Celtic Pride - 03/06/2008
BY Rob Blackstien And they're back!
The Boston Celtics, two years removed from their last taste of post-season action, downed the Detroit Pistons 90-78 Wednesday night to become the first team to officially clinch a playoff spot this season.
Pretty impressive stuff, considering the Celtics were the worst team in the Eastern Conference last season.
It's only fitting that Boston clinched against the Pistons - the main team, most believe, standing in the way between the Celtics and a possible trip to the NBA Finals this year. This crucial win gives Boston a 2-1 regular season series win over Detroit, and therefore the home court advantage should the two teams meet in the playoffs.
Kevin Garnett - the key cog in Boston's tremendous turnaround this season - shone his brightest last night, pouring in a season-high 31 points to lead the way for the men in g! reen. He sunk 13-of-22 from the field (8-of-12 in the first half) and 5-of-6 from the line in 41 minutes of action - by far the most PT he's seen since returning from that abdominal strain a couple of weeks ago, an injury that cost him nine games.
Although he's shot the ball incredibly well, Garnett has generally been a disappointment for his fantasy owners this season. This was just the first time all year he's managed to reach 30 points, breaking his previous season-high of 27 points, set way back on November 9. Besides a massive drop off in scoring, his rebounding, assists, steals and FT percentage have all slipped this season - leading to plenty of frustration. And even as he enjoyed a breakthough offensively, Garnett managed just six rebounds, three assists, one block and no steals last night.
After his big scoring night, KG got the ultimate compliment, running into Celtic legend Bill Russell in the hallways after the game. "I've always said you're my! favorite player to watch," Russell told him.
The Big! Ticket' s big night leaves him just 23 points shy of 20,000 for his career, a milestone he'll look to reach Friday night against the Bulls (who, by the way, are doing much worse than my poor math skills could determine last week).
After falling behind 17-3 from the outset, Detroit battled back to tie the game at 69-69 in the fourth quarter before Garnett answered with five straight points to help Boston take over.
Boston, with six straight wins, is now 47-12, good for a four-game lead over Detroit in the Eastern Conference standings.
There's a genuine excitement building as we anticipate a Boston-Detroit Conference Final.
Of course, Boston has a long road ahead before considering facing the Pistons in the Conference Finals. And bear in mind that playing in the Eastern Final is old hat to Detroit, having competed in the past five. That experience has to give the Pistons a mental edge.
As we dream of a Boston-Detroit playoff matchup, let'! s turn our attention to the rest of the action from Wednesday night.
- J.R. Smith has shot the ball nearly as well as last year, when he experienced somewhat of a breakout, but he's been used exclusively off the bench with the Nuggets having increased backcourt depth this season. Obviously, that's limited Smith's fantasy value this year, but if you need help in 3-pointers, he's your man. Wednesday, Smith nailed 6-of-8 from beyond the arc as he poured in 20 points in 21 minutes of action. He now has nine long bombs in the last two games with 46 over the past 11 games - nine of which have resulted in double-digit scoring efforts. Smith has been getting dumped from plenty of league lately, but if you need outside help, you should definitely consider him, his notorious inconsistency notwithstanding.
- LeBron James put on a s! how at M SG last night, sinking 16-of-30 from the field, including 7-of-13 from beyond the arc, for 50 points in 44 minutes. The King, who added 10 assists, eight boards and four steals, now has 24 double-doubles - just one shy of matching his career mark set in 2004-05. In recording his third straight 30-point game and second 50-point effort of the year, LBJ is now averaging 43.5 PPG in his past two contests. With an average of two steals and one block per game for the first time in his career, you've got to think James has an excellent chance at his first MVP award as long as he can stay healthy down the stretch.
- No Yao, no problem. Wednesday, Houston won its fourth straight without the Ming Dynasty, giving the Rockets a franchise record 16 consecutive wins. Tracy McGrady led the way, sinking 10-of-22 from the field, including 4-of-9 from downtown, for 25 points (23 in the! first half alone) with six boards and five assists. As always, T-Mac's value has been limited by injuries, and despite a strong shooting season, he's been unable to duplicate last year's performance. Houston will need to ride McGrady down the stretch without Yao, however. But as luck would have it, tonight Houston gets a short-handed Mavericks' team, with Dirk Nowitzki out for this one, serving his suspension.
Injury Report
Michael Redd was accidentally head-butted by Kevin Durant last night, an injury that resulted in six stitches on his nose and an early exit for the Buck star. Redd had been rolling, with 30.6 PPG in his last five games headed into last night, b! ut he managed just 15 points before getting knocked out in the! third q uarter. Assumedly, Redd will be ready to roll tomorrow night, but in the unlikely event that he needs to miss a game or two, perhaps Charlie Bell (who had 17 points last night) will finally have some value. Meanwhile, Mo Williams (abdominal strain) remains day-to-day, so Royal Ivey could get another start Friday, not that he has any value, mind you. Yi Jianlian (sprained left ankle) is also still day-to-day, but Milwaukee probably doesn't even mind, considering his injury offered more PT to Charlie Villanueva last ! night, and CV finally enjoyed a breakout contest, sinking a team-high 32 points while adding 11 boards, three assists, three treys, two blocks and a steal. All aboard the Charlie V bandwagon, everyone!
Tip-ins: Chauncey Billups wasn't at his best last night, sinking just 4-of-12, but he helped Detroit make a big comeback when he potted 18 of his 23 points in the third quarter and sunk all 11 of his free throws. His 91.3 percent accuracy from the line matches a career best.Kendrick Perkins is suddenly a hot commodity on the waiver wires after three straight double-figure scoring games, the last two of which have been double-double efforts. He crashed the glass for a career-high 20 rebounds Wednesday (one game after a season-best 12 boards) and has blocked 11 shots over the las! t three games.Rajon Rondo continues to struggle with his shot (6-for-16), but at least he busted his scoring slump with 16 points last night, his first double-digit scoring effort in five games.After snapping his slump on Sunday, Paul Pierce shot well (5-for-9) but took a back seat to KG offensively last night, managing just 15 points. He did nail three treys for the second straight game, however, while pitching in with five assists and a block, so it wasn't all bad news for owners of The Truth.Ray Allen - another big piece Boston added this season - struggled badly last night, sinking just 1-of-9 for three points. He's been hot, so we'll cut him some slack, but what a disappointing effort from Jesus in such a big game.Rasheed Wallace continued to struggle with his shot, but he did nail three 3-pointers en route to 23 points, his best offensive output in almost a month.Richard Hamilton shot pretty well, but with just two trips to the charity stripe, was held to only 15 points last night.Tayshaun Prince's offensive tear ended Wednesday as he managed just seven points, but he pulled down 10 boards and dished five dimes. In very shallow leagues, he may still be available, so have a look.Jason Maxiell was held scoreless, managing just two rebounds and no blocks in only 18 minutes last night. There's no reason to hold onto him anymore.Rafer Alston, after his 21 points last night, has to be owned in all leagues by now.Chris Paul sunk three of the Hornets' 15 treys Wednesday as he put up 23 points with 18 assists to lead New Orleans to another win.With David West (ankle) missing in action, it opened the door for Peja Stojakovic to go crazy, and he canned seven of those treys for the Hornets on his way to 29 points with nine rebounds.If you need some scoring help, Desmond Mason might be worth looking into. He got another 16 last night for his fifth straight double-digit effort.On Wednesday, J-Rich continued his scorching play of late, scoring 42 points with sev! en rebounds and five 3-pointers.With 19 games still to play, Orlando has already matched last year's win total with 40, and by beating Washington last night, the Magic has pretty well sewn up the Southeast Division title.Pat Riley is just about at the end of his rope, calling last night's effort against Toronto "so unprofessional, it's ridiculous." Miami has dropped 29 of its past 32.Andrea Bargnani was involved in a scary incident Wednesday when Alexander Johnson elbowed him in the head sending the Raptors' budding star crashing to the floor where his head bounced off the hardwood in a very ugly manner. It looked very bad, and the Raptors' training staff tended to him for several minutes before Bargnani got up and headed to the locker room. The fact that he was able to sink both his free ! throws before going off and getting checked was a great sign. ! X-rays w ere negative, and while he'll likely have a nice shiner under his eye thanks to Johnson's flagrant foul, the only damage he suffered as a result of hitting the floor was that one his teeth shifted. He'll be fine for next game.With both Kevin Martin (bruised thumb) and Ron Artest (sore foot) out of action last night, John Salmons and Francisco Garcia started for the Kings.Mike Miller returned to action Wednesday after missing seven games with a back injury. He had an immediate impact, scoring 22 points with two steals! , to help Memphis snap a nine-game losing skid. Of course, a season-high 25 points from Hakim Warrick (with seven rebounds, to boot) sure helped.Marcus Banks exploded for a game-high 21 points in 29 minutes off the Heat bench last night. He had five rebounds, four assists and three 3-pointers and looks like a wise waiver wire choice down the stretch.The 14 rebounds were nice, but Shawn Marion was limited to 2-for-7 from the field for a mere five points Wednesda |
