POST GAME - ORLANDO - HOME

NEXT GAME - WEDNESDAY - AWAY - PHILLY - 7:00 PM

Rapid Reaction: Celtics 96, Magic 89

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Rapid reaction after the Boston Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic 96-89 on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Rajon Rondo, fresh from four days of rest, turned in his best outing since returning from ACL surgery, posting 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting with 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers over 26:37. Jared Sullinger added another meaty double-double (21 points, 12 rebounds) and Brandon Bass kicked in 19 points and nine rebounds to help pace the Celtics. Arron Afflalo scored a team-high 18 points as the Magic put all five starters in double figures, while Nikola Vucevic added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

TURNING POINT
The Celtics trailed for only 15 seconds the entire game and led by as much as 12. Even still, the Magic hung around most of the night. And when old friend Glen Davis muscled in a layup with 2:30 to play, Orlando was within two. Rondo responded with an elbow jumper, Jeff Green hit only his second shot of the night off a Rondo feed, and Brandon Bass hit an elbow jumper off a Rondo helper as Boston's lead ballooned back to eight in little more than a minute.

LOOSE BALLS
Avery Bradley, back after missing five games with a sprained right ankle, chipped in 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting. ... Green had a woeful night shooting the ball, finishing 2-of-13 overall for eight points. He had five assists and a highlight-worthy block, but also four turnovers. ... Gerald Wallace, who rejoined the team Sunday morning after flying back from his native Alabama after a death in his family, dressed but did not play. ... The Magic had 13 offensive rebounds, but only 14 second-chance points. ... After recent struggles shooting the ball, Boston finished at 50 percent overall (41 of 82).

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics (16-33) snapped a four-game losing streak while winning for just the fourth time in 22 games. Boston, which entered the day tied with the Philadelphia 76ers, will leap back ahead of their Atlantic Division rival and now owns the fourth-worst record in basketball. That could change in a few days. The Celtics will take a two-day break before visiting the 76ers on Wednesday night. A visit from the Sacramento Kings looms on Friday.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


RAJON RONDO POSTS DOUBLE-DOUBLE, LEADS BOSTON TO 96-89 WIN OVER MAGIC

By Jackson Alexander  
 
Rajon Rondo scored a season-high 19 points and the Celtics snapped a four-game losing streak with a 96-89 win over the Magic on Sunday afternoon.

Rondo, who sat out Boston’€™s loss against the 76ers on Wednesday, shot 9-for-11 from the field, and added 10 assists for a Boston team that had lost 16 of its last 18.

Jared Sullinger led all scorers with 21 points, and he tallied his second straight double-double with 12 rebounds. Avery Bradley returned from his five-game absence with an ankle sprain to score 17 points. Brandon Bass also chipped in 19.

Arron Afflalo paced five Magic starters in double figures with 18 points.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE CELTICS

Rondo: For the first time this season, Boston fans got their old point guard back. Rondo, who entered Sunday’€™s game averaging 6.7 points and 5.7 assists per game on 27.9 percent shooting, played his best game of the season. He scored a season-high 19 points and added 10 assists and five rebounds. Rondo did all this on shooting 9-for-11 shooting. He stuffed the stat sheet in the first half with 13 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Sullinger: In the Celtics‘€™ 95-94 loss to the 76ers on Wednesday, Sullinger put together a 24-point, 17 rebound performance that on the surface looked impressive. However, the fact that Sullinger needed 25 shots ‘€” and only made nine ‘€” to get his 24 points took some of the punch out of that statline. Against the Magic, Sullinger again posted a double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds), but this time he did it in an efficient manner (9-for-14 from the field).

Rough on the rookie: Victor Oladipo will presumably have plenty of opportunities to showcase the talent that made the Magic use the second overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft on him against the Celtics in the future. But after one season, it’€™s safe to say that Oladipo’€™s career versus Boston has begun inauspiciously. Oladipo’€™s fourth and final game against the C’€™s this season was his worst. He shot 3-for-16 from the field, scored 12 points while playing the unfamiliar point guard position in place of an injured Jameer Nelson.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE CELTICS

Green shooting: Jeff Green had a miserable shooting game in Boston’€™s win, as the small forward missed 11 of his 13 shots. Green, Boston’€™s leading scorer, finished with eight points and shot 1-for-5 bound the arc. To Green’€™s credit, he did dish out five assists. In his last four games, Green’€™s had two 2-for-13 shooting performances, and a 4-for-13 night as well.

112288

Other than defense in the paint, the Celtics played very well. Rondo, Bass and Sully all played great games.

Nice to get AB back.

It was a really good game. I thought to myself "Wow, this team actually has some semblance of a cohesive unit."

Rondo, Bradley, Bass, and Sully were beastly on offense, combining for 76 points. All they need is to get Jeff in a better position to score. You could be looking at a very formidable group of scorers. One thing that was evident is the fact that Rondo makes everyone's job easier once he's up to speed. Guys like Humphries, Johnson, Bayless, and Wallace will also have an easier time scoring. Of course, this doesn't account for the defensive problems. But even still, Boston allows the same PPG that the Heat allow.



KJ

KJ, I thought Jeff got good feeds off Rondo, He just couldn't execute.

worcester wrote:KJ, I thought Jeff got good feeds off Rondo, He just couldn't execute.

Yeah, he missed a few baskets, but he did hit a jumper in crunch time and made multiple plays on defense. I thought he played well despite his lack of offensive production.



KJ

I still think Rondo will make Jeff Green a much better player.

A few observations...

1. Drought in Three-Point Land.

Collectively, the team shot 4-14 from 3. While 14 three-point attempts over the course of an entire game is not that bad, a few of them were taken as a result of bad offense followed by a rushed attempt for a low percentage shot. As a result of mostly bad offensice habits, the team hasn't shot well from three in a long while.

One positive was that the ball movement overall was better this game. I believe the success from behind the arc will return, but the team would be wise not to depend on it.

2. Turnovers

16 turnovers is a bit high, but not quite as bad as the worst we've seen it. Rondo himself had 4 of those. Naturally, ball protection has to start with him. But others need to takes care of the ball better (throwing better passes, not being careless with the ball, etc) which will result in more offensive possessions that can be converted to points.

3. Laying Siege to the Paint

The Celtics were quite successful in the paint, managing to score 42 points within the lane. I'm sure Stevens was pleased and I hope he places more emphasis on the importance of taking more high percentage shots. Although this likely doesn't factor into this statistic, Boston also did well from mid-range. Bass, Sullinger, and Bradley carried the brunt of the scoring load from there.

Unfortunately, Orlando managed to score 44 points in the paint, highlighting a weakness is Boston that won't soon be rectified without a legit interior presence.

4. Beasting the Boards

The Celtics pulled in 44 rebounds (+5 over Orlando). Sullinger (12) and Bass (9) were absolute beasts inside, and even Rondo managed to pull in 6 rebounds.

5. Pace, Pace, Pace

Rondo was pushing the ball more. Guys were running the court more. Not only were they running, the passes were being caught for easy layups or open jumpers in transition. This certainly bodes well for the future and it gives some confidence in Rondo being able to regain his prior physical abilities.

Overall, there was a lot to like, but also a lot to improve on. Some improvements will not take place any time soon but this seemed like a great example of what this team can do with Rondo.



KJ

Let's get the "I've got good news and I've got bad news" BS out of the way first.  The good news, aside from that we won, is that we looked pretty good doing it.  We looked coherent, especially on offense, and that has been absent for quite a while.  The bad news is that we beat the second worst team in the NBA who were playing without their starting point guard and starting power forward and we only beat them by 7.  Nevertheless, if you're going to start thinking like winners the first step is to win.

74 year old Dick Bavetta worked the game.  74.  He has been reffing in the NBA since 1975.  I don't know whether I should cheer, seeing somebody who is well past retirement age still contributing, or ask how he couldn't see the retirement of David Stern as a personal message to him from God.  What does he need to see?  Does it need to rain frogs?  Parting of the Hudson River to ease the commute of Wall Street brokers?  Become a kindergarten teacher, Dick.  You'll still be running around after kids, you'll still be able to make them go sit in the corner wen they misbehave and you'll still be able to have "teacher's pets" you can play favorites with.  Just quit the NBA before MY arteries harden.  Medicare and NBA just don't go together, unless you're sitting in the stands.

1.  Rondo did seem to run more and that makes my heart glad.  We still only took 82fgas, which is nice but nothing to write home about.  The number, and the difference in the final score, would be bigger if we didn't have 16 TOs.  Obviously, this was Rondo's best game since returning, both hitting his shots and dishing.  Could his timing be coming back at last, or is he just beating up on a younger, smaller kid?  Who cares?  Hitting your shots gets you in the zone and helps you hit more shots, running plays that get easy scores makes your teammates move more so they can get the pass an winning begets more winning.  Rondo has a very slow release but, because everybody is still going under the picks on him, he's getting that extra beat or two to get the ball off.  It will be interesting to see what happens when they realize he can shoot and don't do that anymore.  His shooting motion, however, has been totally transformed.  It is now smooth, with a nice wrist follow-through that says it's coming off his fingers like it's supposed to and not out of the cup of his hand like it used to.  Next, use that same motion to hit free throws.

2.  Jeff Green had a horrible shooting night, 2-13, but he did so many other things on the court that helped.  He had 5 assists and was the team leading assist man until Rondo turned it on in the final frame.  In the first half, especially, he created a lot of offensive movement with drive and dishes, making the defense adjust and creating offensive opportunities when doing so.  He had two steals.  Statistically, his game was decidedly underwhelming, but I didn't come away feeling "Green stunk".  I felt like he was trying to do whatever it took to help the team and that included a lot of non-stat stuff.  One of the stats he did get credit for, but doesn't quite sum it up, was Jeff hustling back to add support against a 3-on-1 fast break by Orlando and was able to get back into the play and blocked the layup.  Great hustle by Jeff Green.  When you can't finish a 3-on-1, or a 3-on-2, that is a momentum shifting play and that was Jeff Green last night.  He got us going in the first half with assists and hustled his fanny off in the second.

3.  Nikola Vucevic is a not just a double-double machine, he's a double double-double machine.  What I mean is that not only does he grab boards and score, he plays zero defense and gives up a ton of space and points and that makes your guy look like a double-double machine too.  He is NOT a rim protector, to put it gently.  He had 11 rebounds, 5 of them offensive, but 2 of those were padded because he missed two uncontested tips at the rim.  He's better than our centers, true, but that's because we only have a 7'0" alligator-armed rookie and a rookie Euro who still doesn't see basketball as an "any kind" of contact sport.

4.  Sully won the Dinosaur Ballet last night against fellow Brontosaurus Big Baby Davis.  3 rebounds, Baby, only 3 rebounds?  And then there was that one ridiculous flop.  I'm going to be watching to see if the league issues a warning on that over the next day or so.  Bass just stood over Baby and looked down at him like "are you kidding me?".  Sully worked it against Davis and did whatever he wanted against Vucevic.  Of Sully''s 15fgas, 5 were outside the paint (he was 2-5) and the rest were in the lane or at the rim.  We hear about teams calling about Rondo, calling about Bradley, calling about Green but we don't hear about people calling about Sully.  I think that says every GM in the league knows he's untouchable.  Good.  His father Satch was in town (and at the game) and bought dinner for his son the night before.  Tommy asked Satch why he paid, instead of his multi-millionaire son, and Satch said "that's the only way I can be sure he's listening to me".  So, what did the former high school COY say to his son?  According to Jared, “He said my body language sucked and my attitude sucked,” Sullinger said of the dinner conversation. “And he said that’s not what got you here, and he pretty much tried to whoop me back to shape, as my other two fathers did: Julian, as in my brother, and Jay, as in my brother, as well. I was fortunate to have three fathers in my life, technically, according to them.”  "Daddy, don't let your son grow up like Big Baby.  Teach them to be warriors and Celtics and such" (kudos to Dandy Don Meredith for that).  Danny should just bite the bullet and pay to move Satch and his family to Boston, so he can be here full-time.  What a great influence on Jared and, no doubt, on the rest of the rookies.  It might drive Sully a bit nuts though.

5.  Jameer Nelson read the scouting report and saw that Bradley was going to be back for this game.  He was so scared he twisted his knee.  LOL.  Sam asked me on the Game On thread if I thought they were going to trade Nelson (I didn't see his post until this morning).  I think they'd love to trade Nelson.  He is definitely past his shelf life and he's getting paid $8.6M (team option for the same next year).  If they take Wallace, I'd do the deal.  I don't dislike Crash, quite the opposite, but Wallace has the ugliest contract in the league and Jameer, if his option is not picked up next year (and it won't, not for that money) makes him an expiring contract and Danny would trade his mother for another expiring contract.  Wouldn't it be odd seeing Nelson and Bradley together in the same back court?  At least Nelson's knee wouldn't have to take such a beating from Jameer before game days against the Celtics.  However, if we're going to see what Pressey can or cannot do, he has to play.  Yes, we want another expiring contract, but we have other priorities as well.

6.  Our backcourt did a great job on their backcourt.  Victor Oladipo was the #2 pick.  Generally, I like his game, I think he's going to be a player, but last night he was 3-16.  Aaron Afflalo, on the other hand, isn't going to be a player, he IS a player.  Afflalo becomes available only if Pat Robertson's prediction of Orlando being destroyed by Divine Retribution because Disney extended healthcare coverage to same-sex partners comes true.  Our backcourt, coming back from injuries both large and small, outplayed them and that's saying something.  Orlando might have weaknesses as glaring as us, but not those two.  Even Rondo stayed in front of his man.

7.  Jason Maxiell didn't play?  At all?  I've been looking for an injury report, news of "conduct" detrimental to the team", anything that would explain that and I've found nothing.  Did Jacque Vaughn think that playing Maxiell against the comparable Celtics might endanger their tank and that's why he kept him out?  The ESPN boxscore just says he was a "DNP - Coaches Decision".  Maxiell would have been a significant impact player yesterday.

8.  Tough game for our newest mascot, Chris Johnson.  He struggled with Afflalo, but so do a lot of players.  He made a few mental mistakes like overplaying deny defense out on top without knowing if anybody was backing him up (no one was, Afflalo took off and had a layup because CJ was completely out of position overplaying him) but that didn't rock his confidence, he just came downcourt and hit a 3.  He grabbed a very rugged, one-armed rebound away from the MUCH bigger Kyle O'Quinn.  CJ is playing with an amount of control and discipline that is quite surprising and impressive to me.  I mean, this guy was undrafted, just showed up with the last drop of rain and he doesn't get rattled, hits his 3s (he's shooting 41.4%) and has a positive assist-to-TO ratio (1.4:.9).  I'm still watching him to see how his ball handling is and to see if he can play SG (at 6'6", 201# that's probably a better place for him in the NBA).  So far, though, I'm quite happy with him.  Never seems to play outside himself, never tries to do too much.  Rondo found him in the corner a couple of times, which is where you can usually find CJ, that he didn't do in earlier games.  Abby Chin reported that when Brad was asked why they signed Johnson to a second 10-day contract he said "because he's the best player on the team".

9.  Moe Harkless is a slasher and a pest.  7 rebounds, 2 of them offensive.  He's not scoring like he did at St. Johns, but he's starting to figure out how he can be effective in this league.

10.  Nice solid game by Bay Leaves.  Solid defense and did what he does very well which is coming off a pick, moving into the open area created between the picker's defender and hitting the open elbow jumper.  5 assists and 2 TOs for our backup point guard corp (Pressey had 2 assists and 1 TO, Bayless with 3 and 1).  Pressey needs to run every time.  Every.  Time.  Even if he pulls up because it's 1-on-5, he should run to get everybody else moving too.  His forte is uptempo and if he wants to stay in this league he can't take a night off with that.

11.  Bass came out hot (naturally, he started.  If he came off the bench I suspect I wouldn't be able to say that) and had a great game.  19 points on 9-15, 9 boards and solid baseline defense.  He should have earned that foul against Baby by actually decking him instead of getting it because every bone in Baby's body suddenly turned into oatmeal.

12.  We shot 50%.  That's the first time we've shot 50% or better since the December 8th massacre against the Knicks at MSG.  That's a long damn time ago.  From 12/8/13 - 2/1/14 we've averaged 41.4%, the worst in the league.  With a strengthening Rondo I expect tIthings to improve, but you can't hang your hat on just one player.  When Rondo went down last year we saw Pierce step up and become a "point forward".  We saw Jeff Green do that in the first half last night.  It would be splendiforous (stealing from Clyde Frazier now) if Green embraced that role.  Sure, I'd love to see him scoring 20ppg, and he certainly could, but getting our offense rolling in general might produce far better results.

We won.  Finally.  I'll take it, caveats and disclaimers notwithstanding, because it's all about winning, isn't it?



bob



.

Bob, evaluating number of shots per game always has to be done in conjunction with shooting percentage.  Their field goal attempts were held down (and only slightly—to one less than the 83 shots they've averaged all season) because they shot so well (50%).  Their field goal percentage for the season is 43%.  I'll take 82 shots and a 50% shooting percentage every time.  I agree that turnovers didn't help, but their impact on number of possessions compared to their more "normal" turnover figure of 15-or-so—was minimal.

Also, too bad Johnson lost a three because his foot was on the out-of-bounds line. Even if it didn't count in the score, it still counts in terms of ganas and accuracy.

Sam

Bob great post My only comment is about your comment regarding big baby and how he grew up. People do not choose how they grown up. Davis experienced a very difficult childhood while Sully experienced a staple supportive chilhood.

Dboss

dboss wrote:Bob great post My only comment is about your comment regarding big baby and how he grew up.  People do not choose how they grown up.  Davis experienced a very difficult childhood while Sully experienced a staple supportive chilhood.

Dboss

dboss,

I was unaware of Davis' childhood difficulties.  Looking at his Wikipedia page, I saw that, at age 9 and 150#, he was considered too big to play peewee ball and used to cry when playing against older teammates, prompting his numbskull coach to say "stop crying you big baby!".  Traumatic for a pre-teen, probably not something that should still be lingering as a major league pro athlete.

I also saw that, when he was 15, he attended a basketball clinic led by Shaq and, in a friendly wrestling match, he picked Shaq up off the ground and body-slammed him to the ground.  That impressed Shaq so much he introduced Baby to former LSU head coach Dale Brown, and that put him on the path to playing college basketball at LSU which got him into the NBA.  Whatever lingering distress remaining from the peewee incident probably was moderated when he threw a 7'1", 325# man down.

I saw nothing in his Wikipedia page that suggested single-parent household, child abuse, substance abuse or any other kind of childhood trauma.
I googled "Big Baby Glen Davis Childhood" and saw some videos called "Baby Davis, where childhood abuse happens", but they were referring to the kid he knocked down during the Magic-Celtics playoff game, not Davis himself. I'm surprised those videos haven't been taken down now that he's with the Magic


What difficult childhood are you referring to? I know Davis trashed a hotel room. He apologized and paid for the damage. Other than that, what manifestations of childhood issues are you thinking of, other than flopping on the court? If that's it then Ginobili and Varajao must have been part of a child pornography ring because they're a helluva lot worse than Davis when it comes to flopping.


bob


.