Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins watched the game from the bench in street clothes. The team had trouble finding any continuity and chemistry in the first and fourth quarters. In the first quarter, Philly outscored Boston 25-15 and in the 4th quarter Philly outscored Boston 23-15. They played even in the second and third quarters. The shooting was way off and as a team they shot only 38% for the game. Doc started a lineup of Posey, Scal, Powe, Ray Allen and Rondo with all but Powe playing close to 30 minutes or more.
There were two very bright spots in this game. The first was Tony Allen. Tony came off the bench to play 19 minutes and looked as though he is making great progress getting back to his old self. He slashed to the basket and didn't shy away from contact. I have no doubt that he will help the team this year. Tony finished with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists and was very active on both ends of the court. Seeing him slash to the basket was a very welcome sight.
The other bright spot was the play of Rajon Rondo. Rondo was the leading rebounder with 8 and seemed to be everywhere on the court on both offense and defense. He finished with 10 points (5-13), 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. He drove to the basket it seemed at will. It is exciting to see him play and improve with every game. Rondo was awarded the Tommy Award for his efforts.
Scal played 33 minutes and finished with 8 points on 3-10 shooint to go with 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Scal will be a good role player on this team for 15 mpg but hopefully we will not have to see him play 33 minutes during the season. Posey played a team high 35 minutes and finished with 12 points (3-10), 5 rebounds and 1 assist. Powe played only 21 minutes and finished with 5 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block. Powe took a couple of hard charges and was very active defensively as well as on the boards. The team never went to him in the post and the only touches he got around the basket were from offensive rebounds. The picture below shows the effort and determination of Leon Powe as he battles the 7' Smith for a rebound.
I have a feeling that Eddie House is going to be a streak shooter. When he is on, he is right on. When he is off, he is really off. He shot 2-9 for 5 points to go with 1 rebound and 1 assist. Sharing the point guard duties, Pruitt finished with 4 points and 1 rebound. Pruitt is going to be a good PG but needs more experience. He may benefit from a stay in the D League this season.
Big Baby made an impression with some strong moves around the basket and he finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal. The players still on the bubble got some playing time with Jones leading the way with 2 points and 1 steal in 12 minutes of play. Manuel and Wallace both came in for 6 minutes with Manuel giving out 1 assist and grabbing 1 steal and Wallace getting 1 rebound. Of the 3, I like Wallace and think he has the biggest upside. He also would benefit from some time in the D League but I think he is worth hanging on to.
If nothing else, this should be a sobering reminder of what could happen if the Celtics should suffer injuries to Pierce or Garnett and Perk this season. This team is going to be something very special if they can stay healthy but it is pretty scary to think about what could happen if the injury bug hits the team this season.
No one shot the ball well tonight and hopefully it will be rare when every player has an off night. Powe was 2-2 inside but they didn't go to him at all in the post. It is a reality check to realize that our bench still needs work so that they can hold the leads that our starters will most assuredly build. Let's hope that this also makes Doc realize that he needs to set a rotation and stick with it so that the players can build some continuity.
Tonight's game was definitely different. To begin with, the Nets starters didn't even make the trip to Boston. Then, the game was in doubt from the beginning because the building was warm and the ice under the court was causing condensation and making the floor very slippery. Also, the referees didn't show up until just before the game due to getting stuck in traffic.
The game started off with the Celtics starting their usual 5 of Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Perk and Rondo. The Nets started Magloire, Boone, Nachbar, Wright and Gill - Not exactly the line up to strike fear in anyones hearts. Rondo was doing a great job of pushing the ball up the court and setting the tempo and once again the starters played well together building a 21-8 lead at the end of 1. The Nets shot just over 6% in that first quarter but picked it up a bit to finish with 29% for the game.
The starters didn't return for the second quarter and as the quarter got underway, it was obvious that the floor was an issue. The players were slipping and very tentative on the court. While the players were at one end, there were guys out on the floor at the other wiping up the condensation. Because of the floor issues, the game was low scoring and not all that exciting as players were more concerned about not slpping and getting hurt than anything else.
After half time, they announced that the second half was cancelled. The Celtics would hang around for half hour or so and sign autographs for the fans. They were lined up behind the scorers tables and fans could pass in front and meet the players and get autographs. Rondo was having fun shooting tee shirts into the crowd with Lucky using a tee shirt gun. CSN showed an encore performance of the second half of the Knicks blow out.
There weren't all that many stats to report but the important one is that the Celtics had 8 assists on 12 field goals. They are still sharing and moving the ball very well in spite of the problems with the floor. There was one nice play where Leon Powe stole the ball and took it all the way to the hoop for a dunk. I can just see it now, Powe is going to be playing back up point guard. Rondo hit a 22 foot jumper with the shot clock winding down. His shot looks good and it looks like he will make defenders pay if they leave him open this season.
Cousy joined Mike and Tommy to talk about old times and the current Celtics. One thing that is interesting is that Cousy didn't sound all that excited about the trade. He was saying how much he liked Big Al and Gomes.
It was a very different evening and the game was pretty ragged due to the floor issues but the starters played well together once again in spite of the floor and it didn't stop Rondo from pushing the ball and running. The defense on the starting unit is looking better and better. We will face the Nets again on the 23rd and that game will be a much better gauge of how these two teams match up.
Scott Souza had a little article on his blog with Doc throwing some cold water on the celebration of the 40 point win over the Knicks.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers wasn’t about to feed into that with his team today. In a move straight out of Foxboro, Rivers did his best to douse the preseason crowning of his revamped squad following a 90-minute workout at HealthPoint.
“I was happy with a lot of things but we have a lot to work on,” he said about 14 hours removed from a 101-61 lambasting of New York at the Garden. “Obviously, you look at the score and you get caught up in that. I’m not. I’m not going to let them either. I told them that this morning.
“I said: ‘First of all, we’re 0-0. We haven’t won a game,’ ” he continued. “I told them we broke the rules on a ton of little things. We are not going to be a good team if we don’t do the little things.
“Even if that was a regular season game, and we won like that (I wouldn’t be satisfied),” he concluded. “If we break the rules that we broke yesterday when it is a big game, we couldn’t win that game.”
We can make a very good case to show that the Knicks are not a very good team. But, when you consider that the margin of victory was 40 and we had players on the floor in the 4th period who are most likely going to be cut, it kind of puts a little perspective on it. A decent team will beat a bad team by 20, and the margin of victory that the Celtics had shows more than just a bad opponent.
I can see Doc trying to keep his team grounded and not letting them get ahead of themselves. If he can do that all year, he will earn his money as a coach. One of the biggest dangers for this team, or any team for that matter, is that they would get complacent and take games for granted. But, seeing KG off the bench in the 4th quarter of the Knicks game, shouting instructions and encouragement to his teammates, I somehow don't see that happening. I don't believe that KG will ever get complacent and I don't think he will allow his teammates to either.
Putting Doc's comments aside, there have been plenty of others who aren't quite ready to give this team the championship quite yet. They cite the lack of a back up point guard, the inexperience of Rondo, and lack of depth at the center position as reasons for their doubts about the team. Those are legitimate questions that have to be answered. So far, Rondo has looked very good as the starting PG and House and Pruitt have been very capable as back ups. Pollard has yet to step on the court, but Leon Powe has done a good job as back up center, although 12 fouls may not be enough for Perk and Powe.
After watching this team for 4 games, and seeing them improve in each one, I am convinced that they are going to be contenders for the title this season. We haven't seen Tony Allen at his best yet and I believe that he isn't all that far off from getting back to form. We haven't seen Pollard play at all. We haven't seen a good game from all 3 of our stars at the same time. So far one of the 3 has been less than steller in each of the games. I agree with Doc that we have work to do. For one thing, shooting 56% from the line just isn't going to get it done. We need to work on free throws for certain. The defense still has lapses and at times, players miss cues and plays break down. But, those are little things that are going to happen less and less as they learn each other. When you consider that there are 11 new faces, 9 of which will make the team, it is amazing that they are coming together as quickly as they are. They haven't really been challenged yet and that will come as well and how they react will tell a lot about this team.
In answer to my question, no I don't think we are celebrating too quickly. This team is special and I believe that it is just going to get better and better. I haven't seen players diving on the floor and hustling for every loose ball like this in a long time. The hustle is there. The experience is there. The desire is there. The talent is there. The chemistry is getting there. There are still some questions, but I believe that these are going to be answered as the season goes on. Rondo and Perk are going to be fine. House and Powe have done fine as back ups. And, Scal has shown some nice things so far in the preseason which is just gravy. My bold prediction is 60 wins this season and something tells me we will be celebrating all season. After all, we have waited a long, long time to do so!
I miss one day online because of a hard drive crash and it seems like I have been out of touch forever. First, some thoughts and then on to last night's game.
First, it surprised me that the Celtics released Batista. Doc had been talking about keeping players for need and it seems to me that back up center is a need. This tells me a few things. One, they expect Pollard to be healthy this season in spite of already missing all of the preseason so far. Second, they expect Powe and Big Baby to be able to play some back up center. So far in the preseason, when Perk goes out, Powe has come in at center and he has done a decent job of it. Third, they may have their eyes on another veteran they expect to be available in their price range. Guess we will just have to wait and see.
A little Blurb on Twin Cities.com leads us to believe that all is not rosy in Celticland.
Word in Boston is that the Celtics' Ray Allen was taken aback by some uncouth language used by Kevin Garnett during a practice, and he let the former Timberwolves star know about it.
I really hope that there aren't petty arguments starting to pop up because hard feelings off the court could lead to problems on the court. It is something to watch, anyway.
Now on to the good stuff. In spite of it just being a preseason game, last night was very exciting! For one thing, we beat the Knicks. I really dislike the Knicks. It was funny, reading the Knicks boards, the comments went from "The Celtics are over rated. We did just as much to improve our team." and "Forget Boston's Big 3, they have to face New York's Big 3 of Curry, Zeebo and Q!" to "Oh my, this isn't how I wanted the game to go" and "Have we ever had a 40 point loss before? We stink." It was pretty fun to read the progression.
As for the Celtics, they were great from start to finish. The starting lineup is showing more chemistry with every game and becoming more efficient. The bench is also beginning to show cohesion, but they still need work. The most exciting thing to watch is the ball movement. The touch passes by KG, the drive and kick by Rondo and Pierce. The easy dunks by Perk on great feeds to him in the post. It is a thing of beauty. The Celtics had 27 assists on 40 baskets which shows that they are finding the open man with regularity.
The Celtics shot 56% from the field and 70% from 3, which shows that they are taking open 3's and not forcing them. The one area of concern so far is free throw shooting. As a team we shot 53.7%. This has to be improved as many times games can be won or lost on free throws. The Celtics out rebounded the Knicks 44-43 and that is good considering the Knicks front line of Curry and Randolph.
As far as individual performances KG, Pierce and RA impressed as expected. Pierce finished with 22 points on 7-8 shooting to go with 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal and was awarded the Tommy Award for his efforts. Ray Allen finished with 14 points (6-8), 2 rebounds, and 1 assist. Ray is so smooth, whether he is driving to the basket or pulling up for a jumper. KG didn't have a great shooting night, 6-15 for 13 points, but he did leave his mark everywhere else with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocked shots. The biggest thing about KG is his intensity. Even with a 30 point lead, he was on the side lines yelling out to his teammates on the floor and was as intense as if it was a playoff game. How can you not play hard with a guy like KG encouraging and tutoring from the bench. And, it isn't just talk. When he was on the floor, he dove for loose balls and played like it was game 7 in the finals. At one point, there was a scare when he came down on Richardson's foot and turned his ankle, limping up court. But, after a time out, he was right back out on the court playing just as hard. We haven't seen this type of intensity and sacrifice in games for a long, long time.
Rondo did a great job running the offense again and kept the tempo up and that was an advantage for the Celtics. He finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. This kid is so quick on both ends of the floor. And he is just going to get better. Eddie House did a good job off the bench as the back up PG. He played 15 minutes and finished with 5 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists. Pruitt was impressive running the point in the 4th quarter. He still has trouble with pressure but otherwise looked good. He played 17 minutes and finished with 13 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 1 steal. With a little more experience, he is going to be very good.
Perk got into early foul trouble and played only 20 minutes. Once again he got easy dunks on great feeds inside from KG, Pierce and Rondo. He finished with 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block. Hopefully he can figure out how to limit the fouls. Powe backed him up at center and did a very good job. In 11 minutes he scored 8 points, pulled down 7 rebounds and also had 1 steal and 1 block. Big Baby had some good minutes as well with 6 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists in 15 minutes of play. Scal had a very good game with 5 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block in 19 minutes. He played some very good defense as well. Posey played only 10 minutes and finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
As for the 3 players left on the bubble, Wallace played 9 minutes and finished with a quiet 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. Manuel finished with 2 points and 1 rebound in 8 minutes and Jones had 2 points and 2 rebounds in 9 minutes. Of the 3, I expect Wallace to stick with the team and the other 2 to be cut in the near future. Tony Allen sat out the game along with Pollard due to an eye injury from practice the day before.
The best thing about the Celtics being at home was hearing Tommy call the game. The fans of the opposing teams hate Tommy because he is such a homer, but that is why I love him so much. The quote of the night was when House hit a 3 and Tommy just gushed.
"You gotta love Eddie House! He's not a cottage, he's a house!"
And of course, Tommy was quick to point out that the officials missed quite a few calls. Once again, there is much to be excited about in Boston these days!!
If you get a chance, you should check out The Unofficial Guide to Basketball's Nastiest and Most Unusual Records (Unofficial Guide)by Kerry Banks. I highly recommend it for a fun offseason read. You will find every kind of unusual record in this book. Here are a few of the Celtics related records to whet your appetite for this fun book.
First NBA player to break a backboard Chuck Connors, Boston, Nov. 5, 1946 Connors, who would later go on to much greater fame as the star of TV's "The Rifleman," broke the backboard at Boston Arena before the Celtics' maiden home opener against the Chicago Stags. Contrary to popular belief, he did not do it with a dunk. "During the warm-ups, I took a harmless 15- to 20-foot set shot, and, crash, the glass backboard shattered," Connors recalled in a 1986 interview. The backboard crumbled because a worker had not installed a piece of protective rubber between it and the rim. The game was delayed an hour while a truck picked up a spare backboard from Boston Garden, where a rodeo was taking place in front of a packed house. In 53 career games with the Celtics, Connors averaged 4.5 points per game. After leaving basketball, he tried his hand at baseball, playing briefly for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, before finding his niche in Hollywood as The Rifleman.
Most stab wounds suffered by a player 11: Paul Pierce, Boston, Sept. 25, 2000 Pierce was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. But he was also more than a little lucky. Minutes after entering a Boston dance club in the early morning hours of Sept. 25, 2000, the 22-year-old Celtics player was ambushed after he stopped to chat with a gang member's sister. Jumped from behind by three men, he was sucker punched, had a bottle broken over his right eye, and had a knife plunged through the back of his leather jacket six inches into his body. Pierce also received 10 other stab wounds in the neck and chest, the worst of which penetrated his abdomen and diaphragm and punctured his lung, coming within an inch of his heart. Friends rushed him to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to repair the damage. Amazingly, Pierce was back on the court in less than a month and went on to have a stellar season, leading the Celtics in scoring.
Only NBA teams to trade Owners Boston Celtics and San Diego Clippers 1978 Faced with declining attendance, Buffalo Braves owner John Y. Brown went looking for a new city for the Braves franchise at the 1977 owners' meeting. The Boston Celtics were owned by Irv Levin, a Beverly Hills resident who wanted to own a club that played closer to his home state. NBA attorney David Stern (who is now the league's commissioner) proposed a novel solution: the Buffalo Braves would move to San Diego, and Brown and Levin would flip franchises. In June 1978, NBA owners voted 21-1 in favor of the swap. The deal included a complicated seven player trade but the most important detail in the transaction was that Boston retained the draft rights to Larry Bird.
Highest Home winning Percentage, One Season .976 Boston Celtics 1985-86 Larry Bird and the Celtics were virtually invincible playing on the parquet at Boston Garden in 1985-86 winning 40 of 41 regular season games at home, then 10 more without a loss in the playoffs. The Celtics lone home defest came at the hands of Jack Ramsey and the Portland Trailblazers.
Most Regular Season Wins by a Non-Champion 68: Boston Celtics, 1972-73 By adding rising young stars Dave Cowens and Jo Jo White to its veteran cast of John Havlicek, Paul Silas, Don Chaney, Tom Sanders and Don Nelson, Boston raced to the top of the standings. The Celtics notched 68 victories, one shy of the record set by the NBA Champion Lakers the year before. But the Celtics came unglued in the playoff, losing in seven games to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. No other NBA team has won so many games and not emerged as champion. [Dallas came close, winning 67 last season].
Only Coach to Punch Out an Opposition Owner During the Pre-Game Warm-Up Red Auerbach, Boston, April 6, 1957 A dispute over the height of the basket at Kiel Auditorium before game 3 of the 1957 NBA Finals led to a confrontation between Celtics coach Red Auerbach and Hawks owner Ben Kerner. When Kerner began screaming obscenities at Auerbach, the Boston coach decked him at midcourt in front of a sold out crowd. Kerner, who suffered a bloody nose, was escorted back to his seat while Auerbach returned to the Boston bench and the game proceeded. Auerbach was fined $300 for the punch. If the move was designed to fire his team up, it failed to work. St. Louis won 100-98.
Most Cigars Smoked by a Coach during Games Several Hundred: Red Auerbach, 1946-1966 Fidel Castro, Winston Churchill, and George Burns may rank as the world's most famous cigar smokers, but Auerbach is the king of the sports world. He liked to fire up a fat stogie on the bench during the final minutes of NBA games when his team had the victory well in hand. Considering that Auerbach coached the Celtics to nine NBA Championships, he had plenty or opportunities to blow smoke at the opposition. The fact that Auerbach lit up before the game was over struck many as arrogant, though he viewed it differently. Auerbach believed that casually puffing on a cigar when your team is far ahead was more sportsmanlike than aggressively pushing your team to pad the score. As he once said: "You got a team by 30 points, there's three minutes to go. The coach is still pacing up and down on the sidelines and yelling. For what? He's on TV. He wants to show that his team fights and is active for the full 48 minutes and he's and integral part of it. My feeling was that once the game is decided - and you could tell - then sit down and relax." Tempting as it may be, not other coach will copy Auerbach's trademark gesture or threaten his unofficial record. Since smoking is now prohibited in NBA arenas, the victory cigar has become an indulgence reserved for post game celebrations. Although, when Darko Milicic was with the Pistons, he was never put into games until the game was decided and they called him "the human victory cigar."
Most Famous Call by an NBA Broadcaster "Havlicek stole the ball!": Johnny Most, Boston vs Philadelphia, April 1, 1965 The Celtics were leading the 76ers 110-103 late in game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals at Boston Garden when coach Red Auerbach lit his trademark victory cigar. But Philly rallied to make it 110-109 and was threatening to pull off a stunning upset when Hal Greer tried to inbound the ball to Chet Walker under his own basket. Celtics forward John Havlicek anticipated the move and was immortalized with Johnny Most's ear piercing call: "Greer is putting the ball in play. He gets it out, and Havlicek steals it! Over to Sam Jones. Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over! It's alll over!" The steal kept alive the Celtics amazing run of consecutive championships, a streak that would reach eight before the 76ers finally topped Boston in 1967.
Most Game 7 Wins in Playoffs, Career 10: Bill Russell, 1956-1969 Statistically speaking, Russell usually came out second best to his great rival Wilt Chamberlain, but not in the stat that mattered most. Russell won 11 NBA titles to Chamberlain's two, and was an incredible 10-0 in Game 7 during his storied career. Of the 10, eight were won in Boston and two on the road, and five came in the NBA finals.
Most Premature Postgame Celebration in a Finals Los Angeles Lakers, May , 1969 Before game 7 of the 1969 finals, Boston's Bill Russell got his hands on a script that described plans for a post game Lakers celebration that included a rendition of Happy Days Are Here Again to be played by the University of Southern California band. When the Celtics walked out on the court to begin the game against the heavily favored Lakers, they saw 5,000 balloons suspended in nets from the ceiling. But as was often the case during that era, the Celtics found a way to win. Don Nelson's late jumper, which bounded off the back rim straight up into the air and down into the basket, was the key to a 108-106 victory. The triumph gave the Celtics their 11th title in 13 years.
Largest Fourth Quarter Comeback in a Playoff Game 21 points: Boston vs New Jersey, May 25,2002 Leading 74 to 53 after three quarters, the Nets appeared to have Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals sewn up. In NBA playoff history, 171 teams had taken leads of more than 18 points into the last quarter and none had lost. New Jersey's reserves were so confident they were laughing at the Celtics. But the grins vanished when Boston staged a frantic rally. Leading the charge was Paul Pierce, whos scored 19 of his team high 28 points in the quarter as the Celtics outscored the Nets 41-16 in the final 12 minutes to post a 94-90 victory. Although the miracle comeback gave the Celtics a 2-1 lead in the series, they had shot their bolt. They dropped the next three games and were eliminated.
Largest Chest on an Unofficial Mascot 88 inches: Busty Heart, Boston Celtics. Stripper Busty Heart and her massive 88 inch bazooms bounced into the public eye during Game 1 of the Celtics 1986 playoff series with the Atlanta Hawks. The tall blonde caused a major commotion at Boston Garden when she began dancing in a tight halter top right next to a CBS TV camera. The uproar prompted Celtics radio announcer Johnny Most to explain to his listeners: "There is a blonde with very large assets dancing in the stands. She looks like Morganna but much larger." The voluptuous heart became Boston's unofficial mascot, and from her seat near the Hawks' bench she created such a visual distraction that Atlanta coach Mike Fratello later claimed she cost his team at least one win in the series, which the Celtics took in five games.
Mark Murphy reports that Doc plans to trim the roster soon, possibly before Wednesday's game. With 17 players on the roster there will have to be at least 2 cuts, but the Herald reports that they may make 3 cuts
Rivers allowed that any of his rookies - also including Glen “Big Baby'’ Davis and point guard Gabe Pruitt - could be sent to the NBDL. He may cut the roster to 14 - one short of the league maximum - to leave room in case a player has to be signed during the season.
There are 4 players on the bubble fighting for the last 1 or 2 spots: Esteban Batista, Jackie Manuel, Dahntay Jones and Brandon Wallace. Two of these 4 players and possibly 3 will be cut. Of the 4, only Wallace has any guaranteed money in his contract. Batista could have the edge in that he plays a position where we are weak. With Pollard being out, we don't have another center and would have to use Powe, Scal or Big Baby as back ups or slide KG over to the center position. So, it would be smart to keep another center on the roster.
The article goes on to say:
Jones, the veteran in this group, is fighting for a job on a team that already has several players with his specialty - perimeter defense. But Rivers also said that this former Grizzlies swingman is “close to making the team.'’ Batista’s security may be helped by the fact that backupo center Scot Pollard remains sidelined witbh a deep bone bruise on his left ankle.
If Jones is close to making the team, I would have to say they are going to only cut 2 players and not 3 unless Batista really hasn't impressed and they have another veteran center in mind for the final spot. Personally I would keep Wallace over Jones because he is an intriguing player. He is a 6'9" forward who played center in college but who can guard the 3 and 4 spots. I think he has a bigger upside than Jones. But, we will know soon enough if indeed the cuts are coming very soon.
We have seen 2 preseason games so far and there are a few things that I have noticed and have been thinking about this team. The first word that comes to mind when I think of KG is intensity. This guy just exudes intensity out there on the court. Even when he is sitting on the bench he is up and yelling to his teammates. You can see him yelling out on the court when he is playing and pumping his fist when the Celtics make a play. This kind of intensity is catchy and the whole team seems to be playing with a bit more fire. Bill Simmons has this to say about KG's intensity:
KG is so intense, NBA TV should have a reality show just so we could see him doing everyday things like buying clothes or pumping gas. A friend of mine watched a Pats game in the same suite as KG and reported that Garnett got so wound up during the game that he'd stand up every time Randy Moss was being single covered and start muttering, "Here we go ... here we go ..." Multiple people have described being in the same room with him when he gets like that as "being in the same room with a force of nature."
This team hustles. Last year I would get so frustrated watching other teams beat us to loose balls and hustle for rebounds. This season already I have seen everyone going after loose balls, battling for rebounds and when we see KG diving on the floor for loose balls, you know you're whole team is going to hustle. And, this is only the start of the preseason. If they are hustling this much now, imagine what they will be like in the regular season.
Perk is going to get a lot of easy dunks. KG is going to see a lot of double teams and when he does, he is going to find Perk open since it is usually his man who goes to the double. Already, we have seen KG with some great passes inside to Perk for easy dunks. KG is impressed with Perk's ability to catch his passes: “Things are pretty comfortable now - I wouldn’t say easy,” Garnett said.
“But Perk has great hands and that makes it a lot easier to formulate where the pass goes. Perk is doing a good job of catching my passes, because sometimes I can put a little Roger Clemens on it.
Let's remember that for the past 2 seasons, KG has been playing beside Mark Blount who has the worst hands in the league. I remember one play where KG made one of those nifty passes into the post and Blount fumbled the ball so much that KG went in and took it back and dunked it himself. Here is a look at one of those great passes and Perk's finish.
Rajon Rondo can run this team. Rondo has done a good job of getting the ball to the right people. He plays more like a veteran than a 2nd year player. He also hasn't been shy about taking the shot when they leave him open but is still a pass first PG. His form on his shot looks pretty good. He has been confident and has been vocal out on the floor and has made good decisions on offense.
Tony Allen is going to be fine. He is forcing some things now and is still lacking confidence in his knee as evidenced by the way he hung on the rim after his baseline dunk and the slight limp afterwards, but now that he has that out of the way, I have a feeling that he is going to be more aggressive going to the basket.
Eddie House can shoot. He will be a microwave type scorer off the bench. He gets his shot off very quickly and is going to help the bench scoring. He also may be a streak shooter as he was hot in the Raptors game (6-10, 14 points) and not so much in the Wolves game (1-3, 2 points).
The back up PG spot is still a question. Eddie House did a decent job filling in when Rondo went to the bench. He can score, but he also showed that he can find the open man. Tony Allen still looks scary when the dribbles too much. Gabe Pruitt has looked good at times and lost at others, but he does seem to have a lot of promise. He has to learn to deal with pressure though.
Doc looks like a much better coach when he has veterans who know what they are doing on the team. We still have a long way to go and there will be situations where he is going to have to make decisions in games that will affect the outcome, but so far, he has just more or less let them play and they have rewarded him with 2 wins.
Our bench isn't all that bad. James Posey plays very good defense and is going to be a vital cog on this team. Leon Powe looks very good and is going to be able to hold down the PF spot when KG goes out. Batista has shown that he can fill in for Perk at the center spot and Eddie House and Tony Allen have looked good at the back up PG/SG spots. Big Baby and Pruitt both have shown promise. Brandon Wallace is an intriguing player and Scal is Scal, what more can I say? In both games, the bench held their own against the opposing bench.
This team is building great chemistry off the court, but they aren't quite there on the court. I loved the stories of the team going everywhere together and the camaraderie they built while in Europe was great. On the court you can see it coming, but they still start out a little slow and build up to it. After a few more games, it will be there. The off court chemistry is excellent and that will translate to games as they play together a little more. Pierce, KG and Ray are going to be able to play together just fine. They share the ball and find the hot hand. In the Raptors game, it was Pierce and KG and in the Wolves game, it was Ray Allen.
We need to work on free throw shooting. As a team we shot 69.6% in the Raptors game with only Perk perfect from the line (4-4). In the Wolves game, as a team they shot 59% from the line with Pierce leading the way 6-11. This is unacceptable.
This is going to be a very exciting season. It is just the preseason and we are already seeing some pretty intense and serious basketball. It is very good to be a Celtics fan these days. [Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
