Running Diary: Undermanned Celtics again can't rise in the West

Tic-tac-toe, three in a row.  Unfortunately for the Celtics, it's now three losses in a row.

From the very beginning, the Celtics were thoroughly outplayed, and the loss of KG and Paul Pierce were simply too much to overcome against a good Suns team.

As shorthanded as they were, the Celtics simply exhibited very little effort.  They gave up offensive rebounds and wide open jumpers all night long.  I never wanted to ram my head into a wall harder than I did seeing Channing Frye wide open on the arc play after play.  Sure, he was hotter than Mila Kunis (right), but I'm pretty sure things might have been different if he'd had a hand in his face all night.

At the end of the day, though, the Celtics were without two of their stars and another -- Rajon Rondo -- might as well have sat out the first half, too.  Beyond that, they were missing two key subs, Glen Davis and Marquis Daniels.  With so many players out, it's a testament to the C's track record with injuries that anybody is even upset by the loss.  Really, they should have been expected to lose this one, in Phoenix against a good Suns team.

But they just shouldn't have lost like that, with little effort and even less resistance.

If you want to read some more of my thoughts, here's my running diary of thoughts during the game.  Hopefully, they will probably bring you a smile, even if your head -- like mine -- is still hurting from ramming it into the wall after all those Frye jumpers.

First Quarter

• KG's out for tonight, and I'm going to say it now...  To say KG's injury is unrelated to last year's surgery is like saying Tiger Woods' car crash was completely unrelated to his "transgressions."  Highly unlikely.  The Celtics expect us to believe he got kicked in the knee and that's what's causing all the discomfort?  Please don't insult our intelligence.
  
• Tony Allen with a sick behind-the-back in the open court, then right after that leads the break and finds Rasheed Wallace for a breakaway dunk.  Allen's resurgence has been more shocking than it would be if Steve Nash went up for a tomahawk dunk.
• Not shocking, though, is that Amare Stoudemire is destroying a KG-less Boston front line.  Almost before I could sit down in my couch, he already has 8 points. 12-10, Celtics.
• After a couple Phoenix threes, Boston's defense looks very porous early on.  They're flat, and seem to be in a funk just like they were when KG missed a game earlier in the season.  It took them an entire half to recover that night, but that was against the Pacers.  If the C's play a bad half tonight, without KG and Pierce, they'll get blown out... no matter how well they play in the second half.
• 20-12, Suns.  Suns are running and gunning, and on a quick 12-0 run.  Nash is firing bullet passes ahead to his teammates, and Amare is killing the Celtics whenever Nash or a three-pointer doesn't.
• My brother: "This could be a loonnggg night."  Reason number one I know it's going to be a long night?  Amare Stoudemire just took a charge.  Since when does Amare Stoudemire exert any energy at all on the defensive side of the floor?
• Reason number two I know it's going to be a long night?  Brian Scalabrine was the first man off the bench.  Never a good sign.
• Less than ten minutes in, Amare looks like the second coming of... searching for a good basketball comparison... not finding one worthy... screw it, fine, Jesus Christ, with 16 points and 6 rebounds.  And no help seems on the horizon; he's now being defended by Scal.  (Note: I vaguely remember Scal doing a great job on Amare once upon a time. Sadly, I don't believe a repeat is likely.)
• The first quarter mercilessly comes to a close, but not after Jesus Christ erupted for 18 points and 6 rebounds.  Let's just say the Celtics miss Pierce and Garnett.

Second Quarter

• I'm surprised Rondo didn't play a better first quarter.  He usually kills Steve Nash, but had a non-existent 2 points and 1 dime in the first.  Maybe his hammy is a little stiff?
• Stat that makes literally no sense: Celtics had 10 fast break points in the first, Suns only had 4.  Huh?  Did my eyes deceive me?  Weren't the Suns running all over the C's in the first?
• The second quarter starts off even worse than the first.  Instead of Amare Stoudemire looking like Jesus Christ, it's now Channing Frye and Louis Amundson getting easy dunks and easy layups.  None of which looks good for the guys in Green. 36-21, Suns.
• Louis Amundson gets fouled on an easy layup look, and Donny Marshall is ecstatic because -- for once tonight -- the Celtics defense rotated.  When the announcer is that hyped after a single defensive rotation and a foul that results in two shots for the opposing team, it is never, never a good sign.
• Tony Allen strips the ball from Grant Hill (aka pokes him in the eye) and heads off the other way, where he gets fouled by Barbosa.  Allen is the lone bright spot tonight.  If you think that bodes well for winning this game, think again.
• With the Celtics down 44-32 and not showing any energy whatsoever, is there a better time to throw Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens into the fire?  And maybe Lester Hudson?  If nothing else, they'll bring some energy into the game.
• Tony Allen flushes home a nice dunk off a Perkins feed. He continues to be the One Shining Player for the Celts.  I thought Rondo would play well, but I'm not really sure if he has even stepped foot out of the locker room yet.
• Finally.  Another reason to smile, and maybe even a little hope: Eddie House nails two consecutive jumpers, and the Celtics are now down only 9 points.
• Ray Allen spends an entire shot clock dribbling, only to end the possession with an awkward, off-balance, running layup that clanks heavily off the backboard then rim.  Not so coincidentally, methinks, Doc calls Rondo to sub in on the next play.
• Tony Allen picks up his fourth steal, then gets called for a bogus charging foul while finishing the layup at the other end.  Granted, he should have given the ball up to a wide open Rajon Rondo, but he didn't commit a charge, damn it!
• The bad news: Grant Hill blocks Rondo's half-court heave at the end of the half, and the Suns take a 61-49 lead into half-time.  The good news: I finally noticed Rondo was in the game.  
• More good news: If the Celtics pick up their defense in the second half, and rebound the basketball, they are in position to come back.  The bad news?  They haven't shown a single sign of doing that yet.

Third Quarter

• I just got a glass of water, except I didn't put any ice in it.  Is anyone else in the world so lazy that they'll drink lukewarm water rather than get some ice cubes out of the freezer?  (Thinking about Rasheed Wallace sauntering around the court... Thinking about Rasheed Wallace's gut... Thinking about Rasheed Wallace's tendency to settle for three-pointers... Maybe there is someone as lazy as I am, after all.)
• Reason not to trust Gary Tanguay, under any circumstances: He just said the Celtics are doing a good job without KG and Pierce tonight.  Huh?  Really, Gary?  Did you even watch the Celtics get smoked in the first half?
• An early fourth foul for Stoudemire.  Donny Marshall says it might be a blessing in disguise for the Celtics.  I ask you, what's the disguise?  It couldn't be more clear that fourth foul was a blessing if it came stamped "Blessing".
• Perk is starting to take advantage of Stoudemire, who the Suns left in the game despite his fourth foul.  Earlier I said Stoudemire wasn't likely to exert any effort defensively, so you can imagine what he's like with four fouls.  Straight matador.  The C's should go to Perk a whole lot as long as Stoudemire stays in the game.
• When Amare dunks, it's like the rim did something wrong to him.  Like it made him very angry and he just wants to hurt it.  He does not go to the hoop weakly.
• Perkins gets called for a moving screen.  I think it's the millionth moving screen of his career.
• The Celtics temporarily had the deficit back down to nine, but it quickly ballooned to 16.  That's what happens when you play negative defense and leave shooters and big men wide open.  Channing Frye has now hit three wide open threes; something tells me it might have been in the scouting report that he likes to fire from long range.  Just a guess.
• Rasheed shoots an airball from three-point range, an exclamation point in what so far has been an 0-4 night from downtown.  If my eyes weren't mistaken, his lower body was still twisting while he pulled the trigger; 'Sheed had no balanace on that one.  I don't know if that's been his problem, but I'll keep a closer eye on it.
• The lead is now twenty.  I'm contemplating turning the channel and stopping the torture, but I can't;  I keep hoping the Celtics will mount a comeback.  Me not turning it off is like somebody going through the Chinese Water torture by choice:  The water keeps dripping and dripping onto my face, and all I have to do is role over and stop it, but I don't.  Somehow, after all this crappiness tonight, I still have a little faith in my Celtics.
• Channing Frye right now is a combination of college J.J. Redick, Hoosiers Jimmy Chitwood, and Bulls Steve Kerr.  Of course, it helps he's been wide open all game long, but still.
• 90-73, Phoenix after three.  Even the biggest die-hards like myself are close to throwing the white flag.

Fourth Quarter

• Shelden Williams starts the fourth off with an emphatic missed dunk.   He sure does seem to miss a whole lot of dunks.
• Shocking stat of the night #2: Jared Dudley is leading the NBA in three-point field goal percentage.  Watching him in college, I would have thought I had a better chance of leading the NBA in three-point shooting than Dudley.
• As bad as it's been, the Suns lead is only 15 with ten minutes left. As bad as it's been, I still have hope.  Somebody hit me in my head and tell me how stupid I am.
• Oh, well, there goes my hope.  A quick Channing Frye jumper makes the lead 17, and then Barbosa goes right by Scalabrine and hits a bucket.  Two plays later, Frye hits another three.  He's as hot as a conventional oven right now.
• The lead is twenty, and it's just about time for the youngsters to (finally) get their chance.  As for me?  My hope has been strangled away by a flurry of jumpers from a guy who looks like an over-sized version of Sean Elliott.

• Tell me they don't look alike.  Tell me.  That's what I thought.
• The rest of the game was pretty normal for two teams just trying to run out the clock. Shelden Williams getting a technical was the only thing out of the ordinary but, really, who cares if Williams gets a technical?  Not me.
• The youngsters finally got their chance, but it was only in garbage time.  Actually, the whole game might as well have been garbage time.
• Oh yeah, and Shelden Williams missed another dunk.
  

Running Diary: Celtics done in by bearded man

Baron Davis is one of the most frustrating NBA players in the game today.  He has all the talent in the world -- strength, athleticism, great court vision, soft touch -- but for whatever reason hasn't been able to be a consistent performer over his career.

On any night, though, he can put all those skills on display, and when he does he can be very special.  Unfortunately for the Boston Celtics, he decided to put those skills together against Boston, doing it all for the Clippers in their 92-90 win.

With one second left in the game, after two Rajon Rondo misses from the free throw line left the game tied at 90, Davis came up to the top of the key and drilled a jumper with Rondo draped all over him.

Poor Rondo; he went from being the Celtics best player for 47 minutes and 59 seconds to the goat by the end of the game.  First the missed free throws, then Davis' jumper in his mug.  (Even though you couldn't play much better defense than Rondo played, short of completely denying him the pass.)

For my thoughts while the game was going on, read on. It's my running diary...

First Quarter

• It took Tony Allen a little less than two minutes to get his first turnover.  I don't want to be too harsh on Tony, he's played well lately, but the only reason he got that turnover was that he decided to look off Rondo, who was looking for an outlet pass.  Tony, just a bit of advice: Don't. Look. Off. Rondo.
• Baron Davis is far too strong for Rondo.  Three minutes into the game, and Davis has been super aggressive going to the hoop.  When he plays like this, it's hard to realize why he's not one of the NBA's elite point guards... until you remember he has hardly ever been in shape, continually decides to settle for bad jumpers, and gets injured more often than Evil Knievel.
• Eric Gordon just blew by Ray Allen for an easy two-handed flush.  I hate to say it when he's playing the Celtics, but I really like the way he plays.
• Celtics look a step slow to begin the game.  It could be a letdown from winning such an emotional Orlando game, it could be having to travel from Orlando to L.A., or it could be that they saw they were playing a team starting DeAndre Jordan.  Whatever it is, they don't have the same sense of urgency they had against Orlando.
• Early on, Rondo's the only one with any energy.  Thankfully for the Celtics, he's dominating the game, with 6 points and 2 assists in the first seven minutes.  Celtics up 13-12.
• Since I got on TA for his dumb play earlier, I've got to give him credit now: He just stole an entry pass, then ran his lane down the left wing.  What happened?  Rondo hit him with a bounce pass and Allen ended up on the free throw line shooting two free throws.  Moral of the story?  Let Rondo make the decisions.  (As I'm writing this, Allen just broke up an alley-oop with a great defensive play.  He's done some really good things these last few weeks.)
• TA is taking over the running diary.  This time, a nice cut from the wing to the bucket, where Rondo hit him for an easy lay-in.  One of the big changes Allen has made to help his game is working off the ball.  When he is just a finisher, he can be a weapon.  When he tries to initiate plays and over-dribbles, that's when he makes bad mistakes.  (By the way, I can't believe what I just wrote.  Tony Allen "can be a weapon." Before the season, I would have bet my life I would never say that.)
• Brian Skinner's little goatee thing is disgusting.  I don't want to be too graphic, but he looks like he has Brian Scalabrine's pubic hairs pasted to his chin.

Second Quarter

• A minute into the second quarter, Ray Allen gets subbed in for Rondo and the Celtics now have a lineup of Ray, Scal, Eddie House, Big Baby, and Rasheed.  Not exactly their best unit.
• Remember when I said it wasn't their best unit? I wasn't lying.  But it doesn't really matter, because 'Sheed is getting defended by Brian Skinner and Brian Skinner's pubic goatee... And he is torching them both.  On one possession, he put the ball right over Skinner's head, as if contemplating about what move to make, then just decided, "Hey, I can just shoot it right over him.  I don't even have to make any moves.  It's that easy." And so he shot it.  And it went in. 
• Even without Rondo on the floor, Eddie House is playing almost entirely off the ball;  Ray and Tony Allen are doing most of the ball-handling.
• DeAndre Jordan is an athletic freak.  He had a huge alley-oop earlier, and a nice block on a Rondo drive in this quarter.  He's a physical specimen but, still, he's not very good.  Why not?  He's less skilled offensively than my grandmother.

• KG just went up to catch an alley-oop, completely botched the dunk, then came down limping.  I get the feeling his injury is worse than the Celtics are letting on and, if it is, he should be sitting out some more games.  Plus, have you seen that knee brace of his?  He's out there looking like a young Forrest Gump.
• The starters came back into the game with the score 38-34, Celtics.  Now, it's 42-38 Clippers.  Bring back Scal!
• You can say what you want about Tommy Heinsohn being a complete and total homer; it's all true.  But I miss him during road games.  Especially when the Celtics get called for a blatantly obvious foul and I just want to hear Tommy's inevitable, "What a bogus call!" Nobody complains about good calls quite like Tommy does.  Actually, I'm forgetting about somebody who does...  Did you see Kobe Bryant the other day?
• I can't believe some of the entry passes L.A. has thrown into their big men.  They've already thrown away three our four.  I've seen second-grade teams who can throw better passes into the post.
• Baron Davis just settled for "the Baron Davis" to end the second quarter.  What exactly is "The Baron Davis"?  A stepback, fadeaway three-pointer, of course.  Surprisingly, it's only his first "Baron Davis" of the night.  (Side note: "The Baron Davis" also has an alternate name... "The Vince Carter".
• The half ends with the Celtics ahead, 48-46.  Rondo leads the Celtics with 10 points and 4 assists.  Garnett a paltry 2-7 from the field.  The Clippers shot 50%, but 10 turnovers hurt their cause.

Third Quarter

• The Celtics have picked it up to begin the second half.  Rondo's getting out in transition, Tony Allen's making nice plays, and Kevin Garnett is affecting things on both ends of the floor.  A quick 12-4 run to start the half has put the Celtics up 60-50.  
• If Tony Allen keeps playing like he is, the C's bench will be dangerous when Marquis Daniels returns.  Both Allen and Daniels are versatile defenders who can really apply pressure on the other team.  
• Mike Gorman on Al Thornton: "Thornton's been out there for 25 minutes, and we haven't called his name much."  Couldn't have said it better myself, Mike.  Still, despite having done literally nothing productive tonight, he leads the Clippers in minutes.  Huh?
• What's more attractive... Chris Kaman or Brian Skinner's goatee? I vote Kaman, by a hair.
• Baron Davis comes off a screen and launches his second "Baron Davis" of the night.  In related news, it missed.
• The C's are really playing great defense in this third quarter.  Every shot is contested, and Garnett and Perk are really doing a great job of owning the paint and not allowing easy shots.  (Note: As I was writing this,  Eric Gordon sliced to the hoop for a wide open lay-up.  The lesson, as always: Don't jinx your team.)
• Mike Gorman: "I haven't figured out yet what the Clippers are trying to do."  A perfect quote to describe the Mike Dunleavy effect.
• I'll say this about DeAndre Jordan: He's good at catching alley-oops.  To me, it's his one discernible skill.
• I really like Rasual Butler.  He's not great by any stretch of the imagination, but he seems to be a pro's pro.  He sprints both ways in transition, gives it all he's got on defense, and can really shoot the basketball.  He's one of the few Clippers who actually seems to give a damn.
• A missed Rasheed dunk turns into a Chris Kaman and-one at the other end... Kaman seems to be really happy, after being named more attractive than Scal's pubes Brian Skinner's goatee.
• 73-69 Celtics to end the third.  A good start to the quarter was ruined by a lackadaisical last few minutes.

Fourth Quarter

• Big Baby has played a nice game tonight.  He's gotten a few offensive rebounds, taken a few charges, and scored a few buckets.  Plus, unlike Shelden Williams, he doesn't have a wife with more skills.
• When I watch the Clips play, I wonder why Craig Smith doesn't get more playing time.  He can score, he's active on the glass, and he's not Brian Skinner.  What more could the Clips want?  (Answer: Maybe a power forward taller than 6'7"?)
• Another note about Smith: Watching him go against Big Baby is like watching two 6'7" bowling balls play basketball.
• I was just about to ask why Eddie House was still in the game with a little over five minutes to go, then Eddie hit an and-one jumper from the corner.  I guess that's why.  Still, no matter how hot Eddie's been this fourth quarter, Rondo should not be on the bench to finish the game.  He just shouldn't be.
• With four minutes to go, Doc finally puts Rondo back into the game.  Doc, he's been your best player all night long.  He should have been in a long time ago.
• I don't have any stats to back this up, but Perk seems like he's been far more active on the offensive glass lately.  He just had a huge board after a Ray Allen miss, keeping alive a possession that ended with a made Rondo jumper.  
• Eric Gordon takes three very long steps, then gets called for a travel, and somehow Donny Marshall takes Gordon's side and said he didn't walk.  He's like Bizarro Tommy Heinsohn right now.
• TA with a huge steal and coast-to-coast lay-in to give the C's a four-point lead.  I keep waiting for his inevitable self-destruction at the worst possible time, but he hasn't had one in awhile. (Crossing my fingers that I didn't just jinx the first reliable stretch of play Allen's had in a long, long time.)
• .346 -- No, I didn't just randomly write down Albert Pujols' batting average.  .346 is actually DeAndre Jordan's free throw percentage on the season.  To look on the bright side, though, if he were three times as good from the line he'd be a little better than Ray Allen.
• Doc Rivers is subbing offense-defense with 'Sheed and Perk.  I like that, but I don't like 'Sheed deciding to shoot a three on his first possession, despite being oh fer five on his first five trifectas.
• Rondo drives by Baron Davis with time running down, drawing the foul and getting himself to the line.  Mark Price, please tell me you helped Rajon enough to let him make at least one of two.
• They show this stat before Rondo takes his first free throw: 54% from the line.  He then clanks the first one.  So much for the reverse jinx.
• And Rondo misses them both.  Damn you, Mark Price, damn you.
• Baron Davis drills a fadeaway with no time left on the clock.  Wow, what a stomach-punch.
• That last play ended up well for the Clips, but did anyone else notice these two things about it?... 1) Dunleavy had Rasual Butler, arguably the Clips best shooter, pass the ball in, and 2) Steve Novak, ice-cold after sitting for the first 47 minutes and 59 seconds, was inserted into the game.  If you want a shooter, doesn't it make more sense to have somebody else pass the ball in and have Butler  -- not ice-cold Novak --  on the court?
• For the Celtics, this was an uneven effort.  They didn't execute well, either offensively or defensively, and clearly didn't show the same focus and determination they showed in beating the Magic the other night.  Really, they didn't deserve to win this game.

Mike McD helps me explain the C's win over the Grizzlies

Me: Enough is enough, Celtics. Finish the f---ing Grizzlies off.
Doc Rivers: Hanging around, hanging around. They've got alligator blood. Can't get rid of them.

Okay, so I kind of stole that quote from Rounders, and spiced it up a little to fit the game. But, just like Mike McD, those Goddamn Grizzlies sure did have some alligator blood. (Although, unlike Mike McD, they wouldn't end up winning.)

Every time the Celtics looked like they might get away, there was Rudy Gay with a swooping drive to the hoop, or O.J. Mayo with a stop-on-a-dime jumper. Even Mike Conley was getting into the act with some shot clock buzzer-beating jumpers, which were dropping all net, all night. (Side note: When Hasheem Thabeet shot a 15-footer with plenty of time left in the shot clock, I'm pretty sure he thought the game was being played with NBA Jam rules and Memphis was on "team fire." There is no other excuse for Hasheem Thabeet to be taking a jumpshot. His jumpers are more likely to shatter the backboard than to go in. Tommy Heinsohn's quote after Thabeet shot the jumper? "Well...umm... that was a gamble.")

Moving on, I don't know about the rest of the world, and maybe it's only because playing the Bulls the other night conjured memories of the terrific playoff series, but this game really, really reminded me of that seven-game series.

There was Ray Allen hitting dagger threes. Rajon Rondo running wild. Ben Gordon O.J. Mayo hitting contested jumpers with a perfect, quick release. Mikki Moore Shelden Williams playing 12 scoreless minutes. Kevin Garnett being injured acting like he was injured for the first half. Me holding my breath every second Tony Allen was in the game. A young, upstart team against the experienced, accomplished Celtics. There was little defense, and big shot after big shot being made. All this game needed was Vinny Del Negro's part and seven trillion overtimes, and it would have been a perfect match.

That said, as good a game as it was, as competitive as it was, and as close as it was, I still wasn't happy with the Celtics effort. (Mike McD: "Would you stop f---ing around, for five Goddamn minutes, once in your f---ing life?") Early in the second quarter, Tommy Heinsohn said, "They... their defense is porous, man." He was talking about the Grizzlies of course, but he could have been talking about either team on this night.

The C's couldn't get stops, and it wasn't that Memphis was playing good team basketball. They were simply making one-on-one forays to the hoop. I can't really describe how Memphis played, besides saying it was "selfishly unselfish." It wasn't like any member of the Grizzlies took a ton of shots. Their four top scorers (Rudy Gay, Mayo, Mike Conley, and Marc Gasol) all took between 12 and 17 shots. If you were to look at the boxscore, you'd probably think they played great team basketball, and shared it nicely. But it wasn't that; It was more like the Grizzlies took turns being selfish. One play, they'd clear it out and let Mayo go to work. The next, it was Gay's turn. Then Randolph's, and on and on. There wasn't a lot of ball movement, and the Grizz only had 5 assists in the final three quarters, but their offense was nonetheless effective.

As was the Celtics' offense. Whatever I say about the Celtics defense, I saw little wrong with another well-played offensive game. The ball was once again moving, finding open shooters and cutting slashers. I was surprised Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett didn't take more advantage of Memphis' weak defensive tandem of Gasol and Randolph, but the Celtics hang their hats on taking open shots and finding the best possible shot. For the most part, that's what they did.

While Ray Allen hit the big shot, it was Rondo who led the way throughout. The poise with which he has played, and the aggressive manner with which he pokes and prods at the defense until an opportunity opens up to make a play, illustrates the maturation process he has gone through. Rondo has now become a consistent force, a player to be reckoned with at all times, and when he gets humming the C's are very tough to beat.

He had stretches of brilliance tonight, but my favorite Rondo sequence happened in the third quarter: Rondo drove baseline out of a halfcourt set, leaving a dump-off between two converging defenders for an open Kevin Garnett. After Garnett bobbled the ball, then got blocked on his subsequent shot attempt, Rudy Gay ended up with the ball dribbling downcourt for an apparent fastbreak. But Rondo had other plans, poking the ball away from Gay and securing it for a steal. A few seconds later, a slashing Rondo dished to an open Ray-Ray for three, and he'd shown in a ten-second span why he's been so good this season. He had the vision to spot KG, the speed and quickness to run down Gay, and the patience and presence of mind to draw the defense before hitting Ray for his trifecta.

Speaking of Ray, I don't really have to say much. Ray can miss every three he takes for a whole game, but I'd still be comfortable with him shooting an open shot with the game hanging in the balance. So when he'd already hit four of his first five no-brainers, I was confident knowing it was in Ray's hands with the C's up only two and the shot clock winding down. I was even more confident when I realized it was Zach Randolph contesting Ray's shot. (After getting over the initial shock that Randolph actually contested a shot.) Why was I so comfortable with Z-Bo playing defense? It always seems like whoever Randolph's guarding tends to hit shots.

Rasheed Wallace thinks so, at least. For the past, oh, four years or so, 'Sheed has been reluctant to take his game into the post. But tonight, with Randolph guarding him, 'Sheed's eyes lit up and he became the low-post scorer his fans have craved while he's been launching three after three. 'Sheed was executing drop-steps, he was hitting turnaround jumpers, and he even had Tommy Heinsohn singing made-up lyrics, "ALLLLLLLLL NIIGGGHHHTTTTT" in some funky tune. (Tommy also said about Randolph's defense: "That's like ME trying to guard Wallace in the post." Sadly, I think Tommy was insulting himself, not Randolph.)

Sheed also helped a balanced rebounding effort that neutralized the Grizzlies' biggest strength. No Celtic had more than 8 boards (KG), but Boston nevertheless tied the rebounding battle, 36-36 and even outrebounded the normally tenacious Grizzlies.

Despite the good offensive performance, no lead was ever safe, mostly because no lead was ever greater than 8 points (I think). Neither team could get a stop when it needed one, as the Grizzlies were content to take turns working one-on-one and, on this night at least, their talented scorers were putting the ball in the basket. (Teddy KGB: "In my club, I will splash the pot whenever the f--- I please.")

One of those talented scorers, Rudy Gay, really impressed me tonight. For years, I've wondered about his shot selection and thought to myself, "Damn, why doesn't he work harder to get a good shot? He's 6'8", a long 6'8", with moves, touch and athleticism, so why doesn't he get easy shots???" Well, there would be no settling for Rudy on this night, as he continuously strived to get to the hoop. He earned himself 9 free throws and, even on a night when he didn't shoot well from the perimeter, still wound up with 23 points.

As well as I thought Rudy played, though, I am absolutely in love with O.J. Mayo's game. I thought he could have been more aggressive, especially going to the hoop, but Mayo is an incredibly smooth operator on the court. He is always in balance, always ready to shoot, and gets his shot off so quickly, so effortlessly, that it's like watching music prance around in high-tops. If I could choose any one player in the world to play like, one player whose game I patterned my own after, I don't know if I'd pick Mayo. But the very fact that I would even think about playing like him speaks volumes about the grace with which he plays basketball.

Besides Gay and Mayo, the rest of the Grizz played well, too. Conley hit the aforementioned prayers, Randolph -- while not exactly exhibiting the defensive prowess of a young Bill Russell -- did his thing on offense, and Gasol played a good all-around game, and Hasheem Thabeet is far from a bust. Even now, he's a difference-maker because of his length, mobility, and timing on shot blocks. But it's Gay and Mayo who make this Grizzlies team scary on some nights, not anybody else.

Am I forgetting anything about the Celtics? Yes, actually. (That's a *shock*.) Tony Allen was pretty good. He did a good job limiting Rudy Gay, was actually patient on offense, and grabbed a couple offensive boards. (Calling Tony Allen "patient" is like calling the Steinbrenner family "frugal." It just doesn't happen very often.) Shelden Williams grabbed a bunch of boards in the short time he was in the game, but is so limited offensively I cringe when he's on the court. He does everything in his power to help the C's, really giving a full effort each and every time he's on the floor, but Williams just doesn't have any skills to speak of. (Mike McD: "Listen, here's the thing. If you can't spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.") Glen Davis will be a welcome addition when he returns from his injury.

KG and Pierce both hit huge shots before Ray's. (Teddy KGB: "Nyet! Nyet! No More! No! Not tonight! This son of bitch, all night he, "Check. Check. Check." He trap me!") KG's was an open jumper from the top of the key, right in his wheelhouse, and Pierce's was a drive past Gay and over Conley for the lay-in. Don't forget about those two shots when giving Ray all the credit for clutch play.

At the end of the day, the Celts were just too experienced, too good, for Memphis to overcome. (Teddy KGB: "He beat me... Straight up... Pay him... Pay that man his money.") The Grizzlies were ready to play, and played just about as well as they could but, in the end, it just wasn't enough. There weren't many stops in this game, but the Celtics got a couple more than the Grizz.

It wasn't a perfect effort, but it was enough, and completing another stretch on the road undefeated speaks volumes to the C's great play of late. The winning streak is 11, the road streak is now 8, and life is good in Celtics Town.

We'll leave the last words to our good friend Mike McD...

"Are you satisfied now, Teddy? Because I can keep busting you up all night if you like."

Celtics take down pesky Grizzlies, 110-105

Update: Read my more in-depth recap here, where Mike McD of Rounders fame helps me explain the C's win.

The Celtics beat the Grizzlies 110-105, but damn, it sure wasn't easy.  The Celtics can thank Ray Allen, late-game assassin, for this one, and also a balanced scoring effort.  Six Celtics scored between 13 and 18 points, and Eddie House added 9 off the bench.

Unfortunately, the C's defense wasn't nearly as balanced, allowing the young and athletic Grizzlies to score 105 points and shoot 51.5% from the field.  It seemed as though Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo were able to do more or less whatever they wanted, and the Celtics didn't put up much resistance.

I'm going to put up a few bullets for now, but be sure to check out the main site later, where I will describe why this game reminded me of the Bulls-Celtics series from last season's playoffs.

• Grizzlies played out of their minds.  Conley was hitting fallaway jumpers, Gay was making a point to get all the way to the hole, and Mayo was stroking the outside shot.  Memphis is a truly talented offensive team, with scorers all over the court.
• Celtics were just too much.  The C's got a couple stops here and there, and that was all they needed on a night when neither team would be proud of their defensive efforts.  (To say the least.)
• Tony Allen wasn't bad.  That's all I'll say about him until my longer recap later.
• Rasheed made a living down low, where his stronger-than-it-looks 6'11" frame was built to play.
• Rondo was once again magnificent, with 18 points and 9 assists.
• Don't label Hasheem Thabeet a bust just yet.
• Zach Randolph can fill it up.  But can't stop a soul.
  
• Lester Hudson will be optioned to the D-League.
  

Celtics escape Wizards, 104-102

At halftime, I thought the only reason to watch the second half was to see Ray Allen pass 20,000 points for his career.  Well that, and seeing whether Washington would register a rebound in the second half.  Instead, the Celtics came out of the locker room with their heads up their butts and proceeded to blow their entire 14-point halftime lead, allowing the Wizards to take the lead at 72-70.

Then the world righted itself, as the Celtics went on a quick 11-0 run, highlighted by a Ray Allen three-pointer that gave him 20,000 points for his career, to regain an 81-72 lead.  From there, I thought Washington would crumble, put their collective tail between their legs and go away.  But it wasn't to be.

They battled back valiantly, eventually pulling even on a couple occasions, but two missed Gilbert Arenas free throws with about 26 seconds remaining spelled doom for the Wizards.  Now, I don't want to say Gilbert choked, but Flip Saunders was seen running on the court to perform the Heimlich Maneuver.

His Heimlich maneuver worked, and Gilbert hit a running lay-in to make it a one-point game with about 20 seconds left, but a missed three by Gilbert after two made Ray Allen free throws had Arenas clutching at his throat again.  Randy Foye then chucked up an off-balance, fadeaway three with a full nine seconds on the game clock, reminding all Celtics fans of Tony Allen, and Red Auerbach was finally able to light up his cigar.

I'll have more analysis to come tomorrow, but here are a few bullets to keep you happy for the time-being:

• Rondo was dominant.  21 points and 11 assists, despite being limited by foul trouble to 13 first-half minutes.
• Perk with another big game, 16 points and 11 rebounds.
• Brendan Haywood really surprised me.  He was very active on the glass, and even hit a number of jumpers.
• Tony Allen was actually pretty good.  A couple dumb plays, but overall he played a damn good game.  A pleasant surprise, to say the least.
• Paul Pierce didn't impact the game much offensively, but did a great job on Caron Butler.
• Gilbert Arenas was looking like Agent Zero, until the aforementioned choke.
  

Celtics' win streak reaches seven games after Thunderous victory

If you read this site routinely, you're probably wondering why my recap didn't get posted until the day after the game. I always post my recaps as soon as I can, on the night of the game. So what the hell happened last night?

I went out. Now, you might think I went out and had a great time with my friends, or that I went to a party or a bar and immersed myself in the scene and had a wonderful time.

Come on, guys. You should know me better than that by now. You should know I went to a party and, instead of talking to anyone at the party, meeting new friends or chatting with old ones, I plopped myself down in front of the television and watched the Heat play the Lakers. My friends wanted to leave the party at around 1 o'clock, but it was the fourth quarter! We couldn't leave in the FOURTH QUARTER! Not in a close game, not in a game featuring Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant, not when I knew, just knew, there was going to be a ridiculous finish. I made my friends stay for the end of it, and we watched Kobe Bryant's amazing off-the-glass, buzzer-beating three to end the game with a one-point Lakers win. I'd like to say I had a good time going out, but I did the exact same thing I would have done if I was home, except for two things:

1) I was sitting on someone else's couch, rather than my own, and 2) I didn't write my recap while watching another game. The second one is more concerning; I can adapt to new couches, but leaving to go out without offering my full analysis of the C's game was certainly troubling. So here's me righting my wrongs, and finally giving you a recap of last night's game.

In short, the Celtics did everything I wanted them to do. First, they looked to pound it down low early, starting almost every possession with a paint touch, either by a post-up or through dribble penetration. It seems strange to say, with Paul Pierce having 21 first-half points including three three-pointers, but Boston was completely intent on pounding Oklahoma City into submission down low. Actually, they have been looking down low to initiate offense for a long time. The Celtics seem to have become aware of just how big and skilled their post men are, and have made an effort every game since the Toronto game to at least start the game off by getting paint touches. They no longer act like three-pointers are worth five points, and they certainly understood last night that a front line starting Jeff Green and Nick Collison had absolutely no business defending Garnett and Perk.

The player of the game was Paul Pierce, despite the facts that a) he scored a whopping zero points in the second half and b) He gave up 36 points to Kevin Durant, the man he was defending. So how in the hell was he the player of the game, on a night when Garnett and Rajon Rondo led the way in a dominant third quarter that, for all intents and purposes, ended the game? Well, first off, Pierce was completely in control in the first half. He had 21 points, and he did it in such a cooly efficient manner I don't even think he broke a sweat. He started off by making three wide open, in-rhythm three-pointers, then took it to the rack, attacking the rim and finding himself easy looks and free throw opportunities. He disappeared in the second half, but it wasn't because Pierce didn't play well; it was just because everyone else was so unconscious he didn't even have to do anything. Pierce is like that; he bides his time, allowing his teammates to make plays when things are going well, but at the first sign of trouble, or if the C's need a bucket, Pierce becomes the Truth and demands the ball. So, with the C's playing so well, he was happy just watching the Rondo-and-Garnett show in his limited second-half playing time.

Now, on to his defense. Pierce gave up 36 points, but actually did a hell of a job on Kevin Durant. How the f--- can someone give up that many points, all while playing good defense, you ask? Durant was just so good that Pierce's great defense didn't matter. Remember last year's playoffs, and the job Shane Battier did on Kobe Bryant? I'm pretty sure Kobe scored 30+ points per game during that series, but every time he shot, it was a contested, tough jumper with Battier's hand directly in his line of vision. How did he score all those points when Battier's hand was just about poking his retinas on every shot? Good offense is more or less unguardable; Battier played about as well as a man can play defense, but Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant, and, as long as he's playing well, he can't really be stopped. Unfortunately for Pierce, Kevin Durant was Kevin Durant last night, and he's pretty damn good. How do you stop a 6'9" wing-man with freakishly long arms, the ball-handling skills of a guard, and the soft touch of a goddess? You can't, but you can make him work for his points, and that's precisely what Pierce did.

The C's turned this one into a laugher with a terrific third quarter, led by the efforts of Rondo and Garnett. What did they do that quarter? Well, Garnett was simply 5-5 from the field, while Rondo actually missed a shot in going 6-7. (What the f---, Rondo? A miss???) Rondo and Garnett were hotter than Jason McElwain out there. Garnett was great for the whole game, starting and finishing the game off by looking for his shot against the smaller Green, who couldn't match up with Garnett's height and length even if KG was 55 and in a wheelchair. And Rondo was aggressive on both ends, harassing Russell Westbrook into a poor game while getting into the lane on the other end. About the only thing he didn't do was make free throws but, then again, does he ever make free throws any more?

Other than Rondo's free throws, it was an offensive clinic for the boys in Green, who moved the ball seamlessly and found make-able shots just about every single possession. Plus, they actually hit their damn threes tonight, something it seems like they haven't done since a few months ago. 9-17 from behind the arc, even on a night when Ray Allen couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, is a pretty damn good performance from the land of the trifecta. The threes were a product of looking first for a paint touch, working inside-out and taking the open ones rather than forcing outside shots.

On the other side, the Thunder were pretty much a one-man team. (No, that man was not Mike Wilks.) What else can you say about Kevin Durant? One of these years, he's going to lead the league in scoring, and I expect that day to come sooner rather than later. It's not just that he scores, but how he scores, so effortlessly and gracefully. Watching Durant is like watching a figure skater. Everything he does is done with such ease and smoothness you expect him to whip out some triple-axles and double-lutzes, and the only way he can probably be stopped is if the Russian judge decides to screw him out of his deserved points. (Well, either that or someone goes all Tonya Harding on his ass.)

Besides Durant, though, nobody for the Thunder did much of anything. Westbrook scored 15 points, but took 16 shots to do so, and nobody besides Durant and Westbrook even reached double figures. OKC was completely overmatched by a bigger, more physical, and more experience Celtics team that was on a mission from the opening tip.

Despite the fact that he didn't play too well, I was impressed by Serge Ibaka. He's all arms and legs, but he has the length and athleticism to become a valuable player in the NBA. He screams potential, and he already seems to realize he's going to affect games mostly by using his superior athleticism to block shots, rebound, and score easy buckets. Another thing I was impressed by? James Harden's beard. That thing is rugged, man. At night, he takes it off and Earl Boykins uses it as a blanket. What I was not impressed by? Thabo Sefolosha. I know he's a very good defender, and did a good job on Ray Allen, but I don't care how many points you hold someone to if you score zero points yourself, in over 32 minutes. If you are that bad offensively, and I was your coach, you wouldn't be playing a single minute. I don't care if you're a mixture of Bruce Bowen and Ben Wallace in their primes on defense, if you are that big an offensive liability you shouldn't be on the floor. I'm not saying Thabo is always that bad -- although he's never very good -- but, last night at least, he would have been just as helpful to the Thunder's cause if he'd come down with the swine flu and had to miss the game.

My other thoughts? Rasheed Wallace continues to cut the bad threes out of his game and focus more on his post play. That's a good thing. Eddie House is the king of garbage time, Jeff Green had a really sick baseline dunk, Kendrick Perkins continued his super-solid play, and Etan Thomas should shut the hell up the next time he realizes he's screaming and yelling after a putback basket with his team down 22 points. (I don't know if anyone else even remembers that play, but it happened in the late third quarter when Thomas started woofing after he ripped a rebound from a Celtic and put it back in. Your down more than 20, Etan. Just shut your mouth, run back on defense, and know your role. I know you were excited to score your only bucket of the game, but act like you've done it before.)

Anything else? Nope, I don't think so. Actually, yup, there's one more thing. I can't believe I almost forgot:

Kobe definitely didn't call glass.

Celtics simply too good for Thunder in 105-87 win

Well that was easy enough.  The Celtics were completely dominant tonight, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-87.  Honestly, there was only one period of time when the Thunder looked like they belonged on the same floor as the C's -- a small stretch in the middle of the second quarter, when Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were attacking the rim, using their length and athleticism to their advantage.  Other than that little span, this game was all C's, all the time.

Though I will be posting a full recap tomorrow morning on the home page, here are a few notes from the blowout:

• Kevin Garnett needs to do the stop, drop and roll.  He was absolutely on fire in the third quarter, with a parade of dunks and jumpers to blow this game wide open. (P.s. - sorry for the miserable stop, drop and roll joke.)
• As good as Garnett was in the third quarter, Paul Pierce was that good in the first half.  21 points for the Truth in the first half, on incredibly efficient scoring.  He picked his spots, hit his threes, and got to the line in leading the C's terrific start to the game.
• Extremely balanced scoring.  Boston had 7 players in double figures, and none attempted more than 11 shots.
• Rondo was great, especially in the third quarter when he and KG completely dominated.
• Kevin Durant is an absolute killer. Need I say more?
• Thunder only had two players in double figures. (Westbrook, with 15, was the other.)
• Now a 7-game win streak for the C's, who are atop the Eastern Conference standings.
  

Kendrick Perkins dominates Charlotte front line in easy 108-90 victory

This one was over when there were, well, about 36 minutes left. Actually, it might have been over even before that.

Honestly, the only reason I even watched the second half was to see when the Bobcats would surpass that ever-elusive 60-point barrier they fell short of last time (the answer: four minutes left in the third quarter), whether 'Sheed would pick up his second technical of the game (nope), and if KG would really come to blows with Nazr Mohammed. (And, if so, would Stephen Jackson fire bullets into midair to end the beef, only to get run over by a car -- or, in this case, Perk?) Sadly, none of that happened either.

All I need to do to explain to you how badly the Bobcats were outclassed is to tell you one thing: Nazr Mohammed (yes, THAT Nazr Mohammed) was arguably their best player. From my experience following the NBA, let me share some valuable knowledge with you: When Nazr Mohammed is your team's best player on any given night, you are going to lose on that night.

The player who's supposed to be their best player, Gerald Wallace, was completely non-existent. Greg Payne from CelticsBlog wrote an article titled "Paul Pierce Will Have His Hands Full With Gerald Wallace", but Pierce remained empty-handed the whole game, as Wallace more or less entirely disappeared. Mike Gorman noted, "Wallace wishes he didn't get up this morning," but his play was even worse than that. He probably wishes he doesn't get up tomorrow morning, either.

The Celtics, much like they've done recently, played great team basketball. They moved the ball terrifically, at times looking like a well-oiled machine. Playing against a Charlotte Bobcats team with an old, slow, and weak frontline, the C's did just what they should do; pound the ball inside. (Note: What the hell happened to Tyson Chandler? A few years ago, he was on the National Team. Yes, the USA National Team. And yes, for basketball. Now, he looks like Space Jam's Monstars took over every skill he ever had, as well as all of his athletic ability.)

Kendrick Perkins was dominant. He rebounded, he blocked shots, he scored, and he even threw in a between-the-legs crossover move to blow by Mohammed for good measure. (Okay, maybe "blow by" isn't the right phrase. How does "rumble by" sound? A little more accurate? Good.)

But you know what? That crossover, as nice and unexpected as it was, wasn't even my favorite part of Perk's game. So what was my favorite part, you ask? When he fouled a Charlotte player and, instead of sending a menacing scowl in the direction of Mr. Referee, he simply raised his hand and admitted the foul. It wasn't a nice play, and it wasn't positive for either Perk or the C's, but Damn! did it make me chuckle. Since when does Perk politely raise his arm after getting whistled for a foul? Seeing him do that proves true the old adage: There's a first time for everything.

Besides Perk, Ray Allen was Boston's other stud. After a prolonged slump left Ray shooting only 30% from behind the arc, it was nice to see the classy star break out for 27 points, including 5-6 shooting from three-point land. He drained a couple threes to start off the first quarter and, by that point, had already matched the total number of three-pointers the Bobcats would hit in the entire game. (Which, coincidentally, is also the number of threes they've drained against the Celtics ALL SEASON -- two.)

While just about everybody for the C's played well, one thing people might complain about is Doc's decision to put the starters back into a 20-point blowout with six minutes remaining. I see why you would complain; after all, who needs KG getting hurt playing useless garbage time? Still, I don't think it was all that bad. Even with those minutes, Ray Allen was the only starter above 33 minutes. (36 for Ray, 33 for Pierce, 31 for Rondo, 29 for Perk, and 26 for Garnett.) Maybe Doc shouldn't have put those guys back in -- and, really, I still don't get why he did. It was still a 20-point lead! -- but, with those minutes, nobody should be too worn out for Thursday night's game in San Antonio.

Anything else worth noting? Ummm... Garnett got into a little scuffle with Mohammed in the first half. Rasheed got another weak tech. (This time, he was walking off the floor when the whistle was blown. His reputation really kills him when it comes to techs.) Rondo was decent, Pierce had his first single-digit scoring output of the season, and Garnett continued his efficient play. D.J. Augustin barely played any minutes, Flip Murray was horrendous, and Boris Diaw is kind of chunky.

After winning in such convincing fashion, on the road -- again -- I want to say the Celtics are road warriors, but I think it has a lot more to do with who they played in their losses, rather than where they played those games. Had the Celtics played Atlanta, Phoenix and Orlando on the road rather than at home, they probably still would have lost all those games. Being on the road shouldn't help win games... right? Right?

Anyways, on a completely unrelated note, it sure is fun, ain't it?

Beating up on mediocre teams, that is.

Celtics beat Spurs, 90-83: Thank God for that sideline

If you're just a casual basketball fan, I'd advise you not to watch the Boston Celtics play the San Antonio Spurs.

You might never watch another basketball game again.

But if you are an avid fan, one who knows the ins and outs of the game, you can't help but appreciate the effort and execution the two teams exert every time they match up.

Those swift defensive rotations, the crisp ball movement and extra passes, the exquisite attention to detail paid both by coaches and, in effect, their teams. To some people, those things might not be exciting. Some of you would probably rather watch Golden St. play a game in the 130's against the Phoenix Suns. But that isn't basketball at its purest, that isn't a cohesive unit of five guys willing to bust their ass not only to score the basketball, but to keep the other team from scoring. Because it's at the defensive side of the ball where you find out who's truly selfless, who's gritty and willing to do whatever it takes to win. Anyone can try his hardest on offense: After all, his stats -- not to mention his next contract -- are based in huge part on offensive output. It takes a different kind of player, a different type of man, to dig in on the defensive end, to take a charge when his team needs it, to rotate to an open shooter when a teammate needs help, or to dive to the floor after a loose ball.

The Spurs and Celtics, for whatever reason, are filled with those tough, selfless types of players. They are throwbacks; they don't care who gets the glory, they don't care who takes (or makes) the most shots, they don't care who scores the most rebounds or gets the post-game interview. They just want to win games. And that's it.

Last night, you saw that selflessness in action, from all angles. You saw Tim Duncan working throughout entire positions in an attempt to seal his defender and get an angle for an easy lay-in. You saw Kevin Garnett foregoing ten-foot jumpers to throw bullet passes to Kendrick Perkins under the basket. You saw DeJuan Blair, 6'7" in high heels, a man with no ACL's, registering 18 points and 11 rebounds almost strictly by his non-stop activity and undeniable motor. (Not to mention his great hands.) You saw Rasheed Wallace, old and out of shape, hustling his rear end off to make a defensive rotation and contest shots that otherwise would have been open. You saw Matt Bonner -- slow, outmatched and, well, slow -- scratch and claw his way to nine rebounds, even though every other player on the court had considerably more athletic ability. You saw Paul Pierce, struggling to a 2 for 9 shooting performance, shake off his frustration and take it out while defending Richard Jefferson and Manu Ginobili, whom Pierce helped harass to combined 7 for 25 shooting. You saw pure heart, determination, and team play from everywhere.

While both teams executed, and both teams played hard, it was the Celtics who made more plays. And the player who made the most plays for the C's, Rajon Rondo, was their MVP. It was hard not to give my meaningless, made-up MVP award to KG, but the difference between when Rondo was on the court and when he wasn't was so great I couldn't help but give it to him. (Did you see that second unit with House running the show? Every bench player who played had a negative +/–, and House's ineptitude running an offense was at least partially to blame.) Back to Rondo -- the meaningless, made-up MVP -- he had 12 points, 12 assists, and the play of the day when he flung a no-look pass to Rasheed Wallace for a three-ball to end the third quarter and extend the C's cushion. (And by no-look pass, I mean I'm pretty damn sure he never once looked at Rasheed. Not once, during the entire play. At least from what I could see.) Rondo played Tony Parker very evenly, perhaps even getting the better of him, and that in and of itself says a lot about how good Rondo was on this night.

If it weren't for Rondo's performance, KG would have easily been the fictional MVP. He continued his torrid streak from the field, shooting 9 for 15 with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. If that's not enough, his alley-oop from Rondo (which he finished with a very, very contested layup instead of a dunk) was a huge momentum changer, as the Celtics came up with a big bucket every time they really needed one. As much as the Spurs fought to come back, they could never get over that hump to finally make it a one-possession game.

Actually, rewind a little, and let me take it all back. Rondo wasn't the game's meaningless MVP; it was the sideline. You know, the sideline Michael Finley inadvertently stepped on before canning a three-pointer that would have cut the lead to 2 points with 12 seconds remaining. The sideline Finley wishes could have been a couple inches farther back. The sideline that effectively ended the game when it snuck up on Finley and forced him into an unforced turnover.

For San Antonio, I was -- as always -- impressed by Duncan. The man is so fundamental. If you watch him, every second, he's always preparing for his next move. When a player fronts him, Duncan works to seal him towards the middle. When a player plays behind, Duncan keeps him pinned there so he can work his face-up game that often ends with a soft kiss off the glass. When a player comes to double, Duncan is passing out of the double-team to an open teammate before the double can become effective. He isn't as athletic as he used to be, but it was never athleticism that made Tim Duncan great. It was his fundamental play and ability to plan one step ahead of everybody else. It's as if he sees the game in slow motion while everyone else sees it in fast-forward.

Besides Duncan, there was Blair. Ohhhhh mannnnnn, there was Blair. That kid plays with as much heart as Eddy Curry, only if Eddy Curry 1) actually had a heart and 2) it was enormous. Blair attacks every rebound like it's a free meal, using his great hands and strong frame to carve out space and snatch boards. Once he gets the ball, he knows what to do with it: Put it in the basket. (Even if, once, it was his own basket. Don't worry, it was accidental... I think. It actually looked like Blair intentionally tipped a rebound back into his own bucket, but that can't be true. Can it?) Blair helped lead the Spurs to a 55-32 advantage on the boards, including an outrageous 20-2 margin on the offensive glass.

Then there was Tony Parker, still one of the NBA's best point guards despite all the injury problems he's gone through lately. He's lightning fast, and it was at once comical and very sad to watch Parker and Rondo guard each other. They both laid off each other by about ten feet, scared of being blown by, and willing to allow the other to take open jumpshots all game long. Neither Parker nor Rondo decided to settle, both deciding they were better off being patient and getting to the hoop more often than not. (Though Rondo hit the biggest jumper of the game, in the closing minutes to push the lead to six. Well, I think it was six. I'm almost positive it was six.) Parker is a one-man fast break, capable of finishing in the lane over any human being ever created. It's uncanny, Parker's ability to not only get his shot off over bigger players in the lane, but to make those shots too.

What else to say, what else to say? Perk wasn't as good as he has been lately, but the C's will take 9 points, 7 boards, 2 blocks and a solid overall performance. Ray couldn't buy an outside shot and disappeared in the fourth quarter, but was nonetheless effective with his midrange game and in transition. (Note: Did you see Jesus Shuttlesworth sky for that dunk in the first half? Somewhere, LaLa watched that dunk with her other dude and felt a tinge of jealousy that Jesus escaped her grasp.) Rasheed was active, solid and willing to bang down low. Eddie House was bad, and Marquis Daniels was nonexistent, but neither compared to the inadequacy that was the Spurs' trio of Antonio McDyess, Keith Bogans, and Roger Mason. For those guys, a combined 50 minutes played, 0 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists between them. It's tough to win games with such meager production from three important players. (Normally, I wouldn't call Keith Bogans important under any circumstances. But he started! That has to give him some significance, doesn't it?)

Anyways, enjoy your night, and remember:

Thank God for that sideline. That sneaky, glorious sideline.

Celtics beat Bobcats in laugher, 108-90

To be honest, I started writing this post at halftime. I thought about how I might jinx the C's by writing about their win before it was over, and then I remembered they were winning by 23, and they were playing the Bobcats. I then decided that even if the Celts played 1-on-5 in the second half, with the one player on the court being Tony Allen, they'd still beat Charlotte. The lead was that insurmountable.

The final score, by the way, was in no way indicative of how much of a blowout this game was. Boston completely dominated every phase of the game, until boredom set in starting in the late third quarter.

Anyways, I'm going to post a more in-depth analysis on the main site later, but I thought I'd leave a few bullet points here before I go:

• Great ball movement. How many times did the Celtics have three, four, or even five quick passes before scoring?
• Perkins was the game's MVP. I know he was playing mostly against Nazr Mohammed and the zombie that used to be Tyson Chandler, but Perkins was really, really good tonight. 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks for Perk. (And a few scowls, too.)
• Close runner-up for MVP: Ray Allen. Ray-Ray snapped out of his slump in a big way, with 5-6 shooting from threes, not to mention 27 points, 5 boards, and 5 dimes.
• Gerald Wallace was miserable. Last week's Eastern Conference Player of the Week might as well have stayed home, as Mike Gorman so nicely put it.
  
• D.J. Augustin barely played. Remember him, Charlotte's promising second-year point guard? Apparently, he's now in Larry Brown's dog house.
• The starters came back in with six minutes left. I think Doc wanted to make sure the bench's sloppy play ended, but I wouldn't have done it myself. The C's were still up 20 at the time.
  

Celtics hold off pesky Heat to move to 13-4

(13-4) vs. (9-7)

Score: 92-85, Celtics win

For the Boston Celtics, tonight's game against the Miami Heat was a game of three good quarters. The Celtics played three good offensive quarters and three good defensive quarters. I don't know where the C's "D" was during the first quarter (Maybe it got lost with Rasheed Wallace's jumper?), but it was back to stay in the second quarter, and I don't know where the C's "O" was during the third quarter (Maybe it got lost with Ray Allen's jumper?), but it was there the rest of the game.

For the first half, the Celtics offense was impeccable. It's amazing what the Celtics can do when they realize they aren't strictly a jump-shooting team. I asked for them to continue what they started against Toronto, going inside for easy buckets, and, boy, did the C's oblige -- for a half.

Doc Rivers must have told his big men, "Guys, you are bigger, badder, and more talented than any frontcourt you've played so far. Instead of tossing up jumpers and pretending that you are the size of Earl Boykins, you might as well go down low and get whatever shots you want." And voila, they began heeding his advice, getting easy buckets, displaying exhilarating ball movement, and reminding people that the Celtics are bigger, badder, and more talented than any other team they've played so far.

Offensively, the execution was exquisite. The ball movement was precise. The shots were closer to the basket than normal, and they were falling. The three-pointers still didn't go down, but it didn't matter because the C's were getting every open shot they wanted. Even the Celtics' 2 for 8 downtown shooting was excusable; every three they took was open and every three they took was in rhythm after nice ball movement. The Celtics offense, in the first half at least, was beautiful to watch.

During the second half, or at least the third quarter, the C's looked like a different team. Granted, the Heat picked up their focus and energy quite a bit, but the Celts weren't nearly the same team as they were in the first quarter. They were 0 for 6 from the arc to begin the third, and while the first-half misses were excusable, the third-quarter misses weren't. Instead of being open looks off crisp ball movement, the third quarter threes were contested shots off the dribble. The Celtics stopped looking inside, stopped attacking, and ceased looking like such a cohesive unit.

In the fourth, there was a difference, a pep in Boston's step, and his name was Rajon Rondo. After a quick run by Michael Beasley put the Heat up 74-69, Rondo subbed in and his presence was instantly felt. (Quick rant: What in the hell was Doc thinking with his lineup to start the fourth quarter? Earth to Doc: Neither Rasheed Wallace nor Brian Scalabrine is quick enough to guard Beasley, even if Beasley had been high as a kite, which he evidently wasn't.)

His first possession, Rondo drove the middle and kicked out to Scal for a three. Second possession: Rondo's patented right-hand scoop from the left side for a bucket. Third possession: After knocking the ball off Beasley's leg and out of bounds, Rondo drove the lane and fed Ray Allen for an open three. (Which Ray missed.) Fourth possession: Rondo finishes a fast break with a circus reverse layup in between two Heat defenders while crashing into the basket support. After all that, the Celtics were back in control of the game and well on their way to the win. Rondo's biggest problem on the night, actually, was getting the ball thrown to him. The C's threw away three (that's right, three) outlet passes, looking like a high school girl's team trying to outlet it to Rondo.

Despite the trouble's outletting the basketball, the Celtics had a few other great performances. Kevin Garnett was 11 for 12 from the floor, finishing with 24 points and 8 assists. He started off 7 for 7, running his consecutive field goals made streak to 13, before picking up his lone miss on a turnaround jumper with tough defense from Beasley. Garnett hit some huge shots, especially two jumpers from the top of the key to put the game of the way, and was very aggressive attacking the hoop and getting easy shots.

But my favorite play by Garnett, the one play I was happiest about, probably had the smallest affect on the game. It was when KG picked Dwyane Wade up fullcourt and pressured him while he dribbled the ball up the court. Why did that make me so happy? Garnett used to do that all the time. Whenever he wanted the Celtics to go on a run, whenever he sensed the C's needed some energy, Garnett used to do that. He'd slap the ground, clap in a guard's face, and harass him all the way upcourt. This year, though, until today, he hadn't done it once, and I suspect it's because he felt he didn't have the mobility to defend a guard in the fullcourt. Today, though, he was back into it, and it was against D-Wade, one of the league's fastest and most explosive guards. I hope and believe it's a sign that Garnett himself feels better, and damn, did it get me hyped to see Garnett pulling out one of his old tricks we haven't seen in awhile. (On a maybe-related side note, Garnett did a very good job on Beasley. While Beasley made 'Sheed and Scal look like they were walking in quicksand, he did almost nothing when being guarded by Garnett.)

The other half of the C's twin towers inside, Kendrick Perkins, was also very good. He didn't shoot a lot, but he drew a bunch of fouls, was strong going to the hoop, and had a few good passes, too. My favorite play by Perk wasn't one of his buckets, wasn't one of his 13 rebounds, wasn't one of his three blocked shots, and didn't even count for his lone assist... but boy was it pretty. Perk, after setting a ball screen for Pierce and rolling to the short corner, took a bounce pass from Pierce, turned patiently toward the lane, then scooped a pass past his defender to a cutting KG. KG didn't convert the bucket (he was fouled on the play), but it was an example of just how good the Celtics can be when they move the basketball quickly and intelligently.

Ray-Ray was solid and, despite an off shooting night, played great defense on Wade down the stretch and contributed to the C's win. Still, I think it's about time Ray snapped out of his three-point malaise. After all, he's one of the NBA's best three-point shooters ever, right? This season, he's looked more like Tony Allen than Ray Allen from behind the arc. It's only a matter of time before Ray starts shooting the ball well, but damn it, Ray Allen, hurry up and shoot like you're Ray Allen.

Still, Ray was one of the staples of a Celtics defense that finally looked like the Celtics defense. Ray contested Dwyane Wade's jumpers and kept him from scoring too easily. The Celtics knew he'd score -- after all, he's Dwyane Wade! -- but wanted him to have to work for his points, and made him -- and the rest of his teammates -- do that. After a first quarter in which the C's defense looked downright Raptors-ish, they picked it up the rest of the game and really buckled down. The C's had seven blocked shots, and contested the three-point line very well -- which they haven't done recently -- forcing the Heat into 2 for 15 shooting from the arc.

While the story in this game was the C's experience and knack for making big plays when they needed them, the surprise of the game goes to Michael Beasley. I knew Beasley could score, and I knew he's a very talented offensive player, but I had never before seen Beasley be such a presence on the defensive end of the floor. Beasley had an early-fourth quarter stretch where he was absolutely unstoppable, but I thought it was the third quarter when he really made his mark.

During that quarter, the Heat held the Celtics to only 12 points on 26% shooting, and it was Beasley (yes, the same Michael Beasley you -- and I -- thought had never played a good possession of defense in his life) who was the driving force behind the stifling defense. He was everywhere, deflecting passes, stealing passes, and skying for rebounds. I'd never seen Beasley play so hard, and I was very surprised to see him be such a disruptive defender. Even offensively, Beasley looked to be much improved. He didn't fall in love with his jumper, and was very content to earn his points with putback buckets, good cuts to the hoop, and drives by slower defenders. Beasley still took a few jumpers, but they were all in the offense and none of them were forced. He was, certainly, the biggest surprise of the night. He was so good I don't even want to make a weed joke, because it would take away from his great play. (Fighting the urge, fighting the urge... DOH!) Oh well, here goes: He played as if Erik Spoelstra told him he could only smoke a joint after the game if he gave his all on every play.

As far as the other players go, Wade did what Wade does, scoring 27 points to go along with 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Rasheed did what Rasheed does, picking up a technical foul. (For saying "And-one" after a made bucket. Yes, he said it loudly, and yes, he said it animatedly, but a professional basketball player should never receive a technical foul just for saying "And-one." Under any circumstances.) Rasheed also played more in the post, especially in the first half, showcasing his low-post talent that still does exist somewhere behind all those bricked threes. Jermaine O'Neal, despite getting his shot blocked by Kendrick Perkins on a few occasions, looked like a borderline All-Star. Paul Pierce had a great first quarter (ten points), but more or less disappeared afterwards and turned it over too often. Udonis Haslem hit some open jumpers, Marquis Daniels didn't do much but had a very nice dump-down to KG for a dunk, and Joel Anthony should not be in the NBA.

Am I missing anything? Probably. But it's late, I'm getting tired, and Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball is calling my name. (Jay, Jay, Jay...)

Running Diary: Not much defense as Celtics down Raptors

Before you read this, please promise me one thing: Promise me you won't ever, ever let me go to another NBDL game.

I live right next to Springfield, where there is a new NBDL team, and tonight was opening night. It seemed like fun, plus my friend bought me tickets for free, so I decided to go. After all, it was professional basketball. How bad could it be?

The answer? Pretty. F---ing. Bad. By the time we left, with eight minutes still left in the game, the Springfield Armor were losing 92-58, and I still wasn't sure how they'd even scored 58 points. It was so bad that my brother and I had conversations during the game like this one:

Tommy (my brother): How many points do you think you could score if you played in this game?
Me: Probably 15-20. I'm a better shooter than any of these guys, and they don't exactly contest shots. If I played the full 48 minutes, I'd have at least 15 or 20.
Tommy: Yeah, that sounds about right. I was thinking the same thing.

And we were dead serious! Meanwhile, I'm the same guy who quit my division three basketball team after not getting any minutes whatsoever. And my team was one of division three's worst programs. I'm not exactly what you would call a super-talented player. But I was convinced -- and, frankly, still am -- that I could have score 15 or 20 points if I played the full game. Even though the Armor had only scored 58 through 40 or so minutes.

Honestly, the most talented player in the gym wasn't even a player. (And, surprisingly, it wasn't Armor coach Dee Brown either.) Nope. It was the guy who participated in one of the shooting contests during a timeout. In the contest, he had to sink three foul-line jumpers and three three-pointers in a minute in order to get the prize, whatever the prize was. He made his first five shots, leaving him with half a minute to make the final shot.

Since I'm telling you the story, you know he ended up making the last shot, but listen to how he did it: Instead of shooting with half a minute left and getting a few chances to win the prize, he waited until the clock ran all the way down, leaving himself with one pressure-filled NBA three-pointer to collect his bounty. Needless to say, he canned it. And, with that sixth made shot, he had made more field goals during a one-minute contest than the Armor did in the entire second half. The NBDL: Where a random fan picked out of the crowd being better than the home team's players happens.

Now that you know just how bad the level of play was, you can imagine how excited I was to get back to the Celtics game. (Which I had DVR'ed.) Think about how hyped I must have been to get back when I kept getting tweets like "The Celtics are shooting 83%. Not in the first four minutes of the game. Nope, it's almost halftime.", "Paul Pierce just crammed on Chris Bosh's head.", and "The Celtics are threatening to break their record for highest single-game field goal percentage." I couldn't wait to get back and get the horrible taste of the NBDL out of my mouth.

I knew the Celtics had won by the time I got back, but I had to see for myself and decide what I thought about this one. Here is what I came up with, a running diary of my thoughts as I watched the game:

First Quarter

First good news of the telecast: Tony Allen is still out tonight. Thank you, Tony, and please, take your time coming back.

The first Celtics bucket: A Ray Allen 15-foot jumper. Not only did no Raptor contest it, but no Raptor even seemed to know that Ray was shooting.

Tommy Heinsohn on Andrea Bargnani's defense: "I tell ya. That Bargnani, he's got his feet stuck in spaghetti." Comcast Sports New England telecasts: Where racial slurs happen.

Of the Celtics first 12 points, ten of them are on easy layups or dunks. Make that 12 of the first 14. Nope, make it 14 of their first 16. Actually, 16 of their first 18.

Mike Gorman just said, "First one to 140 [wins]", and it doesn't even seem like he's exaggerating. The Celtics are having layup lines, and the Raptors aren't having much more difficulty scoring than the C's. The game has been tied seven different times, and it's mostly because neither team can buy a stop.

The Celtics are shooting 9 for 10 from the field, but are down two, 20-18. If you've ever imagined what it would be like to watch NBA players play H.O.R.S.E., here's your chance.

As good as the Celtics look offensively, getting layups and dunks whenever they want, they weren't taking care of the ball at all in the first quarter. Their 6th turnover of the game came with three minutes still remaining in the first. They could play a lineup of five Tony Allen's and probably not have that many turnovers. On second thought, nahhhhhh.

The Celtics hit 12 of their first 13 shots, and the one miss was a Ray Allen missed lefty runner on the C's first shot. For those of you who still haven't gathered this, that means they hit 12 shots in a row. Not too shabby. Here's one of the shots they hit:

Watching Hedo Turkoglu play defense makes me realize 1) how good Dwight Howard is defensively, to be able to hide Hedo's deficiencies, and 2) how good a coach Stan Van Gundy is, to be able to hide Hedo's deficiencies. The duo of Chris Bosh and Jay Triano hasn't quite had the same success in making Hedo's defense somewhat permissible.

This Toronto team is historically bad defensively. Any time you put two of the NBA's softer big men on the same team, then surround them with a whole bunch of soft, slow-ish players, it's a recipe for defensive disaster. The Raps just give up layup after layup, and when they aren't giving up layups they're giving up wide open jumpers. It's unbelievable how bad they are on "D".

The C's shot 83% for the ENTIRE FIRST QUARTER, and are up 33-27 at the end of one. Really, it should be far worse, but the C's defense is still suiting up in the locker room and their offense is throwing turnovers left and right.

Second Quarter

Early in the second quarter, 'Sheed got a steal, bulldozed an official, then missed an awkward pullup five footer on the break. Less than a minute later, Sheed picked up a technical foul, and the refs had gotten their revenge. Meanwhile, Tommy Heinsohn acted like Rasheed is an absolute class act, saying "I'm getting tired with these officials. I'm getting tired with that type of nonsense, that call. I mean, the guy is upset because he goes to one end of the floor, goes to the basket, doesn't get a foul"... and then Tommy just kind of trailed off without finishing his sentence. Either way, he apparently thinks Rasheed doesn't deserve his technicals, despite Rasheed being the league's technical leader for, oh, about the last fifty some-odd years, and the fact that he argues just about every single call made against him.

The C's defense is non-existent. Somehow, they are only up two points despite scoring just about every time they've taken a shot.

Why, oh why, does Rasheed Wallace not go into the post more often? Especially when he's mired into a seemingly oh-fer-the-season slump, wouldn't you think he would at least try his post game out a little? Well, he did in this game. First post touch: Drop step towards the baseline around Bargnani for an easy bucket. Second post touch (on the very next play), an unblockable fadeaway turning towards his left shoulder for another bucket. Please, Rasheed, don't be allergic to the paint. You are far too talented on the blocks.

I'm not sure exactly what he said, but Rasheed just started woofing at Turkoglu while the two were walking to their respective huddles to begin a timeout. After the game, I received a tweet from thew Globe's Gary Washburn that said: "Rasheed wallace on hedo turkoglu: 'flop. Thats what turkadodo do. Flop.'" It's too bad for the Raptors that "Turkadodo" is too busy flopping to play any semblance of real defense. Also too bad for the Raptors: Nobody else on their team plays any semblance of real defense, either.

Paul Pierce just scored on Marco Belinelli, and Mike Gorman said something to the affect of, "It's like Pierce looked up, saw he had Belinelli on him, and decided he would go ahead and score." Gorman might as well have said, "It's like Pierce looked up, saw he was playing the Raptors, and decided he would go ahead and score."

'Sheed is doing it all in the first half. He's hitting from inside, hitting from outside, rebounding, and blocking shots. When he plays like this, he helps the Celtics SO much. Unfortunately, most of the time he's too busy living in a tent at the three-point arc to play so well.

Comcast just had the following "Roundball debate of perfection": Who is the perfect Celtics shooter? A) Ray Allen, or B) Jo-Jo White. There is no C) option. Now, I know Ray Allen is a great shooter, and so was Jo-Jo White, but don't you have to include a certain white shooter on the list? And, for those of you out there wondering, I don't mean Brian Scalabrine. Larry Bird, people. Doesn't he deserve to at least be an option on the Goddamn list? They called Ray Allen "Jesus" in He Got Game, but they called Larry Bird "Jesus", or at least "Basketball Jesus", in real life. Let's just say the "Roundball debate of perfection" could use a little tweaking.

Kendrick Perkins is really an underrated passer. He usually makes one or two passes a game that make me scratch my head and wonder how Perk saw the pass when a lot of point guards wouldn't. (Okay, maybe just a lot of power forwards wouldn't make.) This time, it was a wraparound pass to a wide open Garnett underneath the bucket. Perk can do a lot of surprisingly good things with the basketball in his hands.

The Celtics shot 67.6% in the first half. The problem? The Raps shot 66.7%, and actually lead the C's by one point at halftime. The first half was simply a clinic on how NOT to play defense, for both teams. Layup, after layup, after layup, on both ends. Somehow, despite negative defense on both sides, the two teams have combined for 24 turnovers. Go figure.

Third Quarter

The second half started out much the same as the first, with the Raptors getting unmolested shots at the hoop. A layup, a dunk, and another dunk were results from Toronto's first three possessions. Since I am DVR'ing this, I know the Raptors only scored 17 points the whole third quarter, but it looks right now like they are ready to have another 30-or-so point quarter.

The C's were down 61-57, then rattled off a 13-0 run that only ended when Amir Johnson hit a free throw to make it 70-62. During the run, the C's "flipped the switch", finally putting together a stretch of good defense and maintaining their prolific offensive output.

It might just be playing a team softer than a baby's bottom, but the Celtics are pounding the ball down low and scoring easy buckets all day. It bothers me when KG and Wallace spend too much time on the perimeter, because the trio of those two and Perk should be absolutely dominant down low on both ends.

By the time the third quarter was over, the game was over, and I'm getting kind of restless. I just want to see Pierce's dunk...

Fourth Quarter

Well, I saw Pierce's dunk and, of course, I want to say a couple things about it. First, there's no way Pierce intentionally kicked Bosh. To kick him, while simultaneously skying through the air and dunking a basketball, would have been almost impossible. Still, he certainly kicked him. On another note, somebody needs to tell Jay Triano to shut the f--- up. For some reason, he started yapping at the Celtics about something being bullshit. I don't know whether he was talking about Pierce's kick, Pierce's taunt afterward, or what, but I DO know that instead of getting into a shouting match with Rasheed after a Pierce dunk, Triano should have been more focused on coaching his defense.

Dunks happen, offensive fouls happen, and trash talk happens, Triano, but you don't have to make it worse by getting into a shouting match with Rasheed after it. Just shut up and coach your team. It's your defense, not Pierce's dunk, that was bullshit. If you want to argue Pierce should have toned it down a little, I agree, but it's not the coach's place to do something about it. The referees called a technical foul, and the coach should just let bygones be bygones. There is no need for a coach to ever get into a shouting match with an opposing player. Not over a little taunting, at least.

Somehow, Doc Rivers ended up with a technical foul after Triano was up in Rasheed's mug screaming his head off. You wonder what in the hell goes on in NBA officials heads, sometimes.

Instead of watching the end of this game, I'm just going to put that dunk on repeat:

Before I go, I'll leave you with some stats:

Eddie House was the only Celtic to take a shot and not shoot at least 50% from the field. He was 1 for 3.

Rondo had more assists (11) than the entire Raptors starting five (8).

KG and Perk were both perfect from the field, combining for 14 for 14 shooting and 30 points. That would have been a lot more impressive had their degree of difficulty not been higher in layup lines than it was in the game.

The C's shot 62.3%.

Despite playing a frontcourt that would have been overpowered by Mikki Moore, the C's were outrebounded 31-26.

I'm sure there are some other wild statistics from this one, but I have yet to unearth them. Just know it was an unorthodox game with some blistering shooting, and that the Celtics had no problems putting Toronto away once they put it into first gear in the third quarter.

Running Diary: Vince Carter shoots just enough for Magic to down Celtics

This game reminded me of everything I already knew.

The C's are not the team they need to be, and the Magic are not as good as they were last season.

We'll start off with the Celtics. I was actually pretty happy with their effort level. While the C's have looked unengaged (to say the least) at times this season, they played a large portion of this game with playoff-like intensity. They were fighting for loose balls, scratching and clawing for rebounds, and acting like they really wanted to win this thing.

Unfortunately, their offense was very close to atrocious. Far too often, the Celtics resorted to one-on-one play. When Boston is at its best (really, when any team is at its best), the ball is moving from side to side, players are moving without the ball, and everyone is unselfish. Tonight, it was throw it to Paul Pierce and get out of his way, or get it to Ray and let him create something, or wait until the shot clock is down and fire up an ill-advised stepback jumper. The C's showed no cohesiveness, and no willingness to let the offense find them open shots. They were forcing tough drives to the hoop and playing far too much isolation basketball.

Still, they played far less isolation basketball than Orlando. Remember Orlando last season? They played beautiful basketball, spacing the floor and using Hedo Turkoglu as the facilitator getting the ball to all their perimeter options. Now, Vince Carter is the new facilitator, and we'll just say he didn't do a lot of "facilitating." Throughout the whole game, Carter was content to fire bad shots, fadeaways with a man in his face, and ended up taking 29 shots to score 26 points. The Magic's spacing is still there, but the ball movement is no longer anywhere near the level it was last year.

In the fourth quarter, the offense was "Get the ball to Vince and get the hell out of his way." They still call him "Vinsanity", but now it's for his insane shot selection, rather than his athleticism. He hit some tough shots, but missed a whole lot more. If the Celtics weren't ice-cold, they would have come away with the win, and most of the blame would have fallen squarely on the shoulders of Vince Carter. Shoulders that are likely sore from chucking so many shots.

Vince had a great stat line, at first glance at least, with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, but it's clear his affect on the rest of the team is negative. You could almost see Rashard Lewis frowning as he watched Vince fling up 27-foot jumpers while Lewis stood on the other side of the court with no hopes of ever touching the basketball. The Magic came away with the win, but they have a long ways to go to becoming a title contender.

And so do the Celtics. Their offensive execution needs to get a lot better, and selfless team basketball needs to make a quick return to Beantown. I liked the fight and tenacity Boston showed, but I didn't like their execution.

Not one bit.

Here's a running diary of my thoughts during the game, while it was happening.

First Quarter

The game hasn't started yet, and already we have some great news: According to ESPNBoston's Chris Forsberg, Tony Allen -- despite practicing recently -- will not be playing in games any time soon. Amen.

The first shot for the Magic: A fadeaway twenty-foot jumper by Vince Carter. It went in, but the Celtics will certainly live with that one all game long.

Tweet of the night award goes to Ric Bucher:

"JWilliams tells me he played last year on a rec team w/ Tim + Penny Hardaway + Shaun Livingston. Imagine that coming at you, rec leaguers."

Now, I've played in some rec leagues in my life, and most of them are with old, balding guys with beer bellies and huge knee braces. I know Williams, Penny, and Livingston all have the knee braces, but they don't exactly fit the mold of rec leaguers that I'm used to.

Is it just me, or should Jason Williams have a whole heap of trouble guarding Rajon Rondo tonight? Please be aggressive, Rondo. Please. Make him remember he's not in the rec leagues anymore.

Orlando looks (at least) a step quicker than Boston in the early going. A 12-0 run puts it at 17-6, Magic. Doc Rivers, meanwhile, watched as the wheels fell off and waited until the car broke down before mercifully calling a timeout. I'm a fan of letting your team play through adversity, but that timeout could have come a lot, lot sooner.

Perk shoves a Magic player with two hands, yet still has the audacity to scowl after the call. You know how Perk should know he was wrong to argue the call? Even Tommy Heinsohn agreed with it.

Vince Carter has looked good in the early going, but he's dribbling around a lot without going anywhere. The Magic last year never had that stoppage in ball movement that they've had with Carter so far tonight. Hedo Turkoglu spent a lot of time handling the ball, but it was always with a purpose; he was always making plays when he dribbled. Carter just seems to hold the ball a second or two too long without doing anything with it.

Dwight Howard, according to CSNNE, has yet to score a single point outside the paint. Not just tonight, but for the ENTIRE SEASON. That's beyond incredible.

The Celtics are getting smacked around right now, 24-13, but I don't feel at all like this game is done. Boston is actually getting very good shots; they're just missing them. Garnett has missed a lot of easy ones, Pierce and Ray have missed open jump shots, and I just get the feeling this one will be very close before it's all said and done.

Kendrick Perkins is in early foul trouble (it's kind of tough to deal with Dwight Howard, even if he has yet to develop a real post move), and that would have spelled huge trouble for the C's last season. We would have seen either the undersized Big Baby or Powe coming into the game, and it would have spelled trouble against a team like the Magic with a legitimate big man. This year? Not such a problem, because Rasheed Wallace is there to back Perk up.

Mickael Pietrus is looking like playoff Mickael Pietrus, rather than regular season Mickael Pietrus. He's been ice-cold so far this season, shooting only 38.4% from the field, but drained his first three three-balls to remind everyone of his lethal shooting in last year's postseason. Tommy Heinsohn on Pietrus: "Man, if I were him I'd go to Mohegan Sun, or Foxwoods, or something."

It's 29-13, Magic. They are moving the ball beautifully (when Carter isn't holding it a dash too long) and are getting wide open threes. The Celtics, meanwhile, are shooting 5-24 from the field, and have missed at least their last six shots. You remember back when I said the C's would start to hit open shots? Well, they've shot even worse since then.

Second Quarter

I need Rondo to step his game up. He's being guarded by old, ragged White Chocolate, and still has yet to do anything.

The Celts finally have some energy, and it's because their point guard is running the ball down the floor and finding the open man. That point guard, though, is Marquis Daniels, not Rondo. 29-20, Magic.

Shelden Williams continues to surprise me and prove me wrong. This time, he's doing his normal rebounding and tough, gritty play, but none of that was what surprised me. I was shocked and stunned when Williams was matched up with Rashard Lewis and was able to move his feet well enough to cut him off and force him into a very tough, contested fadeaway. Last season, with KG down, nobody on the Celtics could come close to matching up with Lewis, but Shelden comes right in and has done a great job on him so far. Keep doing your thing, Shelden.

Ray Allen remembers the great job J.J. Redick did on him in the playoffs. The first play Ray was defended by Redick, he put him right on the low post, big-boy'ed him and drew the foul. Ray continues to show an improved post game this season.

Vince Carter just dribbled around for five or so seconds, got the ball poked away from him to about three feet behind the three-point line, went and retrieved it, then turned and fired the shot with plenty of time still remaining on the shot clock. Don't get me wrong, I recognize Vince has had a very good game so far. It's just always been evident he could be so much better if he just improved the little aspects of the game. Like not dribbling so much, and not firing up ill-advised shots, and not getting his pocket picked by Marquis Daniels twice in the same quarter.

Tommy Heinsohn on Vince Carter's defense: "I'd go at him all night long. You KNOW he doesn't want to play defense."

The C's are staging a big comeback in this second quarter, and have the Magic back on their heels. After the 19-9 Celtics run, the score is 38-32, Magic.

Remember when I said Carter was playing well? I was lying. It seemed like he was shooting well, and it seemed like he was doing some good things to go along with his sometimes bone-headed play, but he's actually 4-12 from the field for 8 points. If you're counting at home, that's 12 shots to score 8 points. He's also the only Magic starter right now to have a negative +/-. So my merciless Carter bashing has some merit.

Carter just picked up his third foul, so maybe I can stop bashing him. Heinsohn, though, can't. "That guy doesn't want to play defense, he can't move his feet on defense." Well said, Tommy. Well said.

Ray Allen is a man. An honest-to-goodness, two-balled man. And did I mention that those balls were very big? You'd never see me standing in front of a streaking Dwight Howard to take a charge dead in the chest. Not in a million years. But Ray did it and, surprisingly, he lived to tell the story.

The most impressive play of the first half happened after the half ended. Pietrus fired up a three-quarter shot and damn near made it. It wasn't so impressive that he almost made it, but that he was able to reach the basket from the opposite foul line WITH HIS LEFT HAND. That's right, he shot it lefty. Wow, it's his night. Tommy was right, he needs to head to a casino. Or buy a lottery ticket.

43-40 Magic at the half. The Celtics played a great second quarter to get back into this thing. The second unit continues to be the C's saving grace, especially after they continually get off to bad starts.

Shocking stat of the first half: The C's shot merely 32.6%. Look for that number to improve in the second half. I hope. Please. I'm begging now.

Third Quarter

Does Pietrus ever miss against the Celtics? It's unbelievable. He is NOT a deadeye shooter, yet every time he plays the Celtics he looks like the second coming of Jimmy Chitwood. It's unbelievable.

Uh-oh. Garnett gets kneed by the second coming of Jimmy Chitwood, then immediately started limping. He waved Rasheed back to the bench when Doc tried to sub 'Sheed in, so that's a good sign. But you don't want to see the big fella limping.

The C's just don't have the same energy this quarter as they did in the second. Orlando's getting open shots and Boston isn't working hard enough to get themselves some clean looks on offense.

Right as I wrote about the Celtics not having any energy, Garnett really got into it with Howard. They were mixing it up, and Garnett is fired up. I hope this lights a fire under Garnett and, in turn, the Celts.

Vince Carter is now 4-16 with 11 points. Something tells me Hedo's a better fit.

Perk has five fouls, and this would be a HUGE development... if it weren't for the presence of Rasheed on the bench. I don't care how many threes he chucks up, or how many technical fouls he'll accumulate; 'Sheed is an enormous addition to this team.

Vince just hit two shots in a row. I never said he wasn't talented, and I never said he wasn't a good player. Just that he's frustrating, even to me and I don't even like his team.

Scal's in the game! 'Nuff said. I don't know why Shelden isn't, but I guess Doc thinks he needs Scal spreading the floor.

Or maybe he needs Scal's defensive presence. Scal's first play, he took a charge. Scal is overpaid, and he's overweight, but he knows how to play basketball and is capable of giving the Celtics good minutes. And no, I'm not even kidding.

Bad stat of the night: Kevin Garnett passed the 40,000 minutes mark tonight. Only four other Celtics in history have ever played 40,000 career minutes. That is not a good sign for Garnett; he's getting old, and he's getting run down.

The Celtics are down seven to end the third, 66-59, but are lucky to be even that close. The offense has not been good so far; shots are contested, the balls not moving, and the C's have spent far too many possessions playing one-on-one basketball. Move that rock, fellas. Get it swinging, then attack when the defense is on its heels.

Fourth Quarter

Greg Dickerson reports that Kevin Garnett just ripped into his team for too many offensive isolations. Thank you, Kevin. You see the exact same thing I do.

Dwight Howard has taken only four shots so far. Part of that is getting fouled on a lot of his attempts (so they don't count), but another part of that is sound Celtics defense on Howard. He hasn't had any easy alley-oops or open dunks tonight.

A quick Celtics run puts the C's down three, and the Garden is bumping.

With all the lauded depth on Orlando's side (I know, I know, they're missing Jameer Nelson and Brandon Bass), their bench has scored a combined eight points, and every bench member except Matt Barnes has a negative +/-. For the C's, they've only scored 9 points off the bench, but 'Sheed has 9 rebounds and every single bench member has a positive +/-.

Vince Carter just took a horrendous shot with Marquis Daniels draped all over him. Alas, it went in. At this point, the Magic have taken 58 shots and Carter has taken 21 of them. I don't think that's exactly what Stan Van Gundy wants.

Carter again, with another bad shot, but he hits a fadeaway three. Does he ever take good shots? Is he even capable?

Next Magic possession: Carter misses a 29-foot three. It's unbelievable. His shot selection is like Tony Allen's, only if Tony Allen had just blown four lines of coke and downed six shots of Jack Daniels.

Every time it seems like the Celtics are finally ready to get back into this thing, the Magic make a big play. The C's are threatening to come back, but have yet to make the play to put them over the top.

My heart is racing, my chest is thumping, and the Celtics are down only one. 'Sheed has played unbelievable defense on Howard, stealing the last two entry passes, and Vince Carter's shot selection has, if anything, gotten even worse. He isn't just the Magic's go-to guy right now, he's their only guy. Mostly because he's taking a horrible shot before anyone else gets a chance to touch the ball.

Sheed, Dwight and Vince were all packed together coming out of a timeout, and if you can read lips you could see what Wallace told the Magic's stars. (Or even if you can't read lips. It was pretty easily noticeable.) What did he say? "Y'all bitches."

Sheed is only 3-14 from the field, but he's playing his best basketball of the season. He's doing a great job on Howard, he has grabbed two huge offensive rebounds, and he's more active than he's been all season.

Update: Sheed is now 4-15, and he just tied the game with a little 6-foot jumper off a beautiful Paul Pierce wraparound pass. 78-78. My heart is damn near out of my chest. I'm at severe risk of a heart attack right now, and I don't think I'm even exaggerating.

This game has been so exciting I haven't even noticed Rondo's been out for this whole fourth quarter. Eddie's been playing his minutes. And as I'm talking about this, Rondo gets put back in.

The Magic offense in the fourth quarter has been: Pass the ball to Vince Carter, everyone else run away, and watch as Vince Carter flings up whatever bad shot he can think of. Unfortunately, Vince just hit his last one to put the Magic up two, but you get the feeling Rashard Lewis and co. cannot at all enjoy playing with Vince.

Ray Allen overdribbles, then bounces one off his foot and loses it for a turnover. That was a microcosm of the Celtics' night. Overdribbling, one-on-one play, and bad results.

Doc is still furious with the ref two plays after Pierce was called for a ticky-tack foul on Rashard Lewis with only 3 seconds left on the shot clock. There was contact there, and it was a borderline call that could have gone either way, but not a call you normally see in the last couple minutes of a close game.

The Magic win, 83-78, and the Celtics have another disappointing home loss. I guess that's what happens when you run up against one of the NBA's better teams and shoot 34.5%. A bad loss for the Celtics, one they certainly could have won had they played unselfish basketball the whole way through.