Skip to main content

Celtics vs. Rockets tomorrow - Battle of the Lilliputians?

With Houston's version of Gulliver, Center Clint Capela, off to Atlanta via trade, Mike D'Antoni's seems bent on running his band of Lilliputians down the throats of all opponents. Well, one of Mike's first tests will come tomorrow night against the Boston Celtics, who often put out small lineups of their own.

Houston's top-8 players in minutes run the gamut from 6'3 guards Russell Westbrook, Austin Rivers, Eric Gordon and Ben McLemore to new-acquisition (and tallest of the eight), 6'7" Robert Covington. Their center position is usually covered by 6'5" P. J. Tucker. Make no mistake - not only is this team vertically-challenged, but they also are not very defensive-minded. They have a fast, run-and-gun mentality - and let things fall where they may.


Boston currently goes 10-deep with players logging more than 15 minutes/game. Their Core-5 ranges in height from Kemba Walker at 6' to Jayson Tatum at 6'8". The Celtics starting center is usually 6'8" Daniel Theis, and the only regular to hit the true big-man mark of 6'10" is Enes Kanter. While D'Antoni uses the 6'5" Tucker at the 5-spot, Brad Stevens has used 6'3" Marcus Smart, 6'6" Grant Williams, 6'6" Semi Ojeleye, 6'8" Daniel Theis and 6'10" Kanter in the middle - and will most likely continue to do so. It all depends on the matchup.


Expect to see the Rockets small-ball, run-and-gun offensive attack versus the Celtics slightly-larger, more-balanced offensive/defensive effort tomorrow night. D'Antoni has promised not too blink too quickly and change his lineup if things go wrong (per NBA Clips on Facebook):

"When we're getting to the rim, it's pretty devastating, so they better beat us up inside pretty well before we have to change," D'Antoni said. "We won't blink too quick."

This could be an interesting game!

Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel, @CausewayStreet and Facebook








Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the town police force. When evil and cleverness reside in the same mind, the st

In defense of Marcus Smart

 Let me make it clear first of all that I am totally against making a threat of any kind that even hints at harming, or certainly killing, another human being. Marcus Smart was wrong in doing so in the Celtics loss to the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder , and he deserved the one-game suspension. But to be honest, part of me loved that it occurred. . This type of thing can happen when a player gets to a point "beyond frustration" and is having a bad game. Marcus and his teammates have been under-performing generally - were in the process of losing to a pathetic-and-tanking Thunder team - and Smart was having a bad game . And he let loose verbally at the closest target - an NBA official. Wilt Chamberlain did a similar act versus referee, Earl Strom when Wilt was having his usual tortuous time at the free throw line (per Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith): ''He was in one of those 1-for-13s,'' recalls referee Earl Strom. ''Nothing was getting close. S

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion