Sports of Boston » Paul Pierce

The Atlantic, Week 5: Paul Pierce and a Recent Harvard Grad Trending Up

Nathan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:43:15 +0000

Prepare for yet another installment of “The Atlantic,” Sports of Boston’s weekly look at who’s ‘trending up’ and ‘trending down’ in the NBA’s Atlantic Division!

Paul Pierce is the hottest player in the Atlantic division, but do the Knicks have a new star? And are the Sixers on the brink of being considered a contender? It may not be as competitive as the Northwest, but there’s still plenty of drama in the Atlantic.

Boston Celtics (14-10, 2nd place)

Trending Up: Paul Pierce

Pierce is unstoppable right now, earning Eastern Conference player of the week honors Monday passing Larry Bird to become second all-time in Celtics’ scoring Tuesday. The Celtics turned their season around when Pierce got it together. If Pierce can maintain this level for the remainder of the season and the playoffs, there isn’t a team the Celtics can’t beat and nothing they can’t accomplish (hint hint).

Trending Down: Opponents points per game

Following their 94-84 win over the Charlotte Bobcats, the Celtics now lead the league in points allowed per game at 86.5. That’s four points better than the championship ’08 Celtics. Boston hasn’t given up 100 points in a game since giving up 115 to Miami in the second game of the season. In the last eight NBA seasons, no team has allowed fewer points per game than these Celtics. The Celtics’ offense is still at par or below, but it shouldn’t matter if their defense is historically good.

Philadelphia 76ers (18-7, 1st Place)

Trending Up: Quality wins

Wins over the Bulls, Lakers and Hawks look a lot better for the 76ers than wins over the Wizards and Pistons. Philadelphia’s strength of schedule is getting better and will keep getting better. The 76ers are really good, yet it remains to be seen whether they are ‘contender’ good or not.

Trending Down: Consistency

Beating Chicago by 16 looks good, but losing to Miami by 20 (twice) and losing to New Jersey in overtime looks equally bad. If the Sixers hope to contend for the 2012 NBA title, they have to bring their best effort every night. Right now, I’m not seeing that.

New York Knicks (10-15, 3rd place)

Trending Up: Lin-sanity

Jeremy Lin has become the talk of the town in New York, especially after scoring 28 points and dishing out eight assists without Amare Stoudamire and Carmelo Anthony Monday against the Jazz. With Baron Davis’ status still unclear and Toney Douglass and Mike Bibby proving incapable, Lin has quickly become the key to salvaging the Knicks’ 2012 season. New York is 2-0 with Lin as its starting point guard. Go Harvard!

Trending Down: The Plan

Lin and Steve Novak are leading the Knicks to victories…wait…read that sentence again. The Knicks’ stars and key bench players were struggling to get victories, so they’ve turned to their scrubs. Mike D’Antoni finally deserves some credit for trying anything and everything to win and keep his job. The Celtics and Heat laid the blueprint for putting together ‘Big Threes’, but that doesn’t mean any three stars can be a ‘Big Three’.

New Jersey Nets (8-18, Tied for 5th place)

Trending Up: Close Losses

The Nets could be 3-1 in their last four instead of 1-3. A couple of Deron Williams turnovers at the end of the Minnesota game and a couple of missed shots against the Knicks have doomed the Nets. To compete with Cleveland, Milwaukee and New York for the last playoff spot in the East, New Jersey has to win the close ones.

Trending Down: Optimism

The Nets were in the playoff picture; now they’re out of it. Mediocre Eastern Conference teams have pinballed between optimism one moment and pessimism another; right now the Nets are in a pretty deep pit of pessimism.

Toronto Raptors (8-18, Tied for 5th place)

Trending Up: Linas Kleiza

The Raptors desperately needed Kleiza (or anyone really) to give their offense a boost with Andrea Bargnani out. Kleiza is averaging 20 points per game after recording a DNP in last week’s throttling by the Celtics. Kleiza can’t do enough to salvage the Raptors season as long as Bargnani is out, but he can help them avoid getting embarrassed on a nightly basis if he keeps performing at a high level.

Trending Down: Jose Calderon

Calderon started the season looking like an All-Star candidate but has since cooled way off, averaging just five points in his last five games. With his sidekick Bargnani sidelined and Raptors management scouting for the draft, you can’t blame Calderon for mailing it in. Conclusion: The Raptors are bad and Calderon has given up.

Pierce Makes History, Celtics Handle Bobcats

Nathan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:41:25 +0000

Paul Pierce had 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds Tuesday night, moving into second all-time in Celtics’ scoring as the Celtics coasted to a 94-84 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. Kevin Garnett continued his strong play for the Celtics with 22 points and seven rebounds. Reggie Williams led the NBA worst 3-22 Bobcats 21 points and 5 assists.

Going into Tuesday’s game, Pierce trailed Celtics legend Larry Bird by nine points on the franchise’s all-time scoring leader board. Pierce drained a three-pointer with 10:23 to go in the third quarter to pass Bird and become the second leading scorer in Celtics history. The Celtics immediately fouled the Bobcats on the other end of the court to give Pierce a moment to take a bow at center court as the TD Banknorth Garden erupted.

The 10th pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, Pierce has scored 21,797 points as a member as the Boston Celtics. Pierce now trails only John Havelicek, who scored 26,395 as a Celtic.

Celtics Take Control in Second Half

The Celtics never trailed in the second half of Tuesday’s game en route to their fifth victory in a row. Boston has now won nine of their last 10 contests. The Bobcats dropped their 12th straight game.

The Celtics had trouble from deep range and shot just 17 percent from beyond the arc. The Celtics’ three-point struggles can be traced back to Pierce, who shot 2-for-10. Ray Allen scored 17 points but shot just 1-for-5 from downtown.

Brandon Bass had 13 points off the Celtics bench a game after sitting out with a swollen knee. Bobcats’ rookie Kemba Walker had 16 points and seven rebounds in another losing effort for the squad.

The Boston Celtics hit the court again Thursday night when they host the Los Angeles Lakers for the lone time this season.

Celtics Report Card: Forgetting Football Ever Existed

Nick Bohlen — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:26:47 +0000

After going 4-0 last week, the Boston Celtics were already potentially poised to put up some straight A’s. They had their revenge (93-90 over the Cleveland Cavaliers), wiped out the dinosaurs (a 36-point drubbing of the Toronto Raptors), got gritty in MSG (beating the New York Knicks 91-89), and proved themselves against a younger, more athletic opponent (topping the Memphis Grizzlies 98-80). That left the Celtics at 13-10, the first time Boston has seen the right side of .500 since they were 4-3.

Then Super Bowl XLVI happened.

(Excuse me while I go drown my pain in unintelligible Kurt Cobain lyrics and grungy power chords.)

Without rehashing the gory details, let’s just move ahead with this week’s grades, with the important caveat that I am clinically depressed from Sunday night’s devastating loss. Just know I will be assigning massive grade inflation simply to assuage my severely bruised and battered ego. I need something to hold onto, both literally (to support myself) and emotionally (my tear ducts no longer function properly).

Starting Backcourt: B+

Avery Bradley was reasonably solid in his two starts, even managing to contribute 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting (albeit against the Raptors, who really give their Jurassic Park counterparts a bad name).

Not exactly the kind of efficient production Celtics fans hope to get from Ray Allen, but he did manage to contribute a consistent dozen points per game.

Of course, the big story of the week was Rajon Rondo suiting up to play. Coming off an eight game layoff due to a nagging wrist injury, Rondo’s return Friday against the Knicks was predictably sluggish (7 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 turnovers). Rondo only mustered five points in his second game back, but dished out 14 dimes and led the Celtics to 26 fast-break points (more than the previous three games combined). He appeared to have a much better sense of timing and rhythm (as evidenced by this gorgeous feed to Jermaine O’Neal for the flush). Just his mere presence is enough to bump the backcourt up to a B+ for this week (or so I tell myself).

Starting Frontcourt: A-

I can’t say enough about Paul Pierce, who has absolutely elevated his play recently and took home the Offensive Player of the Week award for filling up the stat sheet night in and night out. His masterpiece, of course, was a vintage Pierce appearance against the Knicks, when he went off for 30 points, including a couple of absurd three-pointers to barely beat the shot clock in the game’s final minutes (one of which was waved off, but no less insane – just listen to the Garden roar).

Kevin Garnett has been draining some threes of his own, which he will incessantly remind you is within his range. Much to my preference, though, it was nice to see Garnett down on the block in the second half against the Grizzlies en route to 24 points (tying his season-high).

Meanwhile, O’Neal has been doing all the dirty work on the defensive end, drawing charge after charge at the cost of his already creaky knees. Hopefully they hold up and he continues to (pun alert!) take charge defensively (I warned you).

Altogether, I’d say that merits the first A of the season.

Bench Backcourt: C

Bradley continues to struggle when not hidden among the starting five (you mean not playing with perennial All-Stars hurts his stats? A revelation, I know); E’Twaun Moore remains lightning in a bottle (still waiting for him to strike twice); and Sasha Pavlovic has officially leapfrogged Marquis Daniels in the Celtics rotation (I’m pretty sure that was what the Mayans were talking about).

Bench Frontcourt: A-

The second unit of bigs gets our second A of the season! Doc Rivers is singing Chris Wilcox’s praises (following my lead from last week), while Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus are doing their thing (shooting, shooting, and more shooting for Bass; for Pietrus, that means being French).

In the surprise of the week, JaJuan Johnson showed a lot of promise for the future with some impressive garbage time performances (insert grain of salt here). In 32 total minutes of playing time, Johnson poured in 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting, with six rebounds and a couple of blocks. Johnson should be an exciting young player to watch develop as this year goes on. He has a chance to be the greatest Boston athlete to ever wear #12 (shhhhhh!).

Pierce, Celtics Stomp Raptors to Post First Winning Record in A While

Nathan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:33:46 +0000

Paul Pierce had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists for the Boston Celtics en route to a 100-64 thrashing of the Toronto Raptors Wednesday night. The Celtics improved to 11-10 with the victory and now post their first winning record since starting 4-3. Jared Bayless scored 14 off the bench for the Raptors who scored less than 70 points for the third time this season.

Ray Allen had 12 points and 5 assists, and Brandon Bass added 12 points and 9 rebounds for the hot shooting Celtics. The Celtics shot 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3.

Kevin Garnett hit a 3 to end the first half and push the Celtics lead to 22. The Celtics led the Raptors by at least 20 points the rest of the way. Allen connected from beyond the arc with 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter to push the lead to 30.

While the Celtics shot exceptionally, they also played stellar defense. The Celtics held the Raptors to just 32 percent shooting from the field. The Celtics allowed the Raptors to score no more than 19 points in a quarter. Boston also out-rebounded Toronto 46-39

Wins like Wednesday’s against will certainly help the Celtics weather the condensed season. Kevin Garnett played just 17 minutes and Jermaine O’Neal barely played a full quarter with 14 minutes. No Celtics’ starter played more than 26 minutes.

The Celtics’ bench not only chipped in minutes, but also had it’s best outing of the season. Boston’s bench combined for a season high 47 points. Chris Wilcox was the only active Celtic not to score. Rookie JaJuan Johnson had his best game of his young career as he scored 11 points and didn’t miss a single one of his 5 shot attempts.

Ed Davis had 10 points and 15 rebounds and was the only Raptor beside Bayless to score in double figures.

The Celtics hit the court again Friday when they clash with the reeling New York Knicks in a nationally televised game. Rajon Rondo missed his eighth straight game with a sprained wrist. Doc Rivers said before the game that Rondo may give it a go on Friday.

Celtics Report Card: Leave it to Cleveland

Nick Bohlen — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:25:38 +0000

The first quarter of the year has come and gone, and the Boston Celtics started this week well on their way to a pretty good grade. They mustered a dominant defensive performance and a massive comeback in a home-and-home against the Orlando Magic, then managed a quality win over a playoff-caliber Indiana Pacers squad that had already beaten them twice this season.

Then the C’s soured it all Sunday by giving up 12 unanswered points over the final 4:24 to gift a win to the Cleveland Kyrie Irvings Cavaliers, squandering a chance to get over the .500 mark.

The NBA: Where the opposite of amazing also happens.

In other words, so much for the honor roll. Let’s jump right in and see how much that one loss brought down the grades for this past week’s progress report.

Starting Backcourt: B

Well this is awkward. Thanks to injuries, the recipe for the Celtic’s starting guards called for four cups Avery Bradley, two parts Mickael Pietrus, and a dash of Sasha Pavlovic. Disgusting.

Bradley left his mark harassing Jameer Nelson up and down the court in the 87-56 win over the Magic, then all but disappeared until an injury against Cleveland officially pulled him off the court. Pietrus neither dazzled nor disappointed, although it would be nice for him to make more than 37 percent of his shots. As for Pavlovic, I’m making the executive decision that the starting backcourt gets an automatic “F” if I ever have to see him play 34 minutes in a starting role again.

On the bright side, the Celtics did manage to sprinkle in a pinch of Ray Allen, who went 9-for-14 – including 4-for-6 from downtown – for 22 points in the loss to the Cavaliers. All things considered, with no Rajon Rondo and just one game for Allen, I have to say the starting backcourt was solid. Or at least solid-ish.

Starting Frontcourt: B+

Now THAT is what I’m talking about, Paul Pierce: 22.2 ppg, 8.8 apg, 6.8 rpg, all while running the offense as a point forward (Carmelo Anthony could learn a thing or two from The Truth). He does need to hold on to the rock, giving the ball away seven times against the Cavs and costing them a W.

I’d like to see a little more scoring from Kevin Garnett, but he (along with Jermaine O’Neal and his pointing prowess) frustrated Dwight Howard to no end. Between his defense and better consistency on the boards, KG looked a little better this week.

With O’Neal’s knees balking again, Brandon Bass filled out the starting lineup for the last three games this week. He really likes his nickname “No-Pass Bass,” doesn’t he (12 FGA, 1.5 AST per game)?

Bench Backcourt: C+

I would like to take this time to personally apologize to E’Twaun Moore (I’m assuming he reads my opinion of him and the Celtics religiously, or at least has Google alert). First of all, he has a sweet name. Bonus points. Second, though he didn’t do a whole lot in the other three games (especially since the point guard position is essentially nonexistent with Pierce running the offense), his 16-point outburst to spark the comeback in Orlando was extremely encouraging. And a positive +/- in every game is always, well, positive. Just for that, I’ll throw a plus sign on that letter grade.

Sorry, but I don’t really have anything to say to you, Marquis Daniels and Keyon Dooling. You don’t even deserve those links to your player pages.

Bench Frontcourt: B-

The return of Chris Wilcox has been a big lift, namely because the Celtics wouldn’t have a big man to come off the bench otherwise (let’s just say those Greg Stiemsma-Bill Russell comparisons faded pretty quickly, along with the Steamer’s playing time). Wilcox has grabbed six boards in each of the last two games while only playing 23 minutes a game. Against the Pacers, he even poured in 14 points to give the Celtics a lift offensively. It’s always good to see the only major offseason acquisition finally make a difference a quarter of the way through the season.

Irving, Cavs Score Final 12 Points, Steal Win From Celtics

Nathan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:15:21 +0000

Kyrie Irving scored 23 points and hit the game-winner as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Celtics in Boston Sunday evening, 88-87. Ray Allen had 22 points for the Celtics in his first game back since missing 4 games with an ankle sprain. Paul Pierce added 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists as the Celtics couldn’t extend their win streak to 5 games.

Irving Seals Win As Celtics Falter Down Stretch

The Celtics led Cleveland 87-76 with 4:24 to go in the game but couldn’t muster another point the rest of the game. Rookie Kyrie Irving sparked a 12-to-0 Cleveland run to end the game.

Irving scored 6 points in the game’s final 4 minutes and assisted on two other baskets. With 2 seconds left on the clock Irving drove around E’Twaun Moore and Brandon Bass to score the go-ahead bucket. Pierce was unable to get a shot off a possession later as time expired.

Varejao Out-Hustles Garnett, Bass

Irving was the headliner for the Cavs, but Anderson Varejao was a key part of Sunday’s narrative. The veteran forward had 18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and several key hustle plays during the Cavaliers late-game rally. Varejo stole a rebound from Bass with 23 seconds left on the game clock. That rebound gave the Cavaliers the extra possession that became Irving’s game winning layup.

Varejao and the Cavs pounded the Celtics interior which was without Jermaine O’Neal for the third straight game. The Celtics gave up a season-high 54 points in the paint to Cleveland. Kevin Garnett had 14 points and 7 rebounds, Brandon Bass had 13 and 5 but both struggled on defense Sunday.

The Cavaliers bench outscored the Celtics bench 30-14. Forward Alonzo Gee led the Cavs bench with 14 points and 4 steals. The Cavs recorded 11 steals and the Celtics coughed the ball up 16 times.

The Celtics and Cavaliers will face off again Tuesday night in Cleveland. Before Sunday’s game Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers said he hopes Rajon Rondo will be a go for Tuesday’s game. If Rondo can play, it will be his job to try and slow down Irving in the rematch.

The Atlantic, Week 4: Celtics’ Confidence and Andrea Bargnani Trending Up

Nathan — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:48:34 +0000

Welcome to “The Atlantic,” a weekly column where we ‘trend up’ and ‘trend down’ news and notes from the NBA’s Atlantic Division.

The Boston Celtics are no longer the most disappointing team in the Atlantic Division – the Knicks are. Is Andrea Bargnani a top-10 power forward? Can the New Jersey Nets still make the playoffs? After a cool stretch, things are heating up again in the Atlantic.

Boston Celtics (9-9, Second place)

Trending Up: Team Confidence

The Celtics’ confidence was at its lowest point of the season when they lost to Phoenix 79-71 a week ago at home. Since then the Celtics have rattled off four wins in a row while playing without Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen. The team’s confidence is now sky high. E’Twaun Moore isn’t afraid to shoot the ball anymore. Marquis Daniels in playing more like himself. Avery Bradley looks confident enough to dribble the ball up the court without immediately passing it. Sasha Pavlovic isn’t backing down from anyone on defense. Even Chris Wilcox decided to show up for the season. The Celtics’ burst of confidence starts with the captain, Paul Pierce, who has been superb. Pierce is averaging 26 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds in his last 4 games, whereas Lebron James is averaging 27.6 and 8 in his. No one in the league is playing with more confidence right now than Pierce.

Trending Down: Trade Talk

As long as this team continues to win, it stays together. Simple, right? Well, not quite. For now the trade talk has cooled, but if a Western Conference team blows Danny Ainge away with a deal for Pierce, I think he still takes it. Ainge has said he is not afraid to break this team up for the future of the franchise, and I believe him. Stay tuned.

Philadelphia 76ers (14-6, First place)

Trending Up: Jodie Meeks’ Shooting Stroke

Jodie Meeks was hard to watch to when season startedm but thanks to a strong week, he’s now shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. For a team that’s short on effective long-range shooters, Meeks heating up has to be a good sign in Philadelphia.

Trending Down: Strength of Schedule

If you count Atlanta and Indiana as Philadelphia’s two good wins, the rest of the teams they’ve beaten have a combined winning percentage below 36 percent. Philadelphia’s strength of schedule so far has not been good. A third of the Sixers wins have come at the expense of Washington and Detroit. Now the Sixers embark on one of the toughest seven-game stretches any team in the NBA will see this year. Let’s check back in two weeks before proclaiming the Sixers ‘elite.’

New York Knicks (7-13, T-Third place)

Trending Up: Blueprint for Beating Them

When you get blown out by the Milwaukee Bucks at home, and a few days later get dominated by the Cleveland Cavaliers, you’ve got problems. The Knicks have dropped eight of nine because teams have figured out how to beat them. All you have to do is let Carmelo Anthony shoot the ball and then box the hell out. Anthony is shooting horribly in January. Until the Knicks switch up the isolation offense, they are going to keep losing games.

Trending Down: Mike D’Antoni

The Knicks are losing games they shouldn’t be. The Knicks roster has elite talent on it. The conclusion is simple: If the Knicks aren’t at least at .500 by the All-Star break, D’Antoni is gone. New York has former Altanta Hawks head coach Mike Woodson sitting on it’s bench ready to take over should the Knicks let D’Antoni go.

New Jersey Nets (7-13, T-Third place)

Trending Up: Playoff Odds

The Nets have won two straight and are a game back of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Who currently holds that seed? Cleveland. If the Knicks keep losing and Milwaukee Bucks’ center Andrew Bogut struggles to recover from a fractured ankle, the door is wide open for the Nets. The last playoff team in the Eastern Conference is going to be a bad team; why shouldn’t the Nets aim to be that bad team?

Trending Down: Urgency to make a move

If New Jersey can sneak into the playoffs and Orlando decides to try and hold onto Dwight Howard, that puts the Nets in a really good position. In 2012, the Brooklyn Nets will have enough cap space to sign Howard outright. Waiting to sign Howard as a free agent instead of trading for him allows the Nets to hold onto their greatest trade asset, Brook Lopez. A scary thought for the Celtics and the rest of the Eastern Conference.

Toronto Raptors (6-14, Fifth place)

Trending Up: Andrea Bargnani’s Value

The Raptors are 6-5 with a healthy Andrea Bargnani in the lineup, and 0-8 without. You could make the case that no one in the league means more to their team then the 7-foot Italian forward. Bargnani is sixth in the league in scoring and posts career highs in rebounding, field goal percentage, assists, and free throw attempts. Bargnani is becoming one of the top-10 power forwards in the game. With Bargnani, the Raptors are a fringe playoff team. Unfortunately for Toronto, Bargnani isn’t healthy.

Trending Down: Basketball in Canada

It’s Hockey season in Canada and the Raptors have lost nine of 11. Do you think anyone in Canada really cares that there is currently a basketball team playing Toronto? Things couldn’t be uglier for Canada’s only NBA team.

Celtics Complete Biggest Comeback in 16 Seasons Against Magic

Matt Goisman — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:56:42 +0000

The Boston Celtics got double-doubles from Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, plus double-digit scoring from three more, coming all the way from 27 down to beat the Orlando Magic 91-83 Thursday night at the Amway Center. It was Celtics’ biggest comeback in 16 seasons.

Celtics Cast Second-Half Spell

The Celtics came out of halftime down 58-37, having done virtually nothing right in the first half following an 8-2 run – keyed by two three-pointers from Mickael Pietrus – to start the game. They couldn’t penetrate, they couldn’t hit jumpers, and they definitely couldn’t get stops.

But Pierce hit his first three shots in the third quarter, and starting the Celtics’ slow crawl back. The Magic rebuilt their lead to 64-45 on a three-pointer from Hedo Turkoglu, but much stronger interior defense from the Celtics forced the Magic entirely to the perimeter, and their accuracy plummeted because of it.

The Celtics closed out the third with a 10-3 run highlighted by E’Twaun Moore‘s second of a game-high four three-pointers, and the Celtics started the fourth down just 11.

The defense continued in the fourth, with the Celtics forcing a shot-clock violation on the Magic’s first possession, and Moore hit another trey to cut the deficit to 75-67. After Dwight Howard got himself to the free throw line and knocked down one of two shots, Pierce scored two more buckets in rapid succession, hitting a three and then blowing by former Celtic Glen Davis for a 9-foot jumper that made it just 76-72 Magic. Following some more tough interior defense from Garnett and the Celtics, Howard got called for goal-tending on yet another shot from Pierce.

Pierce then pulled down two defensive rebounds, and on the other end Marquis Daniels drew Howard into a double-team that left Garnett wide open for a 20-footer. Garnett drained it, tying the game 76-76 and stunning the Magic. After some more anemic Magic shooting – they didn’t score a field goal until over halfway through the fourth quarter – Pierce made a brilliant cross-court pass to Moore in the corner, who buried the three for the 79-76 lead.

Boston’s defense – which finished the game with six steals, 11 blocks and 38.0 percent opposing shooting – so rattled the Magic that they began screaming at the refs, leading to two technical fouls in the fourth. But even that couldn’t stop the Celtics, as Pierce and Moore sank four of six free throws in the closing minutes of the game to lock down the victory.

Pierce finished the game with 24 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Garnett scored 12 and grabbed 10 boards while blocking four and stealing three. Moore finished with 16 points, including 4-for-4 three-point shooting. Pietrus scored 12, while Brandon Bass kicked in 10.

Bass, Celtics Make Magic Disappear for Second Win In a Row

Nathan — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:31:01 +0000

Brandon Bass and Paul Pierce had 19 points apiece as the Boston Celtics swept the TD Banknorth Garden floor with the Orlando Magic Monday night, 87-56. Dwight Howard scored 18 points and had 14 rebounds but was the lone member of the Magic to score in double figures.

Depleted Celtics Set Franchise Records

The contest was historic for both teams involved. The Magic connected on just 16 of 65 field goal attempts, setting franchise lows for points, field goals and shooting percentage. Meanwhile, the Celtics’ defense set franchise records for points, field goals and shooting percentage allowed in a game.

The Celtics played the game without five of their key players. In addition to starters Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo missing the game due to injury, key bench players Mickael Pietrus, Keyon Dooling, and Chris Wilcox sat as well.

Boston had to rely on Avery Bradley and Sasha Pavlovic to provide a spark with the starting backcourt sitting. Along with Kevin Garnett, Bradley’s and Pavlovic’s hustle ignited the Celtics’ red-hot defense. The trio combined for 10 steals and five blocks. As a team, the Celtics recorded season highs in steals (13) and blocks (nine). Garnett chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with his defensive prowess.

Bass Makes Trade for Davis Look Good

Monday’s game marked Glen Davis‘s first game back in Boston since being traded for Brandon Bass in November. Davis was a non-factor on offense, scoring six points on 2-for-9 shooting, but pulled down an uncharacteristic 11 rebounds against his former team.

Instead, Bass won the battle of backup power forwards. Bass shot an efficient 8-for-14 and pulled down eight rebounds for an invigorated Celtics bench. The Bass-led bench scored a season high 39 points. Marquis Daniels aided the Celtics’ bench effort with eight points and five assists.

The Magic could get nothing going offensively for most of the game. Howard shot 4-for-6 in the first quarter but finished the game on a prolonged 0-for-9 stretch. Bradley hounded former all-star point guard Jameer Nelson all night, holding him to five points, three assists, and five turnovers. The Magic had 23 turnovers – seven more than their total field goals.

Rondo and Allen Missing, but Allen Missed More

Despite the win, the Celtics missed Allen and his three-point shooting. The Celtics made just two shots from beyond the arc in 13 attempts. However, Boston made all 19 of their free throw attempts.

The Celtics are now 2-1 with Rondo out of the lineup. Bradley has averaged six points, four assists and two steals while filling in for Rondo the last the games. Rondo wore a cast on his right wrist while he watched the game from the bench. Rondo’s status moving forward remains uncertain.

Boston and Orlando will have a rematch of Monday’s contest Thursday in Orlando.

Celtics Report Card: One Month in, C’s Need Work

Nick Bohlen — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:18:08 +0000

Welcome to our weekly Celtics report card! In this space, I’ll evaluate the team’s performance over the past week, assigning grades from “F” to “A+” (though be forewarned, there will be no liberal arts college grade inflation).

To come up with a letter grade, I will use a combination of statistics (looking at the box score), scouting (watching the games), strength of schedule (who the opponents are), and, of course, pure subjectivity (how I’m feeling on that particular day).

This week, the C’s will suffer from playing two cellar-dwellers in the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards. A trip to the Super Bowl by the Patriots has me pretty giddy, though, so my good mood might give them some marginal help on their final grades.

Ehhh, on second thought, probably not. A meager 7-9 record has not left me happy. Time to be that unnecessarily tough teacher everyone always hates. So enough chit-chat. Let’s break out that red felt pen and get to grading this past week.

Starting Backcourt: C

I was tempted to give the starting backcourt an “incomplete” for this week, considering Rajon Rondo missed two games with a wrist injury, but that’s about as textbook as you can get to defining “cop out.” In those first one and a half games, though, Rondo looked impressive. He has been a man on a mission, and I love that he’s not afraid to get to the free throw line this year. His replacement, Avery Bradley, has been occasionally brilliant and generally solid on defense, but anywhere from “meh” to “my god!” on offense. In a bad way.

Meanwhile, Ray Allen went through a prolonged shooting slump this week, scoring just 33 points all week. The Celtics have to do a better job of getting him more than six field goal attempts per game, and a free throw shooter as good as Allen has to find a way to get to the line more than five times in four games.

Starting Frontcourt: C

You might say Paul Pierce is rounding into form with a 34 point, 10 assist, eight rebound performance against the Wizards, but I say let me know when he shows up against a team that has more than two wins. I can’t figure out why he’s still so out of shape when the bruised heel only kept him out for a couple of weeks. I know it’s not manly, but maybe jump on an elliptical? At least for a few minutes.

Simply put, Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O’Neal look old. Those knees have seen a lot of miles. The Celtics were out-rebounded by every team this week except for the Thunder, who also struggle on the glass. O’Neal and Garnett have to be better at setting the tone on the boards.

Bench Backcourt: D+

I’ve always considered Marquis Daniels more of a small forward and Mickael Pietrus a little bit more of a shooting guard, even though they’re both 6’6” and Pietrus actually out-weighs Daniels by 15 pounds. Apparently, though, Daniels is listed at SG and Pietrus at SF. So that means the backcourt off the bench is comprised of Daniels and E’twaun Moore (plus Bradley when Rondo is healthy).

I feel like that should be an automatic F on principle, if only because the Celtics are so incredibly screwed if both Allen and Rondo get hurt. What’s that? That’s happening right now? Awesome!

Bench Frontcourt: C+

The lone bright spot on an otherwise dim season: Brandon Bass! Mickael Pietrus! Sasha Pavlovic! Wait, one of those names doesn’t fit. Both Bass and Pietrus hit double digits in scoring in three out of four games last week. Bass did a decent job of rebounding, and Pietrus hit at least 50 percent of his three-point attempts in every game. But they took turns no-showing against the Thunder and the Phoenix Suns (the only quality opponents from last week, as I’ve already reiterated), so I can’t give them good marks to bring home to mom and pops.

Sorry, but no honor roll with this week’s report card.