Rajon Rondo registered a double-double, four other Celtics joined him with double-digit points, Kevin Garnett had moments of brilliance, and basically everything else went horrifically wrong.
Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers reacts during the second half of a basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks in Boston, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. The Bucks beat the Celtics 99-88. Jeff Green had just scored on possibly his most aggressive move of the regular season, but when a timeout followed, Doc Rivers could be seen cursing to nobody in particular. He wasn't upset with Green's bucket, of course, but in the midst of a 99-88 defeat, Rivers had seen enough mistakes to summon every four-letter word he knows.
The Boston Celtics' home opener Friday night at the TD Garden turned into a melting pot of turnovers, missed defensive rotations and confused offensive possessions. Rajon Rondo registered a double-double, four other Celtics joined him with double-digit points, Kevin Garnett had moments of brilliance, and basically everything else went horrifically wrong.
The Celtics were outrebounded, 46-36, by a team missing two key ingredients to an already-subpar frontcourt. Tobias Harris had 18 points and seven rebounds, outplaying Paul Pierce significantly, and I could be wrong but I think Brandon Jennings (21 points, 13 assists) might still be somewhere in Boston, drilling fadeaway jump shots and crafty floaters. Of course, Jennings didn't always have to settle for tough shots. By failing to position themselves in the correct places defensively, the Celtics contributed significantly to Milwaukee's big night.
The home crowd didn't even wait until halftime to erupt with boos. The reaction was probably a bit harsh considering it came less than 24 minutes into Boston's first outing at the TD Garden, but then again, the Celtics were quite bad. Every time they mounted a little charge, it seemed, they surrendered a wide open layup or dunk. They scored just 30 points on 30 percent shooting in the first half and only reached 44.6 percent shooting for the game because of a late flurry with the game no longer in doubt.
Pierce (11 points, 3-11 shooting) didn't score his first basket until a minute remained in the third quarter. Jason Terry didn't score his until midway through the fourth. The Celtics still have just as much talent and potential as they did a week ago, when everyone was majorly excited about the possibilities for this season. But the first two outings have not proceeded nearly flawlessly.
Thoughts from Friday night's defeat:
What's gone wrong so far?
It's obvious. Mike Brown implemented the Princeton offense and it's not allowing Steve Nash to make the impact he should.
Oops, wrong team. The Celtics haven't evolved into a cohesive unit on either end of the floor. Their pick-and-roll defense has been particularly bad, often allowing wide open dunks. Larry Sanders probably felt like he was in layup lines, catching passes, stretching out his absurdly long right arm and slamming it through the basket with no real resistance.
Boston's offense lacked selflessness to the extent that Rivers became very much like Norman Dale, the coach from Hoosiers. During a timeout, Rivers implored his players to make at least three passes before shooting the basketball. It wasn't that the Celtics were actively looking off their teammates. They just had all the rhythm of the worst dancer you know, and each player took it upon himself to try to make the team's situation better. Sadly, Jimmy Chitwood won't be available Saturday night when the Celtics play again against the Washington Wizards.
Should we worry? Not yet. This is the same team that, a couple weeks ago, Rondo called the most unselfish he's played for in a long time. It's the same team that returned 80 percent of its starting five (all of its starting five once Avery Bradley gets healthy) and added several proven bench scorers. The Celtics still have Garnett, so defense shouldn't always be a major issue. They still have Rivers, so expect them to improve in every facet.
But yikes. These first two games were ugly enough to crack 15 mirrors.
Darko Milicic's regular season debut, argh
Milicic grabbed a rebound during his first minute on the floor. At risk of missing something minor, it was the last positive contribution he made. When Rondo drove to the hoop a few plays later, Milicic slipped away from his defender for an easy drop-off. If he'd caught it, he would have had a layup or dunk and his first regular-season points with the Celtics. Instead, the ball bounced sharply off his hands, like he tried catching it with a ping-pong paddle.
That wasn't his only sad moment, though. Milicic tried a jump hook from the paint and missed the bucket by approximately the length of four football fields. He also stood 12 feet away on one defensive play, entirely helpless, as his man dunked from right next to the basket. It wasn't Milicic's finest night, but the Celtics can take solace in the fact that he looked pretty good during limited preseason time.
Jared Sullinger showed signs
Sullinger wasn't perfect -- on one of his first defensive possessions, he was a step slow and used the wrong angle to try cutting off a Jennings drive in a pick-and-roll. Jennings continued to the hoop as if Sullinger wasn't there. But after that initial miscue, Sullinger improved, showing glimpses of why the Celtics are so high on his potential.
On one play during the first quarter, Rondo drove into the paint and Sullinger played off him perfectly. When the point guard faked a shot and the defense bit, Sullinger was waiting with his soft hands held high to catch the pass and lay it into the basket. A few plays later, the former Ohio State All-American grabbed a Jeff Green miss and went up for the putback. The putback missed, but Sullinger's wide frame was still carving space for another rebound. He vacuumed in his second offensive board of the possession and got fouled going back up for a layup. His commitment on the glass is a great sign -- saying the Celtics could use a top-notch rebounder is like saying the baby who smells like a sewage plant could use a diaper change. Yeah, no kidding.
Perhaps more impressively, Sullinger also drew two charges, including one where he moved his feet to cut off Marquis Daniels from driving baseline. He's not going to wow anyone with his foot speed, but Sullinger's better at defensive positioning than he's given credit for.
The rookie finished with six points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes. Given his effort and the fact that very few other Celtics provided anything of substance, Sullinger probably should have received more court time.
The new "if the offense isn't running well..." guy might be JET
When the Celtics offense struggled with ball movement last season, Ray Allen often disappeared for long stretches at a time. He needed crisp passing and solid execution to score, because he's not a one-on-one player by any stretch of the imagination.
Jason Terry might earn that role this season. He's a better individual shot creator than Allen at this stage of their careers, but he's not the type to benefit from isolation offense. On the nights when Boston's offense executes well and utilizes all five players simultaneously, Terry should shine as a very explosive complementary piece. But when the Celtics are chucking ill-advised jumpers off one or two passes, Terry might not thrive. He finished with 10 points Friday, but didn't score until the game was out of doubt.
Will Doc Rivers settle on a regular rotation?
It's very difficult to judge Rivers' rotations based on the first two games, mostly because his players largely competed as if they had each downed a 12-box of tacos from Taco Bell before tip-off and could barely run or jump (or close out to shooters) for fear of a terribly bloated stomach. Even the most rigid coaches would have struggled to settle on a consistent rotation during Boston's first two games; Rivers spent most of his Friday night tossing five under-performing players at a wall and hoping some of them would stick.
But if there's a real fear to come from the first two games, it's not the struggling offense or the lackadaisical defense. The Celtics are talented enough they should be able to find their way. The biggest worry might be that Rivers still has a long way to go before figuring out what combinations he wants on the floor.
Example: Leandro Barbosa scored 16 points in as many minutes Tuesday night against the Heat. Upon being inserted against the Bucks, he almost immediately sprinted past the defense for an open fast break layup. He botched it horribly, but the point is that his speed causes problems for opponents. He could have altered the pace, which the Celtics drastically needed to do with the game falling out of their control early in the first half. He could have been Boston's shot of adrenaline. Instead, Rivers left him on the bench. He probably wanted to stick with his more defensive-minded players because the Celtics were surrendering easy buckets. But if there's a time and place for Barbosa, it's with the Celtics down 15 or 16 points and desperately needing the human version of a sugar high.
Experimenting with lineups is useful, and it's still early in the season. With so many newcomers, Rivers shouldn't have a complete understanding of his crew just yet. Just think about all the questions that must go through his mind on a nightly basis:
Should I play Jeff Green at power forward with Brandon Bass at center? Should I play Green at small forward so Pierce can finally get a breather? Do I go quick with Rondo, Barbosa and Courtney Lee? How many minutes should Sullinger get? Can we survive without Garnett on the court? Does Darko deserve minutes? Chris Wilcox? Should we play Terry primarily at point guard? Shooting guard? Do we need KG on the court alongside Sullinger to hide his defensive deficiencies? Where the heck's Greg Stiemsma when we need him to erase opponents' layup attempts?
Obviously (or at least, let's hope) Rivers doesn't ask himself that final question. But all of Boston's versatile options leave Rivers with the most difficult job in New England sports -- trying to find minutes for everyone on his team, in ways that allow each of the players to thrive.
Jeff Green's halfway-good night
Disclaimer: After reviewing all my notes and watching the second half twice, I'm still not sure how I feel about Green's play. He was aggressive offensively, making 5 of 9 shots despite missing three of his four 3-point attempts. He went coast-to-coast for a layup after registering a steal, beautifully blocked someone's shot off the backboard, and had one beastly move in the lane that had announcer Tommy Heinsohn begging for Green to get the ball more often. Green finished with 11 points, showing far more comfort and assertiveness than he did in the opener.
He also notched a team-worst minus-16 rating. Individual game plus-minuses can be the most misleading stat on earth, but Green's seems somewhat telling. He had just one rebound and zero assists in 27 minutes. He got lost defensively several times. He continues to show moments of brilliance, but for now he's like a flickering light bulb -- he doesn't stay bright on a permanent enough basis. That could certainly change. We've only seen two games. There's plenty more basketball left to be played.
Fast break points
- Rondo continues to attack when he has chances to shoot layups. That seems natural, but it hasn't always been the case for Boston's point guard. It's a good sign that he hasn't passed by easy chances so far -- the Celtics are better when Rondo would rather score an easy two points than find a teammate for a possible three.
- Garnett was quite aggressive in the post, a nice change from his debut Tuesday night. He also looked very mobile defensively, blocking a couple shots, violently goaltending another and generally wearing a face like he was running with the bulls... as a bull. Heinsohn noted at one point that the Celtics need Garnett and Pierce to avoid slippage, a very valid point since both have been very good for very long, and are now pretty old. But Garnett, even if he hasn't had a signature game yet, still looks like himself. That's a good thing for Boston.
- Also of note: Garnett showed plenty more love for Marquis Daniels than he did for Ray Allen. Allen received a cold shoulder and a few seconds of being flat-out ignored. Daniels, also a member of last year's Celtics, got a hug.
- Turnovers. Eighteen of them. Each seemingly more lazy than the last. And New England nodded knowingly after each of them, wearing a sick, familiar frown.
- He didn't score until four seconds remained, but Chris Wilcox might have had the night's two most significant points. They were his first since undergoing heart surgery in March. Cheers to Wilcox, who underwent a setback when he suffered back spasms while trying to return to full speed too early in training camp.