Back to back Gino sightings? It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the guy in two straight home games, but the Celtics responded tonight on the 2nd half of a back to back, with arguably their best effort, start to finish, of the season in a 26 point victory. Yes, it was against the Pistons, but with so few strong all around performances to point to in the last couple months, any kind of impressive effort is noteworthy at this point. This one, for the 1st half anyway, was a masterpiece.
It started with Paul Pierce tonight. The man came out with a purpose this evening, attacking the basket relentlessly in the first 8 minutes, earning 12 points and 3 trips to the line before exiting to the bench with 2 fouls with 4 minutes left in the frame. By that point, the damage had been done. The rest of the starting unit took a cue from The Captain and were sharp on both ends of the floor.
Ball movement? How does 34 assists sound, a season high. Strong rotations on defense? The best we’ve seen in awhile, just 38 percent shooting in 1st half for the Pistons and only 14 points in the paint. The C’s played stingy and were forcing a bad 3 point shooting team to take nearly a third of their shot attempts from deep early on. A sense of urgency? Everyone came ready to play, with all 12 players in uniform getting on the board and 7 players scoring in double figures. Attacking the basket? Check. It was pretty to watch.
38 percent shooting for Detroit in the first 24 minutes, 20 percent from deep, 10 turnovers overall. This was a flashback to the last 2 years at home where this crew would tear up inferior opponents in all areas of the floor. The C’s imposed that kind of game at will tonight on this lifeless Piston squad.
The stat of the night though came on the offensive end. Just 1 turnover in the entire 1st half. Zach Lowe might have a heart attack when he sees this one on DVR. Just an incredible number, given how prone this team has been to making mistakes this year.
The Pistons are also one of the better teams in the league in this category, ranking 6th in the league in terms of percentage of miscues forced. Naturally, the C’s had 10 turnovers in the 2nd half, finishing with 11 overall, but those final 24 minutes were garbage time in all honesty. This one was over at halftime. » More: A Laugher: C’s 119, Pistons 93


Just What the Celts Needed: Celtics 122, Pacers 103
March 12th, 2010If only for one game, the Memphis loss was a wake up call for this Celtics team. Every single thing writers and fans have been clamoring for since Christmas culminated in a beautiful exhibition at the Garden on Friday night. The game started much like any other Celtics game from the past eight to ten weeks. The C’s played hard, shots seemed to be falling, but no matter how many plays Celtics made in the early going, the Pacers matched bucket for bucket. This game had all the makings of another young team poised to run the Celtics out of the gym.
The Celtics refused to oblige. They ramped up their defense at the same time their bench came in and heated up Boston’s ice cold offense. The most encouraging thing about this game was the fact that the C’s didn’t rest on their laurels (or their 20 point lead) and get themselves caught looking toward Sunday. True, the Celtics let a 27 point lead dwindle get dented down to 14 before settling back comfortably in the 20s- this game never had the same possession for possession angst the past 15 some-odd games has had.
» More: Just What the Celts Needed: Celtics 122, Pacers 103
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