CBW review: Celtics vs. Orlando Magic

[snoopy1@xxxxxxx]

First, Congratulations to Paul Pierce for his selection as Eastern 
Conference Player of the week!!

This game took place exactly one week after the Good Guys beat the Magic in 
Orlando 102-97.  The Celtics were rested after last playing at the "Centah" 
on Friday, while the Magic were in the midst of a tough road trip.

I hoped that the C's would come out running and keep running until the 
Magic had left the frozen parquet.  I heard temps were in the single digits 
at game time, and that probably doesn't improve much when there's a sheet 
of ice under the court.



First Quarter:

The game started slowly, as neither team seemed capable of scoring at 
first.  The C's played good defense and got good looks on offense, but just 
couldn't finish.  The first points came with 2:10 gone in the quarter, from 
Orlando.  The Celtics didn't score until over 3:09 had gone by on a steal 
from Pierce, who went all the way for a dunk.  At this point, the C's were 
1-7, and the Magic 2-6, from the field.  I was really annoyed, because if 
the C's go scoreless for three minutes against a number of teams, the game 
is pretty well over.  Lucky it was Orlando.

Walker established his outside game early, but I noticed that the C's 
offense was sluggish--players weren't helping out on offense, and the Magic 
were quickly outrebounding the Good Guys on both ends of the court.

Walker hit Battie for what might be the first successful alley-oop in 
weeks.  If they could pull that play consistently, Battie would be among 
the league leaders in scoring.

After the opening drought, fortunately shared by both teams, the scoring 
picked up as Pierce and Delk both started hitting shots.  but with 5:54 to 
go, an offensive set perfectly illustrated one of the problems the C's had 
tonight.

Pierce had stolen the ball and was on the break from the corner  just 
inside the arc.  At the time the steal was made, Waltah! and Walker were on 
the same side of the court--Walker at the free throw line, and Waltah! just 
past it toward the corner.  Pierce started running, and was just past the 
arc line going up, and had already passed Walker, who was now behind him on 
his left.  Pierce went right over center court, and Waltah!, though ahead 
of him, had gone down the sideline, where three Magic players were already 
between him and Pierce.  Pierce had to take it into a double team, since 
one player had dropped off to cover Walker, who had trotted to just outside 
the arc, directly behind his man.  Waltah! was blocked off by the double 
team, and never came up to give Pierce an option to pass out of the 
team.  He did not have his hands up to receive a pass--assuming Pierce 
could have somehow managed to make one.  Pierce ended up going to the line, 
instead of having an even three on three break--or better, if Walker or 
Waltah! had run faster and smarter.

This sort of thing happened a couple of times, leaving the player with the 
ball absolutely no options after starting a break.

Pierce then proceeded to go one for two at the 
line.  (AAAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!)  The Celtics, throughout this game, went 
to the line early and often.  The Magic liked their chances on the fouls, 
as the C's were shooting 45-50% through the game at the line.  I was really 
concerned that this game might come down to free throws.

The rest of the quarter was close, with neither team really able to 
establish a lead and hold it.  The Magic were keeping it close by boxing 
out Tony Battie and getting a lot of rebounds.  Battie just didn't seem to 
have his normal zip.  I think the Magic made it a point to nudge Battie 
away from the boards.  This nudging would later cause problems.

Mike Miller of Orlando was hitting well from beyond the arc--better, in 
fact, than the Celtics as a team.

The quarter ended as Walker stole the ball when Orlando was trying for a 
last shot, and the lead was now 26-21, favoring the Magic.

The Magic had made the most of their chances, hitting 48% from the field on 
10-21 shooting, while the Celtics were a measly 38%, going 9-24.  Orlando 
outdid Boston on the boards, 14-9, and were, courtesy of Mike Miller, 3-3 
from the arc, while the Celtics as a team were 1-5.  There were only two 
pieces of good news.  First, the Magic had already committed 6 turnovers to 
Boston's 1.  The second was that the C's only trailed by 5 points after 
playing mediocre basketball.


Second Quarter:

The second quarter started with Boston doubling it's turnovers, while 
Orlando went to the hoop and drew a foul.  You'd think they'd remember it's 
supposed to be the other way around.

Orlando's Andrew DeClercq (a former Celtics player) went to the line and 
hit one of two, so maybe it was a Celtics thing at the line.  But DeClercq 
drew several charges during the game and played solid defense.  Eric 
Williams needs to learn to hit the brakes when he sees the defender in his way.

Vin Baker came in and had a solid game, making some really nice moves under 
the hoop at both ends.  He also started getting a few foul calls his way, 
which was a very good sign.  One of them was against DeClercq, forcing 
Andrew to sit with three fouls.

Tracy McGrady seemed to be fully recovered from the ankle injury he got the 
last time he faced the Good Guys and was scoring from a variety of places 
on the floor.

The C's defense picked up more, but the Magic were still hitting, 
particularly Mike Miller, who sank yet another three.

With 5:18 to go in the half, Waltah! scored a three from the corner off 
good ball movement to give the Good Guys the lead again at 37-36.  I 
platonically appreciate him.  That capped an 8-0 run by Boston.

After a few possessions ending in turnovers or misses for both teams, the 
Magic regained the lead a minute later.  Orlando worked to extend it from 
there., but Paul Pierce had a few things to say about that, going in for 
two more.

Battie had been called for two relatively quick fouls, and he was starting 
to look a little annoyed, in concert with his frustration at a team that 
actually paid attention to him under the hoop.  Maybe he was getting a 
little spoiled with the relative ease with which he'd been going to the 
boards at both ends.

Vin Baker came back in and he seemed to have better luck wedging himself 
into position against the Magic.  He still got called for physical fouls, 
the kind he gets from those unsubtle bumps he makes.  He swivels his hips 
like he's trying to get a date.

Tony Delk came in and added to the scoring by hitting a three, and Pierce 
felt obligated to match it, which he did with 22.1 seconds left.

Orlando once again tried for the last shot of the quarter, and this time, 
got off a shot clock three to end the quarter leading it 51-49.


HALFTIME

Cookie Break!!

To this point, Orlando had kept it close and often led, a situation I 
frankly hadn't expected given the recent schedule of both teams.  The C's 
work on the boards wasn't great, and to a point, Vin Baker had been more 
effective than Tony Battie at getting in close.  The trips to the free 
throw line were an exercise in coming up with ways to describe my 
aggravation without using four letter words.  Boston was a miserable 8-16, 
while Orlando a more respectable 10-12, at the line.

At least Boston was slowly getting the fast break on track, with a 13-5 
edge in break points.  But the Celtics still have this aggravating habit of 
taking nice leisurely trips upcourt, as if their sneakers will melt if they 
go faster than 2 miles an hour.

The Magic were still outdoing the Celtics on the boards, 24-21.  Boston had 
some advantages, though--they led in paint points, 18-12, and the Boston 
bench had scored better, 11-6.  The number of threes made was even, though 
of course, Boston took many more attempts--5-16, where Orlando was 
5-9.  The FGP was very close:  Boston was 18-41 for 44% at the half, a 
major improvement over their percentage in the first quarter.  Orlando had 
cooled off a little, 18-40 for 45%.

I hoped they'd pay attention to Mike Miller, who was making a nice living 
behind the arc.

I just hoped that the game wouldn't come down to those missed free 
throws.  So far, they represented 8 missed points.  Hopefully, the Celtics 
would open it up in the third quarter.

As an aside, I had to watch the local Orlando feed, and I was appreciative 
at how complimentary the announcers were about the Celtics--not like those 
sons of muppets in Minnesota.

Cookie Break!!


Third Quarter:

The C's started by tying up the game, a prophetic situation as it happens, 
and then worked to a lead off a Tony Delk three.  Orlando was ice cold, 
going 0-5 as the C's worked to keep a good thing going.

On the next play there was the first of two displays of Celtics players 
being childish, as Walker took what he felt was a charge and was arguing 
with the ref while the rest of the team was back on defense.  This time it 
ended well, as Tony Delk got the rebound and lobbed the pumpkin back to 
Walker, who never did come back to the defensive end, and got an easy 
two.  I would have preferred if he'd gotten his butt back on defense.

Delk was loitering in the corner and hitting more deep threes, then working 
hard on defense to boot.

Battie then got called for his third foul, further evidence that he just 
didn't have his game in gear  tonight.  On the next trip up, he tried for 
an outside jumper that didn't get the good bounce.

The game remained close, Boston leading 59-58 with half the quarter 
played.  The announcers remarked that Walker was being careless with the 
ball, and they were right.  Walker made some questionable passes, though on 
the specific occasion they mentioned it, Waltah! had actually backed out of 
position as Walker threw the pass.  Had he not moved, he'd have had an open 
shot.  Though Walker blamed himself, that particular turnover was Waltah's! 
fault.

Then, we arrived at the second, sillier--and potentially more 
costly--occasion of childish behavior.  This time, it was Tony Battie, 
pushing his luck right over a cliff by aggravating the ref like the Coyote 
after the Road Runner.  Battie had called for the ball under the hoop and 
got it, but it went out of bounds off Tony.  He loudly complained, drawing 
a quick "T", and immediately kicked the ball at the ref, which got him 
tossed.  I looked at the replay on freeze frame, and the ball DID go out 
off Battie--he claimed he was fouled on the arm, which sent the ball out of 
bounds.  He might have had a case there, but it was close, and certainly 
not worth getting booted over.  Kicking the ball at the ref who just gave 
you a "T" is stupid.  Foul or no foul, Tony should have let it go after the 
first "T" and walked away.

Some of the Celtics have been doing that sort of thing lately, and it comes 
off as childish and unprofessional.  Passion for the game is one thing, but 
they need to keep their heads--and the rest of their bodies, for that 
matter--in the game.  This action now forced Vin Baker--himself foul prone 
at the best of times--to go back in for extended minutes.  Speaking of 
Vinnie, Battie and Walker could learn a lot from his reaction to fouls.  He 
obviously doesn't agree with all the calls, but he just goes back to work, 
and plays harder.  Tony had a really bad night, and topped it off by 
behaving like a jerk.  Maybe after he cooled down he realized how silly he was.

Of course, the crowd got into it, and the Celtics responded by playing 
harder.  The game was still close, and showed no signs of being an easy win 
for either team.  Boston was shooting 50% in the quarter so far, while 
Orlando was down to 20%. with 4:30 to go.

Walker was leading the way for Boston with a 6 point run of his own, 
matched by Tracy McGrady's 6 straight.  Then Miller tossed in his fifth 
three like it was an open layup.  That made it 73-65 Orlando with 2:44 to 
go in the quarter.

Vin Baker somehow picked up what might charitably called a pass from 
Shammond around his ankles and turned it into two points.  This helped 
Boston to a 30-12 lead in paint points, as Vin was having a really good 
game, collecting another defensive rebound on the next play.

But Orlando extended it's lead as the quarter ended with a score of 75-69.

By this time, the Celtics were shooting 27-58 for 47%, while Orlando was 
25-60 for 42%.  The Magic were still out rebounding the Celtics 35-31, 
while Boston held the edge in threes, 7-20 vs. 6-13 for Orlando.  The good 
news on the free throws was that they Celtics hadn't got any worse since 
halftime.  The bad news was it was due to not having any trips to the line 
in the quarter, still at 8-16, while the Magic were now 19-23.  It might 
yet come down to those missed chances at the line.


Fourth Quarter:

Orlando opened up with a hoop by McGrady, and Pierce responded by a basket 
plus the foul, a welcome improvement since he'd been scoreless in the third 
quarter.

The Magic still proved prone to turnovers, but it was now imperative that 
the Celtics start taking advantage of that with points.  They did, as Eric 
Williams sank a three.  But Eric immediately made a silly defensive foul as 
the shot clock was running down.  After another shot clock reset, Horace 
Grant hit his first hoop of the night.

Walker still hadn't wiped the ice off the ball, and kept turning it 
over.  I wondered if it was that injury he had in the Friday game that left 
his hand in ice at the end of the night.

The C's defense was tighter, and whatever problems Walker may have holding 
the ball, he can still shoot it, as he got another basket.  But the Magic 
were tough too, perfectly willing to go to the floor for the ball.  With 6 
minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the score was 83-80, Magic 
leading.  Then Eric Williams hit an amazing shot that drew a 
foul.  Following a timeout, he hit the free throw (YAY!) to tie the game at 83.

By the way, they showed a courtside replay of an errant pass from Darrell 
Armstrong, that bopped a guy in the front row and spilled his beer all over 
him.  He smiled ruefully and drank what was left in the cup.  Someone was 
nice enough to get him a towel (and hopefully, a fresh brew).

A minute later, Pierce reestablished the tie by hitting two free 
throws.  I'm not trying to make Pierce look good--he was one of the only 
people for Boston shooting with some consistency at the line.  It was now 
85-85 with 4:55 to go.

Pat Garrity picked this time to successfully score points, giving Orlando 
the lead.  Pierce then went to the hoop and was fouled on the made 
basket.  He hit the free throw (YAY!)

By this time, the refs made it clear that bloodless fouls were no longer 
being called as there was 3:25 to go and the score was again tied at 91.

Walker drew the defense made a really nice pass to Delk, who called for the 
ball, then missed a wide open three.  I wish he'd come in a few steps, and 
he'd have had an equally open--and easier--two.  I've been seeing more and 
more of Walker recognizing the passing options, and if the recipients start 
hitting more consistently, he's going to pile up assists and drive 
defenders buggy.

With 2:39 to go, Pierce drew a foul and went back to the line.  He hit both 
and tied it up at 93.  The Magic turned it over, and Walker obliged with 
two more.  With 1:41 to go, the Celtics had a 2 point lead and the 
ball.  But Orlando ripped down the rebound off Walker's miss, and called 
timeout with 1:15 to go.

After the timeout, Orlando took the ball in at halfcourt, and after a nice 
screen, took a deep two that missed.  Walker took the rebound and the 
Celtics proceeded to annoy me by taking another one of those leisurely 
jaunts toward the offensive end.  Boston couldn't decide what shot to look 
for with 2 seconds on the shot clock,  when Orlando tied them up for a jump 
ball with 41.3 seconds to go.

The jump was eventually controlled by Boston as Walker retrieved what 
everyone agreed was a really bad toss by the ref.  Pierce's jumper rimmed 
out and Orlando took the rebound with 27.8 seconds left, but Miller lost it 
out of bounds back to Boston.

After a 20 second timeout, the Good Guys took it inbounds and decided th 
gamble running the clock with a 2 point lead.  But Delk's shot went into 
the teeth of a triple team and a shot clock violation occurred.  There was 
now 3.8 seconds left, and Orlando called time trailing 95-93.

It was imperative that Boston do two things defensively--stop the three and 
don't foul anybody.  Orlando needed a good shot.  There was enough time 
left to take a dribble or two for shooting possession.

Orlando inbounded to MacGrady, who missed, but got his rebound to tie the 
game with 1.3 seconds to go, giving Boston one last chance to win 
it.  There was a case to be made that Orlando had a five second violation, 
but I couldn't hear the whistle that started play.  It was VERY 
close.  there was also, to be fair, a case for Pierce to have fouled 
McGrady on the face--but no ref who likes breathing calls those fouls.

The Celtics promptly called a timeout to set up a catch and shoot from 
halfcourt.  Eric Williams was the only one who could get open to receive 
the inbound pass, but his last moment heave was well-defended and short of 
the hoop, sending the game to overtime with a 95-95 tie.


OVERTIME:

The good news was that the C's were 2-0 in overtime games this season, most 
recently a double OT win three weeks ago against the Hawks.  Orlando hadn't 
played an overtime session yet this year.

The C's had the first chance to score in OT, but Pierce missed.  Then 
Orlando also missed.  Tony Delk took the rebound and fired a three from the 
top of the key to give Boston a 98-95 lead.  Orlando missed again--they'd 
do that a lot in OT, they only scored a point when DeClercq went one for 
two at the line.

Boston then went back to work on offense as Pierce hit one of those weird 
off balance shots that he makes look like he does those all the time.  Oh, 
yeah....I forgot.  The C's now held a 100-96 lead with 2:29 to go as 
Orlando called timeout.

The Magic then took the ball at halfcourt and went to Miller for a three, 
but his miss rebounded long and Eric Williams nearly had his face become 
one with the scorer's table as he skidded face first, hands outstretched to 
try to retrieve the ball.  The Magic retained possession with 2:17 to 
go.  Garrity missed his three from the same spot Miller did, near the elbow 
of the arc, and the Good Guys took the rebound and went back on the offense 
with less than two minutes to go.

Walker hit a shot clock three with the defense in his face and Orlando 
couldn't answer at the other end as Delk eventually recovered the rebound 
with 1:25 to go.  They fired the ball in to Delk, who had sneaked under the 
hoop where Tony Battie usually camps out for an easy two, making it 105-96 
with 1:05 left in OT.  Orlando called timeout to regroup as the Celtics had 
the game in hand with a 10-1 run.

But there was a lot more game left.

Following the timeout, McGrady went to the hoop, but the shot didn't go and 
Boston took the rebound with 57 seconds to go.  Then the 
Celtics--again--took their sweet time moving the ball up.  This time, the 
Magic were ready.  Tony Delk , who was bringing the ball up, was stripped 
at the halfcourt line by Armstrong and had to foul to prevent a 
layup.  Grant Hill went to the line with 46.1 seconds to go and sank both 
shots, cutting the Celtics lead to 7 points.

It was now time to start the parade to the free throw line, as Orlando made 
two quick fouls to send Paul Pierce to shoot two with 44.7 seconds.  He 
went one for two.  (AAUGH!)

The Magic called time to set up a quick offense.  Miller made a catch and 
shoot for a deep two.  the C's had to call time due to difficulty 
inbounding with 42.5 seconds left.

At halfcourt, the Magic sent Waltah! to shoot two, and he went one for two 
(AAUGH!)  The Magic zoomed upcourt and Garrity launched a three that 
missed, but Eric Williams forgot the brakes again and made a loose ball 
foul with 37.1 seconds left and Boston still leading 107-100.

Armstrong went to the line and went one for two, with Pierce getting the 
rebound--and a trip to the line for his efforts.  He went one for two 
(AAAUUUGGGGHHHH!!) and Orlando ran hard to take advantage, but threw the 
ball to someone in the fourth row.  The Good Guys regained possession with 
30.5 seconds to go.

Next to the line was Tony Delk, who made BOTH FREE THROWS!! 
(YAAAAAYYYYY!!!!)  Time was called with 28.9 seconds left and the Celtics 
still ahead, 110-101.

The Magic took it inbounds and Miller hit another three, after which Tony 
Delk was quickly fouled with 24.9 seconds to go.  Tony hit both 
(YAAAYYYY!!) making it 112-104 as Orlando raced back on offense, with no 
timeouts left to call.  The Celtics put some fullcourt pressure on to eat 
up time, and McGrady went in for two with 14.3 seconds left to make it 
112-106.

Tony Delk took the inbounds pass and lobbed it to Shammond at the opposite 
free throw line, where he tried to dribble out the clock, but got 
fouled...*sigh*  He hit both (YAAAYYYYY!!!!) and the Magic ran up one more 
time to make a shot clock three to make the final score 114-109.

It took over 17 minutes to play the final minute of the OT.  The Celtics 
outscored the Magic 19-14 in the "five minute" overtime session.  Will they 
please take the hint and start hitting free throws?

Both teams could have won this game in regulation--Boston with better free 
throws, and Orlando with fewer turnovers.  The Celtics got lucky when they 
weren't good.  Pierce and Walker saved the C's green butts.  Games like 
this are exciting, but I could live with a few boring games, really.  The 
Magic outscored the Celtics in two of 4 regulation quarters, and their 
gamble on the C's free throw shooting came too close to working.

The Celtics were outrebounded by a team that they should have been 
dominating, and failed to capitalize properly on turnovers.  Also, starting 
the game with a three minute scoring draught is not good.  They need to 
work on that.  Also on their )%^@()&(^(@%#)@)%@^ FREE THROWS.

Please, someone--call Bob Cousy, and have him drill the guys in how to 
shoot free throws.

The FGP balanced out, as the Celtics went 39-82 for 47%, and Orlando was 
38-89 for 42%.  The C's went 12-31 from the arc for 37%, while the Magic 
were 8-18 for 44%.

Free throws Boston: 24-35 for 68%.   Free throws Orlando: 25-32 for 
78%.  Good thing the Mavs weren't in town.

The Good Guys were outrebounded 51-42, and 16-5 on the offensive boards 
alone.  The Celtics did outdo the Magic in paint points, but they still 
need to fine tune their fast break and stop strolling upcourt.

The Phoenix Suns come to town Wednesday.

HEROES AND ZEROS:

Heroes:

Paul Pierce:  30 points (on 9-20 shooting), 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 
steals, 2 blocks.  That's your E.C. Player of the Week, people.

Antoine Walker: 28 points on 50% shooting, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 
steals.  I really think his 8 turnovers is an aberration, due to that hand 
injury last Friday.  He's not normally that careless.

Tony Delk: 20 points on 50% shooting, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a 
block.  Very nice work.

Vin Baker: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists--and played 22 minutes with 3 
fouls after Battie imploded.  I liked what he did tonight.  Oh, and he shot 
100% from the field.

Eric Williams: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 steals.  Now that's 
defense.

IN-BETWEEN:

Waltah! McCarty & Shammond Williams:  Both had decent games--not great, not 
terrible.

Zeros:

Tony Battie:  needs to go to bed without his supper.

The Celtics free throw shooting: 24-35 for 68% is lousy.  They need extra 
practice at the line.  Tony Delk and Paul Pierce are excused since they 
went 4-4 and 10-14 respectively.

Celtics rebounding: got beat 16-5 in offensive rebounds?  That IS offensive.

And that's the view from the doghouse.

Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
Please visit the Celtics Beagle Website at
http://users.mfi.net/fluteaphrael/celticsbeagle/celtics.html