Wednesday, October 14, 2009

This was definitely a "pride game."  With the Three Amigos being excused by Doc, and with 'Quis under the weather, the quartet of Rondo, Perk, Baby and Sheed fared just okay in the first 24, but a scrappy, patchwork bench was out pretty much in the dumper ('Quis in a literal sense) against the streaky Nets.

Ultimately, pride avoided a fall.  After being down by 13 at the half and as many as 14 early in the second half, and without four of the team's core players, the Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight earlier finally banded together and forced the issue.  Although the Nets coach once again reinserted his starters in a vain attempt to stem the tide in the 4th, the bench brigade (plus Rondo) emerged triumphant in a nailbiter, 91-88.  Spectator Pierce was so excited that, when House scored a key jumper near the end and the Nets took a timeout, Paul raced out on the floor in his gray suit (does he own any other threads?) and jump-bumped Eddie.

My MVP would be Rondo.  Doc said, in his post-game remarks, that Rajon begged to stay in the game (he wound up playing 40 minutes) because he"wanted to see if he could bring them back."  Like Pierce in the third game, Rondo seized the moment, even calmly draining some jumpers as he directed the team to an inspired win with a near-triple of 18-9-13, despite shooting a woeful 6-14 from the line.

Eddie drives stakes into hearts.  He shoots so incredibly quickly that the other team salivates for rebounds that don't come.  Most of his 14 came at moments that had to be demoralizing for the Nets.

Sheed was just a pro.  Inside, outside, great defense, court awarness, running the floor, outstanding board work.  He went for 20 and 9 before rolling an ankle late.  Doc said it was nothing serious and, although he had previously considered sitting Sheed in the next game just 24 hours later, he might now change his mind.  (I'm not sure of the logic, but Doc's doing a super job with the rotation so far.)

Baby must have been exhausted because, with Perk in foul trouble, Glen had to play Lopez for many of his 27 minutes.  His 18 points don't begin to tell the story of his total effectiveness, as he absolutely skied for a key block late in the fourth and, a minute later, bulled in for a dramatic offensive rebound (and an eventual free throw) off a missed Rondo foul shot.

Scal also deserves mention for helping to keep Lopez in check when it counted and for two highlight plays—a turnaround three-pointer from the corner and a between-the-legs pass that lost some luster because of a very questionable moving pick call on Brian an instant later.

But the two guys who truly overachieved were Hudson and Giddens.  Lester didn't have big stats, although he played 20 minutes, including most of crunch time in a backcourt tandem with Rondo, as the Celtics came back from well behind against the Nets' starters.  At one point, Lester Pester filled a lane and took a nice pass from Rondo for a key fast break layup.

And Giddens was like a buzz saw throughout 33 minutes of action, scoring seven points, playing excellent defense, grabbing every loose ball in sight, and grabbing 13 rebounds, as both he and Hudson experienced what it's like to hang tough with the semi-big-boys and win a close one.

Doc proved that coaching in the preseason involves far more than just trotting out players to share minutes.  What he's been doing, in the absence of games that count, has been to challenge individuals to surmount "the wall" of fatigue and persevere in clutch situations.  And, one after another, KG, Perk, Pierce, Ray, Quis, Sheed, Eddie, Rondo, Baby, the Kiddie Korps of Hudson and Giddens, and even Hey Hey Hey Sweetney (who didn't play in this one) have come through in pressure-packed situations.

Only Sheldon Williams (despite one great putback dunk in the first game) and the chronically injured Tony Allen have failed to show much of anything during some portion of the relatively sporadic minutes they've been given.  (Poor Walker won't be game-ready for quite a while.)  Williams just has no semblance of a clue on offense, although "Sherwin" does possess some barely discernible paint potential and board strengths.  Tony was literally an untamed but toothless tiger in his single game two stint.

With half the exhibition games under their belts and Toronto scheduled tonight, 11 of the interchangeable parts have passed stiff tests.  What remains is for (1) the machinery to continue gaining collective momentum, with the big wheels and the steadfast pistons merging as a unified force and (2) the Hudson-Giddens-Williams-Sweetney impasse to be resolved.  The latter could make a loser of Walker (or even Tony); but, whatever happens, it will involve the team's operating from a position of strength.

This is truly getting exciting.

Sam

5 comments:

Rosalie said...

I guess some of the questions about Giddens were answered last night. If you listened to Doc after the game, he was impressed with Giddens defensive stats, and his energy on the floor. I was impressed myself. The kid had at least 13 rebounds, a block, and several other plays where he altered the opposing players shot.
If he continues doing this, he will see minutes, not many, but he will get in.

I was a little surprised that he didn't play Williams longer. I think that this kid is going to be one of those players that Doc forgets about on the bench. He just hasn't picked up the system yet, but how will he ever if he can't play in such a meaningless game?

Eddie is going to have a terrific year this year, I just feel it. If
he continues shooting at a decent pace he will be such an asset to the second unit.

Rondo finally came out of that shell he has been in and took over the game the way he can. My only problem is that he still is taking shots quickly at times when he should be looking for an open shooter. All in all he had a great game.

I know it is only preseason, but they are really coming together. The big three will be back tonight and all will be right with the world!!!!

Have a good day all.....

RAJ said...

Great to see Rondo leading the charge late in the game down double digits. His FTs still look like krap.

This was my first view (4th quarter only)of the C's this year(Thanks DirecTV!)Nice to see bench players getting some PT while the Big Three cool their jets. Giddens was indeed impressive. Probably got more PT in one game than I bet all of last year.

Forget the sacred HCA. Play the bench for goodness sake. Let them develop. Loosen up, Doc!

Won't need HCA if starters are rested and bench is fully integrated come playoff time and feeling their Wheaties.

beat said...

Certainly an interesting game. Nice to see games where the guys are allowed toplay extented minutes. After I left the Game on h=thread I watched it from the other room (no computer) and had the joy of finding out that apparently Direct TV now will show all the remaining preseason games for those of us with League pass. So instead of the Net feed which was fine, I could listen to Mike Gorman and ? do the rest of the game.

I think Giddings will remain here and see very little time in the D league.

Nice to see Rondo again.

beat

Sam said...

Rondo continues to be somewhat of an enigma. I'm just a bit disturbed that, in his fourth year, it took four exhibition games for his leadership qualities to emerge. And I hope that the emergence wasn't caused mainly by the absence of the Three Amigos.

It's very much about consistency, so it'll be interesting to watch that factor closely in Rondo's next few exhibition games. Has he settled into the kind of player who rises to greatness only when pushed? Because the Celtics need his leadership in every single game.

Rajon's free throws are a case in point. In one exhibition, he didn't shoot from the line; last night, he shot 14 freebies. He started out shooting 70% from the line (over the first three games) and then regressed to 43% last night.

That suggests to me that, if he did seek improvement from one source or another over the summer, the lessons have not become instinctive yet. Will that happen? Stay tuned.

Rosalie, I suspect Doc would answer your question about how Williams will pick up the system with two words: "In practice." That was his formula with other players (notably Powe and Davis). On the other hand, an experienced guy like P.J. Brown seemed to learn "on the fly."

Given Doc's method of operation so far, perhaps Sheed will sit tonight, opening up some extended minutes for Williams within the "womb" of most of the experienced members of the team.

Sam

gyso said...

I was curious to see how the Celts would come out in the 2nd game of a rare (delayed) home and away back-to-back. I really had my doubts when beat posted that5 the 3 amigos were sitting this one out.

They came out strong enough early on in the 1st, but fell apart in the middle quarters. The 4th was fun to watch. It seems it is too early to give up on Giddens.

Sheed showed some inside moves, nice to see he still has that in him. House continues to show that he is more effective playing off the ball.

Rondo keyed the comeback but still struggles at the line. It looked like it was his game to win or lose. With that came some "Hero Ball", which translates to some shots by him early in the shot clock. It worked, so you can't argue with success.

gyso