On the back of a horrific game six performance, Gary Washburn of the Globe piled on with more bad news: Avery Bradley is almost certainly done for the season. Washburn: A source close to Bradley told the Globe that it’s in the “high 90s” percentile that Bradley will be shut down and will perhaps need [...]
After the Thunder finished up their series by routinely dismantling the Lakers last night to send them packing in five games, a time has been announced for the C’s-Sixers Game 6 on Wednesday night. It will tipoff shortly after 8pm on ESPN. Looking ahead in the postseason, if the C’s do win Game 6, and [...]
I love this decision-making from Rajon Rondo. While leading the break, you can see him eyeballing Ray Allen, who runs the wing and spots up on the arc. The Sixers have a 1-2 disadvantage but are mostly concerned about Allen’s three balls, which allows Mickael Pietrus to make an unmolested baseline cut behind the defense. [...]
A note to all you local C’s fans out there that may be attending the game tonight at TD Garden. The game will start just after 7pm and will be broadcast nationally on TNT. However, unlike most TNT regular season games during the season, the tip will not come 15-20 minutes after the scheduled start [...]
Rajon Rondo is a tremendous player, but he tends to have a little bit of an issue scoring the ball late in games. I won’t go as far as saying he is scared, but he does pass up shots and defer to teammates in crunch-time….well a lot. Last night though may have been his coming [...]
Garnett followed up his season-best effort against Atlanta in Game 6 with a new season-high in points and another sensational double-double, as well 60 percent shooting (12-of-20) from the field. Over his past two contests, Garnett is averaging 28.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, two steals and four blocks a game. After the game, KG was candid [...]
The Celtics suffer their first loss of the preseason as the Sixers starters beat up on the Celtics bench and deep bench. Despite the loss the Celtics leave Philadelphia with their heads held high. The final score (Sixers 103, Celtics 92) was not indicative of the game’s overall feel. Through the better part of three quarters the Celtics impromptu starters took it to the Sixers starters (sans Spencers Hawes). Probably the most telling aspect of tonight’s game was the bench’s ability to play top-flight defense.
Let’s get right down to it by starting the discussion with the youngest member on the Boston Celtics. The future of a team in the twilight of its contention. The highly touted transitional savior poised to bridge the gap between the current run the Celtics are on and the next time they find themselves in the thick of things in June. Okay, a Len Bias Avery Bradley is not. After all, he could end up being shipped off to another team looking to unload something the Celtics will covet down the road (perhaps a small forward).
All told, the debut of the Celtic wunderkind was pretty positive. I hesitate to hyperbolize (look ma! I done gone and made up a word!) because the final product was not all that awe-inspiring. It ended up being a little of what I expected and a little of what I did not. I expected him to not completely have his heralded athleticism. I expected some impressive on-ball pressure. I did not expect his shooting stroke to look so fluid and I did not expect his confidence. After putting up modest numbers in his first season at the University of Texas last year, not playing all summer, being a first round pick, and being mentioned in the same breath as John Wall, the fear of not living up to expectations being a deterrent to Bradley’s success definitely entered my mind. I figured, if anything, this fear would manifest itself in the form of reticence on the offensive end. Nope.
After getting used to the fear of some bogey man’d Kevin Garnett haunting rookies and shaking their confidence (a big “hey-o!” to J.R. Giddens) I was pleasantly surprised to see Bradley shoot the ball with confidence. Going 1-for-6 from the field and is not going to do anything for my confidence but if I had to choose between he and myself having confidence, I’d choose the player more than one time out of six.
At the beginning Bradley appeared to not have his legs under him but by the end he looked comfortable enough to go against the Sixers’ starting point guard Jrue Holiday. Maybe it’s an age thing. I mean, Holliday is only 6 months older than Bradley. Whatever it is, it’s a good sign.
De-Fense! (clap, clap) De-Fense!
The Celtics bench did a great job on the defensive end tonight. Nothing could put the Celtics in a better way this season more than having confidence in their bench to not totally mess up what the starters build. Coming into the preseason, the Celtics’ bench was mostly being touted for its offensive capabilities. Everyone got a good look tonight that the “Cs B” is not all about buckets. Take this clip for example (excuse the great offensive execution in the beginning):
The Celtic bench does an amazing job here of rotating on help assignments, closing out shooters, and packing in the lane. Nate Robinson is all over this play. First he closes out on Jason Kapono and forces him to give the ball up the Lou Williams. Williams then has to give an up-fake to a recovered Marquis Daniels and drive into the lane for a tough floater over a Jermaine O’Neal contest. To make matters worse for Williams, Robinson has recovered enough to get his hand up as well and the shot clangs off the front of the rim. Despite being out of position to block-out both Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala, the Celtics stay with the Sixers offensive rebound and Jermaine O’Neal recovers quickly enough to get the block. Beautiful.
Too Many Players, Too Few Roster Spots
Stephane Lasme is the current fan favorite to win the battle for the fifteenth and final roster spot. The truth of the matter is that no one did enough tonight to distinguish himself from the other- and I mean that in a positive way. Von Wafer started at shooting guard and showed that he can make good decisions with the ball. He may have had three turnovers but a) for this Celtics team, 3 turnovers in 38+ minutes is a modest number; and b) some of his turnovers were not his fault. One in particular stuck out in mind because it appeared to be a case of Semih Erden not being quick enough to come to a ball after it’s been kicked to him in the lane (a theme I fear may become commonplace this season).
Stephane Lasme brought the house down (okay, the ten total fans in the building cheered with mild fervor) with a thunderous block. Lasme is athletic and has a motor. These things are certain. Some other facts to consider: he cannot (or will not) shoot outside of two feet and he can not dribble more than twice unless it’s followed by a dunk. Despite Lasme’s shortcomings in the skill department, his energy is amazing to witness and he would be a real asset on the fastbreak.
Speaking of big blocks, did anyone see Jodi Meeks get Tayshaun’d by Mario West? This exciting play aside, West played pesky on-ball defense tonight and is the closest option to Tony Allen Doc has.
Crazy Lineups and the SF
Sounds like a terrible indie band (I mean a really sweet indie band?). Anyway, the Doc Rivers made it clear he was going to have to use everyone else when he decided the starters plus Delonte West were going to sit. This meant Celtics fans got to see what they have been longing for all preseason: Glen Davis, Luke Harangody, and Stephane Lasme logging some minutes at the small forward position. No one was worried that these guys did not possess the necessary offensive capabilities to makeup any drop in point production. Davis loves to create for himself, Hanrangody showed he can shoot in Summer League (that shooting made a cameo tonight as Luke connected on both three point attempts), and Stephane Lasme could lead the league in field goal percentage if you gave him the ball every time he was two feet from the basket. The real reservations came with the defensive end. How could these guys hang with NBA small forwards? The answer is “ehhh…alright”. While it is true that these fellows spent some time guarding one of the premier small forwards in the game in Andre Iguodala, they mostly busted the backsides chasing around Andres Nocioni and Jason Kapono. Doing a serviceable job on these cement-shoed shooters is not going to get on you into any all-defense conversation.
One of the most surprising aspects of Davis, Harangody, and Lasme’s roles tonight is that they often found themselves on the court together. It was crazy to see two or three undersized power forwards on the court at one time and not get completely annihilated on the boards (they actually won this battle 38-to-29).
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