Winter Wonderland: Celtics 119 Kings 95 (Full Recap)
Posted by Ryan DeGama on Jan 13, 2011
Semih-Charmed Kind Of Life
ESPN Box Score • Cowbell Kingdom • Sactown Royalty
“You could pick up how they work together defensively to take away your first and second options. They were really on the same page doing that. They were sniffing out the things we like to do and creating turnovers. They run their stuff, and they know they have threats at all the places and they get the shot they want.” – Paul Westphal, Kings’ Head Coach
The biggest takeaway from this game is that the Celtics put forth an effort that said, “we want to win this game,” rather than “we wouldn’t mind winning this game if it didn’t require us to try too hard.” They still weren’t in “we desperately want this game and will do anything to get it” mode, but against a team mired in as poor a season as the Kings, and missing Tyreke Evans, they didn’t need to be.
The C’s blew this one open in the third quarter but the rout was implied as early as the first, when the Celtics ran out to a quick 8-0 lead before blowing a series of easy shots in the paint that would have discouraged the Kings much earlier had they gone down. As it was, this one was superficially close up to halftime, not that there was ever a danger of the Celtics losing. You could see the C’s were making the defensive efforts that eluded them Monday against the Rockets, even if the final Sacramento offensive numbers look healthier due to their 28-fourth-quarter points, once the game was well in hand.
On the offensive end, the game saw the re-emergence of Boston’s up-tempo attack (it didn’t always translate to fast breaks but it was a ways from the walk-it-up approach that so often leads to offensive stagnation) and sharp off-ball cuts in the halfcourt that lead to easy layups. Sacramento lost man after man in both of those scenarios and the C’s made them pay time and again.
Some key offensive numbers from this one:
- The C’s shot 52.1% from the field (on 96 shots) and 60% on threes (12-20) despite blowing those easy shots early on;
- The C’s turned the Kings over 23 times (16 Celtics’ steals); and
- The C’s took advantage of the Kings defensive passivity to pull down 12 offensive rebounds and score 56 points in the paint.
Paul Pierce, in particular, racked up perhaps his easiest 25 points of the season, with most of his makes coming from point blank range.
SECOND UNIT SHINES
Power Balance. Seriously.
The bench, too, should walk away from this one with a boost in confidence.
Semih Erden, after slipping behind Luke Harangody on the C’s depth chart, had a strong game, putting down 10 points and 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. He brought great energy (as Doc Rivers might say), and despite bobbling a few balls, as is customary with Erden, he finished strong a couple of times and gave the C’s good minutes in the absence of Jermaine O’Neal.
The C’s also got a good shooting game out of Nate Robinson, who connected on 6-9 field goals for 16 points in 19 minutes, and like Rajon Rondo, kept the offense moving.
TOUCHES OF GREY
Shaquille O’Neal again made little impact. He picked up four fouls in 13 minutes and recorded only a single rebound. At the beginning of the season, we expected a mid-season vacation from Shaq and game 41 is right around the corner, so he’s right on schedule. It’s disconcerting to see his recent diminished contributions, but when you sign a 38-year-old, 350-pound center focused only on championships, you have to expect some down games as the season goes along. Call it the Rasheed Wallace Corollary. And expect a bounce-back no later than… Monday against Orlando?
J.O’s knee looks like it will remain a problem from now until the end of his contract (2012), or whenever he decides to retire, whichever comes first. I don’t mean that to come off as glib, but O’Neal has simply been unable to contribute consistently all year and there’s little reason to believe that things are going to change on that front.
Whatever concerns we have about the size and length of the contract Danny Ainge handed to him, or his off-season conditioning regime (about which, of course, we know little) it must be enormously frustrating for O’Neal to absorb the coded media criticisms from his coach and have to look his teammates in the eyes, knowing he can’t bring it the way he wants to. If the swelling and soreness in his knee persists, it seems possible Boston will shut him down for a longer period to try and get something out of him in the playoffs. Kendrick Perkins’ return could take the sting out of losing O’Neal, should it come to that.
BITS & PIECES
- It was nice to see Avery Bradley make a good showing in his garbage-time minutes. He knocked down a jumper and threw down a breakaway dunk. To my way of thinking, it’ll be nearly impossible to assess him accurately until sometime next season, but small steps forward, like tonight, are nice to see.
- DeMarcus Cousins underwhelmed with his 3-9 line. He’s got all the size and the talent in the world, but you wonder, with his reported attitude issues, if a Kings team embroiled in both a losing season and organizational uncertainty is going to provide the stability necessary to point his NBA career down the right road. It could certainly go the wrong way. Interestingly enough, this Celtics team would be perfect for him, given the strong culture in place.
- Upside: Heat lose, Magic lose, Bulls lose. Downside: Spurs win, Lakers win.
The Ticker