I Digress...

No Celtics related musings today, just the thought that they need to take care of their business against a wounded Hornets squad tonight.  Rajon Rondo should feast on Antonio Daniels, and the Celtics should have an easy time controlling the paint against the likes of Sean Marks.  Also, tonight's contest should be a nice change of pace for he Celtics, who will actually be facing a team with more bench issues than they have (woo hoo!).  I mean seriously, we beat the pants off them earlier this year when they had Chris Paul, this one should be an easy win (unless the Celtics uncharacteristically overlook their wounded opponent and fall into a trap game).

So instead of talking Celtics with all of you out there (I assume that's no more than Mom, Tyler and Asian Dave), I thought I'd take this time to tell y'all that I am going to see the Blazers (my other home team and mistress) play against Kevin Durant and the artists formerly known as the Sonics (instead of changing their name to some fruity symbol, these guys adopted the fruity name of "Thunder" and changed into some nice computer blue uniforms to really drive the point home).  I am sure that at least two of you laughed at this without needing an explanation, but for those of you going "huh?," that was actually a two tiered Prince joke, so allow me to take a bow...  Thank you.  

Where was I?  Oh right, live NBA action tonight, get psyched!  Although the Thunder are one of the Association's worst squads, I'm actually really excited to go watch the game in Portland's lovely Rose Garden tonight.  First of all, live NBA is always astonishing and entertaining because it really lets you see the combination of size, grace and speed that most NBA players have.  Yes, you can appreciate the athleticism of KG, LaMarcus Aldridge or Amare Stoudemire on TV, but there's just something different about watching the game live that adds a whole new dimension of understanding and appreciation of the physical gifts of an elite NBA player.

Secondly, tonight's game will be my first opportunity to watch a pair of young stars in Kevin Durant and Greg Oden and evaluate them without the intermediary of television (again, there's just something different about seeing it live).  I'm excited to see Durant in person, because he's not only super talented and possibly going to be one of the greatest players of this era, but because I hardly ever get to see him play (neither the Thunder nor the Sonics were/are regular staples on ESPN and TNT).  Comparisons to Alex English and Ice Gervin are already happening with Durant, so I feel obligated to bear witness and see for myself.

I'm also excited to see Greg Oden play in person, and not because he's super tall and I want to see in person just how tall he actually is (already had the opportunity to do that when we saw him in the club for his 21st birthday.  And yes, he is really, really, really, really tall).  I'm more interested in observing Oden as he moves around the court and how he plays within the flow of the game.  Though he's steadily improved in most areas of his game this year, there are still times where Greg can be a bit disruptive to his team's rhythm on offense.  Because he doesn't have any reliable scoring moves in the low post and because his handle and footwork are still progressing, Greg has to do a lot of hard work to get a look at the basket which has thrown off his team's timing in the past.  Add to that the fact that he is turnover prone, and you can see how his presence, gigantic and intimidating as it is, can be occasionally more detrimental than helpful to his team.

So what do I expect from Greg?  Post moves like Duncan or McHale, passing like C-Webb, and defense like Bill Russell?  Not yet.  I realize that Greg is a first year player and that he's experiencing the inevitable growing pains that come from having to adjust your game to the NBA level.  Everyone goes through these, and big men doubly so.  Heck, look at Kevin Durant's first year.  He was chucking up so many bad shots even Allen Iverson blushed, but now he's efficient and could be an All-Star player as early as next season.  So while I don't expect Greg to be the best center in the game or to even validate his selection over Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft, I want to see some signs of improvement in his game, perhaps just a flash or two of brilliance that shows some of the hard work he's put in this year.  After seeing somebody play live, you can definitely get a feel for where they're headed and what they can do that's unlike anything you can experience through watching the game on TV.

Oh yeah, the third reason I'm excited to see this game is that the Thunder play at a fast pace and have been known to be negligent on defense, so the Blazers should have no problem filling it up tonight.  It will also be interesting to see if Portland can get out in transition a bit more (something I've been dying to see from them) and get some easy baskets to establish a rhythm.  I get that the Blazers like to play a controlled tempo game and grind it out with defense, ball movement and good shot selection, but they should run more, plain and simple.  they don't have to be the Knicks or Philly or Golden State, but the Blazers need to get easy baskets in transition.  They should model themselves after a good team like the Spurs, Celtics, Hornets or Cavs, all of whom play a controlled tempo style and rely on defense to grind out wins, but run when they can in order to get easy baskets.  Turning good defense into easy offense is a huge part of what makes all of these teams so good, and it's what has won the Spurs so many championships in the last decade (not solely, obviously, but definitely to a much higher degree than people realize).

Not only is it a winning style to push the ball in certain spots, but the Blazers have ideal personnel to become one of these teams.  They have a play-making point guard who is creative and brilliant with the ball on offense (Sergio Rodriguez), guys who can spot up for three-pointers in transition and stretch an already off balance defense (Rudy Fernandez, Steve Blake and Martell Webster when healthy), a slasher who can score with either hand at the rim (Brandon Roy) and a pair of long, athletic, explosive forwards with great hands in dire need of more easy basket opportunities (Aldridge and Travis Outlaw).  Combine their personnel who seem tailor made for transition offense (seriously, LaMarcus Aldridge was made to run the break) with their defensive tenacity and ability to rebound the hell out of the ball with just two guys, and there will be ample opportunities for the Blazers to get easy scores off of their defense in the future.  I suppose I can dream about it all I want, but tonight I may just get the chance to see if it could ever be a reality.  I may be coming back with some analysis/reaction after the game depending on my state of mind, but it will likely come tomorrow at some point. 

Monday Moaning

Memo to the rest of the NBA: when the game is winding down and that guy who wears number 8 for the Spurs, I think his name is Roger Mason, has the ball, you may want to put a hand in his face.  Otherwise, he may do something like this.  Or maybe something along the lines of this, or this.  You've been warned.  Also, we'll be putting new cover sheets on out TPS reports from now on.  

Um, yeah.............

Did ya get that memo, Celtics?

I guess not.  First off, that was a great shot, and every time I watch San Antonio this year, all I can think about is how good Roger Mason would look in Celtic green.  He stretches the defense, can handle the ball, is efficient on the floor, understands his role and clearly, he can hit big shots.  And while it may not look as flashy as some shots you'll see in the NBA, pulling up for a jumper off the dribble after navigating your way around a screen and between two defenders is incredibly difficult to do, so kudos to Mason for coming through again and giving the Spurs a big road win.

But that shot didn't win the game for the Spurs, nor did the Celtics lose the game because their defense was not tight enough (the play was covered reasonably well and the other Celtics had to stay home on their men, seeing as the Spurs are one of the best passing teams in the league).  I'm not of the opinion that any one possession lost the game, although Ray Allen's cosmic brain fart on the ensuing inbounds play is making me challenge that statement even as I write it.  That was an awful exchange, to be sure, and the clear path foul, free-throws, possession and more free-throws that resulted from Allen's epic fail did solidify a seven point swing towards the Spurs in just under two seconds.  But even so, the Celtics could have easily won that game.

So what went wrong?  Aside from not playing defense in the first half and failing miserably to exploit some of the mismatches that the Celtics had (Matt Bonner guarding KG?!?  Really?), I can't help but feel like the game was lost at the start of the fourth quarter, when the Celtics bench was on the floor.  With a second unit of Leon Powe, Glen Davis, Eddie House, Tony Allen and Paul Pierce on the floor, all of Boston's momentum that was accrued in a stellar third quarter that saw Boston outscore San Antonio 24-14 evaporated into thin air.

After working so hard to regain the lead after three quarters, the Celtics reserves struggled to find offense and keep the Spurs from scoring on defense, surrendering a 76-74 lead and falling into a five point hole.  The bench play was so bad that Doc Rivers was compelled to go back to his starters early in the quarter just to stop the bleeding.  Not that the first unit looked excessively tired at the end of the game, but the fact that the bench players can't be trusted to do their fair share is Troubling (notice the capital "T").  

Although the Celtics' bench isn't short on hustle, effort or enthusiasm, they've struggled all year long to create offense and match up with some of the better second units in the NBA (think Portland and the Lakers).  Eddie House is instant offense, sure, but he's really the only one who needs to be paid attention to, and he suffers for it much of the time.  Yesterday's Spurs game was a great example, during which Eddie only attempted two shots (never mind that he made both)!!!!!!!!  For a guy whose sole purpose on the team is to shoot and score, this is baffling, like worse than trying to figure out the plot of Eye of the Tiger.  Why did this happen?

House was never open because San Antonio simply didn't have to worry about anyone else on the floor from the Celtics' second unit beating them.  Sure, Paul Pierce was out there too, but he was swarmed and pestered by defenders as well (even so he did actually keep the game relatively close).  With Tony Allen, Big Baby and Leon Powe on the floor, there simply aren't enough offensive threats to make a halfway decent NBA defense sweat over the Boston Celtics.  

All three of those guys (TA, Baby and Powe) are energy/hustle players, meaning they generally impact the game on offense by hitting the offensive glass, setting screens, getting easy baskets in transition and occasionally scoring as a fourth or fifth option for the team.  Plays don't get run for them, and they don't threaten a defense outside of the ways I just outlined.  None of these guys are shooters or scorers, none of them can really handle the ball very well, nor are they great play-makers, so while they aren't liabilities on offense per se, they are by no means hard to defend or game-plan against.  

Don't get me wrong, each one of these guys, and effort/hustle role players in general, are vital cogs in any elite basketball team, and without them the stars couldn't shine as brightly as they do.  Often times these players are making the biggest sacrifices for the betterment of their team with the smallest reward, and it does seem somewhat wrong to be overly critical of the guys who don't get the same opportunity and have to make the most of what they have, but the simple truth is that there's only space for one or maybe two of these guys in a successful rotation.  Having too many limited offensive threats can and will make your offense stagnate and fall apart like so many celebrity marriages.  Just as the stars need the role players to do the little things, the role players can only flourish when there are stars around to attract attention and make the game easier for them (think Anderson Varejao).

Right now, the Celtics are suffering because of this.  Last year, with James Posey in the mix along with House and usually Ray Allen or Paul Pierce, the Celtics' second unit was much more threatening.  Not only did Posey bring defensive intensity and versatility to the Celtics, but his ability to hit outside shots stabilized the Celtics' second unit and forced defenses to stretch out and open up lanes for the other players on the court.  With three scorers out there, it becomes harder to camp out in the paint and box out the likes of Davis and Powe or keep track of them on dribble penetration, which was possible because of the optimal floor spacing provided by Posey.  This year, with three guys who can't shoot out there, everything has become that much harder and more taxing for the Celtics, who have been showing signs of fatigue this year much more so than last year (that 2-7 slide in December just happened to coincide with a lot of games in a short amount of time taking place on both coasts).  If I were a robot with silly clamps for hands, I'd be flailing my arms around and screaming "Danger, Will Robinson!!!  Danger!"

What are the Celtics to do?  Let me first say that the Celtics wouldn't be in this pickle had Antonio McDyess read that letter I wrote him earlier this season, but we can't change the past so I won't go there (but I bet you wish you'd listened, don't you think so?  How's life on the crappy Pistons treating you, Tony?).  The Celtics either need a point guard to take the load off of Eddie House and create for others on the second unit (the more Wild Turkey I drink, the more I like the idea of Stephon Marbury, I'm just sayin'), or find a long big man to help defend the lanky dudes like Pau Gasol and occasionally hit a big shot every now and then (please, PJ, come back!  I beg you!).  The tricky part for Boston is their lack of trade chips either in the form of young talent or expiring contracts, which limits the team's options to free agency pick ups.  The bad news, is that there isn't really anyone out there that is terribly enticing as of yet.  A move is needed, but unfortunately, I have no idea what the move is.  All I know is that if the Celtics keep losing close, winnable games, their future will be as bleak as the job market is.  Yikes.

Sunday Session: First Half Analysis

Heading into the half of today's contest between the San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics, it's been a mixed bag thus far.  On the one hand, Boston's activity on the offensive glass has been phenomenal, and their energy has offset some bad shooting and even more physical defense from San Antonio.  Boston is shooting over 50% from the field, but very little has come easy for them and it doesn't seem to me like they're getting the best looks possible out of their possessions.  

For instance, Matt Bonner spent most of the first half guarding Kevin Garnett, which is a glaringly obvious mismatch that, in my humble opinion, the Celtics should have tried to exploit every time down the floor.  With a huge height, quickness and vertical leap advantage over the New Hampshire native (he has 16 points on 7-10 shooting, by the way), I'd like to see Garnett take Bonner in the post and get some more high percentage shots and be a bit more aggressive on offense.  As it is, Garnett has shot mostly long jumpers (albeit wide open) and has only made 3 of 7 shots for a pedestrian 7 points.  Hopefully Doc Rivers will make an adjustment and maybe get Garnett the ball in a better position to either score in close or make a play for someone else.

The biggest problem, however, hasn't been the Celtics offense, but their defensive schemes against the Spurs.  Going into the half, San Antonio has 60 points on 58% shooting overall and 45% from behind the three-point line.  Numbers like these are quite uncharacteristic for the Celtics' defense, and it seems to me that the Spurs have found (and knocked down) so many open shots because the Celtics' have been a step slow on all of their defensive rotations.  The Celtics have been aggressively trapping on defense a lot, especially against Tony Parker, who's been somewhat limited in the first two quarters of play.  

Normally, trapping is a fine strategy as long as your defense can rotate in time to pick up the open man and close out on the perimeter shooters.  Today, however, the Celtics have been committing far too much attention to Tony Parker and haven't been able to rotate in time.  Against the Spurs, who have only won four championships in nine years by collapsing defenses and kicking the ball out to the perimeter for wide open shots, slow rotation on defense is a recipe for disaster.  Don't get me wrong, I understand the need to double Parker and keep him out of the paint, but the Celtics took it a little too far and have gotten burned for doing so.  

Going into half number two, I'd like to see at least some defensive intensity and better effort to stopping the ball in transition, as well as some better quality touches for Garnett and Paul Pierce to help fire up the Celtics' offense.  Hopefully, if the defense can tighten up, the Celtics may be able to get out in transition themselves and score a few easy baskets.  Boston's done a decent job of taking care of the ball, hopefully that can continue in the second half.  And please, for the love of God, keep finding Ray Allen!

Knee-Jerk

I'll probably feel differently about this game tomorrow, but as it stands I can't help but feel like the Celtics got hosed just a little bit tonight against the Lakers.  I'm probably just frustrated about the way the Celtics played the game (terribly), but seriously, I have no idea how or why Kevin Garnett fouls out down the stretch in a game that was that physical.  Oh yeah, and the "foul" was an obvious flop by Derek Fisher (or was it just "selling the call?") and Gasol practically hacked bone to get the ball loose in the first place, but you know, no big deal.

This is what I don't get about the NBA: the game is physical and whistles are getting swallowed left and right because the players are playing the game.  And then, out of nowhere, Garnett gets called for a touch foul when he's fighting for a loose ball in a tight game?  It puzzles me, truly.  Incidental contact had been ignored for the entire game, Garnett played within that standard, and yet even after getting fouled to create the loose ball, he's called for his sixth foul in competition for the loose ball just because Fisher acts like he's been mugged and spills all over the ground (conversely, Lamar Odom had five fouls for most of the fourth quarter and got away with far more than KG did).  The vacillation of the refs tonight was just flat out mind boggling.

All I want is some freaking consistency from the officials.  Oh sure, it's hard to make judgements so quickly and observe and judge such a fluid game and all, but pretty please, just suck slightly less at your job once in a while.  I know that the Super Bowl just happened and you NBA referees are all antsy-in-your-pantsy to one-up the NFL Zebras, but that's no excuse to ruin a perfectly good game between two very equal opponents.

Whatever, to be honest, the Celtics didn't deserve that game anyhow.  They were careless with the ball on offense (16 turnovers) and essentially gift wrapped the Lakers twenty-freaking-four points as a result.  And even though the Lakers threw up enough bricks from the free-throw line to build house (17-29!!!!!!!!!!!), the Celtics still couldn't get it done without Garnett down the stretch.  As soon as he was gone from the game, the Celtics lost all of their spacing, ball movement and much of their defensive tenacity.  Had KG been available for overtime, I feel strongly that the game would have had a different result.  But KG wasn't in there, and the Celtics played poorly throughout, so give the Lakers some credit for playing a good game (I just threw up in my mouth a little bit, ugh).

This loss is especially disappointing because it wasted some great efforts and it felt like the Celtics missed a lot of open shots that could have just as easily gone in as rimmed out.  In particular, Leon Powe and Eddie House came up huge for Boston and made the most of their floor time (I was actually wondering why we didn't see more of those two down the stretch), combining for 26 points on 11-17 shooting and 11 rebounds to boot.  Their energy was key for the Celtics, and both made big buckets when their number was called (House went 4-5 from downtown).  

Paul Pierce deserves a great deal of credit for his defense on Kobe, forcing Mamba into many a contested jumpshot in crunch time, often working one-on-one. Unfortunately, Pierce also deserves his fair share of the blame for the loss, as he missed several late free-throws that would have given the Celtics a late lead and would have put more pressure on the Lakers.  He also went 5-13 from the floor and turned the ball over five times.  Sad trombone...

The implications of this game?  LA is very deep and appear to still be sore from their humiliating exit from last year's Finals.  They're much worse without Bynum controlling the middle of the floor, but unfortunately, the Celtics still seem behind without James Posey and PJ Brown.  The Celtics need help, desperately.  I'd like to see them add another long body to come off the bench and make life harder for the likes of Pau Gasol, who had a field day against the much shorter Glen Davis tonight, as well as somebody to handle the ball for the second unit and let Eddie House roam free on offense.  I hate to say Stephon Marbury at this point, but there isn't a lot of promising talent out there at this point.  Signing Marbury to a small contract and keeping him on a short leash would be a low risk option that given Marbury's talent could be very rewarding for the Celtics.  I feel dirty just writing that, but Boston needs to get better if they want a shot at defending their title against the Lakers in June.

Injury Implications

Sorry for my extended absence over the weekend, but I had to go make some money to pay the bills (believe it or not sharing your infinite basketball wisdom with the masses isn't quite as lucrative as you might think).  Fortunately, the Celtics kept right on rolling through the weekend after yet another convincing victory over Detroit (the Iverson for Billups swap is quickly gaining ground on Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb as one of the worst trades of all time) and wins against Minnesota on Sunday and Philadelphia last night.  

Boston's' winning streak is now at 12 (in case any of you were counting), though it will be put to the test against the Lakers this Thursday in Boston.  While the circumstances for this Thursday's contest against LA are quite similar to the two teams last meeting on Christmas (nationally televised, Celtics riding double digit win streak, another brutal road trip looming), this match-up will have a dramatically different feel because of the personnel involved.  

Kevin Garnett has sat out the last two Celtic games with the flu, and while it isn't a certainty that he'll play on Thursday, I imagine he'll do whatever he can to be back in the line-up against the Lakers.  Even if KG suits up, I'm not sure how effective he'll be with the flu affecting his energy and intensity on the court (though it apparently wasn't a problem for Ray Allen last night, who is suffering through the same sickness).  Garnett is key for the Celtics, who need his length, quickness and physicality to match up with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.  If KG isn't there or isn't able to contain those guys, the Celtics defense will have to double team, leaving them constantly out of position and susceptible to ball movement and dribble penetration.  On the other side of the ball, Garnett is a tough cover for the Lakers, who can't match his length and quickness with just one defender, forcing them to commit more focus on KG and leave the other Celtics free to operate in single coverage.

The Lakers, on the other hand, have much bigger injury issues (literally and figuratively) after Andrew Bynum tore his MCL on Saturday against Memphis.  The initial prognosis was 8-12 weeks of missed action for Bynum, which should keep him out for the remainder of the regular season and possibly into the playoffs (12 weeks would be almost through the Lakers first round playoff series at the end of April).  Additionally, 8-12 weeks is an exceedingly optimistic time frame for such a big player to be able to recover fully from such a serious injury, not to mention the amount of time it will take Bynum to work himself back into playing shape.  And when you consider his injury last year and the way his return kept getting delayed, I seriously doubt that we'll be seeing Andrew Bynum again this year. 

This loss is unfortunate and must be very disheartening for Bynum and the Lakers, and not just because Kobe was the one who hit Bynum's knee after apparently trying to sell a call on a drive to the hoop and flopping on the ground.  No, this injury is unfortunate because Bynum was playing his best basketball of the season (much like last year when he hurt his other knee) was finally on the floor to provide the length, defense and toughness that LA was so sorely lacking in last year's Finals against Boston.  Although Bynum's injury is beneficial to the Celtics as well as every other team in the West, even somebody as morally corrupt and twisted as myself wouldn't wish this on anyone (except maybe A-Rod, a Manning or possibly Kobe).  

Though the task was daunting, I was actually interested to see how the Celtics would try and react to this incarnation of the Lakers, who not only had enough offensive weapons in their arsenal to blow the doors off just about anyone, but could lock you down on defense as well with Bynum patrolling the paint.  After watching the game on Christmas and seeing some of the other signs throughout the year that exposed Boston as behind where they were last year and showed the Lakers as noticeably better, I wasn't sure that the Celtics could handle LA in a seven game series.  But now that the Lakers are essentially back to the rotation (although they have a healthy Trevor Ariza for now) that went belly up last June against the defense of the Celtics, I'm back to only being scared shitless of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are now 23-0 at home this year (yikes!).

To make matters worse, there isn't another Pau Gasol out there for Mitch Kupchack to hijack this year, so the Lakers will have to make do with what they have (not that this will be a problem for them).  Although the Lakers still have plenty of depth on their roster, they are starting to look a little bit thin up front, especially without Ronny Turiaf to bring energy and size off the bench.  For most of the year, LA was playing either Gasol or Bynum at all times to give them a constant post presence with both units, however without Bynum some minutes will have to go to the likes of Chris Mihm or DJ Mbenga, who have played 75 minutes combined this year and have contributed only 27 points (all of them scored by Mihm).  And when you consider the PTSD flashbacks Mihm must have every time he has to play against the Celtics, the outlook for LA is especially grim.  

But hey, if you look on the bright side for LA, they should be well acclimated to playing without Bynum already and now there are just that many more shots for Kobe to take.  And Kobe does seem to want to atone for his unfortunate part in Bynum's injury, judging by his 61-point outburst against the Knicks (and Mike D'Antoni's New York Knicks aren't just anyone, you know...).  Mamba seems determined to carry the Lakers during this difficult period with his scoring or go out shooting.  As a matter of fact, this is just what the Lakers needed: for Kobe to go back into the mode where he shoots 30+ times per game and carry the totality of the load himself.  It's not like his sacrifice and focus on playing team basketball was what enabled the Lakers to become such a deadly team in the first place, right?  

I mean, so what if there's no shot-blocking, intimidation, rebounding or interior toughness on the Lakers anymore?  It's not like that was what was missing during the Finals last year.  As somebody who owns the Collector's Edition DVD set, I can honestly say that the Lakers didn't suffer from Bynum's absence (trying to keep typing with a straight face).  I hope that everyone in LA recorded the Christmas game on TiVo, because I imagine that's the last time you'll se the Lakers physically dominate the Celtics this year (sad trombone).  

Next time: Jameer Nelson's shoulder!