The Morning Walkthrough: Monta Ellis 'had his way with us tonight'

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn't mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston - "'[Ellis] played great for them," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "He basically saved the game for them at the end of the game with that play. One misstep and Tony [Allen] would have had a layup. [Ellis] made a great adjustment to get to the ball and maintain control.' Ellis connected on 15 of 26 attempts, and added four assists. Celtics guard Ray Allen admitted there was little the Green could do to slow him. 'We started out putting one-and-a-half guys on him to start the game, which turned into two guys guarding him and that didn’t work,' said Allen. 'By that time it was too late. He basically had his way with us tonight.' Said Ellis of his big night: '[Scoring is] really just coming to me. I’m trying to get everybody involved -- got myself going, and they keyed in on me, so I moved the ball and everybody got involved.'"

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston - "Celtics coach Doc Rivers pointed to a season-high 25 turnovers as the key in allowing the Golden State Warriors to rally from an 18-point deficit for a 103-99 triumph at Oracle Arena. 'I told the guys [at halftime] that we had 58 points with 15 turnovers -- that's a miracle,' said Rivers. 'Typically, if you have 15 turnovers, you have maybe 35 points. The fact that we had 58 points with that many turnovers was amazing. But you can't have turnovers against them. They score too quick and too easy. Honestly, that was the difference in the game. 'We were up 18 in the first quarter -- that happens. Eighteen points doesn't mean much, they're an offensive team and we knew they'd get back in it. It was more the 25 turnovers that turned the game around.'"

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald - "Instead of patiently pounding the ball into the paint against the undersized Warriors, the Celts were content to jack up 3-pointers. They went 5-for-19 from beyond the arc and got outscored in the lane, 44-36. The best sign for the Celts was Rondo, who was utterly undaunted by his two free throw failures against the Clippers. Rondo also tweaked a sore left hamstring in the first quarter. 'I thought he played terrific all night,' said Rivers. 'His hamstring is bothering him. We almost took him out at the end but he just wanted to keep playing, and he played great.'"

Tom Halzack, Celtics Central - "In a move never before seen in an NBA basketball game (by me), Doc Rivers stationed his two tallest players, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, in front of Watson, the player throwing the ball in. Garnett and Perkins went crazy jumping and waving their hands. When Watson was unable to get the ball in, the Warriors called time out and substituted the taller Vladimir Radmanovic as the player to throw the ball in. Perkins and KG again waved wildly, causing a huge distraction as Radmanovic was forced to throw a football pass leading Ellis to a spot in the back court. The scheme almost worked as Ellis started to fumble the ball a bit as he got to it. But he recovered and the Celtics were forced to foul him. Monte made both foul shots essentially ending the game."

Paul Flanner, WEEI - "We have been down this road many, many times before with Tony Allen. Throughout his star-crossed career, Allen has shown sporadic spasms of brilliance, mixed with head-scratching periods of inertia. So, it comes with no small parts of restraint to say that Allen’s return to the Celtics lineup has been nothing short of solid. Yes, Allen still mixes the sublime with the bizarre, but on the whole the good has far outweighed the bad. His latest comeback is even more intriguing because when the season started one would have been hard-pressed to imagine a scenario in which Allen would have even been given the chance to contribute, let alone excel."

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.

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