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CBW review: Celtics vs. Pacers, Oct 11, 2003
2003 Preseason game 3, Celtics vs. Indiana Pacers, October 11, 2003
After the first two preseason games ran more like really intense practices,
the C's started to get down to business. After all, this was the
Pacers--the team Boston dismantled in the playoffs last year. Now, they
were coached by former Celtics player Rick Carlisle, and Larry Bird was
back in the basketball business as President of Basketball
Operations. This was a matter of pride for both teams.
As the preseason starts to look more like a real game, so I'll start
whipping the ol' Celtics Beagle into season form, by doing a more detailed
review. It helps that this turned into an actual game. :>)
The starting lineup was a little closer to what I think Coach O'Brien will
be using by opening night. Mike James and Paul Pierce at Guard, Antoine
Walker and Kedrick Brown at Forward, and Tony Battie at Center.
Jumaine Jones is still dealing with the strained hamstring and while Danny
Ainge apparently is hoping he makes at least one of the last preseason
games, the prevailing opinion is that he'll sit until the real season begins.
Indiana countered with Jamaal Tinsely and Reggie Miller at Guard, Jermaine
O'Neal and Ron Artest at Forward, and Scot Pollard at Center.
Kenny Anderson, Jonathan Bender, Austin Croshere, and Anthony Johnson were
unavailable for the Pacers tonight. Any more injuries, and Larry might
have to unretire. (Paging Bob Cousy...) :>)
First Quarter:
The Pacers came out looking fast and sharp, while the C's seemed to forget
how to make an outlet pass. this posed less problem than you might think,
since they also seemed to forget how to run on the break. from the
beginning, it was clear that Rick Carlisle and company knew what it meant
to beat Boston, ans set out to do just that. Tony Battie showed a nice
hook shot, and was moving more smoothly than he had in ages.
But the C's defense seemed to lack the smothering intensity it had become
famous for in past seasons. Antoine Walker was playing closer to the hoop
at both ends, which was a good sign, though throughout the game, he had a
tendency to take on too much of the offense.
In fairness, he does have to unlearn several years of having to shoulder
99% of the offense with Pierce. Paul seems to be getting the hang of
passing out of trouble, while Walker seems to forget to check for the open
man. Part of the problem was that there was often no open man to pass to,
as the C's were running very inconsistently throughout the game.
Kedrick Brown was hustling at both ends, notably tangling with Pollard at
the defensive end. Pierce had the "other" kind of game at first, landing
in early foul trouble. Some nights, you just can't catch a break.
There was one problem in trying to gauge the running/passing game: Fox
Sports New England. For several years, owing to the pervasive slowness of
the Celtics' offense, they would often cut to a close up of a player after
a made basket, foul, etc. they knew that they could cut back and still
have plenty of time to get to the play at the other end. Now, they do the
same thing, but you can't see if the C's are really running or not. They
need to cut down on all the closeups and go to more fullcourt shots. I
know, I know, it's not like anyone at FSNE is reading this. But if anyone
out there knows the director, maybe a whisper or two would be a nice thing,
hm? Thanks.
There was one play early in the quarter, where Antoine passed off the ball
just over halfcourt, then motored down the side toward the hoop. Another
pass got the ball to Battie at the top of the key. Now, there was NOBODY
underneath as Walker sprinted from the strong side. Battie had the ball in
both hands, and fired the ball high and hard before Walker had even reached
the lane. The ball was thrown too far ahead of Walker, who had to lean
over to catch it one-handed, flipping it up toward the hoop as he went
by. Had Battie waited one more second, he would have met Antoine in midair
for a layup. Instead, Pollard made the easy rebound, and eight seconds
later, Jermaine O'Neal had two poionts.
This was the kind of thing that plauged the C's throughout the half. Bad
shooting, sometimes a result of bad passing, othertimes, just the result of
bad shooting. The decisionmaking was suspect for just about everyone.
There were also more turnovers, one of which occured when Pierce, facing a
double team from the hoop, tried to pass out toward Walker--but Antoine was
moving toward the hoop! Yeah, I was surprised, too. That may be part of
the reason Walker backslides a bit--he's impatient, and wants stuff to work
right away.
Meanwhile, Tinsley was increasing the Pacer lead, which was now in double
digits. The next trip down, Pierce tried to pass back to an open James in
the corner--Indiana was really packing the hoop--but it was deflected. I
could see that Pierce, among others was TRYING to do the right thing, but
the timing is still off.
Kedrick Brown decided to start taking charges, and while the first attempt
was called against him, things worked better later on.
Tony Delk came in as Kedrick picked up another foul. At last, a chance to
see what Delk might do.
The C's were starting to play scrambling defense, and it was working--well,
a little. I realized a reason that the long pass might not be used
here--Indiana was really moving on defense, and picking off passes at the
offensive end. If they started doing that at OUR end, it was going to be a
massacre. So I contented myself if the C's actually dribbled fast.
One thing I liked was that Walker DID keep going to the hoop, and on one
occasion, Battie was right behind him for the cleanup rebound. I've been
noticing more an more that the C's are trying to do some work on cleanup,
and if they get the timing right, there'll be a lot of quick, easy scores.
Pierce made a nice move, drawing the defense to the arc, then firing the
ball into Tony Battie. Tony ended up at the line. Another example of how
I see Pierce learning when to pass. I'm hoping as a matter of pride,
Walker will follow suit.
The Pacers kept capilalizing on the C's help defense, finding the open man,
and frequently going to the line. One thing I noticed was that while the
C's weren't really running upcourt, once they GOT there, they did move and
pass well. The problem was, by that time, the defense was there. The C's
have to keep the pedal to the floor, end to end, for this running game to work.
But it was starting to look like a loooong night for the Good Guys. With
4:57 left, Pierce got hit with his third foul, and was summoned to the
bench. Banks came in for James at the same time.
Eric Williams managed to disrupt Ron Artest a bit, which was nice to
see. For the most part, Artest--as usual--got away with felonious assault
on Pierce, who will probably need a body-sized icepack tomorrow.
Then Vin Baker showed up. He didn't take over the game or anything, but I
began to realize that he was consistently involved in plays at both ends of
the court, moving well, and generally making things a little better. He
immediately got a reboung, and O'Neal goaltended his shot. He went to the
line in the process, making the shot. It was an amazing improvement. He
moved SO much, that he got caught on a defensive three seconds as he was
covering two players from the lane. To his credit, he was periodically
sticking his arm out to check his distance, but zigged when he sould have
zagged.
One thing that made me proud was to see that on offense, Baker was calling
for the ball! Blount ended up with the rebound, but Baker was right there
with him to clean it up if needed.
Eric Williams was unable to contain Ron Artest one on one, and Artest took
full advantage. With 2:32 left as timeout was called, Indiana led 27-15.
When time went back in, Tony Delk showed he was willing and able to run
upcourt, and wasn't afraid to shoot the ball. Mark Blount then began a
series of trips to the free throw line, doing pretty well.
Banks still needs work recognizing the open man, but the C's did run faster
in the last part of the quarter.
The first quarter ended with the Pacers ahead, 31-20.
Second Quarter:
The C's started by committing another turnover. I know that in an uptempo
game, there's going to be more of those, but it still hurts to see.
Then, Vin Baker showed his head as well as his feet were in the game, by
scooping up a loose ball and immediately passing it upcourt to Banks, who
took off. Baker was moving so fast, that when Banks' jumper missed (due to
a foul), Vin grabbed the rebound.
Delk sat in favor of Kedrick Brown, having accomplished little in his time
on the floor. Kedrick quickly put a body on Ron Artest. I'm glad someone did!
Then, when Kedrick--on one of the few fast breaks--missed, Vinny was there
to clean up for two. After a timeout, he took the ball into a double team
for a finger roll and a trip to the line, where he missed the free
throw. That's one of the few problems I see with Baker--as well as the
rest of the team--is consistently making free throws. Speaking of Vinnie,
he finished with eight points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal. His
scoring average--in preseason--is steadily rising over his meager 5.2ppg
last season. Go, Vinny!
For some reason, Kedrick is not a considered target for the C's offense,
even though he proved adept at scoring on several occasions during the
game. In general, the C's need to work on finding the open man.
Foster made a nice spin move for a basket--even though in the process, he
spun Blount to the floor. Well, it's preseason for the refs, too. A
timeout was called with 8:46 left in the half, with Indiana still leading,
35-26.
Following the timeout, Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn announced that
Celtics Team Physician Dr. Arnold Scheller, with the team since 1987, was
called back to active duty in the armed forces. Best wishes to him and to
all who serve, that they might come home safe and well.
Tony Delk came back in, and at least was noticable. I'm not sure what he's
going to do this season, after only one preseason appearance to date. At
least he looked like he was in shape.
Waltah came back in, and Tommy announced that Walter had told him that he
had "a bum knee", some kind of water problem, heretofore unmentioned. What
this means for McCarty, I have no idea. Walker came back in for Vin, while
Pierce remained on the bench.
The C's did show what their offense could do, as Battie smartly bopped the
ball out to Banks, who fired it to Delk, who lobbed it back for an alley
oop to Battie, who had zoomed hoopward while everyone expected Delk to
launch a three.
This bears mentioning specifically--the Celtics were NOT forcing the three
in this game. While there were one or two attempts I would quibble with,
overall, the team was much more restrained than in past seasons. Be still
my heart, we might be going to the hoop this year!
With 6:02 left after a timeout, the Celtics had closed to Pacer lead to
38-33, and began clamping down on the defense a bit. Jermaine O'Neal
elbowed Battie three times enroute to the hoop, but guess who went to the
line?
The C's shooting woes continued, as Walker missed a decent hook and Blounts
rebound also failed to go in. The Good Guys need to make those shots.
At this point, Antoine started forcing his offense a bit, but given the
poor shooting performance overall, I can see why he might feel the
burden. But as mentioned previously, he NEEDS to look for the open man,
not try to do it all himself.
Delk exited in favor of Eric Williams. Neither player did a whole lot,
though Ewill was a little more effective by comparasion. With 3:40 left,
the score was now 42-38, and the C's were coming alive.
In a reversal of last season, Blounnt picked up his third, and Baker came
in to replace him. I don't think Vin will be starting, but at least he's a
solid player off the bench so far.
One complaint as an aside--shouldn't there be a rule against the sound
system playing aggravating music during the game? Yeek.
Waltah blew a pass to Baker by firing it somewhere between Vinnie's ankles
and knees. I like Waltah, but he's just not showing me the stuff he had
last season.
As the quarter wound down, the Pacer lead opened up, heading back into
double digits. But the C's defense got a little better, forcing a
24-second violation.
If Mike James is such hot stuff as point guard, why isn't he moving the
ball upcourt faster???
Halftime arrived with the Pacers maintaining their longtime lead at 54-45
as Miller hit another of his zillion free throws.
HALFTIME:
The halftime featured part one of an interview of Bill Walton by Tom
Heinsohn during this year's Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. Bill is
making up for all the years when he didn't speak by overelocution at every
opportunity. But it was interesting to hear him recount the fact that the
very last time he played basketball was against new inductee Robert
Parish. It was a summer game at Hellenic College, and Walton Broke his
finger trying to defend Parish. While rehabbing on the exercycle, he
suffered a stress fracture of his foot, and never played again. He
eloquently stated that the C's gave him not only his career back, but his
very life. He proclaimed himself a lifelong Celtics fan.
Walton, something of a "homer" predictably stated his belief that the C's
were on the verge of a "Renaissance", and felt that "everything is in
place". If Tommy retires, Big Bill will be ready and waiting, and poor
Mike Gorman will never get a word in edgewise on the air again. :>)
Statswise, The C's shooting had improved dramatically, to 39%. Yes, people
that was, in fact, an improvement. Too bad Indiana was shooting at
48%. The Pacers took more free throws, though Boston made more of theirs
percentagewise, 21-27 and 13-17 respectively. Indiana held a slim 22-19
rebounding edge, but blew Boston away with an 11-4 edge on assists. Boston
had more bench points, but that was because Carlisle had gone with his
starters most of the way. The C's had only 5 transition points to Indy's 13.
Things would have to improve for Boston, or this game was a goner. I was
amazed that the score was this close, given how well the Pacers were
playing. They still have a tendency to throw the game away sometimes.
Third Quarter:
The Pacers tried a fast break, but Blount put a quick block to that
idea. The Pacers ended up taking a long three that rebounded to Kedrick
Brown. Pierce, who had just re-entered the game, took it to the hoop for
two. He then went to the free throw line, which he missed.
Blount then got a steal, and fired to Banks, who really ran toward the
hoop. He missed, but Pierce and Kedrick Brown jumped in tandem for the
rebound. Pierce got a nice rebound but his attempt to pass inside was
poorly timed. Again, the C's need to work on the timing of their passes.
Pierce then made a mental mistake as Jermaine O'Neal rode him out of
bounds with no call. Pierce got tired of grinning and bearing it, drawing
a "T" for his reasonable request that O'Neal might be prohibited from
angling Pierce headfirst into the basket support. Heinsohn commented about
Artest's physical proclivities, but it was--this time--O'Neal who did the
dirty deed, not Ronnie.
This energized Pierce, but then he tried to do too much, trying to take on
Ron Artest one-on-one. That's not a good idea, unless you hit him with a
two-by-four first. Pierce normally plays smarter, but his temper was
obviously getting the better of his common sense for a bit here. The
Pacers used this to advantage, opening up their lead once more.
One thing helping the Pacers is they kept hitting threes at opportune
moments, though I think they relied too much on outside shooting. Had the
C's been playing a little better, they would have destroyed the Pacers.
As it was, Antoine Walker also looked a bit foolish, trying to dribble into
a triple team instead of out of it. Things were looking worse and worse,
as with 6:23, Walker hit a forced three to make it 68-50, Pacer lead. The
C's followed up with a 24 second violation. It was looking really bad for
Boston.
A short discussion later, the starters--who had been pulled en masse for
ineffectiveness--came back and good things started to happen. The C's
defense picked up, and Pierce drew the defense and passed out. Battie was
fouled on his way to a dunk. He made his free throw (YAY!), and the C's
began clawing their way back. There was still a problem as Pierce kept
trying Artest straight up, which won't work.
But Kedrick Brown was wide open on consecutive plays for easy
baskets. Here's an idea--pass the ball to Kedrick.
Jermaine O'Neal still takes several days to shoot a free throw.
The refs called a "T" on Antoine, probably for saying something untoward.
But for some unknown reason, Ron Artest was no longer guarding Pierce--Fred
Jones was. That is, Fred was trying to guard Pierce. For all the good he
did, I might as well have been guarding Pierce.
Walker was still forcing his offense, but at least he was getting slightly
better results. The last minute was a series of free throws, before
consecutive plays ensued without fouls called. When the third quarter
ended, the C's had cut the lead from 21 points to 8 points, as Indiana led
76-68.
Fourth Quarter:
The C's defense kicked up more, and Artest finally got called for a
foul. Pierce finally calmed down, and passed out of the defense to Banks,
who showed he could hit a three in a timely manner. Amazingly--and largely
due to the surge at the end of the third quarter--the C's shooting had
jumped to 44% over the course of the game.
Blount took yet another charge, and Pierce started playing smarter--and
with better results. The rest of the team moved better and set picks. The
Pacers were content to shoot from outside--the problem is, they were
hitting pretty well.
Blount also showed me something offensively, going into the boards. I was
surprised to see Artest on the bench as Pierce played better. I would have
expected Artest to be glued to Pierce through the final quarter.
Pierce would have had a loud dunk, but for an uncalled foul. By the way,
Tommy Heinsohn was working himself into midseason form--or a coronary--over
the refs. Pierce was obviously dealing with a sore mouth by now, not the
first time he's been clocked on the play, as we know.
James distributed the ball smartly, and the C's closed the score to 85-80
as timeout was called with 6:39 left in the game.
Walker had a funny moment, as he pelted toward the hoop, drawing the foul
that sent him out of bounds, but Walker spun and ended up sitting in an
empty seat under the hoop! He went to the line, and made both, (Yay!!)
The C's defense produced a fast break, when Walker kicked the ball out to
Banks, who was open in the corner, and Marcus tied the game at 85.
Following a Pacer turnover, the C's nearly got a shot for Pierce, which
didn't go in. Harrington then threw the ball away, and Boston came back
determined to do better, and Eric Williams gave the C's their first lead of
the game (and, for all I know, of the preseason) with 4:52 left in the game
at 88-85.
In a scene eerily reminiscent of last year's playoffs, Rick Carlisle did
NOT bring the starters back in. Win or lose, the guys on the court were in
the game until the end, it seemed.
The C's did make one mistake as a team--they encouraged Pierce to shoulder
all the offense. They really should have given him some passing options,
and their failure to do so allowed Indiana to focus all their attention on
Paul. This made it a lot tougher for him to get a decent shot.
Also, the C's did NOT run as a team in the closing minutes. Too often,
there were only one or two Celtic players on the break, and that wasn't
enough against a coordinated Pacer defense. Even though the Pacers
committed more turnovers, the C's failed to properly capitalize on a
consistent basis. Eric Williams scored what would be the final points for
the C's with 3:17 left in the game. The annoying thing is that Indiana
would only score two points in the final three minutes--on free throws.
The C's defense was working, but the offense was not up to snuff at the
close of the game. It's not like the Good Guys didn't get their chances,
including a play where Blount was literally thrown to the floor while
shooting with no call. This set off Heinsohn at full volume, and while I
agree with him, this wasn't the only opportunity Boston had.
Blount then took another charge, and at the offensive end, kept the ball
alive by slapping it out to Walker. Antoine was about to be triple teamed,
and backed out a bit until he only faced Foster, ten went back in a bit and
a good looking three. He had a couple of passing options, but this shot
looked decent when it started, and just missed off the back rim.
Eric Williams made a nice defensive play at the other end, Blount passed it
up from the floor, and a fast pass up the sideline to Walker almost capped
a brilliant play--but for one problem. When Walker got the ball, there
were no teammates to help him, and when he caught the ball, the defense had
cut him off from the hoop, with a double team forming. Only Pierce was
anywhere near, but on the other side of the court with no chance to receive
a pass. Walker drove to the hoop, hoping to draw the charge, but it went
the other way. There was 1:16 left and with the score 91-90, there was
still time for the C's to pull it out.
The C's defense forced Harrington into a bad shot, and with 55.3 seconds
left, the C's had the ball. They passed up to Pierce--the only one really
moving up the floor--and he tried to sweep in from the side, but the entire
Pacer team converged on him, and got the rebound.
The C's rebounded a Pacer miss with 24.3 seconds left, and Pierce zoomed
upcourt once more. Banks DID keep up this time, and was open, but Pierce's
passing angles were cut off. He was able to reach Williams at the top of
the key, who gave it back to Paul almost as fast. It was clear that Pierce
was being encouraged to shoot, though Banks was still wide open on the
other side, and I was SURE that Pierce would fire it off to Marcus, who had
made that shot several times tonight.
Pierce was hit several times as he tried to go to the hoop, and ended up
taking an off-balance three that missed everything. It might have been the
chop to the shoulder he took in mid-shot. Indiana took possession on the
shot clock violation as the refs added a second to the clock, leaving 2.3
seconds left in the game.
The C's tried to prevent the inbound pass, but the Pacers made it in,
barely--I thought it was six seconds but my opinion, coming from Florida to
the television set, was ignored. The Pacers held on to win, 91-90.
Like I said, this was a winnable game for Boston. There were some good
things, like the play of Baker and Brown, and some bad things like the lack
of running and the offensive breakdown. The C's get time to correct some
of their bad habits and rest up before going to Detroit to play the Pistons
on Wednesday at 7:30pm.
And that's the view from the doghouse.
Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
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