Some post-game thoughts (Celtics edition)

I'm tired so I'll keep this brief . . .

• This was an one of the worst Blazer efforts of the year.  They were absolutely handled by a tired Celtics team on the second night of a back to back. There are, of course, some obvious excuses the Blazers can point to.  


• First, Marcus Camby is new to the team. He doesn't yet know the sets and schemes and the rest of the guys aren't used to playing with him.  You can't expect transitions like that to be seamless.


• Second, Brandon Roy is clearly not at 100%.  He's also rusty from not playing.  Tonight he was not helping the team, as evidenced by his team worst plus/minus of -17.  On the one hand, you have to cut Brandon some slack and give him the time to play his way back into form.  On the other hand, if his hamstring is going to continue to severely limit his movement, it's doubtful that all the playing time in the world is going to get him to a point where he's significantly contributing.  This is a real problem.


• What I found most discouraging tonight, however, was the way the addition of Roy and Camby seemed to affect the overall rotation.  In particular, I was bothered by the fact that Batum played only 5 minutes in the first half, Bayless played only 3, and Dante Cunningham played only 1.  Those three players provide more energy than anyone else on the team, energy that was conspicuously missing in the first half.  I'm glad the Blazers now have help at the center position now, but it is not in the short or long term interest of the team to have Camby and Howard take up all of the available front court minutes.  Dante Cunningham has been playing fantastic basketball lately and should be getting more minutes than Howard.  He's a better defender than Howard and, unlike Howard or Camby, is likely to be a part of the Blazer rotation beyond this season. 


• The same is of course true of Batum and Bayless.  When Bayless finally got some minutes in the second half, he showed why he should have been in the game sooner, repeatedly drawing fouls and getting to the line.  He finished with 14 points. 


• The Blazers have managed to stay afloat this season by out-hustling and out-working other teams.  Tonight, they were out-worked by a geriatric Boston team on the second night of a back to back.  If they play that way against the Jazz, they're going to lose by 50 points.