POST GAME BOBCATS

6 IN A ROW AND COUNTING!

GAME STATS

Rebounds - Celtics 42/ Char 34 ........ Offensive - Celtics 14/Char 10 ........Defensive - Celtics 28/ Char 24
Points In The Paint - Celtics 38/ Char 34
Fast Break Points - Celtics 13/ Char 10
FG - Celtics 39/80 (48.8%) - Char - 33/79 (41.8%)
3PM - Celtics 8/21 (38.1%) Char 6/15 (40.0%)
FTM - Celtics 14/20 (70%) Char 17/24 (70.8%
TO - Celtics 14/ Char 13
Assists - Celtics 27/ Char 15
STL - Celtics 6/ Char 8
BLK - Celtics 8/ Char 4
PF - Celtics 21/ Char 20
Bench Points - Celtics 35/ Char 37

POST GAME RECAP

ESPNBOSTON.COM

Rapid reaction: Celtics 100, Bobcats 89

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Rapid reaction after the Boston Celtics defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 100-89 on Monday night at TD Garden:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Rajon Rondo produced the 26th triple-double of his career -- and third this season -- by registering 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists while spearheading the Celtics' to their sixth straight win (even if it took a little more effort than the team might have expected against the hapless 'Cats). Paul Pierce scored a team-high 19 points despite 6-of-16 shooting (2-of-8 beyond the 3-point arc). Kevin Garnett added seven points and 10 rebounds, while Avery Bradley had a season-high 16 points with 4-of-7 shooting beyond the 3-point arc. Hakim Warrick and Ramon Session had 16 points apiece to pace Charlotte, while Kemba Walker (4 of 16, 12 points) and Ben Gordon (5 of 14, 12 points) struggled for a Bobcats squad that shot 41.8 percent overall.

TURNING POINT
The Celtics led by as much as 18 in the first half before falling asleep at the wheel against the young 'Cats who -- true to coach Doc Rivers' warning -- pounced when given the opportunity. With the lead at 11 coming out of halftime, Charlotte went on an 11-2 run to tie the game less than four minutes in. Boston didn't put the game away until a little Rondo-fueled 9-0 burst midway through the fourth quarter that culminated with Rondo feeding Courtney Lee on consecutive plays (first a flashy dish for a reverse layup, then a driving kick that Lee turned into a corner 3-pointer) for an 87-74 lead with 5:33 to play.

AV3RY BRADL3Y
We all knew Bradley would give the Boston defense a jolt when he returned from injury, but on Monday he did the same for the offense, hitting four 3-pointers while scoring his season-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting overall.

SULLINGER BATTLES WHISTLES
Celtics rookie Jared Sullinger picked up two fouls in three minutes in the first quarter and played only five first-half minutes overall. He battled through it and played 17 second-half minutes, making all four shots he took for eight points and five rebounds. And he managed to avoid the foul out.

LOOSE BALLS: HENDERSON COLLARS KG
Garnett absorbed a flagrant-1 foul when Gerald Henderson foul him hard around the neck in the middle of the second quarter. Garnett didn't like the foul and barked at Henderson a bit, but tempers soon cooled... The Garden temperature stayed chilly, however. With the impending return of hockey (including the Bruins' intrasquad scrimmage here on Tuesday night), the Garden was especially frigid for Monday's game. Temperatures might have been unseasonably warm outside the arena on Monday, but it didn't carry over inside.

WHAT IT MEANS
This won't be remembered as the prettiest of the streak -- and Boston surely could have made things easier on itself -- but the Celtics have now won six straight and are a season-best three games over .500 (a place they haven't been since Dec. 12 before losing eight of 10). Boston has two more home games on this homestand, including a visit from Doc Rivers' son, Austin, and the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday.
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CSNE

Celtics take care of lowly Bobcats, 100-89

A. SHERROD BLAKLEY

BOSTON — When the worst of the worst have been on the scene this season, the Boston Celtics showed them the appropriate amount of respect before putting them away.

But after cruising through most of the first half with a double-digit lead, the Celtics found themselves in a battle as the Bobcats opened the third with a 13-2 run to tie the score at 58.

The C's got themselves in a jam doing many of the things that got them in such a deep ditch to start the season.

There were quick shots. There were slow rotations offensively. Poor rebounding. Lethargic effort.

Just like the C's have made strides to right their season, they did the same to right their play in Monday's 100-89 win. Boston (20-17) has now won six in a row while the Bobcats (9-28) have now lost 23 of their last 25 games.

After Charlotte tied the game at 58, the Celtics responded with a 7-0 run to regain control of the game.

And they did it by getting back to the many things that worked in the first half such as good ball movement, quality shot selection and defense both in transition and in the half court.

Boston was able to maintain a double-digit lead for most of the first quarter which ended with the C's on top 28-18.

During Boston's five-game winning streak coming into Monday's game, the C's didn't need a big game from Rondo either scoring or in his customary role as a distributor.

There was no question that Rondo began Monday's game looking to make an impact in every category of note, scoring nine points to go with six rebounds and five assists in the first quarter alone. He finished with third triple-double of the season and 26th of his career by tallying 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

The second quarter was more of the same for Boston. But instead of Rondo, the C's were getting strong showings from others such as Avery Bradley and Jeff Green as the C's took a 56-45 lead into the half.

Despite facing a Charlotte team that came in having lost 22 of their last 24 games, Monday's win was indeed an impressive one that on paper at least, had the look at feel of being a game the Celtics could easily overlook.

In the third quarter, the C's looked very much like a team that eased off the gas pedal when it came time to pull away.

And the Bobcats to their credit, made the Celtics pay by making it a much, much closer game than Celtics fans - and Celtics players - probably wanted.

But that has been a quality of the Bobcats all season, a team that plays hard regardless of what the score may be.

"That's the only way we've got a shot at winning," Charlotte guard Kemba Walker told CSNNE.com. "We have to play that way."

But playing with great effort can only take you so far when the other team has more talent, more experience and down the stretch, more locked in to making plays at both ends of the floor.

While the final score seems as though the game was relatively close, there was never a point in the game in which the Celtics control - even when the score was tied at 58 - that the C's were in jeopardy of losing.
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WEEI 93.7 FM

FAST BREAK: RAJON RONDO’S TRIPLE-DOUBLE DELIVERS SIXTH STRAIGHT CELTICS WIN

By Ben Rohrbach

Apparently, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo doesn’t reserve his triple-doubles just for nationally televised games, since he recorded the 26th such night of his career in a 100-89 win on a Monday night against the Bobcats.

Rondo totaled 17 points (8-11 FG), 11 assists and 10 rebounds, leading the Celtics (20-17) to their sixth straight victory. Paul Pierce (19 points), Avery Bradley (16 points) and Jeff Green (11 points) all reached double figures while Kevin Garnett grabbed 10 boards on a poor shooting night (2-11 FG).

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Rondo from the get go: The Celtics point guard assisted on the C’s first four field goals — getting Bradley, Pierce and Brandon Bass involved within the game’s first 1:45 — and then made their next four buckets, staking the home team to a 16-6 advantage midway through the first quarter. By the end of the opening frame, Rondo recorded nine points, six rebounds and five assists. Needless to say, Good Rondo was in the house.

Avery good night: With the possible exception of his 13-point, five-assist night against the Knicks last week, Bradley enjoyed his sharpest offensive performance of the season. His defense never relents, but his offense hasn’t quite rounded into pre-surgery form. The slashing backdoor buckets are still there, but Bradley connected on 56 percent (20-36) of his corner 3-pointers last season, and he started this winter 2-of-9 from the same spots. Against the Bobcats, however, Bradley made 4-of-7 triples, all from the corner.

Green light: Quietly, Green’s scoring numbers are climbing into double digits. He entered the game averaging 9.7 points per game and connected on four of his first seven shots off the bench, scoring all 11 of his points over a five-minute stretch in the second quarter. He’s now reached double figures in 17 games, including three of his last four. His rebounding numbers, while still not reflective of a 6-foot-9 hybrid forward, are also rising.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Turd quarter: The Celtics led by as many as 18 points and took a 56-45 lead into halftime, holding Charlotte to 28.0 percent shooting while connecting on 63.2 percent of their own shots. But the Bobcats connected on 5-of-6 attempts out of the break, including baskets by four of their five starters, to tie the game at 58 just 3:45 into the second half. The C’s couldn’t stretch the lead beyond seven and led by just six entering the fourth quarter.

Terry-ble: Jason Terry‘s cold January continued. He came into the game averaging just 6.0 points on 37.5 percent shooting (25.0 3P%) for the month, and those numbers actually got worse. Terry missed all three of his attempts, including his lone 3-point try, and finished scoreless for the first time all season. Celtics coach Doc Rivers even turned to Leandro Barbosa off the bench in an eight-point game midway through the fourth quarter.

Freebies: Free throws were pretty much the only thing keeping the Bobcats from being completely blown out. The Celtics totaled more 3′s, more rebounds, more assists, and for the most part kept their turnovers (15) under control, but the Bobcats got to the line 24 times and made 17 of them. Meanwhile, the C’s connected on 14-of-20 free throws, including a rare three misses from Pierce, who had an off shooting night altogether (6-16 FG, 2-8 3P, 5-8 FT).

112288

The streak is 6.

After going up by 18 in the 2nd quarter, we let down our guard and it became a close game. Mike was saying that the coaches were looking to see if we had the killer instinct coming out after halftime. We didn't. If there was a downer about this game, this was it.

1. The Bradley Effect has expanded to include offense! 16 points on 6-10, 4-7 from 3 (all from the corner and completely out of the offensive flow, nothing forced) and his usual disabling defense too. On one sequence he single-handedly took the Bobcats down to 11 seconds left on the shot clock before they were able to pass from near mid-court to the top of the key. So, by the time that player gets the ball and turns around, they're down to 9-10 seconds left, and they're still at the top of the key. I don't care what team you're on, who the coach is or at what level you are playing (HS, College, NBA) if you, as a team, only have to play defense for 9 seconds instead of 18, you are going to look very good. And none of that showed up in the boxscore. He also had a great, flying, trailing from behind block on somebody else's man. What a great game by Bradley. Anybody who knows basketball (which would definitely leave out Skip Brainless) and knows how to look for the things that are not purely boxscore driven (which would exclude the recently departed and unlamented Mr. Hollinger) had to love this game by Bradley.

2. Paul Pierce has to stop taking so many 3s. He was 2-8 last night and cost us most of our big lead. Everytime he got the ball they doubled him, and he picked up 6 assists, but he just kept heaving one brick after another after another. On the other hand, almost everytime he drove to the hoop, he delivered. If Doc can't tell Pierce to back off the 3s, can't he tell Rondo to run more plays inside, or tell the team in a timeout "we need to go inside more"? Something, to deliver the hint?

3. Mr. Triple Double came out hot and was halfway to the triple double by the end of the 1st quarter with 9pts, 5 assists and 6 rebounds. He cooled off a bit in the 2nd half of the 2nd quarter, like the rest of the team, and didn't come out after halftime strong, but he buckled down in 4th period crunchtime. 17 points on 8-11 shooting from just about everywhere. His mid-range jumper is pretty reliable now (if he's having a good shooting game).

4. Very solid game by Green. He has his off nights, who doesn't, but his overall energy levels and aggressiveness are more consistently there over this streak. He is such a tough matchup, when he's on. No post up game, though, have you noticed? All 11 of his points came in the 2nd quarter. Regardless, I'm liking the Jeff Green we have right now. His defense is improving too. Finally, starting to deliver on the promise consistently.

5. On the "What does JET have on Doc?" watch: JET was 0-3 for 0 points in 15 minutes and some matador defense. Barbosa had 4 points on 1-2 in 5 minutes. Barbosa also had a fantastic tap back off an offensive rebound, surrounded by 2 Cats, that kept it alive for us. Won't show up in the boxscore. He was a little out of place on defense in one sequence, he moved a little too far away on help and wasn't able to get all the way back to truly inimidate the shot, but that's what happens when you are new and don't play much. I never thought I'd ever say this, but every time JET shoots, I cringe. It's The Bradley Effect, except I'm talking about Bradley's offense and not his defense, and I'm talking Bradley's offense in his first rookie season, not now.

6. Sully had a bad first half. Stupid fouls (I can't let him off the hook by blaming the refs) and unproductive. He had a better half, picked up some rookie fouls and did better. Can't expect him to be a monster every night.

7. Ben Gordon can shoot. I don't know what else he can do (embroidery? quantum physics?) but he sure can shoot. 30 minutes off the bench for Gordon. I'm very glad he's on the playoff-irrelevant Charlotte Bobcats and not with our rivals in Chicago anymore. He killed us, repeatedly, when he was there. Ramon Sessions was paroled from Cleveland last year and went to the Lakers. They didn't resign him. That was, in my opinion, a mistake. Expecting a point guard to come in, mid-season, and be fully integrated and ready to rock in the playoffs that year was too high an expectation. I like Sessions especially as a backup point guard. Think of how much better shape the Lakers would be in now if they had Sessions playing while Nash was out, and playing backup point guard instead of Blake (who is also out). Sessions had a good game last night too. The BobCats have the 2nd best bench in the league. They showed why last night. There appears to be a conscious decision by Bobcat head coach Mike Dunlap to accept that no matter what starting unit he sends out there they are never going to be able to matchup well against the rest of the league, so instead he's going to assemble a bench on steroids (figuratively speaking) and make up the +/- there. Well, you know, if you've got a roster with no stars on it, this might not be a bad way to go. They've already won more games than they did all last year, and it isn't because of the addition of 10ppg rookie Kidd-Gilchrist.

8. Bismack Biyombo. Didn't do much of anything, I just like the name. Mike Gorman likes it too. In fact, the Cats starting unit was largely underwhelming. 40% on 19-48, a whopping 9 assists (sarcasm!). This is the first time I've seen Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. For someone who had a rep for being a shooter he's hardly burning up the league at 10.0ppg (he had his season average 10 last night) but he looked really big on TV. He's listed at 6'7", 232#, which is the same size as Pierce, but he looked bigger than Pierce. Didn't play bigger though, and that's what counts.

9. 42% fg% for them. Another game where we just throttled the other team's offense. 49% for us, with 27 assists and 39fgm (69%) on 80fgas. Imagine how much better we'd have looked if Pierce had taken fewer 3s, or hit a few more?

We are still only 2 games back in the loss column, except that now it's behind the #3 spot in the East and not #4. Indy, Brooklyn and Chicago all have 15 losses and Atlanta now has 16 courtesy of Chicago last night. Indy plays Charlotte and Brooklyn plays Toronto tonight, so probably no joy here, but on Wednesday Brooklyn plays Atlanta and we host New Orleans. So, by this time Thursday we might be tied with Atlanta for 6th and still only 2 games back from third.

In a cautionary note, Milwaukee is only 1/2 game behind us, but the way we're playing now I feel comfortable only looking at the teams in front of us and letting the ones behind us continue to chase our tail.


bob


.

Bobh,
Thanks for the great, as usual, summary.
Sort of unrelated question. You and others mentioned Jeff Green as a tough matchup. I wonder if it holds true with Mia? How, in you opinion, he'd fare against Battier, Miller and LJ? (I'm still considering Heat enemy #1 because they stand on the way to #18)

AK

BobH,

Nice analysis. I'm currently having difficulty deciding who my favorite Celtic is. During the entire KG era, it's been Rondo. But Sully is demanding some attention. However, right now, I'm a closet Courtney Lee fan.

• The guy very seldom makes a mistake on either end of the floor.

• He's very adept at taking it to the hoop, especially with the shot clock winding down.

• I believe he's the best finisher on the team.

• His defense has been quite good and is still improving. He also made a mad dash to knock a sure layuo into the seats (and without fouling the guy).

• It looks as if he's enjoying a little PG responsibility, and he's threading some excellent passes through crowds and timing them very well.

• And he's a pretty heady player.

• Both Lee and Green are shooting .333 from three-point land and are gaining on Terry (.358). (Bradley's moving up too—currently at .308.)

Does anyone else think Lee's face and mannerisms look a little like that of Dennis Johnson?

Sam

This shot by Barbosa, btw, was talked and talked about by Tommy. He said he has never seen an underhanded scoop shot from this far away from the hoop before.









bob



.

sinus007 wrote:Bobh,
Thanks for the great, as usual, summary.
Sort of unrelated question. You and others mentioned Jeff Green as a tough matchup. I wonder if it holds true with Mia? How, in you opinion, he'd fare against Battier, Miller and LJ? (I'm still considering Heat enemy #1 because they stand on the way to #18)

AK

sinus,

I'm a big Shane Battier fan, I would have loved to have seen him in green, but there's only one of hiim and he's no spring chicken anymore (34). If they put him on Pierce, who guards Green? If they put LBJ on Green, then Battier has to be on the floor when Pierce is. LBJ is a great weak-side defender. I love the idea of him not being able to leave Green to help against someone else.

Mike Miller is not a threat offensively unless he's all by himself at the 3pt line and not at all on defense. Courtney Lee could guard him.


bob


.

sam wrote:BobH,

Nice analysis. I'm currently having difficulty deciding who my favorite Celtic is. During the entire KG era, it's been Rondo. But Sully is demanding some attention. However, right now, I'm a closet Courtney Lee fan.

• The guy very seldom makes on either end of the floor.

• He's very adept at taking it to the hoop, especially with the shot clock winding down.

• I believe he's the best finisher on the team.

• His defense has been quite good and is still improving. He also made a mad dash to knock a sure layuo into the seats (and without fouling the guy).

• It looks as if he's enjoying a little PG responsibility, and he's threading some excellent passes through crowds and timing them very well.

• And he's a pretty heady player.

• Both Lee and Green are shooting .333 from three-point land and are gaining on Terry (.358). (Bradley's moving up too—currently at .308.)

Does anyone else think Lee's face and mannerisms look a little like that of Dennis Johnson?

Sam

sam,

If your first bullet is that he very seldom makes a mistake on either end, then we're in agreement. He's a very heady player and I absolutely adore smart players.

As far as taking it to the basket I would have to say Rondo's pretty good, but Barbosa is a very close second. The difference between the two is that Rondo often needs a pick to attack the rim while Barbosa is very comfortable just taking his man off the dribble (see the above youtube video). Lee is pretty good too, I'd just make him 3rd of these players. As far as finishers go, Lee might get the nod, because he goes so hard to the rim, Barbosa second and Rondo third. Sometimes Rondo goes for the circus shot and makes for a weaker finish. As you can no doubt tell, I have become a fan of Barbosa's. His defense needs work, but he's not inept. He just needs more time and work on his spacing. Offensively he can take people off the dribble, he moves without the ball and is positively lethal in the open floor. Want to see Rondo run more, pass upcourt more, have more uptempo spurts? How about Rondo, Barbosa and Lee on the court together? Small, to be sure, Lee would have to guard the other team's SF, but with KG and Sully in the frontcourt they would be lightning quick on breaks and brutal finishers. I'm not as comfortable with Barbosa being a pg, especially since he's so new, but him and Bradley and Lee would be off to the races too, and as long as Lee could handle his defensive assignment, no slouches on defense either.

He plays solid, positional defense. Bradley is a harasser, Lee is deny and moving his muffins (Bradley moves his too, but his hands are much quicker than Lee's).

He'd need a lot more freckles for me to even begin to go there...


bob


.

Rondo, post-game, crediting "Reverend" Keyon Dooling with helping the Celtics get their swagger back.











bob



.

BobH,

Yup, I made the mistake of leaving out the word "mistake." Sorry about that.

You're preaching to the choir about Barbosa. It's interesting to note that Barbosa and Pierce are in a virtual second place tie on the team in terms of assists per 36 minutes. Last night, Doc preferred Barbosa over Terry in the 4th. Interesting.

Sam

Bob, you said that the tap back out by Barbosa was something that wasn't seen in the boxscore. I heard during a game recently that the guy that tapped the ball out like that is credited with a rebound if his team gets the ball. I think they were referring to Tyson Chandler doing it a lot. Barbosa had one rebound and I don't remember him getting any others beside the tap out. Noy 100% sure though. We seem to be the victim of that tap out by the other team a lot. I know Chandler fouls people a lot when he does it. Maybe its something we should be teaching our guys as well. That is unless you can corral it with both hands.

tardust wrote:Bob, you said that the tap back out by Barbosa was something that wasn't seen in the boxscore. I heard during a game recently that the guy that tapped the ball out like that is credited with a rebound if his team gets the ball. I think they were referring to Tyson Chandler doing it a lot. Barbosa had one rebound and I don't remember him getting any others beside the tap out. Noy 100% sure though. We seem to be the victim of that tap out by the other team a lot. I know Chandler fouls people a lot when he does it. Maybe its something we should be teaching our guys as well. That is unless you can corral it with both hands.

tardust,

If you say it's credited, then I stand corrected. I said that because I remember Steamer trying to do that from behind a lot and he always had a paltry number of rebounds in the boxscore, so I assumed they weren't credited.

Maybe it's a homie stat man's call?

bob


.

Unfortunately, Redsarmy has changed the format and won't let me cut and paste the individual .gifs and .jpegs here anymore. Bummer. If someone can figure out how to to do that and let's me know, I'll keep doing it.

Here's the link to their page with them.

http://redsarmy.com/2013/01/15/photo-gallery-celtics-bobcats-3/


bob


.

Hey Pete, how are you doing? Don't see you too much here, must be really busy! Anyway, nice to see you are still amoung the die hards!!!

Have a good day!

Rosalie

bobheckler wrote:

tardust wrote:Bob, you said that the tap back out by Barbosa was something that wasn't seen in the boxscore. I heard during a game recently that the guy that tapped the ball out like that is credited with a rebound if his team gets the ball. I think they were referring to Tyson Chandler doing it a lot. Barbosa had one rebound and I don't remember him getting any others beside the tap out. Noy 100% sure though. We seem to be the victim of that tap out by the other team a lot. I know Chandler fouls people a lot when he does it. Maybe its something we should be teaching our guys as well. That is unless you can corral it with both hands.

tardust,

If you say it's credited, then I stand corrected. I said that because I remember Steamer trying to do that from behind a lot and he always had a paltry number of rebounds in the boxscore, so I assumed they weren't credited.

Maybe it's a homie stat man's call?

bob


.

Oh I wouldn't bet much on it. I just remembered them talking about in the Knick game. Your right it might be a homie call too

Hey Pete, how's it going for Donna and you? We just made reservations to be in Florida April 12-19. We'll be traveling all over the place, but it would be great to see you guys. We're also planning to have lunch or dinner with Sam and Gladys Jones on the way. Needless to say, we're really looking forward to the trip.

Please give our best to Donna.

Sam

sam wrote:Hey Pete, how's it going for Donna and you? We just made reservations to be in Florida April 12-19. We'll be traveling all over the place, but it would be great to see you guys. We're also planning to have lunch or dinner with Sam and Gladys Jones on the way. Needless to say, we're really looking forward to the trip.

Please give our best to Donna.

Sam

flying or driving sam?

cuz driving will likley get ya into my neiborhood

Thanks, Pete. I hope we can work something out.

Driving, Matty. Just us and the two cats.

Sam

Pete, let me know when the party starts. Count me in. W