POST GAME CHICAGO - AWAY

We'll keep it real simple. Winnable game. Stopped running. Does not get easier after this.

Danny, dust your rolodex off and charge your cell phone!

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POST GAME RECAP WEEI 850


FAST BREAK: INCONSISTENT CELTICS LOSE INCONSISTENT GAME TO BULLS
By Paul Flannery

The Celtics were good, bad and then good again against the Bulls on Thursday. Unfortunately for them, the game was four quarters long and by the time the C’s had pulled even with Chicago, they were out of gas. Give them credit for hanging in there against a tough team on the road on the second night of a back-to-back, but the Celtics should be way past moral victories at this point of the season.

The offensive balance returned as Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett all took between 12 and 17 shots apiece. Together, they took about 75 percent of the team’s shots. They just simply didn’t make enough. The defense also returned to previous level with the return of Garnett as they held Chicago to 40 percent shooting. But they gave up too many offensive rebounds (16) and fouled too much (the Bulls had a 28-18 edge in free throws).

It will go in the books as 89-80 loss, their fourth in the last five games and their long road trip is off to a frustrating start.

WHAT WENT WRONG

– Everything that happened in the second quarter. The Celtics were outscored 26-11, but that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. They shot 3-for-15 and were outrebounded 19-4. Omer Asik and Taj Gibson had seven offensive rebounds between them and played only four minutes each. They were scoreless for the first three and a half minutes of the quarter and didn’t make a basket until it was halfway over. Even all that doesn’t do justice to how poorly they played.

– Chris Wilcox and JaJuan Johnson have made their contributions by being energy players. For three quarters, their collective batteries were on low. Wilcox picked up his game in the fourth, thanks to some highlight-worthy lob passes from Rondo. The rest of the bench play was ineffective at best and disastrous at worst. Without an effective second unit to provide support, the Celtics’ starters ran out of steam.

– Speaking of Wilcox, his fourth quarter technical foul couldn’t have come at worse time. The Bulls pushed their lead from five to eight and he went to the bench in favor of Jermaine O’Neal. The momentum the Celtics had built was gone.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

– Not so surprisingly, it turns out that Rondo and Pierce can co-exist when both players are aggressive. Less than 24 hours after a dismal offensive performance against Detroit, Pierce started Thursday’s game looking to score. He made three of his first four shots and while Pierce was doing his thing, Rondo stayed in the background. Once Pierce cooled off, Rondo took over. Together, they took 15 of the team’s 25 shots in the first quarter and set the tone for the rest of the night.

– Ray Allen missed his first seven shots, but caught fire at just the right time, knocking down three straight 3-pointers as the Celtics pulled to within one point by the end of the third quarter after being down by double digits.

– Rondo operating in the post continues to be an intriguing wrinkle for the Celtics. While he’s not a true scoring threat on the block, getting Rondo isolated under the basket with shooters spaced out around him practically dares opponents to try and double-team him.

– Garnett had a double-double in his return from a hip flexor with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics desperately need him to stay healthy the rest of the season if they are going to have a chance.

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ESPN BOSTON

CHICAGO -- Rapid reaction after the Chicago Bulls defeated the Boston Celtics 89-80 Thursday night at the United Center:

HOW THE GAME WAS WON
After a somewhat quiet performance Sunday in Boston, Bulls swingman Luol Deng proved his All-Star status by connecting on six 3-pointers as part of a 23-point, 10-assist effort to pace Chicago. The Bulls' frontcourt of Carlos Boozer (23 points, 15 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (15 points, 15 rebounds) aided a defensive-minded triumph. The Celtics endured a frighteningly chilly six-minute stretch spanning into the second half where the Derrick Rose-less Bulls built a 16-point lead. Rallying out of that hole seemed to take too much out of a weary Boston squad on the second night of a back-to-back. After missing Wednesday's game against the Pistons, Kevin Garnett returned to chip in a team-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting with 10 rebounds. Rajon Rondo added 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, but maybe more impressively, committed only one turnover in 44 minutes.

TURNING POINT
After erasing a 16-point, third-quarter deficit, the Celtics rallied ahead in the fourth frame, only to seemingly run out of steam down the stretch. The energy they spent Wednesday night, coupled with having to battle back Thursday, left them with little in the tank. The game was tied at 69 with 8:29 to play when Chicago embarked on a 10-0 run ignited by a Taj Gibson layup and a Deng 3-pointer. Chris Wilcox lost his cool soon after when he didn't get a foul call on a putback attempt, and that turned into a three-point swing after he got hit with a technical.

C'S REALLY HAD NO BUSINESS BEING IN THIS GAME
The Celtics shot a woeful 20 percent (3-of-15) in the second quarter as the Bulls outscored Boston by 15 in the frame to own a nine-point halftime cushion. Things didn't immediately get better for Boston, as Chicago scored the first seven points after the intermission and led by 16. Things could have gotten out of hand quickly, but a driving layup by Paul Pierce helped settle a ship ready to capsize. The Celtics hit 10 of their final 17 shots in the third quarter, trimming their deficit to one point heading to the final frame.

PIERCE STARTS FAST THIS TIME
After missing eight of the 11 shots he put up in an offensively anemic performance during Wednesday's loss to the Pistons, Paul Pierce registered three field goals in the first 2:11 of the game, producing Boston's first six points. But Pierce couldn't sustain it. He made just one of his final six field goals of the first half and didn't get to the charity stripe. For the game, Pierce finished with 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting with three assists and two rebounds over 34 minutes.

ALLEN GETS GOING LATER
Ray Allen missed the first seven shots he took in Thursday's game, making him a mere 7-for-29 (24.1 percent) over the his last three-plus games. Just when it seemed fair to wonder how bad of a slump Allen was in, he drilled a trio of 3-pointers to close out the third quarter. Allen finished with 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting (3-of-8 beyond the arc) with three rebounds in 36 minutes.

WHAT IT MEANS
Another night, another ride of the Celtics' roller coaster. Boston started fast, faded quickly and should have been buried, only to mount an improbable rally and falter down the stretch. Blame whatever you want: injuries (KG toughed out 31 minutes), the schedule (second night of a back-to-back and start of a five-game road trip), lapses in production. On the heels of consecutive games, Boston will remain in Chicago for two more days, taking Friday off before practicing in the area on Saturday. The team then treks to Detroit looking to avenge Wednesday's loss to the Pistons on Sunday night (another back end of a back-to-back looming Monday in Dallas before a trip to Oklahoma City to wrap up the first half of the season).

An ominous start to one of the most difficult stretches of the season. The balance on this team and what needs to allign to ensure success is precarious at best. The beverages of the day are decaf coffee for a calming effect, or Jim Beam & Jack Daniels to blur the pain.

MD give me the Beam or Makers Mark!

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112288:

If you get too much of the Beam, you might not be able to make your Mark, (unless you're Marky Mark). I hope the old saying is correct that, "You're never as good as you look when you're winning, or as bad as you look when you're loosing."

MD!

MD,

Very poetic at this wee hour of the morning. I guess you have found your mark in life!

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112288:

Which Life are you referring to: Life: the board game, Life: The Cereal, or Life: The Eddie Murphy/Martin Lawrence move from 1999?

MD!

MD

I'll leave that to the eye of the beholder.

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112288:

I don't think that cliche has anything to do with Life, I think that refers to Beauty.

MD!

I know it's a stretch, it's been a long week! TGIF

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I was only able to watch some of the first half (before the bottom fell out).

It seems to me that this team hasn't or can't decide who they are. They keep alternating from a slow the ball down half court (who gets to shot the jumper and that at the last second and as far away from the rim as possible) to a push the ball up the court, sometimes fast break team, which alternates from crashing the boards (1st quarter) to running back on defense and leaving easy rebounds for their opponent to pick up.

Pierce and Rondo seem to be complete opposites. Neither one wants to complement the style of the other. Ubutu is long past. I really haven't a clue what there is to do. I just hope Doc and Danny have.

Berlin,

That jumped out at me all night. If they run and gun and if they apply ball pressure (Bradley) they kill their opponents.

Another observation which bugs me and I have seen this in the last few years.

WHAT THE HELL IS RONDO TAKING THE LAST SHOT AT THE END OF PERIODS!

I have seen this game in and game out. We have 10 may be 15 seconds on the clock at the end of periods to run a play and score. Rondo gets the ball and just sits in one spot dribbling and takes the last shot.....9 out of 10 times a miss!. I do not understand this, have Pierce or Allen get the ball and dribble and let one of them take the last shot.

Blows my mind about the rationale of Rondo handling the ball last in that situation. Saw it last night again!

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i want to know is where is Moore, where is Steimer, where is S. Pavlovic? They fell right off the face of the earth.

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Also, what's up with Marquis Daniels? I assume he must be injured, but I haven't heard anything about it.

Sam

Sam:

A very cogent & cogetative observation. Let's send Angela Lansbury to investigate. We can call it, "Daniels She Wrote". It will be the title on the marqui!

MD!

At least the weather is SUNNY and warm ( for February) up here on the Tug!!

baseball and a little golf can't be far off

beat

Beat:

By little golf, Do you mean miniature golf?

MD!

Berlin-T wrote:It seems to me that this team hasn't or can't decide who they are.

bobheckler wrote:The part that I don't get is the chemistry thing. It's like they just met each other instead of having been together for 5 years. Makes me wonder what's going on in the locker room...?

It used to be "Trick or Treat Tony." Maybe now they're the "Trick or Treat Celtics." It certainly is odd.

MDCelticsFan wrote:Beat:

By little golf, Do you mean miniature golf?

MD!

Just gotta watch out for that windmill is all. Plus I like the green balls, haven't lost one there yet.

beat

Beat:

Don't forget, a hole in one on the last hole most places wins you a free game. The windmills on the miniature golf course are not as dangerous as the windmills of your mind.

MD!

At least the Knicks lost...Thank you New Orleans!

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God I never thought it would get to this!

Pau Gasol, Chris Kaman and now the "Bird Man" Anderson now available for a trade.

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We had a decent stretch against some bad teams to get over .500, but were looking old.....amazed how San Antonio is still doing it.

By next year this team will be all blown up, too bad with a little luck this team could have won 3 championships and even last year, if Rondo doesn't go down I don't know if Heat have heart to beat us last year.