Boston Sports Then and Now

The Suns played a near perfect game —Tommy Heinsohn, following the Celtics loss.

The Tommy-gun couldn’t have put it any better but is that an acceptable excuse?

The Suns burned bright and beat the Celtics, 110-103.

110 points? Were we watching the Celtics last night?

No. We were watching the Phoenix Suns.

It was hard to recognize the Boston Celtics on Friday night as they, uncharacteristically, allowed the Phoenix Suns to score 110 points (57 points at the half), on 50 percent shooting, 54 percent from downtown and only forced 12 turnovers. The Suns were in control from the opening tip. Steve Nash (16 points, 12 assists) showed Boston he is still in the upper echelon of NBA point guards. He distributed the ball perfectly and hit big shots down the stretch. Amare Stoudamire (22 points, 8-13 shooting, 7 rebounds, 1 block shot) has no blurred vision from his season-ending injury last season. He had several monster jams and defended the basket adequately.  Stoudemire’s smile was ear to ear in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter when it became apparent the Suns had the victory bagged.

The Suns played near perfect offense highlighted by the play of Jason Richardson. Scoring 34 points, 10-16 from the field, 6-7 from three and grabbing 10 boards, Richardson scorched the Celtics continuously.  He seemed to have his hands in every offensive play for the Suns as Ray Allen could not contain him.

The Honeymoon is Over…

As the first quarter was playing out to Phoenix advantage, I found myself asking for Doc to to insert the second unit anticipating their nightly bump in momentum. Sticking to his strategy the bench players started to file towards the scorers table late in the first. As Wallace, Daniels, House and Williams trickled onto the court one by one, I was confident we would get a grasp on the Suns surging offense and provide an offensive bump of our own. For the first time this season I was wrong. The early season line-up shift of House, Daniels, Allen, Williams and Wallace were ineffective. The Suns counter of Dudley (10 points, 3 assists, 2 steals) and Dragic (3 assists, 2 steals) added to Phoenix early stamp on the game.

In my estimation, Dragic was most impressive off the Suns bench. He committed 2 turnovers but answered his negatives with positives as he nabbed 2 steals, embarrassing Daniels and Rondo on both plays. Drajic was under control and out-hustled the Celtics reserve back-court.

Rasheed Wallace (8 points, 4-12 from the field, 0-6 from downtown) was very frustrated with his inability to hit shots. He kicked the Celtics bench before planting himself back on it.

Down the stretch, Doc decided to exclude Kendrick Perkins (12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks) opting to play a struggling Sheed. I found myself questioning this decision by Doc but, after the game, I settled into realizing that Wallace presence on the court, struggling or not, spreads the floor and opens up offensive options for the rest of the Celtics. Doc’s strategy backfired last night but not because the strategy was wrong. The Suns didn’t even have anything to do with the C’s coaches strategy. The Celtics backfired on their own as they made, uncharacteristically bad decisions down the stretch, resorting to unnecessary three’s over finding a higher percentage shot.

Manipulating the Minutes…

Watching the Celtics struggle is very frustrating. Late in the game, as the Celtics 2nd unit could not gain footing on the burning Suns, I found myself yelling through the TV for Doc to put the starters back in. Credit Doc for sticking to his game-plan and monitoring the minutes of the veterans. With the exception of Paul Pierce (41 minutes), Doc kept Garnett (34 minutes) and Ray Allen’s (31 minutes) minutes under control. Ray played well as he scored 16 points (7-11) and grabbed 7 boards. Allen, looking like his former self bursted across the baseline for a monster-explosive jam in the second half. Ultimately, Ray  helped Doc in his decision to keep the Big Three’s minutes down as he mounted a rare 5 personal fouls early.

Kevin Garnett is slowly getting back to his old self. Though still favoring his right knee, he scored 26 points in 34 minutes and looked much more offensive minded.

Deja Vu?

In the second half of last night’s contest, the Celtics looked comfortable playing from behind. There was a

Steve Nash played like the All Star.

point, late in the fourth, looking at the expressions on the Boston players faces, I can see their shock as they were about to lose to an inferior team at home. Last season,  I saw this expression, at home and on the road, all too often.

Anyone remember the Clippers on the road or the Rockets at home last January? Those losses were unacceptable and exceedingly painful. We couldn’t blame them on injuries as we had not yet sustained any. Like last night, those losses could only be blamed on the lack of intensity on every play and an old habit of being comfortable with playing in a deficit.

Against the Suns, the Celtics played well in stretches and made some ill-fated runs, attempting to tie the game. The fact is, the Suns were on fire– never letting up and the Celtics didn’t counter with their normal intensity on defense.

Following the game, their was a lot of talk about the Suns scorching offense. I agree. The Suns couldn’t miss but, in my estimation, the Celtics gave them no reason to. Typically, the C’s defense changes their opponents playing style. Last night, they didn’t do that. The Suns controlled the tempo and the Celtics were content to play within and adjust to the Phoenix style of play.

A Work in Progress…

So the Celtics lost one game. They still have the best record in the league. One game certainly doesn’t classify the C’s as struggling. The Celtics, inevitably, will lose some games. That’s only to be expected. Last night was one of those games but the fact that we turned up the heat late and were so close to taking the lead and then slacked off with poor shot selection, only adds to the Sun-burn inflicted by Phoenix.

Another back to back game tonight. This time in (thank-god) New Jersey. Lets finish up this tough stretch in the early schedule tonight with a blow-out victory.

Onward and upward– it’s still a work in progress…

Nick Gelso covers the Boston Celtics and NBA for Boston Sports Then and Now. You can check out more of his great work on his blog: North Station Sports.