Harangoodies: Celtics 122, Raptors 102
Posted by Brendan Jackson on Jan 8, 2011
Pace: 92 possessions
Offensive Efficiency: 132.6 points/100 possessions
Defensive Efficiency: 110.9 points allowed/100 possessions
The Celtics really put one on the Toronto Raptors last night. There was not a single moment in the second half when the Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers thought he needed to take a meaningful timeout to get his team back on track or put the starters back in to “right the ship“. Not even when the Raptors cut the Celtic lead to 13 in the third quarter. Rivers rightly kept Luke Harangody, Nate Robinson, and Marquis Daniels in the game and the Celtics never let the Raptors get closer.
Put it this way: the Celtics beat up the Raptors so badly that, if I were a cheezy radio show parody maker, I would change the Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose “Treat Her Like a Lady” lyrics from “You gotta treat her like, treat her like a treat her like, you oughta treat her like a lady” to”The Celtics shellacked, shellack-a-lack-a-lack-a-lee-dah-lack, they shellacked the Toronto Raptors”. It’s a good thing I don’t work for a radio show.
A big part of why Rivers specifically left Harangody in while the Celtics clinged to a 13 point lead was because he was the best player on the court last night. Harangody easily had the best game of his short career notching a cool 17 points and snagging 11 boards. While Luke deserves all the credit in the world for posting this type of line it was pretty clear after the first quarter that anyone could have had a game against these Raps. One encouraging aspect of Luke’s game despite the opposition’s effort was Harangody’s ability and willingness to get a hand on nearly every available rebound. I caught some flack during the offseason for writing the following about Harangody for Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston’s season preview:
“It won’t be long before you start hearing “second-round steal” and “Luke Harangody” in the same sentence. Like his predecessors Ryan Gomes, Leon Powe and Glen Davis, Harangody will take all that he has learned being a productive four-year college player and find a way to make an impact with the Celtics. On a team full of veterans with defined roles and little room for rookies to find playing time, there is always room for energy guys. As his college career and summer league play showed, Harangody has no shortage of energy, drive and desire. While Bradley may be more highly touted coming into the NBA, recent history has shown (Gerald Green, Bill Walker) that Rivers is tentative to give court time to players wet behind the ears. With Bradley having only one year of college under his belt and not being able to play in summer league because of an ankle injury, it will be quite a while until Rivers is ready to give him any reins. Look for Harangody to turn a lot of heads this season — if not for his production, at least for his unorthodox (to say the least) shooting release.”
It’s difficult for die-hard fans to a) break the habit of assuming every goofy white Celtic will play like Brian Scalabrine; and b) think that no one will ever replace Leon Powe. Harangody will be able to put up Powe-like production, if not this season, then next.
With all of this said, and as much as a love and respect loyal reader Zeb, there is just no way Harangody will supplant Glen Davis in the starting lineup. Davis is having a career year and while we here at Celtics Hub tend to quibble over his shot selection, there is one major component of Davis’ game that Hanrangody has yet to possess: he can defend one-on-one in the post. Harangody was a beast on the boards last night because he was allowed to play free and easy and the Raptors hardly ever used half court sets that required him to be a stalwart one-on-one defender. This recap would read much differently had Harangody defended Elton Brand or Carlos Boozer- or any solid, back-to-the-basket big man.
Other than Harangody’s night there were not too many things to take away. While the starters/veterans had solid games, including what looks like a resurgence of Shaq, the bottom line is that there was blood in the water last night and the Celtics were all over it. Veterans/former (and current) All Stars should play like that when a team like the Raptors fall behind like they did last night. That is not to say that the Celtics did not come out with a ton of energy. They really did and reaped the benefits of low minutes on the first night of a back-to-back. Tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls will not be as easy but at least the Celtics should be rested.
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