Celtics Come Up Short to Kings 104-101

Celtics staged a late comeback, finally playing some defense, in the 4th quarter but came up short, losing to Kings 104-101. They also lost Wally in the first quarter to yet another ankle sprain. It is doubtful he will play tonight and possibly not again on the west coast trip. The Celtics shot 50% from the field, but couldn’t hit their free throws hitting only 17-31 for the night. They also turned the ball over 19 times.

Doc once again started the lineup of West, Pierce, Gomes, Al and Scal. If Doc is trying to throw games, this is the best way to do it. Starting Scal at the 4 or 5 is ridiculous. You have to get more than 3 points and 3 rebounds in 22 minutes from your starting Center. You just have to. I don’t want to hear about his intangibles. Bring his intangibles off the bench for 10 minutes and give the other 10 to Powe who would actually defend in the paint and pull down rebounds. Perk played 15 minutes and had 5 rebounds and a block along with 5 points playing on 1 foot. I just don’t get Doc’s fascination with Scal other than the fact that he doesn’t play in the paint and bombs away from beyond the arc.

Al once again produced a double double scoring 15 points to go with 15 rebounds. He seems to improve game by game. Gomes had an off game shooting,hitting only 3-7 shots for 10 points but played well otherwise pulling down 7 rebounds to go with 3 assists and 2 steals before fouling out.

West started at the point and as usual, with West at the point we fell behind and it wasn’t until Doc brought Rondo in that we started to chip away and get back into the game. West scored 23 points on 9-16 shooting to go with 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal. Doc needs to let Rondo start and move West to the shooting guard position. Rondo scored 6 points to go with 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals, but the box score doesn’t begin to show Rondo’s contributions. His defense and energy bring new life to the team that otherwise appears to be listless and a step slow. Telfair played 18 minutes and scored 9 points along with dishing out 3 assists. He wasn’t spectacular but did play solidly. If Doc wants to win games he should start Rondo and bring in Telfair as back up and keep West at the 2 where he excels instead of trying to force him into being a PG.

Pierce had 26 points with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block but also lead the team with 5 turnovers. The team struggled to find offense when he was out of the game, though. The Kings announcers continually discussed how heavy Pierce looks and that he is at least 10-15 pounds above his ideal playing weight. Green had a rough game following his Slam Dunk championship in that he scored 4 points but racked up 5 fouls in just 7 minutes of play.

We started out flat and didn’t play defense until the last 8 minutes or so. Doc needs to change the starting lineup because this lineup digs a hole every game and we spend the rest of game trying to dig out. Rondo needs to start. Scal needs to come off the bench and play about 10-15 minutes per game. Doc is killing this team with his rotations and poor coaching decisions. I just don’t understand why he continues to start Scal and ignores Powe. It just doesn’t make sense. And it gets even worse tonight as we face a very good Phoenix Suns team. Doc’s favorite starting lineup will not only dig a hole but be completely buried by Nash, Stoudamire and company.

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