Kevin Garnett led an outstanding defensive performance by
the Boston Celtics.
All preseason long, Doc Rivers has felt that his team has been lacking an edge on the defensive end, something that has been a staple of this team and crucial to its success over the past half-decade. Tonight, that edge came back. The Celtics stormed out of the gates and dominated both sides of the ball. They had the edge in the turnover department (14 to 18), the rebounding department (43 to 40), and in the three ball department (58% to 28.6%). All of this added up to a 30 point demolition of the Brooklyn Nets.
After letting one slip away from them on Tuesday, the Celtics came out ready to play in the impressive Barclays Center.
A few thoughts from tonight...
The good:
Leading up to tonight, the Celtics had given up an average of 94.8 points per game. Their defense has been inconsistent to say the least, allowing 97 points in the first game, then bouncing back with allowing 75 in the next, but then got worse by giving up 105 and 97. Tonight, they woke up. They held the Nets to 15 first-quarter points and only 85 on the night on only 37.2% from the field. After the game, Rivers claimed, "We had yet to show up defensively. And tonight, that's us. That's our defense."
While playing good defense is one of the most important things when it comes to winning, the other is scoring points, and boy did the Celtics score. They hit 56.5% of their shots, and they scored 55 points in the first half while pouring in 60 in the second half.
Doc Rivers wants to see more out of Kris Joseph, but it's hard to see more from him when he isn't seeing much playing time. "You can see the ability there. He really hasn’t done anything yet," Rivers said before Tuesday night's game with the Nets. "But we look at a lot of things when we decide to keep a guy or not keep a guy, and we like what he potentially can be. But he hasn’t done anything yet." On Thursday, he may have done something. Joseph was very productive in limited minutes, scoring 11 points on 5-of-7 from the field while grabbing 5 rebounds in exactly 12 minutes. It was clear that whenever he was on the court tonight, Joseph was trying to be aggressive and make the most out of this rare and precious opportunity to show Doc and his staff that he belongs on this team.
Courtney Lee looked outstanding on both ends of the floor. Lee, in nearly 33 minutes of action, finished tied with Paul Pierce for a team-high 18 points. From the start, Lee was assertive on the defensive end, picking up 2 steals in the first quarter and finishing with 4 on the night. One thing that will not show up in the box score was Lee's ability to run in transition and get multiple open shots from the corner. At least 5 times in the first half, while the Celtics were on the fast-break, Lee made himself open in the corner and got himself tremendous shots.
The bad:
There is no such thing as a perfect game. But this was pretty darn close. Nonetheless, the one concerning aspect from this game was that this team got a small visit from the injury bug. Both Pierce and Brandon Bass left the game with minor injuries. Pierce twisted his left ankle after landing awkwardly on it after a missed three-pointer in the second quarter. He left the game to get his ankle retaped and returned for the second half. Meanwhile, Bass suffered a bruise on his left knee during the first half and did not return. Both injuries are not considered serious, and both are expected to play in Saturday's tuneup with the New York Knicks.
Miscellaneous:
The Barclays Center looked phenomenal. There was a lot of hype about the place: its a perfect location with all of the subways nearby, there's a shopping mall close by, and, of course, its brand new! The TNT broadcasters talked about the "stage-like lighting" being similar to the Staples Center. They mentioned how its perfect for the players (especially shooters) to focus on the basket and not have any lighting distractions. So, hey, I guess that's a positive, too.
This was the first complete game this team has played this preseason, and it was a sign that things are starting to come together. Many players played well tonight across the board, something that should be expected from this team with the kind of talent that they have from top to bottom.
Leandro Barbosa is NOT this year's Mickael Pietrus: a semi-big name free agent added right before the start of the season. Last year, Pietrus was hurt coming into the season and his production was an uncertainty. Barbosa is healthy, younger, and can handle the ball, something the Celtics needed. Barbosa should fit right in with the array of guards the Celtics now have. Barbosa is not the same player who won the Sixth Man of the Year award six years ago, but with limited minutes and with Doc Rivers's ability to get the most out of his players, this is the perfect opportunity for Barbosa to recapture something extremely close to his old self. After back-to-back disappointing seasons with Toronto and Indiana, Barbosa impressed many during the Summer Olympics, averaging 16 points per game and shooting 40% from three-point range. Hopefully he can carry this momentum into the 2012-2013 campaign.
With all this being said, I still think the Celtics need a legitimate backup point guard. Barbosa is more of a shooting guard with the ability to handle the ball. But again, like Jason Terry, Barbosa is more valuable as a scoring threat, not someone to run the offense. That's not to say that he can't do it, but it's not what he should be doing. This team needs someone whose main job is to run the offense and not score the ball. Is that guy still out there?
What's next for the Celtics? They trek up to the capital of New York -- Albany, for those of you who had no idea -- for a rematch with the Knicks on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
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