Game Report - 12/18/13

Some brief and very delayed thoughts on a disappointing loss in a very winnable game. I was not able to give most of my attention to this game, as I was unreasonably expected to pay attention to my 4-month old child, so I will offer just two bullets on items that came at the end of the game.

• It seems a strange time to mention it, considering Brandon Jennings went off with one of the best games of his career, but I love watching Avery Bradley play defense. It seems to me that there are at least two occasions each game where he manages to completely blow up an offensive set or play, simply by not letting the ball handler get where he wants to go. Kudos to Jennings who hit a ridiculously tough three with 46 seconds left to give Detroit the lead -- but that was stellar defense from Avery that led to the tough shot. He then managed to give Boston one final chance at a win by stealing Jennings' lunch and smothering him on Detroit's final possession. The enticing thing to me about Bradley is that as he continues to build a reputation as an elite defender, I believe he will get a greater benefit of the doubt from the officials. I'm not sure it's really possible to be a lockdown defender in today's NBA with the rules, and how many offenses are built on dribble penetration from guards and setting picks for the ball handler, but he gives the C's a weapon few teams can match.
• Bradley gave the team a final chance, one that the team promptly squandered. Starting with the final play, I don't mind an isolation for Green with that little time left, as one of the few guys capable of creating his own shot. Yet Josh Smith is a high-level defender and maybe not the match-up to attack in that situation. If that sounds like a criticism of The New Wooden, let me quickly praise his sense to call a time out with five seconds left as the first option -- a post-up for Brandon Bass -- looked like it was leading to absolutely nothing. Seems like some teams might be reluctant to pull the plug as that unfolded, but calling a TO and resetting was the right call.

Snoogins Or Mitchy

In my 12/16 game report I noted that Kelly Olynyk will be Snoogins for the purposes of this blog, because of his uncanny resemblance to Jay from the Jay and Silent Bob movies. In the comments, noted basketball blogger H.S. Slam, Phd, suggested he bares a far greater resemblance to Mitch Kramer from the wonderful Dazed and Confused.

I'm not sure how I can put this more strongly, but that is absolute nonsense. Obviously the long stringy hair is a trait common to all three gentlemen, but beyond that, Olynyk looks far more like Jay (or actor Jason Mewes) than young Kramer. Below, see the evidence for yourself.

I think this speaks for itself.

Game Report - 12/16/13

Here begins what hopefully will be a recurring feature on the blog, as I offer a collection of thoughts from a Celtics' victory. I will also try to do this on occasion after a loss, but clearly those will be few and far between with The New Wooden (copyright pending) on the bench.

I'm not a talented enough writer, or skilled enough observer of basketball to provide any coherent theme on a given contest. At least I don't think I am -- but if inspiration strikes I will give it a shot. Generally these will just be random observations. In this case, I observed Boston hang on for a win over Minnesota on the strength of a sturdy fourth quarter for Jared Sullinger and some mediocre shooting from Los Lobos.

• Starting with Sullinger, he had another strong all-around game, including burying a huge three late in the fourth. I'm curious to see if teams start throwing different defensive looks at him -- doubling in the post, playing him to pop on pick-and-rolls, etc. -- now that he clearly has become at least our 1A offensive option.
• I'm stunned to type these words, but I've really enjoyed what Kris Humphries has provided this year. He seems like a player who knows exactly what he is capable of doing, and doesn't try to do anything beyond that. Given our rebounding struggles both in the last few seasons and this year, I wouldn't object to seeing him get a little more time to try and enhance the team's work on the boards.
• I admit to being stunned by the development of Jordan Crawford and Avery Bradley as the starting back court. Similarly I admit that despite how well they've played, I still don't feel comfortable when Bradley is firing up jumpers, and Crawford is running the show. Too much history of seeing both of them fail in those areas to totally relax with it now. Give me a few more weeks.
• I've seen a few prominent Celtics fans applaud The New Wooden's ability to draw up set plays out of timeouts, so I was specifically looking for it in this game. As promised, there were at least two instances of plays that provided wide open shots coming out of dead ball situations. My love for this man knows no bounds.
• My good friend H.S. Slam, Phd. recently gchatted to me his growing disfavor with Kelly Olynyk. I don't think I've completely hopped off his bandwagon yet, but I watched him a bit more closely in this contest, and I am starting to wonder what exactly his NBA skills are. He knocked down a pair of open triples in the game but his release is quite slow. This certainly merits watching, but would hate to whiff on a pick we traded up to get. This does give me the chance to announced the first official Brad's Fanboy nickname which is that Kelly Olynyk will now be referred to as "Snoogins" because of his uncanny resemblance to Jay from the Jay and Silent Bob films.
• Dante Cunningham had a strong game off the bench for the Wolves, but I can't watch him play without recalling that the aforementioned Dr. Slam and I once had an off-color joke about his name and self-gratification.
• Finally, as much of the talk this season is geared towards building towards the future, it is fun to speculate and dream when we play a team with a superstar that at least gets mentioned from time-to-time in trade rumors. I don't claim to have any idea as to how Kevin Love could end up on the Celtics, but he's a wildly entertaining player that could be a cornerstone of a championship contender with some other good pieces around him. Could Boston's next championship team again be sparked by trading for a 'Sota star?

Detroit is the next lamb on Wednesday as the team slowly inches towards the .500 mark.

Boston 3-Party Era Memorable Game #10

Now on my second post without really talking about this year's Celtics team (and BRAD STEVENS). I missed the Spurs game on Wednesday night, and hopefully will be able to watch the likely bloodletting against the Pacers this evening and coming up with some thoughts.

In the meantime, ever since the spiritual father of this blog signed off and mentioned the possibility of a top-10 memorable games of the KG-era, I've been putting together my own list in my head. What better time to begin bringing that list from my head to the internetz than a Friday afternoon when I should be working. We will check back in with this from time-to-time, mostly the times when I can't think of anything interesting to say about the current hoops season.

Without further delay, we begin the countdown with the 10th most memorable game.

#10 vs. Denver Nuggest, 11/17/2007
How is the third regular season game after the team's offseason overhaul before the 2007-08 season the 10th most memorable of this epic six-season run? In this case, for decidedly personal reasons. The additions of KG, Ray, etc. during the summer certainly renewed my interest in the team, but I assumed my fandom would consist of checking out the team on the many occasions they were featured on national TV (or when they played either the Knicks or Nets, as I was living in New Jersey and could watch all their games).

I spent the early portion of this Nuggets contest having a very spirited g-chat with aforementioned H.S. Slam, Phd. He was enjoying the early stages of this game so much, that he urged me to splurge and purchase the NBA League Pass, allowing me to follow the season all year. At the time I was not making much money and living in a fairly pricey town in an apartment I really couldn't afford. All that took a backseat at the repeated urging of my friend, and by halftime the good people at Cablevision were adding more than $200 to my bill.

I did not regret that decision either that night, or for the rest of the season. What stood out about that game (and the season in general) was the beautiful way that first edition of this Celtics era moved the ball. The defense got most of the attention during the Championship run, but that was the best offense the team featured during this stretch. Despite having talented offensive players, this team was never a particularly potent offensive squad, but its peak was year one when Boston ranked 10th in the League in points per possession.

It seemed every player on the team had been infected with KG's selflessness, and every player on the floor looked for the open man and made the extra pass (or the RIGHT pass, as Jay Bilas often notes). It was beautiful basketball to watch, and IMO was never quite the same as that first season.

On this night, that passing absolutely pummeled the Nuggets in the first half, building a 39-point lead going into halftime. For me, I was now completely all in, making this otherwise meaningless regular season contest the 10th-most memorable game of this era.

Welcome to the 2013-14 Season!

I fully intended to craft a far more artful and thought-provoking post for my introduction. It seems I'm not quite as proficient with this blogging thing as I hoped.

Instead, I offer this clip of Rondo looking puzzled after checking out the stat sheet from Boston's most discouraging performance of this young season (a 24-point loss at Houston where the C's shot a breathtaking 32-percent from the field. Now that I type it, I'm not sure it is the MOST discouraging loss of the year, but that is probably a separate blog post).

I will leave it to others to guess what is so amusing for the brilliant Rondo, but his reaction is somewhat similar to my reactions during games this season. Moments of happiness, or at the very least contentment, followed by flashes of anger, and disgust. Throw in some bemusement and occasionally actual discomfort and it's an early summary of my feelings for the post-Boston Three Party Era.

(h/t The Big Lead for the clip)