The Celtics have accomplished something previously thought to be an impossibility: they have rendered meaningless the concept of the meaningless game. They are currently incapable of dullness as they provide the nightly gathering of 14,890 with enough postgame conversational fodder to last during a drive to Klamath Falls, Ore.
Last night's 126-105 dismissal of the Chicago Bulls represented the clinching of another Atlantic Division title, and was another in the lengthening list of assembly line performances that have come to be expected. As much as any Celtics club since the 68-win team of 13 seasons ago, these Children of Auerbach come out dedicated to the pursuit of basketball perfection, secure in the knowledge that if the precepts are followed, victory is the near-inevitable consequence.
The clinic last night, as it is so often, was Ball Movement. The Celtics had 32 assists in 48 baskets, sending the ball inside and out and from side to side as if directed by sonar. "Any time you make a move defensively, they exploit it," said Chicago coach Stan Albeck. "The only way to combat them is to be a team with great defensive rotation, which we're not."
The Celtics are a basketball orchestra capable of producing consiistent team play while still allowing the soloists enough artistic freedom to amuse themselves. As a result, the Bulls were alternately tormented by Larry Bird (32 points, 8 assists and a pair of three-pointers), Kevin McHale (10 for 10 to start the game before finishing with 22) and Dennis Johnson (14 of his 21 in the third quarter, not to mention 9 more sparkling assists), while ultimately being destroyed by the corporation.
There were no lead changes. Boston jumped into an attention-grabbing 6-0 lead in the first 1:28 (Robert Parish fast-break lay-up from Bird, a reverse lay-up by No. 33 and a Johnson lay-up from a Chicago turnover), forcing Albeck into a 20-second time out. George Gervin, who kept patrons in their seats for a little while by scoring 15 of the first 17 Chicago points, scored five quickies to make it 6-5, but that would be as close as the visitors would ever come.
McHale's eight-foot jump hook in the lane launched the Celtics on a 12-2 run, and, aside from a brief Gervin flurry that brought Chicago within five at 24-19, the victory worries were over. With Bird scoring six of the final eight Boston points of the quarter and assisting on the other basket, Boston emerged from the opening 12 minutes with a 37-23 lead. By that time he had 15 points (including the first three-pointer) and 5 assists and McHale, who was celebrating the signing of a contract extension, was already 6 for 6.
Second quarter highlights included the first appearance of Michael Jordan, who entered to a big ovation with 8:16 remaining in the half (and who would take 16 shots in 20 minutes of play) and a buzzer-beating three-pointer by DJ, who was fouled approximately 67 times as he brought the ball upcourt, and who was extremely irritated as he heaved one up while falling out of bounds, only to find his prayer answered.
With Johnson mixing long jumpers and those deadly postup moves, the Celtics moved ahead by 26 quickly (77-51), fell down a bit (83-64) and then downshifted one more time with a run of eight unanswered points to make it 91-64 with 4:15 left. By the period's end it was 101-78 and all the starters' stats for the evening were in the book. The scrubs played the entire fourth quarter.
Among other achievements, this was the third consecutive trashing of a contender for the Eastern Conference's final play-off spot. "I had run into (Indiana coach) George Irvine at the airport the other morning," Albeck said, "and I asked him if this was going to be our turn in the barrel because the Celtics had just ripped the Cavaliers and the Pacers. I guess I had great foresight. They just toyed with us all night."
"Under Bill (Fitch)," declared McHale, "we'd have great first (season) halves and then fade a bit. Under K.C. it's the other way around.
No comments:
Post a Comment