CNB - C's/Knicks

[Adam Rubin <adam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.nbatools.com/servlet/Content.Main?action=viewContent&contentID=63&teamName=null
(a bit rushed, sorry)

==
Celtics Game Recap
Dec 06, 2002
Celtics 91 - Knicks 80 
The Celtics Nickel Bag -- New York's Deep Sleep 
posted by adam 

It's sad really. The New York Knicks are in a deep coma -- even the
simplest breath requires the assistance of a respirator named Spreewell --
and Scott Layden, the Knicks General Manager, officially signed the Do Not
Resuscitate Monday night by failing to use the McDyess $4.5 million
medical exemption. Losing to a team in this condition is sin committed by
young teams who expect the W to be handed to them on a silver platter. The
Celtics are not one of those teams. With the exception of the
opening-night loss to the Bulls, it appears that the C's are past that
stage of immaturity. For years, Celtics fans knew what it was like to lose
to a horrible team, but now we are learning what it's like to beat them. 


1) Pierce played a marvelous all-around game. His shot selection was much
better than what we've seen in the past few games. Instead of forcing up
wild shots when double or triple teamed, he consistently spotted and
dished the ball to the open man. Paul finished with 8 assists, but could
have easily had another two to reach the double figure mark. I counted
five beautiful passes to Battie for wide-open dunks (Battie made 4/5),
three dishes to Baker for dunks (Baker made 2/3), one gimme to Delk for a
layup (Delk missed the layup), and a good look to a wide-open Walker for a
3-pointer (nothing but net). 


2) The wait is over -- Kedrick Brown has returned! The Celtics were
crushing the Knicks late in the game, so Kedrick was able to get in a full
quarter of play. He was rusty, to say the least. However, the entire
Garbage Squad was on the court for most of the fourth, and with all the
turnovers, ugly passes, missed rebounds, etc -- it was difficult to judge
Kedrick's potential. He'll obviously need some time to get back into
game-shape and gel with his new teammates, but it's nice to see him back
out on the court. Speaking of the Garbage Squad, they nearly blew a
22-point fourth quarter lead. The knicks had it down to 14 with 4 minutes
remaining, but in the end, it was too little too late. 


3) For the second game in a row, Antoine used that Chris Webber-patented
behind the back bounce pass. It may look like a showboat pass, but it's
really quite effective when executed properly. The second time Walker made
the pass, it was as crisp as any pass I've seen from him this year and
bounced right into Tony Delk's hands. Delk was fouled during his layup
attempt and went to the line where he made both free throws. One other
note on Antoine. After a double technical call and many words shared with
Howard Eisley, Antoine called for the ball down in the paint.  In the
past, this was one of my biggest gripes with Antoine. Every time he'd get
into an argument with an opposing player, he'd try to show them how good
he was the next play down the court, but would almost always turn it over
or take a forced shot. However, tonight Antoine realized he was
double-teamed in the paint and instead of forcing up a dumb shot he passed
out to Delk who then drained a 3-pointer. What is better proof of how good
you are - a turnover, a missed shot, or an assist on a 3-pointer? 


4) Baker was the most active he's been in a few games. He had a couple of
dunks, a nice block and went 3-4 from the charity stripe. Unfortunately,
he also had 5 fouls in 12 minutes of play. Vin can complain all he wants
about the refs are picking on him, but the fact is that he's pushing off
on nearly every rebound. Vin's also leaving the ball completely
unprotected when making his first move down on the box. He's providing an
open target for his defender to easily swipe at ball which is why we've
seen him fumble so many balls out of bounds. 


5) Random Thoughts: It should be noted that Walter McCarty once again did
a lot of little things that don't get recorded in the stats book. I
thought he played a great game tonight. Pierce had his headband knocked
off at one point late in the game and for a few minutes there wasn't one
player on the court wearing one of those stupid things. The joy didn't
last long -- after the next timeout Pierce had a new headband on. Shammond
struggled tonight, 0-5. The Knicks first foul shot came with 2:20 left in
the first half. Allen Houston was 0-7 in the first half and only 3-6 in
the second. Spreewell was making a killing off of 10-15 foot tweeners in
the first quarter, but Jimmy O'Brien did a good job at plugging that hole. 

--
adam is the proprietor of celticspride.com and the screwdriver behind
nbatools.com.