Posted by Mike Petraglia

The Celtics had just come off a rare stretch in which they not only lost three of four on the West Coast but didn’t play very well in the process. Well, nothing like the six-win Washington Wizards on your home court to serve as the perfect tonic. Friday night, Paul Pierce came out and made his first nine shots from the floor and the Celtics went from one-on-one basketball that cost them dearly in Portland to passing the ball around and sharing the wealth. Rajon Rondo had 14 of Boston’s 31 assists on the night and the big men help the Celtics outrebound the Wizards, 47-35, with Kendrick Perkins hauling in 10.

Doc Rivers said his team desperately needed this win.

Rivers said he was concerned that his team might be tired coming off the road trip.

Rivers said his team isn’t about to coast in the second half with so much at stake.

Paul Pierce said he just took what was given to him.

Pierce said he was able to take advantage of open chances.

Eddie House said the key to success Friday night revolved around sharing the ball.

Wizards coach and Tufts grad Ed Tapscott said his team had no answer to Pierce and the Celtics.

Caron Butler said Pierce and the Celtics took it to the Wizards.

Posted by Jessica Camerato

The buzz surrounding the Boston Celtics interest in Stephon Marbury lends itself to a pressing question — what does this mean for Sam Cassell? The 39-year-old point guard has yet to play a minute this season and is biding his time coaching the reserves from the bench. It’s no secret that Cassell has bigger plans after basketball, so what does he think about a possible acquisition that could bump him from the roster?

“I’m here to do what this team asks me to do,” Cassell said. “I’ve had a great career and I’m cool with it. Whatever the team needs from me. I want to coach. I’m almost 40-years-old … so it’s going to happen sooner or later. Either this year or next year.”

But just because Cassell is up for whatever helps the Celtics, that doesn’t mean he’s ready to hang up his sneakers today. Cassell said there is no agreement between he and the Cs that he’ll step down during the season.

“No not at all. There’s nothing unwritten in this league,” he said. “I’m a part of this team til the end.”

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Posted by Paul Flannery

The number for tonight, boys and girls, is twenty. As in assists. In their loss to Golden State, the Celtics had 18 assists, and only two from the bench. Against Portland, the number was 13, and only one came from a reserve. On Friday night against Washington (go here for the recap), the Celtics had 31 assists, with seven coming from the second unit.

“The big thing,” Brian Scalabrine said, “is that we passed the ball so well.”

The Celtics have so many weapons offensively, but it’s both a blessing and a curse that they don’t take advantage of those weapons if they don’t share the ball. The Celtics are so well-conditioned to not exert their individual personalities on the offensive end that there are times when the offense breaks down and gets muddled when the passes aren’t moving and the cuts aren’t being made.

This goes against the prevailing Alpha Male wisdom that has permeated the NBA since the rise of Michael Jordan. That is, the great player is the great player because he is unstoppable one-on-one. That was fine for MJ, who was the greatest of them all, and it worked out well for Hakeem Olajuwon, as well, but for 40 some-odd years before Jordan great teams worked because they played as a team.

Certainly other teams of recent vintage have played like that (Detroit in 2004 being the best example), but what makes the Celtics so unique is that they have three certain Hall of Famers who willingly share the ball and the responsibility, sometimes to a fault.

“We play against ourselves,” Scalabrine said, and what he meant is on the rare occasions when the Celtics actually lose, it’s generally because they don’t play well together as a team.

The starting five has figured that part out. Paul Pierce was at his best against Washington, taking advantage of a hideous mismatch against young Dominic McGuire who has neither the size nor the experience to play Pierce.

Pierce dropped in 26 of the most effortless points you will ever see him score, and he so mystified McGuire that Washington coach Ed Tapscott was forced to put Caron Butler on Pierce, and Butler is coming back from an ankle injury.

“Paul was terrific,” Tapscott said. “They are a very good team. They share the ball. They don’t seem who to care who scores.”

They don’t just seem to not care who scores, they really don’t care. “I was just playing in the flow of the game,” Pierce said. “We moved the ball and spaced the floor and I was just taking advantage of my opportunities.”

But here was the difference Friday. The second unit came in and did the same thing. The reserves racked up seven assists, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s a whole lot better than what they managed on the road. “That’s more like how we’ve been playing,” Doc Rivers said. “Both units.”

The reward, as Kevin Garnett termed it, for the bench’s play was a short night for the starters. Ray Allen played 30 minutes and everyone else was in the 20’s. That’s exactly the blueprint for the Celtics as they enter the dog days of their schedule. They have road games at New York (Sunday) and Charlotte (Tuesday), a home game against Houston Wednesday, and then two more on the road, Cleveland Friday and Toronto Sunday.

“Great night,” Rivers said referring to the short minutes. The fine line that Rivers has to walk for the next few months is keeping the minutes down for Garnett, Pierce and Allen, while developing the second unit that clearly has some flaws, and finding a way to win games.

“We need some practice,” Rivers said almost wistfully. “We need to work these things out, but we don’t want to lose while we’re working them out. We want to win.”

Post-script: Normally it’s Garnett who gets off the great one-liner, but Pierce took home the honors when he was asked about tying Danny Ainge’s team record for most 3-pointers in a game without a miss. Pierce made his first five, but missed the sixth, his only misfire of the night.

“Hmmm, I’ve got to think about it,” Pierce said. “Records and Danny Ainge? I guess so because he doesn’t hold that many records. It would have been nice to erase his name. Just messing with you Danny.”

Just to illustrate the point, all five of Pierce’s 3-pointers came on assists.

****

For a complete breakdown of Friday’s game against the Wizards, visit the Celtics Game Day Blog.

Posted by Jessica Camerato

The fourth quarter kicks off with New England Patriots QB Matt Cassel helping Lucky out with a slam dunk. The standing ovation was so loud there was no telling the Pats has been eliminated from the playoffs.

- It’s garbage time with both second units on the court. Davis/Powe/TA/House/Pruitt vs. McGee/Songalia/Crittenton/Young/Dixon.

- Pruitt and Young were college teammates at USC. Young was a first rounder in the 2007 Draft, Pruitt went at #32. So far Young has seen more playing time but Pruitt has a ring, so you take your pick.

- The Garden is still surprisingly packed with the Celtics up 90-62 halfway through the fourth quarter. After a 1-3 road trip, the fans can’t get enough of winning again.

- Gino’s on … O’Bryant’s in … it’s almost closing time.

- After yesterday’s talking-to at practice, O’Bryant’s alley-oop dunk got KG to his feet.

- Teammates no more: Pruitt got swatted to the ground by Etan Thomas. Young walked by … and kept on going. It’s true, basketball is a business.

- The nail is officially in the coffin. Scal hit a trey with three minutes to go, putting the Celtics over the 100-point mark.

- Final score: Celtics 108, Wiz 83