By Kyle Soppe
The Celtics playing their seventh straight road game, but they had enough gas in the tank to beat the upstart Bucks in Milwaukee last night, 100-91. The Bucks had won six straight, but the veteran laden C’s once again proved why, if they qualify for the postseason, nobody would want to play them.
Rajon Rondo may be criticized for his lack of scoring, but he is proving why a true point guard is so valuable. Rondo has dished out double figure assists in 13 of his last 15 games, including a streak of seven games in a row. His skills are even better than his stats would indicate, as every team plays him for the pass and lets him shoot. In fact, the more aggressive he is in creating his own shot, the less success the Celtics have. They win only 41.1% of the games in which their point guard takes at least four free throws, as compared to winning 62.1% of the games in which he attempts fewer than four free throws. Somebody most of told Rondo that stat, as he has only attempted three freebies over his last 186 minutes.
Ray Allen was held without a two point bucket for the third time this season, with the Celtics winning two of those games. Good thing he is accurate at the stripe, where he has missed only twice this month.
Thursday night was only the second time this season that Paul Pierce’s field goal percentage matched or equaled his percentage of free throws made: the Celtics have won both of those games.
Kevin Garnett recorded 16 rebounds +assists, his greatest total in over two months. KG blocked multiple shots for the 14th time this season, and his team has come out on the right end of 10 of those games.
Brandon Bass snatched double digit rebounds for the second consecutive game, matching his season total up to that point.
The Bucks looked like the tired team, as they scored only 36.3% of their total points after the half time intermission.
Monta Ellis displayed more of his play making ability in his Milwaukee home opener, as his 7:1 assist to turnover ratio was his best of the season. Although a small sample size, Ellis’ point total has decreased in each of the three games with the Bucks.
Drew Gooden missed 10 field goal attempts for the fifth time this season; not surprisingly, the Bucks are 1-4 in such games. He has recorded 12 assists in the three games following his triple double, which included 13 dimes.
Ekpe Udoh is only shooting 20% from the field since his change of addresses, but he’s averaging more rebounds per game than he did in Golden State (6.7). In fact, last night was Udoh’s first double digit rebound effort of the season.
Ersan Ilyasove notched more rebounds that points for the 16th time this season. But that Bucks are better off when that’s not the case, as they have lost 10 of those contests.
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