It’s great for me to watch the Lakers falling apart at the seams. Sure, the Celtics have been criticized of being in the same boat, but you can be assured that it has nothing to do with the players that are under Doc Rivers’ watch. Metta World Peace, formerly Ron Artest, is causing quite a panic in the locker room for the LA Lakers. He is shooting and scoring career lows, and is wondering why he is getting less playing time. Are you serious? It’s cause you suck and you have the worst name known to man.
Three Laker players who wanted to remain anonymous stated their displeasure with him already. They all seem to agree that without him there, they would be a much better team. I mean, he is even dissing his new coach Mike Brown. Give it a few weeks and he may be punching fans in the face again like he did when he was with the Pacers. I love to watch the Lakers lose, but I hate to see anyone put up with a player like him.
Now for a classic Ron Artest Clip. Below is a video of him pantsing Paul Pierce during a game while he was with the Pacers. Classic.
Celtics come up with a big win over the Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls as they win 95-91. Rajon Rondo led the way for the Celtics as he had 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists. His constant pace pushed the Celtics to 33 fast break points as he controlled the flow of the game. Rondo played with an attitude that hasn’t been seen for the last few games as he really took it at the Bulls. I couldn’t tell if either he had been ripped into by Doc after the last game or if he was really offended that Rose wasn’t playing. It almost seemed as to Rondo that playing against the likes of C.J. Watson and John Lucas was insulting to him and he was punishing the Bulls for it.
Celtics continued their 3-point shooting woes as they went 3-13 from the field, but hit two huge threes in the fourth quarter to keep the Bulls at bay. Maybe not in the best interests of the Bulls, but with Rose out Watson and Lucas shot the ball 32 times. After Luol Deng had 21 points and 16 rebounds in the first game he was held to 10 points and 5 rebounds.
The Celtics will look to make it 2 in a row as they take on the Pistons on Wednesday at 7:30.
Extra Notes: Derrick Rose missed his second straight game with a sore back; Brandon Bass is going to be out until all-star break with a sore knee; Stiemsma played only five minutes but had a major impact as his block led to a Rondo And-1,but he was shafted on the high five with Rondo; Keyon Dooling played after missing the last 9 games; Rondo tried to turn the Celtics into the east coast version of lob city last night by throwing alley-oops to both Jujuan Johnson and Chris Wilcox.
Avery Bradley Alert: Bradley played eight minutes, great defense on C.J. Watson who kept forcing up bad shots during the time Bradley was in. Bradley shot 2-4 from the field for 4 points, had 1 block, and two rebounds.
Tough loss for our guys last night as they had two chances to win the game, one at the end of regulation and one at the end of overtime. Comes down to the Celtics age-old question, is it OK to live and die by Pierce isolation as the clock winds down. It’s tough to keep giving it to Pierce on isolations if he is not healthy enough to get to his spot at the top of the key. Sooner or later the ball is going to end up in Rondo’s hand with him running maybe a pick and roll with Garnett or Bass and finding the open man. The stagnant offense is tough to look at end of games, especially since Doc is known as one of the games premier last second play coaches. Ray Allen again played great defense on Kobe, even though Kobe put up 27 points, Ray made him work for each bucket and the ones he had in the fourth didn’t come easy. The big Achilles of the Celtics all year has been giving up offensive rebounds to opposing teams. Last night the Celtics gave up 15 offensive rebounds with 7 to Bynum and 4 to Gasol, including two huge tip ins with 9 seconds left in regulation and then the game winning basket in overtime by Bynum. In the end it comes down to boxing out your man, something that’s taught from when you first start playing basketball. Gasol shouldn’t be able to snake his way in through four Celtics and get that tip.
Celtics shot just 6-19 from 3 and only 39.2% from the field. Allen led the team in scoring with 22 points as he was 9-22 from the field. Pierce had another great night as he had 18-9-7 with a big three in OT to put the Celts up with two minutes left in OT. The Lakers shot 1-15 from three and only 39.6% from the field. Derek Fisher was extremely ineffective as he went 0-7 with 1 rebound and 2 assists. Avery Bradley did not see the court in a game where I was interested in how he would be able to guard Kobe.
Celtics will look to bounce back today against the Raptors as the second part of their back to back.
Extra notes: Shout out to Paul Pierce as he was named to the All Star team. On this day last year Ray Allen became the NBA all team leading three point shooter passing Reggie Miller. Rondo, Pierce, and Allen all played over 40 minutes. Greg Stiemsma, Jujuan Johnson, and Avery Bradley all received DNP’s.
Celtics pull out a relatively easy W over the Bobcats as they win 94-84. Garnett led the team in scoring as he had 22 on 10-15 shooting. Rondo had his second straight night with 14 assists and also put up 10 points. Bobcats shot 45% from the field which was helped by Derrick Brown’s 10-10 night shooting. Jujuan Johnson played only 2 minutes after playing 22 the night before.
But the night was all about Paul Pierce. While he had a relatively poor shooting night by his standards, 6-18 for 15 points, he again led the Celtics +/- ratio with a second straight game of over +26. You could tell Pierce wanted to get it over with, he started out the game well, but missed two open three’s to clinch it. The fans almost willed the first one in, but we had to wait until after halftime for Pierce to go down in the books. He drained hist first shot after halftime to become the Celtics second all-time leading scorer. Rondo assisted on the memorable basket as he ran underneath the hoop and kicked it to an open Pierce for three.
Pierce on what it would mean to catch Havlicek. “Records are great, but it would mean more to me and the fans if we won another championship, so that’s my goal.”
Extra Notes: 12th straight game for Pierce with five or more assists. Always a great night when Tommy screams into the microphone, “THIS IS STUPID”. Pavlovic played 7 minutes, airballed a three and let a rebound through his legs and wasn’t seen again. Stiemsma played 2 minutes and had 2 points, 1 block, and 1 forced travel.
Kobe comes to Boston this week as the Celtics take on the Lakers Thursday at 8:00 PM.
The Celts (13-10) take on the Bobcats (3-21) tonight at the Garden. Completely turning it around this season, the Celtics are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are currently riding a 4 game win streak. Charlotte, on the other hand, have lost 11 straight. At this point, 48 year old majority owner Michael Jordan should consider putting himself into the lineup.
Paul Pierce is averaging 18.6 points per game after an extremely slow start for him (plus an injury). He is now only 9 points behind Larry Bird for the Celtics all-time scoring leaders.
1. John Havlicek 26,395
2. Larry Bird 21,791
3. Paul Pierce 21,410
The Celtics are now #11 in the power rankings, 5 spots better than last week. They are 2nd in points allowed per game with 86.7 ppg (the 76ers are the only team better with 86.5 ppg). However, we are only averaging 90.7 points per game.
After his 21 points against the Grizzlies, he finds himself only 9 points behind the Legend for 2nd place on the Celtics all-time leading scorers. Pierce has been a Celt his entire career, through the dreaded 18 game losing streak of 2006 and leading the Celts to the 2008 championship. It’s only fitting that he’ll hopefully pass the Legend at the Garden on Tuesday before the Boston faithful.
In honor of Paul, here’s his top five moments with the Celtics.
5.) Beginning of “The Truth”
Back in 2001, the Celtics played the Lakers and Paul had one of his best games in his short career. He scored 42 points against the eventual NBA champs as Boston lost. Shaquille O’Neal pulled a reporter aside and told him
“Take this down. My name is Shaquille O’Neal, and Paul Pierce is the [expletive] truth. Quote me on that, and don’t take nothing out. I knew he could play, but I didn’t know he could play like this. Paul Pierce is the truth”
And that was the beginning of The Truth.
4.) First game back from being stabbed
Paul’s life was in danger after he was stabbed 11 times September 25, 2000 in a nightclub. His life was saved by his then teammate Tony Battie. Luckily, paul was wearing a heavy leather jacket. This stopped the knife from hitting any key internal organs. Not only did the Truth start the first game of the season on October 31st, he played in all 82 games that year and led the team in scoring with 25.3 points per game.
3.) 21 Point 4th Quarter Comeback 2002 Playoffs
After getting ripped to shreds by Antoine Walker before the fourth quarter, which in itself is hilarious. Paul comes out and scores 19 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and led the Celts to victory over the Nets after being down 26 at one point in the second half and 21 to start the fourth quarter. Pierce was dominant, getting to rim at will on a young Richard Jefferson. This was the biggest comeback in NBA history in the playoffs. This whole fourth quarter comeback is on YouTube and is almost a must watch for any diehard Celtics fan.
2.) Pierce and Lebron Battle in 2008 Playoffs
Hands down one of my favorite games of all time. Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals and it was Paul Pierce and Lebron James just going at it. Bucket after bucket the game went back and forth. Pierce ended up finishing up with 41 points and Lebron ended the game with 45 and the big L. Most underrated part of the game was the big shot that PJ Brown had at the end of the game to put the Celtics up by three. People forget how much Brown provided at the end of the year with the clutch shooting and the great post defense. He would be huge on the team this year.
1.) 2008 NBA Championship
In the first game of the series Paul was injured and had to be carried off the court and wheelchaired into the locker room. I remember thinking that we were done. There was no way we could stay with the Lakers if Paul was out. A few minutes later to a roaring crowd, The Truth comes back and hits two straight threes to regain the lead and help take game 1 of the series. Paul was named NBA Finals MVP after they won the series 4-2. He averaged 21.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds. He also played great defense on Kobe throughout the series and kept him under control.
Great time to start writing about the Celtics on the blog as our guys have won their last four games in a row and seven out of the last eight. The Celts finished off the week with a 98-80 win over the Grizzlies. It was a game that the Celts had no trouble with as the Grizzlies have been hit pretty hard by injuries over the course of the year. While the Grizzlies had been picked to be a surprise contender in the Western Conference, losing big men Darrell Arthur (Achilles-Season ending) and Zack Randolph (Torn MCL – Back Early March) put a major dent into their team and they have struggled to stay around .500. On top of those two, former Celtics defensive stopper Tony Allen missed the game with a sore hip and knee.
The Celts looked great though. Rondo in his second game back was his usual self, while he only had 5 points, he had 14 dimes. Jujuan Johnson looks like he’s going to be stealing most of Stiemsma’s minutes from here on out as he got 22 minutes tonight and responded with an efficient 10 points on 5-8 shooting. Kevin Garnett had another 3-pointer to get his season tally to 3-3, as he posted 24-9. After the game KG was questioned about his ability to shoot the threes, he told people to stop being surprised.
“When I walk around the streets, y’all stop acting shocked I can shoot threes. Everybody in Boston, everybody in the world, everybody in Minnesota, LA, wherever I’m at; Concord, Lexington, Burlington. I can shoot threes, OK? Let that go.”
But the big story of the day is Paul Pierce. The Truth had another great all-around game as he posted 21-6-6. The big turnaround in the Celtics season has been Pierce getting in shape. When he’s playing well getting to the line, hitting his open threes, and keeping the ball moving the Celts look unstoppable. Once he started to get his game legs underneath him the Celts have been on a tear. After his 21 points against the Grizzlies, he finds himself only 9 points behind the Legend for 2nd place on the Celtics all-time leading scorers. Look for another article on the Truth’s greatest five moments as a Celt later on today.
At this point I don’t think anyone knows what to say about the Celtics. Two weeks ago they were heading straight to the grave. But maybe we spoke too soon. Showing signs of life, the C’s picked up their third straight win last night, beating the Magic 91-83 in dramatic fashion. With Pierce leading the way, the Celtics overcame a 27 point deficit to hand the Magic an even more embarrassing loss than earlier this week’s 31 point massacre. E’Twaun Moore was huge off the bench, putting in 16 of his own, including a clutch three pointer down the stretch. He’s been my pick since day one. The kid has a big future in the NBA, just give him some time to develop. Oh, and in case you forgot, this turnaround has been without Rondo and Allen, making it even more confusing as to what’s going on with the Celts! By the way, congrats to Ray and his wife for welcoming in their fourth son, Wystan Ryan Allen, Wednesday night.
Anyways, the team has talent. That’s been obvious since day one. The surprise came when the talent didn’t mesh during games. The Celts have showed signs of brilliance, but seemed to struggle in finishing games out down the stretch. Granted, digging yourself a 27 point hole isn’t great either, but have they turned it around? Two weeks ago they would have fought back to within a few points, had the momentum on their side, and then with 5 minutes left let the fire go out and lose by double digits, letting us all down. We knew they were a better team than they were showing us. It’s still early in the short season but if anything, the past three games have given hope to Celtics fans. Maybe the flame is still burning on Causeway Street.
For those of you who didn’t notice, the NBA has moved away from their “Where Amazing Happens” slogans and moved towards their “Big” advertising attempt. Rajon Rondo happens to be the main star of the first installment of the commercial. “The focus on Rondo is that he plays big” according to Danny Meiseles, executive vice president and executive producer of broadcasting for the NBA. They also focus on Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki, but seeing as they are not from Boston, we can just ignore that.
For Rondo to even be put in the same character as the best scorer (KD) and the best white guy in the league (other than Scalabrine of course), is pretty amazing. He needs to be the future of our team now that we are getting older, and it is nice to see that the league recognizes his hard work from when he came into the league from Kentucky a few years ago. Many skeptics thought he was crazy but he showed hard work and fortitude and has become one of the best players around.
Talk about beating the odds. With both Rondo and Allen sidelined with injuries, an undermanned Celtics team left it all out on the court to win BIG against an 11-4 Orlando Magic squad last night at the Garden. The Celts held the Magic to just 56 points, while putting up 87 themselves. Struggling out of the gates this year, the Celtics have sneakily been solid defensively, ranking third in the league while holding their opponents to an average of 88.3 points. On the other hand, our woes come in the form of offense, where the C’s are ranked 26th in points scored, averaging around 89 per game. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You’re not going to compete with the best teams in the NBA when you can’t score.
Luckily the C’s proved me wrong last night, as their defense shone through. Sticking out were Avery Bradley and Sasha Pavlovic, as both stepped into starting spots and held their own defensively while also putting up a combined 15 points. If anything, last night’s win was a big mental boost for the team which has definitely been suffering harsh criticism over the past few weeks and rightfully so. The team has gone in spurts of brilliance but never quite long enough to hold out for the big wins. Example, coming within a point of Chicago in the 4th quarter just to watch Rose and crew rip our hearts out down the stretch. Anyways, there is talent on this team, no doubt. We showed last night that we can compete with the best of them. Throw Allen and Rondo back into the mix and continue blending in the newcomers with the team’s historic chemistry, we’ll be alright.
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