Deceptive December
Celtics thriving so far this month
When the NBA released the Celtics' schedule, December appeared more than daunting with 16 games (10 on the road) in 31 days. A five-game West Coast swing, a two-game tour of Texas, four sets of back-to-backs, road games against East rivals Cleveland and Miami. Given the Celtics' youth and shortage of time together, December loomed as a make-or-break month, even in the endlessly forgiving Eastern Conference.
But far from being a debacle, December has turned into a revelation. The Celtics are 6-4 so far, including 3-3 on the road. With each game, the Celtics prove they can play unselfish and uptempo basketball, with players famous for demanding the ball -- like Gary Payton, Paul Pierce, and Ricky Davis -- leading the way.
Recently they have shown the mental toughness to come back from large deficits and to close out tight games. A double-overtime defeat of the Clippers at
"We're starting to play well," said Rivers. "Obviously, we haven't got 10 games in a row, but we've won four out of five. That's a nice streak for us. You think about the one we lost [in Portland]. It was because we didn't hit the rim on a shot [and committed a shot-clock violation]. All we had to do was hit the rim and we win that one. But we've been in the last six or seven games. We're starting to scratch some out. [The Cavaliers] are going to say they let one get away and we took one. The same thing could be said with the Clippers. It's starting to even out."
The West Coast trip stands as a turning point, considering it ended with what Rivers called a "gutty win" over the Clippers a game after a defeat of the Sonics, who at the time shared the best record in the league and had not lost at home this season. Those victories, as well as the one over Cleveland, demanded lots of mental toughness, the quality Rivers has targeted as essential for Boston to be successful. In Seattle, the Celtics had to overcome the swagger of the Sonics. Against the Clippers, Boston had to come back from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime, then dig out of a 4-point hole to force a second OT. And at Gund Arena against the Cavaliers, the Celtics had to rally from 15 points behind in the fourth quarter.
"The mental part is [coming quicker than I expected]," said Rivers. "I still think we have a ways to go as far as getting what we're doing. But we're starting to become a team. You're starting to see guys not worry about who it is that's scoring. We're not even looking who the guy is. We're just passing it there.
"I actually thought that started in the Portland game when Jiri [Welsch] was ice cold and they kept feeding him and they kept feeding him and they kept feeding him. I thought that paid off. We've had a lot of practice at end-of-game situations. That's the one thing I would say about our team is we've probably had more practice at it than anybody else in the league."
The Celtics did not work out yesterday in Miami, though they return to the practice floor today in preparation for tomorrow night's game against the Heat, who own the best record in the East. It will be another test.
"[The win in Cleveland] shows us where we could be and what we need to be doing to get there," said Davis. "We've just got to keep rolling and try to keep going in Miami."
