POST GAME OKC

It was nice to see the Celtics keep their "Celtic Pride" and play hard to the end. I just do not know how much longer the "Celtic Faithful" will accept the way the team is losing. It is getting tougher. Nice game by Bradley. He is a tough kid with great skills.

Speed Kills................Boy can OKC run................Hope we can find that when Green returns next year.

WELL ALL STAR WEEKEND IS HERE.

Rondo added to All Star team with Atlanta's Joe Johnson getting hurt.

Date to watch is March 1st when teams can trade players sign this year. Trading deadline is March 15th stay tuned!

Next game Tuesday Feb. 28th Cleveland @ Cleveland @ 7:00 PM

112288

POST GAME RECAP WEEI 850

FAST BREAK: ANOTHER CELTICS COMEBACK FALLS SHORT
By Paul Flannery

The most disturbing thing about the Celtics road trip was that they didn’t hit rock bottom until the very end. One might have thought it came against Detroit when the Celtics lost by double digits to one of the worst teams in the league and Rajon Rondo was ejected and ultimately suspended for two games. Nope.

One might have though it would have happened against the Mavericks in a game where they struggled to score 73 points and were never seriously competitive from the opening tip. Not even close.

Rock bottom appeared in the first half on Wednesday when their vaunted defense was shredded to the tune of 72 points in a 119-104 loss to Oklahoma City. It was the first time in 29 games that an opponent had scored over 100 points against the Celtics. Not only did the Thunder shoot 57 percent in the first half. They also made 8-of-12 3-pointers and the Celtics didn’t record a single steal or block.

Making it worse they actually got within six points late in the fourth quarter after being down by 27 points. Like most Celtics’ comebacks this season, it wasn’t enough. They have now lost five games in a row and seven of eight.

The only consolation is that the All-Star break is mercifully here. They’ll need those five days off to recover and try to get healthy. Brandon Bass, Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox all missed the game with injuries in addition to Rondo, who was serving the second game of his suspension.

WHAT WENT WRONG

– The Celtics actually led 22-12, but OKC came back with a 25-3 run and that was basically that. The Thunder actually scored 21 straight points, slicing through the Celtics’ depleted second unit. OKC outscored the Celtics 27-4 in bench points in the first half, and the immortal Royal Ivey actually doubled their total.

– The bench has been a problem all season, but with Bass, Wilcox, Rondo and O’Neal things got ugly. Keyon Dooling, in particular, had a miserable night. It’s worth asking halfway through the season if he has a role anymore. He’s not a backup point guard and Mickael Pietrus has taken his minutes behind Ray Allen.

– Free throws and rebounding were again their undoing in a first quarter that should have seen them build a lead. At one point in the first quarter, the Celtics were shooting 69 percent while holding OKC to 39 percent and they had a one-point lead. How? The Thunder had four offensive rebounds and 11 free throws.

– Every time the Celtics crept within single digits, Russell Westbrook or Kevin Durant made a play. They combined for 59 points.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

The Celtics jumped out to a 13-4 lead and the energy was palatable right from the opening tip when Paul Pierce scored a layup off the opening tip. They were in attack mode, aggressively challenging the Thunder defense. That’s when things fell apart.

– Avery Bradley had one of his best offensive games as a starter, with 12 points and five assists. He not only made a couple of mid-range jump shots, he also throw down an electrifying dunk on Durant and successfully ran a pick and pop with Kevin Garnett. The last part may not sound like much, but that’s a major improvement from where he was last season.

– Garnett was solid in his return after missing two games because of a family issue. He scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in 38 minutes of work. All five starters scored in double figures.

The Celtics in spite of their rash of injuries and long list of inexperienced players - made a VALIANT come back tonight.

You add the 4 injured players to the line up tonight and the Celtics are right in the game till the end.

Bad road trip....but they are playing with a very depleted team, and at least tonight they competed down the stretch.

112288, thanks for moving my post to this thread. I'm now re-posting it under my name so you won't get blamed for any of my comments. Thanks again. Sam

I’ve been anything but the eternal optimist lately, but the massive 27-point lead amassed by the Thunder actually provided a proving ground that produced a number of glimmers as far as I’m concerned. Remember that my definition of a glimmer is something that can be built on over time—not just an instance of someone having a good game.

• As much as I dumped on Avery Bradley earlier in the season, he continues to grow. And, for once, I’m not talking mainly about defense. He actually accepted the role of playmaker, especially in the second half, displaying a pretty decent facility for running the pick-and-roll with KG and collecting five assists in the bargain. He’s also knocking down jumpers. And he clearly gave Westbrook fits at many points during the comeback from -27 to -7.

• KG may have had some hip problems, but he demonstrated an ability to play big minutes (38) when necessary. And no one’s about to lay any crap about tired legs hurting his shooting (8-11). Furthermore, he was a defensive bulwark down the stretch, and he was the old KG intensity-wise—doing the hand clap thing and being a general cheerleader on the floor. And Doc’s now saying that he tried to take Kevin out, but Kevin wanted to play.

• Speaking of non-tired legs, I recall mentioning on the Game-on Thread, near the end of the first half, that the Celtics had zero fast break points. Despite being so far behind (by 27 points) midway in the the third quarter, part of their "never say die" attitude is demonstrated by the fact that they ended the game with 21 fast break points.

• Without Rajon Rondo, the Celtics assisted on 71% of their made field goals. That is an extremely high number. (Their average for the season is 64%.) And, in the midst of all the dysfunction that's been occurring plus the negative effect of their halftime deficit, I think it's encouraging that one very important indicator of emerging chemistry occurred in this game.

• Pietrus is now beginning to attack the basket, varying his game so he’s not such a predictable perimeter player. And, despite Durant’s points, I thought Mickael played him really tough on the defensive end.

• In short, as Doc said he told them after the game, if they play like they did in the second half with a healthy squad for the rest of the season, they’re going to be tough to beat.

In all the misery of the recent past, it has sort of slipped beneath the radar that the 1011-12 Boston Celtics rank third all-time in terms of consecutive games without allowing 100 points. That streak was broken tonight, at 29 games.

We all know that the main problem has been offense. (Yes, the interior defense has also been porous lately but I lay at least some of the to lack of experienced bigs.) And I believe the main problem with the offense has been lack of chemistry (due very largely to lack of continuity). The collectivity of these glimmers offers a hint of the aforementioned improvement in the chemistry department. Considering the rash of downers that has been raining on this team, I’m more optimistic that I expected about prospects for the second half of the season.

I get a kick out of all the so-called "experts" who analyze the Celtics' performances as though they were at full strength and had been playing with a high degree of continuity all season long. I guess it's a trap that anyone can fall into, but give me a break!

One final observation. The Thunder has also had a number of injuries this season. They're an example of a team whose chemistry is not so greatly affected by injuries because one of their main strengths is athleticism, rather than precision. A team can still run fast and jump high when missing members of the squad. Attempting to gain precision in the face of discontinuity is another matter.

Go Celtics!

Sam

I'm not really worried, games played now don't really mean anything, this is not the team we'll have around playoff time. Glad Avery Bradley is getting minutes and hitting his midrange shots and now hes learning how to pass. With all his athleticism, once he gets it he can be a force for years both ends.

As the New York Giants have just proved regular season don't mean squat, if we can get healthy and get in a groove come playoff time we'll be a beast.

OKC has had some injuries to their "bit" players - but the core of the team Durant, Westbook, Ibaka, Cook, Perkins, Harden - have played in every game this season.

The Celtics on the other hand have lost a ton of man minutes from starters and core contributors. Rondo has missed 11 games, Allen 5, KG 4, JON 7, Wilcox 10, Bass 8.....they are not even comparable.

You take Westbrook away for 11 games and Durant away for 5 and see how OKC does.

Hi,
Unfortunately I couldn't watch the whole game - just bits and pieces. Therefore only a couple of comments.
I like how MP plays and how he fits into the team. I hope DA'll pick him for the next season or 2.
The last game is one of a very few game where Celtics scored over 100. And this is without BB and RR and PP going 5-15.

Also, from what I saw re OKC, unfortunately, they are not, IMO, championship material: sure they can squeeze there on luck and 4 games of fantastic shooting but the probability of that is very, very low.

AK

What a roller coaster ride this game was. We started out great, built up a nice little lead and then BANG!, there it goes...Nice rally in the 2nd half but they dug themselves in too deep. We should keep in mind that OKC now is tied with Miami for the best record in the league. They have arrived. Put another way, playing without our all-star point guard, starting center and backup center, we still made a run at the best team in the league.

Our weak-side and baseline defense was porous last night. Usually, it's our offense that's a problem. Well, when you score 104 points and shoot almost 49%, it's not the offense. When you give up 119 points on 50% shooting, the problem is the defense. They went on a 30-3 run, starting 5:24 left in the first and continuing until 10:12 left in the 2nd. The score was 22-12 and the run ended at 42-25. I'm sure I've watched games that had 30-3 runs in them in the decades I've been watching NBA basketball, but none come to mind. Here's the lineup on the floor when Le Deluge began: Pietrus, Bradley, JJJ, KG and Allen. At 4:11 left in the first, Daniels came in for Pietrus and the score was 23-18 Celtics. At 2:44 Dooling and Steamer came in for KG and Bradley and the score was 25-24. By the time Moore came in to replace Daniels at 11:33 in the 2nd, the score was 25-38. So, with Bradley and KG out and Dooling and Steamer in, OKC went on an 0-14 run, and it only took them 3:17. Ray Allen's man, Daequan Cook, had 9 of them.

We're just missing too many players right now. JON, Wilcox, Rondo. Those are big players for us. MrKleen is right, OKC's core have been healthy. Of course, that's more likely to happen when your team is young. Would the addition of those players have made a difference? Hmmm, hard to say, of course, but I'd say not. Rondo doesn't play Westbrook too well. He gambles too much. JON and Wilcox vs Perk and Ibaka? Not much difference this game since neither Perk nor Ibaka had good games. But you have to expect Durant and Westbrook to be the stars on this team, you have to expect them to get their points. The player who killed us, IMO, was

1. Daequan Cook. His 3s were hugely impactful in the last few minutes of the first quarter. 17 points for a player that is averaging 6.

2. James Harden was another difference-maker. In my opinion the odds-on favorite for the 6th man award. I love this guy. I would kill to have him in green. Can shoot from outside, great crossover dribble, physical defense. I would have thought Sasha could have defended him halfway decently but Sasha never got off the bench. 6-10 for 17 points, 7 assists for Harden. He'd be a starter on any other team except for OKC, Chicago, Miami and Boston (Durant, Deng, LBJ and Pierce and I think he might give Deng a run for his money). He played great defense on Pierce last night. When the Perk trade was being talked about I was hoping we'd get Harden instead of Green, but OKC wasn't that stupid.

3. Very nice all-round game by Bradley. Hit his jumpers, played sticky defense and did some nice pick-and-rolls with KG. Considering the way OKC overplayed the passing lanes all night I'm surprised there weren't more backdoor cuts by us. When we did, though, they were effective every time. I guess that's a glimmer. I was impressed the way he guarded Durant on a couple of switches. Sure, Durant had his way with him a few times (he had a big physical advantage) but I thought he did pretty well on most of those. This summer Bradley needs to work on his crossover dribble. The mark of a penetrator is a killer crossover dribble. He's fast, he's showing he can be aggressive, now he just needs to do more than just run the ball up to the top of the circle and pass it. He needs to be able to get his man behind his hip and that means coming off of picks and crossover dribbles. He showed this game that when he gets into the paint he can kick it out to a shooter, so he has some court vision. Still, the kid's advancing nicely.

4. Paul who? Most of his points came on free throws, but his shooting hurt us. Two quick fouls within the first few minutes took him out of the game and out of his game. The second foul was odd. Initially called a charge by one official, it was then reversed. Replay, to me, looked like a charge. Instead, Pierce gets to sit down. Big call, a real game changer. He couldn't be on the floor when OKC started their run. 8 assists, he was our point forward last night. Ray Allen had 7 assists. They did a good job of filling in for Rondo, in terms of floor generalship, but their defense? Not good, IMO.

5. Durantula was on last night. 30' 3ptrs? Gimme a break. We held him to his season average, so I guess we can't complain. Well, except maybe about Pierce and Pietrus taking their eyes off him baseline. Solid all-round game for Durant. That fall-away turnaround jumper in the lane is almost unstoppable against a 6'9" SF.

6. Our bench collapsed last night. Dooling stunk the place up by not running plays, not playing better defense on Westbrook (I'm not sure who could have) and by hoisting one bad 3 after another. Decent game by JJJ. Daniels, Steamer and Moore were placeholders. Their bench outplayed ours decisively 31-9.

7. We're pretty much a perimeter team this year, but with the exceptions of those relatively few, but beautiful, pick-and-rolls we were way too heavily a perimeter team last night. Unfortunately, I don't see anyway to improve that. We can, and should, run but in the halfcourt...? We yar wot we yar.

This team has to be healthy and playing well, on all 8 cylinders, for us to win against good teams. Currently, we're none of the above.

bob

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