Looking back at C's-Raptors: What up Luke Harangody? Game 35.

The bottom line: The Celtics pride themselves on being a defense first team. Not so much last night... But when you score 67 first half points to your opponents 45, that's kind of okay. The Celtics ran away with this one early, and the Raptors never caught up. They came within 12 a couple of times, but the Celtics held on and never let them any closer. The real story of this game is Luke Harangody. In 26 minutes and 42 seconds of wonderful play, he recorded the first double-double of his young career: 17 points and 11 rebounds. The points came in a variety of ways- 10 to 15 feet away from the basket, and in the paint. The rebounds, too, came in a variety of ways. 4 of them were offensive. Since I'm a Syracuse fan, I watched Luke while he was playing at Notre Dame and I was amped when the Celtics drafted him. Yes, Avery Bradley was the flashier pick, coming at 19. But I was excited about Luke, because who doesn't love guys who are pure and simple workmen? So what if he's undersized and not especially athletic? He has an innate sense of where he should be on the floor- and when, so he rebounds anyway. Plus, he has no fear, so he bangs in the paint with the best of them. His jumper looks a little bit funny, but he has a quick release, a soft touch... and plenty of confidence. You know, he's a Big East breed white guy, a la Troy Murphy. He knows what he's capable of doing, and he won't try and do more than that.

Play of the game: I'm so annoyed that I can't find video of this... But at the end of the third quarter, Ed Davis was driving to the basket, and guess who- Luke- came streaking in, from across the court, for the block. As if that wasn't enough, he took off down the court, got the ball back, and laid it in. Pure hustle, all over the place!

Other notable things: 
Jermaine O'Neal's knee hurts again 
Perk is on the fast track back (I know I wrote about it already. But it's so exciting!! I can't wait to see the scowl)
KG could be back on Monday (Too much excitement at one time!)
And it was Marquis Daniel's 30th birthday yesterday. Happy belated!