Celtics Grab Win In Nations Capital

The Boston Celtics went into Washington D.C tonight with one thing, and one thing only on their mind, victory. The team we are starting to refer to as “The Road Warriors” struggled to find their consistency tonight. There were periods of highs and lows for this team tonight, but ultimately the Celtics grabbed the win by a score of 104-102. The win is the Celtics 9th in a row, it moves the Celtics to 18-4, and 9-1 on the road.

I saw a lot of positives throughout tonight’s game from the Celtics. The ball movement was once again spectacular. I don’t know how many times I heard Mike Gorman raise his voice to say “Rondo to KG” or something of that sort. There is no doubt in my mind the Celtics have figured things out offensively as of late. They have found the holes in every defense they have played recently, and have taken full advantage of those holes.

The one problem that did exist tonight was the inconsistent play we have come to see from this team at times. To start the game the Celtics seemed to be giving up points a little to easy. In the second the Celtics played the basketball we all want to see them play. They then came out in the third and looked like the team that lost to the Indiana Pacers. Doc has said before that they are not a 48-minute team yet, and tonight they proved that they still aren’t.

Rajon Rondo played great for the second straight night and recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 assists. Rondo completely took over the game in the fourth quarter and surprisingly was the go-to-guy down the stretch. The Wizards dared Rondo to take his shots tonight and he made them pay time after time. If we can see an effort like this from Rondo night in and night out there is no doubt in my mind he should be an all-star.

The rest of the scoring was spread out equally tonight as a result of terrific ball movement the entire night. Allen, Perkins, and Garnett scored 18,17, and 17 respectively. Ray seemed to have fire in his eyes right from the start of the game tonight, and with 4:44 remaining in the fourth Ray scored his 20,000th career point. Perkins also had a very solid game tonight as he was on the receiving end of some great passing by his teammates. As far as KG goes, tonight he did not have it going like he had the past few games but he was still very impressive. His jumper was going down for the most part and he was in sync with Rondo all night, as the two worked together for easy baskets on multiple occasions.

For the first time in over a year I also have to say I was impressed with the effort by Tony Allen tonight. It seemed like Tony was really playing with a lot of energy tonight. He was up and down the floor, and was showing no signs on injury. TA scored 8 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and had 2 steals, while registering a team high +14 +/- rating. If we can get this sub-par performance from Tony every night it will be a lot easier to make up for the loss of Marquis Daniels.

So the best news tonight is the Celtics came out with the W. They may not have played to their potential, but as we all know Washington has always given this team trouble. Let’s keep the streak going as we head into Chicago against a young Bulls team that is currently struggling. 18-4, keep the train rolling!!!

Photos via Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images and Photobucket