Every now and then you get a great game that needs to be analyzed. Well, with Houston playing at home riding a 22-game win streak, taking on the team with the best record in Boston… as I like to say, attention must be paid.


So here are my 10 thoughts about the game:

(1) I know his offensive numbers were well below par (4-11, 8 pts, only two free throw attempts), but Tracy McGrady put on a display last night. He worked his ass off to get the rest of the team involved. His eight assists weren’t just run-of-the-mill drive and kick, and the shooter hits his shot. Almost every one of his assists created an easy lay-up opportunity for his offensively-challenged teammates. If it wasn’t for several missed lay-ups, T-Mac easily would have registered double-digit assist numbers. I’ve never been a huge McGrady fan, and what he does in the playoffs will define him as a player, but the guy has been the kingpin of the second-greatest winning-streak in NBA history and he deserves a ton of credit.

(2) That said, Houston will not go far in the playoffs with Rafer Alston at the point. No surprise here. But, just in case you have forgotten, he is wildly inconsistent, falls in love with his shot, and too often wants to go mano e mano with the entire other team.

(3) Talking about bad point guard play, that is exactly what the Celtics got with Rajon Rondo. He finished strong going 4/5 in the field for the second half, but he managed only two assists in 27 minutes and seemed legitimately intimidated by Rafer after their little shoving match before the game had even begun. To be fair, he is young and was coming off a back-to-back against the Spurs, so it wasn’t all bad.

(4) Speaking of that shoving match… wasn’t it nice to see some legitimate hate going on between two teams in the regular season? The game felt like the playoffs. Very refreshing.

(5) Sam Cassell may want to avoid putting that game on his personal highlight reel. Rafer had an embarrassing steal on him, and Sam threw some brutal passes. Yes he is a veteran, but you could see he is not in sync with the rest of his teammates.

(6) Houston rookie Luis Scola will be a great player, but last night was not his night. Kevin Garnett was dunking on him like he was Shawn Bradley, and for a high-energy guy, Scola had several lazy moments leading to offensive rebounds for the Celtics. On the plus side, his style of play will eventually lead to being punched in the face on a fairly regular basis. His flagrant foul on Tony Allen was a prime example. Scola is kind of like Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili rolled into six fouls of annoying for his opponents.

(7) Yes, Boston made the right call consistently sending 2-3 guys at T-Mac every time Houston had the ball in the half court, but their effectiveness goes beyond X’s & O’s. No team has a better collection of players who are committed to playing D. These guys have the athleticism, length and IQ to shut down any great player.

(8) Give the Rockets coaching staff credit for getting as much offense as they have with this roster over the past two months. Shane Battier, Chuck Hayes, Mike Harris and Dikembe Mutombo aren’t exactly the type of players who can create their own shot or even hit a shot.

(9) Watch for Houston to have a losing record over their next 10 games. Teams usually go thorough an emotional letdown after coming off a winning streak like this. Also with the Hornets, Warriors, Suns and Spurs on the horizon, I don’t think anyone would be shocked to see Houston go 4-6.

(10) Winning back-to-back against San Antonio (crazy comeback win) and Houston on the road is the most impressive thing I’ve seen in the NBA this season. The Celtics are the best team in the NBA-- not just the East but the entire league.

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