If NBA games were decided like elections, the Celtics would be feeling pretty good about themselves. After three quarters, the exit polls show them in the lead or with a chance of winning. But then, in the fourth, the Celtics tank more than John Kerry did in the red states.
The Celtics entered last night’s game at the Madison Square Garden 0-2 and frustrated. As one of two teams – the 76ers are the other – the Knicks are expected to fight out for the Atlantic division title, Boston’s start, as a former Knick announcer liked to say, is “not what they had in mind.”
“This is getting old already and it’s only been two games,” Doc Rivers said after Friday night’s loss to the injury-depleted Pacers. “We’ve just got to get tougher.”
In the season opener, the Celtics led 83-71 after three quarters, but lost 98-95 to the Sixers. Friday, the Celtics were tied at 68 before losing 100-94 to the Pacers. The Celtics are a young team with talent. Still, a team led by Paul Pierce, Ricky Davis, Raef Lafrentz and Mark Blount isn’t exactly scary. Boston does have future Hall of Famer Gary Payton, but he is now 36.
“We have been playing great in the first three quarters and then slack up in the fourth quarter,” said Payton, who reluctantly accepted a trade from the Lakers to Boston, knowing his chances at a championship were basically voided. “I think it’s just mental. We need to be mentally tough. There are a lot of young guys in here and I think we stop playing in the fourth quarter.”
Payton played well Friday, scoring 14 points and dishing out 10 assists, despite having a fractured right thumb.
The Celtics feel they have a gen in rookie Al Jefferson. A 6-10, 265-pound forward, Jefferson was the 15th pick in the first round, jumping from Prentiss (Miss.) H.S. to the NBA. The 19-year-old Jefferson hit all three of his shots in 11 minutes Friday. If all goes according to plan, Jefferson and the Knicks’ youngster Trevor Ariza could be battling for years. Both might have lottery talent.
It would be shocking in the coming years, with more high school seniors and college freshman leaving for the NBA Draft, that future All-Stars slip into the mid-first or even the second round. Without enough evidence of how these players perform against top competition, drafting will become even more guesswork. The Celtics like how Jefferson has started; now they would just like to find someone, anybody who can finish.