“The key to us has been the communication,” [Garnett] said. “It hasn’t been this constant and this loud. “I can definitely say it’s been different from January, December and November. Coming back from the All-Star break we talked about things we wanted to do short term, and I think we’re starting to do them instead of talking about them.”
...said Paul Pierce, “I don’t (know) if we’ve changed. We’re just doing the things we’ve been doing a lot better, a lot harder. We’re putting more of an urgency in every game, knowing that this is a crucial point in the season and a big road trip for us.”
...“We’re doing a better job,” said Rajon Rondo. “We’re still getting the lead, but this time instead of blowing them by not scoring we’re still getting stops. Even though we may not be scoring as well, we’re stopping teams. “We’re so conscious of it now. Every time we come in at halftime, we continue to tell each other to keep getting stops, keep being disciplined on defense, execute our offense, run the second and third option and stick together out there.
Herald: Celtics finally giving help
Translation: We did a lot of talking before the All Star break but we didn't care to back it up. Now we've flipped the switch and we're doing all the things we talked about.
Everything that happened before the All Star break was basically pre-season basketball for the Celtics. Consider the Celtics 3-0 in the regular season.
Coming up... Page 2, Where Eddie House went off in New York
In his debut with the New York Knicks, former Celtics guard Eddie House dropped 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, over 36 minutes in a 121-118 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He added five rebounds, two assists, and a steal.ESPN Boston: House scores 24 in Knicks debut
The Celtics traded House, Bill Walker, and J.R. Giddens to the Knicks at Thursday's trade deadline for Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry.
House did all he could in his first game in blue and orange, making key shots and free throws late in the game, but the Thunder's Kevin Durant answered each time to lift his team to victory.
Tracy McGrady also made his New York debut Saturday, scoring 26 points in the loss.
Walker did not play, while Giddens remains sidelined while rehabbing from arthroscopic knee surgery.
Nice to see Eddie go off right away. He hit some nice shots... and the Knicks lost. That's a win all around for Celtics fans.
The rest of the links:
Herald: Kevin Garnett's status at core of issue | Globe: Time to change the topic | Souza: Bench pair coming around for Celtics | MWDN: Celtics hot heading into Denver | Telegram: McHale-Veteran C's pacing themselves | Celtics Blog: Win over Blazers was a vote of confidence | Hardwood Houdini: Celtics Fans, Which team scares you most? | Loy's Place: Only two regrets over minimalist deadline activity | CSL: Celtics at the proverbial fork in the road