"Celtics Columns"
Boston cracked by Memphis, 111-91
Well, that was humiliating. (Photo by Brian Babineau/Getty Images)
Crickets and boos. Boos and crickets. Those two sounds were all that could be heard in the Boston Garden tonight.
After tonight’s 111-91 loss, on the heels of a two-point loss to Milwaukee, Celtics fans need more than boos. They need Booze. And probably a lot of it.
For the Celtics, it was more of the same: One step forward, two giant steps backward. That’s the way this whole season has gone, so why should they stop now, with the regular season so close to completion? A four-game winning streak, a nice comeback, and the Celtics almost tricked me into thinking they had a pulse. Even last night’s loss was understandable: The C’s went ice-cold and Bogut played like the most dominant center since Abdul-Jabaar was still Lew Alcindor.
But what the hell happened in the TD Garden tonight? Nothing good, I can tell you that much. If you were to look at the stats, it would look like only Rajon Rondo and Rasheed Wallace had good games. 17 points and 8 assists for Rondo, 11 points, 6 steals, and 3 blocks for Wallace. Then you look a little deeper, and you see that Rondo made the Mike Conley-Marcus Williams combo look like John Stockton and Steve Nash, and that leaves Wallace as the only decent Celtic standing. There was nobody else to be proud of, no other shining moments.
I would keep writing, but I’d rather just try to sleep this one off. Maybe I’ll wake up in the morning and forget all about it, but I’ll probably be thinking about Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo even in my sleep.
Before the nightmares come, I’ll leave you with just one last thought.
Tonight’s game reminded me of a scene from Good Will Hunting. You know, the one where Will tells the story of his father giving him three choices: the belt, the stick, or the wrench.
Just like Will, the Celtics chose the wrench.
‘Cuz f–k winning, that’s why.
Tonight’s pregame locker room scene
The Celtics are preparing to play the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. Here is a preview of the pregame locker room scene. Consider this tonight’s game preview.
Celtics-Bucks: Positives from last night
"Anybody have a blanket?" (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
Kevin Garnett was pissed after last night’s two-point loss.
“I’m mad as [expletive] we lost,” Garnett told the Boston Globe. “We had so many chances to win that game. But they came up with most of the big plays. I thought we had the game pretty much intact and under control and it comes down to trying to get rebounds.”
It’s true. A couple rebounds go the C’s way in the fourth, and they probably would have come home with another too-close-to-call ‘W.’ The Bucks’ two heart-wrenching offensive rebounds in the fourth were enough to hold off the Celtics, even though the C’s held Milwaukee scoreless for the final 2:42. I understand why KG was so upset.
But where I come from, a two-point loss, on the road, to one of the league’s hottest teams, is nothing to be ashamed of. Especially when three of your starters can’t throw a rock into the ocean. (Kendrick Perkins, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce finished a combined 6-25 from the floor.) With three key players in the middle of a David Blaine-esque performance, Andrew Bogut playing like the second coming of Kareem, John Salmons in his inevitable post-trade rejuvenation, and Brandon Jennings shooting at least 50% for only the second time this decade, were the Celtics really supposed to win this game?
I was actually pleased with the performance. I could sleep well last night, knowing that my squad continued to show a little backbone. I think Doc Rivers summed it up best: “We came to play hard and we did that – we just didn’t play well,” he told the Boston Herald. “We didn’t make shots.”
If you discount the whole making shots thing (which, I suppose, is what basketball is all about) the Celtics played their most complete game since before Santa Claus came to town. There’s nothing you can say about their effort: They brought it, and brought it for as close to 48 minutes as we’ve seen from them in a long time. I was much happier with the game last night than I was after the Wizards comeback.
That win was great, but where did Boston hide for the first 42 minutes? Where was the mentality to shut the Wizards down? Sure, the Celtics pulled that game out down the stretch, but if they’d played against Washington with the same urgency they displayed against Milwaukee, the Wizards would have been crying to their mothers and wives before the end of the first quarter.
Back to Milwaukee. I maintain that last night was nothing for the Celtics to hang their heads about. A few bounces go the other way, and the Celtics would have been coming home to play Memphis as the gritty winners of a game played with playoff-level intensity against a peaking team.
There is absolutely nothing for Boston to be ashamed of after last night’s loss. Actually, there IS one thing, and it’s more on me.
Counting a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks as a moral victory.
For Celtics, Life After Death continues in Milwaukee
On the 13th anniversary of Biggie Smalls’ death, it seems only appropriate to celebrate the Celtics’ Life After Death.
The Nate Robinson Effect
Imagine this: A player who was such a behavioral nightmare that he could average 17.2 ppg one year and then consistently earn DNP-CD’s the following has helped to re-instill the Celtics’ sense of unity. Huh?
Celtics-Wizards: The final six minutes
“We choked,” Flip Saunders told the Boston Globe. “We got young guys, they don’t know what it’s like to be in a situation. We start talking to Garnett, start talking trash and everything else. Got Garnett and those guys juiced up and we just pissed down our leg the last six minutes.
Allen, Celtics down Wizards after fourth-quarter comeback
It was a bad game, an ugly game, and made me want to gouge out my eyes for 42 minutes. But those last six minutes were a waterfall of sweet nectar.
Celtics defeat 76ers, 96-86
The Celtics rode great play from Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo and came away with their third straight win, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 96-86.
How hard do the Celtics play?
I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve often looked on the court and seen a Celtics team seemingly going through the motions. Missed rotations, missed boxouts, a lack of offensive movement; all signs of a disinterested team, all on display more than a few times this season.
Watching the Celtics play with their heads up their asses, I haven’t thought for a second that they were giving it their best effort. Chemistry issues have been a concern, as have injuries, age and execution. But I’ve thought for the entire brutal stretch the Celtics went through (past tense… I hope) that the main missing ingredient was passion. Everything I’ve seen on the court points to that; the Celtics don’t seem to have the will to do the little things right. The loose balls seem to go their opponents, rebounding has been a major problem, and careless turnovers happen more often in each game than Rasheed Wallace attempts a three-pointer. The C’s clearly seem to lack intensity.
Michael Finley, newest Celtic, a great teammate
He sat the bench, frustration boiling, watching his team underachieve while players he once would have run circles around played his minutes. Michael Finley still felt he could contribute to his team’s cause, but Gregg Popovich apparently felt otherwise.
Still, Finley never complained. He merely voiced his opinions to teammates, his friends, discussing with them the possibility that he might ask to be waived in order to receive a better chance to play elsewhere. Finley was disgruntled in San Antonio, but never let it affect his mood in the locker room. Finley’s coach Gregg Popovich never realized Finley was thinking about leaving, probably because Finley came to work with the same good attitude he has had for his entire career. Finley, you see, is as good a teammate as they come.
Celtics blow out Bobcats, 104-80
Remember when Rasheed Wallace predicted the Celtics would beat the Bulls’ record of 72 wins?
Celtics look to start winning streak against Bobcats
Expectations and hopes. Hopes and expectations.
Nate Robinson gives Celtics huge boost
First, you sit up. Soon after that, you start crawling. Then you stand up for the first time, and Mommy and Daddy snap photographs. A few tiny steps are next, and pretty soon — one foot in front of the other — you’ll be walking around the house with a pacifier in your mouth.
