, but it has to be a season-low. Hell, Rajon Rondo is averaging eight per game, and he has 13 double-digit assist games already this year.
I'm feeling good about the team, but I'd like us to have a more solid idea of our frontcourt rotation. For whatever reason, Doc doesn't like starting Davis or Leon Powe, so when Kendrick Perkins got injured, Brian Scalabrine stepped into the starting lineup. Scal played well enough to prove that he deserves minutes as a passable rotation player, but its come at the expense of Leon Powe, who I think is the most solid of the three backup frontcourt players. When he's playing well, Davis is the more dynamic offensive player, but he's just as capable of hurting the team with a 1-for-12 performance (like he did in a recent win over Toronto) as he is of providing an unexpected spark, like he did tonight; doing a nice job on the three-million-vote man, Dwight Howard (note that Kevin Garnett will join Howard as a frontcourt starter for the East in the All-Star game - the reserves will be named shortly, and I expect Pierce, Ray Allen, and maybe even Rajon Rondo to join KG on the squad); scoring over Howard; hitting midrange jumpers with unusual accuracy. Powe hasn't developed into the versatile player I think he's capable of being, but he's not as much of a liability when he's playing poorly, as he seems more aware of his limitations than Davis is. I'm more of a Powe guy than a Davis guy, but I don't really care as long as a rotation is set and whoever is in it is playing well relatively consistently. What concerns me is that I don't know that Davis is that consistent player, and I worry about Powe's confidence, as he seems to have lost minutes despite not playing that poorly, while Davis has been given minutes without playing so well that Doc can't possibly keep him on the bench. Against Orlando, it wasn't until Perkins and Davis had each picked up three personal fouls checking Howard that Powe entered the game, with 2:22 remaining in the first half. I'm worried that Doc is ruining Leon by yanking him around like this.
Next game is Sunday vs. Dallas, on ABC at 1 p.m. Eastern.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's far too early to call this NBA season a four-horse race, but at this stage, four teams have established themselves as the cream of the crop: Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando in the East, and the Los Angeles Lakers in the West. After an opening-night win against the Cavaliers and a blowout of the Magic that was win number nine of a 19-game winning streak, the Celtics had lost their last two matchups with this crew: a tight one in LA on Christmas Day, and a 15-point debacle in Cleveland two weeks ago. The Cs had ripped off six straight wins since dropping that one to the Cavs, but there was a lot more at stake Thursday night in Orlando.
Boston came away with a relatively comfortable victory, opening up an eight-point halftime lead, and letting the Magic closer than that margin just twice, when Jameer Nelson sandwiched buckets around a Glen Davis jumper to twice cut the lead to seven with fewer than three minutes to play. But it didn't necessarily come easily, as this was one of the ugliest games of the season. Both teams looked disjointed offensively from the get-go; the building was pretty much dead, despite a reported sellout crowd; the officiating was disruptive and inconsistent.
The offense was ugly. It was a lot of Paul Pierce going one-on-one with an overmatched Hedo Turkoglu, with an unexpected contribution from Davis, whose jumper was falling tonight.
Here's how bad the offense was: The Celtics registered nine assists on 35 baskets, a rate of just over 25 percent. Compare that to team averages for the season coming into the game: 22-plus assists per game (4th best in the league); assists on nearly 61 percent of all baskets.
Nine assists is a very low number. I don't have time to check to make sure, but it has to be a season-low. Hell, Rajon Rondo is averaging eight per game, and he has 13 double-digit assist games already this year.
I'm feeling good about the team, but I'd like us to have a more solid idea of our frontcourt rotation. For whatever reason, Doc doesn't like starting Davis or Leon Powe, so when Kendrick Perkins got injured, Brian Scalabrine stepped into the starting lineup. Scal played well enough to prove that he deserves minutes as a passable rotation player, but its come at the expense of Leon Powe, who I think is the most solid of the three backup frontcourt players. When he's playing well, Davis is the more dynamic offensive player, but he's just as capable of hurting the team with a 1-for-12 performance (like he did in a recent win over Toronto) as he is of providing an unexpected spark, like he did tonight; doing a nice job on the three-million-vote man, Dwight Howard (note that Kevin Garnett will join Howard as a frontcourt starter for the East in the All-Star game - the reserves will be named shortly, and I expect Pierce, Ray Allen, and maybe even Rajon Rondo to join KG on the squad); scoring over Howard; hitting midrange jumpers with unusual accuracy. Powe hasn't developed into the versatile player I think he's capable of being, but he's not as much of a liability when he's playing poorly, as he seems more aware of his limitations than Davis is. I'm more of a Powe guy than a Davis guy, but I don't really care as long as a rotation is set and whoever is in it is playing well relatively consistently. What concerns me is that I don't know that Davis is that consistent player, and I worry about Powe's confidence, as he seems to have lost minutes despite not playing that poorly, while Davis has been given minutes without playing so well that Doc can't possibly keep him on the bench. Against Orlando, it wasn't until Perkins and Davis had each picked up three personal fouls checking Howard that Powe entered the game, with 2:22 remaining in the first half. I'm worried that Doc is ruining Leon by yanking him around like this.
Next game is Sunday vs. Dallas, on ABC at 1 p.m. Eastern.
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