Celtics 87, Bucks 74: Celtics conclude regular season with win
Ryan Hollins resembled a superstar, E’Twaun Moore tickled the nets and Rajon Rondo officially became the first Celtics point guard to lead the NBA in assists since Bob Cousy in 1960, but Boston’s regular season-concluding victory against the Milwaukee Bucks was most important for one takeaway: The injured Celtics, with the exception of Ray Allen, are healthy.
Professional basketball in its purest form returned to the TD Garden Thursday night, two days after The Sasha Pavlovic Show ruled the parquet floor. Rondo finished the first half with a cool dozen assists, Kevin Garnett looked like Kevin Garnett, Mickael Pietrus showed yet again the ability to contribute immediately after a long layoff, and Paul Pierce, who briefly left with what was called a sprained toe, returned to the floor to demonstrate playoff-ready form.
The Celtics finished the regular season with a better post-All Star break record than any other NBA squad; for whatever it’s worth, I have more confidence in the Celtics entering the playoffs this season than I have since the title year.
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Celtics Blog | Jay King | April 26, 2012
Rondo had 15 Assists and no points. Bradley had 14 points and no Assists. If that’s not a perfect 1-2 punch in the back court then Idk what is. Ryan Hollins, Sean Williams, Steimsma and KG? All of a sudden that doesn’t sound nearly as laughable as it would have a month or two ago. Pietrus chipped in points and a few rebounds along with some good defense. Pierce was 1 shot away from being a perfect 7/7 from the floor with 12 points in 7 minutes. I’m so excited for Sunday. Hopefully Steimer and Ray can come back for us. And idk about you guys, but we have an EXTREMELY talented bench, possibly the best in the East. Tonight’s game was sloppy at times, but usually only when we were up by 20. Pavlovic looks like a completely different player with so much more poise and confidence in his game.
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*Bradley did have 1 assist. Sean Williams needs to play in the playoffs.
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Remember, this was vs the Bucks not the Heat or Bulls. Ergo, I don’t think Williams will get much time, as he is still rusty and likely our core 8 will get the only minutes. MP back is great. Now for GS and RA to get back. Our team is ready and if healthy we can win it all. We have the best bench in the East (SA in the West) but we’ll need to rebound better, or at least as well as the last two weeks, in order to advance. As Riley used to say “no rebounds, no rings”. Can’t wait till Sunday and our drive to #18. Go Cs…
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ROCK AND ROLL! GO CELTICS! FINGERS CROSSED FOR RAY-RAY! This is the end of an era. Let’s hope they win it all. GO C’S!
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Or the beginning? Win one this year…land a star next year…Big 4 sign on for 3 more years…The beginning of a dynasty??? Ryan Hollins, take a bow. Nice to see AB in a groove going into the playoffs. Beat em up and take em down Celtics…IT’S ALL ABOUT BANNER 18.
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I’m very excited about this team because they seem inspired. Win or lose, I think they will play great basketball.
Don’t be fool by Rondo’s lack of points. He has learned what he has to do to lead this team, but if you watch the plays, what enables him to cut through defenses the way he does is that opposing defenses respect Rondo as the primary threat on the Celtics. He draws multiple defenders to every move he makes, oftentimes to a ridiculous extent, much like Bobby Orr used to do. Yes, I do make that comparison. Watch the film and see how opposing teams are drawn to Rondo like a magnet.
He remains our primary threat, our player most able to attack a defense, and his threat to score remains central for us.
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