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 [...]
Before every playoff series this season, we’re doing some rundowns on the opposing roster for each team. Now that the Hawks have been dispensed with, we’re onto the Sixers. Here’s Part II. Players are listed in alphabetical order. Andre Iguodala: There are five guys in the league who have a claim on the title of [...]
Mike Fratello had it right: the NBA announced today that Al Horford should have been given a free throw on Marquis Daniels’s off-ball foul at the end of Thursday’s game. At the time, ref Eric Lewis ruled that Daniels’s foul had occurred after the throw-in, making him probably the only person in the arena who [...]
Boston will face off with the Hawks on Thursday night at 8pm at TD Garden. The broadcast can be seen on TNT or CSN locally. There was a risk that it would be a 6pm tip for Boston-Atlanta, if the Nuggets failed to extend the series last night against the Lakers. That would have created [...]
Desperate times call for desperate measures and after a blowout in Game 4, Atlanta’s head coach Larry Drew is going to shake things up a bit and add some bulk to his starting five at each position. Kirk Hinrich and Jason Collins will head to the bench, while Marvin Williams will be inserted at small [...]
Couldn’t help but feel a little giddy after today’s game, and not just because basketball is back and I got a stand mixer for Christmas. There was just a huge amount to like about today’s game. It was exciting throughout, the score was all over the place, and it said a lot of positive things about this Celtic team.
“But they looooost.”
Shut up! Yes, Kevin Garnett was somehow capably defended by Amar’e Stoudemire. And Jermaine O’Neal could only stay on the floor for 17 minutes even though he was contributing a lot of value on defense. And Sasha Pavlovic…woof. But even without Paul Pierce, who is of unquantifiably huge value to the Celtics’ system, this collection of players managed to stage a 20-2 run and take a good team down to the last possession. The veterans on the floor appeared to have held up over the lockout, and the younger rotation players were excellent tonight. If this is rust we’re seeing, then it’s a manageable rust. So even though the Grinch took all our presents, there’s no reason not to be happy little Whos.
RAJON RONDO
Everybody forgot that Rondo was the league’s best point guard and an MVP candidate for the first ten-odd games of the season, and they forgot for very good reasons. But Rondo looked pretty much exactly like he did at the beginning of last season tonight. Most encouraging, of course, were his recklessly attacking the rim and even more recklessly knocking down free throws and jumpers. I can’t remember the last game I saw from Rondo that felt so…complete. Check the Highlight Gallery (a new regular recap feature!!) below for some old-fashioned impossible Rondo nonsense.
BRANDON BASS
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Brandon Bass.”
-The Bible
What a joy it is to watch a power forward come off the bench and:
hit jumpers
grab rebounds everywhere
score inside without getting blocked once or falling down
defend the position adequately
The Bassmaster is nothing less than a major, major factor off the Celtics’ bench. I’ll even go so far as to say this insane thing: if they’d had him last year, they would have gotten past the Heat. After one game, I’m actually saying that. That’s how stupid I am.
SASHA PAVLOVIC
“Warm body” feels very generous. Zero shots and one accidental rebound in 15 minutes, completely incapable of stopping Carmelo Anthony throughout. If those 15 minutes went to virtually any other player at his position, the Celtics win their first game. That virtually any other player arrives Tuesday in the form of Mickael Pietrus, who can offer the defense and the three points that Sasha couldn’t string together today. Sasha has for all intents and purposes been escorted behind the barn.
STAT’S INCREDIBLE!
5 three-point attempts. That ties the Celtics’ low for last season with a game when they held the Bucks to 56 points so they chose not to shoot threes out of sportsmanship. I’ve been a little concerned about the decline in the team’s three-point attempts over the last couple of years: 18% of their FGAs were threes last year, down from almost 23% the season before and putting them at 27th in the league. I understand that Pierce’s absence accounts for almost all of this stat, but it would be nice if Pietrus added another legitimate outside threat, because as it stands the Celtics really only have two.
HIGHLIGHT GALLERY
3. Rondo Going Behind the Back Twice
Once to Bass for a dunk, once to KG for a long jumper. Also KG was nice from his distance tonight (5 for 9).
Slow-motion on that last one:
2. O’Neal Block to Daniels Crosscourt Pass to Rondo Layup
I accidentally kicked my parent’s dog across the room when this happened. It tied the game in the third quarter. Look how instantly Marquis rotates and hucks the ball 70 feet.
1. Rondo Steal and 30-Foot Lefty Slingshot Bounce Pass
Nobody does it better.
0. Chris Wilcox Passes to Carmelo Anthony.
The announcers were like, “They used to play together! That’s understandable!” It’s not, but it is funny to watch.
TOMMY’S COMPLAINT CORNER
The technical foul Joey Crawford called on Sasha Pavlovic.
“TECHNICAL FOUL? ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME? The guy is throwin’ his elbows every which way like a whirling dervish…Sasha’s fighting for his LIFE out there…that’s a disgrace. Talk about a power trip….this guy is on a power trip AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS! That’s a disgrace.”
The Ticker
