Celtics perplex foes
They're proving tough to cover
The Toronto Raptors had difficulty figuring out what happened to them early Sunday afternoon. The Raptors set up defensively to limit Paul Pierce, who had burned them for a 22-point final quarter in the Celtics' 94-87 win in the teams' first meeting of the season. But the rest of the Celtics ran rings around the Raptors this time in a 118-103 victory, their fifth straight as they prepare for tomorrow's game against Golden State.
Toronto stopped Pierce, who struggled to score 11 points. The problem was the other nine Celtics who were involved in the contest before garbage time, beginning with point guard Rajon Rondo, who started fast and did not slow down until being pulled after 26 minutes of playing time.
"Rondo starting off the game, he pushed the ball the whole time, he put pressure on their defense and we got shots," Ray Allen said. "He kept penetrating. This is a textbook game for him - it's how he should attack every game. Rondo set a great tempo for us and got some easy looks. They were trying to guess where it was coming from all half.
"I think this was one of the rare moments where we executed the game plan. We do make it look a lot tougher than this, and we have done that, so far. I think we took command of the game early and made sure we made some plays."
Possibly because of the Raptors' attention on Pierce, they appeared to forget about Allen - but that is simplifying the situation. Anthony Parker spent much of his time in hot pursuit of Allen, but most of the time arrived too late to do anything meaningful.
Rondo's 9-point first quarter (the Celtics led, 32-20) was a continuation of his high-speed choreographing. Rondo scored 11 points as the Celtics outscored Minnesota, 35-10, in the third quarter of a 95-78 win Friday (the starters sat out the final quarter). Five minutes into the game at the
Asked if opponents are likely to change their approach to limit Rondo, Allen replied, "They have to help. And I'm on one side and Paul's on one side and Kevin's over there, Perk's got his post game going, so what do you do? You have to pick and choose what you want to be."
Rondo's penetration seemed to knock the Raptors off-balance and set up easy, or at least open, shots for teammates. This was not a particularly good shooting day for the Celtics, judging by their free throws. But they had so many layups they actually shot better from the field (61.6 percent) than the foul line (60.0). The reserves were especially on target, shooting 15 for 23 before Gabe Pruitt missed thrice with the result long since clinched in the final minutes.
"I don't necessarily have to get the ball to the post, but drive, as well," Rondo said. "My job is to get to the paint but attacking off the dribble. When guys are backpedaling, it's tough to defend a guy coming full speed at you.
"It's part of me growing as a young player, knowing when and when not to attack. I have to keep teams honest - you can't help out because that leaves Ray, or Paul, or KG, and Perk is there for a dunk.
"And those guys are unselfish. I took 11 shots [against Toronto] but they don't mind, as long as we get the win.
"I am trying to put together a string of games, trying to be consistent. Except for the turnovers, I'm pretty pleased."
Rondo outplayed Jose Calderon in the game.
"He is a great player and I really respect his game and what he's done so far," Rondo said. "I was just trying to stay aggressive."
Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at fdellapa@globe.com 