Full Court Press: 3/2/05 Celtics vs. Lakers

By Jon Duke
Celtics 104 - Lakers 101

“It was real crunk” - Al Jefferson

Yes it was… or something. I’m not real sure, but perhaps Stu Scott can clear this up for me on SportsCenter tonight. Either way, the Celtics overcame the tremendous distraction that is Antoine Walker’s return to “The Jungle”, and won a tough game against a good Los Angeles Lakers squad.

This game attracted a great deal of publicity both locally and nationally. In New England the return of Employee #8 has been met with widespread approval that seems inconsistent with the attitudes Celtics fans had regarding Walker during his seven year first act. Yet Walker’s play in his first two games with Celtics quieted his doubters, and made many of his detractors to believe Danny Ainge acquired a better and more improved Antoine Walker. The question many Celtics watchers had was whether this fabulous start could continue, and Walker could finally become the player that he showed the potential to be. After tonight there were more encouraging signs, though the old Antoine reared his ugly head at times.

In 36 minutes of action, Antoine compiled 16 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. That’s right… 4 blocks. I can never remember Antoine getting half that many blocks in his first go-round in green and white, so that alone shows growth in Walker’s game. Nevermind that Antoine, for the third straight game, has consistently parked his fried chicken-filled tookus on the block and did the dirty work that thousands of Celtics fans pleaded with him to do for seven years. However, I’m not ready to proclaim him cured… Antoine still has a twitch inside of him that causes him to believe that if he gets a defensive rebound that he can somehow take the ball coast to coast successfully. Walker did this and failed not once, not twice, not thrice, but 4 times. If I have one complaint of Walker’s game, it is that he believes he is a much better ball handler than he really is. This is the point when Doc Rivers needs to tell Antoine to give up the basketball when he gets a rebound, and get up the court for the pass on the block. One on four breaks just aren’t part of good basketball, so one can only hope that Doc will do, as Jim O’Brien did not, and tell Walker that he can’t pull crap like that and stay on the court.

That I am four paragraphs into this game review without discussing Tyree Ricardo Davis is appalling. I’ll end up whipping myself, Reverend Dimmesdale style, for not discussing him sooner because the star of “Antoine Walker Night” was Ricky “Get Buckets”. Even though the offense had “no rhythm all night”, as Doc suggested, Davis got all of the key baskets and was truly the catalyst (29 points and 7 rebounds) for the Celtics offense this evening. Never mind the defensive clinic Davis gave Kobe Bryant in the 4th quarter.

Ricky was everywhere, and it seemed no matter where the Lakers put Kobe on the court, he couldn’t get the ball where he wanted it. Ricky had enough quickness to stay with Kobe, and even held his own defending Bryant on the blocks. Maybe Kobe was tired from signing all of his settlement papers?

Now typically 29 points would get top billing for a Celtics player in one of the Full Court Press reviews, but with the big headlines going to Walker and Davis it is easy to lose Paul Pierce in the shuffle. Pierce quietly had a fabulous game pairing nine rebounds and seven assists with his 29 points. Pierce got a number of players involved with his passing, and rarely forced bad shots. After an early rough start, Pierce has played very well over the last two months, and shows signs of playing even better with his old wingman in the fold.

While Pierce’s production has improved with the arrival of Antoine, Al Jefferson’s playing time and numbers have taken a bit of a hit over the last two games. Tonight, Wheezie answered the bell and his play was, well “crunked”. Jefferson ended with 10 points, 4 boards, and a block in 20 minutes of action, many of which came down the stretch. After yet another poor performance by Mark Blount, Doc shook things up in the 4th quarter and kept the 19-year-old rookie in the game with Walker, with glowing results. Even Walker himself noted that Jefferson won the game for the C’s with his play down the stretch. High praise, indeed.

Another area that held my attention was the play of the Celtics young point guards. Delonte West, after a pair of fabulous games on the road, came back to earth with 5 points and 4 assists in 26 minutes of action. Marcus Banks had a much better game, in my estimation, with eight assists and four rebounds in 22 scoreless minutes. However Banks continued his suffocating defensive ways and he was very disruptive to the Lakers offense. While Chucky Atkins torched the Celtics defense for 29 points in 35 minutes of action, much of it came with Banks on the bench. Why Doc decided to go with West in crunch time, I am still not sure.

Also, a quick note about Justin Reed. Reed will never be a great NBA player, but tonight he looked very good in limited action. Doc Rivers, limited on the wing with Tony Allen’s sprained ankle did not shy away from playing Reed substantial minutes against the Lakers and even paired him with Bryant for at least half of his time on the court. Pierce has already said that Reed’s defense reminds him of Ron Artest, and while that praise seems out of reach at this time, Reed did a fine job on the Lakers petulant superstar. It will be difficult to find playing time for Justin Reed as the Celtics battle to win the Atlantic division, but the kid can play. Maybe those lauding Danny Ainge for his three great draft picks might want to amend that thought to four.

Overall, not the best performance by the Celtics, but a win nonetheless. The inconsistency experienced on offense fits with the arrival of a new player to the rotation, but these wrinkles should be smoothed out over the next week. Time will tell if Doc Rivers will receive help from a certain 36 year old, soon-to-be Hall of Famer, but until then Celtics fans have a lot to be encouraged about. We have yet to see this team play its best basketball, and the Celtics are still improving.