Washington 85, Boston 83

The Celtics followed up an inspired blowout of Utah on Friday night with an embarrassing loss to the Washington Wizards.

[recap] [box score]

After an easy first period in which the Cs raced out to a 35-20 lead, the ball simply stopped going in the basket for Boston. If you watched the game or are any good at math, you'll already have figured out that after that first quarter, Boston scored just 48 points the rest of the way. Jumpers stopped falling, the bench didn't really contribute, and by and large the whole team just looked disinterested.

For their part, the Wizards didn't look much better. The matchup everyone was excited to see coming into the game was John Wall vs. Rajon Rondo, Wall being the top overall pick in last year's draft who didn't play due to injury in Washington's trip to Boston on November 17 (a 31-point Celtics win). Wall stole the headlines by banking in a three-pointer with less than a minute left to put the Wizards up three, but that seems to be because sportswriters don't seem to want to admit what a lucky shot that was. (To his credit, Wall recognized what they didn't: "I knew it was going to hit backboard, but I thought it was going to be a hard brick. It could've broken the backboard. Luckily, it went in.")

Other than that prayer, Wall's biggest play was a layup in transition with 2:34 to play that gave the Wizards their first lead of the game, after coming up empty on no fewer than eight fourth-quarter possessions with the score tied or Washington down a single point. Rondo wasn't spectacular, but he was quite a bit better than Wall all night. Had Paul Pierce been able to knock down the game-winner over Andray Blatche, all anyone would be talking about today was Rondo's strip of Wall on Washington's last possession that gave Pierce the chance to win the game. Don't get me wrong, Wall is going places and I really like the way he handles himself. I just want to temper everyone's reaction to the game by pointing out that Rondo more or less kicked his butt all night.

Shaquille O'Neal sat out after injuring his hip on Friday night against the Jazz, a game in which he played just six minutes. The injury may be related to when Shaq fell on some ice around Christmastime. With Jermaine O'Neal out for the next month or so to strengthen his legs and hopefully be able to play down the stretch, Semih Erden got the start. Doc, at least, doesn't think Shaq's injury is serious, but with the Lakers looming at the end of the week, it's something to keep an eye on.

Glen Davis got the most minutes of any Boston frontcourt player -- give Doc credit for not riding Kevin Garnett too much, which would have been easy under the circumstances -- and seemed to fall back into his habit of relying on jumpers. It seems that this becomes Davis' MO when Shaq is out and he feels he needs to be a bigger part of the offense. Hopefully, he can be broken of that habit.

Boston 119, Sacramento 95

It took a whole half, but a game that should have been an easy win finally became an easy win.

[recap] [box score]

The Kings aren't very good to begin with, didn't have Tyreke Evans, had lost to the Wizards in overtime the night before, and arrived in Boston around 4 a.m. thanks to the winter storm in the Northeast. Even so, despite a quick 8-0 Boston start, Sacramento hung around during the first 24 minutes.

The Celtics shot well, plain and simple, which they should do against a bad team like the Kings. They hit 12 of 20 three-point attempts, shot 52 percent overall, and with the exception of Glen Davis (who wasn't horrible, at 6 of 14), knocked down more or less every open jumper they got. All eleven Celtics who played scored, and with the starters resting the entire forth quarter, eight Celtics reached double figures. (The ones who didn't were Luke Harangody, Avery Bradley, and Shaquille O'Neal, who, according to Mike Gorman, predicted before the game that he'd get into foul trouble, which he did. Apparently, Bob Delaney has it out for him.)

Jermaine O'Neal didn't play because his knee swelled up right before the game. This is a concern; as well as Semih Erden played in extended minutes last night, we'd rather have JON ot there.

Boston 84, Philadelphia 80

To call Boston's 14th consecutive win a struggle would be an understatement.

[recap] [box score]

The Celtics battled two things all game Wednesday night (in addition to the Sixers): poor shooting and the officiating.

To the former point, you could tell from the get-go it was just one of those nights. Several early shots -- particularly off the fingertips of Paul Pierce -- rattled in and out, and after serious foul trouble hitting the starting unit and the bench came out cold*, it was only the excellence of Ray Allen that allowed the Cs to score even the 38 points they did score in the first half. The team got it going for brief stretches in the second half, but shot 38.8 percent from the floor for the game -- which I'm fairly sure is a season low.

To the latter point -- the officiating -- the box score doesn't tell the entire story. Philadelphia had 31 free throw attempts to Boston's 21, but until the late stages of the game, the discrepancy was much larger. In fact, the Celtics shot the game's final 12 free throws, which means that after Tony Battie missed an and-one with 4:48 remaining in the game, the Sixers had taken 31 shots from the line to Boston's nine. Some of that differential was justified, but it's a peculiar circumstance, indeed, where one team deserves 22 more free throw attempts than its opponent.

For their part, the Celtics did a nice job down the stretch of forcing the refs to give Boston the calls they had been giving Philly all night. The officials had been calling it close, and the Celts really looked to create contact in the final five minutes or so. After the aforementioned Battie miss it was 74-70, Sixers; Boston closed on a 14-6 run, getting ten points from the line. (The two lone misses from the line in the waning moments came courtesy of Shaquille O'Neal. I was surprised to see him in the game late for precisely this reason, and even more surprised to see the team use him in the screen-and-roll on a couple of late possessions.)

Boston won this game because of excellent defense and because of a champion's knack for winning close games on its less-than-great nights -- the second time in a couple of weeks Boston's pulled this latter trick on Philadelphia. Of course, so many of these games went the other way last season, and it was around this time that last year's regular season started to become disappointing. I heard tonight that Boston is now 94-14 in pre-Christmas games over the past four seasons. The post-Christmas (well, post-pre-Christmas) portion of the schedule begins Saturday, and it says here that Boston continues its winning ways in January and beyond.

*To be fair to the bench, they actually played pretty well -- other than scoring. Glen Davis shot 2-for-9 but had seven rebounds; Marquis Daniels shot 2-for-7 but had four boards and five assists. Semih Erden grabbed five boards. Von Wafer actually hit a couple of shots, and Avery Bradley had a big steal and basket early in the second quarter. Pressed into a little bit of extra duty as three starters were hit with three fouls apiece in the first half, the second unit held things together -- especially on the defensive end -- to keep the game winnable.

Boston 102, Atlanta 90

One night after an emotional, up-and-down win in New York over the Knicks, the depleted Celtics returned home and beat the Hawks.

[recap] [box score]

Rajon Rondo missed the game with the ankle injury he suffered in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. That makes five missed games and counting for Rondo this year, who missed four games earlier with hamstring and foot injuries. In each of those games, Nate Robinson has gotten the start in Rondo's stead, and until tonight, he had performed well in each -- much better, in fact, than he's been most of the time coming off the bench this season. He reached double figures in scoring in three of those contests, and it seemed that he was more comfortable with the first team -- when he could focus on scoring -- than with the second unit, where he has had to create for others in the absence of Delonte West.

Robinson struggled a bit on Thursday, and I lead with a sour note on an otherwise satisfactory evening because it appears that Rondo will miss a few games and Boston will need to figure out what to do with Nate in the starting lineup.

Nate's problem tonight was, quite simply, that he tried to be too much like Rondo. Steve Kerr and Kevin McHale, announcing the game for TNT, noticed this in second half, when Robinson threw a flashy, left-handed, lookaway pass to Semih Erden on the break, but Robinson had forced a pass early and had really tried to do too much the entire game. Robinson has never been a traditional point guard, and never will be; he's a scorer trapped in a point guard's body. (Height-wise, anyway, he's actually trapped in a ballboy's body.) When Boston got a comfortable lead in this game in the third quarter, it was with Paul Pierce assuming ballhandling duties and Nate Robinson and Ray Allen playing off the ball.

I really like Nate (not that I always have) and think he's been a great addition to the team. And he's played well this season. And it definitely feels weird to say that Nate was looking to set other people up too much when he took 15 shots. But he's a better player when he's being Nate than he is when he's trying to be Rondo. If he can't just be Nate, then we can expect to see more of Pierce initiating the offense (which was a smart move by Doc, by the way).

A few bullets:

• Pierce, by the way, responded to his playmaking duties with ten assists. And he did a great job -- with help, of course -- on Josh Smith, which in theory should be a really tough matchup for him.
• It was nice to see Erden bounce back with a good game. The rookie has been forced into action far too early, and he's had his ups and downs. Wednesday night in New York was definitely one of the down notes. Given the impossible task of stopping Amar'e Stoudemire, Erden got lit up early, and you could tell from his body language that he wasn't going to be a factor the rest of the night. Thursday, he picked his head up and scored ten points.
• Points-rebounds double-doubles for Kevin Garnett (17/14) and Glen Davis (18/10). We need those guys to keep rebounding well, particularly with so many of our centers on the sidelines. (Erden didn't grab a rebound in nearly 24 minutes against the Hawks).
• Luke Harangody got seven-plus minutes of playing time and didn't play half badly. At this point in his young career, he's solely a pick-and-pop guy, Matt Bonner or Brian Scalabrine, perhaps without quite as much range. Whether he develops into something more remains to be seen, but I do think he has potential in at least that limited role. His shot is still really weird-looking, but he's got a smooth, quick release on his jumper -- much quicker than I've seen out of anyone else who played power forward in college. I'd prefer that he not turn and run downcourt immediately after releasing the ball -- maybe he's just confident, and thinks everything he puts up is going in. I hope that we don't need him to contribute this year, but I think he'll become a serviceable rotation player in time, which isn't bad for the 52nd pick in the draft.
• I would be remiss to not mention the fact that Atlanta was shorthanded, too, with Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford missing the game. Johnson and Crawford are the Hawks two best scorers, and, indeed, the two Hawks who most tortured the Celtics last season, when Atlanta swept the season series 4-0. Without those two, the Hawks -- particularly the starting five -- were impotent on offense, with the exception of Marvin Williams (which makes sense, considering that he's a three and therefore a tough cover for Allen). Josh Smith, in particular, should be ashamed of his performance, as he played with a peculiar blend of apathy and being out-of-control on his way to 0-for-8 on the floor. He didn't make his presence felt on the glass or on defense, either. Johnson and Crawford are key guys, but Smith and Al Horford are too talented to combine for nine points against a short-handed opponent.

The next lamb is the Indiana Pacers, who will be led to the slaughterhouse on Sunday in a 1 p.m. game. I will be at said slaughterhouse, making my fourth annual mid-December trip to Boston to see the Cs. Looking forward to the weekend, and I'll post again on Monday.

The Next Lamb: The New York Knicks

Game 24: Boston (19-4) at New York (16-9)

Wednesday, December 15

7 p.m. Eastern

ESPN

Last meeting: @Boston 105, New York 101 (10/29/2010)

Long time, no talk. Another semester of law school is in the books, and I've got little to do until Friday other than recycle the mountains of empty TaB cans that have accumulated in my apartment over the last several weeks. So it's time to talk a little Cs.

Last time I posted a game recap, Boston had nearly blown a big lead late against Portland before hanging on for its fifth straight victory. Since that game, the Celtics have continued their winning ways, stretching the streak to 10 with wins over Chicago, New Jersey, Denver (sans Carmelo Anthony), Philadelphia, and Charlotte.

That ten-game streak marks the longest active streak in the league. Second is Miami, with nine straight wins.

Third? Eight games. The New York Knicks.

That's right, after starting off 8-9, the Knicks have run off eight in a row and certainly seem like a different team than the one we beat in the season's first week. "Different" might not be the right word, actually. These Knicks are doing the same thing they've always done under coach Mike D'Antoni -- namely score points and not play defense -- but they're doing it much more effectively this season. Amar'e Stoudemire, in particular, has hit a groove (he's scored 30 or more points in a franchise-record eight straight games) and point guard Raymond Felton has brought a little bit of scoring punch along with his playmaking prowess, a double Chris Duhon never could pull off. Felton's no Steve Nash, but he's grown comfortable in D'Antoni's system rather quickly. Wilson Chandler got off to a great start on the wing for them and has put up solid numbers all year; just as he started to cool off, it seemed like Danilo Gallinari shook off his slow start and began to heat up.

Where the Knicks are vulnerable is on the interior. Stoudemire's been starting at the five with Chandler and Gallinari alongside in the frontcourt. If Shaq plays, it'll either force Stoudemire to work on defense or D'Antoni to bring in one of his real centers, Timofey Mozgov and Ronny Turiaf -- both of which are good things for Boston. But Shaq's missed the last two games with a sore calf and is questionable for Wednesday. If he can't go, the start will likely fall to Semih Erden, who has done a nice job of late but who isn't going to force D'Antoni into any lineup changes.

As well as the Knicks have been playing during this streak, they've won only two games against teams I would describe as anything other than "bad": at New Orleans against the suddenly struggling Hornets, and at home against the Nuggets in Carmelo Anthony's shameless showcase after sitting out two nights before in Boston. Basketball, when you boil it down, is just offense and defense, and the Knicks are pretty good at offense and pretty bad at defense. If you can pretty well on both ends -- not just okay, but it doesn't have to be spectacular, either -- you have a good chance at beating them, winning streak or no winning streak.

Boston 110, Toronto 101

Maybe I'm just being ornery, but I would've liked to have seen a bit more out of the Celtics on Friday night.

[recap] [box score]

Early on, Boston sure looked like it was out to avenge Sunday's 102-101 loss to the Raptors in Toronto. Rajon Rondo, who didn't play in that game or the two games immediately following it, dished out eight assists, Ray Allen hit a trio of three-pointers, and the team barely missed on the way to a 31-20 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the bench let the Raptors back into it in the second quarter -- then let the Raps back into it again in the fourth after Boston led by 19 at the end of three.

I know the second unit is missing two key pieces in Jermaine O'Neal and Delonte West, but that can't become an excuse all season long. West is going is going to be out a while, and even when Jermaine gets back from whatever knee problem that's currently bugging him, he'll still probably going to be game-to-game with the nagging injuries that have plagued his whole career. Semih Erden had one of his better games, but he's still a project at this point, and other than Glen Davis -- who plays a big chunk of his minutes with the first unit -- no one else made any sort of contribution off the bench. Nate Robinson and Marquis Daniels are capable of much more than they showed tonight, and more than they've showed consistently this season.

Kevin Garnett was simply superb Friday night, connecting with Rondo on a number of those 35-foot alley-oops that seem to be the pair's signature hookup. Shaquille O'Neal also had a big game, as he should whenever he spends part of the evening being guarded by Andrea Bargnani. Paul Pierce was pretty quiet for most of the game, but did a nice job stopping the bleeding in the fourth quarter. Allen went quiet after his hot start, and Rondo started well but then got a bit careless with the ball (the man is entitled to need a game to find his rhythm).

The Celtics are off until Tuesday, when they'll have an opportunity to properly avenge the first loss of the season, in Cleveland.

Toronto 102, Boston 101

Ugh.

[recap] [box score]

Normally, I wouldn't be too upset losing a game on the kind of freak play the Celtics lost this one on. Up three with 21 seconds left is a pretty good spot to be in, even when the other team has the ball. Toronto's Sonny Weems drove for a quick two, but Boston quickly inbounded the ball to Ray Allen, who is as automatic as it gets from the free throw line. So far, so good.

But Toronto didn't foul right away, and Allen -- a shaky ballhander in the open court -- evaded Leandro Barbosa and headed up court. Barbosa reached around from behind and either flicked the ball away or flicked Allen's arm -- I couldn't tell. No whistle, though, and the ball came loose and bounded to one of the Raptors. Paul Pierce blocked Barbosa at the rim, but the Celtics were in scramble mode, and the ball found its way to Amir Johnson, who was fouled with 2.7 seconds left. Johnson, a career 68.5 percent free throw shooter who is somehow shooting 87.5 percent from the line this season, hit both freebies (he was 9-for-9 from the charity stripe on the day) to put the Raptors up one. Pierce had a great look at the game-winner -- a 15-footer fading to his right that we've seen him hit time after time in his career -- but couldn't get it to go down.

So, yeah, we're not going to lose too many games that way.

But the truth is, Boston didn't deserve to win this game. Playing without Rajon Rondo and Jermaine O'Neal, the Celtics waited until the fourth quarter to turn on its defensive intensity. It looked like that would be enough as they turned a 90-79 deficit into a 97-94 lead, but you can't throw up your hands and curse your bad luck or look to the officials for a foul call when you don't show up to play for most of the game.

The game perhaps underscored the importance of Rondo -- though Nate Robinson had a huge first quarter and led the team with 22 points in Rondo's absence -- but it definitely solidified Boston's need for another big man. Shaquille O'Neal struggled offensively, but it was his defense that really killed us. It's not just that Shaq doesn't block shots anymore and can't move quickly enough to get into proper defensive position when the opposition drives. Guys aren't blowing by Shaq, but he continues to bail them out with fouls. Instead of forcing them to make a very diffcult shot over him on the move, he just hammers them and sends them to the line. He fouled out in 20 minutes today, and was part of a defense that took entirely too many fouls. Toronto, a good offensive team but one that nonetheless doesn't attack the basket all that much, shot 39 free throws -- and I don't remember thinking we got the short end of the stick from the officials very often. (Indeed, Boston shot 38 free throws and I think there were more questionable calls on them than on us.)

Semih Erden, after a promising start to the season, lately seems similarly incapable of staying out the court -- I believe this was the second straight game in which he picked up four fouls in the first half. If Jermaine O'Neal is going to miss a bunch of time with his balky knees, then the Celtics need to look for a solution on the interior or teams are going to continue the parade to the free throw line against us. As I've said previously, I'm not sure what, if any, solutions are out there, but Boston needs to be looking for them.

Boston 114, Washington 83

Just a few bullets on a night the Celtics made two-thirds of their shots and the opposition was without its best player.

[recap] [box score]

• Shaquille O'Neal, who had 16 points and six rebounds on Saturday against Memphis, had a second straight strong game, slapping up 13 and 6 in 22 minutes. As much trouble as he gave the undersized JaVale McGee on the offensive end, however, he gave up a number of offensive rebounds to McGee on the other end, especially in the first quarter. He did seem to be making a better effort to box out later in the game, however, so perhaps he simply didn't want to expend the effort early on.
• Delonte West saw his first action of the season and didn't look he missed a beat. The second team didn't play that well during its first stretch on the court, however, coming together only after the starters had put the game out of reach. Nate Robinson was still running the point the majority of the time, something that surprised me and that I hope will change. Robinson's few high points Wednesday night came when West and Marquis Daniels initiated the offense.
• Semih Erden played well, but he needs to do a better job of going and getting the ball with two hands, especially on rebounds. He's been wearing a brace on his left shoulder for the last several games, and I thought that perhaps the injury was causing the problem. But he took two lefty hooks in the second half, and I remember him fumbling a few one-armed rebounds in his first action this season (before he started sporting the brace), so I don't think that's it.
• Glen Davis had eight rebounds, added to his league-leading total of charges drawn (16 now), and had a couple of great assists, but he did way more facing up and driving than I'm comfortable with.
• Rajon Rondo had another 13 assists. The guy always puts the ball exactly where it needs to be. Always.
• 30 minutes for Rondo, 27 for Ray Allen, 27 for Paul Pierce, 23 for Kevin Garnett, and 22 for Shaq. That's more like it.
• Washington isn't very good with John Wall, and without him, they're terrible. I have no idea how they beat Toronto by 15 the night before. Gilbert Arenas seems content to drift around the perimeter launching three-pointers, and their bigs are erratic, to put it kindly. They have some one-dimensional scorers like Nick Young and Al Thornton -- and those guys are surely more effective with a playmaker like Wall in the lineup, but there just aren't that many good basketball players there.
• I do like the way Washington coach Flip Saunders seems to be holding everyone accountable and won't let the team get away with uninspired play. He kicked the whole team out of practice some days ago, and tonight, he called a timeout two minutes and 15 seconds into the third quarter after a defensive lapse by his team -- then called another 34 seconds later after another defensive lapse on the Celtics' next possession.

The Celtics Should Be Talking to Erick Dampier

There's been an interesting discussion over at Celtics Hub regarding whether the Celtics should release Von Wafer (who has done nothing so far and is unlikey to do anything moving forward) and sign another big. The pros for such a move are summed up here; the cons are here.

I have no idea if the team has reached out to Erick Dampier, nor do I know if Dampier is even remotely interested in joining the team as an insurance policy. And make no mistake, that's all Dampier would be -- an insurance policy. The offseason signings of Jermaine O'Neal and Shaquille O'Neal were supposed to make center a position of strength for the Celtics, especially when Kendrick Perkins returns from ACL surgery, which presumably will be some time in February. If any two of those three guys are healthy, whatever big the Celtics may add is superfluous and won't see the floor much.

But Shaq has already missed six of the team's first ten games, and Jermaine is having some problems with his knees and may miss the next few weeks. It's irrational to think that the O'Neals' nagging injuries will just disappear as the season goes on. Plus, even when Perk gets back, it's not like he'll be his old self right away.

Dampier, the 14-year veteran who was cut by the Bobcats after going to Charlotte from Dallas in the Tyson Chandler trade, is the option that makes the most sense.

One option that has been suggested is that Boston bring back Stephane Lasme, the journeyman who came oh-so-close to making the team out of training camp. But at 6-8, Lasme isn't big enough to play center. While big minutes for Kevin Garnett (35 mpg) and Glen Davis (31 mpg) are an ancillary concern about the lack of center depth, Davis also isn't big enough to play center. Signing Lasme would thus only cut into Davis' minutes, and Davis is both young enough to handle his increased workload and effective enough that his being on the court a lot is not a major problem. With Lasme, KG would still have to play big minutes, and would still have to play out of position at center.

Adding a guy like Magnum Rolle isn't an attractive option because he's a rookie and lacks the experience to be a major contributor, even if Doc trusts him with substantial playing time, which he won't. The other D-League possibility being bandied about, Tiny Gallon, is both too small to play center (like Lasme) and too raw to be a contributor (like Rolle). The Celtics already have a young big man on their roster, Semih Erden. While Erden hasn't been spectacular, he's shown that he's capable enough to play an emergency role, and he has the size to play center. It's unreasonable to expect that Rolle or Lasme or Gallon would be even as effective as Erden has been in the early going.

I don't think rookie Luke Harangody, already on the Celtics roster, is the answer, either. He suffers from the same inexperience and size issues that the young guys listed above have. While he was something of a rebounding machine in college, he's shown a preference for playing the wing -- though perhaps that's in part because it looked like he might need to be able to play small forward in order to get minutes with the team.

To be sure, Dampier has his limitations. He's close to a non-factor offensively and turns the ball over a lot for a player with those limitations. But he's a decent defender, and has NBA size and experience. If the Celtics are going to cut Wafer (their last non-guaranteed contract) and thus hamper their roster flexibility, then Dampier is the only guy who makes sense.

And time is of the essence. Dampier's situation is kind of curious; he was rumored to be signing with the Rockets, but didn't, and it's unclear to me why he hasn't hooked up with Miami, where he'd be an obvious improvement over Joel Anthony. As the Heat continue to struggle on the interior, I imagine they'll make another, stronger push for Dampier, and I don't expect that Dampier will be on the market too much longer.

As far as roster flexibility goes, while it's true that Danny and Doc would be hamstrung by cutting Wafer and giving Dampier a guaranteed contract, I'm not sure for what the team would need that roster flexibility, other than another big. Delonte West's return gives the Celtics three solid backup wing players (West, Marquis Daniels, and Nate Robinson), and rookie Avery Bradley, if forced into duty due to injury, would probably be at least as effective as the young project bigs mentioned earlier. And I haven't heard of any veteran centers that are likely to become available via trade later in the season -- at least not any that could be had for Wafer's modest contract.

A bigger concern for me, if the Celtics signed Dampier, would be what happens if the O'Neals and Perkins do stay (read: get) healthy late into the season. Then they'd have a situation where they'd have four veteran centers and not nearly enough minutes to go around. For that reason, as mentioned above, I'm not sure Dampier is interested in signing with Boston. But it's a conversation worth having. It appears that center is a position that needs to be addressed, and the time for addressing it is now.

Boston 92, Oklahoma City 83

After giving up big advantages before eking out overtime wins in each of the last two games, it's good to win one without blowing a big lead -- without blowing all of a big lead, anyway.

[recap] [box score]

Everyone on the Celtics played pretty well, but the credit goes to the bench in this one. Marquis Daniels, Nate Robinson, and Semih Erden helped Boston out to a nine-point lead after the first possession of the second quarter, a working margin the starters were able to more or less maintain before staging a late second-quarter run put the halftime lead at 21.

That was crucial, because the Thunder made a big run in the latter stages of the third quarter, taking advantage of a Boston cold spell. They did it on the backs of their two studs, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who between the scored all 27 of OKC's points in the third period. James Harden broke that streak with a three-pointer to start the fourth, cutting the Boston advantage to six, but a couple of Glen Davis jumpers from the top of the key restored order, and the Celtics more or less cruised from there -- the Thunder never came within single digits again until their final possession of the game.

Simply put, Oklahoma City ran out of gas. In such a deep hole after the first half, Thunder coach Scott Brooks never had the opportunity to rest Durant and Westbrook, and they just wore down.

The Thunder are an interesting team. I didn't write a "The Next Lamb" about them, because I didn't know what to say, other than "They have Kevin Durant, everyone's favorite opposing player, and they have this guy, Russell Westbrook, who everyone compares to Rajon Rondo." They usually have Jeff Green, but he was out with an ankle injury. Without Green, Oklahoma City really is a two-horse outfit, and the Celtics do well against teams like that, particularly when a guy like Westbrook is more than happy to comply with Boston's invitation to shoot jumpers on every possession.

Indeed, this game went a lot like last year's date in Oklahoma City. In that one, Boston showed up at the tail end of a four-game road trip, after winning in San Antonio the night before. It seemed like a letdown game, but OKC came out a little flat and Boston jumped on them early, then put it away in the third.

I don't know what to make of the Thunder. Like a lot of people, I think I got a little carried away with their performance at the end of last season, and predicted them to finish second in the West. Durant's the best scorer in the game, and Westbrook's off to a great start (though he has a long way to go in terms of his decision-making). But beyond that, they have a bunch of guys with as-yet-unfulfilled potential. They're still a franchise that's in great shape, but it seems the talk of them as a contender is a bit premature.

Boston 105, Milwaukee 102 (Overtime)

Last season, we lose this game.

[recap] [box score]

Second night of a back-to-back; a stubborn, hard-nosed defensive opponent that won't give up; an offense that wasn't clicking all evening; some questionable calls down the stretch -- all of these factors would have caused Boston to pack it in for the night. But this Celtic team is supposed to be different than the one that held back during the last regular season and waited for the playoffs to give a full effort. And so, down six with three minutes to go, a Glen Davis offensive rebound led to a three-pointer from Ray Allen. A Kevin Garnett dunk over Andrew Bogut was punctuated by a forearm to the big Aussie's chest, resulting not just in a double technical foul, but a reinvigorated crowd and team. A Paul Pierce three-point play gave Boston the lead, and another three-point play by Garnett got it back after a Milwaukee basket. A Rajon Rondo steal led to another Pierce layup, and a Glen Davis steal on the subsequent Buck possession resulted in a pair of made free throws. In just 100 seconds, Boston had gone from down six to up six, completely turning the evening around in just a few possessions.

They didn't close the game smoothly, coughing up that six-point lead in regulation thanks to a turnover, a missed free throw, and a blown defensive possession. But they regrouped in overtime and came away with the victory. If you were looking for proof that this year's regular season would be different than the last, this was a good first step.

Bullets:

• Boston's defensive effort was strong throughout most of the evening. But they got killed on the offensive glass, giving up 13 offensive rebounds, including six by Bogut. Many of the offensive boards were tap-ins or tap-backs, the latter perhaps a reflection of Bogut's size relative to Jermaine O'Neal and Glen Davis. The team didn't do a bad job on the boards, especially when you consider that Shaq was out, but this game would have been in the bag had Milwaukee not had so many second chances.
• The offense looked stagnant for most of the evening. Gone was the pace and flow from the night before against the Pistons. Give the Bucks credit; they're a strong defensive team. But the Cs allowed themselves to be slowed down. They lacked purpose, even in the way they ran upcourt.
• WIth some free throws in overtime, Pierce passed 20,000 points for his career -- every minute of which has been spent in Celtic green.
• Rondo had 15 assists, giving him the most in NBA history through five games. (He also has the record through four games). He also had six turnovers, though a big chunk of those came early in the game. Most importantly, he showed that he can score when the situation warrants it, with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting. The baskets came at particularly opportune times, too. Twice in the fourth quarter, with Milwaukee looking like it might pull away, Rondo came up with a deuce to keep his team within striking distance.
• Jermaine blocked three shots, all in the first half (I think).
• Doc played Davis down the stretch alongside KG (until Davis fouled out).
• The bench (save Davis) was pretty bad tonight, for the second straight game.
• Semih Erden was the only Celtics big I saw boxing out consistently.
• In terms of end of quarter plays, Pierce ran a nice pick-and-pop with Nate Robinson that resulted in a corner three for Allen. The nice thing about the play is that the team initiated it with enough time to go to the second or third option off the play, a big improvement over last year. Boston also had the ball at the end of the third quarter, but some good full-court pressure from Milwaukee prevented them from getting a good look.
• Bogut had a strong game for Milwaukee, but really seemed to be coddling his injured right arm.

The Celtics are back on TV Friday night against the Bulls.

Boston 109, Detroit 86

For the first time in this young season, Boston played pretty well on both ends of the court.

[recap] [box score]

Shaquille O'Neal didn't play tonight, which means we got our first extended look at two Celtics newcomers in the post: veteran Jermaine O'Neal and rookie Semih Erden.

Offensively, Jermaine is a known quantity. He got a couple dunks rolling to the basket -- a good sign the Celtics offense was clicking -- but at this point in his career, he's a jump shooter. His shot wasn't falling at first, but came around in the second half. His line, 5-for-8 for 12 points, is probably around what we can hope for from him.

It was at the defensive end where I noticed Jermaine the most, probably because he's such an improvement over Shaq at that end. Twice in the first quarter, JON helped as Austin Daye blew past Kevin Garnett. On the first, Daye crashed into Jermaine, getting away with the charge while scoring, but on the second, JON registered the block.

I still think that Jermaine should (and will) start at center even when Shaq is healthy. His help defense is a much better fit with what the starting unit is used to playing alongside Kendrick Perkins. Even if he doesn't start, however, I'd expect to see him on the floor in crunch time a fair amount -- mostly because of his defense, but also because he's not a liability at the free throw line. He needs to rebound better than he did against the Pistons, but that's my only real criticism.

The defensive end is also where I most noticed Erden. The Turkish rookie wasn't always in the right spot, but often recovered in time to challenge the shot. The best example came at the end of the first quarter, just a few minutes after Erden entered the game and blocked a Jason Maxiell shot on his very first defensive possession. On this trip, the Pistons ran a pick-and-roll with Rodney Stuckey dribbling left over the screen at the top of the key. Erden jumped out to hedge, but jumped too far, giving Stuckey the daylight he needed to cross over and drive to the basket. But Erden stuck out his long left arm and jarred the ball loose momentarily. Stuckey recovered and continued his drive, but Erden recovered and blocked the shot out of bounds.

Offensively, Erden showed flashes of his ability. His lone basket -- his lone attempt -- came on a breakaway dunk after a Von Wafer steal (the first positive thing Wafer has done as a Celtic, by the way). Erden took off down the court as soon as Wafer had the ball, corralled a long pass, took one dribble, and dunked relatively smoothly. Then, late in the game, Erden was in the left corner when an offense rebound came to him. He turned to back his man down, but saw Marquis Daniels cutting toward the basket. Erden fired a quick pass over his right shoulder that hit Daniels in the perfect spot, a spot where only he could catch the ball. Layup.

On the whole, I thought Erden acquitted himself well. He certainly looked less lost than you'd expect from a foreign rookie center playing his first NBA game. All he needs to do is get rid of those white sneakers he was wearing, and he'll be on his way.

Bullets:

• Not only did Wafer assist on the first basket of Erden's career, he also assisted on the first basket of Luke Harangody's career, a fast break layup that came after Daniels stripped Daye on the other end. Wafer also assisted on Harangody's other basket, a 17-foot jumper.
• Seventeen more assists for Rajon Rondo, and a much smarter floor game this time out: He had zero turnovers. As a team, Boston coughed it up only eight times, and assisted on 33 of its 42 field goals.
• Boston had the ball at the end of the second and third quarters, and I don't have too much of a problem with either play, though neither was spectacular. At the end of the first half, Rondo fed Pierce posting up at the foul line. Pierce drew the double and kicked to Rondo for the three at the horn. That's not necessarily the shot we're looking for, but Rondo nailed it. At the end of the third quarter, Pierce took a three. Not the best shot in the world, but we didn't have a lot of time to develop anything and I think the Captain was feeling it a little bit.
• Speaking of Rondo and shooting, on one first-half possession, he dribbled upcourt, casually went around a screen on the wing, and buried a soft 17-footer that looked oh-so-comfortable. There's a decent shot hiding in that kid somewhere, I know it.
• The one downside about this game was that Doc Rivers had to play the starters a bit more than could have been necessary had the second team taken care of business to start the fourth quarter. Boston was ahead by 20 after three, but a quick 8-2 Piston run brought Ray Allen and Garnett off the bench. (Pierce and Rondo followed shortly thereafter.) The minutes weren't out of control -- 36 for Rondo, 34 for Allen, 33 for Garnett, 32 for Pierce -- but the Celtics play again Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday and the fourth quarter added 3-5 minutes on the starters' odometers.
• Part of the reason Doc had to re-insert the starters was because the second team lacked organization on offense. When Nate Robinson tries to take on that role, he subordinates his offense too much, and the bench mob needs Nate's scoring ability. Marquis Daniels tried to do it against Detroit, but he forced a bunch of shots. Hopefully, when Delonte West gets back, we'll see the second unit really gel.

Links of the Day (October 24, 2010)

• Ever wondered what, exactly, a flex offense is? Wonder no more.
• I was never a big comic book fan as a kid, but I'm sure some of you were. ESPN.com's NBA preview last week had a Marvel superhero theme to it. It's (of course) available for ESPN Insiders only, but Celtics Life had the most comprehensive look at the artwork that I saw.
• Pick and Scroll simulated a season on NBA 2k11. The end result: Celtics in six (over the Spurs).
• The top ten dunks of the preseason.
• Celtics links: Celtics Hub breaks down Rajon Rondo's jumper, Celtics Blog's Greg Payne gives his thoughts on the preseason, and Von Wafer gets into it with Delonte West, perhaps illustrating why Wafer has the reputation he has.
• I'm not sure whether the argument between West and Wafer stemmed from this game, but here's a minute-long clip of West and Semih Erden playing two-on-two against Wafer and Luke Harangody. I link to it separately because it reminds me of the two-on-two games between the garbage time players on my team my junior year in high school. My coach always had a "roll the ball out and let 'em play" philosophy, and the result was a lot of five-on-five in practice, with no burn for the end of the bench. Those four guys would play intense games of twos on a side court while the other ten scrimmaged. The day before the state championship game, at the end of practice, our coach had us gather round and watch one final two-on-two game at one of the main baskets, a liter of Pepsi to each winner. Maybe it's because I just turned 30, but these are the memories I seem to be cherishing lately.

Preseason: Boston 96, New Jersey 92

The NBA Preseason: Where Marquis Daniels nailing a game-sealing three-pointer happens.

[recap] [box score] [highlights at Red's Army]

The big thing I took from this game is that as things stand now, Shaquille O'Neal should not be our starting center except in emergencies, for a number of reasons.

For one, he's a defensive liability. I knew that, but it's worse than I thought. In the first quarter last night, he gave up an easy bucket on the pick and roll, allowed something like nine quick points to Brook Lopez, and picked up three fouls in just over four minutes (though as Mike Fratello pointed out during the broadcast, the officials tend to call more fouls in the preseason than they do once the games start to count).

With the other positions on the starting unit solid defensively, opponents would attack Shaq. In addition to easy buckets, this would likely lead to foul trouble for the big fella, which throws the rotation out of whack and puts the Celtics in the penalty early. If Shaq comes off the bench, he'd be going up against the other team's second-string, which is typically less capable of exploiting defensive weaknesses.

Second, he fits well with the second team, or at least I think he does, because I haven't actually seen him play with the second team. But he's still a force to be reckoned with offensively (he backed down Lopez for about 12 feet on one first-quarter basket) and I imagine he'd wreak even more havoc against second-stringers. Moreover, with Nate Robinson and Delonte West the likely backcourt off the bench, we've got some real shooters to surround Shaq in the post.

Third, he doesn't fit perfectly with the starting unit. One of the things we heard coming out of training camp is that Kevin Garnett seemed to have a new commitment to working in the post, which is something we all want to see from him. But he can't really do that with Shaq in the game, since the other team isn't going to pay attention to Shaq unless he's near the basket. In contrast, a KG-JON high-low (in either permutation) is something for the other team to worry about.

I still think Shaq was a great signing and will be a valuable player for us this year. But I think Jermaine O'Neal should be the starter, once he gets healthy.

Some bullets:

• One caveat to what I said above about Shaq with the second team is that the current bench unit seems to have a very nice chemistry with each other. As I mentioned before, Robinson and West are shooters, but they aren't just spot-up guys, and Marquis Daniels' value is in his movement without the ball. There's room on the court for all of them and Shaq and Glen Davis; we just need to be conscious about getting too stagnant on O.
• I still have concerns about their size, but I hope Doc plays Robinson, West, and Daniels to start the second and fourth quarters (once Delonte gets back from his ten-game suspension to start the season, of course). They seem to play well together, and just as importantly, it'd save Paul Pierce and Ray Allen a significant amount of minutes over the course of the season.
• Garnett really does look better. His shot isn't falling, but watching him run up and down the court, you can just tell that his leg isn't bothering him the way it was.
• Semih Erden didn't have as good a game against the Nets as he did against the Sixers, but I really like what I've seen so far. He moves well enough, understands the game, and has skills. Most importantly, he's comfortable on the court, despite his youth and relative inexperience. I still don't expect to see a whole lot of him unless injuries hit, but I feel a lot more comfortable about the team if injuries to the big men do become a problem.
• Davis showed some decent variety in his offensive game.
• Pierce looked good attacking the basket.
• None of the guys vying for the 15th spot on the roster did anything to distinguish themselves in a positive way.

Burn for Semih Erden (In The First Preseason Game)

Preseason Game 1: Celtics 93, Sixers 65 [recap|box score]

I don't normally link to game recaps from other Celtics fan blogs, since I figure people who come here generally want my thoughts and know where to get others'. However, I can't watch the preseason games, whereas I think bloggers in Boston can. So if you're interested in the details of this meaningless game, check out these posts from Celtics Hub, Celtics Town, Red's Army, and Celtics Blog. Also, Celtics Life snagged some highlights from NBA.com.

Some of those posts focus on Semih Erden, as does this one, and I'm going to, too, because the one thing that struck me, looking at the box score before I read anything, was that the Turkish newcomer played nearly 24 minutes. That's an awful lot, and it got me thinking about the possible reasons why:

• Necessity. With Kendrick Perkins out until at least February and Jermaine O'Neal sitting due to a sore hamstring, Doc Rivers was a bit shorthanded last night. Given the mileage on and injury history of Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O'Neal, it makes sense to give Erden extended run.
• Evaluation. Erden's been overseas since Boston drafted him, so Doc hasn't had a lot of time with him. Watching him with the Turkish national team is one thing, and working with him in practice is another, but the best way to see what he's got is to get him in a game situation. But if that was Doc's objective, why not play some of the other unknown quantities fighting for roster spots, namely Von Wafer and Mario West, more than 12 and seven minutes, respectively?
• Precaution. The general consensus is that there isn't room for Erden in the rotation this year, and that he'll spend most of the season in Maine with the D-League Red Claws. And it's true, if JON, Shaq, KG, and Big Baby are healthy, there's no room for Erden in the rotation -- particularly when Perk gets back. But that group is old and injury prone, and if Erden is ready to contribute, he could be an insurance policy. Knowing whether he can play could also come in handy if we decide to make a personnel move at the trade deadline, the way we have the last two years; if he's ready, we could address an area other than the post.

My hunch is that it's the first reason, but the third on intrigues me.

A few other quick thoughts on the guys competing to make the roster. It appears that Wafer played the entire final quarter, scoring no points on a very un-Waferlike zero shots, amassing two turnovers as his only stats. The guy he's apparently competing with for the final roster spot, Mario West, played the final seven minutes. It appears from the box score that West, similarly, had no impact on the game. But Stephane Lasme, who entered the game with West, had 12 points and four boards in his playing time, going 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Like the recently cut Tony Gaffney, Lasme -- mostly a shotblocker and defender -- is a UMass product. I haven't heard any rumbling that Lasme has a shot at the roster this season, but if he keeps this up, he'll stay on Boston's radar, for sure.

Second preseason game is tonight against the Nets, and is being broadcast on NBATV, for those of you who get that channel. Tip's at 7 Eastern.