POST GAME DETROIT

I cannot believe we held Detroit to just 96 points and only a 15 point loss. I can tell you by the body language and vibes of the players....something is going down inside that locker room. Rondo is a cool cat but for him to throw a ball at an official (Deep down I cannot blame him) I never seen him lose his cool like that. It goes beyond just this game. He probably will get a 1 or a 2 gamer as well.

Point in the paint - Detroit 42 Celtics 20

Glad to see Moore, Daniels, Pavlovic come out of the dog house and get a few garbage minutes!

Garnett Update - (personal family matter) out vs. Pistons

By Gary Washburn, Globe Staff

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Celtics are going to be without forward Kevin Garnett for tonight's game against the Detroit Pistons and perhaps tomorrow's matchup with the Dallas Mavericks because of a personal family matter.

Garnett participated in practice yesterday and flew with the team to Detroit last night but left the team today. Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he knew Thursday that Garnett would leave the team for a short time. He said he will leave it up to Garnett whether to meet the team tomorrow in Dallas.

Next game Dallas Mav's 8PM TNT.


Game Recap WEEI 850

FAST BREAK: CELTICS GET RUN OVER IN MOTOR CITY 02.19.12 at 8:40 pm ET
By Paul Flannery
For brief stretches of Sunday night’s game against the Pistons, the Celtics looked like a competent basketball team. For most of the night, however, they looked like a team that would rather be anywhere but on the court.

It was hard to pick one moment that stood out as the worst in their 96-81 loss. There was the disastrous second quarter that saw them turn the ball over nine times while allowing six offensive rebounds and 16 free throws. Then there was Rajon Rondo getting thrown out late in the third quarter after a half-hearted comeback attempt had already run out of steam.

The Pistons shot a staggering 46 free throws, compared to 15 for Boston. Say what you want about the officiating — and the Celtics said plenty, picking up four technical fouls — but that speaks volumes about who was the aggressive team.

The Celtics are a .500 basketball team again and with games against the red-hot Mavs and the West-leading Thunder coming up, there’s a decent chance they will be less than that when the All-Star break mercifully happens next weekend.

WHAT WENT WRONG

– The Celtics scored 26 points and shots 65 percent in the first quarter. They had assists on eight of their 11 made baskets and the scoring load was evenly distributed between Paul Pierce, Chris Wilcox and Jermaine O’Neal. That was when Rondo went out of the game for a break, and once again the Celtics’ second unit failed to do anything offensively. It took them almost a quarter to score a basket and by that time Detroit had run up a 38-29 lead. Things were about to get worse.

– The Celtics committed 18 fouls in the first half, yielding 29 free throws. This, naturally, led to complaints about the officiating from Doc Rivers and Wilcox, who were both given technical fouls. Both men had valid complaints, but the Celtics were fouling guard Rodney Stuckey almost every time he drove to the basket because they couldn’t stay in front of him and they weren’t going to the line themselves because they once again turned into a jump-shooting team.

– Of course, the officials had nothing to do with the fact that the Celtics turned it over 13 times and yielded 10 offensive rebounds in the first half.

– Frustrated over a lack of calls, Rondo got shown the gate when he whipped the ball at referee Sean Wright late in the third quarter. The Celtics need more from their point guard.

– JaJuan Johnson got pushed around physically by the Pistons front line. He better get used to it because that’s how it’s going to be every night until he proves himself.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

– The Celtics once again kept a team under 40 percent shooting. It would have helped if they had rebounded those misses.

– O’Neal had eight points, five blocks and 11 rebounds.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ESPN BOSTON
Rapid reaction after the Detroit Pistons defeated the Boston Celtics 96-81 Sunday evening at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

HOW THE GAME WAS LOST
The Celtics entered Sunday's game with a 7-1 record when holding teams below 39 percent shooting on the season. The Pistons were a mere 31-of-82 shooting (37.8 percent), but shot a whopping 46 free throws -- missing more of them (17) than Boston attempted (15). Boston also turned the ball over a whopping 24 times, giving the Pistons a second win over them this week and running the Celtics' current losing streak to three games (and five of the last six). Paul Pierce scored a team-high 18 points over 34 minutes, while Jermaine O'Neal chipped in eight points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks over 26:47. Greg Monroe paced five Pistons in double figures with 17 points (to go along with 10 rebounds).

TURNING POINT
The Celtics, who trailed by 13 at the intermission after giving up a 29-point second quarter, clawed within five midway through the third frame, but things went south quickly. Boston went nearly six minutes without a bucket and, amidst the dry spell, Rajon Rondo got ejected from the game. The Pistons went on a 12-0 run during that stretch, opening a 71-54 lead before Ray Allen finally ended the scoreless drought with a 3-pointer with 93 seconds to go in the quarter.

RONDO FLIPS BALL, GETS TOSSED
Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo earned a double technical after flipping the ball off an official while arguing the lack of a foul call during the third quarter of Sunday's game against the Detroit Pistons. Read more HERE, but it's likely Rondo with face further discipline from the league (fine and/or suspension).

STIEMSMA'S FIRST DUNK
Rookie Greg Stiemsma threw down a two-handed jam late in the first quarter off a nice feed from Keyon Dooling. It was the big man's first dunk of his NBA career. Entering Sunday's game, Brandon Bass led the team with 21 dunks, while Chris Wilcox and Jermaine O'Neal each with 18 behind him.

RIVERS T'D UP
Rondo wasn't the only one getting a technical on this night. Celtics coach Doc Rivers earned a tech for arguing the lack of a whistle for an illegal screen (one of three that could have been called on the play) before a Damien Wilkins' 3-pointer put the Pistons out front, 38-29, with 6:49 to go in the first half. Rivers barked at the officials (an incredulous Rivers' telling the referee, "You're looking right at it!"). With five technicals this year, Rivers is among the leaders among NBA coaches.

WILCOX GETS ONE, TOO
After picking up his fourth foul of the first half, Chris Wilcox voiced his frustration and earned his second technical in as many games. Just a sign of the frustration on this night.

WHAT IT MEANS
Well, that was ugly. Sure, the Celtics were playing without Kevin Garnett and Brandon Bass, but this one was rather inexcusable. The whistles went against Boston early and the team lost its cool. Boston ruined an otherwise solid defensive effort by hacking everything in sight and you're simply not going to win many games when you give the opposing team 46 free throw attempts (and couple it with 24 turnovers). No rest for the weary. Boston takes that three-game losing streak to Dallas for the tail end of a back-to-back Monday against the Mavericks.

I don't think I've ever seen a game where a Boston opponent attempted 31 more free throws than the Celtics.

46 to 15 FT advantage for the Pistons? Jeez.

When the Celtics could not keep up defensively they resorted to the hack.

112288

I don't know whether people are simply shocked at the immensity of the free throw disparity or (like Tommy) feel the refs did a lousy job. That disparity was tprimarily a result of relentless inside aggressiveness by the Pistons and lack of the same on the part of the Celtics, who shot jumpers as though they were on a trampoline.

Sam

Sam,

I like that description trampoline. It puts a good bounce to my day!

112288

Question

Where has the Captain been on all this? Paul Pierce seems to have disappeared on all this.

Who is the Captain or the Leader...Pierce....Rondo?

Interesting!

112288

Bad loss...still difficult to know where this team is because of all the injuries.

Dboss

dboss wrote:Bad loss...still difficult to know where this team is because of all the injuries.

Dboss

We may not know where our team is with being shorthanded in many recent games but we sure as Hell know where the Knicks are - right even with us now after being five games behind in the loss column two weeks ago and about to leave us in the dust for the seventh spot in the playoff picture. And I don't see us winning either of our next two games (no KG or Bass again tonight against an angry Mavs team?), facing Dallas and OKC in our last two before the break. We could go from winning 9 out of 10 to losing 7 out of 8. Quite a depressing turnaround.

But let's get everybody healthy and take our shot down the road. We could be a handful to play if we have all available bodies on hand (I know it's a long shot when you look at our birth certificates).

112288,

I have a question for you. Starting with a statement. I used to do fairly lengthy game-after analyses on this site. I have to admit they were easier to write after a win than a loss. During periods when the team was really floundering, summoning the energy to write reasonably objective, insightful commentary became almost unbearable. (Long statement, but it sets the stage for my question.)

My question is how you get motivated to start a game-after thread with every game. I realize that you excerpt some of your posts from media sources, but you still have to put it all together. And you do it remarkably soon after the games too.

It's to your credit that you consistently undertake this very important feature of the board. My hat is off to you, and you deserve a huge amount of thanks from board members for this and all your other contributions.

All the best,

Sam

Simple Sam,

I LOVE THE CELTICS AND I LOVE SAM'S CELTIC FORUM AND EVERYONE WHO BELONGS TO IT...THEY ARE FAMILY!

Hey, give me a shout if there are any improvements you think need to be made.

Why I post either WEEI or CSNE or ESPN Boston, I realize that there are many who live outside of Boston, Ma. and for that matter outside the U.S. who do not know of these sites but who would like to get a review and commentary from the local Boston scribes. My strategy is simple. I list the recap(s) and I let the professional beat writers and reporters set the tone for salient topics and insights to the game and the Celtics. I am hoping the recaps will spur discussions by whoever reads the recaps.

Thank's Sam

112288

112288:

From this point forth, I shall consider you the caring, informative innovative conveyor of knowledge and thought-provoking banter for the ardent fans of the franchise that spurred (not San Antoinio) this website!

MD!

112288

Having missed many games your posts even if it is copied and pasted is nice to read. So a thanks from up here on the TUG.

beat

MD

Aren't we the play full scribe of Sam's Forum!

112288

Thanks Beat!

112288

112288:

You know it! I scribed very well with my body wash when I showered this morning! (LOL)

MD!

Beat:

What is known as The Tug?

MD!

steve3344 wrote:I don't think I've ever seen a game where a Boston opponent attempted 31 more free throws than the Celtics.

46 to 15 FT advantage for the Pistons? Jeez.

Absolutely agree.

You simply CANNOT take the poor officiating out of the equation when evaluating a game like this. Every time the Celtics made a run, they were hit bad a rash of bad calls. Rondo was guarding Stuckey - and EVERY TIME he put the ball on the floor, Stuckey went to the line. Rondo get hammed on a drive, knocked on his face and the ref refuses to even look at him. That kind of bush league play was the straw the broke the camels back so to speak.

Detroit is an agressive team and drives a lot....sure. But they are also a dirty team. Ben Wallace is a joke at this point. He is either setting moving screens - holding on screens - or flopping all over the court and Tom Washington (who is an incompetent dope) totally played into his hands.

The NBA officials are a disgrace - plain and simple. Is that why the Celtics lost...no, but to just brush off a 31 FT discrepancy as 'nothing' is not being fair and balanced. Sorry.

RONDO SUSPENDED!

UPDATE TO FOLLOW

112288

Text size – +
Celtics' Rajon Rondo suspended 2 games
Link|Comments (12) Posted by Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff February 20, 2012 05:18 PM

By Gary Washburn, Globe Staff
Celtics guard Rajon Rondo has been suspended two games by the NBA for arguing a call and throwing the ball at offical Sean Wright in last night's loss to the Pistons.

Rondo believed he was fouled by both Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe on a drive to the basket with about 3 minutes left in the third quarter and the Celtics trailing 66-54. After the no-call, Rondo picked up the ball after a Celtics' 24-second clock violation and whipped it underhanded to Wright as Wright's hands were up as he made the call.

Rondo then continued to argue the call and said, "That was a foul (expletive)," before being ejected for the first time in his career.

112288

Funny if we win without him!

112288

MDCelticsFan wrote:Beat:

What is known as The Tug?

MD!

MD

Where I live. The Tug Hill Plateau. Known for heavy lake effect snow 300+ inches most winters ( not this one) A town on the Tug had a record 8+ feet of snow in one 24 hour period a couple years ago. Look at any map of New York State, Tug Hill is just to the east of it and the elevation goes to just over 2000 ft, Thus when the conditions are right, a cold west wind over a cool but not frozen Lake Ontario, moisture is picked up and due to the rise in elevation the clouds DUMP it in my backyard. Lake effect can be in very narrow bands, some places can get several feet then 10 miles away NOTHING. All depends on the wind direction. If you go to Google earth you can see the Tug hill area is the large green patch just to the east of the lake, I live on the northern fringe of that green. Little Village of Lorraine is a couple miles from my home.

beat

Beat:

Thanks for the explanation & lession in geography. How far are you from Ticonderoga NY. My uncle lives there.

MD!

MD

Quite a ways. That clear on the other side of the Adirondacks. Probably a good 5 hours anyway, really no direct route either.

beat