Nuggets Mine Gold Against Celtics For 97-90 Win

I'm going to spare Commissioner David Stern and the NBA the trouble of trying to wrangle a couple of marquee teams (read: Miami, Oklahoma City) into the Finals.

Here's my suggestion: just have the Celtics and Nuggets play a seven-game series and crown the winner. It will be an entertaining, high-octane affair that basketball purists everywhere can enjoy.

Seriously, though...it was another good one between the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets with only the final outcome providing the dark cloud to this otherwise sunny display.

Yes, the Celtics dropped the game this time (last time, the two teams combined  for 232 points in a triple-overtime barn-burner with the Celtics putting the hammer down at the end for the win), but it was an entertaining loss (if a Celtic fan can actually say that with a straight face).

So, here's what I'm gonna say, and then I'm throwing it to the box score...

All this ludicrous talk about trading Bass and Green or Pierce for Josh Smith...trading Garnett for Bledsoe and Butler or Bledsoe and Jordan...just look at the box score, people. There is NOTHING that those folks are going to do for this team this year and with a couple of them, there may be nothing that they ultimately do for this team to win a championship later, either. Yes, a team with Rondo, Jordan, Bledsoe, Bradley, Sullinger, Smith, Terry, Lee, Barbosa, Melo (and whomever would be left from whatever trade would happen) sounds promising on paper. But, before we go crowning paper champions, let's just think about the team that was highly predicted by many to play for the Championship this year ON PAPER: the Los Angeles Lakers.

So, how did our trade bait do tonight?

Garnett: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Pierce: 10 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

Green: 20 points with 2-4 shooting on threes and 2 blocks.

Bass: 6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

And, what the Hell...since they've also been mentioned...

Bradley: 17 points and Lee: 15 points.

Smith? Bledsoe? Jordan? In the words of Tommy Heinsohn himself: "Gimmie a break!!!"

Box Score

Tale Of The Tape

Celtics Hawk Up 27-Point Lead, Lose In 2-OT: 111-123

Twenty-seven-point lead? Check.

Second triple-double for Rajon Rondo in as many nights? Check.

Winning the battle-of-the-benches by a country mile? Check.

Staying virtually even on the boards, shooting 100% at the line and outshooting your opponent from the field? Check, check and check.

Capitalizing on all of these advantages to come out of Atlanta with the win? Weeeeellllll....

On a night when all of these things did, in fact happen, the Celtics somehow found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a completely new way. Surprising just about everyone with their absolute dominance of the 24-18 Atlanta Hawks, who came out paper-flat to start the first half of the game, the Celtics ran out to a 27-point lead in the 2nd quarter and managed to hold off a small rally to enter the half up 19.

Jeff Green was a major factor (bet you didn't see THOSE words coming!) in this game scoring 17 points and netting 6 rebounds, and he was joined by a much-improved Courtney Lee with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. With an additional 12 points from Jason Terry, the Celtics bench completely buried the Hawk's reserves by a count of 45 to 21.

It's almost becoming routine to talk about Rondo achieving yet another triple-double, but the fact is that Rondo's performance this year has been staggering. Recording his fifth 3-D of the season -- the most of any player League-wide -- Rondo has continued to stake his claim as the premier point guard in the game. Starter Kevin Garnett was exceptional with 24 points and 10 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal, and while Paul Pierce's epic shooting slump continued with The Captain shooting 4-13 for 12 points, he was able to reel in 6 rebounds and dish 4 assists.

So how in the name of Big Bird could the Celtics lose this one? Two words: Ashton Kutcher Kyle Korver.

Korver had a career night, scoring a season high 27 points mostly from a Hawk-record 8 second-half 3-pointers. He was backed up by five other teammates, who scored in double figures including Al Horford (24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals); Jeff Teague (23 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds 3 steals); Josh Smith (17 points,14 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks); Devin Harris with 14; and Ivan Johnson with 11 points.

Oh, and the Celtics' 21 turnovers (6 from Rondo and 5 from Pierce) to the Hawks' 12 didn't help matters much.

Once again...the Celtics showed flashes of what could be, followed -- unfortunately -- by player and fan alike left dreaming about what might have been.

Broken record here, folks, but consistency is the issue and discipline is the only way that these C's are going to get the job done. I still believe it can and will happen -- I just hope that it's before they lock up the race for the 9th spot in the Playoffs.

Heat on Sunday. The Return of Ray-Ray. Impeccable timing.  Yay.

Box Score

Tale Of The Tape