Analysis and the not-so-daily links can be found after the jump.
The Boston Celtics intimidate like few other things, much less sports teams. Even without the rabid loon that is Kevin Garnett on the court, the team brims with so many All-Stars, cagey veterans and Rajon Rondos that opponents oftentimes find themselves marveling at some former childhood icon rather than putting up the requisite effort needed to fill the same role for a new generation of basketball fans. The C’s airtight defense and constant molestation allow no team the ability to ease into open shots or good driving lanes. Even the parquet floors at the TD Garden evoke its predecessor and remind those walking along it to look up and be swathed in the team’s endless history (of ridiculous success). Walking into Boston and standing up to its presence and cachet can be daunting, making a team in the midst of a five-game streak of failure missing its best player for the first time all year just about damned before ever getting to step on that gorgeous hardwood. Too bad Aaron Brooks cares about none of this because he cares about nothing. Actually and more accurately, he cares intensely about showing how little he cares for intimidation, pre-game betting lines or basic logic; he intended to win regardless of any of them.
On defense, even without the more-man-than-child, bulging-eyes ferocity of Garnett, Boston swarms and pushes its opponents, easily playing the most aggressive, offensive defense in the league. The same was true Monday night, as the Celtics were good for 13 swipes, a number that would pop off of the page were it not for the measly 16 points Boston created from the Houston miscues. Instead, the Rockets often used Boston’s belligerence against the Celts, getting 26 free throw attempts (and making good on 20 of them) and putting every one of those wide-bodied Boston bigs in foul trouble. The charity stripe treated Houston well against Boston, but so did nearly every facet of an offense that clicked like never before this year Monday night. Houston dropped 122 points per 100 possessions against the best ranked defense in the league, going 50% or better from both inside and outside the three-point arc and doing no wrong. Patrick Patterson continued his award tour by never, ever missing shots (except for that one time he did, when Jermaine O’Neal spiked his layup back to the three-point line, a favor Pat returned later in the game to Notre Dame alum and hilarious-looking fellow Luke Harangody) and being just about anywhere a young, titan-like 4 should. While Patterson got his Luis Scola on from 17 feet, Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries caused hell against the Boston interior and on the offensive boards, combining for six caroms on that end. Those three large men’s constant activity made the Rockets look like a team full of mobile, long bigs for one of the first times in a season that had seemed defined by the athletic pivots of the league reaching above the Rockets and doing as they pleased. Chase Budinger similarly impacted the offensive end, dropping a very healthy 13 points on 6 shots, but his timid defense allowed the Celtics’ wings to get easy foul calls and layups time after time (my friend watching the Boston broadcast mentioned that a mantra of Boston Celtics play-by-play man during the game seemed to be “Going at Budinger again” in that thick New England accent). The defense still seemed particularly strong for Houston against what has been a pretty efficient offensive attack by the Celts, holding the mythic speed of Rondo in check by giving up only three assists to the young headbanded general in the first half (even if he ended with 12) and denying the C’s at the rim often enough to make them settle for jumpers more often than not.
All of this said, the Rockets still had opportunities to hand this one away, and instead, the team put together a fourth quarter for the ages, starting it off 10 for 12 from the field. Though it may just be hopeful conjecture, a great deal of the team’s poise seemed attributable to the presence of Brooks, the tiny, ruthless sniper, who took jumpshots without hesitation or conscience. His 24 points on 15 shots were not often off of screens or even plays drawn up for the returning combo guard; instead, he created looks out of thin air, plugging away without considering the bodies flying toward him or hounding after his dribble. His instincts simply have been completely absent from a team searching for identity throughout “clutch” moments.
I went to the Saturday night game against the Jazz with my little brother, and while walking into the stadium, we noticed someone practicing jumpers in the gym visibly located below the street level inside the Toyota Center. Upon closer inspection, there was Brooks, prepared to play but not deemed active, readying himself for his return to the big time. There was no easing in this time, no limited bench minutes. He started in place of an injured Kevin Martin, matched up against the greatest shooter of our time and gladly jumped onto that brightly lit, storied parquet. And he couldn’t have cared less about any of the circumstances.
Houston Rockets 108, Boston Celtics 102
On to the daily links…
- Rockets fans’ interest in Carmelo Anthony and his ongoing brouhaha have considerably waned since his place in Houston shifted from “potential franchise savior” to “dude who might indirectly help the rockets pocket Anthony Randolph”, but the latest news in Melogate, that he may be dealt along with Chauncey Billups (and, very weirdly, Rip Hamilton) to the Nets (Russian billionaires are a persistent bunch, except that there probably aren’t a “bunch” of Russian billionaires), may or may not be of great interest to Rockets fans, depending on their feelings on what this team as is currently constructed should be trying to achieve. For a fan in rebuild-mode, waiting for more playing time for Patrick Patterson and Terrence WIlliams and maybe even a blow-it-up style trade, this move could frustrate given that it may be the death knell for the New York Knicks’ chances at getting Melo, thus making a shipment of Randolph for their own first-round picks (or even one of Houston’s) significantly less likely. For those hoping to see Houston creep back into the playoff picture after the team’s closest rivals, the Portland Trailblazers, twice bent the team’s will over the last week, this move could completely remove the Nuggets from the playoff picture and allow teams like the Grizzlies and Rockets a chance at the eighth seed that was looking less like a viable option by the day. Once again, Houston diehards might be cheering for Melo to find a new home; only this time, they would probably want that new locale to be far out of the Western Conference. Well, that is unless the Rockets have actually found themselves back in the hunt for the White Whale of Baltimore. Ugh. This story reads like a conspiracy theory from a bad movie (say… Conspiracy Theory?).
- The human reality of sports dictates that a great deal of sadness toward the ends of the great ones’ careers will likely have to come along with the brilliance that proceeded it. As basketball fans, we’re likely very lucky to see our deities stay transcendent as long as they do; Holly MacKenzie of The Basketball Jones writes earnestly and fantastically about this subject by zeroing in on one of our greatest, most divisive fading stars.
- The Rockets aren’t particularly young. They also are not particularly old. Also, Houston is the 16th best team in a league of 30. When asked their favorite foods by the media, the entire team calmly stated, in not too high or low a tone, “Unflavored oatmeal”, in unison.
- So, it seems people, including LeBron James, are starting to figure out that the King has become the league’s premier villain. I am not among the crowd who believes the league needs a bad guy because when I watch James or Kobe or old videos of Jordan, I’m a bit too awed to boo or heckle. Still, the black jerseys? The combination of superpowers? The ability to take out a team of warriors single-handedly? The Death Star looks just as cool these days as when I was a kid, halfway hoping Luke would just get beaten and stop whining already.
Thanks for reading, peoples.
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