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FAST BREAK: JEFF GREEN, JARED SULLINGER HELP CELTICS STOP BUCKS

By Ben Rohrbach  
 
Jeff Green scored a game-high 29 points, Jared Sullinger recorded his sixth straight double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) and the Celtics won their fourth game in five tries, 102-86 against the dreadful Bucks.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Bass kicking: If not for Bass, the Celtics would have been in serious trouble early against the Bucks. While the rest of his teammates shot a combined 6-of-17 from the floor (35 percent) in the opening 12 minutes, Bass finished 5-of-8 for 12 points to go along with four rebounds, and the Celtics led 26-24 after one.

Crash course: Perhaps motivated by the few Milwaukee fans in attendance who constantly chanted “Ger-ald,” Wallace filled the stat sheet starting in place of the injured Avery Bradley. He compiled eight points on three shots, three boards, three steals and two assists by halftime, helping the C’s take a 49-46 lead at the break.

Green thumbs up: After scoring just two points on four shots in the first quarter, Green progressively improved throughout the night, saving his best for the last quarter. He scored eight points on five shots in both the second and third quarters, and then erupted for another 11 on eight attempts in the fourth to close out the win.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Tank top: The Bucks sat Larry Sanders (eye), Ersan Ilyasova (back), O.J. Mayo (illness) and Caron Butler (ankle), and the Celtics countered with Rajon Rondo (knee), Bradley (ankle) and Vitor Faverani (knee) on the bench. If a February game against the NBA’s worst team in Milwaukee could get any uglier, it just did.

Oh, shoot: Midway through the third quarter, the Bucks were shooting exactly 50 percent from the floor (22-44 FG), taking a 61-59 lead after consecutive buckets by Khris Middleton (a 3) and Zaza Pachulia (a bunny). Milwaukee entered the game shooting a league-worst 42.1 percent from the field.
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Rapid Reaction: C's 102, Bucks 86

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Rapid reaction after the Boston Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 102-86 on Monday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Jeff Green scored 11 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter while teaming up with rookie Kelly Olynyk (14 points, 11 rebounds overall) to help Boston race away in the fourth quarter. Green started quietly, but connected on 11-of-22 shots (five of his misses were beyond the 3-point arc) while adding three assists, two steals, a rebound, and a block over 44 minutes. Jared Sullinger posted another double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Phil Pressey had a nice night while making a spot start for Rajon Rondo (13 points, 6 assists over 24 minutes). Brandon Knight scored a team-high 22 points for Milwaukee, while Gary Neal added 17 off the bench.

TURNING POINT
The Celtics were clinging to a two-point lead heading to the final frame, but opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 burst ignited by two Green mid-range jumpers to build a double-digit lead that soon ballooned. Olynyk had a little offensive burst midway through the quarter and Boston's lead went as high as 17 in the final minutes.

LOOSE BALLS
Rajon Rondo (rest), Avery Bradley (ankle), and Vitor Faverani (knee) were held out for Boston, while Joel Anthony was a healthy DNP for Boston. ... Ersan Ilyasova, O.J. Mayo, Luke Ridnour, and Larry Sanders were all out for Milwaukee. ... The Bucks turned the ball over 21 times for 32 points; Boston gave it away just 16 times for 15 points. ... Boston shot 47.7 percent from the floor overall (42 of 88), while Milwaukee was at 43.1 percent (31 of 72).

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics (19-34) have now won four of their last five games -- feasting on some of the basement dwellers of the league -- to build a little confidence before the All-Star break. Boston hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday before taking a full week off from game action at the league's midseason holiday. With Monday's win, the Celtics shuffled within four games of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. 

112288

This is the second time recently where the Celtics, instead of folding have impressively pulled away from an opponent in the fourth quarter. Me likee.

Berlin-T wrote:This is the second time recently where the Celtics, instead of folding have impressively pulled away from an opponent in the fourth quarter. Me likee.

Here's who the Bucks were missing last night: Ersan Ilyasova, Larry Sanders, O.J. Mayo, Luke Ridnour, Caron Butler and Carlos Delfino. Still impressed?

Both teams looked like D League teams. I would not get any thrills out of beating the worst team in the NBA.

Again, sit and watch the evolution of a rebuilding team. We are probably 30% on our way with a lot of heavy lifting still ahead.

112288

The much-maligned Jeff Green only scored 29 last night, so I expect his detractors to hire sky-writing planes to remind everyone about the quality of the competition.  For a while, it seemed as though Jeff had lost the desire and/or ability to take the ball strong to the hoop.  No longer.  He attacked again and again last night and hit 50% of his shots (including 10-16 on two-pointers but only 1-6 from behind (and the “make” was WAY behind) the arc.

Kelly Olynyk ranks third among all Celtics rotation players in rebounds per minute.  Yup, ahead of Brandon Bass and behind only Humphries and Sully.  He had a double-double last night which was nice. But it was the way he did it that impressed me.  He is very gradually using his length, speed, smarts and abilities to lesson the negative impact of his lack of bulk.  He’s running the floor well; he’s more aggressive in taking the ball to openings near the hoop;he has become more accurate on his jumper; he used his length to grab both offensive rebounds—even in traffic.  But what most impressed me last night was his defense.  He stayed in front of his man but, more important, he protected the rim very well, often collaborating with Sully to form an impenetrable wall down low.

One thing about Kelly is that it’s not difficult to know how he’s feeling about his performance.  He’s He sort of wears his heart on his mouth, and he flashed some broad smiles last night.

Sully had another doube double despite having only three rebounds at the end of three.  Ho hum.  But not so ho hum were his four blocks (one in collaboration with Olynyk on which they both blocked the ball but Jared was awarded the block).

Brandon Bass has been having some streaky games lately—both streaky good and streaky bad.  Last night, he was hot in the first half but did very little after intermission.

Both Pressey and Bayless had 6 assists, although five of Bayless’ were in the second half.  Jackie MacMullan felt that Phil really injected some life in the team.  One thing I thoroughly enjoy watching is the Pressey-Olynyk pairing.  The hours of practicing together, and their genuine regard for one another, really pays off in some beautiful combinations.  Phil seems almost able to read Kelly’s mind.  On one occasion last night, Phil’s pass was on its way just as Kelly rolled to the hoop.  I really enjoy seeing them on the court together.

One problem on which Pressey needs to work.  He sometimes has a tendency to try to thread passes from near-impossible angles.  He did it on two consecutive possessions last night, and both resulted in turnovers.

When Bayless is thrust into the PG position, his shooting has a tendency to go to hell (2-10 last night).

Gerald Wallace’s role on this team is really interesting (at least to me).  Among all the Celtics players, he spends the most time filling in the cracks in their capabilities.  Nothing major last night, but once again he was the shooting guard and he played his usual energetic game with 8 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds and his usual tight defense in 28 minutes.

On the Johnson watch (an interesting but unintentional double entendre where basketball players are concerned), Chris played 24 minutes.  He’s been finishing virtually every game lately, but this was the first blowout in which many of his minutes were in garbage time.  Nothing special, but once again error-free, strong and very energetic defense, 5 points, 4 rebounds, and fearless launching from the arc (where he was 1 for 2).

My player of the game could easily have been Green, who was consistently effective.  It could easily have been Sully for his continued, sustained toughness.  But I’m giving it to Kelly Olynyk.  In the second half, Kelly entered the game when the Celtics had a modest lead; and he led the charge that made the game a laughter.  Sometimes that can happen just by the coincidence that a player just happened to be in there during a pivotal time.  But Kelly was perhaps more aggressive than I’ve ever seen him, and he was definitely their leader during that stretch.

I expect to hear a lot of the boring, trite truisms about the quality of the opponent.  But I stick with my theory that, if one sees tendencies in a player, the tendencies exist regardless of the competition.  It happened.  It can’t be erased. If the tendencies aren't sustained, it may often be due to the failure to identify ways to do so; it's not always because the player "lost it" or never had it.

The tendencies displayed last night—Kelly’s aggressiveness and amazing defense, Jeff’s aggressive and lights-out shooting, Sully’s double double, and some nice ball-distribution moments by Phil and Jarryd—can’t be ignored.  They’re all glimmers available to be capitalized on as time passes.

They played a bad team with missing players.  And they played with missing players of their own, away from home, and in their third game in four nights.  Trade rumors are swirling, and they can’t help but cut into players’ focus. And they had their first positive blowout since December.  So good for them as they inch their way toward #18.

Go Celtics!

Sam

steve3344 wrote:

Berlin-T wrote:This is the second time recently where the Celtics, instead of folding have impressively pulled away from an opponent in the fourth quarter. Me likee.

Here's who the Bucks were missing last night:  Ersan Ilyasova, Larry Sanders, O.J. Mayo, Luke Ridnour, Caron Butler and Carlos Delfino.  Still impressed?

Yes.

112288 wrote:Both teams looked like D League teams. I would not get any thrills out of beating the worst team in the NBA.

112288

Too bad for you.

I'm not seeing anyone talk about "thrills" here. Many of us have been preaching patience during this transition period. I've been preaching the wisdom of looking constructively upon little glimmers.

If I contrast the current state of the Celtics (even with an injured Rondo and still no genuine center) with that of the Celtics in November, I see directional improvement. I see steps in the right direction—not necessarily giant steps but positive steps. Perhaps many aren't feeling that good over Sully's development or Rondo's showing signs of becoming his old self or Humphries' rising to levels of competence I certainly didn't expect or Wallace's consistent display of energy and versatility or or Bass' newfound ability to take it strong to the hoop or Olynyk's improvement in certain respects over the months or Bradley's shooting improvement to complement his defense or Pressey's surprising ability to be a catalyst or Green's recent improvement in aggressiveness or Brad's apparent savvy and ability to learn the NBA or Phil Johnson's playing well enough to show some present and future promise or the team's gaining enough collective rhythm to average fewer turnovers per game than last year even though it's the first year together for many of them.

There's no injury fairy out there preparing the roughest possible gauntlet for the Celtics to face as they attempt to improve bit by bit. They can't help it if an opponent is having a bad year and also has injuries. In fact, that description applies to themselves, and it could be that their own practices are more testing than some of the teams they face. All they can do is try to play their hardest regardless of the opponent, improve as best and as fast as they can, learn from adversity and not lose hope because fans are deserting them. I like to think they're doing just that while Danny is hopefully plotting ways to accelerate the process—very possibly trading some of his current players (along with their improving games) for players with more ability or the ability to help this team more.

So, speaking only for myself, I believe I have a heritage that equips me more than almost anyone else on this board for insisting that anything but a championship is drivel. But that same heritage also impels me to be thrilled over anything good that befalls the Celtics—no matter how small—and hopefully to cope with the less-than-thrilling times. I couldn't fathom being any other kind of Celtics fan.

Go Celtics!

Sam

112288 wrote:Both teams looked like D League teams. I would not get any thrills out of beating the worst team in the NBA.

Again, sit and watch the evolution of a rebuilding team. We are probably 30% on our way with a lot of heavy lifting still ahead.

112288

Despite the record, this team is not as far off as many seem to believe. Just a few more pieces to round things into form.

A win is a win nonetheless.


KJ

For a non leaping body type, Sully has been surprisingly blocking alot of shots lately, he has great instincts. I notice on defense, hes technically on the guys shooting hand, playing good position defense and doing as much as humanly possible with his limited jumping ability. This kid is just a natural, strong wide body, quick feet, great hands and great instincts and timing.

cowens/oldschool wrote:For a non leaping body type, Sully has been surprisingly blocking a lot of shots lately, he has great instincts. I notice on defense, hes technically on the guys shooting hand, playing good position defense and doing as much as humanly possible with his limited jumping ability. This kid is just a natural, strong wide body, quick feet, great hands and great instincts and timing.

I just wish he would shoot less threes. Or wait until he has practiced them enough to shoot better than 26% on them. I do know usually the first year many players take a significant number of them they have not mastered that shot yet and oftentimes improvement soon follows. Let's hope that's the case with him. But if he can continue his other numbers the way he's played the last 6 games - 19.8 points and 12.8 rebounds per game - then we have a perennial all-star on our hands. And an absolute steal at where he was drafted.

Steve, Sully's shooting of threes sometimes drives me crazy too. He's hitting only 26% of them, so his three-point shooting isn't really a difference-making weapon. What it does offer is a change-of-pace in the offense, and it doesn't seem to lower his ability to get into the scrum for offensive rebounds.

If I think of Sully as an individual shooting threes, I feel a little negative. But, if I think of him being in the high post while someone like Asik is in the low post, somehow Sully's outside shooting seems more complementary.

24% of the Celtics' field goal attempts this season have been threes. 9% of Sully's field goal attempts this season have been threes. Perhaps, over time, Brad will prevail on Sully to tone it down with the threes. But, at the present time, it can't hurt to have a big who is enough of a threat from outside to cause opponents to stop packing their defense so much in the lane as they're now doing.

The Celtics are averaging 83 field goal attempts per game this season. Only 2.5 of those 83 are three-point attempts by Sully. And only 1.9 of those 83 attempts are three-point misses by Sully. So I can't help but think that Sully's shooting of threes is all that high on the list of issues to be concerned about in the total scheme of things.

Sam