POST GAME - TORONTO - HOME

NEXT GAME - FRIDAY - AWAY - TORONTO - 7:30PM

JUST A NOTE - RONDO WILL BE ALONG SIDE MIKE AND TOMMY FOR MONDAY NIGHTS HOME GAME AGAINST THE BULLS............THAT SHOULD BE VERY INSIGHTFUL AND A WHOLE LOT OF FUN.

Rapid Reaction: Raptors 99, C's 90

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Rapid reaction after the Toronto Raptors defeated the Boston Celtics 99-90 on Wednesday night at TD Garden:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Terrence Ross scored a team-high 24 points while connecting on five 3-pointers, while Kyle Lowry added 23 points with four triples to help the Raptors fend off a late charge by the Celtics. Jared Sullinger got hot in the final frame, scoring 19 of his game-high 26 points in the final frame. Avery Bradley added 16 points (but was a minus-22 overall in plus/minus over 37 minutes), while Chris Johnson provided needed energy off the bench while scoring 13 points over 26 minutes. Rajon Rondo finished with nine points, 15 assists, four rebounds, and two steals over 32 minutes.

TURNING POINT
The Celtics were down two with under two minutes to play in the second quarter before things got away for a bit. The Raptors closed the frame on an 8-1 run to push their lead to 55-46 at the intermission then Lowry hit a pair of 3-pointers to open the second half as Toronto's lead ballooned to 15. Sullinger got hot beyond the arc and Boston rallied as close as 3 (84-81) with 5:54 to play, but Lowry and Co. kept making key shots to keep Celtics at arm's length. The Celtics clawed back within a possession (93-90) with 1:49 to play, but Lowry and Ross hit consecutive triples to push it back out of reach.

NINE STITCHES FOR No. 9
Rondo caught an inadvertent elbow while running the baseline in the third quarter. He needed nine stitches to close a gash between his eyes, but returned in the fourth quarter. Rondo started fast, putting up double-digit assists while playing the first 15 minutes of the game. The elbow kept him off the floor for much of the third quarter and he couldn't quite help the Celtics rally all the way back.

LOOSE BALLS
The Celtics turned the ball over just 10 times, but couldn't fully capitalize on Toronto's 17 giveaways. ... Joel Anthony was a healthy DNP for Boston. ... Chris Babb got some first-quarter action when Jeff Green was pulled early (he played only 20 minutes overall). ... The Celtics held a moment of silence before the game to honor those that lost their lives battling the nine-alarm fire in the Back Bay on Wednesday.

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics (23-48) have dropped two straight and seven of their last eight overall. Boston shuffles into a tie with Utah for the fourth-worst record in basketball (though the Jazz host the Grizzlies late on Wednesday). The Celtics will take Thursday off before finishing off this home-and-home by visiting Toronto on Friday night. A second home-and-home looms against Chicago on Sunday and Monday.
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FAST BREAK: RAPTORS CLAW CELTICS, RAJON RONDO ENDS UP IN STITCHES

WEEI - By Ben Rohrbach  
 
At the end of the third quarter, Rajon Rondo was getting stitches on his face, Jared Sullinger was 3-for-11 from the field and the Celtics trailed by 15. They never quit — far from it — but still suffered a seventh loss in their last eight games, 99-90 to the Atlantic-leading Raptors. (Yes, the ones from Toronto are winning the division.)

Rondo (9 points, 15 assists) returned from an elbow to the face in the fourth quarter, and Sullinger (26 points, 8 rebounds) totaled 19 points on just six shots in the final frame, but the C’s (23-48) couldn’t erase a double-digit Raptors lead. Avery Bradley (16 points) and Chris Johnson (13 points) also reached double figures.

The Celtics are currently tied for the league’s fifth-worst record.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Closing second: After regaining the lead with five minutes to play before halftime, the C’s defense fell apart. The Raptors converted their final six shots of the half, raising their field goal percentage from 40.6 to 50.0 at the break. Toronto’s nine-point halftime lead rapidly reached double digits early in the third quarter.

Interior defense: Back-to-back relatively uncontested Jonas Valanciunas third-quarter buckets punctuated a putrid night defensively for the Boston bigs and forced a Brad Stevens timeout. Out-rebounding the Celtics and outscoring them in the paint, Toronto’s starting frontcourt combined for 36 points and 16 rebounds in the first 30 minutes as the Raptors built a 68-54 lead midway through the third.

In stitches: A horrific third quarter only got worse when a Greivis Vasquez elbow split open Rondo’s face between his eyebrows. Replaced by Phil Pressey 5:42 into the frame, Rondo received nine stitches before returning to the bench with a bandage on his face a couple minutes into in the fourth quarter. He returned with 8:05 left.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Mondo Rondo: The Celtics captain singlehandedly kept them in the game through the first 15 minutes. He had his hand in their first eight field goals (2 layups, 6 assists). A couple Green drives broke up Rondo’s perfect start, but he got right back to work. When Rondo took his first breather 3:09 into the second quarter, he had impacted 13 of the C’s 15 field goals (3 layups, 10 assists), and they led 35-33.

Johnson on the rise: As he has for much of his brief Celtics tenure, Chris Johnson made the most of his minutes. Checking in for Green, who submitted the prototypical Jeff Green performance, Johnson was everywhere. In 10 second-quarter minutes, he converted a 3-pointer, a pull-up 8-footer and a fast break layup while halting DeMar DeRozan‘s fast start (including a highlight reel chase-down block after Kelly Olynyk failed to convert a 3-on-1). Johnson’s effort anchored a 13-0 run that erased a double-digit Raptors lead early in the second quarter.

Sully late: After finishing 0-for-3 in the first quarter and scoring only seven points through three quarters, Sullinger erupted in the fourth. He made three consecutive 3-pointers to cut Toronto’s lead to four in the final minutes.

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SAM,

Hope you and Sally are ok....what a storm!  Nantucket reported a wind blast of 86mph....Martha's Vineyard a blast of 78mph and a buoy off of central Maine has a blast of 118mph!

Stay safe...........Karen and I send our love.


112288

Our starters are not beating other starters.  That, in my opinion, goes right to the core of our losing.  Yeah, I know about the lack of a rim protector and all that, but the bottom line is that our starting forwards aren't usually beating their starting forwards.  Tonight, our starting back court looked pretty good, but so did theirs.  It is rare to see all our starters be "on" at the same time and that's troubling.  You can't just dump it on one or two players and have the other 3-4 look on in wonder.  Playoffs usually result in shortened benches, with the starters playing more minutes.  If our starters can't hold their own against the opposing starters, how far into the playoffs can you go?  One round, max.

After the game I went to a bar for a beer (or three) and watched the Miami-Indy game (boy, did that get physical!) and the crawler at the bottom.  Whenever they showed this game they mentioned the points scored by Ross, DeRozan and Lowry every time, occasionally mentioned that Rondo had 15 assists and 9 stitches but didn't mention Sully's game-high 26 points.  I hate ESPN, except for when they air Celtic games so I can watch the game while drinking an Anchor.

1.  Rondo had 10 assists in the first quarter.  He probably would have had more than the 15 he ended up with if not for the accidental elbow to the head from Vasquez.  Rondo really sliced and diced them up last night.  What I liked was that he didn't just do it in the half court, he ran too.  More of that, please, lots more of that.

2.  Bradley was shooting well for most of the first half.  He had 8 points after one and 12 at the half.  It didn't hurt that he was being guarded by the defensively-challenged DeMar DeRozan.  He cooled off in the 2nd half, but that's because someone else was demanding the ball.

3.  Sully, Sully, Sully.  Man, did he come alive in the 4th and almost single-handedly win this for us.  Zero points in the first quarter,  only 5 at the half, 7 after 3 but 19 in the 4th.  He was 3-11 from the field and 1-3 from 3 after 3 periods but ended up 8-17 and 4-6 from 3.  Simple math, that means he went 5-6 and 3-3 from 3 in the 4th.  He also had zero ftas through 3 but was 6-8 from the line in the 4th.  He cut to the hoop, he used his 3pt shooting to draw his man out and then blew past him (in an 18-wheeler "blows past" something type of way) to the rim.  It was beautiful.  Dwayne Casey put Chuck Hayes, who is one of the hardest working players in the NBA, on him and Sully just ate him up.  Hayes is incredibly strong, relentless on the boards (6 rebounds, 3 offensive) and 6'6", 250# and he didn't know what the hell to do with Sully.  Sully is probably the only "untouchable" on this roster.  If Rondo were to sign an extension now, rather than letting it go to next season, then he would be too.

4.  Despite all this, I'm inclined to give the Unsung Hero Award to Chris Johnson.  His numbers are not as impressive as Sully's or Rondo's or even Bradley (the last two were tasked with defending Lowry and DeRozan too) but he was impactful.  He plays with great energy, which was infectious.  He ran the fast break with Rondo, finishing a few times and another time drawing the defender to him which gave Rondo the lane to the hoop, which was something I saw last night which I have bemoaned not seeing more of from CJ.  Previously, he'd have run to the corner and waited for a pass for the 3.  Last night he went north-south straight for the iron.  If he had run to the corner Rondo would not have gotten that layup because the defender would not have had to have cheated.  He trailed a fast break, being the 3rd man, and got the putback.  He dove to the floor for a jump ball and then won the jump.  Read the Game On thread and see how many times his name came up.  He was everywhere and just about everywhere he was something good was happening.  I have been leery of his ball handling (although appreciative of him not trying to play outside of his game by over-dribbling) but last night he put the ball on the floor, towards the hoop, and did well.  He had trouble defending Terence Ross, but Ross has come into his own and is one helluva scorer now.  CJ's game has expanded from just being the "designated bench corner 3-baller" to being trusted in crunch time by Stevens.  Last night, loss and all, was an exciting one for Chris Johnson.

5.  Kelly had a weak beginning, but got a little stronger later.  I HATE that he doesn't dunk when he's at the rim.  He needs more aggression in his putbacks.  He did get an incredibly rugged offensive rebound, probably the most physical one I've seen this year.  He was surrounded and just flat-out muscled the ball away from 3 Raptors.  To be honest, I didn't notice the team-leading 3 steals he was given credit for.  He has developed a very nice chemistry with Phil Pressey.  Too bad I don't feel optimistic about Phil's chances next year.

6.  Although, Pressey played well last night.  When Rondo went out for the stitches Pressey came in and generaled a very nice uptempo game.  He made a bad decision or two, ok, but why?  I saw those mistakes as him being reluctant to shoot.  He overpassed on a fast break, creating a turnover, because he was reluctant to finish himself.  I'm beating a dead horse here, we all know this is his biggest glaring weakness and that's an oddity itself.  One would think his stature would be his biggest glaring weakness but it's not, it's his shooting.

7.  Babb came in, played Ross like he was glued to him on one possession (Ross finally got past him on, I think, his 3rd twirl to the basket) and got sat down.  I'm not understanding what Stevens expected to see from Babb, what he did wrong.  Did he want Babb to play off Ross and let him shoot from outside?  That would not have been a good approach, not the way Terrence Ross was shooting last night.

8.  Our starting front court of Bass, Hump and Green were a combined 6-18, 14 points, 11 rebounds.  Terrence Ross is 6'6" and scored 24 points on 9-16.  Our 6'9" SF scored 6 points on 3-9.  We had big problems with Valanciunas' size.  Ok, I can deal with that, we know we have that roster hole, but while we are threadbare thin at 3 with Wallace out we should be winning that starting matchup.  Jeff Green is looking like a Rondo-like player, a player who needs a reason to have a big game (although Rondo looks like he might have outgrown that this year).  When Green plays at home in the D.C. area, he has big games.  Against LeBron or Durant and his former team OKC, he plays well.  Otherwise?  It's hit-or-miss.  Should we just be happy with the 39 point Wow!s that very few players are capable of ever delivering even once, or do we have a reasonable argument for wanting just more consistency or, at the minimum, beating players he is clearly better than?  Is asking a player to play to his level and not up or down to his opponent's level asking too much?

9.  Steve Novak got a Coaches-DNP.  I can't find any news about injury.  Interesting that a gunner par excellence like him can't get on the court.  Same with Landry Fields, a DNP.  Novak is playing 10mpg in his last 10 games and Fields has played a grand total of 1 minute in just 1 game in this last 10 games and only played 7mpg in March. So, they gave up Bargnani for two players that together don't put make a solid rotation player, a first rounder and a 2nd rounder.  No wonder I think Danny's a genius.  Then again, Bargnani isn't looking so great in NY either.  Toronto and NY just traded pink lemons for Meyer lemons.

10.  Yippee!  We almost averaged 41% fg%!  Time to wake up and smell the sarcasm.  40.5% shooting and only 79fgas is no way to win games.  We got whipped on the boards 48-36.  If we can say something nice here that is not individually-oriented, we only had 9 TOs.  That's why this wasn't a blow out.

We need BIG.  There's no way 21 year old Valanciunas should be getting 15 and 14 off of us (or anybody else, for that matter).  I realize Rome, and Banner #18, wasn't built in a day but I shudder to think of going through next season with a center corp of Vitor, Kelly and Cauley-Stein or Vonleh.

Brooklyn lost and the Toronto win helps solidify that playoff pecking order and doing that locks us into a better draft position on our second 1st rounder.  Talk about trading lemons.


bob


.

When your bench is scoring 57% of your points, it's time for a critical look at your starters.  Humph gets a pass from me because an off-night scoring-wise is a aberration for him.  Rondo also gets a pass because is directly responsible for lots of points other than his own.

Bass is steady Eddie.  Incidentally, has anyone noticed how often he gets opening tips against taller foes?  On occasion, he can even be a momentum changer.  But I'm slowly coming to realize that the number of ways he can hurt the opponent are a little more limited than is desirable on an ongoing basis.

It's hard to argue that Bradley, their most consistent recent scorer and a defensive stalwart, should be anywhere other than their starting lineup.

Which leaves, among the starters, Jeff Green.  Frankly, I've grown tired of trying to fathom his game, but—in technical terms— it sure sucked last night.

While thinking about the starting team (and the fact that they habitually get more minutes than the bench), I'm also thinking that the next ten games represent the shank of the season for pushing the developmental process.

I'd suggest a move that is bold only if one seriously thinks the Celtics will make the playoffs.  Although I don't like seeing Sully out of position at center, I do enjoy watching him and Kelly play together.  IF the Celtics do get an intimidator (I refuse to call him a rim protector because that's misleading in a limiting sense), they'll need a backup center.  And maybe Sully could move over from PF with Kelly flanking him at PF.  With the girth of one, the height of the other, and the outside shooting and passing threats of both, they could combine for some pretty nice moments on the floor.  So I'd start Sully at center and Kelly at PF for the duration of the season.

At the other forward position, I'd put Gerald Wallace except that he seems to be a bit under the weather.  In his absence, I'd actually start Chris Johnson.  Maybe playing him at SF would get him away from his "bad little boy" corner roost.  He's been finishing quite a few games for Brad; why not have him start a few and put him to a somewhat more rigorous test at a position where ballhandling is not quite as important as at SG?

I'd leave the starting backcourt alone and enjoy watching more of what Rondo and Avery can do together.

So:

Starters:

C-Sully
PF - Kelly
SF-Johnson
SG-Bradley
PG-Rondo

Reserves:

C-Humph (good soldier who will respond in any situation)
PF-Bass (let him operate against second-echelon opponents)
SF-Green (take pressure of expectations off, substitute effect of anger on his production)
SG-Bayless (seems to respond to underdog situations)
PG-Pressey (sort of a last fling at proving he should stay)

This could be as close to fantasy basketball as the real thing gets—and a hell of a lot more instructive.

Sam