Celtics Title Town

Well... The Celtics jumped out on the Pelicans by 11 points in the first quarter, but just like that the C's lost their spark. The Celtics give us nothing good to say about tonight's game. The Celtics were beaten up in every imaginable category, and of course the one that mattered the most the final score of 90-78.

The Celtics went into halftime down one point 44-43, and I thought without a doubt in my mind that they would get their act together.  The Celtics became the jump shooting  team we had been accustomed to before Bradley came back. I seriously hate this team when they shoot jumper after jumper. It's pure basketball laziness.

 Saying Paul Pierce struggled from the floor would be an under statement.   He connected on just 5-of-16 shots (1-of-7 beyond the 3-point arc) and finished with 12 points over 33 minutes before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Terry was the only guying hitting a jumper, and that also stopped shortly. I felt Doc made a crucial air by waiting too long to sub in Rondo, and Bradley in the 4th. He brought them in at the 7 minute mark, and by then the Celtics would play catch up, and they never established a rhythm.

I felt that Doc should have went to Barbosa late in the third, or even early on in the 4th. The Celtics need a scoring, and he showed Doc up when Rivers put him in with 2:35 to go in the game with the Celtics down by 12 at that point. Barbosa put up 7 quick points. In a way I'm glad the Celtics lost, we don't with this team to get over confident. Although I'd still take a win over a loss any day.

The Stats

• Hornets had 48 points in the paint.
• C's killed on the glass 48-33.
  
• Celtics shoot 4-18 from three-point land.
  
• Celtics put up their worst free throw performance since 1994 6-16. 

The conclusion was that I was waiting for Rondo to take over this game, and it never happened.