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FAST BREAK: SIXERS NIX CELTICS, RAJON RONDO’S TRIPLE-DOUBLE

WEEI - By Ben Rohrbach  

This was far from a nationally televised game, but Rajon Rondo managed his first triple-double of the season — and first since tearing his ACL on Jan. 25, 2013 — but it still wasn’t enough for the Celtics in a 111-102 loss to the lowly 76ers.

Rondo finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists, but the Celtics dropped their seventh straight game to fall to 23-53. Jerryd Bayless led the C’s with 23 points. Brandon Bass (11 points, 12 boards), Jeff Green (15 points), Kelly Olynyk (14 points) and Jared Sullinger (10 points) also reached double figures.

The Sixers, meanwhile, “improved” to 17-59. Philadelphia and Boston have the second- and fourth-worst records in the league, respectively.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Everything: The Celtics barely shot 40 percent from the field and committed 22 turnovers against a team battling for the NBA’s worst record. Need we say more?

Worst first: The Celtics failed to come out firing on all cylinders against the Sixers. Instead, the engine wouldn’t start. They started 0-for-7 from the field and committed three turnovers over the opening 4:29. Luckily, Philly nearly matched their ineptitude, only taking a 6-0 lead in that span.

Powe-r to the people: Early in the first quarter, the Celtics showed Leon Powe on the Jumbotron. The highest profile member of the 2008 championship team the Red Sox could convince to take part in their home opener festivities earlier in the afternoon, Powe received a smattering of applause from a surprisingly sold-out crowd. He probably deserved more than that, but perhaps then again Celtics fans may have forgotten how to clap this season. Although, they did manage to orchestrate a wave as the Celtics trailed 74-69 late in the third quarter, so there’s that.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Mondo Rondo: The Celtics had just six field goals in the first quarter, and Rondo assisted on five of them. He also had half of their rebounds in the quarter. Since returning, he’s made a concerted effort to get his teammates involved early, forgoing his own scoring in an effort to ignite the offense. In that respect, little has changed. And without him, it’s unclear whether the Celtics would have qualified as a basketball team after 12 minutes.

Bayless is more: Starting in the absence of Avery Bradley (strained right Achilles), Bayless found his stroke after a shaky first few minutes, and the fireworks continued throughout an otherwise ugly first half. He probably could’ve done without the double No. 1 finger salute to the sky on a 3-pointer in the opening quarter, but he managed 18 points — including 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc — before the break. Through 24 minutes, Bayless started 6-of-12 from the floor, his teammates were a combined 10-of-32 (31.3 FG%) and the Celtics lead 51-49.

Over the Hump: The Kris Humphries-Brandon Bass frontcourt has not been a successful pairing, getting outscored by 10.4 points per 100 possessions, and yet Celtics coach Brad Stevens has started the tandem for the past 19 games. By halftime of the 76ers game, apparently, he had seen enough. Stevens finally inserted Jared Sullinger into the starting lineup to begin the third quarter. Of course, that didn’t work, either.
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Rapid Reaction: 76ers 111, C's 102

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Rajon Rondo resumed his role as Mr. Triple Double for the first time since the game he tore his ACL last season, but even that wasn't enough to save the Boston Celtics as the Philadelphia 76ers, the tankiest team in the NBA, scored a 111-102 triumph on Friday night at TD Garden:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Rajon Rondo produced his 29th career triple-double -- and first since the game he tore his ACL in Atlanta on Jan. 25, 2013 -- as he put up 11 points, 16 assists, and 11 rebounds over 38 minutes. Michael Carter-Williams, the Hamilton native and Rookie of the Year candidate, responded with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting with six assists and six rebounds, while Henry Sims added 24 points (while shooting a whopping 18 free throws) to go along with nine rebounds. Jerryd Bayless scored a team-high 23 points for Boston, which put six players in double figures for scoring.

TURNING POINT
The Celtics were down nine early in the fourth quarter, but made it a one-possession contest with six minutes to play and it seemed like only a matter of time before they cranked it up a notch against a 76ers team that had lost 28 of its last 29 games entering Friday's tilt. It didn't happen. Carter-Williams scored Philadelphia's next seven points before Thaddeus Young added consecutive baskets as Philadelphia stretched its lead to 10 with little more than two minutes to play.

LOOSE BALLS
The 76ers shot 50.6 percent overall (39 of 77). ... The Celtics turned the ball over 22 times leading to 23 points ... Phil Pressey, all 5-10 of him, threw down a two-handed jam in the fourth quarter as Boston was rallying. ... The game featured a sellout crowd of 18,624, many of which spent the latter part of the third quarter doing the wave.

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics (23-53) have now lost seven straight and 12 of their last 13 overall. Boston will own the fourth worst record in basketball (though Utah could remain tied with them pending Friday's late game against the Pelicans). The Celtics will close out a back-to-back on Saturday night in Detroit, then take three days off before visiting Atlanta on Wednesday night.

112288

WTF? Celts lost to the 76ers!?!

Asik sure looks good tonight. Danny, puhleeze pick him up.

Worcester,

I hear your pain. However I have rethought the Asik thing.

Asik would not be the guy I would look to trade for as our starting center. Here is why:

He's too slow and coupled with Sully who will be your starting power forward you then have 2 slow guys on the court at the same time which begins to take away from the effectiveness of Rondo or Bradly who like to run.

I'll live with Sully but not a second slow guy.

However Asik would be a great guy off the bench.

Perhaps that is why Danny did not pursue Asik as aggressively as we all thought he would.

112288

I only saw the first half but I have to agree with the sentiment expressed by worcester. WTF?

Bayless with 18 in the first half.

The 76ers shoot 50%? Their center, Henry Sims (who?) scores 24 points and takes 18ftas? WTF?

CJ couldn't stop taking 3s. I don't know if that's a good thing, big picture, or a bad thing but last night was a bad thing. 1-7 from 3 and 2-11 overall.

The Sixers had 54 points in the paint. 54. and only 10 fast break points.

22 TOs. 22.

We had 21 second-chance points in the first half. We should have blown these bums out, except that those 2nd chance points came because we couldn't throw the ball in Boston Harbor from the pier.

So much badness here. So much.



bob



.

The problem with Chris Johnson last night wasn't that he took too many threes.  It was that he took too many BAD threes.  He's not good at shooting from distance while his body still has an inch of momentum OR rushed OR shooting if he's not completely aligned and squared up to the basket.  Moreover, virtually every move he makes toward the basket seems to be an adventure.  He has missed so many bunnies that I'm actually relieved when he gets fouled going to the hoop.  I happen to believe the reason for his failure on close-in shots is that he doesn't trust his dribble (for good reason) and has to keep his eyes on the ball rather than on the rim or the defense.  I  believe both of those problems are solvable with a lot of work; and his energy and defensive instincts make his ultimate improvement worth waiting for.

My sixth grade coach could fashion a great plan for thwarting these Celtics, and he walked with a guide dog who also had his own guide dog.

(1) Pick-and-roll the Celtics to death.  Depending on whether the Celtics switch or go over or under the pick or simply get picked off, either your ball-handler drives to the hoop or the guy setting the pick will roll to the hoop and will usually be taller and/or more mobile than any Celtic guarding him.

(2) If your ball-handler drives and is, for some strange reason, actually guarded by a Celtic, you have three choices.

(2a.) Keep driving and draw a reach-in foul.

(2b.) Draw all the Celtics in the area to you and just flip the ball to your nearest open teammate

(2c.) Depend on the fact that, because the Celtics will be collapsing toward the middle and aren't all that good in recovering in synch, one or more of your teammates will be waiting in the corner for an open three, which actually mollifies the Celtics because they gain some gratification in practicing their dying swan routine.

(3) If the resulting shot by your team is somehow missed, don't worry because there will be two or three teammates careening in for the offensive rebound.

(4) Don't be concerned about the Celtics on the fast break.  Even if's a 3-on-1, chances are about 75% that the Celtics will screw it up.  Their fast break is not a weapon.  At best, it's a low-percentage hope.

(5) Force the Celtics to start their halfcourt offense far, far from the basket.  The Celtics will help you because that's their tendency anyway.

(6) In the halfcourt, let the Celtics diddle around, pounding the ball into the floor, until they finally make a move around the 8-to-11-second mark on the clock.  You're familiar with that strategy.  It's almost identical to their last-shot-of-the-quarter strategy.  And the results are normally just as unpromising.  So, if you're behind in your tweeting, those initial 13 seconds of the Celtics possession are an ideal time to catch up.

(7) Now that the Celtics are down to the 8-11-second mark, start trapping whoever's got the ball.  The odds are high that you'll get a steal because most of the Celtics other than Rondo are average ball handlers at best.  Even if you don't get a steal, the trapping pattern should capitalizes on the Celtics' penchant for trying low-percentage passes.

( Whichever Celtic has the ball at roughly the 5-second juncture is the most likely to be the Celtic who attempts the shot.  That fact has officially replaced death and taxes as the surest thing on earth.  Just converge on that guy, and any of several things can eventuate—all of them in your favor.

(9) Accept the fact that the Celtics will occasionally score some points—perhaps on as many as one-third of their possessions.  The main things are: (a) make them overexert themselves on every shot; (b), invite them to shoot from anywhere as long as it's not near the basket (they love that anyway) and the Law of Averages should work in your favor; and (c) if they do score, just refer to #1 (above), and you'll be all set.

And so it goes.

Sam

I know the expectations were low this season, but I have to say I'm disappointed that the defense didn't show the improvement I thought it would by the end of the season. At this point, they should be able to win games like this based on their defense; instead, they lost because of it.

BobH,

As long as Brad encourages taking 3s in any capacity, we'll continue seeing quite a hefty share of bad ones.

Chris Johnson is pretty athletic, I'd like to see him attacking the lane more.

Again, Brad's emphasis on perimeter shooting is not conducive to this current team as they don't really have the snipers. Aside from Bradley, I don't particularly want anyone else shooting 3s, unless Green is on fire.




KJ

KJ,

The one thing I'll say regarding Stevens' preference for perimeter shooting is that if that's the system he's going to go with long-term, then it makes sense to implement the system now and evaluate players based on how well they fit into it. Over the long run, they can draft and trade for players that fit the system and replace the guys who don't.

Outside wrote:KJ,

The one thing I'll say regarding Stevens' preference for perimeter shooting is that if that's the system he's going to go with long-term, then it makes sense to implement the system now and evaluate players based on how well they fit into it. Over the long run, they can draft and trade for players that fit the system and replace the guys who don't.

True, but can a team predicated mainly on 3 point shooting win deep into the playoffs and eventually a title?

I am a firm believer in having a balanced offense. The reliance on 3s, even for teams with adept 3 point shooters, is dangerous. The Orlando Magic tried that formula for a while, and even made it to the finals, only to be beaten by a much more balanced Laker team.

The main problem is that 3 point shooting facilitates laziness, whereas the Celtic's offense should include much more driving into the paint to draw fouls and open up space for perimeter shooting.



KJ

We play a 3 point game without shooters. Does that make sense?

KJ,

I agree with your observation that you need a balanced attack verses a more outside the arc game.  Other teams have tried and failed using that strategy..........the odds do catch up with you.


112288

KJ,

I haven't seen anything that would lead me to believe Stevens wants anything other than a balanced attack, but one that features three-point shooters. San Antonio has done that for years.

I realized, during the Detroit game, that I had temporarily ignored my long-held theory that having more weapons in a your team's arsenal than the opponent's arsenal will win a lot of games.  As far as I'm now concerned, the three-point shot is just another arrow.  I would just hate to become a way of life.  A comparison of the first half with the second half of the Detroit game will illustrate why.

Sam