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| It didn't take long for Rajon Rondo to get back into the swing of things. |
The Big Three did what they usually do: they carried the Celtics for the most part, but they got some help from the bench down the stretch.
It was a good start to the first of a back-to-back for the Celtics. Here's a recap:
The good:
* How can you not start with Rajon Rondo? As I previously mentioned, it only took him 17 minutes to get to 10 assists: it came with 2:54 to play in the first half. I'll repeat, first half. Incredible. Rondo finished the game with 20 assists, the first time he did that He was definitely looking to get his teammates involved more than himself, as he only took 4 shots but made 3 of them for 6 points.
* Kevin Garnett looked fantastic today. Not only did his stat line look impressive -- he finished with 15 points and 5 rebounds in only 17 minutes -- but his energy was great. You could hear his voice when he was on the court from all the way up in the balcony -- I sit in the first row of the balcony, so it's pretty close. He just looked fresh today, whether it was leaping high for rebounds or making moves to the basket, everything KG did today looked good. He hardly looked like the oldest player on the team.
* It appears the JET is flying high. Jason Terry is playing the way Jason Terry has always played. Today he had a team-high 20 points on 7-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
* Paul Pierce had a typical Paul Pierce game: he scored 19 points, grabbed 6 boards, and handed out 2 assists. He also provided the highlight of the day when he drove to the basket and had a Blake Griffin-esque dunk -- he threw the ball off the backboard and into the hoop -- and was fouled. The three-point play put the C's up 45-39 in the second quarter.
The bad:
* The bench was outscored 49-41 today, and although 41 points is a lot, most of that came in mop-up time in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. The bench had 28 points in the fourth quarter and only 13 in the other three quarters. In a game like this where it's the first game of a back-to-back, the bench has to know that they're going to have to carry a bigger load.
* The Celtics seemed to get lazy with their big lead and almost let it slip away. They had a 30-17 lead after one, but were outscored 25-17 in the second. It wasn't until the fourth quarter when they actually put the Raptors away. I know I'm knit-picking here, but it's just something Doc and his staff should be aware of.
Miscellaneous:
* Don't read anything into this, but Avery Bradley was active for today's game. Bradley, who isn't expected to return until mid-December, participated in pregame warmups with the team and was on the bench during the game. The Celtics were without Jason Collins, who has left the team to deal with a personal matter, so the Celtics needed to activate someone, and with Kris Joseph and Fab Melo in the D-League, Bradley was the only other choice.
* It's pretty clear that there are times he is going to struggle, but Jared Sullinger is going to be an excellent player for this team. Watching him play today only reinforced the fact of how big of a steal he was during the draft, and people seem to forget that he was a two-time first team All-American. He recorded his first career double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds) today, and he brought tremendous energy on the glass as well. He fought for loose balls, snatched every rebound in his sight, and actually boxed out. He continues to do the little things extremely well.
* The Celtics have been using Jason Terry the way they used Ray Allen. Terry hasn't spent a lot of time handling the ball, and he's been getting a lot of his shots off screens. He hasn't really had to create shots for himself or score off the dribble, which he has done at a high level in the past. Knowing that he can score both ways is a positive for the green.
The Celtics are back at it tomorrow night as they pay the Detroit Pistons a visit at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
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