The Celtics had their good stretches (primarily when Rajon Rondo was on the floor) and their bad stretches (when Rondo was off). One really bad eight minute stretch between the third and fourth quarters doomed them, though. They saw a 10 point lead disappear without scoring a single field goal, and they ended up losing to the Suns 100-94
The difference between having Rondo and not having Rondo was palpable. The C’s bench just couldn’t get the job done. They were outscored 37-21.
The Green
Rondo didn’t have the greatest shooting night, but he did carry the team for large stretches. He finished 3 rebounds short of a triple double. He was a +16 in a 6 point loss.
If this was Brandon Bass’ last game in green, it was a good one: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
The Gross
Jared Sullinger had a rough game, shooting just 5-13. In fact, the Celtics overall shot just 39%. Bass shot well, and Gerald Wallace/Chris Johnson combined to hit 5 of 8. But everyone else… blah.
The Celtics were outscored 33-15 from beyond the arc.
The Celtics had NO answer for Markieff Morris. Hell, they really had no answer for either Morris. Markieff had 18 on 7-12 shooting. Marcus had 11 on 4-8 shooting (2-5 3pt).
PJ Tucker was everywhere tonight too. His energy was a bright spot (no pun intended) all night for the Suns. He filled up the stat sheet too: 10 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. If you count hustle plays as a stat, he probably had a triple double tonight.
The Greenlights
Rondo with the aggressive drive to the basket
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxzWxL8k9u0]This is a Gerald Green highlight, but I share it only because of how it looks like he just floats every time he jumps. This kid has some sick, sick hops.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy0nl_fLynM]The Grid
- Celtics: 25 points off 18 PHX turnovers.
- Fastbreak points: PHX- 30, BOS- 8
- Phoenix: 11-28 from 3 (39.3%). Boston: 5-17 (29.4%)
I found it pretty inconvenient that there was a basketball game interrupting the trade deadline talk. Tomorrow should be a good one. We’re doing a special episode of Celtics Stuff Live at 9pm tomorrow to recap the trade deadline deals.
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