When Bill Cooper asked me to write the review of last night's game, it naturally appeared that I
had been handed a dreamy, hoop-o-licious assignment. What could be more satisfying than to
chronicle the second blowout in a row? But of course, a reservoir of horror lies behind all celtics
games, and it very nearly turned into the most discouraging loss of the season. That it didn’t is
actually more satisfying, in many ways, than a simple blowout would have been.
Houston came into the game with a roster barely fit for the CBA. Having lost Charles Barkeley two
nights earlier. This left the young rockets without any kind of post presence, and with only a
rudimentary running game. Essentially, the team consists of Steve Francis and four other guys –
hardly a match for the well-oiled machine the Celtics had shown themselves to be against Denver.
In the first quarter, this plainly seemed to be the case. The Celtics were able to run and score
pretty much at will against the Rockets, including beautiful lay-in baskets by Kenny and, Antoine,
and effortless pull-up jumpers by Paul Pierce. "Effortless" is the key word here, since the Rockets
were playing almost no defense, and turning the ball over on offense on nearly every possession.
When the reserves came in, they found Houston every bit as inviting, and celtics fans were treated
to a jump shooting exhibition by Eric Williams, a three point play by Pervis Ellison, an in-your-face
twisting layup and feathery jumper by Calbert Cheaney, and other rarely-seen marvels of
basketball. By the time the half ended, the Celtics had built what seemed to be an insurmountable
lead of nearly 20 points, and no doubt the players were high-fiving each other in the locker room
before trudging out to listen to Cedric Maxwell pay tribute to the round mound of rebound. (Larry
Bird appeared on the jumbo tron at one point – talking, not dancing – and told Charles to look up
at the banners, and think of him. Then he offered to let Charles see his rings. I was expecting a
compliment at the end, but the screen went dead, making this a highly mean-spirited tribute.)
In the second half, hubris was served. Slowly but surely, the Rockets were able to whittle the lead
down to ten points, as a combination of poor celtic shooting, aggressive and selfless rocket play,
and biased refereeing combined against us. I am not being a "homer" in saying this about the foul
shooting – it was clear that the referees felt that the unfortunate rockets needed all the help that
they could get, and that the Celtics needed none. None they needed, and none they got. The
Rockets were free to nudge, body, travel, palm, and do all the little things necessary to beat your
opponent illegally in basketball, while the celtics were monitored like a chimpanzee back from a
space mission. Fine! Who cares? But unfortunately, the Celtics seemed to think that the game
was over, and began playing a sloppy brand of basketball.
Several times this season, the team has blown big leads, but by some good fortune, I have
missed these games. Having now seen it happen up close, I think I understand the phenomenon a
little better. The Celtics don’t play selfishly, nor do they forget to pass the ball. But as the horror of
losing the lead begins to assert itself, you can see the team freeze up, and the offense become
highly deliberate. Swinging the ball around seems a sure route to a turnover,and every individual
defender seems like a disgrace waiting to happen. The team then gets the ball to one man, who
pounds it carefully into the floor, and makes a deliberative, I-know-I-am-good-enough one on one
move while the rest of the team watches. Some bold spirit may try to shoot a three pointer before
the defense gets back, but this is just another form of recklessness based on fear. Had the early
deluge of points come against some kind of defense, perhaps this might not be the case; but the
Celtics were playing as much against the Ghost of Collapses Past as they were against the
Rockets, and as a result Houston made hay. The late third and early fourth quarter was a
nightmare of three pointers, alley-oops, penetration drives, and (inexplicably) putback after slow,
unopposed putback by ML Carr-era revenant Thomas Hamilton. Hamilton must have had ten
points in the second half on little one handed standstill lay ins and dunks. And each time the
Celtics tightened up more. That the game was won is a tribute really to Kenny Anderson and
Adrian Griffin, whose 6-6 foul shooting in the fourth kept the defense in the game, and sealed off
the Rockets from an absurd and undeserved triumph. Griffin, a rookie it will be remembered, was
given the task of inbounding the ball on the crucial possession, and once fouled, stood up at the
line completely impervious to the panic of the Fleet Center, his teammates, and all of Celtic
Nation. The guys is really not human. He wasn’t even sweating. He just stood there, with his bulgy
eyes and his serene brow, and sank four out of four free throws to put the game out of reach. The
Rockets missed a key layup in the sequence, and the Celtics finally put the game out of reach in
the last second of play. In a way, this game was like getting two wins. We got to see the Celts
blowout an oppenent, AND we got to see them win a close game, with all its trimmings of mental
toughness, free throw shooting, execution, etc.
Players:
Kenny Anderson: Sitting in the front of the TV in my Old Milwaukee fired reverie, I finally realized
why Kenny is only getting 4 assists a game, and why the fast break is not working the way it is
supposed to. Kenny still doesn’t really feel comfortable running an uptempo team. He likes to be
in control quite as much as Chauncey Billups did, and will back off a break if he doesn’t see a
clearly streaking teammate right along side him. His offense has been flawless, and he makes
some beautiful passes (last night he dropped a spinning, over the shoulder, in traffic pass to
Antoine under the basket) but he really doesn’t understand how to make them on the run while the
defense is retreating. Oddly, Adrian Griffin and Paul Pierce and much more suited to fast break
passing than Kenny is at this point, and that is why they are getting as many assists as he is.
Numerous times Kenny had people ahead of the pack (is Hamilton really going to stay with Tony
Battie on a dead run?) And didn’t get them the ball. This is the half-court general coming out, and
in fact even the Kenny that came over from Portland two years ago was essentially a half court
wizard. He’s fast as lightening, but he’s not a push man. He needs to face his fears and give up
the ball on the break more often.
Antoine: it may be the beer talking, but I think I have figured out what is going on with Antoine as
well. The guy is just not in shape or is carrying an injury. That’s why he can’t finish around the
basket, and that’s why he isn’t rebounding like he used to. (He rebounded really well tonight,
though.) Antoine needs that extra inch of lift more than most players, and that little burst of speed
around the rim. He isn’t getting it,and it’s really hurting his game. He played well tonight, set a ton
of picks, took good shots, passed the ball, rebounded, and even played some defense, but twice
in a row he was unable to score in an isolation against Thomas Hamilton. This tells me that Twon
is not Twon, and that he must be keeping some jelly donuts in his footlocker. Still has great skills
and a pretty high basketball IQ, but he needs to play his way into Paul Pierce shape.
Pierce. Really blossoming. The guy had his way with anybody the Rockets put on him, and
showed a complete floor game as well, with many nice passes. Went out and got seven rebounds
and three assists in the flow of the game, and more importantly, had his game face on the whole
time.
Potapenko. Didnt play much for some reason, but made some really nice low post m
oves under control (he is one of the only guys on the team that can do this all the time) and picked
up four assists. They teach you how to play in Russia, they really do. I really like seeing VP and
Tony on the floor at the same time, but even as the only big man, VP is a real defensive threat. He
has improved a LOT since last season, and is no longer a foul waiting to happen. Didn’t get any
of his midrange looks this game.
Battie. His offensive game was there, and he blocked two shots, but on the whole I wo
uld say this was a letdown game for Tony. He only had two rebounds, and didn’t terrorize
opponents the way he has been doing.
Walter. Did his thing on D w/the second unit, hit a few shots.
Eric Williams. Showed a much more diversified offensive game than we are used to seeing from him, although I miss his twisting, juking moves of old. But he needed to draw fouls and sink jump shots as well, and that he did. Also played hustling defense; a good game for Eric.
Dana. Looked like the old dana to me, and was on the floor for offense/defense at the end. He didn’t take a three pointer, but he was shooting like the Dana of old. Also had a couple of really nice penetration moves, one a cross over for a jump shot off the dribble in the lane, the other one of his high layups of the backboard.. Playing with a lot of confidence.
Cheaney. Made some shots during the run, froze up afterwards. Don’t ask me why. Played great Defense throughout. When he came over it was as a shooter, but he is really a great defender, and he was out there in the last minute for offense/defense as well.
Opposition player of note:
None. Francis good, but no Iverson. Another highlight reel player, albeit a less selfish one. Give me Mike Bibby.
Next up a game we won’t be afraid to lose at MSG. I’ll be there in green.