Gino returns in Celtics victory over Bobcats
by Jimmy Toscano on Mar 4, 2010 5:40 AM EST
in Boston Celtics Articles
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PrintPrior to tonight's game, Paul Pierce spoke with reporters and said that the Celtics must prepare for the NBA playoffs like one would a boxing match. You've got to put in the time and effort in the regular season the same way you would train and spar for a big prize fight. Tonight in front of the home crowd, Pierce and the Celtics beat up on the Charlotte Bobcats to the tune of a 104-80 victory. It was their largest win at home since a 118-90 shellacking of the Chicago Bulls on October 30, 2009.
The Celtics took a nine point lead into the third quarter, and extended it to 21 by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.
"I thought the key was the third quarter," said coach Doc Rivers. "We came out and extended the lead. That's when you take away games- when you're up ten at halftime and you get it to twenty or you're up ten at halftime and they cut it to one or two."
Paul Pierce had 27 points in three quarters on 9/13 shooting while adding four assists and three steals. It was the most points he has scored since he dropped a season high 35 against the Hawks in a losing effort.
"It's my first game I've played without the knee pads," Pierce said with a laugh. "I feel pretty good. This is the best I've felt in quite a while body wise, just getting up and down the court. No more nagging injuries and I'm ready to go. Hopefully I can continue that way and finish off the season on a strong note."
Asked about his minor altercation with Stephen Jackson which resulted in a double technical foul, Pierce downplayed the event but did note that clashing with opposing players and showing that extra fire and attitude on the court is something that they could use more of.
"I think we need to do that more. I think that's who we are, truthfully. We're a team that usually intimidates the other team, pushes them around, talks trash. You guys know that's who we are and I think we have to somewhat be that way but not to where it's a distraction to the team, not to where it's costing us the game.
Nate Robinson provided that token "spark" off the bench tonight, adding 16 points including 4/6 from three-point range. Robinson has gelled with this team rather easily and has quickly become a fan favorite in Boston.
"Nate is pure energy," said Kevin Garnett. He is almost like fresh air. He fits right in with our team. He is unselfish. We all knew that he could play but his personality is what stands out mostly about him. We like the way he plays. He comes out and just puts it on the floor. He is the reason we turned the corner like we did."
"He's our X-factor in a lot of ways," said Rivers. "I don't know if we need him to play great to win but I know when he plays great it's tough for us to lose."
Not only is Robinson communicating well with his teammates on the court, he has quickly bonded with them off the court as well. Prior to the game he was watching previous game video with Paul Pierce, and after the game he was joking around with locker buddy Rasheed Wallace.
"We have him and Kevin; I can't imagine if they were roommates- it would be amazing," joked Rivers. "They are both very active and very loud. The guys love him. I think they love him more because he has been donating a lot in the card games. That's what's ingratiated them more than anything. But I just think they like him because of his personality. I think he's a free spirit in a good way and I think that's a good thing for our team- we probably needed a little bit of that."
This being Robinson's fourth game at the TD Garden in a Celtics uniform, he is starting to get comfortable with the surroundings.
"The first couple of times I was kind of nervous because I'm used to always being on the other side playing against you guys. It's always kind of been that rivalry Boston- New York but now being at home here it's definitely made it easier for me. The fans, you know, they welcomed me with open arms as well so you got to take you hat off to them so I'm just happy to be here and happy to be playing."
Robinson also got his first real look at Gino, who made an appearance at the Garden tonight for the first time in a while.
"Yeah, I've seen everybody dance with that guy!" said Robinson after it was explained to him who Gino was. "Is that when everybody is doing the little old school dance?"
Yes, that's the dance. Let's hope we see it more often.
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celtics
Again tonight Nate was a spark, he is looking more like a Celtic every game. PP finally looks like he is better physically, and KG continues to improve. Who says the dead dont come back to life. Go Cs.
Lil' Nate was an incredible pickup...
I was at this bobcats game, and let me tell you, Nate was a TRUE 6th man. It was not just that he scored better and more easily than Eddie ever could. It was that he ENERGIZED the crowd like nothing else. The garden actually hit GARDEN sound levels. He is exactly what this team needs…a sharp shot in the arm.
Also, now that Paul is rounding back to his high level of play (wow, 27 pts), an all-essential gametime rythym is slowly becoming set in stone just in time for the playoffs. Last night demonstrated the beginning of this process.
This gametime flow is something that the C’s have been missing due to injuries. It’s also something that is a very underrated aspect of winning in the NBA. In essence, it’s all about who runs the show offensively at any one point during the game.
We all know that Rondo tends to dominate during 1st halves. Often by the 2nd half however, Rondo is either too spent, or defenses adjust to collapse on him. Who then is supposed to take over the offensive reigns in the 2nd half?
Of course, it’s that guy we’ve forgotten about….perennial All Star…top ten all-time Celtic…Paul Pierce. We really shouldn’t underestimate his importance…especially on a team that otherwise tends to struggle offensively, and is mainly known for its stifling defense. He is our only TRUE superstar scorer….and I think it’s safe to say that he’s back…or at least still has the capability to run over 25 pts whenever he feels like it.
Finally, the bench now has its essential piece…no, not it’s great new addition…its ESSENTIAL piece! Danny was really clever when it came to acquiring lil’ Nate Robinson! What’s even more astounding and hilarious is the amount of flack this team got from the media and from around the league for this priceless acquisition. I think it’s fair to say that he will be a force to be reckoned with….nearly on par with the Crawfords and Terry’s of the NBA…and much more so than Jamison of the Cavs. Don’t get me wrong, he was a good addition for the Cavs, but not THIS good….not as effortlessy good for the Cavs as Nate is for the Celts.
it’s great to see Nate now deservedly runs the scoring of the bench, leaving the rest of the players to follow through on defense wholly. With another 8 or so easy games on the horizon, this team will establish that once-missing gametime flow that the big dogs of the NBA already have down. It’s not too late!…and more importantly, it will catch the rest of the NBA off guard.
Ashtray Bouquet
At the Bucks and the B2B hosting Memphis
will not be easy. Teams fighting for a playoff spot are never easy – and the Griz have had their own “better on the road than at home” syndrome lately
by nba is the worst on Mar 4, 2010 8:37 AM EST up reply actions
True
Those’ll be tough. I definitely remember that last Grizz game. The Celtics had to play nearly flawlessly to beat them. I’m really surprised they’re not higher in the Western rankings. It must be the inconsistency.
Either way though, it’ll be a good (and appropriate/slightly harder) test for these guys, in working up to play the Cavs and Nuggets soon.
Ashtray Bouquet
Noticed that Bobcats have beaten the Cavs 3/4 this season
… and two of those win were blowouts. Meanwhile, the Cs have beaten Charlotte 3/3 times, by any average of 20+ points.
Go figure. What does this mean for the (presumed) ECF? Who knows. But I feel good about it. A lot better now than a week ago.
Means absolutely nothing.
And arent the cavs like undefeated against the hawks and 3-1 against the magic, mean while we’re 1-7 against those teams?
how we play against the bobcats means squat
Well, it means more than squat
If I were Doc facing the Cavs, I’d be studying the Cats v Cavs games to see how and why Charlotte was able to dominate Cleveland this season. Whatever it was, it’s important to identify it.
exactly!
We should look at what the Cats are doing to the Cavs. They won against the Cavs decisively. Even the Celtic losses against the Hawks and Magic were fairly close (and more importantly were 4th quarter collapses…not steady every-quarter-down-by-5-more-than-the-last games).
At this rate, the Cats WILL likely make the playoffs. They just barely lost to Dallas by 5 two days before coming to boston. Their competition is the heat, and I just think the Cats have more in them to keep the 8th seed.
Another thing that everybody is forgetting is that this Celtics team played the Cats twice early in the season, and this last win was reminiscent of THAT style of play from that time. They beat them even further than they had before! It doesn’t matter whether it was JUST the bobcats. In fact, this made for good comparison because if anything, this bobcats team has gotten better (nobody thought they would make the playoffs/anybody who beats the Cavs must have something good going). The Celtics finally played like they had early in the season. That’s where the optimism lies!
Ashtray Bouquet
Cavs 2-1 vs Magic: 0-1 with Jamison
"This is not such a bad thing to be: a deep, talented underdog with Finals experience."~Ian Thomsen on the Orlando Magic.
It means matchups matter!
Thats another reason I was really happy with Pierce tonight. Often Wallace makes life difficult for Pierce, but tonight the tables were turned and Paul turned in his best performance in ages.
Absolutely. This was PP's statement game.
And he said: “I’m back.” For real.
Waiting now only for Sheed to make his statement. Might have to wait till April for that one, but I think it’s coming. I think Sheed’s been saving, waiting, storing, preparing… and when the playoffs come, he’s gonna let it all out. And with that, this title run becomes real. Complete.
The pieces are all here… all they gotta do now is stay healthy. (And maybe that loss to NJ was a good thing after all.)
Agreed...
Sheed still has it,he is just really bored with these reg season games, once the playoffs roll, the Celtics team always comeout differently..Rondo steps out and becomes a notch more aggressive as proven by last yrs playoff debacle, PP hits another zone…he ran out of gas last yr, but that was bec we have no healthy KG and no other helpful big aside from Perk (no more Mikki Moore pls.)..This team is tooled for the stretch run, not afternoon trap games like what happened against the Nets…uuurgggh!
"No I’m not KG. Not at all, but I’m Big Baby Glen Davis from LSU, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I’m not the Big Ticket. I’m the Ticket Stub. Don’t count the Ticket Stub out. You might need the ticket to get in the game, but you leave with the ticket stub, because you’ll never forget this game."
I hope you're right about Sheed...
He made those comments recently about not showing all your tricks during the regular season, so maybe he’s planning to start jumping like the Birdman and dunking like Lebron when the clock ticks over to April?
LOL… maybe not!
I reckon his best weapon would just be to play with some consistency and focus. Imagine if you could stick Ray Allen’s head on Sheed’s shoulders?
by Celticsbloke on Mar 4, 2010 11:10 PM EST up reply actions
Awww Yeah
1) It was great to see Gino back up on the Jumbo Tron dancing away.
2) It feels great to see the C’s pickup a blowout win for the first time in was seems like years (really like 2 1/2 months) but still
3) Sheed is not a bum. He is a role-player who was brought in to stretch defenses when needed, to post-up when needed, to add legitimate length to the front court behind KG and Perk, and like most of the other veterans he has championship experience and knows how to win the big one.
3A) It’s a great feeling that 10 of our current 13 players have Finals experience this year; with 9 of those 10 having won it all before. That depth and experience will come in handy come playoff time.
3B) Especially if we add someone like Michael Finley who also has that experience for the Title Run (who cares if he plays; that experience and added leadership is always helpful)
4) My two personal favorite parts of this game were Paul Pierce becoming the Truth again. And how well Nate Robinson is at being the spark-plug we needed off the bench.
4A) I go to college in Ohio and most of my friends are not Celtics fans, and they ragged on the Nate Robinson pickup; but man does it feel great to rub it in their faces that the kid is more than a dunker.
5) It’ll be a great feeling to see another run for a title in my short (so far, I’m only 20) lifetime. Especially since I’ve managed to watch just about every memorable Celtics game from the earlier glory days that I can get my hands on
MacDre
nice to pick up some wins here and there...
lately being a Celtics fan has been more like an unpleasant game of ‘pick your poison’…
Right Rx
or, what the Doc ordered: solid play from the starters, particularly Pierce, KG and Rondo, plus a spark, nay lightning, off the bench, Plus everyone in their roles (Nate taking charge, Quis in the flow, no Uno-Babs putting up 12 or Wallace (let thy home be the post) launching a rack of treys.
Last year, this year
Last year we had Perk and BB and Scal inside. (Powe broke early).
This year we have Perk, BB, Scal, KG, Daniels, Sheed for inside and Daniels and Nate for outside. If all stay healthy ONEHELLUVALOT better.
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