POST GAME PHILLY - HOME

THIS IS GETTING OLD FAST!!!!! UGLY IS BEING TOO KIND!!!!!!

Being outscoring, 56-38, in the paint and Philly is without Andrew Bynum!!!!!!

Now I am getting to question the chemistry of the team. Great players....stats look good on paper...but they are just not getting the job done as a team!

I really do not want to hear that they have to get their rhythm ........Hey they have been practicing during a precamp in September....Then Training Camp.......Then 6 Pregames........Then Practice........Then 5 Games......and you do not have RHYTHM!!!!!!!!!!! You do not know your teammates MOVES???????

How about Green........man this guy has all the talent in the world.......he's shown it.......and he is not getting it done! Maybe it's just that he has no chemistry with the Celtics.......Time will tell but he may have a short time with the team if Danny gets trigger happy!!!!

Same goes for Courtney Lee...Not getting it done!!!!!!!!!

NEXT GAME - SATURDAY - AT MILWAUKEE - 8:30 PM - CSNE/NBA LEAGUE PASS


POST GAME RECAP - WEEI

FAST BREAK: RAJON RONDO’S NOT ENOUGH VS. 76ERS
By Ben Rohrbach

Rajon Rondo may have continued his streak of games with double-digit assists, but the 76ers backcourt combined for 46 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds, and the Celtics’ defense let another playoff foe from last season reach the century mark in a 106-100 loss to their Atlantic Division rivals.

Jrue Holiday (21 points, 14 assists) and Evan Turner (25 points, 11 rebounds) torched the C’s.

Rondo finished with 14 points and 20 assists while Paul Pierce (24 points), Kevin Garnett (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Jason Terry (13 points) all reached double figures, but the Celtics got little help from the bench beyond the guy who dubbed their reserves the best in basketball, as Jeff Green (1-5 FG) struggled once again.

WHAT WENT WRONG

A little help: Outside of Garnett and Lee, the Celtics started an atrocious 1-of-18 from the field, settling for far too many jump shots. Rondo (1-5), Pierce (0-5), Green (0-3) and Bass (0-3) all couldn’t find the basket through most of the first half, and the Celtics fell behind by double digits for the third time in five games.

Wet paint: While the Celtics seemed content launching from mid-range, the Sixers attacked the rim. In the first half, Philly scored 30 points in the paint and added 18 fast break points — compared to 14 and two, respectively, for the C’s — resulting in a 57-45 Sixers lead at the break. Evan Turner, in particular, victimized Pierce, scoring four of his six first-half buckets at the rim. In all, the Sixers outscored the C’s 56-38 in the paint and 26-9 in transition.

Downtown daggers: Somehow, the Celtics failed to defend the basket and the 3-point line. In all, the 76ers shot 7-of-13 from beyond the arc, including a Jrue Holiday triple with five minutes to play that helped keep the surging C’s at bay. In all, Boston opponents are shooting 34-of-84 from long-distance (40.5 3P%). Both the number of makes and attempts illustrates the inability of Celtics wings to close out on the perimeter.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

First five: The Celtics actually started off strong defensively, holding the 76ers to a 1-of-9 shooting start and building leads of 6-0 and 8-3 on the back of Garnett, but as has been the case all season, things went south when KG took his five-minute sabbaticals. Sullinger/Bass and Bass/Wilcox combinations quickly turned five- and six-point leads into five- and six-point deficits with Garnett on the bench.

Making a point: In the third quarter, Rondo did everything he could to will his lackadaisical team back into the game. He had his hand in the C’s first five buckets after the break (layup, jumper, assist, 1-2 FT, layup, assist). In the meantime, he notched his 10th assist, tying John Stockton for the NBA’s third-longest streak of 10-plus assists (29 games) and recording his fifth straight double-double to start the season.

Terry time: Often referring to himself as a clutch player, Jason Terry put his words into actions. Twice he drew the Celtics within three points in the fourth quarter — on a 3-pointer that trimmed the lead to 83-80 and a 12-foot floater that cut the edge to 93-90 — as he reached double digits off the bench for the third time in four games. Perhaps more importantly, Rivers has given the all-important closer’s role at shooting guard to Terry in the last two games, including all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter on Friday night.
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POST GAME RECAP - ESPNBOSTON.COM

Rapid reaction: Sixers 106, Celtics 100

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Rapid reaction after the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics 106-100 Friday night at TD Garden:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Evan Turner scored a game-high 25 points and added 11 rebounds, while Jrue Holiday added 21 points and 14 assists to propel a Philadelphia offense that scored at will around the basket against a Boston defense that offered little resistance. Thaddeus Young and Dorrell Wright added 15 points apiece for the 76ers, who have still yet to play with offseason acquisition Andrew Bynum (knee). Paul Pierce scored a team-high 24 points, but the Celtics' inability to generate consistent stops rendered Boston's offensive efforts useless. Rajon Rondo quietly dished out 20 assists (to go along with 14 points), while Kevin Garnett registered a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) as well.

TURNING POINT I: TERRIBLE 2
It was a one-possession game entering the second quarter, but the 76ers needed a mere 1:20 to push their lead to double digits. Philadelphia erupted for 34 second-frame points and pushed its lead as high 16 in the final minute of the half. Turner chipped in 14 first-half points on 6-of-11 shooting, but it was the 76ers' utter domination near the basket (15 of 23 within 5 feet of the hoop) that made the difference on the scoreboard.

TURNING POINT II: NOT ENOUGH JET FUEL
The Celtic spent much of the middle quarters trying to whittle away that double-digit deficit. A pair of Jason Terry 3-pointers helped Boston rally within four (83-79) with 10:41 to play and an offensive foul call on Nick Young had the Garden rumbling for the first time all night. The Celtics turned the ball over at the other end, the Sixers subbed in their starters, and Philly got two easy buckets (tip-in and a dunk for Allen) as the lead went back up to eight with 9:27 to play. A 3-pointer by Turner and an old-fashioned three-point play by Thaddeus Young made it 93-79 with 8:21 to go. The Celtics kept making spirited runs, cutting their deficit to six with two minutes to go, but just couldn't get over the hump.

RONDO STREAKING THROUGH THE QUAD
Rondo racked up his 29th consecutive outing with double digits in assists. With that, he shuffled up and tied John Stockton (1990-91) for the third longest streak in NBA history. Stockton's still in front of him with another streak (37) and Rondo is chasing Magic Johnson's record of 46 games in 1982-83.

JUDO CHOP!
Judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison and Celtics coach Doc Rivers were fast friends at the London Olympics this summer. Harrison, a Marblehead native, sat courtside at the Garden on Friday night, sporting a Rondo jersey. Alas, at 2-3 overall now, the Celtics are not even on the medal stand in the Atlantic Division (New York gold; Brooklyn and Philadelphia sharing silver).

WHAT IT MEANS
Celtics coach Doc Rivers doesn't have to worry about getting Mike Brown'd with this sluggish start, but Boston (2-3, 1-2 home) has been stuck playing a miserable game of catchup pretty much every game this season and soon they'll be doing the same in the East standings if this keeps up. Defensive issues reemerged against a team that's struggled to generate points as Boston offered absolutely no resistance around the basket. The Celtics now have a challenging back-to-back looming in Milwaukee on Saturday night -- a team that already beat Boston on its home court in the opener at the Garden last week.
112288

And I was counting on investing my mind in the Celtics as a way to forget about the election. Ouch! I may have to go back to reading Mitch Rapp novels.

Tough group to watch so far with several problems cropping up...

- Pierce looking like he's lost another step or two

- Green is very tentative; a repeat of OKC issues or his heart surgery?

- Rondo's defense is off; not fighting over picks, keeps getting beat by his man

- Lee's out of synch on both ends (with the exception of shooting tonight)

- Defense collapses when KG is out

- Bass and Sullinger looking small/overmatched vs. other 4s, mis-cast at 5

- Little penetration, settling for shots from the perimeter

- Overall no apparent chemistry, especially evident within small lineups

This team looks way better on paper than it has on the court so far. We look like we're sleepwalking through games. The team needs a wakeup call of some sort, not sure what that is going to take. If it wasn't so early in the season I'd say it's the kind of year where you start looking for a trade, just to change the dynamic. Not a restructuring type of move; forward for a forward, guard for a guard, something like that. Just a shake up the order kind of shock to jump-start things and re-focus the team. Maybe we'll see Doc give more minutes to Barbosa, or get Darko or Collins a few minutes just for that very reason.

Maybe it's the new dancers.

Maybe it's Scal on TV instead of on the court.

Maybe the cold Wisconsin air will get things moving tomorrow night.

It's still early; we'll see.

The way I see it, one of our main problems is at starting power forward.

With Sully, you first have a rookie who needs to get experience, but beyond that, Sully has major limitations. He is undersized at 6'9" and he cannot jump. This puts pressure on KG's position of center.

With Bass, again undersized at powerforward position at 6'8" - 6'9". He cannot play defense which again puts pressure on the center position. Bass is a nice off the bench player that can add some offense and spark, but if you are looking at the Celtics who pride themselves on playing defense first......that will turn into offense...Bass is not your guy.

Celtics also come up short at backup center . Wilcox is a nice player but he would fit better at 6'10" at power forward. With him at center, the Celtics are a short team and with Bass and Sully playing power forward...a really short team.

This all adds up to rebounding problems which are becoming a glaring problem. Look at the stats....only Garnett is leading the team with significant rebounding totals....everyone else...Bass, Sully are far behind each game.

For us to make a run, I believe we need to make a trade for a power forward with length. Perhaps that is why Danny stocked his team with some nice trading chips.

112288

Hi,
One more ugly game. With an L instead of W, this time.
Just a couple observations.
It was sad to watch PP. Despite his 24 points he looked old without his usual oomph.
The other one is what I already mentioned: RR looks a step or two ahead of everyone else. But again it's just my impression from the game.

As for the general state of the team - I'm lost - can't put a finger on it. What is/are the reasons for such poor performance?

AK

I think its still early and the team can overcome these problems, but Sully is a somewhat defensive liability in that his help defense also is no Perk or even Steamer, we had great stretches with Steamer and KG together. The defense with KG on the floor works, but without him against real NBA competition the Bass-Sully combo doesn't cut it. Time to give Darko a shot, I wouldn't even mind seeing Darko and KG together.

Call some plays, a series of them where Jeff Green is the primary offensive option, post him, run him, whatever you have to do to get this guy going, Pierce is 35 and takes a beating against all these athletic 3's. I'd try Pierce at the 2 with Green at the 3 if you have to....Doc should try going bigger since were not running anyway, hes got to try more combos, we know Bass and Sully is not Silas and Unseld.

why hasnt darko been playing??

Glad I missed this one.

Rondo, 6-17?

bobheckler wrote:Glad I missed this one.

Rondo, 6-17?

Me as well. Was out for dinner and reggae with the wife....and glanced at the final score. Next!!!

112288,

I hope that, by now, you're operating with power in your home.

I believe Bass' defense has improved substantially, as he's really been working on it; and I assume Doc felt the same way when he deliberately inserted Brandon to cover Lebron at a critical juncture last year. Moreover, Bass is quicker, DEFINITELY jumps higher, and has better defensive foot work than Sully. I'm fairly convinced that the main reason Bass is not in the starting lineup is because Doc feels he'd be more effective with the bench. I've gone back and forth on that one, but it remains to be seen (hopefully in this Milleneum).

This year, I've only seen Wilcox in his first game as I had to "watch" last night's game online. But, considering that two-thirds of the team (including Wilcox for the most part) is new and still trying to figure each other out), I believe it's much too much early to be evaluating his season-long (I hope) potential for this team. When Bradley returns, regardless of whether he or Lee winds up on the bench, the bench will likely become even more of a transition unit. Wilcox' speed, hops and aggressiveness, plus the fact that he'll be playing against second line opponents for the most part, should make him an ideal member of the bench at center.

I believe this board needs to think more in terms of at least 25 games than 5 games in terms of when it's appropriate to evaluate their progress in earnest. In fact, 82 games sound even better.

I said, a couple of games ago, that this squad is now sufficiently in synch to beat (sometimes with a struggle) below-.500 clubs but not to beat better clubs. Doc's obviously still experimenting, and each experiment raises the specter of my old friend, discontinuity. And, as I hope I've established during the past two seasons in particular, discontinuity introduces the need for patience—and I mean "See me in April" kind of patience.

Discontinuity affects the performances of individual players, and yet there seems to be a lot of critiquing eople individuals without sufficiently incorporating (1) the context of discontinuity and (2) the fact that they're still learning about one another as well as (in at least two-thirds of the cases) the system of play.

And as far as assuming that summer play and preseason camp should have infused them with all or even most of what they needs to know about how to play in synch, that's a lock of horse puckey. The summer and preseason placed much greater emphasis on evaluation of young talent and experimenting with numerous combinations than on developing chemistry. There seems to be some expectation that chemistry is like some kind of pill; take the pill and, Shazam, you've got chemistry. Ridiculous.

I'm always amused at how many people (and I'm not talking about any particlar poster) can vacillate, almost from game to game, in commenting on individual players. A couple of games ago, I was reading how great Paul Pierce looked—running the floor like a colt. Now he's older and is said to have lost anywhere from 0.5 1.0 to 1.5 to 2.25 steps or whatever. I believe that any inconsistency he may be displaying is due more to a combination of (1) lack of the entire team's being in synch and (2) frustration over that turn of events.

Just as one tiny and overly simplified example of many that might be raised. To what extent has Lee's slowness in getting acclimated been reflected in the play of Paul Pierce? The starters need a dependable perimeter shooter to spread the floor. Ray provided that. Should Paul be that perimeter shooter, or should he try to go to the hoop more often? It sort of depends on when Lee gets his stuff together and fits in over time.

Until the chemistry solidifies, the inconsistent showing of some players increases the pressure on other players who are more familiar with the system and have the ability to assume multiple roles. If I'm Paul Pierce, I'm wondering every night (and with every substitution) what my featured role should be. Should I try to rev it up and be a slasher or be a point forward or be a perimeter threat or whatever? Oh yeah, I almost forgot that part of the equation involves my matchup of the moment—just another variable to add to the mix. How does his game affect my choice as to whether to go to the hoop and risk lagging behind as he takes off on a missed shot? And what's the lesson to be learned here? Simple. If you have to think, it ain't going to be smooth.

There are myriad factors that affect any player's role of the moment. And, especially when things are happening at warp speed, play is more ragged when the player is forced to think rather than to act on instinct.

So far, the instinct ingredient has very seldom been apparent in the Celtics' play. Until the roles of the individual parts of the "engine" are better defined and executed; until guys are more comfortable with not only their own roles but also with the roles of their teammates; until there's some reliable predictability in what to expect from different players in different circumstances; until they've improved dramatically in putting one another in positions to succeed; until they demonstrate greater trust in one another without deferring too much when they shouldn't; until their play becomes more instinctive; until they have confidence that, when they need to turn it on in one way or another, they collectively have that ability; and until etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. (scores of "etc's"), they'll struggle.

Fortunately as close observers of the games (too bad practices aren't included), we'll have the pleasure of seeing it come together bit by bit. And please rest assured that we'll gradually realize when it is coming together. On one level, we should see more fluidity in the halfcourt, increased transition offense, much better defensive rotations, and many more tangible improvements. On another level, we should see more joy creep into their game, more trust in one another, and more ganas when it counts. (And I'm absolutely positive I've omitted a slew of other factors since I'm on vacation and only 5% of my brain is working.)

In some ways, I believe the depth they have has contributed to lack of being in synch. In some ways, it could be that players like Bass, Sully, Lee, Green, Wilcox and Terry are still feeling they have to compete with one another—not for roster spots but for roles and/or playing time. In their minds, they want to improve the chemistry, but they also feel some pressure to prove themselves by upgrading their games. Whatever truth there may be in this theory should be added to the considerations involved in developing chemistry.

In the meantime, there's certainly nothing wrong with having opinions of individual players. Just be advised that evaluating a player in a vacuum tells only part of the story—and I believe that part is in the distinct minority.

Herb Caen...your three-dot reporter

Give em 2 dozen games.

Dboss

Sam,

Power back last Monday TG!

On Bass...yes he has worked on his defense and he is more aggressive. Yes he has better foot work the Sully and yes he is good coming off the bench. A nice player for what he does best. But the Celtics may be forced to start him if Sully continues his slow education and limited athletic skills (speed & jumping). If they start Bass ...they become limited in their size and rebounding ability because they are a small team. bass as you said is a perfect bench guy but the Celtics in my humble estimation need more height at power forward who is a starter, not a bench guy.

Gotta go...game coming on! See you on the other side!!!

112288

cowens/oldschool wrote:I think its still early and the team can overcome these problems, but Sully is a somewhat defensive liability in that his help defense also is no Perk or even Steamer, we had great stretches with Steamer and KG together. The defense with KG on the floor works, but without him against real NBA competition the Bass-Sully combo doesn't cut it. Time to give Darko a shot, I wouldn't even mind seeing Darko and KG together.

Call some plays, a series of them where Jeff Green is the primary offensive option, post him, run him, whatever you have to do to get this guy going, Pierce is 35 and takes a beating against all these athletic 3's. I'd try Pierce at the 2 with Green at the 3 if you have to....Doc should try going bigger since were not running anyway, hes got to try more combos, we know Bass and Sully is not Silas and Unseld.

Hi Cow,
I agree I would like to see Darko get a shot. We all know he can block shots. Maybe that would overcome his inability to do other things. I am tired of watching people go down the lane or layups and dunks. Your right about the not running. I was convinced we would run with the team we assembled. We always talk about pushing the ball but we don't seem to do it much. PP at SG and JG at SF might be a good lineup. Pierce would probably have trouble with chasing some of the SG's around though. How much worse could it be though.

Hey Worcester,

I know what you mean.......the whole system is going to slowly implode! I guess it will take hardscrabble times for people to wake up!

112288