Tag Archives: Rajon Rondo Suspension

Is Avery Bradley the Key to the Game? Celtics-Thunder Preview

Posted on by
Reply

In the Celtics (15-16) last game before the All-Star Break they face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder (25-7) and former teammate Kendrick Perkins. Rajon Rondo will not be able to play against his good friend as he will be serving the second game of his two game suspension for throwing the basketball at the referee. The two teams are heading in different directions as the Celtics have lost 6 of their last 7 and their last 4 in a row. The Thunder have won their last three games and are 9-3 in the month of February. The Celtics are also 4-8 on the road while the Thunder are 13-1 at home.

The Celtics will hopefully get Kevin Garnett back as he has missed the last two games due to a family matter. The Celtics are extremely weak at the power forward position if he doesn’t play as Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox are both day to day from injuries against the Mavs and Brandon Bass is out until after All Star break. The Celtics will have to rely heavily on Jajuan Johnson and Greg Stiemsma as they are the only two power forwards or centers on the roster.

The Thunder are just two games removed from what I can remember as one of the most ridiculous statlines a trio of NBA players has ever produced

Player Points Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals
Kevin Durant 51 8 3 0 4
Russell Westbrook 40 4 9 1 0
Serge Ibaka 14 15 0 11 1

These three bring back memories of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. While they have accomplished nothing yet, they are look very tough to beat this year and will pose a big problem for the Celtics

Keys to the Game

Get out and Run

The Celtics may or may not have any one of the three big man listed day to day. But if they do, and more importantly if they don’t, they need to get into the open floor and get some easy baskets. The team is struggling in its half court sets and getting easy baskets allows the defense to set up and do its job.

Get some Penetration

Other than Pierce and Ray last game the Celtics were settling for a lot of jumpers. The offense was stagnant and the ball was not moving crisply. It’s tough to get open shots when your not making the defense work.

Cut down on Turnovers

Paul has been trying to take over the game and its nice to see, but his 10 turnovers in the past two games is hard to swallow. The Celtics have to take care of the ball and it starts with The Truth. The Celtics are too good of a defensive team to be giving up so many easy buckets off of turnovers.

Avery Bradley

Finally, my man Avery came out strong in the first quarter last night, looking for his shot and actually hitting it. If he can show he has a consistent jumper, it will open up the floor for the rest of the Celtics shooters and allow him to penetrate and create. No one is really concerned by his defense, we all know Avery D’s up!

Celtics-Mavericks Recap

Posted on by
Reply

The Celtics lost their fourth straight game last night to the Mavericks in a game that was never really close. Without Kevin Garnett the Celtics had no defensive answer for Dirk Nowitzki as he went for 21 first half points and cruised to a 26-16 night in only 31 minutes on the floor. The Mavericks were up by as much as 26 in the game.

Rajon Rondo was suspended by the NBA for the Celtics final two games before the All-Star break for his altercation with a referee. Without Rondo, the Celtics looked lost on offense and having a tough time to truly find a way to play. Other than Avery Bradley in the first quarter the Celtics only scored 9 points. Avery and Paul were the only two Celtics to score in the first 8 minutes of the game.

The Celtics tough season with injuries continued as both Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox went out with minor injuries in the third quarter. The turnovers were again a major issue for the Celtics as they turned over the ball 17 times. It ended up turning in 25 Maverick’s points. Both Pierce and Ray continued to struggle shooting from three combining for a 2-8 night from beyond the arc. But they both attacked the rim in ways that we haven’t seen from either of them this season. With no real interior scoring presence tonight most of the Celtics 18 points in the paint came off of Paul and Ray’s ability to attack the hoop.

The Celtics look to end their losing streak Wednesday at 7:00pm against the Thunder.

Extra Notes:

Kevin Garnett missed his second straight game for personal reasons; Dirk past Robert Parish to become number 20 on the all time scoring list; Garnett is 19 on the list; Jason Kidd had three steals to pass Michael Jordan as second on the all time list; in a battle of whose leg’s have deteriorated more Vince Carter got rejected by Jermaine O’Neal on a fast break early in the game, hard to imagine that happening to Vincesanity in his prime.

Avery Bradley Alert

Avery Bradley was a bright spot for the Celtics hitting outside jumpers when the Mavericks were giving him room. Finished 6-11 for the night but he missed a few bunny lay-ups; picked the pocket of future hall of famer Jason Kidd. He scored 6 out of the first 8 points for the Celtics and was basically the entire offense in the first quarter.