Bulls 89, Celtics 80: That was not beautiful
After that elephant stopped sitting on the Boston offense midway through the third quarter, the Celtics actually exhibited a fair amount of pride (not to mention a zone defense John Chaney would be proud of) to mount a comeback and actually take a fourth quarter lead. But the lead was brief and Chicago, without MVP Derrick Rose, tap-danced on the interior all night long en route to an 89-80 decision.
That first half felt like the Celtics were unsuccessfully trying to fend off a pack of rabid Varejaos. Chicago shot 38.5 percent in the first two quarters with 10 turnovers, but still led by nine points (44-35) at intermission due to dominant rebounding (29-18) and that goddamn elephant that plopped itself straight on top of Boston’s offense. I could be wrong, but I marked Boston down for two out of 1,289 shooting in the second quarter.
On a brighter note, Montana to Rice!!! I mean Bedazzling Enigma to Galloping Gazelle!!! I mean Rondo to Wilcox!!!
I know this regular season is crazy for a million reasons, but I have NO idea what to expect from this Celtics team on a nightly (or even quarterly) basis.
More to come in the morning.
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Celtics Blog | Jay King | February 16, 2012
Well at least it can only get better…right? It just seems like every game it’s something different that plagues us.
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So Pierce and Allen got their game going tonight. Wilcox chipped in a little, and Rondo had 17 and 8. That’s not bad from our starters. But our bench deserves flak in my opinion. Idk guys I mean maybe it’s the 66 game schedule too? We all know that favors younger teams.
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Live by the 3 and die by the 3. Win when you rebound, lose when you don’t.
Q2 Bulls 19 rebs (8 offensive)
Celtics 3 rebounds (0 offensive)…
Game, set, match. Oh, PP 2 rebs tonight for a grand total of 5 in the last 4 games or 0.8/per equals 1-3 record. Ergo, they’re about to be a sub .500 team after losses to Dallas and Detroit again…Doc sucks by not using Bradley or Moore, and only using JJ and CW limitedly. And how can Boozer get two free lay-ups with no one within 6 feet of him under the basket? Nice non-defense by PP on Deng tonight, too… Sorry, I was only going to mention the rebounding but when you suck, you suck bad. RR 8 assists…not going to get it done, as in his 1 on 4 attempt to close the first half with everyone else open (he lost the ball). Worse than pathetic. Go Cs…headed to the lottery at this rate.
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Yeah definitely enough to go around. At least we didn’t just go out and lay an egg like in Detroit. I’d like to say that they’ll rest up over the weekend, get some good practice time in, pan out the kinks, which I still hope they do, but idk dude they are definitely in a funk right now. It’s so uncharacteristic of this team.
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I liked the aggressiveness of Rondo on that play, and the increased willingness he is showing to take big shots. We need that. Could he have made a better play? Yes, for sure. But you forget that part of the problem is that no one is darting, or cutting, or even spotting up like they mean it, when Rondo draws defenders.
It seems like everyone is staring at him mad that he’s doing it.
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There were only a few seconds left in the qtr and as RR attacked the paint 4 Bulls went to him. The Cs did not need to be moving as they were all ready to catch and shoot but RR forced it and lost the ball. He should have dumped it off as he was 100% successful in drawing all the defense to him. Ergo, that’s the time to pass not force it. Go Cs…starting Wilcox is where I agree with you, paul.
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We need to play more full court pressure D to take pressure off our Bigs on D, and we need to attack the basket more on Offense (Rajon and Paul) to break down their defense and get their bigs in foul trouble. We should start Wilcox and make every effort to push the ball.
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Best thing said all night was by Reggie Miller…”The Best offense for Chicago is a missed shot”. Cs gave up 15 offensive rebs. How can this continue to happen night in and night out when they are supposedly between their man and the basket??? Really sucks to watch their lack of motivation to rebound (other than KG/RR/CW/JJ and GS when he gets in). And what purpose is Dooling providing? Go Cs…
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Quite the Bon Mot.
Yeah, the rebounding was abysmal. I saw one rebound coming right to Jermaine, and the poor guy just stood there flatfooted and reached for it, and a Chicago guy came running and just took it away. That gave me a bad feeling about the game.
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That happens way too much. Seems only BB/CW/JJ and RR aggressively rebound with any consistency. It’s killing them and it’s so easy to fix. It’s called heart and desire. Go Cs…
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Paul has made issue that Pierce and Rondo don’t play well together and I agree. The C’s haven’t found their identity or style of play. Doc is always talking about pushing the ball and running, which is when they are most effective; however, when Pierce is on the court, he wants to dribble and slows the offense down. Meanwhile, Rondo and Wilcox have suddenly proven to be a great combo on the run. They read each other perfectly and the chemistry is just there. It’s up to Doc to find the right player combos and how to divide mins. I think Pierce and Bradley play best together, since Pierce plays point-forward while Bradley attacks on D. And nobody mentioned that MP can’t buy a bucket; he missed some wide open 3s that could have been huge. And Dooling sucks. Why not give Moore more time? This team is like a jigsaw puzzle that’s all over the table. The pieces are mostly good, but how to put it together?
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I’ve been thinking about that too, about identity. They seem to lack an identity right now. And what really hurts is that every time Rondo Rises, the team falls. I don’t see it as Rondo’s fault, but he might have to go to another team to continue his career. Apart from Wilcox, who is making absolute magic with Rondo, the team seems happier with Bradley at PG and Pierce as point forward.
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PP is sabotaging team so he wouldnt be traded, trade deadline is whats bothering them..btw after this trade deadline our chemistry at least wont be ruind…it can only gets better…doooling is playing only to be tradeable, stimsma also,,,sorry to see erden playing good
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But don’t you see that all that ‘anyone can go at any time’ is part of what is ruining our chemistry? Think about it. Who has time for ubuntu when you have to keep your suitcase packed?
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The offense grounded to a halt each time they went to that ridiculous Rondo post up. Happened in the 2nd Q and then in the 4th.
Teams problem is on offense and pounding the ball in the post to get point guards in foul trouble is not the answer.
I hope Doc can land Dwight Howard or his son otherwise he is useless
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Rondo is good at posting up. His posting up helped. What hurt was everyone circling the perimeter looking for Js all night. When we give up on attacking the basket,it’s like giving up on the game. Ironically, Rondo was one of our better jumpshooters last night too!
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The C’s have gone away from their half court offense that has made them a powerhouse in the East and I don’t know why. Idk why people think rondo should continue his career elsewhere…that’s just stupid…I mean we added 7 new people to our roster this year. I still think that’s the overlying issue surrounding this team. Our core guys are struggling with consistency which is something we haven’t seen a lot from them. Our bench didn’t show up last night. Plain and simple. I think Pierce had 17 and Ray had 12? That’s a hug improvement as far as sharing the ball from Rondo. He still needs 10+ assists though. Pierce is in a funk right now and I don’t know why. The trade deadline always puts every team on edge, even Perkins said that in the Association episodes last year. The vibe is just awkward. But once it’s over the team gets its head in the game. Keep in mind we don’t have BB either.
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We NEED to make an offer to Wilson Chandler when he comes back.
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