Celtics v. Orlando Free Association Live Blog!

4:10 PM-  Jeff Van Gundy is prodded for some pre-game analysis and can't remember the name of the division Orlando plays in (what is, the Southeast?).  Something tells me that he stopped somewhere for happy hour (Mark Jackson's dressing room?) before going on camera, a good omen for the night to be sure.  I plan on live-blogging tonight's game, by the way.  It's more of an experiment than anything else, so we'll see where this goes.  Hopefully, I can communicate some nuggets of wisdom as things develop during the game.  Tip off in less than an hour! 

4:43 PM-  Pre-game highlight of Rafer Alston accompanied by the nasal stylings of Avery Johnson.  The streetball legend has been a great patch for Orlando in the absence of Jameer Nelson since coming over from Houston earlier this season.  Alston has been a favorite player of mine over the years, but I don't necessarily fear him down the stretch of a tight game as I would Nelson.  Perhaps it's just the memory of Nelson repeatedly burning the Blazers earlier this year in Portland (capped off by the ridiculous Hedo Turkoglu bank-three at the buzzer) and punishing them for giving him even an inch of space.  He shot 1,000 shots a day during the off-season for crying out loud!  The Magic are still good with Alston, but I don't see them as an over-the-top team. 

5:00(ish)- Tip off.  I missed the first two minutes because I was helping Andee move her stuff into the house.  Celtics hitting the glass hard in the first few possessions, but are ice cold.  Like 0-7 ice cold.  Rondo hits transition J for the first Celtic bucket, but the Magic are hot, jumping out to a 10-3 lead.  From here on out, all times refer to the game clock, got it?

7:34 1st-  KG saves a long pass and finds Ray Allen for a corner 3 in transition, 10-8.  But then Alston gets two the other way because Boston was slow getting back, 12-8.  Atypical for the Celtics, Van Gundy agrees.  After two ticky-tacky offensive fouls in a row (one on Perk and one on Howard), Rafer Alston dishes to Howard for a flush.  Perhaps he read what I wrote a minute ago and is out to prove me wrong.  

5:16 1st-  When it rains, it pours.  Rajon Rondo scores on a transition lay-up and is fouled, but goes down hard and appears to have tweaked an ankle.  Celtics timeout, and after further review, Howard may have landed on his foot.  Rondo looks all right and hits the free-throw to make it 14-13 Magic.

2:49 1st-  Dwight Howard is has set up shop in the paint against Glen Davis.  Davis did get two quick steals upon entering the game, but two defensive breakdowns as a team have allowed Howard to score easy baskets.  21-15 Orlando, timeout Celtics.

1:38 1st-  Orlando's perimeter players are getting dribble penetration too easily, forcing Davis to help off of Howard.  Howard is then getting all of the misses (nobody left to box him out) and finishing with ease.

End 1st quarter-  Paul Pierce gets a kind roll and hits a fade-away leaving 0.5 seconds left on the clock.  The quarter ends with the Magic leading by 4, 25-21.  Energy on defense and the glass has been solid.  Considering how poorly the Celtics have shot and Orlando's early hot streak, the Celtics should feel good about the score.  Must box out Howard and try and contain dribble penetration.

9:34 2nd-  Dribble penetration is still a big problem.  Mercifully, Howard is on the bench for this stretch, so the Celtics shouldn't suffer too much.  Still, it's 31-23 Magic.  Marbury has missed two wide open perimeter shots, but I will still be patient.  Still, the ball is moving and the Celtics are getting decent looks.  Shots just aren't falling.

7:41 2nd-  Eddie "the Microwave" House has come off the bench for a few quick baskets and has pulled the Celtics within three, 31-28.  As I've said before, I think that House could benefit greatly from Marbury's presence, as he gets to spend less time handling the ball and more time moving to get open on the perimeter.  Stan Van Gundy wants to talk it over.  

5:31 2nd-  Celtics are being typically careless with the basketball.  Seven turnovers already, Marbury has two of those (palming and a bad pass in a situation where he should have shot the ball).  If there's a reason that the Celtics don't win this year, this is it.  It didn't matter last year because they played maniac defense and stormed the league with a once in a lifetime type of intensity.  They're a better offensive team this year than they were last year, but they won't win in May or June if they don't take care of the basketball.

2:30 2nd- Celtic shots are still rimming out, but the problem is on the defensive end.  Wide open threes from everywhere.  Dwight Howard is bothered by Bill Walker, who is playing hard in his limited run.  Mark Jackson thinks the Celtics are doing an especially poor job defending the pick & roll, and I agree.  Van Gundy comments that it could be because their rotation is out of whack.  Whatever the cause, it's not good.  Celtics down by 10.

End 2nd-  Going into halftime, the Celtics are down by 9.  Paul Pierce became the first player to box out Dwight Howard with under a minute to go in the half.  He had a double-double in the first quarter and needs to be contained if the Celtics want to win.  Some thoughts at the half, shot selection is fine, but turnovers are killing them right now.  The good news is that KG looked good when he was playing, and the Celtics are clearly energetic and into this game.  Perkins has been aggressive in the early going and has done a satisfactory job against Howard thus far.  As always, avoiding foul trouble will be the key for him.  The bad news is that Marbury has looked not so good out there and the Magic are getting too many easy shots inside and at the three-point line.  I'm interested to see if Boston can make an adjustment at halftime to shore up some of their leaks.

Start of the 3rd-  C's open with a missed three in the corner by Allen, but KG gets the offensive rebound and it leads to a nice baby hook finish from Perkins down low.  He's developed surprisingly good hands since coming into the league as a youngster.  Celtics match an Orlando turnover with one of their own.

8:34 3rd-  Paul Pierce and Hedo go at it, with Turkoglu getting the better of the Truth (2 made baskets to 1).  Perk gets called for an offensive foul (his 3rd).  Orlando stretches the lead back to 12 before Paul Pierce hits two free-throws and makes the score 56-46 Magic. 

7:00 3rd-  Ray Allen hits a ridiculous free-throw line jumper off the dribble.  He arcs it up above the shot clock to get it over Howard, nothing but net.  Van Gundy nicknames him "Pure," Breen and Jackson are along for the ride.  Boston still can't gain any ground, and they trail 61-50 midway through the third.  The Magic defense has been very tight tonight, and the Celtics have lost their offensive rhythm as a result.  They aren't out of it by any means, but it will be an uphill battle to be sure.   

3:54 3rd-  Magic defense is in the passing lanes and has stolen two passes in the last minute.  On the other side, the Magic move the ball inside, outside, around the perimeter unimpeded.  Orlando is working to get every loose ball and rebound.  The stretch culminates with a Dwight Howard 3-point play and a timeout with the score now 66-50.  Orlando seems to be determined to put Boston to bed.

2:51 3rd-  Paul Pierce gets back to back lay-ups followed by a Big Baby score to cut it to 10.  Howard responds, and Davis counters at the 2:00 mark with a jumper off a kick from Rondo.  After a Pietrus miss, Paul Pierce probes the defense and keeps his handle under intense pressure, calmly gets to his spot in the paint, head fakes, fades and scores.  Pure poetry in motion, and the Celtics have cut the deficit to 68-80 and Orlando takes a timeout.

End of the 3rd-  Another finish by Kendrick Perkins cut the Magic lead to 6, but Dwight Howard responds by throwing down a ridiculous alley-oop with seven seconds to go, then blocking Rondo's last second drive to end the quarter with the Magic leading 70-62.  Perkins and Big Baby are playing with energy and enthusiasm, but Howard seems determined to dominate the paint tonight.  Maybe he read what I wrote about him last night...

Start of the 4th-  Paul Pierce hits a jumper after some nice defense at the other end.  Deficit at 6.  Some more nice D forces an Orlando turnover and a technical foul on Stan Van Gundy.  70-65 Orlando.

9:57 4th-  For some reason the Celtic offense is running through Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins.  The result? A turnover, Boston's 15th of the game.  Orlando is leading 73-65.

6:41 4th-  Ray Allen just back into the game hits another tough mid-range jumper.  It's now 75-71 Orlando.  I wonder if Boston will have enough in the tank to weather the storm and contain Howard and finish the comeback.  SVG counters with his starters and Orlando gradually pushes the lead back to five with three free-throws coming after MIkki Moore fouls Rashard Lewis in the act of shooting from downtown.  I shake my head and sigh, thinking about James Posey...

5:26-  Responding to the three makes by Rashard Lewis, Pierce makes it look easy will a pull up 18-footer.  The ball needs to be in his or Ray Allen's hands down the stretch.  As I typed that Pierce threw the ball away for the Celtics' 17th turnover.  As I typed that Glen Davis committed number 18 (assist to Ray Allen).  

3:29 4th-  Ray Allen 3 off of another offensive rebound cuts Orlando's lead to 3.  Howard hasn't touched the ball in a while (credit the Celtics' D) as Van Gundy notes, and it seems like it could be anyone's game.

2:18 4th- Glen Davis forces a miss from Howard and grabs his 8th board of the night.  Hoawrd is catching the ball a lot farther from the basket than he was early on.  Pierce hits another fadeaway and the score is 83-82 Magic.  Van Gundy thinks Boston has "out-physicaled" the magic.  Timeout on the floor.

1:00 4th-  Pierce misses a shot and Howard grabs his 21st rebound.  He is a monster.  On the other end, Boston forces a miss and gets the ball, down by one with the shot clock off and less than 20 seconds to play.  Doc calls timeout, one would think the Celtics would go to Pierce.  Pierce isolates and drives hard to the hoop, draws some contact from Howard and misses.  Celtics foul, Turkoglu misses a free-throw and the Celtics still have a timeout.  Magic lead by two, 84-82.

3.8 seconds 4th-  Celtics will inbound the ball here.  I'd try and get Pierce the ball (obviously), but have good options available for House and Allen.  Celtics have to burn their last timeout after a well defended inbounds play by Orlando.  Orlando hacks Pierce with 1.6 left, and the Celtics will have to inbound the ball again.  Pierce misses a desperation look, game over.

Orlando played better tonight, and fought harder than the Celtics did for the win.  It stings a bit, but in the long run, Boston should focus on getting healthy and in tune once again.  Losing tonight may even have a positive effect on the Celtics, as it can serve as a reality check and as an opportunity to learn.  When these teams play again, and they will, things will be different on Boston's side of the ball.  With a healthy front line, Boston can do a better job on pushing Howard out of the paint and hopefully prevent him from going 20/20 on them again.  With a healthy KG, those passing lanes will close and the pick & roll defense will be tighter.  As for the experiment of the live-blog, I think it was interesting and partially fruitful.  It's probably redundant, dense and scattered in places, but it was a good exercise.  There may even be a few profound thought in there as well, you never know.  

Spring Thawing

Consider this your courtesy wake up call: the home stretch of the NBA season has arrived!  With only three weeks to go before the beginning of the real NBA season, teams in the hunt for a playoff spot are either picking up the intensity level (see: Orlando, 9-2 in March.  More on them later) or wilting under the pressure (see Portland: losing at home to the 76ers and making me look like an ass),  all of which makes for exciting basketball and good reading.  Add to that a smothering portion of MVP debate and the serious beginnings of draft chatter and it makes life interesting and meaningful as a basketball fan.  

If you were a smart fan who isn't totally addicted to watching any and every NBA game that's on TV, you've slept through most of the season (much like I slept through most of my morning classes in college...) and are now just in time for all of the excitement and the games that actually matter*.  In the hours you'd normally spend facebooking, gambling or reading about grossly fattening food on your computer at work, you could catch up on all of the major story lines of the NBA season from D-Wade's rebirth to Tyson Chandler's foot-gate (patent pending).  If you do some digging and stick with me, you'll know everything about this season whether you want to or not.  Soon enough, you'll be passing for a loyal die hard fan and accusing some of your peers and coworkers of being bandwagon hugging phonies (you sly fox, you) and hitting your peak of interest right as the playoffs begin.  If this describes you, then may I suggest first that you watch tomorrow night's contest between the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics, and second that you keep reading (you have to in order to find the funny joke attached to that asterisk from earlier).

No matter what kind of basketball fan you are, tomorrow night's game will be for you.  It's the final meeting between the Celtics, who come in ranked second in the East, and the third ranked Magic who trail Boston by only one game.  This game is also Orlando's last chance to even the season series between the two teams (they are currently down 2-1) and neutralize a potential playoff tiebreaker that could determine home court advantage between these two teams.  Oh yeah, and Orlando beat the Celtics 86-79 in Boston the last time these clubs met, which means this is a shot at revenge for the Celtics, who are finally getting healthier after a horrible month that saw at times seven different rotation players out of the lineup with injuries.  And I haven't even mentioned all of the talented players involved...  yet.

I imagine I'll have a fair bit to talk about after the game tomorrow, so for now I want to focus on one issue that will likely come into play during tomorrow's game.  For once, it doesn't have anything to do with Stephon Marbury (though I suppose he could be involved in a way) or any of the other Celtics for that matter, but instead with their largest opponent in tomorrow's game.  And no, I don't mean Marcin Gortat.  I am talking about Dwight Howard, Olympic Gold Medalist and Orlando's All-Star Center.  

If you've followed the NBA this year (those of you who are just catching up, take note), you know that Dwight Howard is having a beastly year in the territory of the all time greats with his 21 points/14 rebounds/3 blocks per game average this year and has received some nominations for Defensive Player of the Year from members of the national media.  Howard leads the NBA in blocks and seems to be able to get a hand on almost anything that's less than 18 feet from the floor, consistently providing jaw dropping highlights and dare I say super human feats of athleticism.  Hardly a game goes by where Dwight does not spring up from an entangled forest of bodies into a level of the stratosphere that even stealth bombers can't reach to swat a shot into the fifth row to a chorus of oohs and aahs and a dizzying array of flashbulbs.  The crowd roars, Howard roars and the player whose shot is now a temporary souvenir is humbled.  Somewhere, Kevin Harlan shouts so loud that Charles Barkley gets startled and drops his bear claw.  Howard truly is something to behold, and it shocks me to think about how dominant he could possibly be with another five years of experience and training, but Defensive Player of the Year?  I think not.

First of all, defense is more than blocking shots and grabbing rebounds (though doing those things well surely helps), and in that regard I can think of several other players in the NBA right now who are far more deserving of the award.  This however, is a whole new can of worms that I have just cracked open but will now discard and open later.  The truth is, I don't even need to go into that to sink Howard's chances at DPOY.  Instead, I'm going to dissect and dismantle his shot-blocking, which is the main reason he's considered for the award (only four paragraphs to get to the damn point today, someone give me a medal!).  

You see, not all shot blocks are created equal, and the lion's share of Dwight Howard's blocks are inherently less useful than others.  Before you accuse me of being some kind of Calvinist, give me a chance to explain myself.  Remember the superhuman display of athleticism I described involving Dwight Howard?  What's the result of that play?  The Magic are still on defense and their opponent gets to inbound the basketball from the sideline and run a set play.  The other team gets another chance to score, and they get to do it comfortably using sets they've practiced all year long.  Even if Howard blocks the shot with only a little time left on the clock, the other team still gets to try and run an inbounds play to get an open look immediately, which will give them a reasonably good shot more often than Orlando would like.  Is that supposed to be great defense?  It looks good, sure, but the net gain for his team off of such a play is minimal.

Now consider what happens if instead of swatting the shot off the court as hard as he could, Dwight Howard simply went up, accepted the ball with his hands and either tipped it to a teammate or to himself.  Though it isn't as sexy as spiking a basketball into oblivion and it's likely too subtle for an ESPN highlight, the result of that play is much greater than before.  By blocking shots and keeping them in play, Howard would greatly increase the chances that his team gains possession of the basketball.  This takes away a possession form your opponent while giving you an extra opportunity, which is pretty much the exact formula for playing successful basketball.  Also, blocking shots with the aim of gaining possession tends to lead to more easy basket opportunities via the fast break and more chances to catch your opponent at a defensive disadvantage after such a play.  

All of the guys who are considered elite shot blockers and defenders do this, from Josh Smith, Tim Duncan and Ben Wallace circa 2003 all the way to the G.O.A.T., Bill Russell.  For whatever reason, Dwight Howard doesn't do this, and therefore doesn't deserve to be in the conversation of elite defenders in this league.  If the goal of defense is to get the ball back without giving up points, Dwight Howard is a good but not great means to accomplish that end.  He prevents the other team from scoring once, but also tends to give them another shot at it.  Until that changes, I'm not convinced that Howard deserves it more than Kevin Garnett, Josh Smith, Shane Battier or even Dwyane Wade.  

And while I'll buy that unleashing a resounding swat into the third row has value as an intimidator and can alter the way the opposition attacks the defense, I think that any kind of block is psychologically damaging and will serve as a reminder about who controls the paint, especially if it turns into a fast break layup or dunk on the other end.  And sure, if you deflect the ball inbounds there's always a chance it goes right to an opponent who could magically be in position to score easily, but again, I'm not sold on that scenario yielding more points over the long run than allowing the other team to run an inbounds play for a shot over the long run.  This is probably a woefully incomplete discussion of the topic, but it's m two cents, anyhow.  Whatever, at least I know that Red Auerbach agrees with me.   

*Disclaimer: less than half of the remaining games actually matter.  

Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Sorry for my extended hiatus, for whatever reason I haven't had enough alone time or inspiration to bring any new material to the table this past week.  Not much has been happening lately with the Celtics aside from their up and down struggles to keep pace with Cleveland and to fend off the Magic while dealing with all of their injuries.  The Celtics are only 5-5 in their last ten games, which on the surface appears to be alarmingly bad for the defending NBA champions, however with between five and six rotation players (Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, Brian Scalabrine, Tony Allen, Leon Powe and Glen Davis) out on any given night, that record is probably the best any Celtics fan could reasonably hope for.  

Ray Allen and KG could return to the lineup tonight, which would give the Celtics a full strength starting five for the first time since Garnett hurt his knee a month ago.  I can't help but be excited about this possibility, though early indications are that neither will play big minutes if at all.  Fortunately, the Celtics have more than their fair share of easier games left to play this season, with one more game apiece against the Clippers, Wizards, 76ers, Thunder, Nets, Grizzlies and Bobcats remaining on the schedule.  Unfortunately, Boston still has to play Orlando and Cleveland once (both on the road), Atlanta twice (split), as well as San Antonio tonight.  Boston's remaining schedule isn't exactly a cakewalk, but it certainly could be a lot worse than it is.

I wish I could say that the Celtics have been playing better than their record of late, but in reality, their 5-5 record through the last ten games sums up their play perfectly in that I've seen as many good things as bad recently.  For instance, Stephon Marbury looks a little bit better every time I see him play for the Celtics, however his shooting stroke is still way off (not that he was ever a sniper by any stretch of the imagination) and he still has to make some big steps with his conditioning and his defense.  Flaws aside, I really do like most of the things Steph has been doing for the Celtics and the tools he brings to the table.  Every time I've watched him play, he's made at least a few great plays and created some really nice, easy baskets for his teammates.  Additionally, he's exercised good judgement while on the court and seems to be getting more and more comfortable within the Celtics' system.   I've also noticed that Steph has been active in cheering on his teammates and his body language while on the bench has been great.  Maybe he's only doing it for show, and admittedly it hasn't been 100% of the time, but Marbury has been an active participant from the bench, cheering on his teammates and looking far more engaged in the game than he ever did while playing for the Knicks (I could be blinded by desperation and optimism, only time will tell).

With the caveat of being incredibly rusty, Marbury has been mostly good for the Celtics.  Mikki Moore, on the other hand, has not impressed me quite as much.  Although Moore is an enthusiastic player who brings energy, length and some mid-range shooting ability to the Celtics bench, he's left me shaking my head in disgust more than once since donning green and white this year.  Moore's biggest problem is that he seems determined to compete with Kendrick Perkins for the most-unnecessary-fouls-that-kill-your-team-and-relegate-you-to-the-bench award.  Seriously, he's averaging 4.4 fouls per game in only 17.6 minutes on the floor!  For those of you who aren't so good at math, that's one foul every four minutes which puts Mikki above and beyond even the likes of Zero Cool and Acid Burn in the biggest-hacker-of-all-time category (this pop-culture reference is probably only for Tyler, it's pretty obscure, even for my standards).  It hasn't been all bad, and I'm still confident that with a little more playing time Moore can integrate himself into the system and become a contributor for the Celtics in the postseason.

Apart from Boston's more recent acquisitions, the Celtics bench has done an admirable job of trying to fill the voids left by the injured starters.  Until he hurt his knee earlier this week against the Bulls, Leon Powe was absolutely tearing it up on the court.  Eddie House has been his usual self, and I've been pleasantly surprised with the play of Bill Walker, who looks like he could be a nice contributor down the road.  I've seen things from all of these guys that I like, especially in the context of Boston's upcoming playoff run.  Though the bench has been maligned throughout the year and constantly pointed to as a potentially fatal weakness (even by me), if the rotation players can return to form I feel like the Celtics' second unit could surprise some people during the playoffs.

We'll see if I can catch tonight's game (if I can get to a place with NBA TV soon enough) and extract some valuable information from it, however I'm still expecting to wait another week or two before really judging this Celtics team.  Until then, browse the archives for some older content, or expand your horizons and check out some of the other talented bloggers out there (I especially recommend Henry Abbott's Truehoop on ESPN).  Cheers!

Swept Away in a Tangent

The Celtics are losing ground on the top teams of the NBA.  Injuries are rampant and Boston, as John Hollinger pointed out today, is having to rely too much on Mikki Moore and Stephon Marbury (who looks about as rusty as he should be at this point) as a result.  But I am not worried yet, because there are still 17 games left in the regular season, and the Celtics have a relatively easy week coming up during which they can hopefully get healthy and get Marbury and Moore in tune with the system they're now playing in.  At this point, I'd rather be fully healthy and a lower seed (even third in the East wouldn't be too bad) than carrying nagging injuries into the postseason as a result of trying to keep pace with Cleveland and LA for the best overall record.  

I know the Celtics had some trouble winning on the road in the first two rounds of last year's postseason, but it's important not to forget that Boston closed out Detroit on the road in the Conference Finals AND set a Finals record with a 24-point second half comeback in Los Angeles to win game four.  Don't remember it?  Fortunately, you can stop by any time and we can watch it together (WARNING: there is no way to turn off the DVD commentary).  If the Celtics can get healthy and use this time to work the new players into the rotation at the expense of a few wins, that's fine.  At the very least, it will allow the Celtics to fly a bit more under the radar and to possibly play the "nobody believes in us!" card (can you even do this as the defending champs?).  And if Rajon Rondo, Marbury, Moore, and Kevin Garnett can come back to full strength in time to heat up for a postseason run, then I firmly believe that the Celtics are talented enough to blow the doors off the Lakers again in the Finals this year.  Maybe I'm drinking too much Marbury Kool-Aid, but I can't help but be excited by his possible contributions to the Celtics' second unit.

For the time being, I'm standing pat on the Celtics and waiting to judge them until they're healthy (not a sure thing by any means, which is why I'm typing this post with my fingers crossed instead of using the normal two-finger-hunt-and-peck, ha ha).  Hopefully by next Wednesday's home game against Miami (can be seen on ESPN, for those of you out of market fans) there will be some signs of improvement from the Celtics.  Until then, I'm taking everything I see with a grain of salt.  That being the case, I think I'll take this opportunity to go off on a tangent about Dirk Nowitzki.

I know Nowitzki plays for Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks who don't exactly fit under the normal parameter's you'd expect from a blog entitled "C of Green" (unless the Mavs are wearing their ugly-as-sin green uniforms),  I'm tackling this issue regardless.  Rick Carlisle plays Dirk Nowitzki for too damn long during games.  The last two times I've seen the lanky German play, Carlisle (who rode the bench to an NBA title with the Celtics in 1986) has kept Nowitzki on the floor for the entire first quarter as well as the first half of the second quarter before spelling him on the bench.  I don't want to pretend to know better than an NBA head coach (I'll leave that to Simmons, thank you), but it was evident to me that Nowitzki was fatigued during those stretches and his team struggled as a result.  

Last night in Portland, Dirk played his heart out and carried his Mavericks to victory with an impressive and efficient 29 points and 10 rebounds, but by the end of the first quarter and into the second, Nowitzki was dragging on defense and didn't seem to have the legs to move and rotate when Portland attacked the Dallas defense.  If you ask me, the main reason for this was because Dirk played until the 5:48 mark of the second quarter before getting his first breather on the bench.  Fortunately, Carlisle was able to hid Nowitzki for much of the game inside a zone defense that confounded the Trail Blazers and limited them almost exclusively to perimeter shots without any kind of ball movement.  Still, Nowitzki stuck out like a sore thumb on defense at times, and more often than not he was at least partially responsible for giving up many of Portland's easy baskets out of their half court offense.

As if the lack of energy on defense weren't bad enough, these long stretches f playing time are affecting Nowitzki's offensive game as well.  Granted, I didn't see this last night, in fact Dirk made the three of us watching at home groan repeatedly after unleashing some ridiculous offensive moves and splashing some sweet fade-away jumpers over the Blazer defense, but trust me, it's hurting his game.  I've seen Nowitzki disappear for stretches in Dallas' offense, due partially to his teammates' inability to find him with the basketball, but also because Dirk does a lot of standing around and often doesn't fight to get into better scoring position.  Sounds symptomatic of fatigue, doesn't it?  During one game against New Orleans that the Fox and I watched together, Dallas failed to get the ball to Nowitzki for four solid minutes at the beginning of the second quarter, prompting us to wonder out loud "why is Dirk tiring himself out on the floor if they aren't going to give him the ball?"  I'm not asking Dallas to reinvent the wheel, hell I'm not even asking them to cut his minutes, just to distribute them differently so that Dirk can play with more energy.

Now I suspect that Dirk has to carry so much of the load because Dallas is very thin right now and don't have a ton of reliable size to come off the bench (hell, they start Eric Dampier for cryin' out loud), but still, he needs a rest very badly.  I feel that if Dirk got to rest at the end of the first and the beginning of the second (you know, like most NBA players do), then he'd have more energy to expend on defense or to run the floor.  In order for Dallas to contend for a title again, Dirk has to be able to play a complete game.  Dallas got to the Finals in 2006 because they played serious defense, and having Dirk play both sides of the ball was a huge part of their success as a team.  Right now, he can't do that because he needs to create almost all of Dallas' offense as well as provide most of the team's size in the middle.  The Mavericks need size in the middle worse than the Celtics do, and until they get some help or exorcise Dampier's contract, I fear they cannot improve.

Oh yeah, and if you want to get technical, allow me to successfully demonstrate how Dirk Nowitzki is soooooo related enough to the Celtics to merit some space on the C of Green...  As I mentioned, Rick Carlisle, the coach responsible for beating Nowitzki like a rented mule this year, was drafted by Red Auerbach and played for the Celtics.  And did you know that when Dirk became available for the 1998 NBA Draft Rick Pitino (a.k.a the Killer of All Hope), then GM of the Celtics, raved about Dirk, likening him to Larry Bird, and promised to take him with the tenth overall pick of the draft?  Boston didn't get the chance to draft Nowitzki, who was taken ninth by the Bucks before being shipped to Dallas for Robert "Tractor" Traylor. and settled for a swing man from Kansas named Paul Pierce instead.  And did I mention those ugly green road uniforms?  'Nuff said.

Doc Knows...

A while back Doc Rivers speculated that Rajon Rondo was perhaps the most important Celtic and that losing him for an extended stretch of time would be devastating to the team.  People scoffed, pointing instead to Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and their invaluable contributions to the defending champions.  After today's miserable 86-79 loss in Boston against Orlando, does anyone dare question that statement?  

After spraining his ankle early in Friday night's win against the Cavaliers, Doc Rivers sat Rajon Rondo for today's game against the Orlando Magic, opting to put the newly acquired Stephon Marbury into the starting line up to face the Eastern Conference's third best team.  To say the team suffered in his absence is an understatement.  Although I didn't watch the game (out of market, boo hoo), there are several glaring indicators from the box score that show how much Rondo means to the Celtics.  First of all, the Celtics had only ten assists on their 30 field goals today, while turning the ball over seventeen times (ouch).  Paul Pierce was leader of the pack for the Celtics as usual, though not in his normal good way, coughing up the ball six times to punctuate a horrid all-around performance.  If any of you read yesterday's post, or have watched the Celtics in the past, you know that turnovers are this team's achilles heel and have doomed them on many nights throughout the course of the last two years.  Though Orlando scored only 13 points off of the Celtic miscues, the damage was still done and is simply indicative of how stagnant Boston's offense gets without its speedy little point guard from Kentucky.  

While the assist:turnover ratio is perhaps the most glaring area of the game affected by Rondo's absence, the Celtics' shooting and specifically three-point shooting are also strong indicators of Rondo's value to his team.  Confused as to how a team's shooting suffers because they're missing their starting point guard who can't shoot a lick?  Don't worry, I'm about to explain it for you.  The Boston Celtics are normally one of the league's best shooting teams (currently second in FG% at 48.8 and in a five way tie for first in three-point % at 39), largely because of Rajon Rondo's blazing speed and playmaking ability.  

While all of the Celtics are committed (almost to a fault) of sharing the ball and making the extra pass to find the best possible shot for the team, Rajon Rondo is perhaps the best creator on the squad (it's probably not as close as I think, but the way Kevin Garnett can pass the ball down low, find cutters on the move and help move the ball around is preventing me from crowning Rondo outright).  Rajon Rondo is constantly in the paint, either finding lay-ups for himself or a teammate on the perimeter once the opponent's defense is collapsed onto him.  Since he is too quick for almost any NBA point guard to contain, help defenders are compelled to leave their assignments to prevent Rondo from getting an easy score at the rim, which leaves the likes of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and sometimes Eddie House open behind the three point line, and Kevin Garnett open at either the baseline or the elbow area for a 15-footer (can you say "easy money?").  Even when Rondo's first pass doesn't find a wide open shooter, his dribble penetration forces all but the stingiest of defenses onto their heels and to rotate as the Celtics continue to pass the ball.  

A lot of what Rajon Rondo does reminds me of what Tony Parker does for the San Antonio Spurs.  Parker is ahead of Rondo for now (though if Rajon can solidify the floater like Tony Parker has, look out!), but both speedsters affect their respective teams in similar ways.  In addition to collapsing defenses in order to find teammates on the perimeter and getting high percentage shots in the paint for themselves, both players have a similar way of selectively pushing the tempo for their teams and distributing the ball to a cast of veteran and future hall of fame level teammates.  And despite the greatness of their respective teammates, both players are, to quote the immortal Reggie Jackson, "the straw that stirs the drink."  Though Reggie's self-absorbed epitaph is tainted with a special breed of arrogance and vanity that only the Prince of the Yankees can provide, I think it's actually a great analogy for both of these players (but this is a Celtics site, so wave goodbye to the praise for Mrs. Eva Longoria, it's going to be all Rondo from here on in).  

Much like one of the fine Long Island ice teas from Tryon Creek Sports Bar & Grill, the Boston Celtics work best when all of the different parts are mixed together (unlike the Long Islands from Tryon, the Celtics, as far as I know, won't make you crash your car into a ditch in front of Blaine's house literally a block from the bar).  Let's say that Paul Pierce is the Vodka; Kevin Garnett is the Gin; Ray Allen is the Rum; Kendrick Perkins is Triple Sec; and Eddie House, Glen Davis, Leon Powe, Marbury and the rest are the mixers.  Trust me, if you tried to drink one of those without using a straw to sip it or mix it, it wouldn't work.  But if you add a straw to help everything blend together, then the drink becomes something that is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts (as one last aside, both Tryon Long Islands and the Boston Celtics may lead you to believe that "ANYTHING IS POSSSSSSSSSIBlE!!!!!!").  

Rondo does this for the Celtics, and more than any other player, the club plays well when he plays well.  With Rondo in the game, suddenly guys have space to move on the perimeter, defenders are being pulled out of position and forced to scramble in their rotations as the ball moves around from player to player, the Celtics run in transition and they shoot as well as anyone in the Association.  Not everything that Rondo does shows up in a box score when he and the team are playing well, but his contributions to the team become glaringly obvious when he's out.  Let's just hope that his injury is nothing serious, and that Boston can get healthy soon enough to come together for the playoffs.  

In the meantime, this would be a great time for Stephon Marbury to get a crash course in running the Celtics' offense and learning to play with Pierce, Allen and the rest of the crew.  Rivers said he questioned himself today for starting Marbury over house, but I think it's the right thing to do on all accounts.  House is most effective as a spark off the bench and can still get the majority of the minutes, while Marbury can continue to knock off the rust and immerse himself in the system.  It could be a blessing in disguise, but the Celtics cannot afford to drop more games down the stretch if they want to keep pace with Cleveland.  

Had enough?  Lord knows I have.  I have a date with my mistress team tomorrow (Blazers v. Lakers), but I'll be back with some more Celtics related musings a bit later this week.

Not So Fast...

I don't know how many of you read my short post from yesterday (don't be lazy, just scroll down!), but I may have gotten ahead of myself in my attitude towards the game.  In all honesty, I expected Cleveland to win in Boston last night.  Perhaps I underestimated the importance of Ben Wallace to the Cavs, but I thought that Cleveland had a significant advantage over Boston because of the injury to Kevin Garnett.  Add to that the way Cleveland had been playing all season (significantly better than the team that took last year's championship Celtics team to the brink of the seventh game last year) and the Celtics' uncharacteristic inconsistency for stretches of this season, and it looked to me like it was a game that Cleveland needed to win and would.  

In retrospect, I was probably hedging my bets like any true Red Sox/Cubs/Cleveland/Jazz/Mariners/etc. fan would (old habits die hard) so I could avoid the disappointment of the inevitable loss and let down, but that only partially accounts for my bad pick yesterday afternoon.  The truth is that while I knew both teams were very, very close and that the game likely would be as well, I leaned towards Cleveland because it's infinitely more pleasant for me to eat my own words when the Celtics win (I'm totally torpedoing myself here).  I'd also like to excuse myself on account of the fact that the majority of the media out there thought LeBron and the Cavs would win, but then I'd probably have to commit seppuku on the spot.  I'm a bit disappointed in myself for falling into such an easy trap and not realizing that the Celtics would protect their house and rise to the occasion, but I've learned my lesson and will sprint to the bench the next time my sub comes in... or something like that.

But enough apologizing for myself, let's talk about the game!  First of all, the defense against LeBron James and therefore the Cavaliers as a whole was spectacular from start to finish.  The Celtics were physical, aggressive and energetic for the first time in a week, hounding LeBron wherever he went.  Rotations were crisp, help always seemed to be on time, and aside from some extremely hot shooting by Mo Williams (I still have a sinking feeling that this guy will KILL the Celtics at least once in the playoffs), the Celtics did a great job of disrupting Cleveland's offense.  The Cavs did shoot a respectable 45% from the field and 50% from behind the three-point line, but any time you force LeBron freaking James into 5-15 shooting and almost as many turnovers (4) as assists (5) or rebounds (6), then you deserve some recognition.

The defense last night was good, but the offense was what carried the Celtics to victory.  Against a defense that rivals the Celtics in most categories, the Celtics shot 54% from the field and compiled 31 assists on 45 field goals.  Most impressively, the Celtics took great care of the basketball last night, coughing the ball up only eight times for a paltry nine points for the Cavaliers.  While Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo deserve the bulk of the credit for taking care of the ball and running the Celtics' offense (19 assists and only three turnovers combined), Stephon Marbury deserves a nod of approval for his role in shoring up the Celtics' biggest weakness this year.  Although he's still knocking off the rust from his year-long hiatus, Marbury did a great job during his time on the floor, dishing out three assists in 16 minutes while only turning the ball over once.  While those aren't eye popping stats to say the least (especially when you throw in the 1-5 shooting to go with it), Marbury played well within the offensive system and has already improved the ball movement of the Celtics' second unit.  A lot of what I saw Marbury do didn't appear in the box score after the game, however one noticeable area of improvement did show up in the form of a "0" in Eddie House's line under turnovers.  I'm trying not to get excited too soon, but I can't help but feel like Marbury could be (strangely enough) just what the doctor ordered for the Boston Celtics this year.  

Oh yeah, and then there was Leon Powe.  Once again making his case for the put-me-in-coach award this year, Powe came up huge last night off of the bench, exploding for 20 points on 9-11 shooting, 11 rebounds and one huge block on Mo Williams down the stretch.  The undersized power forward from Cal punished the Cavaliers for relentlessly trapping Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and the other perimeter players for the Celtics, finishing strong around the hoop time after time and always appearing in the best spot for his teammates to find him.  In perhaps his best game since last June's NBA Finals where Powe exploded in similar fashion, Leon proved to be invaluable last night and contributed as much as anyone did to Boston's victory.

To say that Leon Powe made the most of his opportunities would be an epic understatement.  After Glen Davis was ejected for a flagrant foul on Anderson Varejao in the second quarter (which, by the way, was a hard foul but not worth an ejection.  At least it shouldn't be if Zydrunas Ilgauskas is allowed to keep playing after he instigated a scuffle after the play by bumping Davis into the crowd of photographers underneath the hoop).  This made the Celtics razor thin at power forward, as Boston was already playing without Kevin Garnett and Brian Scalabrine (I'll let you guys debate who of those two is more important to the team, har har).  But Powe stepped up in a big way, playing his heart out for 26 minutes (his season average is 16 per game, by the way).  Though Leon surely wouldn't have been as productive without his teammates creating opportunities for him, Powe deserves more adulation and respect than he'll get for doing his job flawlessly and helping his team to victory (on a related note, why the hell doesn't he start when KG is out or get more minutes off the bench all the time?).

I said yesterday afternoon that this game would have atmosphere and intensity, but ultimately would be only one of 82, mattering as much as a Tuesday night game against the Grizzlies.  Although I said that before the Celtics won, I'm still sticking to that sentiment despite the rest of the sports media hyping this game as a huge statement win for the Boston Celtics.  I know, I know, everything counts in a playoff race this tight, but getting too high or too low on any one game is a recipe for let-downs and stumbles down the stretch of this season.  Sure, the Celtics have put the onus back on the Cavaliers to play harder down the stretch and to defend their home court when these two teams meet again on a Sunday afternoon five weeks from now, but realistically, Cleveland was already going to do that.  Now they just have that much more motivation to focus and maintain their intensity throughout the rest of their regular season games.  Is this what the Celtics really want?

Don't get me wrong, it was great to see Boston come out with some serious championship swag and put Cleveland in their place on national TV, but winning this game doesn't mean that the Celtics will beat the Cavaliers in May.  There's still a long way to go between now and then, and Boston will have to work just as hard if not harder than Cleveland to emerge victorious once again.  While it was reassuring to see the Celtics contain LeBron without James Posey, anybody who follows the NBA even a little bit knows that he and the Cavaliers will be back bigger and better the next time these two clubs meet.  That's the bad news, but fortunately, the Celtics have more room to improve at this point than Cleveland does.  If (and keep in mind, this is a big IF) Kevin Garnett can come back to full strength and Stephon Marbury continues to improve and play within his role in the Celtics' offense, then Boston could be well on his way to another championship.

Not to be a Debbie Downer...

While the media would have you (and me) believe that tonight's nationally televised contest between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics is a HUGE deal that has far reaching playoff implications, as of today I am choosing a more sober and less hyped perspective on the whole ordeal.  Don't get me wrong, I am still watching, and this game will have more energy than your average Tuesday night tip-off between the Grizzlies and the Thunder, however it ultimately counts no more or less than any of the other 82 games that the Celtics will have played this year.  To clarify, I am excited for this contest, but not because it's allegedly an Eastern Conference Finals preview or anything like that.  No, I am excited to watch this game because the Celtics and Cavaliers are arguably the Association's two best teams and therefore tonight's contest should be a display of basketball at an incredibly high level.

Now I know that the promoters over at ESPN will have you believe that this game will determine playoff seeding and can tell us who is ahead between these two titans of the hardwood, but it just isn't true.  First of all, the Celtics are still missing Kevin Garnett, which puts them at a significant disadvantage against a team that's clearly as talented as the Cavs are.  Though Boston is 4-2 without Garnett this year and have shown the ability to win games without him in the lineup, they sorely need him back to measure up to the NBA's elite teams.  Without KG in the lineup, this game simply can't be one of those "yardstick" types that allows one club or the other to measure themselves against a rival.  Besides, we already know that these teams are about as even as they can possibly be at this point, so there's really no need to measure up against each other.

As for the question of playoff seeding, it's true that this game could play a role in determining seeding between these two teams, however it won't be as big a role as many would have you believe.  Although head to head record is a tiebreaker in the NBA's playoff seeding formula, it won't matter unless both teams end the season with identical overall records.  And while these teams are neck and neck right now, it is unlikely that they'll finish with the same record, rendering the head to head record a moot point (for the record, these teams have split the two games they've played this year).  Ready for the icing on the cake?  These teams play twice more during the regular season, meaning that there's a very good possibility of the season series ending in a 2-2 tie and that regardless of tonight's outcome, these teams will play again to determine their head to head record.  

But what about the possibility of gaining a psychological advantage after a game against one of your biggest rivals?  Honestly, I can't completely discount this aspect of the match-up simply because I don't know exactly how both teams think (one day I will, but not yet), but to me this game doesn't seem to have the potential to carry that much weight for either squad.  If the Celtics lose tonight on their home court to LeBron and the Cavs, it will hurt no doubt, but they can rest easy knowing that they had to compete against the best player on the planet without arguably their best player.  For the Cavs, a victory would be a nice boost, but they'd have to be thinking the same thing.  If it goes the other way (I'm fairly skeptical, by the way), the Celtics can't be too excited because they are the defending champs and should win these type of games while the Cavs can't get too down because, well, the Celtics are the defending champs.

Still, it should be a great game.  At this point, I feel like there's actually more of a burden on the Cavaliers to perform at this point because Boston is missing the Big Ticket.  Despite being on the road against a bitter rival, the Cavs should win this game.  Yes, Boston is still very good even without KG, however the Cavs have LeBron freaking James and should come out on top.  In some ways, I'd almost rather the Cavs win just for the outside chance that they'll sleep on the Celtics down the road.  I'm already getting excited for the tip-off which is just under five hours away (get psyched!!!!!!).  Knowing me, there probably won't be any analysis tonight after the game, but I'll do my best to have something ready on Saturday.