Third
Quarter Disaster
NBAE/Getty Images
By RedsArmy.com’s
Matt Geagan
That was a
very painful 97-84 loss to the Pacers last night. Not just for Tony Allen and
his left knee, but for the 17,153 fans that had to witness it. I was one of
them, and did not leave the TD Banknorth Garden
happy. After four quarters of basketball, I had the same unfulfilling feeling
in my stomach I had after every one of the most recent Sopranos episodes. It
just was a bunch of senseless babble. Or in the Celtics case, it didn’t feel
like four quarters, but more like two and a half (if that). In other words, it
was senseless basketball.
The Celts
looked pretty good in the first quarter, and were rewarded with a five point
lead. Tony Allen led the way with 12 points, and the team was moving the ball
well. They had 9 assists on 10 field goals, which is uncharacteristic for the
Celtics. They rank 21st in the NBA with 19.8 assists per game. After
many unsuccessful double teams that gave the Pacers numerous open shots, the
team adjusted and stopped doing it. The second quarter was ok, but instead of
pulling away, the Green let the Pacers tie it. The biggest applause came when
Jonathan Papelbon was shown on the Jumbo-Tron. The Dancers came a close
second.
Then it all
started to fall apart. The Celtics only scored 14 points in the third. They
lost Allen when he tore ligaments in his left knee while dunking. Worst of all,
it was on a dunk AFTER THE WHISTLE. There was no need for it at all. Allen had
been the best guy on the court for the Celts since Paul Pierce went down three
weeks ago. If losing their best player wasn’t enough, they also lost any chance
of winning the game. Nine turnovers will do that to a team. The Pacers scored
28 points in that 12 minutes of pain and shame en route to a 14 point lead.
I do have to
give the Celtics credit because they did not just bow down and surrender. After
a 14-0 run with 4:27 left, it was just a four point game. But the things that
bit the Celts all night came back to bite them again. They started to double
team again, which led to a Danny Granger three that ended that run. The Pacers
pick and roll baffled the Celtics all night long, and no one ever tried to help
the overmatched player (usually Sebastian Telfair).
The game
tonight literally gave me a headache. It could have been the 19 turnovers
(that’s nothing new though) or the 1 for 11 shooting from three point range. Is it odd that I was surprised the Celtics abandoned
the double team early on (some call it “adjusting”), but not surprised when
they went back to it late in the game? Telfair was possibly the most
frustrating player to watch. He had a solid night scoring wise (15 points on 5
for 10 shooting) but looked awful on defense. There were times when he was too
selfish, and instead of passing he went up for a ridiculous layup.
Maybe
playing good basketball is too much to ask for from a team missing Paul Pierce.
The Celtics have won only 2 of the 10 games with Pierce missing. It won’t help
that Wally Szczerbiak is out at least a week with those lingering knee injuries
(I hate to say I told you so, but…). Add Tony Allen to the injured list, and it
could be awhile until the Celtics win consistently, and possibly at all.
So I guess
we are just lucky the Patriots are still playing…
Matt Geagan is a sports
producer at WBZ-TV… which means he’s not just into basketball. You can catch MattyG’s
thoughts on all things sports on his FoxSports.com blog. You can email him at MattyG@RedsArmy.com