October 6, 2007
2:30 PM EST (Comcast SportsNet)
Palalottomattica (Rome, Italy)
Announcers: Mike Gorman and Donny Marshall ; Gary Tanguay, Greg Dickerson, Tommy Heinsohn (in-studio)
Celtics Starting Lineup: RAYDEN, I'VE GOT A RAJON RONDO, PERK'D OFF, KEVVY G, DA TROOF
Raptors Starting Lineup: T.J. "AND THE BEAR" FORD, ANTHONY "WISHES HE WAS TONY" PARKER, JASON BUSTA-KAPONO-ASS, OSH KOSH CHRIS BOSH, ANDREA LEFT-HIS-BARGN-DOOR-OPEN
Can you believe it? It's finally here - the official debut of the "Not the Big Three"! It's a debut so humongous, that it couldn't even be contained within the continental United States - nope, we had to embark on NBA Europe Live Tour '07 (nba.com) to beautiful Rome, Italy, for our first peek at the new (and better be improved) Boston Celtics!
It's also my first opportunity to recap a game since waaaay back at the start of the twenty-first century (I know, I'm ancient) ... I've got the butterflies in my stomach, but it's time to suck it up and put my game face on! Will this initial recap of the 2007-08 campaign be a literary masterpiece, or a garbled mess? Let's find out!
FIRST QUARTER
Prior to tipoff, Paul Pierce addresses the crowd:
On behalf of the Boston Celtics, we'd like to thank the fans and the great city of Rome for being a great host to us all week long during training camp. You guys are such great fans and such supporters, and we'd like to thank you on behalf of the Boston Celtics, and we hope you guys enjoy the show! Thank you!
Unfortunately, the PA announcer didn't translate for him as he was speaking (like during the player introductions), which was kind of disappointing ... Grazie!
Anyway, the moment has arrived, as Bosh and Perkins jump it up at center court; Chris wins the tip, but the ball finds its way into Pierce's hands, who immediately takes it to the basket and draws the foul from TJ Ford - two free throws later and the first points of the preseason are in the books (2-0 11:56). TJ then takes the ball upcourt and goes right at Rondo, drawing a foul of his own; Ford makes both of his freebies and just like that the score is tied (2-all 11:39).
Rajon hits a jumper (all that practice shooting with Ray Allen must have paid off!) to give Boston back the lead, then at the other end Ford misses a three-point attempt and KG tips the loose rebound out to Rondo. He pushes it back upcourt and tries the little floater in the lane but misses; Bosh pulls down the board and gives it to Ford, who finds Kapono who gets it back to Bosh for the layup attempt. That misses, and Pierce comes away with the rebound. He takes it upcourt himself, then passes inside to Garnett, who works on Bosh before hitting the nice one-handed hook (6-2 10:21). Hooray, first points for KG in the books!
Parker then misses, and Garnett swallows up the rebound; he gets it to Rajon who again pushes the ball upcourt. Boston holds the ball for a bit, before Allen makes a nice bounce pass across the court to Rondo, who is double teamed as he makes his move to the basket, so he simply dishes it off to Perkins (Bargnani wasn't looking) for the two-handed dunk (8-2 9:41)! I like what I'm seeing so far!
Bargnani answers with a three-pointer (the crowd likes that), but then KG gets the crowd back in Boston's favor as he gives Andrea the little upfake and then blows right by him for the one-hand dunk AND the foul! He makes the free throw and I think I just peed my pants a little (11-5 9:00) ...
Bargnani scores three straight points of his own (1-for-2 from the free throw line, outside jumper) to get Toronto back within three, then Perkins commits an offensive foul setting the screen for Rondo (his second foul already, tsk tsk) to give the Raptors back possession; Bosh makes the most of it as he makes his way under the basket for a layup (11-10 8:07).
Bargnani then steals a pass from Pierce intended for Garnett (Gorman wonders if this is an example of the Celts making too many passes and trying to be too unselfish), but Rondo makes up for that mistake by stripping Parker from behind; he gets the ball to Allen who's spotting up in the corner and he buries the deep jumper (13-10 7:37). At the other end, Perkins bites on the upfake on Bosh and commits another foul (that may or may not be his third, but either way he heads to the bench with 7:17 left in the quarter and LEON POWE POWE POWER WHEELS comes in to replace him); Bosh misses both free throws, but the Celts can't capitalize as Parker steals the ball from Rondo and gets it to Kapono, who gets it back to Parker for the uncontested layup (13-12 6:32).
Things are getting a little sloppy now, as Kapono hits a three-pointer to give the Raptors their first lead with six minutes remaining in the quarter. At the other end, Bosh blocks a layup attempt by Rondo; Powe gets the loose ball, but misses the easy basket and Bosh comes away with the rebound. He gets it to TJ Ford, who pushes it upcourt and - as the Celtics' defense is still getting set - kicks it back out to Bosh for the deep jumper (13-17 5:25).
ALLAN TONY (just into the game) misses a shot, then TJ Ford hits his own outside jumper as Toronto has run off eight straight unanswered points (13-19 4:37)! Tony Allen then commits a travelling violation, and GLENN RIVERS M.D. tries some more substitutions as Powe and Rondo sit while PARKER POSEY and HUGH LAURIE make their preseason debuts.
JOEY GRAHAM CRACKERS then misses, and House comes away with the rebound; he brings the ball upcourt, then gives it to Posey who tries to pass inside to Pierce, but the ball just sails right over his head and out of bounds (the fifth turnover for Boston thus far). Toronto regains possession, but Calderon can't hit the jumper and Posey pulls down the rebound. He gives it up to Pierce who brings the ball up himself, then drives right between two defenders for the layup to break Boston's scoring drought (15-20 2:45).
Graham then misses, and Tony Allen nabs the loose board; he brings the ball upcourt, makes a strong move to the hoop, but is double-teamed so he finds House wide open for the trey (18-20 2:14). Calderon and Pierce trade baskets, then JORGE GARBAJOSA DISPOSAL hits his own three-pointer (20-25 1:15).
Garnett then misses a fallaway jumper over RASHO NESTEROVIC'S FUNKY BOWLING; Garbajosa has the rebound, and gives it to Calderon who takes it the other way and finds Nesterovic left wide open for the outside jumper (20-27 :41).
My oh my, things got a little ugly there, as the quarter ends with the Raptors up by seven, 20 to 27.
SECOND QUARTER
Doc tries to shake things up by having Ray Allen, Tony Allen, Posey, House, and THE SCALS OF JUSTICE start the quarter ... CARLOS "ISLE" DELFINO and Ray Allen trade baskets, then Calderon blows by House and is fouled by Posey while scoring the layup! He makes the free throw for the first double-digit lead by either team of the game (22-32 10:50).
This unit is having some problems, as Nesterovic finds himself under the basket being guarded by Posey, so he obliges with the easy layup to give Toronto a 12-point lead with 9:39 remaining. Pierce and KG are back in the game (Tony and Scalabrine take a seat); the Raptors immediately try to shut down Garnett with the double-team as soon as the ball finds its way into his hands, so he kicks it back out and they swing it around to House (left open in the corner) for the long two-point basket (24-34 9:21).
The Celts then play some good defense and force Garbajosa to take the bad 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down; he misses and Garnett grabs the rebound. He brings the ball upcourt himself (!) then gives it to Ray Allen as he positions himself under the basket. Ray then passes back to KG, who is again double-teamed, so he again kicks it out to House and this time he has his feet behind the line for the three-pointer (27-34 8:36).
Garnett's presence seems to have brought some energy back to the club, as Toronto calls a timeout; howwever, when play resumes Delfino is left wide open and knocks down a trey of his own (27-37 8:16).
The Celts then go back inside to KG who hits the fallaway jumper over Nesterovic to get the deficit back into single digits; at the other end, Calderon misses a three-pointer, but Posey fouls Graham going for the rebound. Toronto retains possession, but Garnett ends up covering Calderon (mismatch!) and promptly causes him to dribble the ball off his foot out of bounds. Boston has a chance to inch closer, but KG misses the jump hook over Nesterovic; Delfino gets the rebound and takes it the other way. He makes a nice pass inside to Graham who goes for what he thinks will be an easy layup, but Garnett flies in from out of nowhere to contest the shot (hustle baby, yeah!). The refs whistle the foul, as replays show that it was actually Pierce who got a piece of Graham (if he wasn't there Garnett might have been credited with a clean block), and Graham goes one-of-two from the line (29-38 7:04).
Rondo and Perkins return to the game, and factor into a pretty entertaining play: Rajon drives past Calderon and makes a move to the basket, which draws in Garbajosa. That leaves Perkins open, so Rondo makes the nice pass to him, and Kendrick responds with a behind-the-back pass (!) to Garnett, who swings it around to a wide-open Ray Allen behind the three-point line. He misses the shot, but KG gets the offensive rebound over Nesterovic and (with three Raptors players surrounding him) makes the no-look pass (!!) to Perkins for the two-hand slam (31-38 5:49)! Oh baby!
At the other end, Perkins blocks a shot attempt by Nesterovic, and the Raptors call a timeout to try and stop the C's from building up too much momentum ... I guess it works, as (when play resumes) Delfino buries the outside jumper (31-40 5:31).
Whoops, guess I was wrong, as the Celts run off 7 straight points (Ray Allen trey, Rondo jumper, free throws by Perkins) to cut deficit to just 2 with 2:28 left! Bosh then misses an outside jumper and Perkins grabs the rebound; he gives the ball to Rondo, who pushes it upcourt and tries to pass inside to KG over Bosh. That's unsuccessful, as Chris is able to tip it out of bounds; it's still Boston possession, however, and Pierce pulls up over Kapono and buries the jumper (40-all 1:46).
Kapono then misses the 20-footer, and at the other end Pierce misses a three-point attempt but (with four Raptors players under the basket) the loose rebound finds its way into Garnett's hands who finishes strong with the two-hand slam (42-40 1:12) to put Boston back on top!
TJ Ford then misses, and KRIS HUMPHRIES BOGART fouls Garnett going for the rebound with 46 seconds left in the half; Toronto is over the limti, and KG goes one-for-two from the line (he now has 10 points and a whopping 11 rebounds in just 21 minutes!).
That's how the first-half scoring ends, and we go to intermission with the Celts up 43 to 40.
THIRD QUARTER
Boston starts off the second half with their same starting five, but the guys come out a little tight offensively - Ray Allen misses two quick shots - while Bosh hits a hookshot over Perkins and Bargnani drains a three-pointer to put the Raptors back on top (43-45 10:35).
Garnett hits the turnaround over Andrea to tie the score (Gorman: "There's a lotta things Bargnani can do but one of them is not defend Kevin Garnett down low!"), while at the other end Bargnani tries to work the baseline around KG and ends up being fouled by Ray Allen. He makes both free throws to give Toronto back the lead (45-47 10:00).
Rondo then brings the ball upcourt, and gives it to Ray who passes inside to Garnett; he's immediately double-teamed, so he kicks it back out to Allen who finds Pierce wide open behind the three-point line. However, instead of taking the shot, he upfakes to draw in the defenders and then passes back inside to Garnett who is all alone under the basket. TJ Ford is forced to foul him, but KG is still able to score with the finger roll; the basket counts, and KG makes the free throw to complete the three-point play (48-47 9:43); nice unselfish play by Pierce there, that's good to see!
Kapono then misses, and Perkins pulls down the rebound; he gives the ball to Rondo who pushes it upcourt and finds Pierce hustling up the right side of the court ... he has TJ Ford covering him, so Paul decides that this time he'll keep it himself (can't really blame him) and scores on the layup (50-47 9:23).
Bargnani hits a jumper to break Boston's sudden scoring momentum, then at the other end KG is called for the offensive foul trying to set up position underneath the basket; Toronto regains possession, and TJ Ford is left wide open for the three-point basket (50-52 8:47).
Undeterred, Garnett again sets up position underneath the basket against Bargnani; Rondo complies by getting him the ball, so KG goes for the turnaround jumper. However, Andrea has other ideas, and grabs his shooting arm, to which Kevin responds by swinging his elbow out just a tad (uh oh, getting a little testy here); nothing comes of it, and - during the stoppage of play - Bargnani heads to the safety of the bench while Nesterovic comes in to replace him.
When play resumes, Ray Allen misses the fallaway jumper over Parker, but Bosh can't control the rebound and the loose ball winds up back with Ray; he tries for the layup and misses, but KG (probably playing a little angry now) soars HIGH for the monster putback slam (52-all 8:22)! Of course, even though Nesterovic was standing right underneath him, the refs still call a technical on KG for hanging on the rim (Donny Marshall: "He did do a chin-up there!") ...
The score is still tied, when Bosh dribbles the ball off his foot and three Celtics (Rondo, Pierce, Garnett) dive to the floor for the loose ball (Donny: "That play was like Jay-Z dropping his wallet on the floor, that was about 40 million dollars rolling around on the floor, and then you throw Rajon in there, so maybe 40 million and ... 40 million and one, maybe?"); easy guys, save some of that for the games that actually matter! KG ends up with it, and calls for a 20-second timeout with 7:32 remaining; when play resumes, Pierce knocks down the jumper to give Boston back the lead (56-54 7:31).
Bosh then makes a nice spin move around Garnett but can't finish with the layup; KG nabs the rebound and quickly gets the ball in Rajon's hands, who speeds upcourt and finds Ray for the three-point attempt. The shot misses, but Perkins has the offensive rebound and is fouled by Nesterovic trying for the putback; he makes both free throws to extend the Celts' lead to four (58-54 6:48).
Parker then misses a three-point attempt, and Garnett grabs the rebound over Bosh. He makes the full-court pass to Pierce, who is double-teamed by Ford and Nesterovic, but simply pulls up and knocks down the jumper (60-54 6:20).
Bosh scores, but Pierce answers with the turnaround jumper over Kapono (62-56 5:42). That's 18 points in the game for Paul, who's starting to heat up ... After Kapono is fouled and goes one-for-two from the line, Rondo makes the nice bounce pass inside to Pierce for the layup AND he's fouled by Parker (he's ON FIRE!). Well, he does miss the free throw, so Paul is human after all (64-57 5:15).
The Raptors are ice-cold now, as Graham misses a three-point attempt and the ball bounces out of bounds; Boston regains possession, and Ray Allen tries to slice down the lane between three defenders and is tripped up by Bosh (watch those ankles!). That earns him a trip to the line, where he misses the first (Gorman: "When you see Ray miss you think it's wind or something ... ") but makes the second (65-57 4:35).
Ford then scores on a layup to bring Toronto within six, while at the other end Pierce misses a three-pointer (I might have jinxed him now) and Delfino grabs the rebound; he quickly gets it to TJ, who motors upcourt and takes it right at Paul underneath the basket. Even though Ford was using his left hand to push Pierce away while going for the layup (and Paul was still able to block the shot) the ref calls Paul for the foul! Ford makes good on his ill-gotten gains and buries both free throws (65-61 3:59).
The Celts seem to be cooling off again, as the lead is down to three with 2:40 remaining. Nesterovic then blocks a layup attempt by Rondo, and Ford scoops up the loose ball; he quickly takes it the other way and finds Bosh for the strong one-handed dunk (66-65 2:29).
KG hits a fallaway jumper over Nesterovic to try and cure Boston's offensive woes, but Ford comes right back with a three-pointer to tie the score (68-all 1:11). Garnett then tries to make a move around Nestrovic but the big man slaps the ball away; Parker recovers the loose ball and quickly gets it to Ford, who makes a nice pass to Bosh for the attempted 20-foot jumper that completely misses the rim (tee hee). The ball goes out of bounds and Boston calls a timeout with :42 left in the quarter. When play resumes, Rondo takes the ball upcourt and finds Ray Allen, who slices down the lane and goes up over two defenders for the layup (70-68 :24).
Toronto wants the last shot, but Garbajosa tries to pass inside to Parker and Posey dives to the floor to break it up (more hustle!) as the clock expires, so we head into the final stanza with Boston up 70 to 68.
FOURTH QUARTER
Doc starts off the fourth with his three main guys on the bench (Scalabrine, House, Powe, Posey, and Tony Allen are on the floor) ... Allen is the first to strike with a strong move around Delfino for the layup (72-68 11:49). At the other end, Calderon misses a jumper, and Posey grabs the rebound; he takes it upcourt himself and swings it around to House who (picking up right where he left off) knocks down the outside jumper (74-68 11:04).
Calderon answers with a pullup jumper over Scalabrine, but at the other end Tony Allen just blows past Delfino and elevates OVER JAMARIO MOON OVER PARADOR for the sick one-hand slam (76-70 10:28)!
Aw man, it's so nice to see that explosiveness back in Tony's game ... oh crap, wait a minute, it looks like Tony is wincing in pain after coming down off the rim; Toronto calls a timeout, and the trainers take the opporunity to check on him and make sure the knee is fine.
Whew, Tony was grimacing as he made his way to the bench, but he stays on the court when play resumes, so I'll take that as a good sign that he's okay ... Meanwhile, Calderon knocks down the trey to cut Boston's lead in half with 9:45 left in the game. After a couple of misses by both teams, DAHNTAY STOP BELIEVING comes into the game for his first minutes (the "Not Big Three" are still on the bench, and I'm not sure they're coming back in tonight). Dahntay makes the pass inside to Powe, who tries to hit the hook shot over Humphries, but he can't find the bottom of the net; Humphries grabs the rebound and passes off to Calderon, who takes it coast to coast for the pullup jumper (76-75 8:28).
Can't forget that this IS a preseason game, so it looks like Doc is going to rely on his bench to pull out the victory ... Sure enough, these players are hungry to prove their worth, as Eddie House scores two baskets and gets a nice assist to Powe for the layup during an 8-2 Celtics run (84-77 5:08).
Moon and MACEO BASTON CELTICS (looks like Toronto is checking out their bench as well) score back-to-back baskets, however, as the Raptors cut that lead down to just three with 3:31 remaining in the game. Doc calls a timeout, and it looks like he'll finish things off with the following lineup: Scalabrine, House, JUST PRUITT, SNIFTER OF BRANDON, and GLEN "MACROSOMIA" DAVIS (I wouldn't count on this happening in end-of-the-game scenarios during the regular season) ... When play resumes, House gets the ball inside to Davis for the strong move to the basket (his spin move actually knocks Graham to the ground) and the layup (86-81 3:18).
Baston is then called for a travelling violation, and at the other end Scals makes a nice pass to Wallace who finishes with the reverse layup (88-81 2:32).
Dixon scores, then Toronto puts on the pressure in the backcourt and Juan is able to slap the ball away from Pruitt and goes in for the layup (88-85 2:00).
Things are getting a little tight now, as Scalabrine misses the outside jumper and Dixon pulls down the rebound; he takes it upcourt himself and tries to pull up over Hosue for the little 15-foot jumper. It mises, but Baston is able to go up over Scals for the offensive rebound and kicks it back out to Dixon. He dribbles around for a bit before passing back inside to Baston, who goes up for the layup attempt between two defenders and has the ball roll around the rim before JUUUUST spinning out (whew!) ... Unfortunately, the C's can't capitalize, as Pruitt is forced to take a bad three-point attempt to avoid the shot-clock violation and it hits nothing but air.
It's Toronto ball with 42 seconds left and a chance to tie with a three-pointer ... So, of course, LUKE "ACTION" JACKSON is left wide open behind the three-point line (House completely lost track of his man). Luckily, the shot comes up short, and Pruitt comes away with the rebound. There's still 33 seconds left, so Boston calls a timeout for a little strategy. When play resumes, Wallace inbounds the ball to Davis; Baston cheats a little on defense (going for the steal), which leaves Glen a wide-open path to the basket. The defense collapses around him, so Davis kicks it out to Scals for the three-point attempt, but his foot was out of bounds! Awwww man.
So Toronto regains possession with 22 seconds left in the game and still only down three (I'll be honest, I am NOT looking forward to a potential overtime) ... After a timeout, Dixon brings the ball upcourt and tries the pullup jumper over JACKIE CHAN-UEL; it misses, but the ball goes off one of the Celtics (Wallace?) out of bounds with 14 seconds remaining. Jackson makes the inbounds pass to Dixon who - with time winding down - forces up a deep three-point attempt. The shot misses, and Wallace ALMOST falls out of bounds going for the rebound, but he's able to save it to Pruitt who is fouled with only six ticks left on the clock. Gabe misses the first (!) but knocks down the second to extend it to a four-point lead (Gorman notes that KG was up off the bench trying to coax that second free throw in by sheer will - he doesn't care if it's the preseason he does NOT want to lose).
After a Toronto timeout, it's Wallace, Pruitt, Manuel, Dahntay, and Scalabrine in for the last defensive stand (again, I wouldn't imagine that this is gonna be Doc's strategy during the regular season ... but then again, who knows?). Jackson inbounds to Moon who goes for the quick three-point attempt; it misses, and Baston tries to tip it in but is also unsuccessful. Jones controls the rebound as the horn sounds and we've got the first win of the preseason in the books!
FINAL SCORE: Boston 89, Toronto 85
GAME RATING:
13
SLAM DUNK
BOSTON TOP PERFORMERS:
- Pierce: 21 PTS (8-14 FG), 3 REB, 3 AST
- Garnett: 19 PTS (8-16 FG), 16 REB
- House: 14 PTS (6-10 FG, 2-5 3PT)
- Rondo: 4 PTS (2-7 FG), 6 AST, 1 TO
- Ford: 15 PTS (4-10 FG, 3-4 3PT), 5 AST
- Bargnani: 13 PTS (5-6 FG, 2-3 3PT)
- Bosh: 12 PTS (6-14 FG), 9 REB
- Calderon: 12 PTS (5-10 FG), 3 AST
POST-GAME NOTES:
- SCOTTY 2 HOTTY was not in the building last night, as he was sent back stateside for an MRI strictly as a precautionary measure (ankle injury)
- I'm really digging these Italian-centric jersies that the Celtics are sporting (the word "CELTICS" is spelled out in red, white, and green letters) ... Are those available for purchase yet?
- Spike Lee was in the audience (WTF?) ...
- Even though he wasn't announcing the game, Mister Heinsohn was still willing to name a Tommy Award winner (for the record, he gave it to Paul Pierce) ...
- Next up, we've got the Celts versus Big Al Jefferson and the Minnesota Timberwolves in London (arrivederci Italiana!) on Wednesday ... Unfortunately, that game is also gonna be on at 2:30 PM EST; I had no problem with that schedule on the weekend, but - since I will have to go to work on Wednesday - I'm not sure how that's gonna affect when my game review will go live. We'll see, I guess.
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