Celtics second half pushes them past Clippers

The first half of this game was pretty ugly looking.

The Celts were being fairly aggressive on both ends but that was about all that could be said for them. They couldn't get a shot to fall, shooting around 35 percent, and on defense they were plagued by multiple mistakes that the Clippers exploited.

Despite their poor shooting, they remained just seven points back entering the second half.

Eventually, the boys in green began to separate themselves from the Blakers. After opening the third quarter a bit sloppy, trading turnovers multiple times with the Clips, they finally got it together and were able to make several runs to put themselves on top for good.

Paul Pierce came up huge with 24 points, while KG and Big Baby did a stellar job of shutting down Blake Griffin in the second half. By the end of the game Blake looked visibly flustered. After getting constantly bumped and harassed all not he was probably dying for space so he could throw down a vicious dunk. Sort of like how Dwight Howard feels night after night. Better get used to it Blake.

I loved what I saw from D West. He chipped in 9 points off the bench, including a pair of threes. But he showed the ability to handle the ball and run the offense with the starters, which could be a HUGE deal for us.

One of our biggest weaknesses and why we often have trouble closing out games is Rondo's jumpshooting and free throw shooting ability. I hate to bring it up but Game 7 was a perfect example of this. While it seemed like everyones legs were fading, Kobe sagged completely off Rondo, daring him to take the jumper. Instead of exploiting this, Rondo often dribbled the air out of the ball, looking for someone to get open.

Delonte gives us the ability to actually play 5 on 5 down the stretch. Unless Rondo REALLY has it going and is REALLY attacking the hoop well, then I think Delonte should be in there late in games. His ability to hit the long jumpers will keep defenses honest. Pretty much it will force them to play 5 on 5 instead of turning it into 4 on 5 which they often do with Rondo.

Jeff Green looked thoroughly confused and lost at times but I respected his effort. He had to have some butterflies going but he did show an ability to get to the free throw line. As a young player it is great that he isn't shying away from contact. That's a good sign.

I didn't expect to say this but I was impressed with Nenad Krstic on the offensive boards. He finished with six offensive boards. And the C's as a whole finished with 14, matching their season high. So last night Danny looked smart. Hopefully it only gets better from here.