POST GAME WASHINGTON

So that's what the parquet floor looks like in TD Garden...Wow!

Good home game back from a long road trip and a tough loss Friday. Sometimes teams ease up when at home but the Celtics put their foot to the peddle. A little let up early in the 3rd but the C's picked it right back up and never gave up. Good Win tonight!

Ray Allen, meet Avery Bradley!

The kid gets better and better each game and he can run like a deer! He is part of the Celtics future and I know we will enjoy his play!


Next Game - Monday 7pm @ Char. Bob Cats - CSNE/NBA CH.

POST GAME WEEI 850 AM

FAST BREAK: CELTICS CALL CURTAINS ON WIZARDS OF LOSS
By Ben Rohrbach

Who needs Ray Allen when the Celtics have Avery Bradley?

Starting in place of the injured Allen (ankle), Bradley emerged as the unlikely offensive hero in a lopsided 88-76 victory against the lowly Wizards (11-37), tallying a career-high 23 points to help the C’s (26-22) climb back to within a game of the 76ers (27-21) for first place in the Atlantic Division (depending on how Philadelphia fared against the Spurs later Sunday night).

Held scoreless for the first quarter, Paul Pierce added 21 points and eight rebounds.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Avery Shuttlesworth: Bradley outscored the Wizards 15-12 all by himself in the first quarter. The same Avery Bradley who had only reached double digits six times all year and entered the game shooting 47 percent from the field. He set a season-high in scoring, and did it by totaling 13 points just 5:15 into the game. By first quarter’s end, Bradley had totaled 15 points on perfect 7-for-7 shooting.

Stieming up: Like Bradley, Greg Stiemsma also started perfect from the floor (4-for-4), totaling 10 points and seven boards by halftime — seemingly on his way to his first career double-double (although he recorded neither a point nor a board after the break). Raise your hand if you had Bradley and Stiemsma as the leading scorers for the Celtics at halftime of a game they led 53-34 through the first 24 minutes.

Stoppable: Whether it was good defense or bad offense — or more likely a combination of the two — the Wizards started an atrocious 3-for-25 from the field, as the Celtics built a 33-12 advantage only 3:20 into the second quarter. The team’s leading scorer, John Wall, missed his first five shots and didn’t score until the final minute of the first half. In fact, Washington didn’t match Bradley’s 15 first-quarter points for the game’s first 16 minutes.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Halftime nap time: As was their custom the last two seasons, the Celtics got a little too comfortable and let a seemingly insurmountable lead evaporate in the first portion of the third quarter. Led by Wall (12 points, 9 assists) and Jordan Crawford (20 points), the Wizards outscored the C’s 13-2 to start the second half, turning a 19-point deficit into a more manageable eight-point margin. Thankfully, the Celtics didn’t sweat too much, scoring eight straight to swell the lead back to 16.

Foul play: About 10 seconds into his home debut, Ryan Hollins picked up a foul. That came two nights after earning a technical foul 20 seconds into his Celtics debut in Philadelphia. Either way, the start of the Hollins era hasn’t exactly been pretty. In two appearances, he has registered one rebound — needless to say, not good for a 7-footer. Not to mention the fact a pair of his mental lapses led to two Wizards dunks, at least partly understandable considering he just joined the team.

Scoreless Rondo: Sure, Rajon Rondo (4 points, 11 assists) recorded double-digit assists for the ninth straight game, but he also has 10 combined points in his last two contests. Particularly with Allen, Mickael Pietrus and a host of other injuries, the Celtics are going to have to rely on Rondo for more than a few attempts at and around the basket per night, because we all know they can’t depend on Bradley and Stiemsma to carry the load on a regular basis. To be fair, Rondo scored a pair of big buckets once the Wizards cut the lead to 10 in the final minutes of the game.

good win...holding down home court against a weak opponent.

AB looked great.....so did Steamer.

Next.

Wow Avery Bradley with the breakout game!!! I just got done watching the Grizzlies beat the Lakers and one of the keys to the victory was old friend Tony Allen, the ESPN commentators were giving him his due saying he does so many little things that don't show up on the boxscore, gets his hands on so many balls.....imagine if we still had TA and Perk? think Durant likes having Perk as an enforcer anchoring his defense? Anybody see him nudge Dwayne Wade with his foot? wish he woulda kicked him for real.

Shooting is a skill that can be acquired and improved with repetition, were always complaining Rondo has nobody to run with, well we got a guy AB, that has a burst faster than most other points and lately hes been hitting his outside shots. The key for an uptempo game in the future is how much AB can improve as an all around player and earn that starting SG spot with Ray as a deadly well rested sniper. This could work and I would love to see it develop.

forgot to mention how much I love watching AB defend

A little peek into the future perhaps? Always great to see a young guy have what looks like a breakout game. Always great to see the Celtics get out to a fast start and make the other team wear itself out trying to play catchup. Combine those two situations, and it's a phenomenal feeling.

It's always good to retain a sense of reality, though. Just as the Wiz started to do in the second half, all teams adjust to the demonstrated strengths of young players. Only time will tell whether Avery's strengths are so unique that they can't be seriously diminished even by opponents who know all the adjustments and when and how to apply them. Same thing for Stiemsma really.

Lately, Ray has had difficulty getting separation from his defender during the first half of games but has tended to come on strong during second halves. My theory is that defenders can keep up with him when they're fresh but have more difficulties doing so when their energy has been somewhat sapped.

On the other hand, Avery seems to be the kind of guy who shocks opponents right out of the box and does much of his damage in the first half. By the second half, opponents seem better prepared to deal with Avery (see above).

Could it be that, in terms of allocation of minutes, Doc would be well advised to err in Avery's direction during the first half, err in Ray's direction during the second half, and—in either case—be mindful of SG height matchups? I believe something along these lines could help the Celtics get out to faster starts while affording their best clutch shooter more energy and better separation in crunch time.

Sam

Sam

You may be on to something here.

And while I dont see it happening this season, maybe if they bring Ray back...they bring him back as the 6th man.

Instant offense off the bench and on the court in the 4th with his rested legs ready to hit big shots.

Sam and mrkleen

for years the Celtics arguably had a better player on the bench than they started on the Court (Havlicek) and later on McHale in his first year or so.

I remember in some article that Red always liked that idea so if the starters were a little slow out of the gate he could jucie things up a bit by inserting a player like Hondo. And even if they weren't he had a leathal weapon to add to the attack.

Future could be right in front of us.

beat

I didn't see the game, so I can't comment directly, but we should keep in mind, with both AB and GS, that next year will be the real eye-opener. Next year, they'll be scouted.

bob

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bob

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