This from the Herald:

“Physically I’m feeling really good, but you have no idea of the (expletive) that I go through, come in here and be Grade B or Grade A, I’m a work in progress,” Garnett said. “I just have to continue to do the things I’ve been.”

But the goal in all of this work is starting to come clear. Garnett’s game, though still rudimentary, is showing signs of something better. The irony is that his calling card – defense – may be the area still suffering from the most slippage.

You can say that again.  Though Garnett still has a profound effect on the Celtics’ team defense, he still hasn’t been able to regain all of his mobility and, specifically, his lateral movement.  Remember Al Harrington lighting him up?  That wouldn’t exactly have happened pre-injury.

With the lack of mobility, Garnett finds himself focusing more on the defensive end than ever:

“I think that’s it, because offense is second nature,” he said. “I hate to say that, but since I’ve been in Boston my mentality has been defensive. When I was younger I had a lot more responsibility as far as playing the game. You have to come down and score at the end, you have to defend the other team’s best player, make sure everyone has a solid shot.

“Here I’m just a piece in the defensive puzzle, and I’m thinking more defensively since I’ve been here. Since I stepped in and put the jersey on I’m more of a defensive player and I like that. Offensively I’m sound, and when I’m not forcing the issue everything else just flows.”

Even with his easily evident lack of mobility, Garnett says he hasn’t thought about his knee at all:

“I’m trying to tell you, man, I don’t even think twice about my leg,” he said. “There’s nothing about this game that is second-guessed, my shot selection, and what Doc (Rivers, the C’s coach) wants me to do.”

I’m glad Garnett isn’t second-guessing his leg, but I think I’ve done more than enough second-guessing for the both of us. He may not say he’s worried about it, but he got murdered by Al Harrington. AL HARRINGTON! Oh well, at least Rasheed has shown he can guard the quicker power forwards when he needs to. Wait… you’re trying to remind me he just made Michael Beasley look more like Charles Barkley?…

At least there’s Scal?

Doh.

See the excitement, the passion, the determination on Paul Pierce’s face?  Well, you should have seen mine today while I was trying to complete this Goddamn blog.  You see, I know nothing about HTML code, or CSS, or whatever the hell you computer nerds want to call it.  But there I was, plugging away, trying to create a blog I could be proud of. 

The Maine Red Claws, the D-League affiliate of the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats, officially began their inaugural season on the road over the weekend. They played the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Friday night in South Dakota and the Dakota Wizards Saturday night in North Dakota. This sort of short road trip is common for the D-League.

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

Score: 92-85, Celtics win

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First Quarter

If you are like any other Celtic fan I know, you’ve been worried to death over the Celtics’ recent play. You’ve been wondering when (if?) the team is finally going to gel, and whether Boston is really as bad as it’s looked recently. (Can they possibly be that bad?) If you’re like me, you’ve likely needed to ingest (at least) a few beers to ease your mind after each game over the past couple weeks.

Everywhere I look, a new blogger or columnist is writing about the Celtics’ struggles. Chris Sheridan examined the C’s problems in depth. (And I replied). Jeff Clark from over at Celticsblog felt compelled to address trading Ray Allen, as if some people have already given up on this young season. (And I didn’t reply, though for some reason it actually makes sense that some people have given up on a 10-4 team. That’s how poorly the C’s have looked recently, even in their wins.)

People are down on the Celtics, but there are still some things to be thankful for. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, and dread and worry spreading like the Swine Flu through Celtics nation, I think it’s time to take a look on the bright side, and discuss everything that should still bring a smile to your face. So sit back, dream of turkey, gravy and stuffing, and be prepared to have your spirits lifted…

The C’s couldn’t possibly shoot any worse
The Celtics have hit rock bottom from the three-point arc, ladies and gentlemen. In case you think Rasheed Wallace can stay mired in his slump forever, check out Rasheed’s percentages from downtown over the past four seasons: 35.7%, 35.1%, 35.6%, 35.4%. If those percentages don’t scream consistency, then I don’t know what does — ‘Sheed will right the ship; it’s just a matter of time.

And all those other Celtics shooting like blind geese from behind the arc? Well, they’re pretty good shooters, too. Ray Allen (30.4% this season) has never hit less than 37.2% in a full season. And Eddie House? It may seem like he’s been cold, but House is actually shooting over 40% from threes. Which, in case you’re basketball illiterate, is pretty damn good.

Tony Allen has yet to play a single game this season
Should I say any more? Do I even need to go into why everyone should be ecstatic that this statement is true? In other news…

The Tony Allen era is likely over following this season
Allen’s contract is mercifully done at the end of this season. As soon as Allen plays his final game as a Celtic — assuming he hasn’t already — you will probably see a strange-looking man outside your window, drinking champagne and doing cartwheels for hours on end. No need to be alarmed — That man will be me, celebrating not Tony’s career, but the end of Tony’s career.

The maturation of the young guys
I’m looking at you, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins. Rondo still doesn’t have a jumpshot (or a free throw, for that matter), but he can change games and win games with his speed, court vision, and tenacity. Perk, meanwhile, has slowly but surely proved himself to be one of the more reliable, defensive-minded centers in the NBA, and isn’t so much of a slouch anymore when it comes to putting the ball in the basket. Even when the Big Three are done with their careers, the Celtics will be in good hands with these two.

Marquis Daniels fits right in
When the season started, I wasn’t sure what the Celtics had in Daniels. I knew he put up decent stats for Indiana last year, but I also knew Tony Allen had at one point in his career posted decent stats. WIth that said, Daniels has been a pleasant surprise to me; his stats are back down (as is only natural for a player with a far more limited role), but he does all the little things to help a team win games. Daniels attacks the hoop, finishes very well, defends the other team’s best wing, and has a very high basketball I.Q. Simply put, the guy’s a winner.

Glen Davis will be back soon
Remember him? The player who spent all offseason doing MMA-style training, claiming it was to get him in shape when really it was so he could beat the hell out of his visiting friend. Okay, maybe it really was to get himself in shape, and maybe Davis did more damage to himself than to his friend, but his broken thumb is just about healed. According to today’s Herald, Davis will be ready for action in the early part of December, and he will bring a much-needed spark and some scoring punch to the Celtics lineup.

The Celtics are one game away from the East’s top seed
That doesn’t seem right to you? Maybe it’s because you, like the rest of us Boston fans, have been too busy fretting about the C’s close wins and bad losses. Anyway, the Hawks and Magic are the only two teams in the East with a better record than Boston, and both teams are only ahead of Boston by a single game. Start smiling!

The Celtics are #1 in scoring differential
Not just in the Atlantic Division, or the Eastern Conference, or even in the group of teams struggling mightily over their last two weeks. Nope, the C’s have the best scoring differential in the entire NBA. And in case you didn’t know, scoring differential is normally the most indicative stat of how a team fares in the playoffs. Smiling yet?

Boston still has the Big Three
Last year, the Big Three was down to the Big Two. Two years before that, it was the Lone Ranger, Paul Pierce, and his bumbling, inexperienced teammates. This year? The Celtics still. Have. The. Big. Three. And, beyond anything else, that’s why you should be happy. Kevin Garnett may still hobble around on occasion, and he might look bad at times (like the first 52 minutes and 52 seconds of the Knicks game), but he’s still Kevin Garnett, and he’s still wearing green. Paul Pierce looks spry this season and prepared to have a nice year, and Ray-Ray will turn things around and become the fire-thrower we’re used to.

See, there’s still a lot to be happy with when it comes to the Celtics. At times this season, they have looked bad, they’ve looked unengaged, they’ve looked old, and they’ve looked, well, bad. But they still have a hell of a nucleus, and they still have surrounding players who know their role and perform their job well. When the C’s finally weather the storm of this early-season slump, they will still have all the pieces to make a great playoff run.

Smile, damn it!