Saturday Recap & Notebook: Rondo, Shaq, and KG, Oh My!
Posted by Brendan Jackson on Oct 16, 2010
Here is some Celtics-related news for you on this glorious Saturday morning/afternoon depending on your sleeping schedule. Before we get to that there is a little matter of recapitulating the game last night.
Recap
This may sound harsh, but last night’s game was garbage basketball. That is not to say there were not a few encouraging elements on which the Celtics can build- like shooting over 50% from the field and over 60% from three- but even these are red herrings when you consider how awful the Raptors were on the defensive end.
Last night was the quintessential preseason game. Sloppy plays, high minutes for non-starters, bench players playing even in crunch time. It is encouraging to see the bench hold their own against other teams’ starters (Raptors, Sixers) but this Raptors’ team is bad. Very bad. Despite having a solid collection of players including Linas Klieza, Jarrett Jack, and Sonny Weems, none of those guys are playing better than Marquis Daniels right now, let alone the rest of the Celtics’ stellar bench. If these preseason games do anything for the Celtics, hopefully they will allow the bench’s chemistry to grow. I would love to see some five man units consisting of only bench players that can either maintain or stretch a lead.
Rondo after the game
Julien Benbow of the Boston Globe caught up with Rajon Rondo after last night’s game and asked him about his disappearing act this preseason (if you have not noticed, Rondo has not exactly been the Rondo of yester-year save for last night’s contest):
“I’m not bored, I’m just trying to take control of the minutes that I play,’’ Rondo said. “I’m not playing regular-season minutes, so when I’m not out there I just try to be an instructor. “We’ve got new guys in the rotation. I’m going 100 percent, but as far as knowing my role and getting guys to learn what they’re doing out there on the floor, I’m trying to slow down a little bit to get guys to understand what we’re doing as a team. It’s totally different sets that the four [starters] know, but having Shaq and the other O’Neal in, we try to slow it up for those guys so they can learn the offense.’’
I touched on this idea briefly after the Celtics’ first preseason game but Rajon Rondo is now a fully-fledged veteran who is going to have everyone’s attention. This could be the single biggest reason this team gels this season. Despite Rondo’s age and his ego confidence, he commands the respect of all the perennial all stars on this Celtics’ roster. He knows if the Celtics are going to win this season there has to be some continuity among all his teammates and he is using the preseason to get there.
Wafer versus Lasme
From the same Globe article, Doc Rivers still does not know who is going to win the battle for the 15th man between Stephane Lasme and Von Wafer. Lasme could not travel to Toronto last night due to visa issues (something I am sure will work itself out in the coming weeks) and Wafer took full advantage scoring 14 points while going 3-for-3 from deep.
Here’s Wafer on his standing with the Celtics:
“It’s just to make me better,’’ Wafer said. “I think everybody here cares about me, so I’ve just got to take it in stride and just use it. Not use it as them being against me, but use it as them trying to help me. So, I’ve just got to be on point.’’
I think the Celtics like you too Von, but that does not mean they will not cut you if you do not start showing some passion and consistency. Last night was a good start, though.
Shaq enjoying his role
Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald caught up with Doc Rivers after last night’s game and the topic of Shaquille O’Neal came up:
“I had to bring it up in our initial meetings, but Shaq is very good. He just wants to do what he can to help the team. He knows he’s not going to be a focal point every time down. He knows he’s not going to play 35 minutes. I don’t think he could, anyway. But he’s been phenomenal with it.”
I have to admit I was really hesitant about how O’Neal would deal with the lack of a prominent role on this Celtics team but I think the talent level of the Boston bench will quash any presumed qualms. The way the Celtics bench is playing this season it is starting to feel like the Celtics’ units are really a 1 and 1A.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com also talked about Shaquille O’Neal’s shortcomings on the court. Blakely sees Shaq’s biggest issue being his on-court communication. Shaq disagrees:
“The more I get to play with the guys and the more I know their strategies, yeah, I’ll talk,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “I’ll be alright. The Big Shamrock will not be a problem.”
We shall see.
Garnett Gets Up
The second half of last night’s game was so uninspiring it caused me to forget about Kevin Garnett’s alley-oop dunk. Good thing Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com is there to remind me:
The alley-oop: Rondo and Kevin Garnett haven’t been able to connect on many lobs this preseason, something a lot of observers have focused on to see just how good Garnett’s knee is feeling entering the new season. With 3:08 to play in the first quarter, Rondo sent a perfect lob from inside the mid-court circle and Garnett delivered an emphatic two-handed slam (see photo at right). Garnett seems to be gaining steam as the regular season nears. He was having his best preseason performance Wednesday night in New York before getting tossed, then chipped in eight points (3-of-3 from the field; 2-of-2 at the line) with six rebounds, two assists, and a block in 15 minutes against the Raptors.
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That’s it for now. Enjoy this beautiful Boston Saturday.
The Ticker