A game against Blake Griffin is a pretty good way to introduce Jeff Green and Krstic to the Celtics. Might not be the perfect scenario (at home against an even more terrible team, if that's even possible). Let's just say things went a bit better than expected.
The game started out with the Celtics shooting 33% from the floor at the end of 1 and being down by 6 at halftime. After a collective gasp from C's fans, most came back to earth remembering that this is a playoff ready team who might not be very healthy but are sure ready to win. The 3rd was a back and forth battle which ultimately ended with the Celtics lighting it up in the 4th. On to the new guys!
Krstic passed my expectations. 9 points and 6 rebounds. And wait for this part.... all 6 were offensive rebounds. C's now have an offensive rebounder who offensive might be better than Perk. Green was a bit more quiet going 2-5 with 7 points, a block and a -10 +/-. Ew.
With Green meshing more into the team and maybe CJ getting a bit more suited for the NBA, the Celtics are still a team that can destroy opponents.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
And down they go.
Game number 3 against the dreaded Miami Heat took place in Boston today and yet again, the Celtics were on the winning end.
How do you come back from a loss late in the game to your most hated rivals? For the first two halves, no one on the Celtics seemed to know. Sparks of great play for a while and then tired defense and rushed offensive trips and even a special appearance from a missed dunk by Big Baby. At half it seemed to just be another "one of those games". A chance to go 3-0 against the team whom analysts had claimed would be sure fire champions before the season started and you could tell the Celtics wanted it at halftime.
The 3rd quarter was brilliant. Boston outscored Miami 35-18 and out of no where it seemed that the 4 point deficit that Boston entered halftime with would never come back. At the end of the 3rd quarter, it seemed it would be smooth sailing for the defending Eastern Conference Champions.
Some stats stuck out before the 4th quarter started. For starters, team captain Paul Pierce had 1 point and had not hit a field goal yet. Imagine knowing you were going to fail a test but you knew you would still pass the class. That's the feeling most Celtics fans had. Who needed one players scoring when everyone else is picking up the slack, right? Another factoid is Rondo's near triple double (which, spoiler alert, he got) going into the 4th. Now with the Rondo stat, everyone was in happy land until about 3 minutes remaining in the 4th.
Let's just say Miami started scoring and the refs started blowing the whistles. No Celtic was safe from the official's onslaught. Am I blowing this out of proportion? You bet I am. Know imagine that analogy I gave about passing class, but now you found out you failed another test and now you might not pass the test. About 1:30 left in regulation and that feeling came. Fast forward a minute and Lebron's at the free throw line. Guess what Captain Clutch does. Goes 1/2 when he's down 2. To wrap it up, Big Baby hit two free throws and Mike Miller bricked a 3 to tie it.
Boston against Miami this season = 3-0. So much for that easy Finals appearance.
How do you come back from a loss late in the game to your most hated rivals? For the first two halves, no one on the Celtics seemed to know. Sparks of great play for a while and then tired defense and rushed offensive trips and even a special appearance from a missed dunk by Big Baby. At half it seemed to just be another "one of those games". A chance to go 3-0 against the team whom analysts had claimed would be sure fire champions before the season started and you could tell the Celtics wanted it at halftime.
The 3rd quarter was brilliant. Boston outscored Miami 35-18 and out of no where it seemed that the 4 point deficit that Boston entered halftime with would never come back. At the end of the 3rd quarter, it seemed it would be smooth sailing for the defending Eastern Conference Champions.
Some stats stuck out before the 4th quarter started. For starters, team captain Paul Pierce had 1 point and had not hit a field goal yet. Imagine knowing you were going to fail a test but you knew you would still pass the class. That's the feeling most Celtics fans had. Who needed one players scoring when everyone else is picking up the slack, right? Another factoid is Rondo's near triple double (which, spoiler alert, he got) going into the 4th. Now with the Rondo stat, everyone was in happy land until about 3 minutes remaining in the 4th.
Let's just say Miami started scoring and the refs started blowing the whistles. No Celtic was safe from the official's onslaught. Am I blowing this out of proportion? You bet I am. Know imagine that analogy I gave about passing class, but now you found out you failed another test and now you might not pass the test. About 1:30 left in regulation and that feeling came. Fast forward a minute and Lebron's at the free throw line. Guess what Captain Clutch does. Goes 1/2 when he's down 2. To wrap it up, Big Baby hit two free throws and Mike Miller bricked a 3 to tie it.
Boston against Miami this season = 3-0. So much for that easy Finals appearance.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Hurts so good. Kind of.
On a night where Ray Allen surpasses Reggie Miller for first all time in 3's, for a moment, it seems as if nothing can bring us as Celtics fans down from the excitement.
Then comes the pain. After a strong first half with Ray contributing with a guest appearance from Von Wafer. Von was a crowd pleaser for the time he played (until he had to guard Kobe) and the fans were soaking all of Von's outrageous plays up. All was fun in Celtics town until the 3rd quarter started. From there, the fouls started to pile on*, Celtics defense was slipping and the green just couldn't hit shots. Lakers decided to play physical which made Boston step back a bit and never seemed to be able to adjust to the change.
Nate was declared out after the 2nd quarter and that obviously didn't help the C's. It seems injuries are starting to almost "overshadow" the C's success. Speaking of overshadowing, a great title from Gethin Coolbaugh in his article for SBNation Boston about the game:
Then comes the pain. After a strong first half with Ray contributing with a guest appearance from Von Wafer. Von was a crowd pleaser for the time he played (until he had to guard Kobe) and the fans were soaking all of Von's outrageous plays up. All was fun in Celtics town until the 3rd quarter started. From there, the fouls started to pile on*, Celtics defense was slipping and the green just couldn't hit shots. Lakers decided to play physical which made Boston step back a bit and never seemed to be able to adjust to the change.
Nate was declared out after the 2nd quarter and that obviously didn't help the C's. It seems injuries are starting to almost "overshadow" the C's success. Speaking of overshadowing, a great title from Gethin Coolbaugh in his article for SBNation Boston about the game:
Ray Allen's Historic Night Overshadows Celtics' Loss To Lakers
(Link at bottom)
This about sums it up. I don't care if the Celtics didn't score a single point after Ray Allen's 3. History was made tonight and not even a loss can take that away.
* I am used to mocking referees. It's almost fun to blame them for things like missed opportunities, free throws and fouls. Today they were nothing short of ugly.
Good night Celtics nation.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
18 more days.
The trade deadline is in 18 days. No big moves have been made in the NBA yet but there's a pretty good chance that someone will make a move. Celtic's could possibly deal around with there bench but I'll be posting on any moves Boston makes and I'll post at the deadline about the entire NBA and the trades.
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