The Celtics are making it awfully hard to write this season off.
Boston overcame a ten-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to hold off the Raptors in Toronto. It was the team's fifth win in a row, and they are still undefeated since Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger went down with season-ending injuries. Kevin Garnett was the offensive hero for most of the evening, leading the team with 27 points, while Leandro Barbosa sparked the team in the crucial fourth quarter.
On the other end of the court, the Raptors missed a bunch of decent looks at mid-range and perimeter jump shots in the fourth quarter. That isn't particularly unusual for Boston opponents over the past few years. In previous seasons, the Celtic D was good enough that you could automatically give it credit for an opponent's bad shooting quarter, even if it wasn't entirely apparent what we were doing to make it difficult on the opposing team. This year's defense hasn't earned that right yet, though we're undoubtedly getting better at that end of the court. If I have an overall concern right now, it's turnovers. Paul Pierce is being asked to perform too many point guard duties. I get that he needs to be a playmaker, but even without Rondo, we have plenty of guards. Let's have them bring the ball up, at least.
Boston's current surge has them tied with Milwaukee for the seventh seed in the East (the Bucks have the tiebreaker, so as it stands, we're technically eighth). We're only two games back of Atlanta for the six, however, and more importantly, we're four games clear of our closest pursuer -- Philadelphia, who, by the way, still doesn't have Andrew Bynum and just lost Thaddeus Young for three weeks with a leg injury.
Rightly or wrongly, barring some sort of collapse during these last two weeks before the trade deadline, it may be this stretch that allows Pierce and Garnett to retire as Celtics. When Rondo went down, most felt that Boston's playoff chances went down with him, and the Cs were expected to shop their extensive veterans to contenders. But now Boston has a reasonable grip on that playoff stop. Dissembling a playoff team is hard enough, from a public relations perspective -- doing it just to cash in an all-time Celtic, and one of the team's most popular players in recent memory, might cause quite an uproar among Boston's vocal fan base.
Boston is back at it Thursday night, as the Lakers come to town in a game that, due to injuries, won't have quite the same luster it has had in recent seasons. LA, of course, is having a nightmare season of its own. Having added Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, the Lakers were expected to contend for a championship. Instead, Nash got hurt, Howard and Gasol struggled to co-exist, and they fired their coach just a couple weeks into the season. Their playoff chances hanging by a thread as Nash returned, Howard injured, then re-injured, his shoulder, and has missed the last several games. To top it all off, the team found out Wednesday that Gasol would be out 4 to 6 weeks with a foot injury.
Still, it's LA-Boston, which means it's worth watching. Thursday night, TNT, 8:00 pm Eastern.
Showing posts with label Toronto Raptors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toronto Raptors. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Celtics Split Four in Five Days
It might have to be this way moving forward -- I'm just not sure I'm going to have time to write after every game. Boston just wrapped up a stretch of four games in five nights that went thusly: a close win over Utah; a narrow loss in Brooklyn without Rajon Rondo, who sprained his ankle early in the second half of the Jazz game; a rout of Toronto; and then a blowout loss at the Palace at the hands of the woeful Pistons. I'm going to try to not let the fact that I just watched the embarrassment that was the Detroit game color what I'm going to say too much.
Rather than go game by game, I'm just going to throw out some random thoughts here. Like bullet points, only I can't figure out how to do bullet points on the "new" Blogger platform that came about a couple of years ago. Instead, I'll just use bold italics to signal my topic headings. If this technique is effective, then this explanation was completely unnecessary.
Last year, Doc Rivers put Kevin Garnett on the "5/5/5" plan, limiting KG's minutes to the first five of each of the first three quarters. The idea was to keep him fresh for the fourth quarter. Doc didn't really stick to it (Garnett averaged 31 minutes per game), probably in part because of how good Garnett was last year and in part because we didn't have much depth.
This year, it's been shortened to the 4/4/4 plan, and Doc seems to be committed to it, at least for now. With the frontcourt depth we have, he might able to get away with it, if he can keep Kevin on the bench that long. It's a little alarming to me, though, because we're talking about a goal of 25 minutes or so for a guy who, while he is in his 18th NBA season, averaged about 16 points and eight boards last year while anchoring one of the league's best defenses. Especially since Doc hasn't been shy about riding his horses (to his detriment, in my opinion) in previous seasons, it makes me worry that there's some nagging injury that we don't know about.
Jaston Terry hit six of 11 three-point attempts in the Brooklyn and Toronto games, sandwiching those performances between a terrible effort on Sunday and the Jazz game where he only took one shot. He's found his rhythm a bit, which is great. But I wish he was doing this in his customary sixth man role and not as a starter. A game like Sunday, with the first unit struggling, is the kind of game that you really need a scoring punch off the bench, a burst of energy, and Terry wasn't there to provide it. I suppose that Leandro Barbosa can be that guy, but when Barbosa comes in the game, the ball hardly goes to anyone else. Not that Terry is a great table-setter or anything like that, but Barbosa just dominates the rock. That kind of thing is bad for guys like Jeff Green, another guy we're counting on for bench scoring, and a guy whose attention seems to wander if he's not getting the pill.
Speaking of Jeff Green, I think if he were, say, Gerald Green, you'd hear a lot more people complaining about his lack of effort and basketball IQ. But we know that he's thoughtful and a great guy, and because of that, and perhaps because of the heart problem he had last year, he gets a bit of a break from a lot of Celtics fans. But right now, he's demonstrating a disturbing lack of effort and engagement that is a bigger problem than his limited offensive game and suspect defense and rebounding.
Brandon Bass is 10 for 30 over the past three games. He's gotten the same looks at jumpers that we are used to him making with regularity. At this point, some of it is psychological; he's hesitating on a lot of looks he'd normally pop right away. I assume that he'll get his mind right between now and Wednesday, when the Celts take the floor next.
Jared Sullinger keeps reinforcing my belief that we got a steal when we drafted him at 21 in this summer's draft. He had his first career double-double against the Raptors, then set a career-high in scoring with 16 against the Pistons. Most importantly, it wasn't until he took on Detroit's Jason Maxiell that he went up against someone who could push him around underneath -- and by the end of the night, he was moving Maxiell and Andre Drummond around. His strength is a huge asset for a guy his height who plays inside. Offensively, he's shown that he at least has Bass' range, and likely can step out a bit farther. He hit a couple 20-footers late against Detroit to keep Rondo's assist streak going.
Ah, the streak. With ten dimes on Sunday, Rondo now has 34 consecutive games with 10 or more assists. (He had 20 against the Raps, by the way.) That's the third-longest such streak of all time, just a few back of John Stockton's longest streak and a dozen short of Magic Johnson's all-time mark. He had to work to get it today, though, playing to the final seconds despite the game being well out of hand. Doc even called a random timeout under two minutes to set something up.
The streak is fun, and really it shouldn't have been an issue tonight (his teammates missed a bunch of open looks), but I don't love that he and Doc seem to be actively pursuing it. I mean, there's really no harm in going after it once the game is already in hand, but if it's something they're aware of deep in a blowout, how likely is it that it's not on Rondo's mind when the game is still in reach. On Sunday, we certainly could have used more scoring, something we know Rondo is capable of. Did he hold back to try and set up his teammates? It's not a huge problem -- generally, it's a good idea for a point guard to be most concerned with getting his struggling teammates going. But Rondo is already pass-happy to a fault; having the streak in the back of his mind, if he does, could turn his unselfishness into selfishness, actually, and a positive into a negative.
Rather than go game by game, I'm just going to throw out some random thoughts here. Like bullet points, only I can't figure out how to do bullet points on the "new" Blogger platform that came about a couple of years ago. Instead, I'll just use bold italics to signal my topic headings. If this technique is effective, then this explanation was completely unnecessary.
Last year, Doc Rivers put Kevin Garnett on the "5/5/5" plan, limiting KG's minutes to the first five of each of the first three quarters. The idea was to keep him fresh for the fourth quarter. Doc didn't really stick to it (Garnett averaged 31 minutes per game), probably in part because of how good Garnett was last year and in part because we didn't have much depth.
This year, it's been shortened to the 4/4/4 plan, and Doc seems to be committed to it, at least for now. With the frontcourt depth we have, he might able to get away with it, if he can keep Kevin on the bench that long. It's a little alarming to me, though, because we're talking about a goal of 25 minutes or so for a guy who, while he is in his 18th NBA season, averaged about 16 points and eight boards last year while anchoring one of the league's best defenses. Especially since Doc hasn't been shy about riding his horses (to his detriment, in my opinion) in previous seasons, it makes me worry that there's some nagging injury that we don't know about.
Jaston Terry hit six of 11 three-point attempts in the Brooklyn and Toronto games, sandwiching those performances between a terrible effort on Sunday and the Jazz game where he only took one shot. He's found his rhythm a bit, which is great. But I wish he was doing this in his customary sixth man role and not as a starter. A game like Sunday, with the first unit struggling, is the kind of game that you really need a scoring punch off the bench, a burst of energy, and Terry wasn't there to provide it. I suppose that Leandro Barbosa can be that guy, but when Barbosa comes in the game, the ball hardly goes to anyone else. Not that Terry is a great table-setter or anything like that, but Barbosa just dominates the rock. That kind of thing is bad for guys like Jeff Green, another guy we're counting on for bench scoring, and a guy whose attention seems to wander if he's not getting the pill.
Speaking of Jeff Green, I think if he were, say, Gerald Green, you'd hear a lot more people complaining about his lack of effort and basketball IQ. But we know that he's thoughtful and a great guy, and because of that, and perhaps because of the heart problem he had last year, he gets a bit of a break from a lot of Celtics fans. But right now, he's demonstrating a disturbing lack of effort and engagement that is a bigger problem than his limited offensive game and suspect defense and rebounding.
Brandon Bass is 10 for 30 over the past three games. He's gotten the same looks at jumpers that we are used to him making with regularity. At this point, some of it is psychological; he's hesitating on a lot of looks he'd normally pop right away. I assume that he'll get his mind right between now and Wednesday, when the Celts take the floor next.
Jared Sullinger keeps reinforcing my belief that we got a steal when we drafted him at 21 in this summer's draft. He had his first career double-double against the Raptors, then set a career-high in scoring with 16 against the Pistons. Most importantly, it wasn't until he took on Detroit's Jason Maxiell that he went up against someone who could push him around underneath -- and by the end of the night, he was moving Maxiell and Andre Drummond around. His strength is a huge asset for a guy his height who plays inside. Offensively, he's shown that he at least has Bass' range, and likely can step out a bit farther. He hit a couple 20-footers late against Detroit to keep Rondo's assist streak going.
Ah, the streak. With ten dimes on Sunday, Rondo now has 34 consecutive games with 10 or more assists. (He had 20 against the Raps, by the way.) That's the third-longest such streak of all time, just a few back of John Stockton's longest streak and a dozen short of Magic Johnson's all-time mark. He had to work to get it today, though, playing to the final seconds despite the game being well out of hand. Doc even called a random timeout under two minutes to set something up.
The streak is fun, and really it shouldn't have been an issue tonight (his teammates missed a bunch of open looks), but I don't love that he and Doc seem to be actively pursuing it. I mean, there's really no harm in going after it once the game is already in hand, but if it's something they're aware of deep in a blowout, how likely is it that it's not on Rondo's mind when the game is still in reach. On Sunday, we certainly could have used more scoring, something we know Rondo is capable of. Did he hold back to try and set up his teammates? It's not a huge problem -- generally, it's a good idea for a point guard to be most concerned with getting his struggling teammates going. But Rondo is already pass-happy to a fault; having the streak in the back of his mind, if he does, could turn his unselfishness into selfishness, actually, and a positive into a negative.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Toronto 86, Boston 74
[recap] [box score]
It would be shocking if it wasn't so easy to see coming: Grueling game the night before; a disappointing overtime loss to a hated rival; didn't get to the hotel 'til 3 a.m.; embarrassed the opponent by 36 last time they played. Throw in the usual spate of injuries -- no Jermaine O'Neal, Keyon Dooling, or Sasha Pavlovic, and a very limited Avery Bradley -- and it doesn't seem all that hard to explain.
The Celtics were just awful on Friday. Awful. A 12-point deficit doesn't look like much, but trust me, that's just an indication of how much Toronto struggles without Andrea Bargnani. The Celtics lost to the Lakers on Thursday because of stagnant, uninspired offense and poor defensive rebounding, and then went out and did the exact same thing against Toronto. At one point in the first quarter, Doc Rivers was so frustrated with the team's inability to run a play that he called a timeout while storming onto the floor cursing a blue streak -- six seconds after calling a timeout to set up a play. I have never, ever, seen an NBA coach do that to send a message to his team.
It was a college move. Indeed, if it had been a college game, it would have been one of those times where the coach grabs the walk-ons by the jersey and rushes them to scorers' table, lets the starters sit on their asses at the end of the bench for a few minutes, then puts them back in. The way that story usually ends is with the crowd and coaching staff reacting to the walk-ons coming off the floor as though they'd just sewn up a national championship, and the invigorated/scared starters blowing the other team off the court.
This isn't college, though. There are no walk-ons, and while Doc did put in Bradley in the hopes of getting a little defensive spark, it ultimately wasn't worth risking further injury to him. Boston finally woke up in the second half and had the lead down to seven or so, but couldn't get a couple key calls and stayed in a 2-3 zone just long enough to let Linas Kleiza lock up this game for the Raps from outside.
Word is that the players had a meeting after the game, not a finger-pointing session, but just a meeting to work stuff out. That's good, that's the way a veteran team like the Celtics should handle it.
Let's hope it translates to the court on Sunday when Derrick Rose and the big, bad
Chicago Bulls come to town. Chicago has been steamrolling people; they have the best record in the league. What's frightening about the Bull is that even without Rose, last year's MVP, they're nasty; he's missed all or parts of eight games with injuries this year, and they are 7-1 in those games. Not only are they 7-1, but it's a convincing 7-1: 95-84 at Charlotte; 90-67 at New Orleans; 108-87 at New Jersey; 114-75 at Cleveland; 95-89 vs. Charlotte; 118-97 vs. Phoenix; 78-64 vs. Washington. That's an average margin of victory of nearly 20 points in seven wins largely without their point guard and leader and the league's MVP. Ridiculous. Rose is having some back problems that have limited him or kept him out of the last three games, but knowing the guy, I expect him to play in Boston.
He was on the floor in mid-January in Boston when the Bulls beat the Celtics, jumping out to a 20-point lead before Boston battled back and nearly won it. Tune in to see if Boston will get its revenge Sunday at 3:30 Eastern on ABC.
It would be shocking if it wasn't so easy to see coming: Grueling game the night before; a disappointing overtime loss to a hated rival; didn't get to the hotel 'til 3 a.m.; embarrassed the opponent by 36 last time they played. Throw in the usual spate of injuries -- no Jermaine O'Neal, Keyon Dooling, or Sasha Pavlovic, and a very limited Avery Bradley -- and it doesn't seem all that hard to explain.
The Celtics were just awful on Friday. Awful. A 12-point deficit doesn't look like much, but trust me, that's just an indication of how much Toronto struggles without Andrea Bargnani. The Celtics lost to the Lakers on Thursday because of stagnant, uninspired offense and poor defensive rebounding, and then went out and did the exact same thing against Toronto. At one point in the first quarter, Doc Rivers was so frustrated with the team's inability to run a play that he called a timeout while storming onto the floor cursing a blue streak -- six seconds after calling a timeout to set up a play. I have never, ever, seen an NBA coach do that to send a message to his team.
It was a college move. Indeed, if it had been a college game, it would have been one of those times where the coach grabs the walk-ons by the jersey and rushes them to scorers' table, lets the starters sit on their asses at the end of the bench for a few minutes, then puts them back in. The way that story usually ends is with the crowd and coaching staff reacting to the walk-ons coming off the floor as though they'd just sewn up a national championship, and the invigorated/scared starters blowing the other team off the court.
This isn't college, though. There are no walk-ons, and while Doc did put in Bradley in the hopes of getting a little defensive spark, it ultimately wasn't worth risking further injury to him. Boston finally woke up in the second half and had the lead down to seven or so, but couldn't get a couple key calls and stayed in a 2-3 zone just long enough to let Linas Kleiza lock up this game for the Raps from outside.
Word is that the players had a meeting after the game, not a finger-pointing session, but just a meeting to work stuff out. That's good, that's the way a veteran team like the Celtics should handle it.
Let's hope it translates to the court on Sunday when Derrick Rose and the big, bad
Chicago Bulls come to town. Chicago has been steamrolling people; they have the best record in the league. What's frightening about the Bull is that even without Rose, last year's MVP, they're nasty; he's missed all or parts of eight games with injuries this year, and they are 7-1 in those games. Not only are they 7-1, but it's a convincing 7-1: 95-84 at Charlotte; 90-67 at New Orleans; 108-87 at New Jersey; 114-75 at Cleveland; 95-89 vs. Charlotte; 118-97 vs. Phoenix; 78-64 vs. Washington. That's an average margin of victory of nearly 20 points in seven wins largely without their point guard and leader and the league's MVP. Ridiculous. Rose is having some back problems that have limited him or kept him out of the last three games, but knowing the guy, I expect him to play in Boston.
He was on the floor in mid-January in Boston when the Bulls beat the Celtics, jumping out to a 20-point lead before Boston battled back and nearly won it. Tune in to see if Boston will get its revenge Sunday at 3:30 Eastern on ABC.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Boston 96, Toronto 73
[recap] [box score]
The Raptors aren't very good, so I'm not going to pretend that this win means much of anything or that the Celtics are even on the road to being "back." But I will say that as a fan, it was nice to have a game against an inferior opponent go the way we've gotten used to around here for the last several years. Boston jumped out to a 29-14 first-quarter lead, then buried Toronto in the third quarter after the second unit let the Raps back in the game in the second.
The big news from this game, really, is that Rajon R-ndo left near the end of the third quarter after landing on his elbow/wrist trying to break his fall after being fouled by Linas Kleiza. (Kleiza is a tough customer and the refs called a flagrant on the play, but it didn't look to me like a dirty play at all.) He was down for a while, then got up to shoot his free throws -- a good sign, all things considered, because the game was well in hand at the time and he didn't need to take them (if he hadn't, he'd have not been allowed back in the game at any point). R-ndo is day-to-day and reportedly said he'll be ready to play Friday when the Suns come to town.
Up until his injury, R-ndo was excellent, scoring on a bunch of nifty drives and getting to the free throw line. So easily was he getting to the basket and scoring, in fact, that he didn't have his first assist until midway through the third quarter -- certainly the longest I ever remember seeing him going before dropping his first dime.
It's been a difficult early season for R-ndo, on whose shoulders a heavier offensive burden has been placed. To be effective, he needs teammates who can either knock down shots (to spread the floor and open up the lane) or who can get out on the fast break with him, where his vision and creativity can flourish. As has been well-documented, however, the Celtics are busy playing their way into shape, and no one is really knocking down many shots. This isn't something he's used to, and I think his production has suffered a bit as he tries to adjust.
Any win is a good win when you're struggling, but just as important as the result was the progress made on the court: The Celtics are starting to knock down some open looks, rebound, and get into shape. There's a long way to go, but on any journey, the first step is going to be small.
Notes:
* Mickael Pietrus hit four of seven three-pointers Wednesday night, the only seven shots he took. In five games this year, he's 11-for-27 behind the arc -- and three for five inside it. If he continues to hit at his current 40 percent clip, that's fine, but the guy is at 36 percent for his career from downtown and I'm not convinced he's a good enough outside shooter to justify such an imbalance. At least he contributes defensively, as well.
* E'Twaun Moore has gotten Avery Bradley's minutes the last couple of games. (Bradley only played in garbage time against the Raps.) Moore has not, in my eyes, played particularly well, and I wonder if his inclusion in the rotation has more to do with Keyon Dooling's absence than anything else. Without Dooling, the second unit has been badly hurting for offense, and Bradley is a disaster offensively. If Moore's not knocking down shots, however -- and he isn't -- the Celtics are probably better off with Bradley's defense on the floor. We'll see what happens when Dooling returns.
* Another position battle is that for backup center, between Greg Stiemsma and Chris Wilcox. Doc has said that neither has separated himself, and that he'd use them situationally: Stiemsma in physical games, Wilcox in more uptempo contests. Wilcox has been bothered by a sore calf and missed the last three games, and so Stiemsma got the backup pivot minutes against the Raptors. I prefer Stiemsma to Wilcox because of the rim protection he provides, but if he's gonna stick in the league, he'll need to learn to grab a rebound with two hands, rather than try to tip it to a teammate with one. Against the Raptors, Stiemsma rebounded as though he were trying to prevent the ball from touching his body, swatting it in the direction of his teammates on the perimeter. There are times where tipping a rebound is appropriate, but it seemed to be Stiemsma's default Wednesday.
The Raptors aren't very good, so I'm not going to pretend that this win means much of anything or that the Celtics are even on the road to being "back." But I will say that as a fan, it was nice to have a game against an inferior opponent go the way we've gotten used to around here for the last several years. Boston jumped out to a 29-14 first-quarter lead, then buried Toronto in the third quarter after the second unit let the Raps back in the game in the second.
The big news from this game, really, is that Rajon R-ndo left near the end of the third quarter after landing on his elbow/wrist trying to break his fall after being fouled by Linas Kleiza. (Kleiza is a tough customer and the refs called a flagrant on the play, but it didn't look to me like a dirty play at all.) He was down for a while, then got up to shoot his free throws -- a good sign, all things considered, because the game was well in hand at the time and he didn't need to take them (if he hadn't, he'd have not been allowed back in the game at any point). R-ndo is day-to-day and reportedly said he'll be ready to play Friday when the Suns come to town.
Up until his injury, R-ndo was excellent, scoring on a bunch of nifty drives and getting to the free throw line. So easily was he getting to the basket and scoring, in fact, that he didn't have his first assist until midway through the third quarter -- certainly the longest I ever remember seeing him going before dropping his first dime.
It's been a difficult early season for R-ndo, on whose shoulders a heavier offensive burden has been placed. To be effective, he needs teammates who can either knock down shots (to spread the floor and open up the lane) or who can get out on the fast break with him, where his vision and creativity can flourish. As has been well-documented, however, the Celtics are busy playing their way into shape, and no one is really knocking down many shots. This isn't something he's used to, and I think his production has suffered a bit as he tries to adjust.
Any win is a good win when you're struggling, but just as important as the result was the progress made on the court: The Celtics are starting to knock down some open looks, rebound, and get into shape. There's a long way to go, but on any journey, the first step is going to be small.
Notes:
* Mickael Pietrus hit four of seven three-pointers Wednesday night, the only seven shots he took. In five games this year, he's 11-for-27 behind the arc -- and three for five inside it. If he continues to hit at his current 40 percent clip, that's fine, but the guy is at 36 percent for his career from downtown and I'm not convinced he's a good enough outside shooter to justify such an imbalance. At least he contributes defensively, as well.
* E'Twaun Moore has gotten Avery Bradley's minutes the last couple of games. (Bradley only played in garbage time against the Raps.) Moore has not, in my eyes, played particularly well, and I wonder if his inclusion in the rotation has more to do with Keyon Dooling's absence than anything else. Without Dooling, the second unit has been badly hurting for offense, and Bradley is a disaster offensively. If Moore's not knocking down shots, however -- and he isn't -- the Celtics are probably better off with Bradley's defense on the floor. We'll see what happens when Dooling returns.
* Another position battle is that for backup center, between Greg Stiemsma and Chris Wilcox. Doc has said that neither has separated himself, and that he'd use them situationally: Stiemsma in physical games, Wilcox in more uptempo contests. Wilcox has been bothered by a sore calf and missed the last three games, and so Stiemsma got the backup pivot minutes against the Raptors. I prefer Stiemsma to Wilcox because of the rim protection he provides, but if he's gonna stick in the league, he'll need to learn to grab a rebound with two hands, rather than try to tip it to a teammate with one. Against the Raptors, Stiemsma rebounded as though he were trying to prevent the ball from touching his body, swatting it in the direction of his teammates on the perimeter. There are times where tipping a rebound is appropriate, but it seemed to be Stiemsma's default Wednesday.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Boston 122, Toronto 102
Friday night was about as easy a win as you'll get in the NBA.
The Celtics had a torrid first half, scoring 67 points, and appeared capable of scoring at will against the overmatched and depleted Raptors. Doc Rivers seemed to know it, too, pulling Rajon Rondo with Boston up 76-55 three minutes into the third quarter. The League Pass broadcast was the Toronto broadcast and their guys didn't seem to notice, but I worried that perhaps Rondo was hurt. Fortunately, it appeared that Doc was just hoping to get Rondo some rest (and perhaps boost the confidence of the struggling Nate Robinson, who came in for Rondo) -- Rondo returned later in the game. All in all, Glen Davis was the only started who played more than 30 minutes, a key statistic with the Celtics in the midst of a busy stretch and a game in Chicago on Saturday night.
The blowout gave some extended playing time to the bench. Rookie Luke Harangody took the most advantage, notching his first career double-double. Harangody actually got going in the first quarter and never really stopped on his way to 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Not too much to say, really. The defense could have been better -- the Raps made more than half their shots -- but the guys can be forgiven for letting up a little bit on that end in a blowout at this stage.
No "Next Lamb" posts for a bit as my computer usage is limited due to a hard drive crash, but briefly, the game on Saturday should be a good test. Boston has beaten the Bulls twice already this season, but the first win came with Carlos Boozer out of the Bulls lineup and the second was Boozer's second back from a preseason hand injury. He's averaged a 20/10 since returning December 1st, and will be a handful for Boston without Kevin Garnett. The Bulls will be hungry, too, having lost its last two games, to 10-26 New Jersey and 15-21 Philadelphia.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Boston 93, Toronto 79
[recap] [box score]
Bullets tonight (and lots of 'em):
Bullets tonight (and lots of 'em):
- Rajon Rondo returned from his ankle injury. He picked up two fouls in the first six minutes, and didn't really have too big of a direct impact on the game. Jose Calderon got the better of him on both ends of the court, but it was good to see number 9 back in action.
- Rondo's return freed Paul Pierce to move out of the facilitator role he's been playing the last several games and into the cold-blooded assassin role he's more accustomed to on offense. Pierce led the way with 30 points, including 20 in a first half in which all of his fellow starters struggled. His second-half buckets included a ferocious dunk on the entire Raptors frontcourt and a breakaway jam inside the final two minutes in which he appeared to tweak his ankle when he landed. We can't afford an injury to another starter, even with Rondo back, so hopefully it's not serious and The Truth will be in uniform Monday night against Minnesota.
- Glen Davis had a fairly miserable first half shooting the ball, which is in line with his last several games, in which (it goes without saying) he's been fairly miserable shooting the ball. He picked it up in the second half, however, and was just two assists shy of logging one of the more unlikely triple doubles in NBA history.
- Shaquille O'Neal had a subpar game, two days after a subpar game against New Orleans, four days after a subpar game against Detroit, five days after a subpar game against Indiana, and eight days after a subpar game against Orlando. Actually, compared to the previous four, Sunday was a pretty good game for Shaq: he had six rebounds, compared to five combined against the Magic, Pacers, Pistons, and Hornets. And yet Joey Dorsey kicked his butt most of the game. I thought at first that O'Neal might have been dogging it, but he challenged shots when they were in his area and even dove for a loose ball at one point. Dorsey is young, athletic, and energetic, the kind of guy who is going to make Shaq look bad, but I wonder if Shaq isn't completely healthy.
- Fortunately, Jermaine O'Neal looks healthy enough to fill in, should he need to. This was Jermaine's fifth game back. He didn't do much against Orlando and I hadn't seen any of the three games previous to Sunday's, but I was encouraged by the way he moved around. I hope he gets a bit stronger on the boards and finishes better on offense as the season progresses, but the good sign is that he's not moving cautiously or with an obvious limp.
- Marquis Daniels was basically a complete no-show, which I could have predicted because he'd had a couple of good games in a row. If Daniels could be consistent, he'd be such a valuable player, but right now, I just don't trust him as much as I would like.
- Von Wafer actually did a couple of nice things in 14 minutes of action. What I liked most was that both of his shot attempts were at the rim, and I remember at least one nice wraparound pass on another drive that I think led to a foul. He's a good three-point shooter and I don't mind it if he takes those shots when he's in the game, but it's good to see flashes of a more complete player. He'll hopefully be mostly irrelevant when Delonte West gets back, but as an insurance policy, any development is good.
- Luke Harangody works hard, hustles, and isn't afraid to bang, but he is just overmatched against other NBA post players right now. Even fellow rookie Ed Davis, who has gotten burn of late with the Raps' frontcourt injuries and is thus slightly less green than Harangody, pushed him around quite a bit. When he was drafted, everyone thought that Harangody, a power forward in college, would need to become a small forward to crack the rotation this year, because Boston had so much depth in the pivot. Now, it seems that he may need to play the wing because he's not big or strong enough to play inside. It will be interesting to see which way his career goes.
- DeMar DeRozan again led the Raptors, this time with 27 points. His explosion (recall that he had 37 Friday night against the Rockets) coincides with Andrea Bargnani's absence from the lineup, and can be attributed to the offense now running through him, and not Il Mago. I assume this is a temporary state of affairs, and things will go back to the way they were when Bargs gets healthy, but DeRozan is showing that he is capable of carrying more of a load offensively. This development surprises me: I saw DeRozan in person a couple of times when he was at USC, and have followed his brief career somewhat closely, and while he's always good for a couple drives and/or jumpers per game, he lacked the aggressive disposition and consistency you need to be a real scorer at this level. Frankly, he just didn't seem good enough to get "hot" and take over a game the way he took over in the second half against Houston and for stretches against Boston. But he apparently is. What's interesting about DeRozan is that he's the rare NBA shooting guard for whom the three-pointer isn't really a weapon; he does almost all of his scoring at the rim, at the line, and with the mid-range jumper. Fortunately, he hits that mid-range J at a good enough rate that his efficiency isn't terrible, and he knows the limit of his range (that is, he doesn't take a bunch of threes even though he can't hit them). Anyway, it will be interesting to keep an eye on DeRozan when Bargnani returns. Can he emerge as a consistent second banana, or is he an all-or-nothing guy who needs to be the first option?
Saturday, January 1, 2011
The Next Lamb: The Toronto Raptors
Game 32: Boston (24-7) at Toronto (11-21)
Sunday, January 2
6 p.m. Eastern
NBA League Pass
Last meeting: @Boston 110, Toronto 101 (11/26/2010)
Happy New Year, all. I apologize for not keeping up with the team for the last week; my hard drive crashed and it's been a bit difficult to watch games or blog.
Since the Christmas Day loss to Orlando, the Celtics have played three games, beating Indiana before losing to Detroit and then New Orleans. I was unable to watch any of those games, but it appears the team played pretty poorly in each. Even the win over the Pacers required a big fourth quarter surge. (The bench gave a similar surge in the fourth against the Hornets, going on a 16-0 run to turn a nine-point deficit into a seven-point lead, but the team couldn't hang on.)
The big story coming out of Boston this week is that Kevin Garnett left in the first quarter of the game against the Pistons with what the team is calling a strained right calf. He's expected to miss a couple of weeks, and with Rajon Rondo still nursing his sore ankle (among other assorted injuries), the story heading into Sunday's game with Toronto may be just as much about who isn't playing as who is.
Fortunately for Boston, the Raps have some serious injury issues of their own. Their starting center and best player, Andrea Bargnani, has missed the last three games with a calf injury of his own and won't play on Sunday. Small forward Sonny Weems, who was enjoying something of a breakout year after moving into the starting lineup, hasn't played in six games and remains day-to-day with a back injury. Jose Calderon -- the undisputed starter at point guard now that Jarrett Jack has been traded to New Orelans -- missed Saturday's practice with a foot injury, and his understudy, Jerryd Bayless (acquired from the Hornets in the Jack trade) has an ankle injury that limited him to eight minutes on Friday against the Rockets. Amir Johnson, starting at power forward in place of Reggie Evans, who broke his foot in the last meeting of the Celtics, is also nursing an injury, though he and Calderon probably will play. The point is, though Boston is banged up, there will be no excuses if they lose to a depleted Toronto team that is mediocre, at best, when healthy.
One Raptor who is healthy is DeMar DeRozan, who scored a career-high 37 points against Houston on New Year's Eve. DeRozan is an athletic young shooting guard in his second year out of USC, and does most of his damage going to the basket. He's not a threat from behind the arc, but he loves to put the ball on the floor and spin to the hoop. He's been getting to the line a bunch lately, which has contributed to his improved scoring of late.
Given all the injuries, the most dangerous Raptor, from an offensive standpoint, is probably sixth man Leandro Barbosa. Despite the fact that he plays the same position as DeRozan, he managed 17 points against the Rockets (it appears from the box score that the Raptors went small for much of that game). Controlling those guys should be a priority.
The Raptors are not particularly good defensively or on the glass, and it would be nice to see Boston try to take advantage of their depleted frontcourt by going inside and getting Shaquille O'Neal and Glen Davis involved early. Johnson is foul-prone, and so is Joey Dorsey, the guy starting in Bargnani's place. After those two, the bigs are a couple of rookies: Ed Davis (who has showed flashes in limited minutes this year) and Solomon Alabi, who has played something like ten minutes and three seconds over the course of three appearances this season. Particularly since Rondo's absence has made offense a bit of a chore at times for the Celtics, taking advantage of our size should be a priority.
Sunday, January 2
6 p.m. Eastern
NBA League Pass
Last meeting: @Boston 110, Toronto 101 (11/26/2010)
Happy New Year, all. I apologize for not keeping up with the team for the last week; my hard drive crashed and it's been a bit difficult to watch games or blog.
Since the Christmas Day loss to Orlando, the Celtics have played three games, beating Indiana before losing to Detroit and then New Orleans. I was unable to watch any of those games, but it appears the team played pretty poorly in each. Even the win over the Pacers required a big fourth quarter surge. (The bench gave a similar surge in the fourth against the Hornets, going on a 16-0 run to turn a nine-point deficit into a seven-point lead, but the team couldn't hang on.)
The big story coming out of Boston this week is that Kevin Garnett left in the first quarter of the game against the Pistons with what the team is calling a strained right calf. He's expected to miss a couple of weeks, and with Rajon Rondo still nursing his sore ankle (among other assorted injuries), the story heading into Sunday's game with Toronto may be just as much about who isn't playing as who is.
Fortunately for Boston, the Raps have some serious injury issues of their own. Their starting center and best player, Andrea Bargnani, has missed the last three games with a calf injury of his own and won't play on Sunday. Small forward Sonny Weems, who was enjoying something of a breakout year after moving into the starting lineup, hasn't played in six games and remains day-to-day with a back injury. Jose Calderon -- the undisputed starter at point guard now that Jarrett Jack has been traded to New Orelans -- missed Saturday's practice with a foot injury, and his understudy, Jerryd Bayless (acquired from the Hornets in the Jack trade) has an ankle injury that limited him to eight minutes on Friday against the Rockets. Amir Johnson, starting at power forward in place of Reggie Evans, who broke his foot in the last meeting of the Celtics, is also nursing an injury, though he and Calderon probably will play. The point is, though Boston is banged up, there will be no excuses if they lose to a depleted Toronto team that is mediocre, at best, when healthy.
One Raptor who is healthy is DeMar DeRozan, who scored a career-high 37 points against Houston on New Year's Eve. DeRozan is an athletic young shooting guard in his second year out of USC, and does most of his damage going to the basket. He's not a threat from behind the arc, but he loves to put the ball on the floor and spin to the hoop. He's been getting to the line a bunch lately, which has contributed to his improved scoring of late.
Given all the injuries, the most dangerous Raptor, from an offensive standpoint, is probably sixth man Leandro Barbosa. Despite the fact that he plays the same position as DeRozan, he managed 17 points against the Rockets (it appears from the box score that the Raptors went small for much of that game). Controlling those guys should be a priority.
The Raptors are not particularly good defensively or on the glass, and it would be nice to see Boston try to take advantage of their depleted frontcourt by going inside and getting Shaquille O'Neal and Glen Davis involved early. Johnson is foul-prone, and so is Joey Dorsey, the guy starting in Bargnani's place. After those two, the bigs are a couple of rookies: Ed Davis (who has showed flashes in limited minutes this year) and Solomon Alabi, who has played something like ten minutes and three seconds over the course of three appearances this season. Particularly since Rondo's absence has made offense a bit of a chore at times for the Celtics, taking advantage of our size should be a priority.
Friday, November 26, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Toronto 102, Boston 101
Ugh.
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.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Boston 103, Toronto 96
No Pierce. No KG. No Rondo.
No problem?
No kidding.
[recap] [box score]
After Wednesday's 116-98 loss at Phoenix -- a game I couldn't watch because it was on NBATV and which I didn't bother writing about because the outcome was pretty much determined once Doc Rivers decided that Pierce and Garnett wouldn't play -- the Celtics returned home and avoided a four-game losing streak by beating the Raptors. This despite the fact that the injured list this time also included Rondo, who hurt himself last Sunday against the Clippers but had been trying to fight through the injury. Reportedly, after watching his point guard struggle against the Suns, Rivers realized how much Rondo was hurting and sat him tonight. The team is off until Wednesday, and the long rest should get the team back to full strength, minus Marquis Daniels.
Tonight's starting lineup was Tony Allen, Ray Allen, J.R. Giddens, Rasheed Wallace, and Kendrick Perkins. Credit Doc for starting Giddens in place of, say, Glen Davis. Although Giddens was basically a complete non-factor in 20 minutes, the move saved some of the team's precious firepower for the second unit. Led by Glen Davis (15 points, five rebounds) and Eddie House (12/4 with four assists), the Celtics bench outscored Toronto's reserves 34-21, despite the fact that a couple of key guys who are normally bench players ended up starting the game.
The Raptor bench is one reason why Toronto was a fortunate opponent for a depleted Boston club; it's not very good, so it was ill-equipped to take advantage of Boston's lack of depth. (In fairness, it should be noted that point guard Jarrett Jack, Toronto's best bench player, tallied 14 points and seven assists in a starting role, filling in for the injured Jose Calderon.) The other reason is -- as noted last time we played them -- the Raptors, for all their offensive firepower, are a terrible defensive team. Boston's offense hardly ran smoothly, but there was no shortage of looks coming off screens for Ray and House; Wallace hit a couple of threes and paired them with a couple of nice bankers out of the post; and the Celtics went to the line 31 times, making 25. Boston also enjoyed an 8-5 margin on the offensive glass.
Hopefully everyone is back for Wednesday. Next TV game is Friday, against Atlanta (8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN).
No problem?
No kidding.
[recap] [box score]
After Wednesday's 116-98 loss at Phoenix -- a game I couldn't watch because it was on NBATV and which I didn't bother writing about because the outcome was pretty much determined once Doc Rivers decided that Pierce and Garnett wouldn't play -- the Celtics returned home and avoided a four-game losing streak by beating the Raptors. This despite the fact that the injured list this time also included Rondo, who hurt himself last Sunday against the Clippers but had been trying to fight through the injury. Reportedly, after watching his point guard struggle against the Suns, Rivers realized how much Rondo was hurting and sat him tonight. The team is off until Wednesday, and the long rest should get the team back to full strength, minus Marquis Daniels.
Tonight's starting lineup was Tony Allen, Ray Allen, J.R. Giddens, Rasheed Wallace, and Kendrick Perkins. Credit Doc for starting Giddens in place of, say, Glen Davis. Although Giddens was basically a complete non-factor in 20 minutes, the move saved some of the team's precious firepower for the second unit. Led by Glen Davis (15 points, five rebounds) and Eddie House (12/4 with four assists), the Celtics bench outscored Toronto's reserves 34-21, despite the fact that a couple of key guys who are normally bench players ended up starting the game.
The Raptor bench is one reason why Toronto was a fortunate opponent for a depleted Boston club; it's not very good, so it was ill-equipped to take advantage of Boston's lack of depth. (In fairness, it should be noted that point guard Jarrett Jack, Toronto's best bench player, tallied 14 points and seven assists in a starting role, filling in for the injured Jose Calderon.) The other reason is -- as noted last time we played them -- the Raptors, for all their offensive firepower, are a terrible defensive team. Boston's offense hardly ran smoothly, but there was no shortage of looks coming off screens for Ray and House; Wallace hit a couple of threes and paired them with a couple of nice bankers out of the post; and the Celtics went to the line 31 times, making 25. Boston also enjoyed an 8-5 margin on the offensive glass.
Hopefully everyone is back for Wednesday. Next TV game is Friday, against Atlanta (8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN).
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Boston 116, Toronto 103
[recap] [box score]
This game happened Friday. Posts to this blog may come in delayed and abbreviated form over the next few weeks, as I buckle down and study for finals.
The Raptors are awful defensively. I had been told how awful, and yet, when I watched the game, I was taken by surprise at how true the assessment was. After two turnovers, a missed layup, and a Ray Allen jumper on their first four possessions, the Celtics scored on the next seven trips down the court. Each one of those buckets was a layup. Not a little bunny shot in the post, but a layup off a drive or a drive and a pass. My only issues with the offense were too many turnovers and that we didn't devote the whole game to dribble penetration. The second team was most guilty of that; then again, the second team doesn't have a lot of guys take the ball to the basket.
This game happened Friday. Posts to this blog may come in delayed and abbreviated form over the next few weeks, as I buckle down and study for finals.
The Raptors are awful defensively. I had been told how awful, and yet, when I watched the game, I was taken by surprise at how true the assessment was. After two turnovers, a missed layup, and a Ray Allen jumper on their first four possessions, the Celtics scored on the next seven trips down the court. Each one of those buckets was a layup. Not a little bunny shot in the post, but a layup off a drive or a drive and a pass. My only issues with the offense were too many turnovers and that we didn't devote the whole game to dribble penetration. The second team was most guilty of that; then again, the second team doesn't have a lot of guys take the ball to the basket.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Boston 115, Toronto 109 (OT)
(Don't know what's up with the formatting. Sorry, gang.)
We're still not right. The Raptors were again without Jermaine O'Neal, and didn't have Jose Calderon, either, and we struggled to beat them at home.
I didn't watch this game because it was on NBATV, so I can't say much about it. Paul Pierce led the way with 39 points, and let me turn your attention to the first few paragraphs of the wire story on the game. Kevin Garnett, for at least the second time this season, referred to Pierce as Superman in the post-game press conference. I'm not bringing the following up to drum up controversy (I don't have enough readers for that, anyway). It's just something I've had on my mind for a while.
Almost from the moment Pierce and Garnett joined forces with Ray Allen last year, the biggest concern I've had that it wasn't going to click rest with Allen. Garnett would see plenty of time in the spotlight, as his superstardom was unmatched by the other two; and anyway, he was, by reputation, the most selfless of the three. Pierce and Ray were in similar situations, actually, All-Stars playing on bad teams, but Pierce was the incumbent. Ray was the newcomer. I wondered how he'd deal with being the third banana.
All in all, it's been pretty good. I remember some rumblings this summer about Ray being unhappy -- and rumors of a trade to (I think) Charlotte for (I think) Gerald Wallace. Who knows how credible those rumors were, and if Ray was or is upset, he's kept remarkably quiet.
But I can't help but notice the clear hierarchy among the Big Three. KG famously insisted that Pierce, not he, be introduced last at the start of every home game, which is all well and good, except that Ray's name never really entered the conversation. These are trivial matters, and, after all, not everyone can be introduced last, but we should at least acknowledge that Ray went from a team where he was the unquestionable top dog to the third most recognizable or popular player on his team.
It continued after the championship, too. Pierce naturally got the most press, having played his whole career in Boston, having survived the stabbing and the Pitino Era and losing season after losing season. Garnett's raw emotion and on-camera candidness made him a prime target for footage after the Finals; the NBA player who most wanted a ring finally got his. If Ray were more like KG -- if he were inclined to scream at the top of his lungs on national TV "ANYTHING'S POSSIBBBLLLE!!!!" -- maybe he would have received more press. But he's not KG, personality-wise, not even close.
(You know, I always find the post-Game 6 clip of KG described above strange. A 66-win team led by three stars of their generation hardly seems to be the unlikely event that Garnett's chosen phrase seems to make it out to be.)
The point of all this is that I wonder how Ray feels about it all. KG has gone out of his way to make sure Pierce is comfortable (the aforementioned insistence that Pierce be introduced last; constant reassurances in the press that this is Pierce's team), but you don't hear the same things about Ray. It's a little striking, particularly this year, when you could make a case that Ray has been the best player on the team. Pierce's 39 earned the win tonight, but Ray's 36 saved our asses on Sunday, and he didn't get Garnett comparing him to a superhero.
Like I said, I'm not trying to stir up controversy. Just something I've been tracking a little bit, and chose to write about on a night I couldn't watch the game.
Quick notes on what I can glean from the recap and box score:
-22 points in overtime is a franchise record. It's also more points than we scored in either the first or fourth quarter.
-49 minutes for Pierce, 45 for Ray, 40 apiece for Garnett and Rajon Rondo on the second night of a back-t0-back with another game on Wednesday (vs. New Jersey at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, no national TV). Yuck. Tony Allen's ankle injury hurts us in that he's the primary backup for both Ray and Pierce.
-No Kendrick Perkins again tonight, and a buddy who was listening to the broadcast tonight said that Doc doesn't expect him back til at least after the weekend. Our next two games are both against the Nets, and Jersey's rookie center, Brook Lopez, just went for 31 and 13 Monday night. I've been pretty happy with how Brian Scalabrine has played in Perk's absence (on both ends; he actually had 11 points Monday), but I think Lopez is probably too big for him -- though I think Garnett will handle him fine. The Chairman, Yi Jianlian, didn't play Monday because of a hand injury that will sideline him for a few weeks, and the Nets started rookie Ryan Anderson at power forward. I haven't seen a ton of Anderson (actually, not sure I've seen him at all as a pro, and only fleetingly in college), but my impression is that he's a younger, slimmer, better Scal, perhaps the player Danny Ainge hoped Scalabrine would be when he threw all that money at him a few years ago. Might be fun to see the two of them square off.
Talk to you after the game on Wednesday.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Boston 94, Toronto 88
The Celtics snapped a four-game losing streak in Toronto Sunday, hanging on during a shaky fourth quarter to win.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Ray Allen is the Celtics most responsible for this one, scoring 36 points while making 11 of 14 shots overall, including eight of 10 three-pointers.
This game was pretty odd -- if you look at the score and Allen's shooting line, you'd figure Boston needed every one of those shots. But we were up 20 after three quarters before going cold in the fourth. And it could have been closer, as Toronto missed some open looks from behind the arc in the last few minutes.
I think it was close to exactly the performance the team needed. Our defensive effort was great for most the night, we got Ray going, and while we faltered in the fourth, we made enough plays to win -- which we didn't do the other night in crunch time against Houston. All this despite not having Kendrick Perkins -- out with the shoulder injury he aggravated Friday night against Cleveland -- and Tony Allen. (Toronto was missing starting center Jermaine O'Neal, and their point guard, Jose Calderon, played just 22 minutes as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury).
Noteworthy performances:
-Rajon Rondo was the catalyst for our offense he had been before Christmas, perhaps taking advantage of a slowed Calderon for 14 points and 11 assists.
-Brian Scalabrine got the start in Perkins' place, and while he found foul trouble early and eventually fouled out, he gave us 25 minutes of solid, energetic defense, and he chipped in offensively with seven points. Can't really ask for more than that from the guy at this point.
-Glen Davis was the other big whose playing time benefitted from Perk's absence. While Davis did grab 11 rebounds, he was missed 11 of his 12 shots from the floor, a mix of open jumpers and easy layups. I don't really understand Doc's reasoning here; Davis was struggling offensively and got 30 minutes (a lot for a guy his size), while Leon Powe had five points and three rebounds in just nine minutes. I'm inclined to give Powe most of Baby's playing time anyway (though they are often on the court together), but that is particularly so when Davis struggles like he did today. He was sulking, too, not running back as hard on D as the game wore on and the misses piled up.
-Kevin Garnett also struggled, going just three of 16 from the field. He was just an inch or two off the entire night. I would say the majority of his jumpers missed the exact same way: front rom, backboard, and off. It's good to get a win even on a night where he can't buy one.
-Paul Pierce didn't have a very big game, though he did make a big bucket late. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with a knee injury he suffered in the first quarter; Scalabrine was knocked down and fell into Pierce's knee -- it looked like a little bit of a hyperextension or something. Pierce came back in the second quarter and didn't look to be hobbling around. I'm inclined to think that his lack of shooting (just five of 11) had more to do with how hot Ray was than anything with his knee.
We've got these same Raptors in Boston Monday night (7:30 p.m. Eastern). I don't know if Perkins or Tony Allen or O'Neal or Calderon will be playing. Because it's on NBATV, I won't be able to watch it, but I'll look at the box score and see if I can pick up on anything.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Ray Allen is the Celtics most responsible for this one, scoring 36 points while making 11 of 14 shots overall, including eight of 10 three-pointers.
This game was pretty odd -- if you look at the score and Allen's shooting line, you'd figure Boston needed every one of those shots. But we were up 20 after three quarters before going cold in the fourth. And it could have been closer, as Toronto missed some open looks from behind the arc in the last few minutes.
I think it was close to exactly the performance the team needed. Our defensive effort was great for most the night, we got Ray going, and while we faltered in the fourth, we made enough plays to win -- which we didn't do the other night in crunch time against Houston. All this despite not having Kendrick Perkins -- out with the shoulder injury he aggravated Friday night against Cleveland -- and Tony Allen. (Toronto was missing starting center Jermaine O'Neal, and their point guard, Jose Calderon, played just 22 minutes as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury).
Noteworthy performances:
-Rajon Rondo was the catalyst for our offense he had been before Christmas, perhaps taking advantage of a slowed Calderon for 14 points and 11 assists.
-Brian Scalabrine got the start in Perkins' place, and while he found foul trouble early and eventually fouled out, he gave us 25 minutes of solid, energetic defense, and he chipped in offensively with seven points. Can't really ask for more than that from the guy at this point.
-Glen Davis was the other big whose playing time benefitted from Perk's absence. While Davis did grab 11 rebounds, he was missed 11 of his 12 shots from the floor, a mix of open jumpers and easy layups. I don't really understand Doc's reasoning here; Davis was struggling offensively and got 30 minutes (a lot for a guy his size), while Leon Powe had five points and three rebounds in just nine minutes. I'm inclined to give Powe most of Baby's playing time anyway (though they are often on the court together), but that is particularly so when Davis struggles like he did today. He was sulking, too, not running back as hard on D as the game wore on and the misses piled up.
-Kevin Garnett also struggled, going just three of 16 from the field. He was just an inch or two off the entire night. I would say the majority of his jumpers missed the exact same way: front rom, backboard, and off. It's good to get a win even on a night where he can't buy one.
-Paul Pierce didn't have a very big game, though he did make a big bucket late. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with a knee injury he suffered in the first quarter; Scalabrine was knocked down and fell into Pierce's knee -- it looked like a little bit of a hyperextension or something. Pierce came back in the second quarter and didn't look to be hobbling around. I'm inclined to think that his lack of shooting (just five of 11) had more to do with how hot Ray was than anything with his knee.
We've got these same Raptors in Boston Monday night (7:30 p.m. Eastern). I don't know if Perkins or Tony Allen or O'Neal or Calderon will be playing. Because it's on NBATV, I won't be able to watch it, but I'll look at the box score and see if I can pick up on anything.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Technical Difficulties
Some non-fatal computer problems are keeping me from blogging these days. For the millions of you who rely on this site for all your Celtics information, we won at Minnesota on Friday [recap] [box score] and at Toronto yesterday [recap] [box score].
There. You're caught up.
Our next game is Wednesday vs. Golden State (7:30 pm Eastern, no national TV). Hopefully my computer will be better by then and I can watch and report (I'm writing this entry from the law school computer lab, where I watched the second half of yesterday's game).
There. You're caught up.
Our next game is Wednesday vs. Golden State (7:30 pm Eastern, no national TV). Hopefully my computer will be better by then and I can watch and report (I'm writing this entry from the law school computer lab, where I watched the second half of yesterday's game).
Monday, November 10, 2008
Celtics 94, Raptors 87
In his NBA preview column from October 28, ESPN's Bill Simmons -- the Sports Guy -- predicted that "[t]he Celtics will put the word 'defending' back into 'defending champs.'" Down 15 to Toronto midway through the third quarter Monday night in Boston, the Celtics proved him right. Paul Pierce reprised the fourth-quarter cold-blooded assasin role we've become accustomed to over the past year-plus, and a big nod to Kevin Garnett for keeping the team and crowd emotionally involved.
[recap] [box score]
A friend of mine who's a Lakers fan -- I know, I know -- sent me an email after the game. It read, in part, "Doc is hell-bent on killing the Celts [sic] repeat chances," illustrated by him playing Pierce/KG/Ray a combined 117 minutes tonight. His point is completely legit: The season's long, this one seemed out of hand, we just beat Detroit last night, we've got Atlanta on Wednesday. Plenty of coaches would have packed it up for the night and played the bench the rest of the way. Indeed, that's what Doc did in Indiana earlier this year.
There's something to be said, however, for sending a message, even this early in the season. Toronto's on the short list of Eastern Conference contenders. If we face them in the playoffs, they're surely going to remember this game, and how difficult it is to win in Boston.
That's a good thing for us. I don't expect Doc to pull out all the stops every time we put ourselves in this spot (and here's hoping it's not that often), but I do think he's tuned in to which teams are worth fighting against.
A couple of general thoughts about the game:
-Even in the first half, our defense wasn't that bad. Jermaine O'Neal had 19 at halftime -- he finished with just 23 and Kendrick Perkins ate his lunch on a few key possessions in the fourth -- but Chris Bosh was held in check, scoring just nine points in 40 minutes. Bosh came into this game with the third-highest scoring average in the league, at 26.7 per game.
Most of the damage was done by the Raps role players from the outside; Jason Kapono, Anthony Parker, and Joey Graham. Those three combined for 37 points.
Remember, though, our defensive success has been predicated around keeping people out of the lane and forcing the other team to make jumpers -- a lot of jumpers -- if they want to beat us. Graham scored eight points in the second quarter on a free throw and about 64 feet worth of jump shots. I guarantee that if you had told Doc and Tom Thibodeau that Joey Graham was going to be shooting 20-footers, they'd have been fine with it.
-71-70 Raps, eight minutes and change to go. We had three possessions to take the lead, and we got a contested three from Eddie House (blocked); an open three from Tony Allen (which he missed, rebounded, and committed an offensive foul trying to get to the basket); and a 19-footer from Glen Davis (predictably missed).
Garnett and Ray Allen weren't in the game and therefore were unavailable as options, but these can't be the guys taking the shots for us in those moments, at least not those specific shots. If Eddie gets a clean look, that's one thing, but Tony and Baby need to remember why the defense has left them open in those situations.
Next game is Wednesday night, 7:30 p.m. Eastern, in Boston against Atlanta. The Hawks -- the same Hawks who pushed us to seven games in the first round of the playoffs last year -- are 5-0, the last undefeated team in the East as of this writing (they are playing in Chicago Tuesday night). Atlanta's already won in Orlando and New Orleans this year, so they're a formidable opponent. However, they'll be without Josh Smith, who sprained his ankle Friday against Toronto and is expected to miss two to four weeks.
Atlanta, like Toronto, is one of these teams that will be gunning for Boston, and in turn, Boston will want to keep them from winning in the Garden. Boston will need to come out of the gate a lot faster than they did against the Raps.
[recap] [box score]
A friend of mine who's a Lakers fan -- I know, I know -- sent me an email after the game. It read, in part, "Doc is hell-bent on killing the Celts [sic] repeat chances," illustrated by him playing Pierce/KG/Ray a combined 117 minutes tonight. His point is completely legit: The season's long, this one seemed out of hand, we just beat Detroit last night, we've got Atlanta on Wednesday. Plenty of coaches would have packed it up for the night and played the bench the rest of the way. Indeed, that's what Doc did in Indiana earlier this year.
There's something to be said, however, for sending a message, even this early in the season. Toronto's on the short list of Eastern Conference contenders. If we face them in the playoffs, they're surely going to remember this game, and how difficult it is to win in Boston.
That's a good thing for us. I don't expect Doc to pull out all the stops every time we put ourselves in this spot (and here's hoping it's not that often), but I do think he's tuned in to which teams are worth fighting against.
A couple of general thoughts about the game:
-Even in the first half, our defense wasn't that bad. Jermaine O'Neal had 19 at halftime -- he finished with just 23 and Kendrick Perkins ate his lunch on a few key possessions in the fourth -- but Chris Bosh was held in check, scoring just nine points in 40 minutes. Bosh came into this game with the third-highest scoring average in the league, at 26.7 per game.
Most of the damage was done by the Raps role players from the outside; Jason Kapono, Anthony Parker, and Joey Graham. Those three combined for 37 points.
Remember, though, our defensive success has been predicated around keeping people out of the lane and forcing the other team to make jumpers -- a lot of jumpers -- if they want to beat us. Graham scored eight points in the second quarter on a free throw and about 64 feet worth of jump shots. I guarantee that if you had told Doc and Tom Thibodeau that Joey Graham was going to be shooting 20-footers, they'd have been fine with it.
-71-70 Raps, eight minutes and change to go. We had three possessions to take the lead, and we got a contested three from Eddie House (blocked); an open three from Tony Allen (which he missed, rebounded, and committed an offensive foul trying to get to the basket); and a 19-footer from Glen Davis (predictably missed).
Garnett and Ray Allen weren't in the game and therefore were unavailable as options, but these can't be the guys taking the shots for us in those moments, at least not those specific shots. If Eddie gets a clean look, that's one thing, but Tony and Baby need to remember why the defense has left them open in those situations.
Next game is Wednesday night, 7:30 p.m. Eastern, in Boston against Atlanta. The Hawks -- the same Hawks who pushed us to seven games in the first round of the playoffs last year -- are 5-0, the last undefeated team in the East as of this writing (they are playing in Chicago Tuesday night). Atlanta's already won in Orlando and New Orleans this year, so they're a formidable opponent. However, they'll be without Josh Smith, who sprained his ankle Friday against Toronto and is expected to miss two to four weeks.
Atlanta, like Toronto, is one of these teams that will be gunning for Boston, and in turn, Boston will want to keep them from winning in the Garden. Boston will need to come out of the gate a lot faster than they did against the Raps.
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