Post-game Thread: Celtics-Jazz in Utah

[Sam]

From the sublime to the ridiculous described the two middle periods, and the Celtics held on to close out the game with a 109-100 win over the Jazz.

Two-thirds of the opening quarter were played by the Celtics' starters; and Brad Stevens later described them as "looking as though they were running in mud."  Fortunately, the floor at both ends must have been muddy because the quarter ended with a relatively anemic 17-17 tie.

The bench came in, and the game turned dramatically in the Celtics' favor.  The Celts scored 38 points in the second quarter, but the story of that quarter was the defense more than the offense.  The bench scored 21 and the starters 17 in the quarter.  Standout scorers were Prince for the bench (10) and Bradley for the starters (also 10).    I remarked on the Game-on Thread how the Celtics' offense was feeding off the defense.  There's something about the rhythm initiated by a defensive stop that can often translate to rhythm on the offensive end.  As the stops piled up, the Celtics looked supremely confident in any shot they took. The "makes" included 6-9 from three-point land, with Bradley and Prince hitting a pair apiece.

In the second quarter, the Jazz scored only 14 as the Celtics' bench in particular guarded them practically to a standstill.  The Jazz kept shooting (poorly) primarily jumpers, hitting only five of 17 in the quarter.

On the Game-on Thread, Rosalie asked whether the Jazz could possibly be that bad.  The answer was, "No," and the roof fell in on the Celtics as the two teams reversed their fortunes in quarter three.  The Jazz came out of the locker room very aggressively at both ends.  They forced the Celtics into seven turnovers (Sully alone had three); the Jazz had four steals and four blocks as the Celtics continually insisted on driving into traffic under the basket.  The Jazz finally recognized the value of heading for the hoop, scoring 18 points in the paint during the quarter as they shredded the Celtics' excuse for an interior defense.  The quarter ended with the Celtics up by only five after having been ahead by 24 earlier; and the Jazz had some serious momentum.

To the rescue, once again, came the bench. scoring 17 of the Celts' 28 points in the quarter.  Tyler Zeller sank a bewildering succession of hook shots, scoring six in the quarter, and Marcus Thornton chipped in with six timely points of his own.  While Prince contributed only one three-pointer in the scoring column, he was clearly a calming presence on offense (and he handed out two of his five assists in that quarter); and he played excellent defense the entire game.  Zeller also made a pivotal block near the end.  And, shortly thereafter, Marcus Smart made another pivotal play by trailing an Avery Bradley breakaway and stuffing a putback when Avery’s shot was blocked.

Prince was really the story in this one.  His 19 points and 5 assists pale compared with the calming, professional reassurance he gave to the team.  He didn’t change his game regardless of the game situation, and this is a big lesson the young guys will have to learn.

The starters were -2 in 118 minutes; and the bench was +11 in 121 minutes.  This underscores the fact that the Celtics are at a greater competitive advantage when the bench is on the floor than when the starters are on the floor.  And when’s the last time the bench was given more minutes than the starters?

Rudy Gobert, in 26 minutes, scored 8 points and had 10 rebounds.  He also had three blocks, and they didn't look like flukes. Pretty impressive!  But, on one Celtics possession, he was yapping at the referee while Zeller went in for an uncontested layup.  With four minutes to go in the game, he was yapping for a review in a situation where a review can only be one in the last two minutes.  It's not that I expect him to be a PhD in basketball; but, with a few exceptions (see Green, Gerald), a hallmark of the Celtics has usually been to employ smart players.

Gordon Haywood simply makes things happen on the floor.  His 26 points and 6 rebounds in 36 minutes don't do justice to his catalytic style.

Go Celtics,

Sam

[worcester]

Sam, when's the last time the Celts were 3-1 on a West Coast road trip?

[bobheckler]

Following along great on the Game On thread and using ESPN game time the 2nd half "looked" like this:

3rd quarter - We took jump shots, they took layups. They scored 35, we scored 16.
4th quarter -  Zeller inside, Thornton took over for a 2-3 minute stretch with a 3, fts, passes and rebounds. For them, Trey Burke threw up a 3pt fga every time he touched the ball, so did Hayward (with more success than Burke) and Favors took jump shots. Kanter's name didn't come up much, neither did Gobert's.

In the last two minutes or so both of their twin towers which tortured us all game (Kanter with 20 points on 10/16 and Gobert with 3 blocks in 26 minutes) were pulled.  Maybe Gobert was pulled because of his 63% ft%, but why Kanter?

We were up 55-31 at halftime.  It shouldn't have been this close but win is a win is a win...

3-1 on a west coast road trip.  Not bad for a team that has been in constant flux.



bob



.

[kdp59]

what am I missing?

I thought we started this road trip by losing to the Clippers?

by my count we're 3-2 so far with Minny left.

doesn't mean we're not playing WAY above what most of us felt, I said before the Clippers game....will we win two games on this road trip?

I hope the players don't have any let down playing at Minny.

[worcester]

You're better at math than i am kdp...3-2 it is.

[Berlin-T]

I also felt that two wins would be realistic and even positive for this team. The fact that we already have three with a chance for four indicates that they are starting to develop good chemistry, especially defensively.

On offense I'm amazed sometimes that we score at all, with horrible passing and blown fast break opportunities. Sam is spot on with his remark about defense fueling the offense.

We still need an adequate point guard and a dominant defensive center, but the fact that we're starting to win without them bodes well for the future. I hope Danny keeps Prince and that he has a good couple of years left. He's a consummate pro.

Berlin-T

[kdp59]

I could possibly see Bass and Prince around next year. but I think the chances are very, very small.

keeping them cost us possible cap space on holds for them I think in the $20M range ( if I remember the cap holds on UFA's is something like 150% of their last deal).


so unless Ainge can extend them cheaper somehow (is it even possible to extend players during the current season?), that alone makes them likely to move on (along with Thornton of course).

we're kinda in a pickle now with Bass, Prince and Thornton to a lesser degree.

it seems Stevens wants to play them, becasue he thinks it give us a better chance at winning. But more winning might mean a move OUT of the lottery,. probably not what Ainge wants.

we've seen in the past week, thet we can PLAY with any NBA team. We can also win about half the time with the current roster (as they are playing now anyway).

that means we can push for a playoff spot in the east. Nort many Celtics fans coudl concieve of this after Rondo and Green were moved, but we can see it.


what will Danny do?

[Sam]

Worcester, I remember a few years ago the Celts going 3-0 in Texas. But I can't recall the actual year.

Sam

[beat]

Worcester, I remember a few years ago the Celts going 3-0 in Texas.  But I can't recall the actual year.

Sam

Ask and yee shall receive

66 Mon, Mar 17, 2008 7:30p EST Box Score @ San Antonio Spurs W 93 91 53 13 W 2
67 Tue, Mar 18, 2008 8:30p EST Box Score @ Houston Rockets W 94 74 54 13 W 3
68 Thu, Mar 20, 2008 7:00p EST Box Score @ Dallas Mavericks W 94 90 55 13 W 4


http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2008_games.html

beat

[wide clyde]

Sam,

I also remember that Texas road sweep, but that was clearly with a different team.  There are no Allens, Pierces or Garnetts on this team. Also, Houston was not a real good team at that time either.

This road trip has been great so far with many more good things than bad.  I would guess that just about everyone would agree because when the trip started i would think that most of us would have been happy with one win when now with a win tomorrow night in Minnesota the Cs will have four.

I would hope that this road trip and about the next five games will show some more glimmers that have not been showing very much for the last six weeks.

[beat]

Sam,

I also remember that Texas road sweep, but that was clearly with a different team.  There are no Allens, Pierces or Garnetts on this team. Also, Houston was not a real good team at that time either.

This road trip has been great so far with many more good things than bad.  I would guess that just about everyone would agree because when the trip started i would think that most of us would have been happy with one win when now with a win tomorrow night in Minnesota the Cs will have four.

I would hope that this road trip and about the next five games will show some more glimmers that have not been showing very much for the last six weeks.

And Wide if they had been home yesterday or today they would have been snowed out too

beat

[wide clyde]

beat,

Correct about the snow. I hate snow.

[worcester]

Also, a trip,to Texas is only one time zone, and three away games is not six. Our guys are responding well to their young coach. That said, what great D our 2008 team displayed.

[Outside]

Going 3-2 so far on this trip is quite an accomplishment, especially considering they didn't win a single road game against the West last season. And even though Denver and Utah aren't that good this season, winning in both high-altitude cities, especially as part of four games in five nights, is also quite an accomplishment. Winning in Minnesota would cap the trip off nicely.

[Sam]

Beat, thanks for the clarification.

Sam

[Sam]

Outside,

I believe the announcers had been saying the Celtics had lost something like 23 straight on the road to western teams. But I don't pay much attention to those streak things when they involve other than the team as currently composed. It's now that counts; and It's heartening not only to see the Celts grinding out wins in the West but also to observe the way they're doing it.

It's certainly been worth coming home from Nassau to watch.

Wait, did I just say that? Let me look outside.

Revision: It's been worth coming home from Nassau to watch the Celtics and see our cats.

Sam

[Outside]

Sam,

Glad to see that you have power and that you can look outside and see something other than a snowbank up to the eaves.

[Sam]

As long as I don't have to go outside, Outside.

Sam

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