Going into the game against Houston tonight, I knew that the Rockets were a better basketball team than their record indicated, and that they would not go down without a fight. Sure enough, the Celtics failed to put up a fight, and appeared to be fatigued and did not have their heads in the game. As a result, they suffered another ugly loss to a less talented basketball team as team leader and energizer Kevin Garnett sat out another game with his calf injury. Other than a couple of stretches during the second half where it appeared that the Rockets could not miss a shot, the Celtics truly beat themselves in this game, failing to capitalize on turnover opportunities, and committing their own unforced turnovers in the worst possible situations. It was clear that the Rockets could not defend in the paint, yet the Celtics played without energy and desire for most of this game, and settled on too many jump shots. The Celtics had multiple opportunities to pull away, but failed to do so as they were outrebounded once again, and outscored 102-108. To make matters worse, the Rockets were not only without their gargantuan center Yao Ming, but also their leading scorer Kevin Martin. Aaron Brooks did return from his injury however, 
and punished the Celtics with five big three pointers and 24 points. All of Houston's starters scored in double digits, and simply outhustled the Celtics for all four quarters. The Celtics looked exhausted and disinterested in the second half, and expectedly so, as this was their sixth game in the last nine days. However, I just find it hard to believe that they would ever be strolling up and down the court and playing so halfheartedly if Garnett was on the court commanding the defense and pumping up teammates. Each game that goes by makes it clearer and clearer that the Celtics need KG, and cannot function as a dominant playoff-bound team without him. He should be back Wednesday night when the C's take on the Sacramento Kings in Boston, and when he does look for the Celtics to return to form. Rondo, Pierce, Davis, and the rest of the Celtics simply just don't look the same without him.
and punished the Celtics with five big three pointers and 24 points. All of Houston's starters scored in double digits, and simply outhustled the Celtics for all four quarters. The Celtics looked exhausted and disinterested in the second half, and expectedly so, as this was their sixth game in the last nine days. However, I just find it hard to believe that they would ever be strolling up and down the court and playing so halfheartedly if Garnett was on the court commanding the defense and pumping up teammates. Each game that goes by makes it clearer and clearer that the Celtics need KG, and cannot function as a dominant playoff-bound team without him. He should be back Wednesday night when the C's take on the Sacramento Kings in Boston, and when he does look for the Celtics to return to form. Rondo, Pierce, Davis, and the rest of the Celtics simply just don't look the same without him. 
No comments:
Post a Comment