CBW review: preseason gm 7, Celtics vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle <snoopy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Preseason game 7, Celtics vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, Wednesday, Oct 22, 2003
Just 48 hours after The Trade that sent Walker and Delk to Dallas for Raef 
LaFrentz, Jiri Welsch, Chris Mills, and whomever the 2004 first round draft 
pick from Dallas turns out to be, the Celtics had to make their first 
appearance in the Fleet Center since the playoffs.

Some of the fans were thrilled Antoine was gone, others expected the worst, 
especially after late physicals meant that the new guys only had this 
morning's shootaround to be introduced to the C's way of doing things.

Prior to the game, everyone was trying to emphasize the upside, and 
minimize the fact that one of our best players was gone, and many people, 
fans and experts alike, believed that Danny Ainge got taken to the cleaners.

On the other side of the court, Minnesota Coach Flip Saunders was turning 
up the heat on a few of his injury-prone players, not to mention dealing 
with a bevy of new players himself.  It looked to be an interesting game, 
if nothing else.


First Quarter:

The Good Guys went with a starting lineup of Mike James and Paul Pierce at 
Forward, Vin Baker and Kedrick Brown at Guard, and Mark Blount at 
Center.  The nearly-unrecognizable starting linueup for the Timberwolves 
consisted of Sam Cassell and Latrell Spreewell at Guard, Kevin Garnett and 
Wally Szczerbiak at Forward, and Ervin Johnson at Center.

Blount easily won the tip, and Pierce got the first of many assists as Vin 
Baker got an easy dunk just 15 seconds into the game.  This was a precursor 
of things to come for the Celtics.  Things started out VERY slowly on the 
offensive end for both teams, though for vastly different reasons.  Boston 
looked a little shaky on their offense at first, missing a few shots they 
really should have gotten.  Minnesota was either running into a Celtics 
defensive wall, or just taking really bad shots.  The C's forced two shot 
clock violations in the first quarter.

Vin Baker was showing his stuff on the boards, and Pierce was getting 
ridiculously easy looks at the hoop.  James was pushing the floor, and 
Kedrick Brown was getting offensive as well.  The C's were moving smoothly 
on defense, helped considerably by the Wolves going one-and-done on 
offense.  Their offense was SO bad, I was starting to think they'd fail to 
get ten points in the quarter!

The only problem the C's really had in the opening quarter was that their 
offense was nothing to write home about either.  Notably, Pierce threw a 
pass well behind Vin Baker for what would have been an easy 
hoop.  Something I did notice about Baker--especially in light of some of 
the criticism about Walker--is that Vin never takes a low-percentage shot 
if he can help it.  He seems to have a clear idea of when he should shoot 
and when to pass the ball.  I do wish he'd pass a little faster, instead of 
holding the ball above his head, but at least he's unlikely to make a bad 
pass.  He has, however received a few bad passes that could have been easy 
hoops.  The C's need to learn how he likes the ball.

The quarter--and the game as a whole--was summed up for Minnesota as with 
6:10 left, Spreewell was absolutely wide open on the break, and blew the 
shot.  I'm not fond of that attempted murderer, and think he should be in 
jail, but alas, they never pressed charges for trying to kill his former 
coach.  So I settle for him looking like an idiot and hopefully never 
getting anywhere near an NBA championship.  But with half the quarter gone, 
the Wolves had 4 points--2 on free throws.

As the period wound down, the C's began to get their offense on 
track.  While it was sloppy, at least the C's were going inside for their 
shots, not stopping and popping at the three point line all night.  With 
5:14 left, Raef LaFrentz came in, and Vin left the floor to an appreciative 
crowd.  He immediately went to work on the defensive boards, helping force 
a shot clock violation.  At the offensive end, his first shot was an easy 
two off a pass from Mike James.  I'll give James the benefit of the doubt 
that he was trying for Raef and didn't blow the pass to Battie.

While the scoring for Boston was low, five different players had scored, 
which was a huge difference from the Antoine Era.  If this continues, it 
could bode well for the Good Guys.  Another potential benefit was shown as 
Pierce went to the middle and the defense was working the pass.  This left 
Pierce's path to the hoop wide open.  Paul is going to enjoy playing if 
that continues.  Raef took a charge for his new team, endearing him to the 
defense-minded O'Brien.

Meanwhile, the Wolves couldn't buy a hoop, no matter WHO shot the 
ball.  The next trip up, Pierce was blocked on the shot, and passed to 
Raef, who went to the line for two.  Raef needs to work on his free 
throws.  But he went to the floor for a rebound of his own miss, and nearly 
came up with it.  The score by this time, with 3:03 left, was 12-4 in favor 
of Boston.

Only a few fortuitous bounces allowed the Wolves to make the score look 
marginally respectable, and the C's were running well.  Just not breaking 
well at first.  I personally like a pedal to the floor fast break as often 
as possible, but the C's are doing well by moving quickly on a consistent 
basis.

Raef drew a favorable comparison to Kevin McHale by keeping the ball above 
his shoulders on the boards, leading to a couple of quick and easy 
shots.  I have to agree with Tommy on this, it was a wonderful change of 
pace to see a big man who evidently didn't care about the dunk.

The quarter ended with the C's leading it, 14-12 in a remarkably 
low-scoring start for both teams.


Second Quarter:

The second quarter was interesting to watch--and listen to--as Danny Ainge 
joined Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn throughout the quarter.

Quoth Danny on when the trade was first mentioned:  "In August...we started 
talking in August.  Although the elements of the trade were not what it 
started out.  But we were off and on...I was on with Donnie Nelson Jr., a 
lot throughout the summer.  Three team trades, four team trades, a lot of 
different possibilities, a lot of names being bandied about, but ultimately 
this deal came about in the last week...where Jiri Welsch was involved, and 
Raef LaFrentz, and the first round pick...all those things just came in 
recently.

On the timing: "You always have to weigh "is this the right time?", and 
obviously, a week before the season is not the ideal time...this was the 
best trade we had on the table."

As Danny was speaking, Marcus Banks  made a nice cut to the hoop from the 
side for two.

Danny made it clear he is NOT looking toward a championship for Boston THIS 
year, saying "I don't feel that we're close enough to do that.",  and in 
how he described the benefits for Boston as being more long term.  He 
obviously thinks Dallas has a shot at the title this season, and Boston 
doesn't.

When asked "Do you think you would have been able to Sign Antoine?", Danny 
replied, " No. I think it would have been a battle."  He pointed out that 
Antoine was "very upset" about not being signed to an extension this past 
summer.

For some reason, Danny still likes Jumaine Jones, despite that Jones 
reinjured his hamstring.  He feels that Vin Baker was the second best in 
training camp.

As he said this, Pierce passed out to Battie at the free throw line for 
another easy shot.  At the first part of the quarter, Minnesota kept up, 
but then the game fell totally apart as the Celtics began to score, and 
score.  And score some more.

Danny praised Raef once more, leavening his low point scoring expectation 
with emphasis that he's a "complete basketball player".  As he did so, 
Pierce made an outlet pass to Kedrick Brown for another easy hoop.

When Gorman asked point blank if Danny had talked to Pierce about the trade 
beforehand, Ainge--for the first time in the discussion--equivocated, 
saying "If I answer that--Paul is a friend to both of these guys...um..." 
and ultimately declined to answer.  Coincidentally, at that moment, 
friendly Paul Pierce was looking rather annoyed at Wally S., who had 
grabbed Pierce's ankle from the ground to keep him from chasing a loose 
ball.  Banks led Pierce away before things could get ugly, and a timeout 
was called with 8:36 and the C's leading with the score 21-16.

Following the timeout, Danny was praising Jiri Welsch, yet to appear in the 
game.  Boston had outdone the Wolves in paint points, 14-zip.  Raef took 
ANOTHER charge, then went to the other end, hitting a three.  This was the 
beginning of the end for Minnesota.

Pierce stole the ball for a two-handed dunk to open a double-digit 
lead.  FSNE kept cutting away from the action to show the bench, replays, 
and Danny.  I've complained about this before, they HAVE to stop missing 
the plays on this much faster Celtics team.

Kedrick jumped over everyone for a defensive rebound, it's just amazing how 
high up he goes!  Then, as if to emphasize it, he took a pass from Banks 
for a two handed slam.  The C's were off and running as Minnesota kept 
going one-and-done, as Banks went end-to-end, beating four defenders for a 
layup.

Vin Baker got a good defensive rebound and made the outlet pass, which led 
to a flurry of offensive activity on Boston's part, with better--and 
faster--movement that has been regularly seen for many moons.  The next 
trip up, Pierce got it to Baker for a flush.  The C's outscored the Wolves 
22-zip in Paint points, and it just kept getting better.  With 5:27 left in 
the half, Boston was up 33-18.

Following the timeout, Danny opined that "Vocal leadership is overrated", 
and was "so impressed" at how Pierce led by example, especially of work 
ethic.  He looks to Eric Williams, Walter McCarty and even Vin Baker to 
step up in leadership roles.

Danny said that Red's first response to the trade was "What?".  after 
explaining it to him in detail, he reported that Red said it was a great 
deal.  He also quoted Red as saying "I don't understand this luxury 
cap...we just traded a player for a player, it didn't matter how much money 
they made, we just did it."

Then, Pierce once more sent the pumpkin to Baker, who sent it through the 
hoop for two more.  It was getting silly, realizing just how easy it was 
for the C's to score at will against a team that normally gives them all 
kinds of trouble.

Danny feels the EC is stronger this year, and said that if the C's win 45 
games this season, the team will be "improved".

Waltah made his presence known with a three from the corner.  He looks a 
lot smoother now than in previous games.  James then hit a three from the 
other side, off a pass from Pierce.  Pierce got a nice pass to Battie on 
the next trip up, but Tony's shot missed.  I've been on Pierce a bit to 
know when to pass the ball, and tonight, he showed what he can do.

Danny also complimented Jim O'Brien (along with Pierce), saying he hopes 
the team takes on the work ethic and personality of Pierce and Obie, 
calling them "two excellent leaders on our team and in the locker 
room."  He also stated that he thinks "Jim has coached a lot of up-tempo 
basketball".

Ainge paused a moment to admire James hitting another three, and emphasized 
that the team expected a lot of production from the point guards.  Raef got 
a nice pass to Pierce, but Paul had one of his few misses, right under the 
hoop.

Halftime arrived with the Celtics firmly in control of the game, leading 44-26.

HALFTIME:

At this point, the only reason to miss Antoine was to see the Walker 
Wiggle.  Everything was going Boston's way.  The C's were shooting 41% to 
Minnesota's 25%.  Boston was 4-8 from the arc, whilst the Wolves were 
0-3.  The Good Guys held the edge in rebounding, 28-24, paint points, 24-2, 
fast break points, 7-2, and had only 7 turnovers to Minnesota's 10.

The Wolves had fallen apart totally at both ends, only barely keeping it 
from becoming an epic loss.  To the fans' credit, nobody made fun of the 
Wolves.

It was that kind of night.  The only thing that worried me was that the C's 
might give up the run--and the lead--in much the fashion as they did last 
season when handed a significant lead at the half.  I devoutly hoped that 
Boston would keep up the ferocity in the third and fourth quarter.


Third and Fourth Quarters:

Simply put, it was more of the same.  Pierce flirted with a triple double, 
and the Celtics did, in fact, keep the pressure on, even getting a layup 
after the first shot missed!  Baker was working hard at both ends, and was 
the only source of annoyance all night, getting called for cheap fouls.

No matter what combination the C's put out there, they were consistently 
playing well.  Blount made his mark offensively, and the Celtics ran 
steadily, if not quite as fast as I'd like.  By the end of the game, There 
were only 4 points difference between the starters and the bench.  The C's 
were only using the three when it was a good shot--or once or twice on a 
shot clock.  But otherwise, everything was inside.

Things were going so well, Tommy Heinsohn could only muster a slight growl 
when the refs called cheapies on Baker.

I think that Raef meshed quite well with the C's style of play, while Jiri 
Welsh occasionally looked a bit lost.  Given they had maybe three hours to 
learn it, that's not bad.

There's not a whole lot to say in detail after this point.  The C's 
remained in total control of this game.  Not once did the Wolves muster any 
kind of threat to the Boston lead.  Rusty LaRue came in and actually looked 
good out there.  Kendrick Perkins is, as has been said, "one huge human", 
and is playing with more confidence,  Brandon hunter got a few minutes, and 
is coming along a bit more realistically now.

The only major question in the third quarter was if the C's would make it a 
thirty-point lead.

I do think the C's need to practice free throws, as I believe they're going 
to spend more time there than in past seasons.

Vin Baker is playing just a few too many minutes.  He looks a bit tired 
near the end of games lately.  I think they need to ease up on him a 
little.  He's doing well, but let's not kill him.

Welsch did rattle in a jumper off a Banks pass.  There was one scary moment 
when Banks was hit where no one likes to be hit.  He needed a moment, 
understandably, to recover.

After three quarters, the C's led 73-54, were outshooting the Wolves 46% to 
34%, outrebounded them 35-31, and had only 11 turnovers to Minnesota's 16.

By the fourth quarter, Eric Williams made it clear he wanted to join in the 
fun as well.  With a little over nine minutes left in the final quarter, 
Pierce sat down to enjoy the win.  The bench emptied soon after, and kept 
things up at both ends.  When the game was officially over, the C's had won 
by a final score of 96-80.  They looked like they had a great time, and 
stomped on the Timberwolves, leading wire to wire.

Cookies and Crumbs:

Are you KIDDING???  Cookies for EVERYONE!

Also, cookies for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk, as no one should have to 
travel without chocolate chip cookies.

This was, hopefully a glimpse of the present and future of the Boston 
Celtics.  The next game is Friday night at 7:30pm against the New Jersey Nets.

And that's the view from the doghouse.

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