Celtics Thrash Raptors
by Greg Payne on Jan 7, 2011 9:52 PM EST
in Boston Celtics Games
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PrintThe Toronto Raptors played the Celtics tough in the team's previous three meetings, but such was not the case tonight, as the Celtics assumed control early and cruised to a 122-102 victory.
- The Celtics closed the first quarter on a 17-5 run as they assumed a 34-22 edge heading into the second frame. From there, the Celtics extended their lead to 22 (67-45) at halftime. The 67 points was a season-high for most points in a half.
- The Raptors threatened late in the third and early in the fourth, cutting the lead down to 12 at one point, but the Celtics responded each time, and in the blink of an eye they had a 115-91 cushion built up with 3:28 left in the game.
- Luke Harangody, ladies and gentlemen. The rookie forward posted a career-high 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds - his first career double-double. His jump shot was falling and he converted inside off of some nice feeds from his teammates. He scored 11 of his 17 in the first half. He also made some quality plays on defense, such as rotating back towards the hoop and swatting an Ed Davis shot attempt late in the third frame.
- Ray Allen continued his hot shooting, knocking down six of eight baskets and finishing with 17 points. Paul Pierce added 20 points of his own on 6-10 shooting while adding five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
- Shaquille O'Neal was once again a force inside, scoring 12 points and pulling down six rebounds. He hauled in his first offensive rebounds since December 22. He and Rondo had a good vibe working tonight, as they connected on a small collection of alley-oops.
- Nate Robinson added 15 points off the bench, and appeared to be benefiting from Marquis Daniels running the show for the second unit. Robinson served as more of a scorer tonight, and it appeared to pay off. Speaking of Daniels (happy 30th birthday, by the way), he notched a steady six points and four assists off the bench.
- Perhaps most importantly, all the starters played less than 30 minutes, with the exception being Glen Davis who played 33. We'll take it.
- Limiting the minutes was key tonight, as the Celtics will play their 8th game in 12 nights tomorrow night against the Chicago Bulls. Also, if you didn't see it, Kevin Garnett could be back next week - possibly as early as Monday.
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definitely
Chicago will probably come in here hungry after losing to Philadelphia. We’ll need our starters a lot more in that one.
Great that while both Shaq and Jermaine played great tonight, we only needed them on the floor for a combined 29 minutes.
One potential bad note
Doc said in his presser that JO sat out the second half with soreness in the knee. Darn it. Hopefully he’s good to go tomorrow. Might need him vs. Boozer and Gibson.
Tell Jermaine to rub some dirt on it.
(That often seemed to work when I was a kid.)
or we could tell him to
stop being a chump
by Brad Champagne on Jan 7, 2011 10:20 PM EST up reply actions
Doc said JO came to him and said his knee was sore
And then Doc said in one of those jokes-that-ain’t-a-joke that “his knee is gonna hurt for the rest of his life.” That does seem to be the sad truth of it. JO might not last more than this one year. We have to hope that he at least makes it through to June. And tho Luke is no JO… we might need him there anyway.
it starts to become frustrating..
he’s been out for 19 games comes back playing 4 or 5 games then he gets injured again(?)+we spent all of our MLE on this guy…
by Ante Gamisou on Jan 7, 2011 10:35 PM EST up reply actions
They haven't said the word...
but it seems pretty clear to me the knee is arthritic. There really is no other explanation at this point.
So Doc’s not kidding when he says it’s something he’ll deal with the rest of his life.
"Phil is obviously a good coach. You don't win that many games without being a damn good coach, ... Remember one thing: He's been very fortunate. He picks his spots. That's all I can say." - Red Auerbach
On this one, we have NO info at all
…..not even a precipitating event, or injury. And not much history, other than some bone spur problem in the left ankle a long time ago, and some nebulous knee “problems.”
But we do know that he was out 19 GAMES — which is a lot. So it’s probably pretty serious, not just “simple arthritis.” My guess is that this will end his career someday… hopefully no sooner than after the playoffs. But if he doesn’t make it that far, I think we’re stacked well enough to take the hit. Especially now with both Semih and, apparently, Luke, able to step in when needed.
Bottom line: I think we’re good, whatever happens with JO.
you must not have or know anybody
with severe arthritis. it causes very severe swelling and pain which there is no real cure for except pain management with drugs. pain to the point where you can’t even walk, let alone play basketball. Steriods have shown to work rather effectively but I assume that those would be considered ‘performance enhancing’ and thus not used in this situation. If it is arthritis, which I have always thought it was, this will continue. few games on, few games off. unless he can really tough it out and they can control the swelling. cortesone works wonders but is horrible for the joint, long term.
Have a look here for more info on the diagnosis....
http://www.celticsblog.com/2011/1/8/1922672/how-vital-is-jermaine-to-the-cs
He’s had surgery after injury to the cartilage in his left knee. Likely = ongoing source of his problems. See the ‘quotes’ link there too…. interesting. And serious. This is not just generalized arthritis (tho of course, any inflammation there is technically “arthritis”, and he could have >1 problem, etc., etc.).
Hopefully J.O. is just ...
suffering from pain and swelling in his knee due to simple arthritis (as has been rumored ) and the pain and swelling is not from a aggravated old injury or new injury.
Though arthritis is no fun to have , it is something that he I assume can play with with and can be treated with meds and rest etc.
So if it is just a arthritis flareup again hopefully he will be able to play through it and be ok long term.
The playoffs, Jermaine. Just pull it together for the playoffs.
Get yourself a ring.
And not to put in any pressure on Jermaine...
but wasn’t Rasheed saying he needed a job?
With the health issues and history....
J.O., Shaq, KG and Perk all have I would love to see the C’s add Rasheed to the roster as big man insurance in case any of them breakdown.
He would also come in handy come the playoffs especially if we meet Howard, Bynum and Gasol in the playoffs as he has a history of playing them all rather well defensively.
Celts head to Chicago
I believe its an away game for the Celts, so the hungry Bulls will be able to have some home cooking, making it a bit more difficult. And a little more difficult, if Jermaine O’s new knee soreness keeps him out. But with Erden available again that should help some. And the Celtics have such a good mindset now that they seem to adjust well to who they have available, and players take on the roles necessary to give the team what it needs on that particular night.
by SteveZ from Edgemont on Jan 7, 2011 11:03 PM EST up reply actions
What a magical season we seem to be experiencing.
A star player sits down with an injury, and then a rookie like Harangody takes another big step forward, shining brightly.
Somehow I feel this team is destined to come into the playoffs with everyone healthy, to roll through the competition and win another title. And as gravy, they’ll develop three rookies for their future, while guys like Davis, Daniels, and Robinson will all improve significantly. (Oh, I almost forgot.) Delonte West will also be successful comeback story.
+1
It was great when in the 1st half after Rondo gave Luke 2 passes which he did not handle well (one was actually a bad pass from Rondo I think) Doc was ready to pull Luke form the game and called Baby to check in for him.
But until he could check in Luke made a hustle rebound, and strong layup and then a jumper and got the team and crowd going.
Doc then made a classy act to show the kid he appreciated his effort by calling Baby back to the bench and allowing Luke to play for several more minutes.
yeah, that was great.
Another cool moment was that lazer pass Baby made to Luke under the basket.
Everybody out there thought with 100% certainty that Baby was going to take a fall-away jumper there, raise their hand right now. Yep – you in the corner, get it up. You know you all did. Me too. That’s what I thought. A sea of hands.
Good game. All around.
Though kinda a subpar game for Rondo. He had 7 assists, which isn’t bad when compared to the rest of the league. But combine that with 6 TOs and it ain’t so good.
But that’s about the only thing to complain about. Good job, fellas!
sub par in his personal stats
but the TEAM was +23 with Rondo on the floor – best on the Celtics.
Rondo had a great game of running the offense. Our shot efficiency was through the roof while he was out there.
Rondo delivered when needed.
The only time the game seemed in the slightest doubt was briefly in the fourth quarter. Nate was out there with the second unit and a big lead. Suddenly everything was a turnover, and the Raptors started making shots. So Doc rushes Rondo back in to replace Nate. Rondo calms everything down, and the game settles back into a laugher.
Well done, Doc. Well done, Rondo.
To be fair to Rondo
At least 2 of those interceptions were on his receivers. A couple of passes were fumbled or tipped, although he did try to force the ball a few times.
Doc pulled Rondo early in the third quarter
And you could see that Doc was unhappy with the way Rondo was playing and making careless passes. However, got to give Rondo props for taking and swishing two free throws. Hopefully this is the start of his improvement from the line. He now is 18-41 on the season. Let’s see those numbers improve significantly.
C's looked like a well oiled machine tonight....
Team deserves to share the game ball tonight as everybody from the starters to the bench played well and contributed to the win.
Paul and Ray did there thing again as they are on a role lately.
It was great to also see the C’s get Shaq going in the low post again.
Luke was especially awesome tonight as he was everywhere on the court tonight.
He hustled, scored, did a nice job defending and rebounding.
Nice to see the C’s get 22 2nd chance scoring points tonight.
It was also great the vets got some rest especially considering the C’s play Chicago tomorrow night.
I don't know what else to tell ya
Luke Harangody. I don’t know where that came from, but I would accept more of that with open arms. Not only did his jumpshot go down for him, but he was hustling all over the floor on both ends. Can’t ask for more from your rookie. A well-deserved double-double, and hopefully the first of many with the Celtics. : D
50 bench points. 50. points. off. the. bench. WOW.
Did we really get to rest our starters this game, or at least not play them so many minutes? Thank goodness, since apparently the C’s have to play AT Chicago tomorrow night. Can’t wait for that game….wait, is that game in the middle of NFL Football? UGH so hard to choose!
Charley Hustle a.k.a. Luke Harangody gets the game ball
The Cs played extremely well tonight, with all the starters making strong contibutions at the right times.
The key to this game was coming out strong in the first half, and taking a huge lead going into the 3rd. quarter.
The bench stayed right up there with the starters, and LUKE HARANGODY had the biggest game of his young career, tossing in a hard earned 17 points and picking up his first double-double , with 11 rebounds- 4 of them on the offensive boards. Those are more offensive boards than I think any individual on the Cs has picked up this season. Kudos to the Cs for this one.
Hopefully J.O’Neal will be able to play tomorrow- he’ll be needed. Chicago will be tough tomorrow, so it’s good that the starters were able to play limited minutes tonight.
Lygafe.
Lionel Gaffen / Fotomix.
Lygafe
Lionel Gaffen / Fotomix
http://lygaffen.blogspot.com/
http://community.webshots.com/user/lygafe
http://forums.internationalhockey.net/showthread.php?t=7448&page=2
International Hockey Forums > Europe > ISRAEL
Israel Recreational Hockey Association 2009-2010 & 2010-2011 [ Lygafe ]
Israel Ice Skating Federation - From the Media [ Lionel Gaffen ]
http://www.eurohockey.net/news/story.html?id=20090408104226_herzliya_emerges_as_israeli_national_league_champions
Yea
Luke played well.
I loved the nose and aggressiveness he showed on rebounding also especially on the offensive end of the court.
Marquis
One of the quieter aspects of the game was the continued excellent play by Daniels.
I loved the way we worked the switch to get Daniels the ball on guys like Barbosa and he just went to work with the post-up moves. Excellent, excellent post-up play by Quis tonight.
Agree 100%
Daniels is a pretty smooth and effective low post player for a wing player and I love when the C’s use him in that manner…especially against smaller wing players.
On that low post move Daniels made, Tommy on comcast compared it to a Mchale type in the paint scoring move…which it exactly looked like with the great footwork he showed and the dipsy do move he made.
His verstility is great
Like Marquis’ unassuming nature and he’s often able to do what the team needs, given injury and match up circumstances. He helps Celts match up defensively and can often give other teams matchup problems when he uses his length and court IQ on offense.
This is a great strength really throughout this team with their depth and diversity they can give most (maybe all) opponents match up problems. And that helps the Celtics have the upper hand in dictating how the game is played, rather than the other way around. That, along with their commitment and team ethic on defense, creates many obvious pretty easy to very easy offensive opportunities. This shooting percentage stuff is amazing, even with Garnett out.
by SteveZ from Edgemont on Jan 7, 2011 10:51 PM EST up reply actions
Favorite highlight of the night:
Luke? No.
Rondo 3PT shot? No.
Wafer 3PT shot from 300 ft? No.
Shaq tossing bodies to the floor? No.
The winner: Vid clips of Perkins jumping up & down while practicing catch & shoots in the post.
I'll take some of that.
Looking forward to the return of the Beast.
Lygafe
Lionel Gaffen / Fotomix
http://lygaffen.blogspot.com/
http://community.webshots.com/user/lygafe
http://forums.internationalhockey.net/showthread.php?t=7448&page=2
International Hockey Forums > Europe > ISRAEL
Israel Recreational Hockey Association 2009-2010 & 2010-2011 [ Lygafe ]
Israel Ice Skating Federation - From the Media [ Lionel Gaffen ]
http://www.eurohockey.net/news/story.html?id=20090408104226_herzliya_emerges_as_israeli_national_league_champions
I love that
The Celtics know that they have players injured, but don’t use that as an excuse to play poorly.
Unlike the Heat saying “wait till Mike Miller comes back”, or the Lakers “wait till Bynum comes back”
This teams sucks it up, and plays hard no matter who’s out there. They are a no nonsense team. They can have most of their starting 5 out and still find a way to win games. With all that said, I know Perk is working harder than ever to get back on the floor, and I’m pulling for him. With Perk and D-West back, this team would be even more formidable
by OsirusCeltics on Jan 8, 2011 12:00 AM EST up reply actions
luuuuuke! ican’t get the image out of my mind-i.e. the blogger here ( sorry i forgot his name ) who said luke looked like the state trooper giving out tickets. yup. luke gave some tickets to the raptors. for the c’s, who looked bad? maybe tyrone lue but just maybe. ok, bradley looks overmatched-maybe some time in maine will help.
bradley looks like a smaller version of kwame brown(lol)
by Ante Gamisou on Jan 7, 2011 10:39 PM EST up reply actions
I think if Delonte' had not gotten hurt
that Bradley probably would have gotten some time in Maine already. I’d say there is a fair chance he gets sent there.
He’s super young and raw. He’s got a ton of talent. He’s going to be fine, but some bulk minutes playing would really help. You just can’t develop a shooting touch playing 30 seconds every few days.
Agree on the last point.
As well, the Cs are getting very limited practice times these days, owing to one of the toughest schedules in the league this month. If it isn’t a back to back, then it’s a one day break, often with travel involved, where the players are just trying to get some rest.
Once West gets back, and takes his place in the line up, Bradley will become a luxury that will be wasting away, and should be sent for some playing time to the D-league.
Lygafe
Lionel Gaffen / Fotomix
http://lygaffen.blogspot.com/
http://community.webshots.com/user/lygafe
http://forums.internationalhockey.net/showthread.php?t=7448&page=2
International Hockey Forums > Europe > ISRAEL
Israel Recreational Hockey Association 2009-2010 & 2010-2011 [ Lygafe ]
Israel Ice Skating Federation - From the Media [ Lionel Gaffen ]
http://www.eurohockey.net/news/story.html?id=20090408104226_herzliya_emerges_as_israeli_national_league_champions
It's nice to watch a game on occasion where the blood pressure stays at a normal level
A majority of the games that the Celtics have played this year have been the type of game where it goes down to the wire, although we’ve managed to win most of them.
That means that my blood pressure goes up with every missed shot, turnover or defensive goof, and a heart attack becomes imminent at certain points in the game eg. during the Cs-Spurs match-up.
Tonight was a very calm game for me, as it became apparent after the blow out first quarter, that we’d be able to handle them with relative ease.
I really enjoy the occasional blow out, and look forward to seeing some more this season.
What a difference a year makes – last year at this time, i was tearing out what little remains of my thatch on top, the way the Cs were playing – or not, as the case was.
Lygafe.
Lionel gaffen / Fotomix.
Lygafe
Lionel Gaffen / Fotomix
http://lygaffen.blogspot.com/
http://community.webshots.com/user/lygafe
http://forums.internationalhockey.net/showthread.php?t=7448&page=2
International Hockey Forums > Europe > ISRAEL
Israel Recreational Hockey Association 2009-2010 & 2010-2011 [ Lygafe ]
Israel Ice Skating Federation - From the Media [ Lionel Gaffen ]
http://www.eurohockey.net/news/story.html?id=20090408104226_herzliya_emerges_as_israeli_national_league_champions
No kidding
I don’t see the winter slump this season that we had before. I’m only 21, so my blood pressure isn’t as much a concern, but I definitely feel much better watching the C’s at this point of the season as I did last.
love blow outs
My dad is the type who will always sort of root for the other team to make a game out of it. Says he only likes to watch a competitive game. This drives me nuts. To me the ‘best games’ are my team crushing the life out of the opponent!
Especially when the other team wears purple & gold …
ha ha ha, mmmmm
I like the “character building” games, too. Kudos to your dad. (Of course, the Celts have to win those close games, too!)
by thirstyboots18 on Jan 8, 2011 4:53 AM EST up reply actions
Nice to get a blowout...
Nice to get a blowout and keep the starters minutes down especially with Chicago coming up tomorrow night.
Great offensive game all the way around and the defense was great until the C’s slacked off after building such a big lead. NIce to see the C’s rebound well tonight also except Big Baby who is still having trouble on the glass – in 33 minutes of action he grabbed 2 rebounds which has become the norm for him recently.
The only down side is Jermaine Oneal playing 9 minutes and apparently being hurt again. This is extremely worrisome as he had weeks off to rest and has only been back for a few games with limited minutes. If he can’t last a week before getting hurt again then his time as a contributor to this season may be almost over. A lot of people questioned giving him the full mid level exception at this stage of his career, hopefully it doesn’t turn out to be a total waste…
what an exhibition
the C’s gave Toronto a BB clinic today. Good game from Gody! Good win, title 18 closer than ever.
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