Last Chance To Get It Right
by Jeff Clark on Mar 16, 2010 5:58 AM EDT
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One month left in the regular season. Sixteen games. Welcome to the stretch run.
Part of me really just wants to fast forward to the playoffs. I don't know if I can learn anything else about this team that is going to change my mind much about them. I think they are good enough to beat anyone if healthy but I haven't seen that level in months. I think they are inconsistent enough to lose to anyone and if they don't keep the effort up, they will fall to the first team that does. Will they give their best effort and stay healthy for the last month? Who knows?
What I do know is that everything changes in the playoffs. That can be a good or a bad thing for this team. If they really have been bored, that's over. If Kung Fu Rasheed and company are saving their best for the post season, great. Lets see it. Nothing will get this team more fired up and focused than a 7 game series. Of course it cuts both ways. Teams that we might have been able to intimidate for a night will get geeked up and swing back as hard as the Hawks and Bulls did the last two years. (prediction: like every year, we're going to grow to hate the first round opponent, whomever it is).
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CelticsTeam Effort Too Much for Pistons
by Jimmy Toscano on Mar 16, 2010 12:27 AM EDT
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9 comments
One day after losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics returned home to the TD Garden to host the Detroit Pistons. They weren't very welcoming to the Pistons, as the Celtics jumped out to a 31-15 first quarter lead, and never looked back- winning 119-93.
"A totally different team today, came in with a lot more energy, a lot more aggressive, five guys who were aggressive," Kevin Garnett said on a night where he tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. "I thought that our bench was aggressive also. We had to talk amongst each other, and we just came out and played."
It appeared as though the Celtics were playing with a bit of an attitude and determination to put the Pistons away early. Paul Pierce got off to a hot start, driving to the hoop early on in the first quarter, scoring 12 points while getting to the line five times. Early foul trouble would limit his minutes for the rest of the half, but he was not needed.
"We obviously are really working to try to re-establish him," said Coach Doc Rivers. "And like I said before the game, it's coming around. It's still not there, but, I mean, that was great to see. He looked explosive. So those are signs I keep seeing that I think he's getting closer and our team's getting closer."
"...Paul is aggressive like he is, there isn't a forward in the world that could play him, a player whoever could guard him," Garnett said. He's hard to guard when he is aggressive like that. He sets the tone not just for the offense but for the defense also.
Rivers said before the game that the bench would need to play better than they have of late in order for the Celtics to see success. He also noted how Marquis Daniels and Rasheed Wallace, specifically, would need to improve. That effort and energy was there off the bench tonight, as they came in and built upon a lead that the starters established.
"I mean, the bench is important every night we got to always either sustain the lead or push the lead up if we can," said Marquis Daniels who was one of seven players to reach double figures in scoring. "Never come out with no energy, and that's what we had yesterday, so we always got to come in with it."
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Celtics Steamroll Pistons
by Greg Payne on Mar 15, 2010 10:51 PM EDT
in Games
74 comments
Celtics bounce back in a big way with a 119-93 thrashing of the Pistons. Granted, Detroit's only 23-43 (now 23-44), but still. Solid win.
- Find me a guy who didn't play well tonight. Starters got us off to a great start and the bench picked up where they left off.
- 34 assists on 46 baskets. The ball movement tonight was 2008-esque.
- Michael Finley lit it up. 6-7 from the field, 3-4 from the nation, for a total of 15 points.
- Except for the 3-6 performance from the free throw line, Kendrick Perkins put in a quality night's work. 11 points and 8 boards.
- Paul Pierce was efficient in his 17 minutes. 15 points on 4-6 shooting. 12 of those points came in the first quarter. Paul tweaked his back apparently just before halftime, but it isn't being heralded as anything serious.
- Nice to see Nate Robinson get up for the dunk off the feed off the backboard from Tony Allen with 43.5 left in the fourth. First dunk for Nate in a Boston uniform.
Solid, solid win tonight. Maybe it's the uniforms? Whatever it is, let's hope it continues. The next week will throw some pretty legit opponents at the C's (Houston, Dallas, Utah, Denver). Should be a good test as the playoffs continue to draw near.
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Doc Rivers Pregame Quotes
by Jimmy Toscano on Mar 15, 2010 7:52 PM EDT
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On effort last night:
Well I looked at it, it's four minutes left in the third quarter and it was a tie score, so at least at that point we still had effort, you know what I mean? We didn't sustain our play; we missed a lot of open shots. I don't think it had a lot to do with effort last night. I thought the last five minutes did when we were down 16 and you could see us giving in, but up until that point I thought our effort was very good. I thought our execution wasn't great as far as making open shots and some of our defensive execution, but I didn't think it was an effort issue. I think it's an easy thing now when we don't win [to say] it was effort."
Challenge of coaching this team:
In some ways it's very enjoyable. I know it sounds crazy because it's a group that you've had to like get your hands dirty. I mean, really, you've had to dive into this group, and you know, push buttons, and get on different guys that you never thought you would have to. In some ways it's been very difficult but in some ways it's been a joyous challenge, I guess you could say. This is a very challenging year. I'm excited by it, in a crazy way I am. I think if we can get this right it will be an unbelievable challenge and if you get it right it will be an unbelievable feeling at the end because you had to do it.
Injuries to team holding them back:
We're not injured anymore, and that's the point I'm making with our group. Enough with the injuries. It absolutely side-tracked us. There's no doubt about it. I would make the case that if we had no injuries that 25-5 stretch would have continued. But it didn't. Guys had to change their roles. We were asking guys who didn't score a lot to score, and now they have to change their roles back. It throws your team off. And then the guys that we're trying to go back to aren't scoring yet, you know, but you still have to get them back there, and you have to go through those pains. But I don't worry about the past with our veterans. Whether they know how to win or not, we have to figure out how to win with this group. Your past success has no guarantee on what you're going to do in the future. This is a new group together and we have to figure out how to win with this group. It doesn't matter what the experience is.
Marquis Daniels production being down.
He has to play better- point blank. He has to play better. He has to play harder, and he has to play better. Marquis has it in him and he knows that. I've told him that. And I expect that of him. He's a role player that we need his energy every single night. He can't afford to ease his way into games- he's too talented to do that. And he's not going to play but that 20 minutes, so when he comes in the game we need him to be a factor. With Nate trying to figure out his role, Marquis probably doesn't get it enough on the post as much as he should, and we've talked about this as well. But you have to go get it too.
Does Rasheed Wallace fall into that same category as a guy who needs to play better?
Yes, absolutely.
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Celtics Look to Rebound Against Pistons
by Greg Payne on Mar 15, 2010 7:22 PM EDT
in Games
37 comments
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T-Mobile Trivia Challenge - More Free Tickets!
by Jeff Clark on Mar 15, 2010 6:31 PM EDT
in CelticsBlog
44 comments
This post is sponsored by T-Mobile.
Remember when T-Mobile gave us 70 free tickets? Well, they ONLY have 52 for the game on Wednesday against Bill Walker and the Knicks! (doesn't that sound odd?)
I liked the quiz I did last time and I never actually released the answers, so I figure I'll run it out there again.
Below is a link to the quiz. The first 26 NEW people to answer all the questions correctly gets a pair of tickets. But before you start...
Some new rules:
- If you won last time (the Memphis game) you can't win again. I'm trying to spread the love here.
- If you enter twice, I'll delete both entries. No fair stuffing the ballot box.
- More of a request: Please enter the name of the person that will be attending the game. So if you want to win the tickets for your dad and you can't go, put his name down (and your email).
That's it. Go! Go now!
The T-Mobile Trivia Challenge Quiz
Link removed - quiz is closed. Tallying winners. If you get an email, you won! If not, better luck next time.
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CelticsBlog NCAA Tourney Pool
Sign up for bragging rights on the blog. Who will win the college tourney?
Starting Five - 3/15
by Jeff Clark on Mar 15, 2010 5:59 AM EDT
in News/Links
147 comments
Some depressing post-Cavs game links and quotes to start off your day. Enjoy, ...I guess.
Green Street " How close is that corner?
The Celtics have repeatedly mentioned "turning a corner" to get back on a winning track. But with 17 games left in the regular season, how far away is that corner? "I don’t know, maybe 17 blocks," Rajon Rondo guesstimated on Friday. "It should be the same zip code."
No getting around it: Celtics outclassed by Cavs again - ProBasketballTalk - Basketball - NBC Sports
The Celtics were outclassed again in Cleveland. They actually managed to tie the game with 5:00 to go in the third. Then the Cavs just... outclassed them. Outran, outworked, out-gunned, out-manned them. It's not that everything fell apart for the Celtics or that the effort wasn't there. There was a lot of effort. But whatever the Cavs needed to do, spread the floor, grab the offensive board, block down low, run the floor, run the floor, run the floor. The Celtics went 1-16 from the field during a 9:49 stretch between the 3rd and 4th quarters. 1 for 16. I don't know what the odds are for you getting hit by a bus tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure they're better than 1 for 16.
Lack of effort means trying times for Celtics - The Boston Globe
Yesterday, after the Celtics took their second loss to the Cavaliers in just three weeks, the dif ference between the teams wasn’t the monster-sized center Cleveland added in Shaquille O’Neal (at home nursing a surgically-repaired thumb), it wasn’t the shooting they added in Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon, and it wasn’t even James and his 30-point, 8-rebound, 7-assist performance. "The glaring difference,’’ said Boston’s Ray Allen, echoing everyone’s thoughts, "was just their effort.’’
These two Celtics must rescue Big Three - The Boston Globe
The Big Three are limited, and those limitations are glaring. If Pierce doesn’t score, how does he contribute? If Garnett isn’t grabbing rebounds or hitting jumpers, does he block shots or stop his power forward counterpart? What happens when Allen’s shot is misfiring, does he get steals or chase down a long rebound or distribute the ball? Those answers are no, no, and no.
Varejao’s a problem - BostonHerald.com
The Celtics [team stats] may be more anxious than Cleveland for the eventual return of Shaquille O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the Cavaliers lineup. The Cavs big man who really tears the C’s apart is Anderson Varejao, who for the second straight game had his way on back cuts and offensive rebounds, resulting in a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double that included six offensive boards in yesterday’s 104-93 Cleveland win.
Bonus link (this one really hurts):
Cavs’ Leon Powe back in a big way - BostonHerald.com
At the end of his time with the Celtics [team stats], Leon Powe was hurt. Yesterday, he hurt the Celtics. In just his seventh game back from major left knee surgery, the Cavaliers forward made his first appearance with 4:35 left in the third quarter. Over the next eight minutes, he collected six points (all from the free-throw line) and four rebounds.
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Sat 03/20 | 9:00 PM EDT |
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Mon 03/22 | 9:00 PM EDT |
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Wed 03/24 | 7:00 PM EDT |
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Detroit
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Mon 03/15 | W 119 - 93 |
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Sun 03/14 | L 93 - 104 |
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Fri 03/12 | W 122 - 103 |
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Wed 03/10 | L 91 - 111 |
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Tue 03/09 | L 84 - 86 |
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