Be creative, Doc. Please.

A J.R. Smith three-pointer went through the hoop at the third quarter buzzer, and a 20-6 run was complete.  Just like that, the Denver Nuggets had cut a 21-point lead to seven.

They’d done it with the help of Dick Bavetta and his crew, an increased intensity, and — above all — the presence of a small lineup featuring Carmelo Anthony at the four.  That lineup was inserted into the game when the C’s had a 19-point lead, with 6:31 remaining in the third quarter.  A big run later, the aforementioned J.R. Swish three gave the Nuggets a little hope.

But they shouldn’t have been so hopeful.  Doc Rivers had already countered the small lineup with a miniature lineup of his own.  Old Man Finley at power forward, and both Nate Robinson and Rajon Rondo in the backcourt.  With that change, Rivers effectively won his team the game.

When Glen Davis or Rasheed Wallace is defending Carmelo Anthony, the result is inevitably an endless parade to the free throw line and a 14-point quarter for Melo.  But when Tony Allen defended Melo, with a host of quick and aggressive defenders surrounding him, the energy and speed advantages were shifted to Boston, and the game was essentially over.

I loved Doc’s decision to go small, but wondered why he hasn’t done it at all this season.  He seems entirely against it.  Even after the small lineup let the Celtics run away with last night’s game, he said: “You know, they made a run and we were really stubborn, we didn’t want to go small.  We really didn’t. But we really had no choice. And, fortunately, our last practice, we actually worked on our small offense, so that allowed us to run it.”  And some more: “I wanted to stay big. Honest to God, I did not want to go small, more because I wanted the bigs to play [Denver's] quickness. But we just couldn’t, we had to match up.”

When the Celtics won the 2008 title, one of their most effective lineups had James Posey — a 6’8″ small forward — at power forward.  Doc didn’t use that lineup too often, but when he did it created mismatches and spread the floor.  Fast forward to this season, and Doc hasn’t used a small lineup — or, really, any makeshift lineups — at all.  He’s been content playing the bench mostly as a unit rather than as interchangeable parts to cause mismatches and throw counter-punches.  It wasn’t until Doc’s hand was forced by Adrian Dantley’s small lineup that Doc finally decided to throw the midgets out there and speed the game up himself.

I understand why Doc doesn’t go small very often.  Before Finley arrived, the Celtics had nobody to go small with.  There was no Posey to be able to defend power forwards.  You could probably put Pierce at the four, but it would risk putting him in foul trouble.  You don’t want your best scorer, a small forward, down in the trenches with the trees for extended periods of time.

But Doc, this isn’t hockey.  You don’t have to make line changes all the time.  The second unit has played pretty well as its own lineup, but the subs disappear sometimes.  There are times they can’t throw a tennis ball in a whirlpool.  So switch it up.  Put Nate Robinson in with four starters sometimes.  Put Finley at power forward, like you did last night.

In his defense, Doc said Finley and Robinson are struggling to adjust to the C’s playbook, and don’t necessarily know all the sets the starters run.  But they’ve been with the team long enough, and they’re smart enough players.  Finley’s 190 years old; you don’t think he can learn a couple sets?  At least enough to run with the starters for a couple minutes at a time?  Just throw them in there, Doc.  Switch things up a little, create havoc and mismatches in your team’s favor.

Sometimes, you might even want to do it of your own accord, rather than reacting to another coach’s solid personnel switch.  Your team might reap the benefits of your creativity.

Smith, nor anyone else, could guard Pierce tonight. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Paul Pierce set a back screen.  Kendrick Perkins floated a lob up near the rim.  Kevin Garnett rose up, snatched the pill out of midair, and slammed it home with authority.

With that, the Boston Celtics’ first possession of the game, the tone was set.  That one play symbolized what the Celtics proved for the rest of their 113-99 victory: They aren’t too old, and they aren’t ready to pass the torch to the next wave of contenders.  What they ARE ready to do — finally ready to do — is to establish themselves somewhere in the vicinity of the NBA’s mountaintop as the regular season draws to a close.

Every game Boston has played recently has been another opportunity to prepare for the playoffs.  With the postseason only a few weeks away, the Celtics are wiping off the rust, sharpening the edges, and regaining lost magic.

Pierce, especially, has returned to being a constant scoring threat capable of imposing his signature on a game.  By the time the Garden crowd sat down, it seemed, Pierce had already scored in double figures.  He finished with 14 first-quarter points, scoring in every conceivable way besides the long ball (Pierce ended the game 0-3 from deep).  For the game, he had 27 points, in only 32 minutes.

My favorite Pierce moment?  It was probably his most selfish play of the night: He drove to the hoop from the right wing, and two defenders collapsed on him as he took it hard to the cup.  As KG’s defender keyed in on Pierce, KG opened up just outside the free-throw line for a jumper.  What did Pierce do?  He put it into another gear, drawing contact and bulling his way to the bucket.  He didn’t finish the play for an and-one, but his aggressiveness drew the foul and got him an easy look.  He could have tossed the ball out to Garnett for a jumper, but instead took it in his own hands to keep pressure on the defense.  No need to settle.

The Celtics didn’t settle at all, all night long.  They pounded the glass.  They got to the rim with ease.  They did exactly what they were supposed to do against a Denver Nuggets team missing its toughest player: Go into beast mode.  It’s rare to see a team win a basketball game in which it shoots just 4-18 from behind the three-point arc, but that’s exactly what the Celtics did.  They were able to come away victors, despite laying a hotel full of bricks from outside, by constantly being the aggressors.  How many times this season have you seen the Celtics a step slow and a day late going after loose balls?  A lot.  But tonight was different.  Far different.  The Nuggets were the ones who looked stuck in cement all night.

I’ve written almost 500 words so far, and haven’t mentioned Rajon Rondo once.  All he did was chalk up a triple-double.  All he did was pounce on every loose ball.  All he did was dominate a game in which he took only nine shots.  11 points, 15 assists, 11 rebounds. Oh yeah, and four steals too.  And he held Chauncey Billups to just 12 points.  Advantage, Rajon.

Another player who played superbly?  Those of you who didn’t watch the game aren’t even going to believe me, but Tony Allen.  In his first significant action since the Celtics signed Michael Finley, Allen subbed in for a foul-plagued Marquis Daniels early in the second quarter.  By halftime, he’d scored 10 points, flushed down a tomahawk slam off a beautiful Rondo left-handed around-the-back pass, and completely changed the complexion of the game.  Daniels didn’t return to the game after halftime, and it wasn’t because of foul trouble.  It was simply a case of being outplayed by a minutes-starved T.A.

All the great individual performances were great, but it was the team play that clinched the C’s best — and most impressive — home win of the season.  A late run by a small-ball Nuggets lineup to end the third quarter was the only time the game seemed at all in doubt.  A couple minutes later, after implementing a small lineup of their own, the rout was back on.  The Celtics put on a clinic in team basketball, with  30 assists on 44 field goals;  great ball movement throughout;  punctual defensive rotations at every opportunity;  box outs, even;  and a team-wide commitment to the offensive glass, too.

And they did it all against a good team.  One of the best in the league, if you want to get into a little more detail.

If you’re a Celtics fan, times are good.

*****

• Carmelo Anthony is very good at basketball, and even better at scoring.  He ended with 30, despite being silenced down the stretch.
• Garnett had a double-double, with 20 points and 10 rebounds.  He could have had even more points, missing a lot of chippies.
• J.R. Smith scores buckets.  21 points, in 30 minutes.

J.R. Smith is a mistake-prone, immature young bench player with a tendency to get in his coach’s doghouse.  He can be hot as a pistol one day and cold as the Vancouver snow the next.  But he can score buckets, and change games.

Kind of like what the Celtics will soon see from Nate Robinson. Read more »

The third quarter came a little early today for the Boston Celtics.

After struggling in many a recent third quarter, it was the first quarter that did them in during today’s 114-105 loss.  A dominant 37-19 opening period in favor of the Denver Nuggets forced the Celtics to claw their way back into the game.  When they tied the score at 66-66 midway through the third, it looked like Boston might come away with the win.  But the Nuggets ran away from the Celtics in the fourth, as Boston looked tired from expending so much energy to erase the early deficit. Read more »