Game notes - Feb 22, 2008
Celtics @ Suns
- Refs let the game free, and even if it got a little more physical, it was fun to watch.
- Shaq ain’t injured. That’s just in case you had any doubt. He was just taking his mid-season break and when he was traded he found the motivation to start playing again. At one point, Shaq out hustled Garnett for a ball. That right there tells you something about his motivation, cause Shaq hasn’t out hustled anyone in the past 5 years or so. Shaq finished with just 4 points but had 14 rebounds and 2 blk in just 26 minutes. It’s just his second game of the season with more than 11 rebounds: he had 14 rebounds on Nov 23, 2007 and he needed 34 minutes to do it.
- I think we can make it official: the Celtics have trouble against quick teams (Nuggets, Warriors, Suns)
- The Suns seem to be having fun again on the court. Earlier in the season I had a feeling that this team was not the same despite still winning a lot of games. And I was not the only one to notice that. Marion’s whining must have gotten on everybody’s nerves and took all the fun out of the game.
- Amare has been playing at a much higher level since Shaq arrived (as I was thinking about this, the commentators said he plays like a man possessed). He’s been the aggressor all night. He tried to make Garnett lose his temper while he kept cool despite taking a couple of elbows.
- The Suns really missed Barbosa in this game. He had to go to the lockerroom in the 1st quarter thanks to a Pierce elbow to the head and did not return.
- This was the most aggressive (from a physical stand point) I have ever seen the Suns play. They are like a kid that knows his big brother is just around the corner ready to jump in if things get nasty. Now they won’t take it if other teams try to bully them. This is what Shaq brings them, and I think it’s more important than his contributions on the court.
- This game was very very entertaining. Amare and Garnett have been jawing at each other from the very start of the game. Soon it turned into bumping. They each got a technical and there might be a rivalry brewing. If the teams meet in the Finals, it will be one hell of a series.
- At one point, Pierce missed a dunk. Badly. The entire arena laughed at his ass. Did I mentioned that I don’t like Pierce ? Well, I don’t.
- The Suns piled-up turnovers. Hard to believe they still won the game, but they did. Couldn’t be just the effect of adjusting to playing with Shaq. Couldn’t be just the (very good) Celtics defense either. The Suns were really sloppy and careless with the ball.
- The game turned into a grind-it out affair. The Suns only scored 29 points in 19 minutes. Usually they’d score this much in less than a quarter. This is the kind of game they would normally lose in the playoffs - slow, half court, lots of physical defense.
- I really wondered how Amare would do playing PF and if losing the quickness advantage he had when playing against centers would work against him. Well, I just got my answer: he’s much better on rebounding and help D. Probably the same thing as Ben Wallace: he benefits from playing next to a bigger guy which allows him to roam on D. Not being undersized anymore helps his rebounding as well.
- I have NEVER seen as many offensive fouls whistled in one game. NEVER. I suppose the only place where you can see something like this is a practice of Argentina’s national team.
