Game notes - Feb 20, 2008
Celtics @ Warriors
- Oracle Arena probably has the best atmosphere of all the NBA arenas (at least from what I can tell on TV) and the fans are incredible. It must be great to play there, even as an opponent of the home team. The crowd being into the game for more than just free BigMacs makes the game 10 times more entertaining to watch.
- Just like last season when he signed with the Pistons, Chris Webber is underrated. He may not be able to run with the Warriors, but if Nellie picks the right spots when to use him, he can really contribute. He did a good job in his time on the floor and got 3 blk in just 20 minutes. Not bad for an old man with creaky knees.
- Monta Ellis is absolutely amazing. Not only did he score 26 points and dish 9 assists, but he was the focus of the Celtics defense, more so than Baron Davis himself. He managed to beat double and triple teams and he was getting double teamed even outside the 3p line. Boom Dizzle made the winning shot and had a great game himself, but Ellis was Da Man in this one.
- B-Diddy went as far as calling Monta the most talented player on the team in the post-game interview.
- Stephen Jackson was on his feet the whole time, yelling indications. You’d say he was the coach and Nellie was some casual fan. If you think about it, Jackson would make an interesting coach, a great motivator for sure. Cause you know he’d pistol whip whoever didn’t listen to what he said. And all his players would run the fast break AND play All-NBA defense knowing that if they don’t, their coach might bust a cap in their ass.
- On one occasion during a time-out Jackson went and said something to Mikael Pietrus which left Pietrus with an astounded look on his face. My guess is that he said something along this line: “I saw Pierce causing you problems on defense. Here, take my gun and shoot him. Just make sure you got him right, cause that mofo survived like 50 stab wounds.”
- Not much to say about Boston: they played great D yet the Warriors came up with some miracle shots.
- Garnett may still be rusty, but he pulled down 15 rebounds in just 30 minutes. Didn’t even realize how many he got till I saw the boxscore
- How many times was Tony Allen burned on a last second shot ? Everybody’s been raving about how well Paul Pierce has been playing D. In that case, shouldn’t he ask to guard the opponents’ best player on the last possession ? Why let a young unexperienced player coming of 2 knee surgeries defend the players who are known for taking their team’s last shot ? To me, Pierce still looks like he wants to be the hero on offense. He forces the issue too often. Of the Celtics’ big 3, he’s the one who, in the end, may prove he’s not yet ready to sacrifice his ego for the team.
