Wire to Wire Win: Celtics 88, Wizards 76

Paul Pierce got docked a little for using the third quarter to try and pull a Kobe Bryant. He took a lot of contested jumpers early in the shot clock and tried to assert his power over the rookie Chris Singleton. The Celtics were outscored 21-16 in the quarter and did not have the will to run an offense or try on defense. Still for all the isolations, it was nice to see someone putting forth the effort necessary to maintain any sort of lead.

Pierce also made up for the being a bit selfish on the offensive end by hitting the glass hard. If Pierce snags 8 or more rebounds in a game, he can take as many step back jumpers as we wants as far as I’m concerned.

Bass wasn’t required to do too much tonight which was nice for a few reasons: 1) the Celtics offense was jelling and 2) I’m convinced it’s only a matter of time before Bass really gets exposed on the defensive end. I’m really hoping his defensive short-comings have just been amplified as of late and not indicative of his typical play. We shall see.

It was a rather forgettable night for Garnett. He didn’t shoot well. He didn’t rebound particularly well. At times he looked winded and just old. KG may have gotten the B but Doc Rivers gets the A for playing Greg Stiemsma extended minutes and KG only 24. Limiting KG’s minutes tonight was uber important given the game tomorrow. It may be against the Bobcats, but since the Celtics can’t afford to lose any of these games, they can’t take anyone lightly.

It seems like there’s really something going on with Rondo. He let John Wall get to the rim at will in the third quarter and only attempted one shot in the first half (the halfcourt prayer at the end of the quarter).

After the game, Doc Rivers was asked about Rondo’s passiveness and he replied, “Yeah, it’s nothing to do with health, it’s just Rondo. When we win, I feel good about it.”

But what happens when you don’t win, Doc?

Avery Bradley scored a career-high 23 points tonight. More than that, he also ran the offense effectively in the second quarter and could be heard barking out the plays to his teammates. For a kid who has spent the better part of his NBA career looking shell-shocked, assertive communication is definitely a welcome sign. Once Allen comes back, Bradley will return to his role as the primary backup to Rajon Rondo. It’s nice to see he’s capable of scoring and running the offense.

Keyon Dooling was brought to Boston to knock down open shots, play confident and capable defense, and run the offense in a pinch. Tonight, he fulfilled those responsibilities admirably. It looks like there will be a lot more DNPs next to E’twaun Moore’s name for the foreseeable future.

Marquis Daniels has rebounded from almost being cut to solid contributor in only a week. He had 2 points, 2 boards, 2 assists and a steal in 17 minutes. Not a bad way to spell Paul Pierce.

Word on the streets says that Hollins is a long athletic seven footer who doesn’t rebound. It sounds impossible but it is anything but. Unfortunately for the C’s, he didn’t do much of anything else either. His highlights tonight included tipping the ball eight rows out of bounds and losing track of his man on a baseline cut resulting in an uncontested dunk. Welcome to Boston, Ryan!

Stiemsma continues to use Ryan’s Denver recap as motivation as he put up a solid 10 points and 7 boards in 23 minutes tonight. Obviously the best part of his outing was being able to give KG some much needed rest. Just imagine what things would look like if Chris Wilcox was healthy.