"Celtics Columns"

Celtics look to build on optimism against Mavericks

I’m not yet comfortable with my optimism, but it’s suddenly there.  As well as the Celtics have played lately, and as nice as last night’s wire-to-wire win was, I can’t shake the image of the last three months: Boston taking lump… after lump… after lump.  With that putridity still in mind, it’s hard to believe that the Celtics are back to being a bona fide contender.  Still, they’ve been doing their best to convince me that their recent surge of championship-caliber play is The Truth.

Paul Pierce, in a self-imposed boycott of the media for the past two weeks, has hopped in the Hot Tub Time Machine and morphed back into his former self. After months of shying away from isolations, unable to beat his defender one-on-one, Pierce is back to scoring and scoring in bunches.  Last night, with the Rockets threatening to come back and steal a victory from Boston’s grasp, Pierce opened up a can of Truth.  15 fourth-quarter points for Pierce later, he had willed the Celtics to their most impressive win of 2010 with 26 total points.  He has now scored 25 or more points in two straight games, doubling in only two games his total of 25+ point performances since Dec. 22.

Still, the fact that beating Houston — only the 9th-best team in the Western Conference — represents such a good victory shows how much the Celtics have left to prove.  Luckily for them, they’ll have plenty of chances to prove themselves during a schedule filled for the next couple weeks with above-.500 opponents.

Tonight’s game in Dallas is Boston’s next test, and a better one than Houston.  The C’s are on the road, on the second night of a back-to-back, and playing against a Mavericks team that has won 14 of its last 15 games and harbors legitimate championship aspirations.  Tough game, no doubt.

But I’m starting to feel a little confidence. Optimism is creeping back in, and it feels so good.  After 90 or so days of bleak outlook and fading hopes, breathe the optimism through your nostrils.  Keep it in your lungs.  Savor it.

Hope is abound.  And who knows?

It might even be here to stay.

*****

Three things to look for in tonight’s game:

1. All-Star vs. All-Star – How will Kevin Garnett defend Dirk Nowitzki?  When KG missed last game, Dirk ran wild with 37 points.  Can KG do a better job?
2. Matchup problems? – After a midseason trade allowed them to acquire both Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler, the Mavs now present serious matchup difficulties for a lot of teams, including the Celtics.  The only matchup I’m truly comfortable with tonight is Rondo vs. Kidd… and Kidd had 13 points and 17 assists last time the two teams met.
3. Turnovers – Jason Kidd has always been a good point guard in transition, but is now downright lethal with the amount of weapons this Mavericks team has.  He has Butler and Marion running the wings, Dirk spotting up, and Haywood… well, let’s just forget we brought up Haywood. If the Celtics turn the ball over, it could mean easy buckets for Dallas and a long night.  I know this isn’t the way the saying normally goes, but the C’s have to turn good offense into good defense.

Celtics pierce Rockets, 94-87

Paul Pierce came alive in the fourth quarter, leading the Boston Celtics to a 94-87 victoy against the Houston Rockets.  The Rockets turned a 50-41 deficit into a 52-all tie, but three Ray Allen three-pointers gave the Celtics cushion, and Pierce’s 15-point fourth quarter took Boston home.

Playing on the road, against a solid team boasting a four-game winning streak, the Celtics — set on beating a legitimate team for the first time in months — took it to the Rockets.

It was a win to be proud of, but one the Celtics can hardly afford time to brag about.  They will be back in action Saturday night against the Mavericks.

Celtics start daunting stretch against Rockets

15 games left. The playoffs await the Boston Celtics after only 15 more games.

As Kendrick Perkins says, every team is 0-0 when the playoffs roll around. That’s true. But you know what else is true? Teams that can’t beat other good teams don’t fare well in the playoffs.

Tonight, it’s time. Time for a big win. Time to start a winning streak against opponents that actually deserve to be playing in the NBA. Time for the return of the team the Celtics were supposed to be.

The Houston Rockets may not seem like a great measuring stick. If the season were to end today, they wouldn’t even be in the playoffs. But do you want to hear a startling fact? If you discount wins against the Lakers (Kobe was hurt) and the Blazers (everybody was hurt), a win tonight against the Rockets would mark Boston’s best since Christmas.

Coupled with three dominant home performances in a row, a “W” tonight would provide the Celtics a springboard to the toughest portion of their schedule. Tonight begins a string of nine games, eight against the Western Conference, eight against winning teams, capped by a home tilt against the league-leading Cavaliers on April 4.

The Celtics play in Houston tonight, Dallas tomorrow, and Utah two days after that. (From Dallas to Utah? Doc Rivers says, “I don’t think I’ve ever done that. Not since I’ve been here. That’s a strange one.”) Two days after Utah, they’re at home against the Denver Nuggets. They take a breather against Sacramento, then continue a home stand with San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Houston (again), and finally finish the brutal string of games with the aforementioned clash against the Cavs. For a team used to beating elite opponents, that’s the schedule from hell. For the Celtics? It’s nothing but a test.

Are they worthy of being considered a contender? Can they make a late run to regain their status among the NBA’s elite? Or is the season all but over, as it seemed when Boston was beaten into submission by the Cleveland Cavaliers, less than a week ago?

If you have doubts about this Celtics team, you are part of a list as wide and ever-growing as Tiger Woods’ detractors. Some nights, they’ve looked every bit the team expected to challenge the NBA record of 72 wins, and others they’ve looked like a team that should be challenging the New Jersey Nets for NBA wretchedness. They win on the road, lose at home, and confound everybody who watches them from one night to the next. Through it all, one constant has remained, as steady as Ray Allen at the line: The Celtics can’t beat good teams. Not on the road, not at home, not on weekdays, or weekends, or on outside courts with chain nets. The C’s haven’t beaten a contender since Christmas, and there is no denying that fact.

Yet they look like they’re rounding into shape. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce look better than they have all season. Ray Allen has found his shooting touch. Rajon Rondo is learning how to balance keeping the Big Three happy and continuing to be aggressive himself. They haven’t yet done it against the Big Boys, but the Celtics are starting to resemble the team we believed we’d see all season long.

Now, they need to make us believe. To make themselves believe. They’ve got an opportunity to put it all together, to enter the playoffs with momentum, confidence and a couple wins they can take pride in.

The schedule is daunting, and it’s going to be a challenge. But with the Celtics looking to peak heading into the postseason, and desperately needing to prove themselves against teams that have a chance to be playing into June, perhaps the schedule from hell couldn’t have come at a better time.

Only the next nine games will tell.

Has Scal played his last game as a Celtic?

With 13 players on the roster (excluding Marcus Landry, assigned to the Maine Red Claws) and only 12 allowed to play, there has to be an odd man out.  So far, it’s been Brian Scalabrine.

While Doc Rivers has told Scal to stay ready, that his time may come, there was a jarring paragraph from Steve Bulpett’s piece in yesterday’s Boston Herald.

Translated, that means that with 15 games left in the season, Scalabrine will play only if: A) Rivers wants an extra forward active; B) a teammate is injured; C) the Celtics decide to rest regulars at the end of the regular season. It is, thus, entirely possible that Scalabrine has played his last game as a Celtic, but he sincerely hopes that is not the case.

Wow. Scal might have played his final game as a Celtic.  It’s hard to believe.

Some may see Scal as nothing more than a towel-waving Human Victory Cigar or Human White Flag, but not me.  I see Scal for what he is: a professional, someone who’s always ready to play even though he knows he probably won’t.

Before last season, Scal had done little to earn his any of his $15 million contract.  He’d been largely a disappointment, becoming the butt of jokes more often than a difference-maker in games.  I made jokes about him, too.  It was tough not to: He’s as goofy, lumpy and, well, white as NBA players come.  He was making $3 million a year to sit at the end of the bench, and once in a while play in a blowout.

But something weird happened last year: Jokes about Scal stopped being funny.  He became a valuable member of the team, and played — *gasp* — well.  With Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe out for the playoffs, and Mikki Moore struggling to find a pulse, Scal became the first big man off the bench.  For anyone who’d seen Scal play in Boston, that would seem to spell disaster.  But he was solid.  Good, even.

He gave the Celtics 20 legitimate minutes per game, made 45% of his three-pointers, and even somehow found it inside that rounded body of his to defend Hedo Turkoglu and defend him well.  The Celtics didn’t end up beating Orlando, but Scal wasn’t at all the reason why.  He had proven his worth.

But it’s a new year, and Scal has been ice-cold.  His touch has eluded him, and with Marquis Daniels, Nate Robinson, Michael Finley, Rasheed Wallace and Shelden Williams added to the mix, Scal is again on the outside looking in.  Even with Scal nursing a shooting percentage even Rasheed frowns upon, there aren’t as many Scal jokes going around.  We remember how he stepped up when the Celtics needed him, shouldering a load he’d never been faced with in Boston.

A year after proving himself, Scal might have already played his last game as a Celtic.  Still, he hopes to be back in Boston next season.

You know what’s weird?

I hope he is, too.

The differences between Michael Finley and Tony Allen

At first, Doc Rivers didn’t know how Michael Finley would fit into the rotation.  Now, he admits Finley has earned his spot.

“I think he already has one. He’s one of the first guys off the bench. Right now he’s in [the rotation].”

Who’d he take out of the rotation?  Tony Allen, of course.  Allen said he was taken aback by his sudden lack of minutes. (Boston Globe)

“One minute you’re starting, running point guard,’’ Allen said. “I don’t know. It puzzles me, but for the most part I look at it like everything’s for the team.’’

The additions of Nate Robinson and Mike Finley seem to have dropped Allen in the rotation, but Allen, a free agent this summer, said he’ll continue to wait until his name is called.

“I’m always ready,’’ he said. “I’m a dog. I’m always ready to bite.’’

Allen sure is a dog. Celtics fans have been contending that for years.

So what are the differences between the two players entrenched in a battle for playing time? (A battle that Finley seems to have won.) Here are one man’s thoughts:

The differences between Michael Finley and Tony Allen

In between his ears, Michael Finley has a brain.  In between his ears, Tony Allen has a thick skull and some play-dough.

When Michael Finley shoots from outside, you expect it to go in.  When Tony Allen shoots from outside, you expect him to be hospitalized for an epileptic seizure.

When Michael Finley hears a whistle blow, he stops playing.  When Tony Allen hears a whistle blow, he assumes he just turned the ball over.  (Well, either that or he gets injured.)

Michael Finley has played basketball long enough to learn a few things along the way.  Tony Allen has played basketball long enough to learn that it’s fun to foul a three-point shooter.

Doc Rivers can feel comfortable that Michael Finley won’t do anything stupid.  Rivers would be doing something stupid himself to feel comfortable with Tony Allen.

The Celtics aged a few years when they picked up Michael Finley.  I age a few years every time I watch Tony Allen.

So there you have it, folks.  Finley, at 37 years old and no longer able to play great defense, isn’t the ideal backup to Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

But he isn’t Tony Allen, either.

Celtics win against Pistons reveals fortitude, but…

“A totally different team today,” Kevin Garnett told CSNNE, describing his own team’s efforts compared to the previous game.

He just as easily could have been talking about the Celtics’ opponents.

One night after falling victim to the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics used the Detroit Pistons as whipping boys, dominating the Pistons from start to finish.  It was a thorough performance, one that — in and of itself — would seem to warrant talk that the Celtics are starting to round back into shape.

When coupled with the troubling loss to Lebron and His Crew, though, the win against the  Pistons only served to  illuminate an issue the Celtics have struggled with for months:  They can beat mediocre teams, and sometimes even good ones.  But when it comes to playing front-runners, the Celtics have been conspicuously absent from the win column.

Still, last night’s game wasn’t completely meaningless.  On the contrary, it displayed mental and physical fortitude the likes of which I no longer knew the Celtics possessed.  On the second night of a back-to-back in two different states, and coming off a crushing, deflating loss to a rival, it would have come as no surprise if the Celtics decided to put a postage stamp on this one and mail it in.

Instead, they played with a chip on their shoulders, clearly carrying the defeat to Cleveland close to their hearts as they passionately fought to regain a sense of pride, to patch together whatever momentum they can muster as the season’s stretch run continues.

Despite the ballsy performance, nothing Boston could have done last night would make me jump back on their Contender Bandwagon.  I’ve fled that, at least until the time when the Celtics put together a game truly worthy of Contender status.  You know, like beating a top-notch club. (Which, by the way, hasn’t happened since the Bush regime… Bush Sr., I mean.)

Until the Celtics can consistently give me a reason to smile, I will remain hopelessly pessimistic about the Men in Green.  It’s not that I want to be, or even that I’m normally a pessimist.  I’m actually a Glass Half Full kinda guy.  But continuously getting my hopes up after brief displays of dominance has only set me up for the letdowns that have occurred every time the Celtics start to gather some steam.

So I’m done with the optimism, and I’m done with considering the Celtics a Contender.  From now on, I will think nothing but bad thoughts about my beloved Celtics.

Of course, if Boston is just as dominant against the Knicks on Wednesday as they were last night, you’ll probably hear me crowing “THHHEEE CELLLTTIIICSSS ARREEE BACKKKK!!!!”

If I do, don’t believe me.

They aren’t back until the eternal pessimist proclaims them back.  In other words, they aren’t back until they prove it night in and night out, and until they’ve done it against elite competition.

Until that day, beating the piss out of mediocre teams means very little.

Celtics pulverize Pistons 119-93

Gino danced and the Celtics celebrated early, but Boston’s blowout win was unsatisfying.

Boston beat a pitiful Pistons team into submission with a 31-15 first quarter, and the beating continued except for a typical Celtics yawn in the third quarter.

Seven players scored in double-figures while the Celtics shot a staggering 62%. No starter played more than 28 minutes while 12 Celtics played-  each scoring.

So why am I still so unsatisfied? ( Rounders reference for any poker junkie.)

Because I know the Celtics aren’t capable of doing this to a good team, and quite frankly, Detroit looked abominable. Uncontested baskets and easy driving lanes made the game look a Harlem Globetrotters production rather than an actual NBA game. Tonight, Detroit played like a D-League. And I feel bad for offending the NBDL and its league.

The Celtics aren’t back. The Celtics didn’t snap out of their slump. The Big Three didn’t find their elusive rhythm.

Boston played a relatively strong first quarter against a weak-willed opponent. Detroit threw in the towel as soon as they realized they were on the road against a team in need of a win.

Don’t read any more into the win. Remember the feel of a blowout win: what it’s to like to see Gino, watch the Celtics celebrate, soak in the feeling of a win. But be careful of thinking of a Boston rebirth of basketball.

Play of the Game:

Nate Robinson’s exclamation dunk with 43.5 seconds left on an off-the-backboard alley-oop from Tony Allen

Sinking Celtics’ ship prepares for Pistons

Nothing the Celtics can do tonight against the Detroit Pistons will ease my doubts. They’ve fallen, and it seems like they can’t get up. I’ve come to terms with it, now, finally.

The Celtics are down for the count.

After yesterday’s loss to the Cavaliers, it’s as plain and simple as Tim Duncan’s game. The Celtics aren’t going to be a contender, not this year. They don’t have what it takes to win a championship, or even come close. The truly elite teams have lapped them, left them behind like Zydrunas Ilgauskas in a suicide. This year just isn’t the year.

It’s sad, too, because everything started out so peachy. The Celtics were 6-0, and smacking everyone around like this was the WWE. Six games into the season, I was getting fitted for my NBA championship t-shirt. The Celtics had dreams of 72 wins, and their play showed why. Why stop at 72, I thought? Let’s get 75 or 77. The Celtics were hungry, talented, and driven. This year was going to be great.

By the time Christmas rolled around, the Celtics were 23-5, and throttled the Orlando Magic without Paul Pierce in front of a national television audience. Sitting in front of my T.V., eating my aunts’ Christmas feast, I had just about abandoned hope of 72 wins, but what did it matter? After undressing the Magic on Christmas, the Celtics were clearly the class of the East. I couldn’t wait for a rematch with the Lakers in the finals.

Two days after Christmas, Baron Davis hit a buzzer-beater to send the Celtics to a heart-wrenching defeat. Who cares?, I thought. It was a normal letdown after owning the Magic so thoroughly in the previous game. But that Clippers game was the first of many like it — disappointing, uneven efforts that brought disappointing, uneven results.

Looking back on it, Davis’ game-winner was the shot that put a hole in the Celtics’ ship. They sprung a leak that day, and water’s been spilling into the vessel ever since. The Celtics’ sinking has been slow, marred by injuries, inconsistency and boredom, but it’s undeniable. With a record against the league’s elite more befitting the New Jersey Nets, and a sub-.500 record for their past 37 games, the Celtics aren’t a great team anymore. Hell, they’re barely even good.

Win or lose tonight in Detroit, the sinking has already taken place. It’s possible that the Celtics could right the ship and plug the leaking hole in time for the playoffs, but it would be almost unprecedented. As Zach Lowe notes, only three champions in NBA history have gone through dry spells as long as the current Celtics’ stretch. Two of them (the ‘78 Bullets and ‘75 Warriors) played in very mediocre eras, and another (the ‘94 Rockets) experienced an injury-riddled regular season and traded Otis Thorpe for Clyde “The Glide” Drexler in the middle of February. With The Glide — still averaging almost 22 ppg — in tow, the playoff Rockets were a very different team than the one that suffered through a 47-35 regular season.

The Celtics aren’t playing in a mediocre era, and nobody besides perhaps Isiah Thomas would argue that Nate Robinson and Michael Finley will play a Drexler-like role to help lead them to a championship. The season appears over, lost a long time ago and never to be discovered. Championship teams don’t sleepwalk through almost half their schedule, and they don’t get beat down in every showdown with the NBA’s top teams.

It’s been hard to give up on this season, because this team still possesses talent capable of stringing a championship run together, and I doubt I’ll ever entirely let go of hope. But consider this column as my waving of the white flag.

The NBA is blowing the Celtics out right now, and Gino is up on the scoreboard, swiveling his hips and mocking Boston while the NBA’s crowd goes wild. The NBA is lighting up Red Auerbach’s victory cigar, and the Celtics can do nothing but sit on the bench with a towel over their heads, deflated and depressed.

The Cavaliers’ game was the final wave that pushed the Celtics all the way under, but they’ve been on the way down for some time now.

R.I.P.

Varejao, Cavs expose Celtics as pretenders

In the third quarter of yesterday’s matchup with the Boston Celtics, Lebron James drove to the hoop and was met by a Kevin Garnett hand to his eyeball.

Afterward, James said he could barely see for awhile following the collision.

“I was lucky to be able to finish the game,” he contended, perhaps with a little exaggeration. “It stayed blurry for about 15 minutes. It wore off close to the end of the fourth quarter.”

But it was the Celtics who played like they were in a haze.

Cavs put Celtics in their place

A national television audience of this afternoon’s Boston Celtics-Cleveland Cavaliers game was treated to the class of the NBA. If you haven’t been hibernating since Christmas, you know it wasn’t the Celtics.

In its 104-93 win, Cleveland hammered home the point that Boston isn’t in the same class as the NBA’s elite. They aren’t even in the same school. As the Celtics experienced a 7:08 scoreless drought spanning the third and fourth quarters, a 4-point Cleveland lead ballooned to 17, and the Celtics’ day was, for all intents and purposes, over.

In one of its final regular-season opportunities to beat a championship contender, Boston struck out, just as it has for almost three full months now. The Celtics held two leads all day long, with the last one coming at 18-16. After that, it was all downhill, culminating in that humiliating seven-minute stretch during which the Celtics scored as many points as I did, sitting at home on my couch.

Even if Doc Rivers was right when he said the game wasn’t a must-win, it was still a measuring stick for a Celtics team that hasn’t won a big game this decade. And the Celtics measured up just about how Nate Robinson does when trying to get on rides at an amusement park; not big enough.

One got the feeling that Cleveland was treating Boston like its little brother. You know, let him hang around, keep the score close, don’t embarrass him too badly, but know you can score or get a stop at any point when you really need to. The Celtics have quickly disintegrated from the hunted champions with a bullseye on their chests to just another mediocre team searching for a marquee win.

They were outplayed top to bottom, with Cleveland sixth man Anderson Varejao outscoring the entire C’s bench combined and outperforming any starter Boston put on the floor. Boston’s bench scored only 15 points, and even Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce — Boston’s leading scorers with 20, 18, and 18 points, respectively — looked creaky and ill-equipped to face a team as well-oiled as the Cavaliers.

Today’s game meant far more to Boston than it did to Cleveland, but one never would have have been able to tell based on the effort. Boston allowed easy layups, second chance points, and open jumpers all game long — all signs of an old, weary team on its last legs.

Speaking of old and weary, Jeff Van Gundy made a good point about the Celtics’ Big Three. Just because people see the same names on the backs of the three stars’ jerseys, they expect them to be the same players, he said. But with 3,000 or so combined games under their belts, the players they used to be are gone and likely never to be seen again.

When the players we remember as the Big Three disappeared, so did the Celtics we came to love. We still see the name “Celtics” on the fronts of the jerseys, and we still see the same starters underneath those jerseys, so we expect the same results. But times have changed, and the team that once set out every night to set the world on fire now hopes to do nothing more than save a little face. Sure wins have become possible wins, and tough games might as well be considered “L’s” even before tip-off.

Before the game, Kendrick Perkins said he was “[looking] forward to the game, seeing exactly where we are at.”

After receiving a cold, hard glimpse at exactly where the Celtics stand, I don’t think he should have been so eager.

Celtics look to create good habits against Cavs

Boston’s 122-103 win against Indiana on Friday night was a sight for sore eyes. And, if you’re a Boston fan, your eyes were definitely sore coming into that game. That is to say, if you hadn’t already gouged them out of their sockets after watching Boston get smoked by the Memphis Grizzlies. Whatever shape your eyes were in, that Indiana win was nice, and it came at a good time.

Already, though, it’s nothing but a memory. King James and his Band of Merry Men are next on the Celtics’ schedule, and a win against Indiana — no matter how impressive — means as little as Tiger Woods’ apology if it isn’t followed by a performance worthy of champions against Cleveland.

Doc Rivers keeps lineup intact; other coaches might not have

Patience, young grasshopper. It’s a virtue, they say.

And Doc Rivers has it in spades.

There can be no denying Doc’s patience, after Doc told reporters yesterday he wouldn’t make any lineup changes despite the Celtics’ overwhelmingly mediocre play. While Doc is standing by the starters who won him a championship, here’s a look at how some other coaches might have responded while coaching the Celtics to a similar prolonged spell of losing.

Don Nelson – After two losses, Nelson would have clashed with Rajon Rondo, infuriating the rising star and forcing him to ask for a trade.  By the fifth loss, Nelson would have had half the D-League playing for the Celtics, with a starting lineup including Cartier Martin, Diamon Simpson and Antonio Anderson.

Stan Van Gundy – Van Gundy would have gone through larynx surgery by now, after spending two months ruining that voice box of his.  He then would have been re-admitted into the hospital a second time, this time following a heart attack.  During his second trip to the hospital, he would have been screaming, “It isn’t me who needs heart surgery! It’s Vince Carter!”

Mike Dunleavy – Dunleavy would have signed Steve Novak, just so he could insert him, completely cold,  into a tie game with less than ten seconds remaining.

Jim O’Brien – Desperate for a lack of perimeter shooting off the bench, O’Brien would have traded for the multi-talented Andray Blatche.  Then, he would have transformed him into strictly a three-point shooter, and taught him a little shimmy to perform after big buckets.

Flip Saunders – Saunders’s first move would have been to install a 24/7 security team inside the Celtics’ locker room.  After that, he would have screamed about how his team was pissing all over its legs, and reminisced with KG about Mark Madsen.

Mike D’Antoni – Upset by having the NBA’s first-ranked defense at his disposal, D’Antoni’s first move would be firing Tom Thibodeau.  “We try to score around here, and we aren’t concerned with anything else,” D’Antoni would explain.

And finally…

Phil Jackson – In between LSD trips, Jackson would have found the time to recommend a nice book to each player on his team.  For Pau Gasol, the book would have beem, “How a Seven-Footer Learns To Cope with Being Soft.”  For Lamar Odom, “What to do When You Get the Ugliest Sister.”

It remains to be seen whether Doc’s stubborn unwillingness to make changes will be the right move in the long run, but it’s safe to say he’s handled losing better than some of these other coaches would have.

You can say what you want about Doc, but staying loyal to his team and having faith that his players will pull it together certainly beats signing Steve Novak as an end-of-game specialist.

Celtics erase Pacers, 122-103

I’ll be able to sleep easy tonight. 

For one night, at least, the gloom and doom can wait.  The Celtics got a win, and they looked damn good doing it. 

The most impressive stat of the night?  Only two Celtics finished under 50% shooting.  One was Glen Davis, and his 5-11 performance included 5-7 from the line and 15 points.  The other was Shelden Williams, and he was only 0-1 in his role as Red Auerbach’s victory cigar.  Every other Celtic made at least half of his shots, and Williams was also the only Celtic with a negative +/-.

Pretty much everybody played well for the Celtics.  Rajon Rondo registered 16 points and 11 assists, and Paul Pierce notched 20 points to lead six Celtics in double figures.  Nate Robinson drilled 5 out of 6 three-pointers to lead the bench. 

The Garden atmosphere was quite a bit different than it had been during the Memphis game.  On the way off the court at halftime, after a dominant 67-47 half, the fans who heartily booed the Celtics on Wednesday night instead gave them a rousing standing ovation.  It seemed both a sign of forgiveness and a thank you, all at the same time. 

Another note from the game?  Indiana sucks.  Any time a basketball team plays Josh McRoberts 22 minutes, and that team isn’t a high school squad, it’s a sign that the talent simply isn’t there. 

Even after the nice win, Boston can’t afford to take a breather.  Cleveland and its King are next on the schedule.

Celtics are Rocky, NBA is Clubber Lang

Ever get the feeling that nothing’s going to change? That as bad as things are right now, they aren’t going to get any better?

At what point is one forced to dash his hopes and face a staggering reality right in the eyes? With 19 games left in the regular season, hope is hanging on by a strand of Jeff Van Gundy’s hair, but disappearing a little more with every dismal performance.