KellyGreen was at the Knicks game and has kindly agreed to guest-host this post-game thread. Welcome Kelly. This thread is for discussion of the game only. If anyone wants to submit an MVP vote for the game and provide ratings for the Celtics' performance in 11 key categories, please go to the "VOTE ON CELTICS PERFORMANCE VS. KNICKS 10/10/09" thread.
Now, without further ado, heeeeeeere's KellyGreen!
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I missed most of the first quarter due to the ridiculous traffic heading into Boston. Luckily I recorded the game and am watching it now. I have to say there wasn't much action to report in this game, but a few observations:
KG seemed to tweak his leg a bit after an awkward stumble after being fouled in the 2nd (?) quarter. I watched him closely after that, and while he still hit a few shots, he seemed tentative on defense. It seems to me that he's sagging off his opponent more than I've seen in the past and isn't as quick to recover if his opponent gets around him. Of course he's still recovering from his surgery, and it is pre-season, but it's something I'm going to watch in future games.
Big Baby really looks good. When I saw him during the first pre-season game, I didn't notice a huge difference. Of course I wasn't watching it in HD so that could be part of it! But seeing him live really showed how toned he is now. During the first pre-season game he made a nice spin move under the hoop and his foot speed was very much improved from last year. On a lighter note, I enjoyed watching Baby and Ray's mini dance session during a time out! The mood on the bench seemed loose and relaxed through out most of the game. There really weren't too many high's or lows in this game.
Hudson made some really nice passes tonight, and probably should have had at least a few more assists than he ended up with due to players missing lay-ups and wide open jumpers. He did a decent job of staying with his man on defense. Nothing to write home about, but probably enough to keep him in that 15th spot. They pretty much used a committee approach to the PG spot tonight. I saw 6 players bring the ball up the court tonight: Rondo, Ray, Paul, Quis, Eddie, and Hudson. That could mean that Hudson will see a lot of the D-League this season, as 5 players capable of PG duty is plenty, in my opinion.
Well I'm sure you don't want to read a novel, so that's about all that was note worthy. Feel free to edit/paraphrase, or just not post any of this at all! I'll try to catch up with the blog when I get back from vacation.
(I happened to be sitting behind the parents of Bryan Doo, one of the C's training staff. He came to say hello to his folks before the start of the second half. He's much smaller in person than he is on TV!)
Kelly
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4 comments:
Nice job Kelly. Little moments such as Ray's and Baby's little dance are things we can't see on tv, and they can be very revealing about the general mood of the team.
An interesting insight about the number of players bring the ball up the floor. That's what all the versatility can do, and it speaks volumes about their reluctance to sign yet another veteran PG.
This was a game in which Daniels didn't show as much and wasn't needed as much. I have a hunch he'll be the type of player who fills in the gaps, wherever and whenever the effort is needed.
Kelly, you didn't miss a lot if you missed the stretch where the two teams missed 16 consecutive shots. I was thinking of you and pitying you for having to sit through it. One way or another, they turned it around at halftime.
Although I picked Perk as my MVP, Sheed was a force once he stopped settling for three-point clangers—a real leader out there.
My favorite sequence of the night involved the combo of Scal, Pierce, Sheed, Rondo and Hudson. (Hudson was peripheral; the other four were transcendendent.) At one point, Rondo made a clean steal for a breakaway. On the next Knicks possession, Sheed rebounded and threw a pass three-quarters of the floor for a Pierce reverse dunk. On the following Celtics possession, the ball was zipping all over the place, with the piece de resistance being Sheed to Rondo to Scal for the three-ball.
It was just one sequence. But the entire team seemed buoyed by it. Months from now, we might look back and pinpoint that as the moment that this team became totally convinced of what they really may have.
Those four guys seemed to have tremendous chemistry. In a way, it almost seemed that the fifth guy was a rookie who knew enough to stay out of the way so they could weave their magic. I want to see more of that foursome.
Sam
Kelly
Thanks for the post. Too bad you missed perks made pass to start the game.
The game was very sloppy or as GYSO said on the game on thread pretty "offensive" to watch.
The Knicks settled for the trey so much and nade so few all the Celts were in possition to rebound.
Kelly how did the refs seem to you?
To me they ;ooked like the regulars. The C's started out with a wide margin but by the end the calls had evened out. I didn;t notice many questionable calls (unlike the Yanks last night)
Again Thanks for the observations Kelly
beat
great to hear about chemistry moments in the 2nd half - sounds like good ball.
sheed's 3 pt clangers sorta rattle me - while i respect the spacing that he contributes by going out there, i'd still so much rather he spend more time closer to the hoop. (and it sounds like he decided the same thing, in time.)
can't help but think that at SOME point (and probably when it actually matters, when there's a point to it) sheed will be out there with Perk and KG, and what fun it will be to see how any old team matches up against that.
Kelly, thanks for the insight. My question is whether you thought Big Baby and Ray's dance was really a copycat of the infamous "Sheed Dance". That would give Gino a run for his money!! I really think Sheed is going to be great for the team chemistry and will become a fan favorite as the season goes on. It's also great to hear that Big Baby looks good. At some point the Celtics will need to look at the future.
It's good to hear that Hudson can pass as well as score. That will motivate Doc to give him some minutes. I agree with you about the bench. From my TV view, it sure looked like the guys were having fun with each other. It's also a plus that the team is preparing practicing a "committee" approach for bringing up the ball when Rondo is on the bench!!! That should mitigate the need for a true back-up PG.
I was also concerned about KG's "tweak" until I heard Doc's post game comments. Doc indicated that it was good for KG's mental re-hab to experience, and survive, a few physical tests of the knee. Doc indicated that KG was fine after the play.
Thanks again for your comments.
David
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