POST GAME MIAMI

Well not pretty..........but I'll take it to keep home court advantage alive. It was a good game from the sense that the bench and especially the new guys and rookies played meaningful minutes. This will go a long way for guy's like Moore and Johnson to get the feel of a real NBA game.

Nice to see Sasha and Marquis get their rhythm back and could be factors as we get into the playoffs.

Williams started to flash his athletic ability. Could be an interesting guy to keep around to see if he can make the club come the fall. He is raw and unpolished, but the Celtics have a knack of molding guys into Celtics.

On Artest - The suspension was a JOKE! 7 Games. So you are telling me he looses 1 game of salary and some playoff games!!!!!! How about ....Your out until Harden plays and then you sit 7 games and Oh by the way you're light $500,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEXT GAME THURSDAY @ HOME - MIL BUCKS - 8PM - CSNE/NBA LEAGUE PASS

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POST GAME WEEI 850

FAST BREAK: CELTICS TOPPLE HEAT ON STARLESS NIGHT
By Ben Rohrbach


Of the seven current or former NBA All-Stars on the Celtics and Heat rosters, only Paul Pierce graced the Garden parquet on Tuesday night, and even he only played 18 minutes. That left major minutes for guys like Marquis Daniels and Sasha Pavlovic, the only C’s to reach double figures in an ugly 78-66 victory against the Heat.

Pavlovic (16 points) and Daniels (13 points) helped the Celtics (38-27) outscore Miami 28-16 in the fourth quarter and finish the season 3-1 against the Heat. With only a home game against the Bucks on Thursday remaining, the Celtics trail the Hawks (39-26) — 109-102 winners over the Clippers — by a game. As division winners, the Celtics own the tiebreaker for home court advantage in their first-round playoff series, but they would have to beat Milwaukee and hope Atlanta loses to the Mavericks.

Dexter Pittman (12 points) led the Heat (46-19), who officially conceded the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed to the Bulls.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Quis to the game: From the season opener on Christmas Day to April 19, Daniels never reached double digits in scoring or grabbed more than six rebounds in a single night. He almost exceeded both those benchmarks in the last two games. After totaling 12 points and eight boards against the Hawks on Friday night, he amassed 13 points and five rebounds against the Heat. He’s not likely to see much, if any, playing time in the playoffs, but at least something other than his shoes did the shining.

Block party: With the Celtics clinging to a 54-52 lead in the fourth quarter (yes, the fourth quarter), rookie JaJuan Johnson blocked a Juwan Howard layup attempt. Just 42 seconds later, newly signed Boston College product Sean Williams blocked Howard’s 10-foot baseline jumper, sending it into the stands for a 24-second violation. Williams sandwiched a four points around his rejection to help the C’s establish a six-point lead.

Heroic Herren: Each home game, the Celtics honor a member of the community who goes to extraordinary lengths to help those in need with a “Heroes Among Us” ceremony. Tuesday, the C’s recognized a member of their own community: Chris Herren. The Fall River native and Durfee High graduate battled substance abuse issues throughout a career that led the former McDonald’s All-American to Boston College, Fresno State, the Nuggets (No. 33 overall pick in 1999 NBA Draft) and the Celtics before several destinations abroad. Since recovering from addiction, a journey detailed in the ESPN Films production “Unguarded,” Herren founded Project Purple to fight drug abuse. As a result, he found himself back on the Garden parquet, the recipient of a rousing standing ovation — this time in a suit, clean and sober.

WHAT WENT WRONG

For starters: For fans who paid back in November to see the Heat visit the Garden in the penultimate game of the regular season, a Celtics starting lineup that included Pavlovic and Ryan Hollins had to be a disappointment, even if Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley donned the green and white. What’s worse, the Heat’s star trio all rested for the playoffs, leaving Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra with Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, Shane Battier, Udonis Haslem and Pittman as his starters.

Worst first: In what had to be the ugliest quarter of basketball all season, the Celtics failed to score in the first 6:15 and netted only 10 points in the game’s first 12 minutes. In that span, they committed seven turnovers — five by Pierce — that led to 13 of the Heat’s 17 points. Not until Pierce twisted and turned his way into the lane to bury a fallaway jumper midway through the first quarter did the Celtics get on the board, snapping an 11-0 Miami start.

Big bust: When Hollins cleared waivers and signed with the Celtics, team president Danny Ainge said the former Cavaliers center had earned the respect of Garnett and Pierce during some summer ball on the West Coast over the summer. Whether they still hold his game in high regard remains a question. Outside of a few highlight alley-oops from Rondo, Hollins hasn’t played a meaningful minute since joining the team. He finished scoreless in 25 minutes against the Heat, and his season-high in rebounds is five. That effort came in 30 minutes of action while the stars rested against the Hawks (he had three boards against Miami). Need we remind you he’s a 7-footer?

Nice to watch a game with literally no stress over the outcome.

I agree with the comments about Quis and Sasha.....both have played well lately and one, if not both will be factors at some point in the playoffs.

The Celtics were offering some good deals on seats for last nights game....glad I resisted and went home to watch for free.

MRKleen:

How close do you live, or work, to TD Bank Garden where the C's play?

MD!

MD...

I live in Melrose...which is about 15 min from the Garden...by car or train.

MRK,

The operative word is Stress. However we can get home court if we win tomorrow and Atlanta looses to Dallas. I guess the stress free game was short lived.

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If KG is feeling better and Pierce and Steamer want to give it a go....I say sure. But if any of them would do better with 3 more days of rest...then Doc should run out the bench again...and see how it goes.

They can beat the Hawks in ATL...so not worried about it to be honest.

I've gotten used to cold starts, although not-so-much in the "Avery Bradley period", but last night was ridiculous. 17-10 after one. Pure offensive ugliness by both teams. We unraveled it eventually, though, and powered through the second half.

1. My game ball goes to Sasha. Just to show how tight the rims were last night, Sasha was game high scorer, either team, with 16 points. The first half he played his usual game; sticky D, chasing down errant rebounds and taking the very occasional shot, usually a 3. That's ok for a sub, not enough from a starter. In the first half last night, he was 0-2 in the first half. Luckily for him, and us, there are 2 halves. He went 5-8 in the second half on an assortment of 3s and layups. He was also moving on some of his fgm! Sasha is very much of a face up shooter, shooting on the move not being one of his strengths, but he was doing it all last night. In a game where scoring was at a premium his second half scoring was the difference maker and blew this game open for the Celtics. Nice veteran leadership last night from Sasha, really stepping up in crunch time.

2. Bradley had an underwhelming game. 30 minutes but only 2-10 shooting. They just didn't drop and he got blocked a few times at the rim. Oh well. Fortunately, after the month he has had I don't see how this would have any effect whatsoever on his confidence and that's what really matters.

3. Ryan Hollins' weaknesses became really glaring this game. His offense consists solely of dunks and alley oops. Translated, this means no Rondo, no offense from Hollins. At the free throw line he makes Rondo look like Calvin Murphy. He is an extraordinarily weak rebounder. By comparison, Sean Williams had energy and hops. His defensive rotations were VERY quick. He'd see a Heat player out in the corner by himself and he was already moving that way before the pass ever got there. He was 3-3 from the line while Hollins was 0-4. He had more rebounds in 20 minutes than Hollins had in 25. Offensively is something else. He was taking shots it is clear are not part of his repertoire. Doc needs to settle him down a bit and tell him to not force his offense, but otherwise I was pleased with what I saw from Sean Williams. Probably too soon to make a call, but I like him better than Hollins, after this very short look.

4. Moore handled the ball too much. I understand Doc wants to develop that part of his game, but he's not there and he won't be there this year. Period. He is a great shooter and that's how Doc should use him. He is, in fact, one of the relatively few players on this team that can create his own shot but I don't want him running point. Set a pick for him and free up his shooting hand, have him set up shop and wait for the ball at the 3pt line, I'm looking forward to a lot of that, but not point.

5. JJJ had an ok game. Not great shooting, but he was active and he's starting to get the hang of the NBA defense thing. Doddering old Juwan Howard tried to take advantage of JJJ and struggled trying. Is it just me, but when you see JJJ next to legit bigs, like KG and Williams and Steamer and Hollins, doesn't he look short? He looks more like Durant. I can't see him as really being 6'10".

6. Keyon Dooling had a good game too. Took (and made!) a couple of shots that I never would have thought he'd make. Played good D. Took an elbow to the cheek from James Jones. If I get popped in the face and go down, and I'm bleeding from my face, how do I not get a call?

7. James Jones went off for a bit last night again. Boy, can he stroke that 3! Then the D tightened up on him and he cooled off. Kudos to Dooling for that, he took his elbow to the face following Jones around a pick and Jones flailed his left arm back to try and create some separation (which Dooling wasn't letting him have) and caught Dooling in the chops. Who doesn't want a 6'8" streak shooter like that?

8. Dexter Pittman started at center last night for the Heat. He's a 24 year old rookie out of Texas. 6'10", 285#. Now that's a lot of beef on the hoof. He was 310# in college, so he's actually dropped a lot of weight. He was the Heat high scorer with 12 points on 6-10 shooting. All inside, no jump shots but who needed them. He was a load inside, definitely too much for Hollins. His bulk made him awkward and slow and the refs kept nailing him with fouls. He could become another beast, like Perk, or the next Eddy Curry or Oliver Miller. How can people with this kind of opportunity not have the discipline to push themselves away from the table? Good luck kid.

A win is a win is a win and we won. One more game, win or lose doesn't really matter, and then the games start to count.

bob


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MRK:

So your place is in Melrose, or you live in Melrose Place? (LOL)

MD!

Q, with the tomahawk. Hate the shoes, though.





Dooling, guarding the 6'8" Miller. He also guarded Jones.




After going 6:24 without a basket, Pierce breaks the seal.




Pierce, getting Battier to join the Paratrooper Corp.




Sean Williams blocking Juwan Howard.







Sasha, 4th quarter warrior, seeing an open lane and giving up the jumpshot and taking it to the iron. I loved this. He's a good slasher when he wants to be aggressive.





Daniels, with the assist to Sasha.





Same players, different play. It went in, but the pass to JJJ probably would have been the smarter decision. Still, Daniels seeing the floor well. Notice how Moore looked to pass to Daniels to make the play instead of continuing to take it to the paint himself. Probably the right decision, given Daniel's better floor generalship, but clearly an attempt to get the ball up faster and put it in the right hands.




Nice assist by Dooling to Bass.





bob



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sorry i missed the later part of this on the Game On! thread.. but i lost my t.v. and then took a nap.. been a long 3 days, but it was great to see we came back and won it all.

Matty wrote:sorry i missed the later part of this on the Game On! thread.. but i lost my t.v. and then took a nap.. been a long 3 days, but it was great to see we came back and won it all.

we should be so lucky to win it all...