Morning Walkthrough: Like a bullet out of a gun
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
Deron Williams is a tough matchup for the Diminutive Dunker. (AP Photo/Danny Chan La)
Ross Siler, Salt Lake Tribune – “The Jazz scored the last seven points going into halftime and the first nine points coming back from the break. They took off from there, snapping Boston’s four-game winning streak and closing within a half-game of No. 3 Dallas, which lost to New Orleans. ‘We came out like a bullet out of a gun,’ Carlos Boozer said of the Jazz’s second-half surge, adding, ‘I hope everybody in this locker room had fun tonight because we played against a championship-caliber team and beat them.’”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The tale of the first half was free throw shooting (Boston 13 of 18, Utah 13 of 14), rebounds (Boston 21, Utah 13) and second chances (Boston 11 points, Utah 4). But in second half, Utah dominated every category, finishing with 40 boards, 7 of 21 3-pointers, and 16 second-chance points. The Celtics took their feet off the pedal after Ray Allen drilled a three from the corner with 2:01 left in the first half, turning the ball over, missing layups, and allowing the Jazz to go into the break down just 54-49. ‘I thought the second quarter we closed out terribly,’ Rivers said. ‘I thought what we did was give them hope.’”
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Kevin Garnett was clearly angry after a frustrating night of chasing Mehmet Okur into the corners. ‘They started the third quarter pretty electric,’ he said. ‘But that was something you had to anticipate. As many times as I have played (in Utah), they have always come out like that. They were pretty aggressive in the first half, so you had to anticipate them coming out with some energy. When you are aggressive like that the refs are going to give you the whistle. We just didn’t put 48 minutes of basketball together.’”
Paul Flannery, WEEI – “It was typical for the last game of a short but grueling trip. But did it mean anything? Every Celtics win and loss has prompted a new twist in the ‘turn it on, turn it off’ saga that has dominated the second half of the season. As he has for the last month, Rivers has resisted the urge to play that game. He’s not going to get into short-term analysis. ‘It was a good trip,’ Rivers told reporters after the game. ‘We’re not counting the trip. We’re not counting games. We’re just trying to get better.’ Still, there were interesting developments on a night when Rivers concluded, ‘They outplayed us. Give them credit. They were the better team.’”
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Judging from his last three games, during which Pierce took a week-long “vacation” from talking to the media, the go-to element in Pierce’s game has resurfaced. ‘For the most part I’m healthy now,’ Pierce said. ‘I played a lot of games I shouldn’t have played in and I’m really starting to come around as far as my foot, knee and my hand. When you play less than 100 percent it’s tough, especially at the age I am now. I could bounce back when I was younger. But I learned a lot about myself this year with these injuries and I probably need to take more time off when I have these types of injuries.’”
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Pierce’s sentiments were understandable. The Celtics were struggling and needed offensive punch. They were blowing second-half leads and looked ragged and uninterested at times. But what Rivers stressed — many times to deaf ears — was there was plenty of time to recapture that confidence and swagger — that same swagger Pierce showed when he strutted back to the bench after draining that 3-pointer against Dallas. ‘I’m always motivated,’ he said. ‘This is a crucial part of the year when you are trying to battle for playoff position, and at this time you really want to start playing some of your best basketball. We’re starting to show a lot of signs of things that we did earlier in the year.’ And the same could be said for Pierce, who personifies the Celtics.”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The Celtics are essentially hosting an open house for potential playoff teams the next two weeks with Denver, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Cleveland all due at the Garden. They faired well on the road, but Pierce would have preferred taking all three games on the trip. ‘We’re trying to be greedy, especially at this point in the season,’ Pierce said. ‘We need every win we can get, especially with the seeding being so important. By no means are we satisfied with losing today. We don’t come on a trip saying we win two lose one. Our goal is to win every game. So we’re disappointed for losing this game. We’ve got to get back to the drawing board, and look at the last couple games that we played well, and continue to build. We can’t get discouraged from one loss to a Utah team – who is tough and at home – we’ve got to keep building for the rest of the season.’”
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “The Celtics’ 105-86 win against the Jazz at the Garden on Nov. 11 ranks as a night of infamy for Utah players. According to point guard Deron Williams, the players gathered at a restaurant afterward, went over the box score and noted that there wasn’t a Celtic with 18 points in the game. They also witnessed the Celtics having a bit too much of a good time – probably grooving a little too much on the Gino dance video – late in the game. This humiliation, according to Williams, was the start of Utah’s turnaround.”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
Celtics Blog, Featured, Morning Walkthrough | Jay King | March 23, 2010 | 
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Boston Celtics, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Mehmet Okur, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Utah Jazz
After 48 straight hours of studying 
