Looking at the schedule we all knew the start of this season was going to be brutal, but something about tonight’s loss really sucked. The Celtics blew a 16 point lead and managed to turn the ball over 27 times, and all the while it still felt like the effort was there 100% (even if the minds weren’t).
Boston started with a pretty balanced offensive attack, coming out and hit 11 of their first 12 shots and jumped out to a double-digit lead really early on. Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas didn’t suit up, so the boards were plenty. Unfortunately a few sloppy passes (looking at you, Evan Turnover) kind of nullified the crazy shooting and good rebounding. The offense continued to get solid looks through about the midway point of the second quarter. It actually looked like the C’s were going to churn out another 60+ point first half, but Toronto quickly regrouped by hitting some tough shots and getting to the line a bunch before halftime.
A couple more ugly passes didn’t help either. I don’t want to pick on Turner, because other guys were making bad plays too — but if anything — I think he should try to think a bit less while on the court. I know preseason is preseason, but the game looked so much easier to him just a few weeks ago. The other (quieter) bummer of the first half was Marcus Thornton, who spent 11 minutes on the court going 0-2 from the field. He did have a couple boards, but there’s a growing part of me that wouldn’t mind seeing James Young get a couple of Thornton’s minutes. Maybe it’s trying to get Marcus enough court time to propose a trade or maybe Young just isn’t ready defensively. Still wouldn’t mind a couple short Rondo-Young-Green stints. Anyway, the Raptors basically laid it on Boston in the last five minutes or so and brought a 16 point lead within three as the first half ended on a Lyle Lowry buzzer beater (who had 17 total in the first half).
The score stayed tight throughout the entire third quarter, as guys began to notch double doubles (Rondo, Sullinger, Olynyk). Evan Turner struggled to keep up with Kyle Lowry, which wasn’t really his fault considering Turner isn’t really suited to guard small PGs. Toronto managed to open up a lead, which bounced around from four to eight points. The fourth quarter was full of Boston turnovers, all of which were ugly (bouncing balls of shoes, passing the ball directly to the other team frequently, etc). With a few minutes left, Rondo picked up his triple double and the C’s seemed to mount a bit of a comeback around the same time. It culminated with a Marcus Smart three (assisted by Rondo), which tied the game — but the Raptors answered on every possession after that. Demar DeRozan was the beneficiary of Kyle Lowry stealing the ball from Marcus Smart; DeRozan dunked hard over Olynyk and got the foul too. Jeff Green had a chance to tie the game up with a deep, well-defended three, but no go. Final 110-107.
The Green
- Rondo’s triple double (13 points, 10 rebounds, 15 assist, five turnovers)
- Frontcourt double doubles -Sullinger and Olynyk had 19 and 18 points respectively and combined for 29 rebounds. Yeah, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas didn’t play, but impressive nonetheless.
- Jeff Green – 20 points on 9-16 shooting, three blocks and four turnovers. Nothing crazy, but for a game coming after a big scoring output, it was nice to see Jeff remain aggressive. He missed the big shot, but you can’t hit ’em all.
The Gross
- Turnovers were the big killer. Not only did the C’s commit 27, but the Raptors only had seven. Can’t win with that disparity.
- Hot Pocket offense…Can never tell where it’s gonna be scathing hot and where it’s still completely frozen.
- Evan Turner – Everyone on the team was committing turnovers, but the one’s he was giving away were cringeworthy.
The Greenlights
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The Grid
- C’s shot 10-26 from deep (38.5%)
- Boston out-rebounded Toronto 55-24
- Only eight fast break points, compared to 19 for the Raps
Next game is Friday against the Pacers.
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