CBW review, 2003-04 season gm 5, Celtics vs. New Jersey Nets

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle <snoopy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

2003-04 season Game 5, Celtics vs. New Jersey Nets, Friday, Nov 7, 2003

Ok, this was a toughie.  I'm starting to feel like a prerecorded 
beagle.  Like the last two games the C's played prior to tonight, Boston 
played well enough to win, "except".

You couldn't really ask for a better time to face the Nets.  They had just 
played the night before and lost.  Several of their players were out with 
injuries and the rest played long minutes the previous night.  Everyone 
knew that the Nets were a lousy halfcourt team on offense and would be 
beside themselves trying to stop a running team.

Boston was well rested, had the kind of defensive ability to make the Nets 
nervous, and had theoretically instituted a running game.  The C's had 
played the Nets twice in the preseason and won--only to have Byron Scott 
dismiss that as a fluke.

So, the Good Guys had the motive and the opportunity to send New 
Jersey--not to mention the rest of the NBA--a message.  Unfortunately, the 
message ended up being, "We're not here right now...".

Bob Cousy joined Mike Gorman and Tom Heinsohn for tonight's game, which was 
like getting a chocolate chip cookie as a reward after the indigestible 
"wabbit food" Pistons broadcast team a couple of days back.  Cooz described 
Vin Baker as "a big plus", whom, I was shocked to learn was leading the 
league in FG percentage at 63.6%.  He was of the opinion that Kedrick Brown 
as a starter wasn't really working out.  He was, I think,being 
charitable.  The fact is, Kedrick hadn't been so hot lately.  Cousy's 
impression of the uptempo game was " I read about it, but I don't see 
it...I don't see the full commitment on the part of the Celtics."  He 
placed part of the blame squarely on the Point Guards, none of whom, he 
stated, had assumed a leadership role.  He reported that people he talked 
to "in the street" loved the (relatively) up-tempo game and found it more 
exciting to watch.


First Quarter:

The Celtics went with a starting lineup of Vin Baker and Kedrick Brown at 
Forward, Mike James and Paul Pierce at Guard, and Tony Battie at 
Center.  Mike Gorman opined that there was no special significance to 
Battie's starting tonight, believing that he and Blount will share the 
starter's spot at Center.  Eric Williams was still out, with Eric figuring 
to be back sometime in "the middle of next week", per Mike Gorman's pregame 
conversation with him.  I'm under the impression that Coach O'Brien is not 
amenable to the timeframe and wants him back sooner.  Jumaine Jones was 
present and dressed, and was reported feeling about "90%", and apparently 
eager to get back to work.

New Jersey sent forth Jason Collins and Richard Jefferson at Forward, Jason 
Kidd and Kerry Kittles at Guard, and Aaron Williams at Center.  The Nets 
were without the services of players Kenyon Martin, Rodney Rogers, Lucious 
Harris, and Brian Scalabrinie.  This shortened the Nets' rotation, but 
everyone in Basketball knows as long as Kidd shows up and plays well, the 
Nets are a serious team.  If Jason ever goes down with an injury, the team 
might as well forfeit games until he comes back.

The C's won the opening jump, and when the Nets disdained to double up on 
Pierce, he rose and hit a jumper.  But Jefferson, backed up deep by the C's 
defense, hit a jumper of his own.  The game quickly developed a problem, as 
the teams worked better on offense than defense, generally trading baskets 
through the quarter.

Then, Kedrick Brown came back.  The fast guy with the Road Runner feet and 
the Tigger bounce.  He took the pumpkin away from the Nets and finished 
with a two-handed slam.  Nice to see him again.

Boston wasn't really running, and the halfcourt game played right into the 
Nets' collective hands.  But within the fact that the C's weren't running, 
they WERE passing, at least as the game started.  Banks took the ball up 
hard, then fired it back to Pierce, who convincingly faked a three.  As his 
defender flew past, Pierce launched the pumpkin got Battie, just beneath 
the free throw line.  Battie split his unsuspecting defenders, who were 
just realizing that Pierce hadn't taken a three, and flushed the ball for 
two.  What was even cooler was that Vinnie was RIGHT THERE for the cleanup 
rebound if necessary, blocking out Battie's back.

But Tommy pointed out quite accurately that the C's were not trying to get 
in front of the ball.  They were letting the ball lead the offense, instead 
of the reverse.  You won't get any fast breaks that way.  On the positive 
side, while they needed to run faster, at least they were a good deal 
faster than last season.

The Nets were scoring far too often on rebounded shots.  The C's were not 
rebounding well at all.  Pierce had a really bad offensive trip, where he 
got the ball all alone on one side of the court, where the entire Nets team 
was ready and waiting to converge on him.  Paul had no pass, and no shot 
open.  No one came back out to help him.  With less than ten seconds on the 
shot clock, he had to do SOMETHING, so he tried to get past his 
defender.  He did beat the double, but the third guy blocked him off, and 
the ball was stripped as Pierce went up for the shot.  This led to a Nets 
fast break for two.

This is a symptom of what he C's do far too often.  They don't have a quick 
shot or pass, and the defense is set.  So they all eagerly get rid of the 
ball to Pierce.  The problem is, the defense knows this is coming and knows 
that Pierce is the only player on the team who expects to bail himself out 
of trouble.  All they have to do is collapse, and make him put the ball on 
the floor.  Pierce does not have the greatest ballhandling in basketball 
history, to be sure.

The C's need to get him the ball either out at the arc where he can take a 
good three, or hit him as he's moving toward the hoop so he can beat the 
defense.  But more importantly, they need to first have the confidence to 
help each other, and second, be available to take the ball back if the 
defense smothers Pierce.  The reason Paul forces his offense is because 
there's still at least a subconscious expectation that he's supposed to do 
just that.  Everyone's head needs to re-learn and realize there HAVE to be 
other options, otherwise they become the Timberwolves.

Vin Baker and Aaron Williams traded hoops.  Neither team was playing strong 
defense.  Fortunately, the C's were shooting almost as well as New 
Jersey.  But there were mental mistakes still.  Pierce received a good pass 
from Baker, and had he spun clockwise--away from the defender--he had an 
open shot.  But he went the other way, and gave a second man time to get in 
his way.  And although the defender was clearly outside the circle--and 
still moving--Pierce was called for the offensive foul.

But the C's kept giving up second chances on those rare occasions when the 
Nets missed the first shot.  New Jersey rarely needed a third try.  FSNE 
has added cameras situated directly above the hoop to get better angles on 
plays close in.  Great.  We have another way to see the C's give up another 
rebound.

Jefferson showed how to push off Kedrick with two hands in the open court 
without getting a foul called.  Nice work if you can get it.  Baker was 
doing well under the hoop, but he could use a little help.  Pierce made a 
nice feed to Vin for two.  The next trip up, they did it again, and Baker 
drew the foul as the shot went in.  The free throw went in, too.

I realize that the C's didn't really draw up plays for Vin, for obvious 
reasons.  But now that he's in the starting lineup, they need to 
deliberately focus more on him as an offensive option.  He's handling 
things well so far.

Once more, the C's walked the ball up the floor.  That's silly, against a 
team that is ready to drop from extended effort.  Make the Nets run 
everywhere, including to the bathroom between periods.  Halfcourt is not 
good for the C's,

Vin got called for hooking, but it looked to me like his defender simply 
moved in front of Baker's off arm, and the ref bought it.  Vin had his man 
beat--he didn't need to hook, and that's not one of his moves, 
anyway.  Partly as a vestige of last season, I think, Vin tends to get 
called for cheapies.

Jiri Welsch came in (along with Raef), and had a nice break, where he faked 
a pass to Banks at the free throw line, then made the shot when the 
defender committed to the pass.  then Jiri went up and actually made the 
pass to Mark Blount for two more when the defenders went for the shot.

Raef then made a pass to Blount.  It was a bit behind him, otherwise it 
would have been a layup. So Blount took a dribble to get set, then put the 
ball up over the defender for two.  Jumaine Jones was there for the cleanup 
had it been needed.

Boston was fighting for rebounds, but New Jersey kept winning the 
fights.  The C's inexplicably relied on a moderately effective halfcourt 
offense instead of running the feet off the Nets players.  New Jersey 
wasn't taking markedly better shots, it's just they were going in.  Marcus 
Banks ducked and ran in for a quick hoop in the final minute.  Then 
LaFrentz actually made a long pass to the accelerating Kedrick Brown, who 
might as well have been yelling "Beep, Beep" he was going so fast.  One two 
fisted dunk later, the C's closed out the scoring of the first quarter, 
with the Nets leading 28-26.  The funny thing was, the C's were scoring 
more efficiently than the Nets, going 12-18, while the Nets were 
12-24.  The Nets had a 10-7 rebounding edge, and there were the free throws 
New Jersey was taking.  That was the frustrating part--had the C's been 
running and rebounding, and playing tough defense--Boston might have 
exploded on the tired Nets.


Second Quarter:

The C's opened up the second quarter with great defense that prevented the 
Nets from inbounding the ball before the five second call was made.  That's 
more like what I wanted to see on defense.  Jim O'Brien seems reluctant to 
use the press--probably for fear of triggering flashbacks to Rick Pitino.

Blount and Kedrick both worked hard on the offensive boards, and Blount 
eventually went to the line for two, making both.  Cousy was taken aback by 
how fast Kedrick got to the boards.  Tommy was bragging on Kedrick's speed 
like he'd been the one who gave him his first pair of sneakers.  Blount 
stuffed Mourning, but the ball caromed straight to the Nets, and Armstrong 
made the next shot.

Then Banks fired a pass inside to Kedrick for an easy two.  Cousy remarked 
that he liked everything Banks had done to this juncture.  And in truth, 
Banks looked a LOT better than he has in previous games.  The passes are 
much better, and his speed is starting to work for him.  He's not there 
yet, but he's noticeably closer than he was to being a good PG last week.

The C's were pushing the Nets outside on defense, but they were still 
hitting most of their shots.  The C's were still not running consistently, 
but they passed well and moved the ball once they got past 
halfcourt.  Then, Mark Blount dusted off a running hook shot, to the 
astonishment of Tommy Heinsohn and Bob Cousy, who remarked, "We've gotta 
take Mark out of the starting lineup more often!"  They're right.  If 
Blount can make that shot on a regular basis, that's going to be extremely 
frustrating for opposing players.

Cousy ststed that Kidd was not a good outside shooter, and recommended 
rushing him on the shot.  Jumaine Jones got fouled on what was a gimme two, 
as timeout was called with the C's up, 34-32 with 8:42 left in the half.

Following the timeout, Jones went to the line, making one of two.  Jiri 
came back in for Jones then, as Jumaine still shouldn't play too much until 
he's a) fully recovered and b) more familiar with the C's style of play 
from a physical standpoint.

The C's had a great offensive stand, where Blount and Raef both had 
offensive rebounds to keep the drive alive.  This gave Pierce an opening 
for the dunk.  That was an emotional boost for the C's and the fans.  But 
Kidd came right back with a three.  Banks made one of his few mistakes, as 
he looked to the bench for instructions and missed a potential outlet 
pass.  A pass to who, I don't know, since the FSNE cameras weren't looking 
up, either.

It looked like Pierce was being used to draw the defense on a fake 
isolation play, which worked.  But the Nets kicked back to hit another 
three.  Cousy realized that the C's plan was to give up the outside shot to 
prevent a back door play, but since teams seemed to be actually hitting 
those shots, that Boston might need to extend the defense a bit to shake 
those threes.

The Nets were on another break when Jefferson pulled up just as the ball 
was being passed his way.  The pass was caught by Jim O'Brien, who held the 
ball a moment and was looking upcourt before remembering he's not allowed 
to start the break, and turned and fired a pass to the ref.  Pierce was 
looking at the ref as he was hit on the arm while shooting with no call.

The C's crashed the defensive boards and came up with the ball.  Pierce 
took the ball from Banks and made a spinning basket off single 
defense.  The C's defense had toned up considerably, and were getting good 
results.  Then Vin took a charge.  He was open at the other end, but the 
C's just aren't yet in the habit of getting him the ball.

Yet, every time the C's played good defense, the Nets came up with a deep 
shot.  Kidd was running faster than anyone on the C's and certainly more 
consistently.  As Kidd was missing a couple of free throws, a lady in the 
stands had a handwritten sign saying, "Hey, Tommy--I've loved 
Walter!"  Gorman wisely refrained from detailed commentary.

Banks did make an error when he took a too-quick three when there was a 
three on three situation and Pierce was open.  Not glaring, but indicative 
that Marcus still needs to work at his game.  Waltah! made a nice spin move 
down the lane, but the shot didn't go.

But the Nets had worked the lead up as the quarter wound down, partly their 
offense, and partly the C's playing halfcourt isolation instead of a 
running game.  The half ended with the Nets stealing the ball off a lazy 
pass from Jumaine Jones to make it 54-43, Nets leading it.

HALFTIME:

The stats showed pretty clearly what was going wrong for he C's.  Boston 
shot 46%, NJ went 48%.  The C's were 1-6 from the arc, and the Nets were 
3-9.  The Nets had a 24-18 rebounding edge, and a 13-4 lead in 2nd chance 
points.  Boston had the edge in paint points, 24-14, but New Jersey had a 
15-6 lead in fast break points.

Simply put, Boston was playing well, but they weren't doing anything to 
stop the Nets from playing better.  The C's were not running, not 
rebounding and not contesting the New Jersey shots.  A small part of this 
could be attributed to the Nets making more than their fair share of deep 
twos and threes.  But there were too many stretches where there was only 
one Celtic player on the boards, like Vin Baker or Mark Blount.

Also, Boston kept going away from their successful offense--where they at 
least move the ball well--and went back to just dumping the ball to Pierce 
and standing around.  Yes, Pierce is the primary offensive option, and with 
good reason, but they're not using him properly.  Making Pierce constantly 
dribble through the teeth of the defense and hope to get to the line is not 
the way to go.  Pierce should be getting the ball only at certain times and 
in certain ways, normally.  When he's got single defense on the break, or 
when he can pass the ball quickly inside to someone like Baker--that's when 
to hand him the ball.

Pierce is not blameless, though.  He needs to drill it into the guys heads 
how to bail themselves out every so often.  Make the defense guess who's 
going to get the ball, so there aren't 3-4 people hanging off Pierce.

Given this, it was obvious what the C's had to do--play faster on offense, 
and contest the Nets at the defensive end.  I know I sound negative about 
the C's play in the first half.  And no, it wasn't great, not compared with 
what we've come to expect this season.  But it's still light years better 
than what they had going last season, especially on offense.  We just need 
to see more of it, and on a consistent basis.


Third Quarter:

The opening possession by Boston was a microcosm of what they shouldn't be 
doing.  banks did run, but nobody else did.  Banks then dumped the ball 
back to Pierce.  Vin Baker had to leave a good position under the hoop to 
come out and take the ball for a tougher shot which missed.

Cousy likes Kedrick's potential, but realizes he needs time to let his game 
mature.  Having said this, we watched Kedrick knock down a three.

Cooz also firmly stated that the C's should "gamble on the back door 
layups" and go after the outside shooters.  To make the point, the C's did 
so, and stopped the inside move.  Baker got mugged at the other end, 
preventing a layup as Vin was inexplicably called for a foul.

The C's were individually working the defense--like Battie--but the Nets 
were pulling away with the halfcourt game.  The C's couldn't seem to 
breathe on the Nets without being called for a foul.

Pierce got called for basket interference on his own shot attempt.  The 
replay showed the call was good.  Then Baker got a defensive rebound at one 
end, then worked to get the offensive rebound of Kedrick's miss, which 
ended up a jump ball.   THAT replay clearly showed two Nets players either 
fouling Baker or giving him extreme hugs.  I don't Vinny's that kind of 
guy, y'know?

Whistle a foul?  In Boston's favor?  You ARE kidding, right?

Vin took the jump, but the whistle blew--at last.  The re-jump was also won 
by Vin, so justice prevailed.  But as they prepared to re-jump, Tommy 
growled, "I'm too old for this.  Am I too old for this?"

"Yes", replied Cousy, "We both are."

As always, Cooz gives you an honest answer.  :>)))

James finally looked up and saw Kedrick.  Brown had to take a dribble when 
he finally got the pass, but somehow made the shot.  James then fed Blount 
for two more, prompting a Nets time out with 6:55 left in the third, and 
the Nets up by 10, 62-52.

Boston finally started moving the ball, resulting in an open three for 
Kedrick, prompting Cousy to wryly remark, "Let's keep Kedrick in the 
starting lineup a little longer."

Blount got a much-needed defensive rebound, then was up the other end, just 
missing on a good shot near the hoop.  But Super Vin was there, tipping it 
home.  Vin then got a rebound, and started the break with a pass, which 
ended when Pierce was left wide open for a made three, and a 13-2 run for 
the Good Guys.
Then Super Vin made another defensive rebound, and the C's crashed the 
boards at the offensive end.  They didn't get the score this time, but it 
was the kind of effort we hadn't seen on the boards much this game, and it 
was welcome.

Then Blount took a rebound, but the C's walked it up.  The problem is, it 
worked this time, as they worked a back door to Pierce, who sneaked through 
the defense for two at the hoop.  Then Jefferson was stripped as he took it 
to Banks.  Marcus motored upcourt and for once, the C's were all off and 
running ahead of him, a three on one break against a long Nets 
defender.  Banks committed the defender to the shot, then left the ball 
back for Blount, who tried to make the ball two-dimensional as he slammed 
it through the net.  Kedrick Brown was there for the cleanup if it hadn't 
gone.  Byron Scott called timeout as the Nets double digit lead evaporated 
with a tie game at 64 with 2:59 left in the third quarter.

Following the timeout, things looked good for Boston.  All they had to do 
was keep doing what they had for the previous few minutes.  The crowd was 
screaming it's unconditional support for the Good Guys.  But the Nets 
picked up a rebound and Kidd did it to them again.  Pierce fired 
uncontested from the free throw line and got it back.

Then Banks stuffed Mourning, but Blount couldn't convert the pass at the 
other end.  The C's hadn't run on that play at all.  But they did the next 
time up, as Pierce went behind the back in midair and got fouled on the 
shot.  His trip to the line yielded two more points.

Cousy praised the C's shooting, but commented that defense and boards 
separates the men from the boys in the NBA.  Raef tried to snag a board, 
but while he missed, the effort was positive, and so for the C's in 
general.  Yet at the defensive end, the Nets were getting to the ball.  The 
fact that some uncalled fouls might have been part of that was perhaps 
relevant.

Pierce put an exclamation on the quarter with another three, as the C's 
ended the third with the lead, 70-69.  Boston had shot over 50% in the 
quarter, going 9-16, while the Nets were 6-24.  The C's had outrebounded 
the Nets in the quarter, 14-8, and had a 6-2 edge in assists.  Despite the 
slow start to the third, it ended with the C's playing a lot more like we 
need them to.


Fourth Quarter:

Pierce was rightly a tad put out when he got literally run over by Kerry 
Kittles--but Pierce was called for a foul.  And they call ME biased??  Hmph.

Marcus seems to be suffering from "rookie reserve" and looking for 
instructions instead of simply blowing past his guy and going to the 
hoop.  Jiri Welsch knew better and tried it, but the shot didn't fall.

Mike Gorman commented that Vin appeared to be even thinner now than at the 
start of training camp.  Looking closely, I think he might be right.  He 
looks almost gaunt, especially compared to last season.  Meanwhile, the C's 
let Kedrick zip down the baseline for an easy two.  But Slay hit back for a 
three.  Banks came right back with a drive to the hoop for two.  NJ called 
time with 9:15 left in the game and the score tied at 74.

At this point, the announcers mentioned Cousy's sale of his personal 
collection of sports memorabilia.  I went to the auction site at 
www.sportscardsplus.com and this is incredible stuff.  Cooz is holding the 
auction to pay for his grandkids' education.  If I had the money, I'd win 
all the items and give them back to Cooz with a thank you note.  I wish the 
NBA Hall of Fame would look into permanently leasing some of it for a display.

Marcus Banks gave Kidd windburn as he blew by when time was back in, and 
Williams had to foul to prevent the layup.  He made both.  Then he made 
another nice shot from the free throw line.  This tied the score at 78 with 
7:20 left in the game.

The Nets started really smothering Pierce, and the other Celtic players 
were faced with having to work without him, but Pierce got free, and tied 
the game at 80 with 6 minuted left.  Boston nearly blew a golden 
opportunity when Kidd missed a shot clock three and Pierce fired the outlet 
pass.  Banks had the ball and Raef moving under the hoop, with Blount 
zooming close behind.  But instead of pushing the ball, Marcus pulled back 
at the arc, and waited for everyone else to arrive.  Aaugh!  But Pierce and 
Raef crashed the boards and Raef got the hoop.

Sadly, the Nets came right back with an alley-oop play nine seconds later.

Banks redeemed himself at the defensive end by outrunning his man to a 
loose ball and running back up with it.  The C's couldn't convert, and the 
Nets came back, but Blount stuffed Zo.  Then Banks got blew by two 
defenders and went to the hoop, but the shot was just short with.  I would 
have said he was fouled, but the refs would apparently have 
disagreed.  Kidd thought he had the rebound free and clear when Raef 
flew--and I do mean FLEW--in front of him to snag the ball.  He drew the 
defense and fed he ball to Banks, who was fouled on the attempt with no 
call once more.  Still, great offense.

Time was called with 4:09 left and the Nets ahead, 84-82.

But the C's stopped running.  At first, it looked like Pierce might pull it 
out, but the Nets gambled everything on defending him, even as Kidd seemed 
unstoppable.  The Nets started pulling away.  The C's were determined to 
pass the ball to Pierce no matter where he was on the court.  Kedrick was 
wide open and couldn't wait to hand off the ball to Pierce.  But even 
though the offense was close, the C's defense wasn't able to stop the Nets 
at all as time wound down.

Banks did try to push the NJ defense, and went to the line, but picked a 
bad time to start missing free throws, as the score was 92-86 with 1:01 
left.  He made the second shot.

But the Nets, as predictably as Boston, went to Kidd.  Banks managed to 
hold him off, but the C's break ended with a strip of the ball.  But in the 
end, the Nets were just out of Boston's reach, and the game ended as the 
Nets won it, 94-87.

Cookies and Crumbs:

Cookies go to:

Vin Baker:  Super Vin just looks better and better.  He didn't have a lot 
of attempts, but that's not his fault, they need to pass him the ball more 
often.  When he had the ball, he made good use of it.

Marcus Banks: when he ran, he was able to beat everyone, including 
Kidd.  He still needs work, but there's definite improvement.

Kedrick Brown: This is the kind of explosive athleticism we've been hearing 
about.

The C's passing game:  when they passed, they did a good job, until the 
very end.

Crumbs go to:

Paul Pierce:  Yes, lots of points, but not enough assists and too many 
turnovers--many due to having the ball in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mike James: James had good moments, but Banks played better tonight.

The C's rebounding and running:  too often it wasn't there when it was needed.

Obie was looking decidedly annoyed at losing the third straight game that 
the C's had a chance to win, had they only done whet he keeps telling them 
to do.  I have a feeling he's going to be tinkering with the lineup if 
people don't start running more consistently.

The next game is on Sunday, against the Sacramento Kings at 6pm on Sunday.

And that's the view from the doghouse.

Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
Please visit the <http://www.celticsbeagle.net/>Celtics Beagle Website