12.03.2017

Title Deprivation Accelerating Chemistry

11/24/2007

Eleven games in, are we spoiled already?

The home games mostly look the same. The Celtics grab an early lead, pad it with an impressive second quarter, and then it's pretty much Patriots-like the rest of the way. People get edgy when the second-half lead drops to, oh, say, 12.

With last night's casual 107-94 dispatch of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Celtics are now 10-1 overall and 7-0 at home. The Heat gave them a real game, losing by 1 point. The other spreads? 20, 26, 23, 22, 23, and last night's deceiving 13. No way this was a 13-point game. The Lakers made a few garbage-time threes, that's all.

"They're a good team," asserted LA's Derek Fisher, he of the numerous clutch playoff shots and the three championship rings. He is, in other words, someone who knows a good team when he sees one.

"They're legitimate," he continued. "You can't just say they're in the East, or that the other players don't have the star power of the Big Three."

Paul Pierce (20 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists), Ray Allen (18 points, including a pair of threes), and Kevin Garnett (21 points on an un-Garnetty 7 for 16; 11 rebounds) all punched their star clocks, for sure. But one significant story line on this evening was the play of the other two starters.

Kendrick Perkins may have had his best game ever. He started with two assertive jump hooks and he never stopped producing, dipping and dunking his way to a career-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds. If he does that like, you know, 40 times, the Celtics will be formidable, indeed.

"A lot of teams are focused on me, Kevin, and Ray," said Pierce. "Along with [Rajon] Rondo, these guys were really stepping up, and tonight was a perfect example of that. The big guy was ready to go. He was in the right place at the right time and he's getting hungrier and better every day."

It's been evident from the beginning of the exhibition season that Perkins would be the pleasant beneficiary of all the attention the hallowed star trio would be getting. But last night was the first time he put all the offensive pieces together. "In a lot of games I've been not moving to open spots, not finishing quick," he explained. "I've really been concentrating on that, working on it in practice, working on diving when Paul, Ray, or Kevin get trapped."

Rondo had a magnificent 10-assist night. He had some problems finding the cagey Fisher on defense, but he got better as the game went on and he was really feeling it in the second half. He also had one of his patented stick-the-ball-behind-his-back-and-bring-it-back-out drives for the final basket of the first half. There was plenty to like.

Celtics games are getting downright eerie. They casually get up by 10, and then 15, and you say to yourself, "How did that happen?" It never looks as if anyone is exerting himself. The enterprise just seems to flow smoothly at both ends. The ball movement is now completely routine. In years past, 31 assists on 39 baskets would be the subject of poems and essays. Now it's called Just Another Night At The Office.

But offense alone is not why the Celtics are 10-1. Once again they strangled the life out of an opponents' offense. It was 53-35 at the half and the Lakers had shot 32.5 percent from the floor (13 for 40). And, yes, Kobe Bryant was in the game. Sort of.

Last year, Kobe had 43 here and 38 out there as the Lakers took two from the Celtics. In this one, The Kobester finished with a game-high 28 points, 20 of which came in the second half. He shot 9 for 21.

He kind of overdid the share-the-ball thing in the first half, shooting a pedestrian 3 for 9. He went five touches before attempting a shot and when he reentered the game in the second quarter with his team down by 13 (40-27), he took only one shot in the final six minutes of the half.

The Celtics have to get some of the credit, you would think. He was doing a lot of driving and in-air bailout passing, which means his primary defender was getting some good help.

"It was like a big brother-little brother syndrome, having Kevin [Garnett] behind me and having Perk behind me," said Allen, "because every time he drove, I'm thinking I was playing great defense, and I turn around and they came to my help."

Ask yourself: Do you recall many detailed discussions about Celtics defense last year? Or the year before? Or the year before that?

"There isn't enough focus on their defense," agreed Fisher. "I don't think Paul, Ray, or Kevin are exceptional individual defensive players, but collectively they are defending great. That's how you win."

Fisher can see exactly what's going on here.

"Those guys are all at the point in their careers where they're appreciative of the chance to be part of something great," he said.

"It's kind of like a Perfect Storm. Twenty points a game, All-Star Games, Team USAs - they've had all that. Getting their hands on the Larry O'Brien Trophy is what they want. When I won my first championship in 2000, Kevin said to me, 'What do you want to do now?' That was seven years ago. Imagine how hungry he is now."

It's not even December. The Celtics weren't supposed to come together this quickly. Title deprivation is a beautiful thing.

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