Bench Praise

by Jeff Clark on Apr 9, 2009 7:40 AM EDT in Boston Celtics News & Links

One silver lining that has developed as a result of the string of injuries has been the maturation of the bench. They stepped up and delivered a win last night. Steve Bulpett summarizes:

New Jersey won the first and third quarters - mainly the starters' province - by a combined 58-44. So while Rajon Rondo [stats] was generally incredible with 31 points, one off his career high, it was the lift from Eddie House (15 points), Stephon Marbury (four points, five assists in 15 minutes), Mikki Moore (nine points on 4-for-4, nine rebounds) and Tony Allen (six rebounds, tough defense) that got the Celtics their fifth straight triumph.

The bench crew brought the Celts back in the second quarter from a double-digit deficit to the lead. And when the Nets had come back from nine down to tie the game, the subs were the main ingredients in a 9-0 run that gave the C's the lead for good.

"They pretty much won the game," captain Paul Pierce said after a 10-point, four-turnover effort. "Shoot, (coach) Doc (Rivers) could have probably left them in the whole game and it probably wouldn't have been as close. They have great energy. Stephon is doing a great job getting into the defense and finding guys. Eddie House is shooting lights out right now. Mikki Moore is being active. We're extremely happy with the way the bench is coming in and picking up the starters when we're down."

Tommy and Mike talked about this during the game, but it bears repeating. Marbury and House are developing a nice little chemistry on the court. Eddie finds a sliver of open court and Steph finds him with crisp passes. If they can keep that up in the playoffs, they can provide that scoring punch the 2nd unit was looking for early in the season.

Tweet Comment 9 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

nice combo

Marbury/House is becoming a nice weapon off the bench. A healthy TA fastbreaking and cutting to the basket in the halfcourt sets would be a nice target for Marbury’s passes as well.

If Marbury can shake the rust off his shot, those 3 would be a really solid unit coming in. Powe and Moore round out a nice bench (BBD too if/when KG comes back). No other team’s bench could realistically cover all those scoring options.

by slamtheking on Apr 9, 2009 7:58 AM EDT reply actions

depth coming together

I like the way we’ve been able to work those back ups in since KG, Powe and others have been out. The confidence and identity of the second unit will be big later on.

4 games left to go. Let’s hope they continue to improve. Loved TA’s alley oop!

by Fred Roberts on Apr 9, 2009 8:34 AM EDT reply actions

Mikki Moore, another 9 and 9 game, impressive #‘s for someone who doesn’t seem to be having any impact on the game… kind of the opposite of brian “no stats, all intangibles” scalabrini…

by arctic 3.0 on Apr 9, 2009 8:46 AM EDT reply actions

no impact?

I dunno. I thought Mikki had a great game last night. At least it was the best game I’ve seen him play so far. It felt like he played almost the whole 4th quarter including some time with the starters. 9 boards? Awesome. I thought Mikki wasn’t supposed to be able to board, but it looked like he was really fighting for the ball last night.

by mattyweb on Apr 9, 2009 9:15 AM EDT up reply actions

the subs flat out won the game and had the requisite energy level that the starters lacked. marbury was in the middle of all the good things going on with the bench and has been the good soldier. let’s give him, the rest of the team, danny and doc and the coaches some credit for marb’s energy level. i never remember the intensity level he has shone, especially on defense.

by nazzbo on Apr 9, 2009 8:57 AM EDT reply actions

Marbury played ferocious D last night...

I think Eddie and Steph are clicking so well it’s giving Marbury confidence and he’s playing better, getting more daring, and still shooting tho it ain’t falling yet. But his defensive intenisty is truly great to see, he’s becoming a key when he’s out there and that’s great to see…

by jyrecelts on Apr 9, 2009 9:08 AM EDT reply actions

Gotta love the Marbury/House chemistry!

I really like Stephon’s efforts on both ends of the court, and House seems totally relieved since he is not playing the point guard anymore, Paul is right, he shoots lights out and it’s a great pleasure to see him do so! Stephon’s dishes are really cool to watch, too.

Mikki is the most reliable offensive player of the bench, I really like his shot.

This second unit is starting to click very well together and I hope they’ll do so in the playoffs, allowing the starters to get some extra rest or just to take the lead when the starters are unable to do so, like yesterday.

by Drucci on Apr 9, 2009 9:30 AM EDT reply actions

Marbury is playing completely within the system, and playing like a pure PG, which is exactly what we need from him. If he just gets confidence back in his outside shot, he will be huge for our bench. As is, he is a real asset.

by footey on Apr 9, 2009 10:18 AM EDT reply actions