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July 4, 2009
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The Celtics improved to 10-2 on the season with a win over the now faltering New York Knicks 110-101. Boston was without Kevin Garnett for a rather dubious suspension and the Knicks were without Eddy Curry for an equally dubious injury. We’ll say it was at the very least an equal swap for the Knicks who still never really had a chance in the game, thanks to the lack of any interior defense and an aggressive Rajon Rondo finding himself at home in the lane once again with a stellar performance. Justin Poulin and Kevin Henkin break down the game, admonish the league for it’s suspension of Garnett, and look ahead to Thursday and Friday’s games against the Pistons and T-Wolves respectively.
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Just listening to the podcast and was very surprised to hear Justin’s comments re: Ray on the fastbreak. I must be seeing something totally different because from the beginning of last year to this year, I can’t believe how AWFUL Ray has been on the fastbreak. He’s blown so many easy man-advantage opportunities, it’s a little stunning (to me). He did have that nice give and go tonight with Eddie which really surprised me with its crispness at the time.
I’d agree that he struggled last season, but most of that was finishing at the rim on the break - not so much being unable to run the floor. I thought he had a couple times tonight (the one with Eddie also sticks out the most) where he ran well in transition. He’s also been the receiver of numerous steal this year and been out on the wing, then turned inside to finish at the rim - where he is finishing much better than last season. He seems to be looking for those opportunities more this season and getting back quickly when the team forces a turnover. Do you see any o those things too Berk or am I on an island here?
I would agree, he does seem to leak out more this year, but he’s made some more awful passes. And I don’t think it’s magnified in my head becauses I’m sensitive to it from last year; he just seems to do this. I hope he cleans it up pronto. Can’t really say one way or another if he’s finishing better this year, though.
I’ll keep an eye out for his poor passing and see if I don’t notice it myself. He’s definitely finishing better at the rim vs last year and I think you notice that right away in his confidence in attacking the rim, where he gets most of his free throws. While it’s a small sample size, his average PPG are the same as last year but he is averaging 1.2 more FTA per game and is shooting 10% worse from beyond the arc than last season.