Good Old Fashioned Celtics Blowout Friday Night
November 28, 2009 by Nick Gelso
The Celtics roller coaster ride of the 2009-10 season continued Friday night with a 116-103 win over the Toronto Raptors. After a foul first half littered with, what has become too familiar, poor perimeter defense and turnovers, the Boston Celtics (11-4) locked in their defensive clamps on the Toronto Raptors (7-10) in the second half.
The Celtics Offensive cylinders were turning from the opening tap. They shot 15-18 from the field and at one point in the opening quarter they hit 12 consecutive field goals. We saw a side of the C’s offense return that has not been on display since November 9th when they blew out the Utah Jazz. Their was something about the Celtics demeanor during warm-ups that led me to believe that a missing element had returned– swaggering confidence.
Despite their own scorching offense, Boston allowed 55 first half points on 60 percent shooting from Toronto. The first half resembled a shoot-out style game from the Tommy Heinsohn era, something that most fans are uneasy with. The Celtics, however, played neck and neck with Toronto, matching them shot for shot. I, though discouraged by the lack of defensive tactics, was enthused to see the return of the Celtics intensity and recently void confidence. The return of these elements lead me to believe that the C’s would come out of the half swinging and knock the Raptors off the parquet. They did not disappoint.
“We just turned the pressure up,’’ Kevin Garnett said. “One of the things we talked about in the locker room. We’ve said we’ve wanted to start each quarter, especially the third quarter, with a lot of energy, and I thought we did that. You know, when we [communicate on the floor] we are a very hard team to beat. The effort has to be with five guys, can’t be with three, can’t be with two.’’
Kevin Garnett, showing glimpses of his former self more often, was perfect (6 of 6) from the field. Kendrick Perkins continued to show off his improved offensive repertoire, also notching a perfect (8 of 8 ) offensive performance. Rajon Rondo even hit two free throws. It seemed the C’s were back on track offensively and the road was paved fully by the return of Rasheed Wallace (15 points). Sheed racked up a fast 12 points in the first half, exploring the paint– an area of the court rarely ventured into by the 7 footer. Rasheed started his game inside, hitting a foray of post shots that led him to veer back out to his “promised land” behind the arch. It is not so painful to watch Wallace launching off three-bombs when he is anchoring those shots with some inside play. He played the inside/outside game perfectly last night and it paid dividends.
The third quarter began with the Celtics putting the stops to the Raptors smoking offense. Outscoring Toronto, 17-33,
in the period, the C’s were finally playing the defense that led us to declare them (possibly) the best defensive team of all-time. Forcing turnovers is rarely an issue when Rajon Rondo (4 steals) and company are playing with intensity and grit. During the third quarter the shot clock buzzer seemed to sound more often then the Raptors were able to launch off shots. Yes– the Celtics defense was back.
Rondo (12 points, 11 assists) again showed his worth to Celtics nation, controlling the pace and thus allowing the C’s to control the game. Rondo’s propensity to take over games with speed, quickness and hustle is accentuated by his ability to electrify the audience with picture-perfect passing.
Paul Pierce continued his MVP play with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Pierce, averaging 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in his last three games, stamped his solid play with a monster jam forcing Chris Bosh to the floor. Pierce, displaying he still has ups, was assessed a technical foul after staring down Bosh while he lay on his back. The taunting is never something I encourage. Last night, however, feeling disrespected of late, it was satisfying to see the Celtics able to flex their muscle a bit.
“Usually, you come in the half and you shoot 67 percent, the way we did, the way we passed the ball, we should be up about 10-15 points,’’ said Pierce. “So, we’re still a work in progress. You know, we’re trying to put four quarters together, instead of stretches. The way we move the ball, we shoot at this rate, we should be able to beat anybody, it should be a blowout. So we still got some ways to improve. We’ve still got a ways to go.’’
Toronto was led by Chris Bosh with 20 points and 13 rebounds (the Raptors as a team grabbed 31). Hedu Turkoglu, picking up where he left off in last year’s semifinal against Orlando, notched 20 points, hitting 4 of 5 three-balls. The Celtics second half defense was too much however. The C’s Forced 25 turnovers with 15 steals.
Every contest the Celtics have improved an element of their game, trying to return to the form they displayed in their 6-0 start. Last night they improved by slowly pulling apart Toronto as the shroud of defensive intensity fell upon Raptors. With the return of Boston’s confidence, we can see the return of Celtics intensity, grit, passion and power. Last night was the perfect way to finally put to rest their recent struggles. A stretch of Celtics play that left fans scratching their heads was concluded with the C’s a half game back from first in the east, on a 3 game win streak and building momentum.
The Celtics are yet to put together 4 quarters of their vintage offensive and defensive attack. They still fail to provide the thundering blow to fatally nock their opponent off balance. It is nice, however, to write about the team’s positive progression recently. Each game inches closer to Celtics basketball. Afterall, this squad is still a work in progress…
(quotes and photo’s courtesy of boston.com)
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