Making It Look Anything But Easy

The Celtics barely pulled out a win last night against the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, and were outhustled and outrebounded once again as Boston's big men continued to struggle in the absence of their leader, Kevin Garnett. For the second consecutive game, Boston nearly lost to an inferior team solely because they could not get things done in the paint, allowing Kevin Love to haul in 24 rebounds which is the highest rebound total for any single player in the history of the TD Garden. Glen Davis once again asserted himself as more of a spot-up shooter than as a power forward, as he hung around the perimeter for majority of the game, putting up jump shot after jump shot, and failing to box out Love as he was outrebounded 24-1 in this game. Minnesota seemed to be giving Davis tons of open jumpers, and rightfully so because if Boston is putting up points, I'm sure that opposing teams would much rather have it come in the form of 20-foot jumpers from Big Baby Davis than from the Celtics' style of intricate ball movement, Rondo's dribble penetration, and scoring threats both in the paint and from beyond the three point arc. If the Celtics want any shot tomorrow night when they take on the Western Conference leading San Antonio Spurs, their big men need to get it together.

And when I say that their big men need to get it together, I mean that Von Wafer should not be leading the team in rebounding with 6 in his 16 minutes played, like he did last night. Wafer also led the team with a +16 plus/minus rating, and kept the Celtics in it despite the Wolves leading for majority of the game. However, starting big men Shaquille O'Neal and Big Baby Davis combined for just 3 rebounds last night, and looked extremely sluggish compared to energized Minnesota players such as Love and Darko Milicic. Boston's backup big men outplayed the starters, as Harangody was the only Celtic last night demonstrating an ability to box out his man, and Jermaine O'Neal played some solid defense with 4 very big blocks. It is clear that without KG, energy in the paint has diminished for Boston, and they will not be able to beat quality teams like the Spurs without playing tougher down low. Doc Rivers obviously realizes that this vital energy is currently lacking without Garnett, but he needs to realize that there are other options.

It may lead to some frustrating fouls and and-1 opportunities, but the tough play and energy of Semih Erden is unmatched by any other player on the Celtics. When Jermaine O'Neal was injured, Erden logged some quality minutes and proved that when he is on the court, he likes to dominate the paint. He contests every shot, boxes out his man, and always hustles. Boston has looked incredibly weak down low ever since Garnett went down with his calf injury, and Doc needs to start playing Erden more unless he wants the Celtics to get outrebounded every game until Garnett returns. Doc seems to have a commitment to keeping players at their "position," which is why Erden could fill in for the O'Neals but not for KG. However, big men are big men and the ones that will play tough defense and help win the rebounding battle are the ones that belong on the court. Harangody plays tough, but just does not have the presence on the court that Erden does, and plays much more like a timid rookie than the energetic and confident Erden. Also, Jermaine O'Neal used to be a power forward! He made all-star appearances as a power forward! So what makes Doc think that he can't put Jermaine and Erden on the court together at the same time? The last few games have made me miss Semih, his tough defense, the double picks they ran with him and Glen Davis, and with Boston getting beat up in the paint night in and night out without Kevin Garnett, I think Semih deserves a chance to get back on the court.

Back on Track

Rajon Rondo is back, and so are the Celtics after bouncing back from two straight losses to beat the Raptors last night 93-79 in Toronto. It was much easier to root for Nate Robinson as he was restored to his role as backup point guard, while Rajon Rondo quarterbacked Boston's offense the way he always does for majority of the game on his way to a team-high plus/minus rating of +24. Nate's often erratic shot selection is difficult to watch when he is logging 30+ minutes per game as a starter, but can be employed effectively to catch defenses off-guard when subbing in for Rondo, as defending point guards must guard the perimeter much tighter against Robinson than on Rajon. As for Boston's big men, the loss of KG has really showed in Boston's weak presence in the paint over the last couple of games, and Big Baby is also proving to be a guy that is much easier to root for when he is coming in for KG off the bench as opposed to logging nearly 40 minutes as a starter and putting up loads of questionable jump shots. Big Baby Davis absolutely has improved his shot over the past couple of seasons, but he needs to learn to incorporate this improved jumper into his play without being primarily a spot-up jump shooter. He is too big to not be using his size to put in points on the block, especially against weaker big men such as the Bargnani-less Toronto Raptors.

Davis is going to have his hands full tonight against Kevin Love and his breakout season, who is currently averaging 21 points and 15 rebounds per game. The Timberwolves may only have nine wins on the season, but Kevin Love is a guy that can completely dominate a game in the paint when given the opportunity, and he will absolutely take advantage if Boston is weak on the boards like they were against Toronto. Michael Beasley is also having a very solid year averaging about 22 points per game, and is out to prove that Miami should not have given up so early on the former #2 overall pick.

Nevertheless, Boston is far superior to this Minnesota team both on offense and on defense, and look for Rondo to pick them apart while Paul Pierce and Ray Allen continue to have big scoring games. Pierce was at his best last night knocking down clutch shots and drawing fouls, while he and Ray went a combined 6-8 from long range, so Minnesota players like point guards Luke Ridnour and Sebastian Telfair, as well as rookie Wesley Johnson, will have a very difficult time sticking with all of Boston's stars. The key to this game will be establishing more of a paint presence which has been lacking since Garnett went down with his calf injury. Big Baby needs to stick to his power forward position and stop hovering around the perimeter like a spot-up shooting guard, and Jermaine O'Neal and Harangody need to play tougher defense and box out their men. If all of Boston's big men would exert the same effort that Semih Erden did when he was filling in for an injured Jermaine O'Neal, they could still be a dominant team down-low even without Kevin Garnett. They just need to play hard, contest every shot, and win the battle of the boards. Against teams like the Timberwolves, Rondo, Allen, and Pierce should be able to handle the rest.