Boston Celtics Survive Turnover Woes To Defeat Brooklyn, 91-84

This one defies logic, folks.

Mar 7, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard

(9) drives past Brooklyn Nets point guard

(8) during the second half of Boston

In a game in which the Boston Celtics did everything they could to literally hand the Brooklyn Nets a victory, somehow the final buzzer sounded with the Celtics on top, 91-84.

I’m willing to bet that if Brad Stevens had been told that his team would commit a season-high 28 turnovers tonight, he probably wold not have been bold enough to predict a victory for the Cs.  Probably.  I mean, I don’t know the guy, but he doesn’t look mentally deranged, and only a mentally deranged person would be comfortable saying, “Twenty-eight TOs?  Ah, we still got this!”

And yet, the mentally deranged folks are the ones celebrating, because Boston DID commit 28 turnovers, yet still won!  I still have not figured out how this is physically possible.

I suppose the Nets’ 4-for-30 shooting performance from behind the 3-point line had something to do with this victory.  When you’re gifting the ball to the other team all night long, and that team returns the favor by building a brick house at the other end of the court, you really are left with no option but to try and win the damn game.  Brooklyn really stuck to the game plan tonight, which apparently was to have every player on the roster try to miss at least 12 three pointers on the evening, a la J.R. Smith‘s 5-17 shooting performance from behind the arc for the Knicks back in December.

In the terrible Eastern Conference this season, the new math is 28 TOs > 36 missed three pointers.  This year’s draft better be as good as advertised, because the Eastern Conference could use some talent.

Mar 7, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (9) goes for a shot in the lane over Brooklyn Nets power forward Mason Plumlee (1) during the second half of Boston

Boston was led tonight by Rajon Rondo, who scored 20 points (16 in the first half), grabbed seven boards and handed out nine dimes.  Rondo should really have more like 15 assists tonight, as his teammates were doing their best to blow easy shots that were created by Rondo.  In one stretch in the first half alone, there was one possession that saw Rondo make a beautiful pass that led to a missed shot in the paint, which was followed by Rondo stealing the ball before the Nets could cross half court, only to see another pass lead to an empty possession as the Celtics futzed around a missed a few gimmes.  Haters want to tell me that Rondo was only good because he was passing to Hall of Famers.  Nice try.  Rondo was making Hall of Fame passes tonight, but his team wasn’t good enough to finish.  He can’t make the pass AND finish the shot, folks.  And speaking of making the shot, Rondo was 3-6 on his 3-ball attempts, which ought to cause opposing point guards to begin pooing in their pants (what’s with all of the poo references today?), since Rondo will be unstoppable if he seriously develops into a threat from outside.

Jeff Green (15 pts.) , Jerryd Bayless (14 pts.), and Kelly Olynyk (13 pts.) continue to provide solid contributions, and Jared Sullinger (12 rebounds) helped give the Celtics a whopping 62-37 advantage on the glass tonight.

In related news, the Los Angeles Lakers continue to tank hardcore, giving up 134 points to the Denver Nuggets to fall to 21-42, good for fifth-worst in the NBA.   The Celtics are now tied with Utah for the next-worst record, so hang on tight: the fight for a top five pick in the NBA draft is starting to heat up!