POST GAME MILWAUKE

I think Danny Ainge should seek and find a good psychiatrist rather then a good trade. This team has become an enigma.

What i liked about tonight, they came out with energy and sustained it all night even after playing a back to back! Best third quarter of the year. Loved the huge points in the paint disparity that the C's ran up.

Listening to the NBA channel tonight, good point was made by one of the player analyst, do not trade your best player and a player who you know what he can do. I AGREE - KEEP RONDO! But we have to put up with his maddening moments.

Odem could be the key to the Celtics if they want to get to the Eastern Finals or Finals.

Next Game Friday 7:30 pm CSNE NJ Nets

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POST GAME RECAP WEEI 850

FAST BREAK: CELTICS BUCK TREND, WIN TWO STRAIGHT

In the lockout-shorteneded season, the NBA has seen nine triple-doubles, and Rajon Rondo now has three of them.

It had been 22 days since the Celtics last won two straight games and the same time span since they won a game by double digits. At least Rondo’s 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists helped erase one of those streaks and bring the Celtics back to .500 at 17-17. The C’s let a 17-point fourth-quarter lead dwindle to two in the final 20 seconds, but four Kevin Garnett free throws sealed the deal, 102-96.

Garnett (25 points, 10 rebounds), Chris Wilcox (7 points, 13 rebounds) and Brandon Bass (16 points, 7 rebounds) combined for 48 points and 30 rebounds to lead a rare inspired effort on the glass in the victory.

Drew Gooden (23 points, 8 rebounds) and Ersan Ilyasova (25 points, 10 rebounds) carried the Bucks (14-21).

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Good Rondo: With 13 points, six assists and five turnovers midway through the third quarter, the triple-double watch binoculars for Rondo got dusted off early. The point guard seemed capable of working his way into the lane at will, and generally that produces good things for the Celtics. He finished with 15, 11 and 10, but made it look easy in the flow of the offense.

Quarter barreling: Over a six-minute period in the third quarter, the Celtics turned a 60-55 deficit into a 77-64 lead (that’s a 22-4 run for those counting at home). While Pierce struggled for much of that stretch, everyone else picked up the slack, led by nine third-quarter points from Brandon Bass.

Board to death: Despite giving up 11 offensive rebounds, the Celtics managed to grab 12 of their own on their way to a 52-49 rebounding advantage. Wilcox led the way with 13 off the bench, while Rondo, Garnett, Bass and Pierce all chipped in at least six.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Sad Truth:In the first four minutes of the third quarter, Pierce started 0-for-6 and committed two turnovers. He’s had his share of sloppy play this year, but that may have been his worst stretch of this roller coaster season. He finished the game with 10 points (5-12 FG), six rebounds, five rebounds and four turnovers.

Turkish terror: Ilyasova entered the game averaging 14.2 points and 11.0 rebounds, and he closed out February in style, totaling 10 points in the first quarter alone to keep the Bucks in the game early. His 15 second-half points helped the Bucks get back into the game late, as the C’s let a 17-point lead dwindle to two in the final 20 seconds.

Glass backwards: Same old story. While Garnett was busy jawing at various Bucks, Gooden and the Larry Sanders show combined for seven first-half offensive rebounds, totaling 22 points and 10 boards between them by halftime. Milwaukee’s 13 offensive boards marked the 10th straight game the C’s have given up double-digit o-rebounds.

Sloppy play in the last 2 1/2 minutes or so made this game a lot closer than it should have been. At 2:56 left, we were up 98-83, and then the Bucks went on a 13-0 run. It took 4 KG fts in the last 14 seconds to ice it. We were 0-5 and a Rondo turnover during that stretch.

And Andrew Bogut didn't play.

This is another bad team, missing a key player (like Cleveland was without Varajao) and we can't bury them. To borrow a phrase from Jesse Jackson, the Celtics "keep hope alive" for their opponents.

Offensively, all 5 Celtic starters were in double figures. 87 fga is a very healthy number. 26 assists is a good number against 40 fgm is a nice 67% ratio. Our 3-16 3pt shooting hurt us. Defensively, we held them to 41% shooting, with Jennings shooting 2-11 and Carlos Delfino (who started out hot) shooting 3-12. The majority of their damage was done by Ilyasova who worked inside and mid-range, and Gooden who worked a lot from mid-range. Our defense didn't want to follow Gooden out to 20' and he made us pay repeatedly.

1. Mike Gorman (YES! I got a feed with Mike and Tommy! After listening to almost every other announcing crew in the NBA, and a couple that were in french and spanish, it was nice to hear familiar voices) said that there have only been 8 triple-doubles this season, and Rondo has 3 of them. Fine, as long as you don't talk about "Bad Rondo" we're ok. Last night we got the good one. It didn't hurt that pint-sized Brandon Jennings had an almost non-existent night (until the last minute and a half). I don't mean to rain on Rondo's parade, but have you noticed he has big games against lesser talent, but has his lunch handed to him against top shelf point guards like Westbrook and Nash and Paul? Teammates set screens for Rondo and he used them to get layups. Can he do this consistently? Will he be with the team long enough to show us? We've all heard the rumors, and so has he. Enjoy this, I don't know how much longer we'll get to see it. The rumor mill is saying that, at the heart of this, is that Doc and Rondo aren't seeing eye-to-eye. You know that Danny will side with Doc.

2. Another great night for KG on both ends of the court. Two in a row, back-to-backers no less. He is playing at 2008 levels now. No matter what happens this year, I'm loving watching one of, if not THE, best PF/C of his generation play at levels nobody thought they'd see again at his age. Admittedly, the last two games he was guarded by Semih Erden and Drew Gooden, but he showed that he's still got enough to take advantage of mismatches when he gets them. 25 points on 9-18 shooting, 10 boards in a very efficient 31 minutes. Good time management by Doc.

3. Ersan Ilyasova. A Turk with a Russian last name. More evidence that basketball is not about running faster or jumping higher, but about being at the right place at the right time, playing aggressively and with energy and executing. Very solid game by a relative unknown player in these parts. 25 points on 11-19 shooting kept Milwaukee in this. 10 rebounds, 4 of them offensive, by a player who is largely earthbound. He just went to his spot and waited for the ball. He watched the shot go up and then went to where he expected the ball to come off the backboard. I enjoy watching players like him more than I like watching high-flying supermen like LBJ or frankensteins like Howard. Ilyasova actually has to play the game of basketball, as opposed to just overpowering his opponents with his physical advantages.

4. Another blah night for Pierce. I don't get it.

5. Another super game by Chris Wilcox. 13 rebounds, 6 of them offensive, in 26 minutes. For a team that is not a good rebounding team, he is invaluable. We are soooooooo much better a team offensively when he runs the floor. I don't care if he never takes halfcourt shots as long as he runs. When he runs, it completely disrupts the opponent's frontcourt offensive flow, since they have to fall back with him and not attack too aggressively.

6. We outrebounded them 52-49. Those are two significant facts, that we outrebounded them (anybody, really) and that we got 52. That's a lot of boards. We also offensively-outrebounded them 18-16. Almost 35% of our prodigious rebound total were offensive. That's very nice. Very nice. At 32% they were right behind us, and that's not so good, but I'll take our effort and results all day everyday especially from a team that is dead-last, #30 out of 30, in rebounding.

This is our last home stand of the season. We have 3 more games at home (NJ, NY and Houston) and then we don't have 2 home games in a row until the playoffs. We play 17 games in March, 11 on the road (April is a little easier with 15 games and 8 on the road). We play back-to-back games in the Staples on 3/11 and 3/12 against LAL and the Clips. The good news is that they get to stay in the same hotel and can have a practice day. The bad news is that those are going to be very tough games and then we go up to Oakland to play the young guns of GSW. That's a tough schedule. There's no point in crying over spilled milk, about how we should have a better record today because of the easier schedule we've had so far. We are where we are. Champions can win anywhere. Here's our chance to toughen our minds up and prove it.

bob

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