POST GAME BOBCATS

GAME STATS

REBOUNDS - CELTICS 29 /CHR 48.....Offensive - CELTICS 6 /CHAR 16 ......Defensive - CELTICS 23 /CHAR 32
POINTS IN THE PAINT - CELTICS 24 /CHAR 40
FAST BREAK POINTS - CELTICS 6 / CHAR 11
FG - CELTICS - 27/66 (40.9 %) CHAR 35/77 ( 45.5%)
3PM - CELTICS 4/13 ( 30.8%) CHAR 6/17 (35.3 %)
FTM - CELTICS 16/25 (64 %) CHAR 24/30 ( 80%)
TO - CELTICS 13 / CHAR 10
ASSISTS - CELTICS 15 / CHAR 20
STL - CELTICS 4/ CHAR 8
BLK - CELTICS 4 / CHAR 3
PF - CELTICS 21 / CHAR 18
BENCH POINTS - CELTICS 29 / CHAR 31
TOTAL TEAM TURNOVERS (Points off turnovers) – CELTICS 13 (18) /CHAR 11 (11)

NEXT GAME WEDNESDAY HOME - TORONTO - 7:30PM - CSNE/NBA LEAGUE PASS

POST GAME RECAP

ESPNBOSTON.COM

Rapid Reaction: Bobcats 100, Celtics 74

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Rapid reaction after the Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Boston Celtics 100-74 on Tuesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Well, at least Paul Pierce got a night off. Gerald Henderson scored a career-high 35 points on 11-of-19 shooting, while Josh McRoberts put up a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) with one loud fourth-quarter alley-oop finish as the Bobcats led by as much as 28 and defeated Boston for the second time in about a month's span. Jeff Green and Jordan Crawford each had a team-high 14 points (but were a combined minus-38 overall in plus/minus), while Brandon Bass had maybe the only quality effort (10 points, 6 rebounds). Kevin Garnett, who probably should have taken the night off as well, labored through 2-of-10 shooting with five points and two rebounds over 20:31.

TURNING POINT
A one-possession game at halftime, the Bobcats scored the first seven points of the second half and their lead only briefly fell back to single digits. Charlotte was up 15 after three quarters and, after Ben Gordon's 3-pointer moved the lead to 20 with 10:19 to go, Celtics coach Doc Rivers waved the white flag and trotted out a trash-time lineup that featured 10-day contracters Shavlik Randolph and DJ White playing alongside fellow former Chinese Basketball Association alumn Terrence Williams, Jordan Crawford, and Courtney Lee.

RANDOLPH DEBUTS; WHITE VS. FORMER TEAM
Inked to his second 10-day contract on Monday, Randolph made his Boston debut in Charlotte and chipped in four points on 2-of-4 shooting with four rebounds and five fouls over 17:42. DJ White, playing his last NBA team, added three points on 1-of-4 shooting with four rebounds over 16 minutes.

WHAT IT MEANS
Well, that was a hot mess. The Celtics got a glimpse of what a Piere-less offense looks like (and it's frightening, particularly with Garnett struggling with his shot). Charlotte is just a house of horrors for Boston (the Celtics had a seven-game winning streak snapped there last month and Leandro Barbosa tore his ACL). The Bobcats snapped a 10-game losing streak in dominant fashion. The good news for the Celtics: There's another game Wednesday night back in Boston against the Raptors and a chance to put this one in the rearview mirror quickly. But with every game important to playoff seedings, the Celtics fumbled an opportunity for a gimme in Charlotte and instead got flat out embarrassed.
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CSNE

Pierce-less Celtics blown out by lowly Bobcats

A. SHERROD BLAKLEY

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Losers of 10 in a row, the last seven by at least 17 points which is an NBA record.

Something had to break right for the Charlotte Bobcats eventually, right?

And if you're the Boston Celtics, you're asking yourselves, "why tonight?"

In a game lacking emotion as much as effective execution on the part of Boston, the C's fell behind in the first half and could never catch up as the Bobcats knocked off the Celtics - again - by the final of 100-74.

Charlotte had a similar losing streak last month when the C's came to town just hours after a thrilling triple overtime win over Denver.

But the C's had no reason for this one.

None.

Of course, Charlotte's guard play was crucial to the win and for a change, it wasn't former UConn star Kemba Walker leading the charge.

It was Gerald Henderson who scored 21 of his game-high 35 points in the first half.

After a close first half, the Bobcats erupted in the third with a 12-3 run to take their largest lead of the night, 61-49, with 7:37 to play in the third quarter.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers had seen enough and called a time-out, trying to find a way to stop the hemorrhaging as the Bobcats sliced and diced up the C's defense in a way no one expected.

Of course the decision to rest Paul Pierce was certainly a factor. But even without Pierce, the C's had no business losing this game, not like this.

After the time-out called by Rivers when the Celtics fell behind by 12 points, it was clear his message had to do with being more in attack mode at both ends of the floor.

Moments out of the time-out, Jason Terry hit a mid-range jumper.

On the ensuing possession, Terry forced Henderson to turn the ball over. That led to a pair of free throws by Jeff Green.

After the free throws, the C's forced a 24-second violation.

Message received.

It was a disappointing performance on so many levels beyond the final outcome.

Boston has the playoffs to look forward to, and needs to rack up as many wins as possible.

Meanwhile, the Bobcats are just a few more losses away from officially punching their ticket back to the NBA lottery, with every loss they accrue actually helping improve their lottery status.

Boston's low-energy effort was apparent from the very start of the game as Charlotte opened with an 8-0. The C's responded by scoring eight straight to tie the game and eventually took a slim 20-19 lead after the first quarter.

But the second quarter was one in which the Celtics repeatedly showed no signs of taking over the game - at all.

And by allowing the Bobcats to hang around, their confidence steadily grew to the point where they had to believe that maybe just maybe, this would be the night that their 10-game losing streak would come to an end.

It certainly had the makings of such a game which saw Charlotte ahead 49-46 at the half.

Doing most of the damage for the Bobcats was Gerald Henderson, who had 21 at the half which included a 19-foot, buzzer-beating jumper right before the halftime horn sounded.
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WEEI 93.7 FM

NO SHOW: DOC RIVERS GIVES PAUL PIERCE NIGHT OFF AS C’S DON’T SHOW AGAINST BOBCATS 03.12.13 at 9:22 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia

Gerald Henderson scored a career-high 35 points and Josh McRoberts dominated with 13 points and 10 rebounds as the lowly Charlotte Bobcats ended a 10-game losing streak with a 100-74 laugher over the Celtics Monday night at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.

Playing without captain Paul Pierce, given the night off by coach Doc Rivers, the Celtics came out and played one of their most uninspired games of the season. Jeff Green got the start for Pierce and led the Celtics with 14 points. Kevin Garnett had another ice-cold game, finishing just 2-for-10 from the field and finishing with five points. Garnett, who is 8-for-29 in losses to the Thunder and Bobcats, will head into Wednesday’s game needing just five points to pass Jerry West for 15th place on the NBA all-time scoring list.

Similar to Garnett on Feb. 22 in Phoenix, Pierce – the team’s leading scorer – was given the night off after playing in Boston’s previous 62 games. Pierce, who has been battling a nerve problem in his neck, has also been averaging over six assists a game in the absence of Rajon Rondo.

Nowhere was the lack of effort more obvious than on the glass, where the Celtics were outrebounded by the Bobcats, 48-29.

The Bobcats (14-50) entered the game with a 10-game losing streak, including seven straight by an average score of 14 points. They also ended the Celtics’ seven-game win streak on Feb. 11, making Boston one of just four teams to lose to the Bobcats twice this season. The Celtics will have their chance at revenge on Saturday night when they host Charlotte at TD Garden.

Henderson scored at will in the first half, as the son of the former Celtics guard scored 21 points and the Bobcats built a 49-46 lead. Henderson hit a jumper at the halftime buzzer to give Charlotte the three-point advantage.

The Celtics came out sluggishly in the third quarter and allowed Charlotte to open the second half on a 12-3 run. Garnett continued to be ice cold from the field, carrying over his performance from Sunday when he was 6-for-19 against the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

Down 20, 83-63, Rivers pulled the plug on Garnett with 10 minutes left. Shav Randolph and DJ White saw their first action in a Celtics uniform. The Celtics had a season-worst 27 field goals and scored just 28 points in the second half. Boston (34-29) was embarrassed 51-28 in the second half in losing their second straight game.

The Celtics return home to take on the Raptors on Wednesday night at TD Garden. For more, visit the Celtics team

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The saddest part of this loss was the complete lack of effort on the boards (among other places). The rebounding tells the tale. With the exception of Bass I've got a video on rebounding made for 3rd and 4th grade CYO players I'd like to show the team. The chances were there; the players weren't in position. Heck, they were barely in the zip code. Jeff Green came up with a whole two offensive boards, at least double the number of any other Celtic, even with all those Boston shots clanging off the rim and dropping within a few feet like under-inflated kickballs. Also a note to Garnett; love ya man, but you're not a 2-guard.

I'm sure we'll be better against Toronto. I think we've still got some players with enough pride in their game that they won't let the team, or themselves, come out flat a second night in a row.

This game demonstrated the value of Paul Pierce. As I said on the game-on thread, his knowledge and instincts for the game endow him with the ability to make a difference where it matters. There was no cohesiveness in the half court game, and he would have added plenty. There was no push of the ball, and he could have jump-started it by throwing long passes out of rebounds. He would have instinctively moved the right spots in order to improve the awful half-court spacing. He would have added rhythm to a half-court offense that could be best described as organized grabass. That egalitarian offense I've been talking about should have been spelled egOlitaritarian tonight because every Celtic was trying to be an individual hero.

Paul's been rebounding well lately, and lord knows they could have used it tonight. As for the shooting, he can't always be counted on to shoot a high percentage; but (1) at least he might have got some of Garnett's shots from the outside, and he couldn't have done worse than Kevin, (2) even given his diminished slashing ability, he can usually be counted on to find his way to the hoop at least a couple of times to remind his teammates that they're allowed to shoot from within 15 feet of the hoop, and (3) since the team looked like they were entered in a jump shooting contest, at least he might have hit a few—including some threes.

Since I've dumped on nearly everything the Celtics did in this game, I don't want to omit the lack of solid screens. Some teams set what's called a "pick," and then the guy who sets it actually does what's called "rolling" to the hoop. I could exhume five guys from the local cemetery, prop them up, and they'd set better picks than the Celtics did tonight.

The Bobcats utilized a great defense strategy. They "showed" enough at the perimeter to make the Celtics' perimeter shooters hesitant; and, whenever a Celtic showed signs of trying to penetrate to the hole, they formed a protective ring around the paint. If Custer had used that defense, it would have been a fairer fight.

Usually I stick around to hear Doc's press conference after games. I had no heart for it tonight. I hate to see a grown man cry. I'll leave you to guess whether I mean Doc or myself.

The first time I had an alcoholic drink in my life, I had 16 screwdrivers. And, after the bathroom repercussions of that little adventure, I had a better taste in my mouth than I do tonight.

Actually I can't write such a scathing description about a team I love without saying something positive. Are you ready? Wait for it......................Bass!

Sam

I can't help but wonder if the problem lies with Doc Rivers.
After Rondo went down the Celts played absolutely fantastic team basketball. Everyone was involved and everyone contributed.
Lately I get the feeling that Doc has been reinstalling his "system" more and more with team. By that I mean an overemphasis on guard play, not going for the offensive rebound (everyone going back so the defense will be set - a fat lot of good that did them last night in Charlotte) and Avery Bradley dribbling the ball up the court instead of looking for the outlet pass. In other words, it's looking more and more like "Rondo ball" without Rondo. A sure recipe for disaster, in my opinion. There has to be some reason for the disintegration of the free-flowing style of play we saw immediately after Rondo's injury. I've always felt that because Doc was a point guard himself he puts too much emphasis on the position to the neglect of other aspects of the game. As I'm not privy to Doc's thoughts this is of course conjecture on my part. However if this is really the case, then the problem with Rondo's game looks more and more like a problem that lies with Doc.

Last time the Celts lost to Charlotte it was the second of a back 2 back where OT was involved on the front half. That's understandable. This time Pierce was given the night off. The rest of the team took the night off. That's inexcuseable

To Berlin T: Do you think then that Doc's shelf life in Boston has expired?

MD!

MD,

As I already said, my reading of Rivers is conjecture on my part. I suspect it might be true, but maybe I'm off base. In any case it's not up to me to determine if Doc's shelf life in Boston has expired. That's a decision Danny and the owners would have to make.

Hi,
My impression of the game was that most of the Celtics players tagged along with PP.
I hope he, they and Doc are disgusted and ashamed enough to turn this ugly page and start actually playing.

AK

Not many good things to say about this game.

74 points on 41% shooting? Against this team? Horrible.
Giving up 100 points to this team, 35 to Henderson, on 46% shooting? Horrible.

1. Herky-Jerky Jordan led the C's with 14. He's starting to grow on me, but he should never be the leading scorer, others should be stepping up. He just has the weirdest stutter step I've ever seen.

2. With all the money KG has made over the years you'd think he'd be able to buy himself a basket. This is the worst shooting slumps I've ever seen him in. No Pierce and a non-scoring KG made this disaster more likely.

3. A career night for Gerald Henderson, obviously. 11-19 and 12-12 from the line. He only took 2 3ptfgas too. Just an old school beat down, filling the boxscore with mid-range jumpers, layups and fastbreaks.

4. Here was Jeff Green's opportunity to shine as Pierce's heir apparent and he didn't grab the brass ring. He shared high scorer honors with Crawford at 14, but he should have run away with this game.

5. Wilcox played 10 empty minutes.

6. The China Corp got their chances to play. In the first few minutes White and Randolph were on the floor together they looked ok. Who knew that would be their high-water mark? It's not fair nor dependable to judge players based upon the limited exposure they've had, but I'm not going to let that stop me. Randolph OBVIOUSLY hasn't gotten past his days at Duke playing zone. He was active getting his touches on a lot rebounds but he didn't corral them. I understand that with O-boards but with defensive rebounding you're supposed to have the position and be able to do more than just tip the ball up in the air for another grab. That's what the offensive rebounder wants, to keep the rebound alive. He is credited with 4 boards but I swear I didn't see half of them. Must have been when I was still looking for my link. He also got tagged for 5 fouls. One or two of them were good, hard fouls to stop dunks.

7. DJ White made a nice bank shot (LOVE bank shots!) but otherwise was underwhelming.

8. Terrence Williams has had one good game as a Celtic, his first. 3 TOs in 14 minutes, including one inexplicable one where he passed the ball right into the hands of Reggie Williams, who was standing all by himself under the basket. I mean, he hit Williams right between the numbers and there wasn't a green shirt within 12'.

I suppose I should cut some slack here. 8 rebounds, 2 offensive, 7 points on 3-8 shooting and 2 TOs in 34 combined minutes for Randolph and White isn't TOO bad for a couple guys fresh off the Lo Mein Circuit. I didn't see any of the scoring that Randolph did in China though. Williams, though, has had more time, has had more floor time and is making some very, very bad decisions out there. I am starting to see why a #11 lottery pick is not in the NBA. It's the 4" muscle between the ears. KG says T-Will sees plays before they happen, but that pass to Williams tells me he needs to wait until the rest of the team sees the play too.

Now here's an interesting take on last night's game: Seed Management.

As reported on CSNNE, http://www.csnne.com/blog/celtics-talk/felger-seed-management-loss-celtics

Mike Felger thinks the Celtics planned to lose to the Bobcats.

Why?

Well, the C's benched Paul Pierce, and then gave Kevin Garnett just 21 minutes of playing time.

The reason for that, according to Felger, is simple: Being the 6th or 7th seed means they don't have to play the Heat until the Conference Finals, whereas a 4th or 5th seed means they have to play the Heat one series sooner.

The rest of the guys on the show - Glenn Ordway, Chris Gasper, and Kirk Minihane - are a little more skeptical of Felger's hunch.


So, is Doc crazy like a fox, or did we just stink? Or both?


bob


.

First off....Felger is an idiot, that wouldnt know what a basketball was if it hit him in the face.

Second - it happens.

Celtics still have the 3rd best record in the league since Rondo got hurt - so questioning Doc, umm - guess I dont get it.

Moving on....they should whip the Raptors tonight and hand it to the Bobcats on Saturday with many of us looking on in person.