I often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and
bloggers
are saying about the Celtics after playing the Celtics. Here's a dose
of 'enemy chatter' from Portland
This game felt like a hayseed-toting farm boy who just beat his older
brother at billiards for the first time sauntering into the pool hall to
get a game. Some grizzled old guy in the corner said, "Sure, kid.
I'll play ya. But I can't see so well anymore, so take it easy on me.
How about we play $20 a ball to make it interesting?" Except in this
case the hustler not only ran the table three times, he broke his pool
cue over the yokel's head, jammed the remaining half into his gut, broke
dude's nose with a knee strike while he was doubled over in pain, and
stole his wallet.
It was so bad that the biggest rise on the night for Portland fans was
seeing former Blazer Rasheed Wallace get his league-leading 14th
technical foul in the third quarter. Wallace played 7 1/2 seasons in
Portland, during which he set the NBA record for technicals in the
2000-01 season with 41.
8:32
Jesus Shuttlesworth hits again, flinging his wrist to signify the three.
Boston is up 15. The last four minutes have showcase lots of hustle and
lots of bad decisionmaking from the ‘Zers. Rudy was trying to do it
all, turning steals into opportunites in the paint. Bayless was pushing
the ball and driving the baseline (where he stepped out or lost the ball
more than once). Nic Batum overplayed Ray Allen near the baseline and
wound up exerting too much energy to get up in his grill from
three-point land. All heart and no smarts right about now. Dante
Cunningham checks in to add some more inexperience to the mix.And Ray Allen really, really doesn’t appreciate Nic Batum’s hounding.
He’s getting in a good shove here and there to make up for it. And
every play, right now, seems to be for Ray.
Not much you can say on the other side when your team gets waxed. I like Portland, though. Their problem is they're decimated by injuries.
There was a moment in last night's broadcast where Brandon sat down for the night… got his knees wrapped in ice… and clearly told a teammate "I can't explode".
When your best player is a guy who depends on an explosive extra gear to keep defenders off balance… not being able to find that gear just makes him average.
Credit the Celtics for doing what they were supposed to do in that situation… go for the kill. For the first time in a long time, they didn't toy with their prey… they just went for the jugular.
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