Back at Bryant

I have been trying to get back into the swing of things back at school so I have been distracted and unable to get on here and post some stuff and boy have I missed a lot of key New England sports the past couple weeks. I guess the two biggest things were the Patriots losing in the AFC Championship game and Rondo tearing his ACL leaving him sidelined for the rest of the season.

I will admit I could have take the time and posted about the Patriots but it still stings to just think about it so I have been holding back my rage because I know if I wrote an article it would come out completely biased defeating the purpose of this blog. They played terrible. End of story.

As for the Celtics, the season was already looking very bleak and after Sunday it got even bleaker. Twenty minutes before game time Doc was informed that Rondo was going to be unable to play in Sunday’s game against the Heat and once the double OT thriller was over the whole team was given the news that Rondo would be require surgery on his torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season. A team that has been lacking an identity all season now lacks their star point guard. It seems as the Celtics have had struggles everywhere they turn and this could be the nail in the coffin. The team was hoping and waiting around with their current guys wondering if they were ever going to make the run that Doc envisioned but now with Rondo out it looks like they are going to have to try with Plan B.

The Celtics right now are just a bunch of guys with a couple of older players on their roster that lack an identity. Struggling to stay at .500 it seems they are going to have a hard time bouncing back from Rondo’s season ending surgery. So what to do now that your all star point guard is gone? Hit the destruct button. Clear out the team. It’s time that Danny Ainge does what he should have done earlier in the season which is start planning for the future. This lineup wasn’t at a championship level and probably ever won’t be. They need to get younger, faster, and more athletic in a couple of positions. Right now is the perfect time to blow up the team because they can shop around some guys while giving other guys try outs for next season when their leader in Rondo comes back from his injury. I loved the Garnett era and Pierce will always be a Celtic in my eyes but they just can’t perform like they used to and their games have been showing it as of late with Pierce being in a terrible shooting slump and KG playing in his limited minutes role. Expect change to come soon. Real soon.

Those were the two hot tickets I missed since I last posted something so I figured I would give my little two cents and recap each event real quick. On another note the Bryant Bulldogs Men’s Basketball Team has been going on a run that no one expected coming out of nowhere trying to go on a run to win the NEC and possibly punch their ticket to the big dance. I will keep you updated with that as they have really turned it around this season.

Championship Sunday

Game Day. Here’s a video bringing you to kickoff

Austin Leaves with Bragging Rights, C’s 6 Game Win Streak Snapped

          

          On a special night for the Rivers family, it looked as the Celtics let the special night get to them.  They dropped the game 90-78 to the Hornets. Doc commented on playing against his son Austin and said, “It’s a strange dynamic. I didn’t enjoy it. I know it’s neat for everyone else.”

When Austin entered the game for the first time he received a nice standing ovation from the Boston crowd and went on to score 8 points on three of six shooting in 23 minutes of play.

        Aside from the father- son match up  the Celtics seemed to struggle in just about every category.  After having a strong first quarter, they suddenly just withered away.  The C’s were out-played and out-hustled by the Hornets.  On the stat sheet, the rebounding and free throw categories stood out.

Through the first quarter, the C’s got their way-setting the tone early, pushing the fast break when it was there, and playing at the pace they wanted. They were physical on defense making open shots, and hitting them early on in the game.

       At the end of the day, the Celtics failed to get their offense going. Not one player had a game that stood out to help with a win.  They lacked intensity the whole game. The Hornets had that needed intensity-bringing them to the top for the win.  They managed to get to the line twice as much as that the Celtics did and capitalized from the line.  The Hornets got to the line 31 times to the Celtics 16.

      In a game like this, the Celtics needed to step up, take it strong to the hoop, get to the free throw line, and convert those easy points. Not only did the C’s go to the line less times than the Hornets, but they ended up shooting 37.5% from the charity stripe. This offensive category held them from the win (they managed to shoot better from the field and from behind the three point arc compared to the Hornets).

      The defensive end lacked intensity, failed to rebound the ball, and lacked inside presence.  They lost the rebounding battle, 48-33, by letting the Hornets to whatever they wanted on the glass.  This transferred into easy points for the Hornets.

On a night where the defense failed to hit the glass, and the offense failed to convert those easy points from the free throw line, Kevin Garnett made history in his 15 point outing. On Wednesday night he passed Patrick Ewing to take the 16th spot on the NBA’s All Time Scoring List.  Another thing to throw on his Hall of Fame résumé.

       Dropping a game like this is disappointing, but the Celtics need to adjust and prepare for the next game which is going to be a tough one. The Bulls come into town tomorrow night!  If they fail to command the glass, and the defensive end, they will have their hands full with the Rose-less Bulls. The defensive-minded Bulls are going to look to control the glass and make the Celtics work on their offensive possessions. The Celtics are definitely going to be tested in this game.  It will be interesting to see how they bounce back from losing their first big winning streak of the season.

 

Doc vs. Austin: The Father-Son Battle

Austin and Doc Rivers on draft night

            Austin Rivers comes into Boston tonight with the New Orleans Hornets to take on the Celtics. This will be the first meeting between Doc and Austin Rivers (father-son).  The father-son match up is very rare-this will be just the fourth time it has happened since 1976. With Austin Rivers struggling,I’m unsure about how many minutes he will actually see against the C’s.The Celtics are  excited to play the young rookie.  Austin has practiced with the Celtics many times back in his college days at Duke and even his high school days so he is no stranger to the team. The Celtics are very excited to see what kind of game he brings. Aside from the meeting of the Rivers lets not forget that the Celtics are on a six game winning streak. Since the return of Avery Bradley the Celtics have looked like a whole new team. The defense has been revamped, their offense has finally been flowing and their overall team play has been increased. So is Avery Bradley the savior of the Boston Celtics? All signs point to yes. He was just a piece to the Celtic puzzle that was missing up until seven games ago.

The Celtics are 6-1 since the return of Bradley and they look like a completely different team. With Bradley back the defense has stepped up its game with Bradley’s intensity which has allowed them to transfer that intensity onto offense allowing them run the fast break better and move the ball better in their half court offense. With Bradley back in the starting lineup this has allowed Doc to focus on one starting lineup rather than shuffling in Terry, Lee, Collins and Sullinger depending on the match up on a given night. With the starting lineup finally in place this always the bench to finally settle into their specific role that they were brought here to do.

The bench has more than fulfilled their roles and has been playing better than ever. Sullinger is emerging as a rebounding machine and is developing a nice post game that will only get better. During the six game win streak the team has averaged a little under 96 points per game and have given  up just about 85 points per game. During this 6 game win streak the defense and offense have been thriving off each other and the team chemistry has been nothing but great. So is this the run that Danny Ainge and Doc have been telling fans to patiently wait for? Its only January so only time will tell.

KG

So how do the Celtics make it seven straight? They need to do what they do best and walk into the garden and take care of business. The do’s and don’ts of tonight’s game are very simple. Mimic what they have done in the previous 6 games. The Hornets come into this game at a lackluster 12-26 but have rattled off 3 straight wins against some good competition. Up until this six game win steak I would have said this was going to be a close game but now with Bradley back they just need to play Celtic basketball. It all starts on the defensive end. Play team defense. With the Celtics, team defense turns into offense and easy points. Bradley has just surged this team into a whole different level on the defensive end. When on defense they need to make the rookie Anthony Davis uncomfortable in the paint and make him take shots out of his game and when he goes to take shots he wants they need to be contested. Keep him out of his rhythm which will keep the front court out of rhythm. As for the front court Bradley will have his hands full with Eric Gordon.

 

Leading the team in points per game Gordon can drive to the basket, create his own shot, and hit the occasional three. Along with Gordon as an offensive threat the Hornets have several guys who can hit from downtown so the Celtics need to keep them off the three point line because Anderson and Vasquez can hit from deep and can heat up fast. The final point on defense has to be rebounding. Without Garnett on the floor they run lineups that are small at times and watching previous games they sometimes lack the power inside the paint to make sure they get the rebound and not allow second chances. Second chances during stretches of games have really hurt the Celtics and have given opponents points that have changed games for the worse. If the Celtics can keep the young guys in check, keep the Hornets off the three point line, and not allow second chances then they will put themselves in a perfect position to win.

Rondo running the floor

On offense there is a very simple formula: run the offensive game plan and take the fast break when you can. The Celtics need to control the pace of the game because they are going against a team that is younger than they are and they cannot get into a track meet with them. Run the half court offense that Doc has given them and take the fast break opportunities as they come. If they do these things then the offense will come and the shots will fall. If the fast break is there then take it and if it’s not there then slow it up and run the half court offense. During the six game win streak I have noticed that the ball movement has been perfect. The extra pass has been made and this gets the open shot.

 

Unselfish play gets the ball to the right spot and the best open shot possible for the each possession. Get the ball to Rondo and move the ball up the floor. Look to get Garnett involved early while his legs are fresh and get his mid range game going and look to drive and kick the ball to Bradley for his corner three that keeps getting better and better. Getting those two going early will just open up the whole offensive floor leading to Rondo giving his patented fake pass layup move and having Pierce take those tough fadeaways and three pointers. Once these guys get going early then the bench can come in and do some clean up work. Look to get Sullinger the ball down low and have him push some people around fighting for every possession. When the fast break is there they need to take it and run with Lee and Terry in the back court looking for Lee taking it strong to the basket or kicking it out to Terry for the fast break three pointer.

 

Everyone has a job on the offensive end and if all are executed correctly then the points will come and so will the W.

So to wrap this up the keys to the game are simple:
Defense
-Play Team Defense
-Limit Second Chance Points
-Take Away the Three
-Make the Young Guys Uncomfortable

Offense
-Get KG and Bradley going early
-Take the Fast Break when it’s there
-Make the Extra Pass
-Bench Play

The Celtics stick to these key points then they will come out on top, if they steer away from this and get themselves into a track meet with the younger Hornets they could see Austin Rivers and the Hornets walking out of the Garden with a W and an end to their 6 game win streak.

Introduction

I love sports-eat them, sleep them, and breathe them. Sportscenter when I wake up in the morning, and Sportscenter before I go to bed at night.  

 

My name is Patrick.  I am a 20 year old junior at Bryant University who like most, love sports.  I am a huge New England football, basketball, and baseball sports fan.  The Patriots have been my football team since the Drew Bledsoe era.  I keep my Connecticut roots for some solid UConn men’s basketball-they’ve been my love for the game since I was in diapers.  The Celtics have been bleeding green through the NBA, and my veins, since my dad took me to my first game in 2000, and of course who could forget the lackluster Red Sox.  

As a true New Englander, I stick to my territory and root for the teams in the area. I have been able to see some of the best and worst games as a New England sports fan. There have been moments of tears of joy and other moments of tears of sadness.  Being from New England, I have gotten to see 3 Super Bowl wins, 3 NCAA Championship wins, 2 World Series wins, and 1 NBA Championship. Needless to say, I am spoiled with all of these great moments in sports.

 

The purpose of this blog is to break down games, seasons, playoffs, and off-seasons of my teams and give my two cents here and there. WIth all of this love for these teams, I have a lot to write about. 

 

With all of that said, lets talk sports.