Sports Redux: Defense = Domination

Michael Dwyer / Associated Press Maybe the results are a little skewed, since the Charlotte Bobcats clearly didn’t belong on the same floor or in the same league as the Celtics last night. Or maybe the Bobcats just looked like that because the C’s’ defense locked them up so tight that Amnesty International was handing out flyers by the end of the game. Final score: 92-59. Except for a lackluster spurt in the second quarter, the C’s completely whupped Charlotte at both ends of the floor all night long. While the C’s’ offense was, to put it charitably, streaky - Ray Allen, at 6 for 17, dominates the conversation here - the defense was everything everyone in green wanted to see. The Bobcats went scoreless the first five minutes (they broke that record at the start of the second half). They put up 13 in the first quarter, and 10 in the third. They didn’t hit one three-pointer. Boris Diaw, at 3-of-7, was their best shooting starter, and Gerald Wallace was the only Cat in double figures (and that took 40 minutes). Sure, they were without ostensible starters and potential scorers Raja Bell and Flip Murray. But still. This was a smothering. Paul Pierce: "When you feel like you’re forcing turnovers it gets contagious and guys are everywhere and you just know that the guys are going to be there. Everybody’s helping one another. It’s great to watch." Offensive numbers are almost beside the point in a game like this, but Ray led the team with 18, Rondo had 10 with 11 assists, and Shelden

Williams added a 12/11 and looks like he’s going to make a run at filling the hole in our hearts that Leon Powe took with him to Cleveland. While we’re on the NBA, we should point out that even though disgraced referee Tim Donaghy had his book canceled by the publisher , parts of it have gotten out. It was pulled because of liability issues, and not the wooden prose ("slightly above Jose Canseco&quot, says one Bostonist), but thanks to Deadspin, we can see what the NBA doesn’t want us to see . The worst and saddest part is that none of Donaghy’s allegations are particularly hard to believe. Also, apparently, if we mention Dick Bavetta, we make Dick Bavetta happy. Dick Bavetta. Some nitwit yesterday said that baseball was over, but it’s back now, thanks to Cliff Lee’s throttling of the Yankees in Game One of the World Series. Tonight, Pedro takes the mound in the Bronx, and that’s got everyone reminiscing about his fight with Don Zimmer . He confusingly told New York fans via the press, "I don’t know if you realize this, but because of you guys in some ways, I might be at times the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium. I can honestly say that." Except for maybe Gehrig, Mantle, Reggie, DiMaggio, and that fat right fielder that played there in the ’20s and ’30s, he might have a point. The only way that quote could have been funnier is if Manny said it.

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Sports Redux: Defense = Domination