POST GAME MILWALKEE

Well the season has come to a close. Kind of have mixed feels. I am looking forward to the playoffs and banner #18 but it also brings us closer to summer vacation and no Celtic Basketball. It also spells some big changes coming to the Celtics as another era comes to a close and a new one begins with a lot of new players. But Oh Was It Fun While It Lasted!!! We also had the birth of SAM'S CELTIC FORUM and the greatest Celtic Fans anywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrads to Rondo for winning the Assist Title, first since 1959 and Bob Cousey!!!!!

62 Years Ago tomorrow Red Aurerbach became the coach of the Celtics!!!!!!!!

Game was good for the starters to get some rhythm, and the bench got some real playing time as well. The guy showing me something with no practice with the Celtics is Sean Williams. Going to be an interesting training camp come October with Steamer, Wilcox, Williams and Hollins fighting for a spot. I think the team is mentally prepared for the playoffs and with a little luck we could go all the way.

We will open in Atlanta on Sunday. Not sure of the time but it may be the evening game.

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POST GAME WEEI 850


FAST BREAK: RAJON RONDO, CELTICS STOP BUCKS SEASON HERE
By Ben Rohrbach

Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Mickael Pietrus all returned to the lineup, and the Celtics cruised to an 87-74 victory against the Bucks in their regular-season finale.

The trio combined for just 13 points, but Rondo dished out 15 assists despite taking just one shot. Avery Bradley (14 points) and Paul Pierce (12 points) were the only Celtics to reach double digits, but the Celtics (39-27) cruised nonetheless.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Recovery act: At times, Rondo ran the floor like, well, a guy with a bad back, but it appeared more like an act than anything worth concern. He toyed with defenders at will, improving his streak of games with at least 10 assists to 24 by halftime. Meanwhile, Pietrus returned from his four-game absence to register nine points off the bench. Garnett only played 11 first-half minutes, but he showed no signs of the sore hip flexor that kept him out against the Heat. All in all, the trio of walking Celtics wounded appeared ready to go for the playoffs.

S’Moore: After totaling seven points and seven rebounds against the Heat on Tuesday night, rookie E’Twaun Moore put together another nice performance. At one point against the Bucks, he was a plus-18 in his time on the floor. Moore finished with eight points, five assists and four rebounds.

Hollins of Fame: It took all of 51 seconds for Ryan Hollins to put together his most productive stretch of the season. He scored seven points in just under a minute, including a pair of dunks — one of which even came on a putback after a rebound — that helped the Celtics establish a double-digit advantage early in the second quarter. After a month of discouragement, Thursday night was an encouraging sign for Hollins.

WHAT WENT WRONG

My left big toe: Just minutes into the game, Pierce limped back to the Celtics locker room accompanied by team Dr. Brian McKeon — a scary sight for a Celtics team hobbled by injuries entering the playoffs. Scarier still was the Celtics diagnosis that Pierce had sprained his left big toe and was “probably not likely to return.” Naturally, the C’s captain returned before halftime, scoring seven of the team’s final 11 points before the break. The feet have been an issue for Pierce ever since his heel injury during training camp, but on a night he accept an Eastern Conference Player of the Month trophy, his injuries don’t appear too serious.

Ray of hope: While Rondo, Pietrus and Garnett all returned, Ray Allen missed his ninth consecutive game — and 15th in his last 20 — with bone spurs in his right ankle. Celtics coach Doc Rivers pronounced Allen “probable” to play Game 1 of the Hawks series, but even if he does play, there has to be some doubt about his effectiveness after such a long absence. As for Greg Stiemsma, his foot problems shouldn’t keep him from his first career playoff game, even if he missed a second straight game on Thursday.

On the road again: With the Hawks holding a 20-point lead midway through the fourth quarter against the Mavericks, they appeared well on their way to claiming home court advantage in their first-round series against the Celtics. The C’s will own the fourth seed as the Atlantic Division winners, but will have to travel to Atlanta for Game 1 (on Sunday). The Celtics finished 2-1 against the Hawks (1-1 in the ATL) this season, but 2-0 when they weren’t missing five of their top eight rotation players.

A last chance for the bench to play before Doc shortens his bench for the playoffs.

1. Sean Williams continues to impress me. I'm not liking his shot selections, but he took fewer questionable shots last night than the first game he played. Now that some of the "yips" are gone he doesn't have as much to prove. Solid defense, 1 block. 4-4 from the line, which I really like. Hollins scares the crap out of me at the line. 7 boards in 19 minutes. For someone who just showed up with the last drop of rain, he's fitting in well which is important given he doesn't have much time to fit in. Danny might have pulled off a minor coup here.

2. Hollins game has improved of late, as noted by Berlin on the game on thread. Could it have to do with the arrival of Mssr. Williams? He had a Steamer-like game with 4 blocks in 23 minutes. Can you believe I can actually say that someone had a "Steamer-like game", referring to a player that got splinters in his ass for the first part of the season, and have it actually make sense and be a positive? Ok, my man-love for Steamer is showing again. Still, Hollins played good weak-side defense. Still can't do anything with a ball outside of 2'.

3. JJJ has lost his shot rhythm. He was taking, and missing, HIS shot from 16'. Moore has done a much better job, mentally, of keeping himself ready to get off the bench and contribute than his Purdue teammate has. Still, JJJ had 8 rebounds in 17 minutes and God Knows we need rebounders.

4. Moore came in and lit up like a microwave, and then he cooled off. He was 3-5 and then went 0-5 to end up 3-10. I'm not worried about the 0-5, he won't be getting 25 minutes in the playoffs, but I do like the fact that he came in and had an immediate impact. He might get the nod sometime and have to play a few minutes while Ray rests or Sasha/Daniels sit out foul trouble or such, and being mentally ready to step on the court in rhythm and score, score, score could be a big help to us some game in the near future. He had 3 steals, that's very good, but 6 TOs. I think we need to stop trying to force this kid to be a point guard, now, and let him be what he is and that's a SG. There's plenty of time in the summer and in training camp to work on this, but not now. Let's not confuse the kid.

5. Decent games for Dooling, who hit his 2 3s, and Daniels. Daniels has his game back. The offense is again coherent when he's handling the ball. His favorite shot, posting up his man in the lane and shooting over him, is a little off, but you can see he's getting that back. That's a shot that will improve only in game situations. You can't practice shooting over someone who isn't right there, you need to feel their body. Sasha took too many shots. He felt so good about his last offensive showing he just had to try and do it again. Ok, you tried, now please don't again. You're almost certainly in the playoff rotation, Sasha, you don't need to prove anything.

A meaningless game. Still, it's better to win than lose and we blitzed them with a 39 point 2nd quarter. Everybody's ready for this season to end. They scored 13 points in a "I can't wait to hit the beaches" 4th quarter and we scored 9 points in a "when does our flight to Atlanta leave?" 4th quarter.

The real deal starts Sunday. Go Celtics.

bob

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RosalieTCeltics wrote:I just read where Flip Saunders is here in Boston to work with Doc. They said he arrived with luggage, which indicates he is staying a while. What does he bring to the table that the Celtics need? Offensive coaching? Garnett handling? I am puzzled

Rosalie,

He's going with them to Atlanta too.

Flip is one of the very few people KG will listen to, Doc being the other.

Maybe this is part of Boston's "let's keep KG happy and here next year" strategy, by bringing in his old coach from Minny.

I wouldn't read too much into it yet. With Thibs, Clifford Ray and Frank gone we are thin on playoff experienced coaches. Maybe he's going to help out as a big man's coach for Steamer, Williams and Hollins?

bob

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Working with some of the new Bigs.

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