Posted by Ryan DeGama on Jan 27, 2012 (5 minutes ago) 0 comments
There were a number of notable things worthy of in-depth discussion from last night’s comeback but with the Pacers on deck tonight, here’s a rapid fire group of observations instead.
The Celtics second half comeback really didn’t kick into high gear until the end of the third quarter. They’d made a run early in the second half but still trailed by 18 with 2:08 left in the third. At that point, Doc Rivers subbed in a backcourt of Marquis Daniels and E’Twaun Moore. Eight minutes and a nineteen-point turnaround later, the Celtics would be up by one when Daniels finally subbed out of the game (Moore played straight through).
Moore and Daniels made life just miserable for the Magic, pressuring the ball fullcourt (usually Moore) and on the perimeter (both). Their harassment kept Orlando out of their offense, often for as long as 12 or 13 seconds. It also seemed to make the Magic — who were probably too cognizant of turning the ball over after a bad third quarter — tentative. When a passing lane finally did open up, usually with the shot clock under ten seconds, Orlando missed the tiny window they had to make a play, and the Boston help would sweep in to close the gap.
On that point, the Celtics’ help rotations and their overall physicality were game changers. The officials let a lot go, but that’s partly because Boston defined this as a smash mouth game as they began their comeback. They set the tenor of the game. If we’ve been wary of anything with this team’s defense so far this year (and they’re now sitting at a tidy 4th in the league in efficiency), it’s that they haven’t played with enough force. They haven’t made teams uncomfortable enough. The energy of the second unit and the sheer will of guys like Garnett have changed that this week. Let’s hope it’s a continuing phenomenon.
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The other major defensive actor down the stretch was Kevin Garnett. He was the third Celtic to check back in at the end of the third quarter. And he made a world of difference. The buzz will probably be around two plays in the fourth where he actually pushed Dwight Howard off his post spots, but that was just part of it.
Garnett also did the odd stint pressuring the ball handler from mid-court and consistently provided the second wall of defense against Orlando’s pick and roll attack. There’s clearly something askew in the mental matchup between Boston and the Magic, but part of it is just tactical. KG’s ability to show on pick and rolls, and sometimes double team the ball handler (and then quickly recover) neutralizes one of Orlando’s preferred methods of attack.
Anyway, an enormous night for Garnett, who’s turned in several of his very best performances the last week. If Paul Pierce is rounding into form, so is he. Read the rest of this entry »
read morePosted by Hayes Davenport on Jan 27, 2012 (8 hours ago) 11 comments
3. Wilcox’s Rude Slam
Chris Wilcox gently reminds you that he is actually very athletic despite his facial hair.
Someone from the coaching staff forgot to remind him that the Celtics don’t dunk anymore.
2. KG Gets Howard’s Spit Out of Here
This is what a brilliant defensive mind KG has: he knows Howard’s going to take this hook before he even lifts his hands. See how he jump-stops just before Howard makes the turn to go up for the shot? Imagine being able to anticipate a dude’s move like that. Ya can’t!
(Should’ve been a goaltend. Oops!)
1. Twaun Finds Twine
read morePosted by Ryan DeGama on Jan 27, 2012 (11 hours ago) 4 comments
read morePosted by Brian Robb on Jan 26, 2012 19 comments
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Paul Pierce, SF 44 MIN | 7-18 FG | 8-11 FT | 6 REB | 10 AST | 24 PTS | +9 In the first half Pierce went 0 for 5 with a couple turnovers and looked unable to handle the extra attention the Magic’s defense was giving him with Rondo/Ray out. Second half comes around and he turns into vintage Pierce, playing a tremendous final 24 minutes on both sides of the floor. His third straight terrific all-around line as point forward. Anytime you jump start a 21-point 2nd half comeback you get the A. |
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Brandon Bass, PF 29 MIN | 4-12 FG | 2-4 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 10 PTS | +5 I’m grading on a curve tonight, so this was more like a C night for Bass, but his big shots and defensive play late guarding Hedo was what counted the most. Besides getting lost in the lane a couple times, Bass is taking the open shots he needs to without hesitation. It was an off night overall, but he still came around when it counted. |
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Kevin Garnett, PF 35 MIN | 6-14 FG | 0-0 FT | 10 REB | 4 AST | 12 PTS | +23 As good as you’ll see Garnett defensively this season. Four big blocks, lots of scrappy play to help the C’s contain Howard and limit Orlando to 25 points in the second half. Hit a few tough shots early in the second half to help C’s tread water before PP got going. |
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Mickael Pietrus, SF 32 MIN | 4-9 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 12 PTS | -1 Pietrus was the only guy that came to play early with a couple early threes, so it came as no surprise that the team’s offense fell asleep once he went to the bench. 32 gutty minutes after coming back from a shoulder injury, and even more impressive that he stayed in the game after being bodyslammed by Howard when going for a board in the 4th quarter. |
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Avery Bradley, SG 25 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 6 PTS | -13 Back to reality for Avery tonight, with at least 3-4 unforgivable ballhandling turnovers early on, along with some spotty decisions with the ball. But the defense was still there and in the second half Avery finally realized he should cut to the hoop when Orlando was ignoring him. |
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Keyon Dooling, PG 9 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 3 PTS | -12 Left the game with a hip pointer in the second quarter, but I’m feeling generous tonight. There’s no incomplete option, but Keyon did a nice job cheering on the bench. |
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Chris Wilcox, PF 19 MIN | 2-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | +4 Some tough defense down low on Dwight and a couple strong moves to the rim gives us some encouragement on the athletic big’s potential for this team this year. A building block performance, especially coming off a long absence. |
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Marquis Daniels, SG 18 MIN | 2-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 4 PTS | +13 C’s ran their offense through Marquis in the 4th and Daniels did a terrific job with his decision-making and distribution. The defense was phenomenal as well. |
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Sasha Pavlovic, SF 4 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | 0 Didn’t see the floor in the second half. Did a terrific job of cheering from the bench. Give him an B! Remember we are grading on a comeback curve here! |
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Greg Stiemsma, C 7 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 PTS | -15 Looked overmatched on both sides of the floor. The 26-year-old rookie has come back down to earth in limited action over the past two weeks. |
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E’Twaun Moore, G 18 MIN | 5-6 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 16 PTS | +27 Graduated from JV to Varsity tonight. According to mySynergySports he had missed all 14 of his spot up shots before today. He made them all tonight, largely from downtown. We all saw the guy could play in the preseason, and he was finally able to show it on both ends of the floor tonight. |
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Posted by Brendan Jackson on Jan 26, 2012 53 comments
Boston @ Orlando
8:00 PM
Amway Center
TNT
Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 100.4 points/100 possessions (20th)
Orlando: 105.2 points/100 possessions (9th)
Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 99.1 points/100 possessions (5th)
Orlando: 100.7 points/100 possessions (12th)
Probable Magic Starters: Jameer Nelson (PG), Jason Richardson (SG), Hedo Turkoglu (SF), Ryan Anderson (PF), Dwight Howard (C)
Injury Report:
Orlando: None. Boston: Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo are out. Jermaine O’Neal is doubtful. Keyon Dooling and Chris Wilcox are game-time decisions but will likely play.
View From The Opposing Bench: Magic Basketball
THUMBNAIL
Celtics’ fans are going to have to come to grips with a lot of things this season. One of them being the realization that the sultry Serb above will be starting at shooting guard for the foreseeable future (depending on the health of Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus). The good news is that Sasha Pavlovic played really well on Monday night and should give fans a little hope going forward. The bad news is that he also started in place of Paul Pierce while the C’s began the season with a hefty dose of suck.
Over the course of his parts-o-two-seasons in Boston, Pav has fared much better guarding shooting guards than he has guarding small forwards. There probably isn’t enough data to actually make that conclusion valid (there isn’t) but we’re still riding high from Monday night’s drubbing of a good team! Right?!
As I said in today’s 5-on-5, I don’t think the Celtics are going to win this game. I won’t think that until they show some kind of consistency in beating good teams. My request to the C’s: Make me a believer.
PREDICTION
Celtics 89, Magic 96
Should the Celtics blow it up?
Total Voters: 678
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