Rondo is Long Gone (to Dallas), Time for the Celts to Move On & Accept This Shitty Reality

Here is all you need to know about the current depressing state of the Celtics: their only must-see games anymore involve when links to their successful past return with their new and better teams. As the last link that remained to the 2008 title team, Rajon Rondo played the role of conquering hero last night at TD Garden for his first game back as a Maverick. We all know how he plays in big games and make no mistake, this one meant plenty to Rondo who went off for 29 points (his most in nearly two years) on a career-high five 3-pointers as Dallas crushed Boston 119-101.

Dallas (24-10 overall, 11-5 away) might not be the best team in the Western Conference but the addition of Rondo (6 rebounds, 5 assists) seems like a perfect fit. Barring injuries, there is no reason that team can't make a deep run in the postseason this spring. In addition to the big game performances, Rondo should excel with the wealth of scorers around him: Monta Ellis (22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals), Dirk Nowitzki (17 points, 7 rebounds) and Chandler Parsons (13 points, 7 rebounds). Tyson Chandler (8 points, 16 rebounds, 2 steals) is also still there to do all the dirty work around the hoop.

As always, the Celtics (11-19 overall, 8-10 home) showed the Red Sox how to put together a proper video tribute without going overboard on the awful music and nauseating schmaltz. That was shown after the first quarter where Rondo went off for a career-high 15 points as the Mavs jumped out to a 31-17 lead and frankly never looked back. Boston outscored Dallas 29-28 in the second quarter but the Mavs put it away with a dominant third (33-18). The C's pretended to make it interesting in the fourth (37-27) but come on, it was long over by then.

While Dallas can legitimately think about another title run, the best that Boston can hope for this season is sneaking into the JV Eastern Conference playoffs as the seventh or eighth seed. What a lofty goal, of course any C's fan that knows anything will tell you that ultimately shooting that low is counterproductive to the franchise's return from NBA purgatory (not the worst-hi Sixers and Knicks-but light years away from contenders) to national (not to mention local) relevancy.

Avery Bradley led the Celts with 22 points, while Jeff Green had 18 points and six rebounds, Tyler Zeller put up a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Jared Sullinger added 12 points and six rebounds. All those players are solid NBA starters but none of them were ever nor will ever be All-Stars. Sadly, the only way to win consistently in the NBA is to accumulate as many stars as you can. As it stands, Boston's only hope to get those (since none want to come here in free agency) is to win the lottery (which they are allergic to). Ugh, Green 18 baby!

Tweet

Blowout Losses By the Celtics are My New Drug

I have to admit that in a weird way I'm enjoying all these blowout losses by the Celtics, juxtaposed with almost nightly college basketball games featuring Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle and Marcus Smart. Boston (4-8 overall, 2-5 away) had us worried when they won four games in a row a few weeks back, including a buzzer beater at Miami (explain that), but now they have lost four consecutive games including the last three by 13+ points. Long story short: either they're getting a hang of this tanking business or they are just not that good without Rajon Rondo on the court.

Tonight was their best effort so far in that regard (cough, tanking) as they were down 18-1 to the Rockets (8-4 overall, 5-2 home) at Toyota Center and never recovered in a 109-85 loss. You know the C's truly blow when a stiff like Terrence Jones (24 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks) has a career-best game against them. Haha keep them coming guys!

It was a night for bums to shine as Patrick Beverley added 16 points for Houston. James Harden (15 points, 5 rebounds) and Dwight Howard (10 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals) didn't have to do any heavy lifting. Chandler Parsons had 11 points and six assists while Jeremy Lin scored 11 points with five assists off the bench. Houston will never win a championship with this group but they'll get to the playoffs and be entertaining to watch.

For Boston, only three players were in double-figures (which is music to our ears): Courtney Lee led them with 17 points (always a good sign), Avery Bradley had 11 points and Jared Sullinger notched 10 points and nine rebounds.

If you thought tonight was ugly for the Celtics (and it certainly was), tomorrow night (8:30, CSNE) at San Antonio's (9-1, 1st in Southwest Division) At&T Center should be a complete joke. I doubt that the Spurs would overlook them like the Heat did so you can count on a blowout loss for the C's. Playing a back-to-back on the road against two solid teams is a great way to extend this modest losing streak into something substantial.

UPDATE 11/20: Gerald Wallace was fined $10,000 by the NBA for dropping an f-bomb to the media after last night's loss.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Celtics Show No Signs Of Slowing Down, Win Their Fifth Straight Game

Over the summer and during the preseason when people talked about this being Boston's deepest team in years, this is what they imagined, not the struggles of November and December. For the second game in a row, the Celtics' (19-17, 12-6 home) bench was superb as they helped them beat the Rockets (21-16, 7-10 away) 103-91 at TD Garden.

Boston avenged a 101-89 loss in Houston on December 14 and picked up their fifth straight victory just for fun. The Celts pretty much led wire to wire, however they almost blew a 17-point lead (62-45) from the third quarter as the Rockets cut it to 83-81 in the fourth but the C's hit them with a 12-1 run to end it.

Paul Pierce led the home team with 23 points and six rebounds, Kevin Garnett had 17 points, eight rebounds and four blocks and Rajon Rondo put up 12 points and eight assists. Avery Bradley scored seven points but his real contribution was holding James Harden to 24 points and five assists, seriously. That ended Harden's streak of 14 straight games with 25+ points.

Jared Sullinger had another double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, Courtney Lee added 14 points while Jeff Green scored nine.

Chandler Parsons had 18 points for the Rockets while Harvard's Jeremy Lin notched 12 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Omer Asik had seven points and 11 rebounds but a 1 for 8 night at the free throw line took the shine off his work.

Free throw shooting was a teamwide epidemic for Houston, they went 12 for 29 so that was the primary reason why they lost. I can't ever remember an NBA team having that kind of wretched performance. It was stunning, especially since they entered shooting 76% as a team. The Celtics also shot 8.1% better than the Rockets (51.9-43.8%) from the field which was the other main theme of the game.

Boston gets the weekend off then they basically get Monday off as well since the Bobcats (9-26, 4th in Southeast Division) come to TD Garden (7:30 p.m., CSN) in the third game of a five-game homestand for the C's. Charlotte played well at the beginning of the season but it's been all downhill from there, they are still one of the NBA's worst teams.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Now Is Hardly The Time To Worry About A Silly NBA Game

Normally, after a loss like tonight I would have plenty to complain about regarding the Celtics. However given what happened earlier today in Newtown, CT coupled with the personal tragedy in Rockets head coach Kevin McHale's life recently (his daughter died), everything else seems secondary at the moment and not important in the least bit.

Boston (12-10, 4-6 away) opened its tough three-game road trip (Houston, San Antonio and Chicago) with a 101-89 loss to Houston (11-11, 9-5 home) at the Toyota Center. The Celtics actually led 45-43 at halftime but the Rockets bombarded them in the third quarter (32-25) and fourth quarter (26-19) for the win in front of far from a sellout crowd.

James Harden had a game-high 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals while something named Greg Smith put up 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks off the bench for Houston. Chandler Parsons (15 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists) almost notched a triple-double and former Knick Toney Douglas scored 11 off the bench. Omer Asik (10 rebounds) and Carlos Delfino each scored nine points in the victory.

Nothing came easy for Boston which is what happens when you shoot a cool 40.0% as a team. Paul Pierce led the Celts with 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Rajon Rondo had 15 points, 13 assists, four steals and a season-high seven turnovers, Kevin Garnett added 14 points and five assists while Jason Terry scored 12 off the bench. Jeff Green (9 points, 7 rebounds) and Jared Sullinger (7 points, 6 rebounds) also had their moments as substitutes.

The C's had eight more steals (15-7) but the Rockets shot much better (48.7%) from the floor, with two more 3-pointers (10-8), four more free throws made (17-13), four more rebounds (45-41) and three more blocks (8-5).

Both teams had played on Wednesday but Boston went two overtimes with Dallas then had to travel to the Lonestar State while Houston chilled at home after beating Washington. That doesn't excuse the big discrepancy for fast break points (25-11) and points in the paint (40-32) that favored the Rockets. Their young legs looked fresh while Boston's old bodies didn't seem to have any energy once Houston took control in the second half.

Things only get harder from here as the Celtics go to face the Spurs (18-6, 1st Southwest Division) at the AT&T Center tomorrow night (8:30 p.m., CSN). San Antonio has lost two in a row-which is big news for them-so they'll be fired up or turned up as the kids say these days. This is the second of two meetings between the teams this season, the Spurs won 112-100 at TD Garden the night before Thanksgiving.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

It Takes Another Overtime But The Celtics Win Their Fifth Straight, Tying A Season-High

I won't complain since if there's a perfect time to be unemployed, it's during Championship Week and the start of March Madness. That said, my brain was completely fried from watching college hoops all day by the time I got to watching the Celtics-Rockets game on DVR.

I was pleasantly surprised since Boston (20-17) rallied from a 10-point deficit (80-70 with 5:22 left) late in the fourth quarter to win it 97-92 in overtime against Houston (21-18) at TD Garden.

It was the Celtics' fifth straight win overall (which ties a season-high) and for the second time in a row, they needed an extra session after beating the Knicks in overtime on Sunday.

The game went to overtime because Ray Allen (21 points) hit a 3-pointer that put the C's up 84-82. However, Goran Dragic (11 points, 3 steals) hit the tying jumper with three seconds left after Rajon Rondo (9 points, 12 assists, 3 steals) inexplicably missed an easy layup that would have clinched it. Allen also had a chance to win it at the buzzer but his mid-ranger jumper (right in his wheelhouse) rimmed out.

Paul Pierce (game-high 30 points, 6 rebounds) was the best player on the parquet while Kevin Martin (11 points) never really showed up. Kevin Garnett had 13 points and 13 rebounds while Greg Stiemsma provided an unexpected jolt off the bench with eight points.

The sneaky good tandem of Luis Scola (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Kyle Lowry (18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) kept Houston in contention. Chandler Parsons had 12 points while Samuel Dalembert notched 11 points and 17 rebounds.

It was a game of big swings of momentum since the Rockets led 28-21 after one quarter but the Celtics found themselves up 46-40 at halftime. The third and fourth quarters followed a similar pattern as Houston came out strong (28-17) in the third but Boston answered (21-16) in the forth.

The C's shot slightly better (43.2% to 38.6%) and dished out eight more assists (26-18) which made up for a pathetic effort on the glass (57-38 overall, 14-4 offensive boards). Houston scored seven more fast break points (13-6) but Boston had eight more points in the paint (36-28).

I can't tell you why it's taken this long but the Celtics will finally meet the Philadelphia 76ers (22-7) tomorrow night at the Wells Fargo Arena for the first of three times. For a while, it looked like Boston would have no chance to catch the Atlantic Division leading Sixers this season but they've come back to Earth lately losing eight of their last 10 games. Philly is only up a game on Boston which means a win for the Green would make them deadlocked with two games in hand. The Celts will be tired from two overtime games and back-to-backs but they should be able to get energized for this vital contest.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate