Feeling a little left out
Official knockout given by Pacers
INDIANAPOLIS -- For some time, the Celtics have been in late-season limbo. Not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Not making plans to play past the regular-season finale against the Miami Heat April 19. Not anymore.
Last night, a 117-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse officially eliminated the Celtics from postseason contention for the first time since 2001. But even without a visit to Auburn Hills, Mich., on his calendar, coach Doc Rivers remained in something of a quandary.
''It doesn't mean a lot except that we didn't achieve one of the goals that I wanted us to achieve," said Rivers. ''I didn't make it my first year, but it went down literally to the final shot. These last five or six games have been tough. I was telling Danny [Ainge], 'I don't know what to do.' I was even joking with [Knicks coach] Larry [Brown] and said, 'What the hell do you do?' It's nothing I want to go through again. And I don't plan on going through it again.
''Danny and I are basically on the same page. We know we've got to keep teaching the young guys. These games are important. They really help us with them. We are going to be able to play them a lot of minutes. They're going to play teams that need to win, unlike preseason where neither team could care less for the most part. So, you'll be able to judge them under great duress and I think that's good."
From the opening tap against Indiana, Rivers had plenty of opportunity to watch the youngsters. Tony Allen replaced injured Delonte West (strained left calf) as the starting point guard, joining shooting guard Paul Pierce, small forward Ryan Gomes, power forward Raef LaFrentz, and center Kendrick Perkins. Gerald Green (career-high 22 points in 27 minutes) was quick to earn playing time, as did Orien Greene (23 minutes). In the second quarter, Rivers went with a lineup of Green, Greene, Allen, Gomes, and Michael Olowokandi.
Despite going young, Boston kept pace with Indiana, making up with resiliency and determination, and unexpectedly hot shooting, what it lacked in experience and execution. That was particularly evident in the closing minutes. The Pacers led by a game-high 15 points (106-91) with 8 minutes 5 seconds remaining. But they have been prone to losing seemingly comfortable late leads.
The Celtics seemed to know that and staged a 21-9 run with the starting lineup, closing within 3 (115-112) on a fast-break layup by Allen. The basket came with 1:14 left and the disbelief of the 14,151 fans at the Fieldhouse was audible. Boston had a chance to tie it, but Pierce commited a turnover and Anthony Johnson converted a driving layup at the other end with 19.4 seconds remaining to establish the margin of victory. Indiana coach Rick Carlisle commented that the Pacers had hung on for dear life.
''I can see from games like this that we're prepared for the future," said Pierce (30 points). ''We've given the young guys a chance to step up in the last few games. A lot of these guys would still be sitting if we weren't thinking about the future."
The Celtics trailed by as many as 9 (50-41) in the second quarter before tying it at 61 with 59.4 seconds remaining in the half on a 3-pointer by LaFrentz. The hoop was just another example of how Boston took advantage of the inconsistent effort on defense by Indiana. The Pacers allowed the Celtics to shoot 59.2 percent with West and Wally Szczerbiak (left knee surgery) out of the lineup.
But despite the Pacers' now-you-see-it, now-you-don't defense, the Celtics fell behind by double digits in the third quarter and could never muster a completely successful comeback, even with an improbable 50-foot heave by Green early in the fourth as the shot clock expired. At first, Green claimed he knew it was good all along. Then, the rookie admitted he had never made a shot like that.
