Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here…
highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as
satisfying as a good morning dump.
Unsung hero: Rasheed Wallace didn't have a great shooting night (again), connecting on
just 3-of-8 shots, but he chipped in seven points and nine rebounds over
19 minutes with a team-best plus/minus of plus-13.
ESPN Boston – First Impressions
Pierce's 4th quarter heroics. Ray Allen's sharp shooting. Rondo's defense on Aaron Brooks. All worthy of top billing in the morning dump. Not on this day. We're going to praise Rasheed Wallace.
9 rebounds in 19 minutes? Find me another Celtic who topped those numbers at any point this season. All 7 of his points came during a 5 minutes span in the 2nd quarter. Two
buckets in the post and a three pointer. Sheed had 4 boards and one assists during the Celtics 10-2 run at the end of the 3rd quarter. Throw in two blocks and one steal and you have the perfect 'Sheed stat
line.
On Page 2, how the old Cs got the best of the young, athletic Rockets.
The Celtics didn’t look like an old
bunch trying to run with the young guys. Instead, they stopped the young
guys from running. They played stellar perimeter defense and forced a
3-point shooting team into contested treys.
Houston missed 12 of 17 from long range
and the Celtics limited their turnovers (11) to limit Rockets fast-break
points. What’s more, the Celtics scored more points on the break (20)
than the Rockets (13), so the old men at the schoolyard showed the
youngsters about controlled tempo.
Controlled is the key word. The Celtics
didn’t run at every opportunity. They pounded the ball in the paint, ran
their offense, continued their recent emphasis on ball movement, and
spread the wealth with shot selection.
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