Gorman: Celtics Fun To Watch Because They Play Hard, Push Pace On Offense
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Celtics may not be the best team in the NBA, but they're certainly near the top of the list if you ranked the most fun teams to watch.
In just his second season in the NBA, Brad Stevens has his Celtics leading a high-paced offensive attack. Boston leads the league with 25 assists per game, and ranks second in the NBA at 106.3 points per game and 88.7 field goal attempts per game.
This makes for some fun nights when the Celtics take the floor, and C's play-by-play man Mike Gorman couldn't be happier with what he's seen over the first two weeks of the season.
"Nobody thought this team would be 3-3 six games into the season. And certainly no one thought they'd go into Chicago and drill the Bulls," Gorman said Wednesday on his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich. "There is reason to watch these guys; they're fun to watch, they play hard, and they play a type of game that is fun to watch. They take a lot of shots, so it's not like they're milking the clock and trying to squeak by people.
"They're pacing the game, pushing the ball and taking shots early in the shot clock. They've turned out to be a very good offensive rebounding team so they can go after their own misses. They have to shore it up defensively, but offensive teams are always fun to watch and fun to call. Tommy [Heinsohn] is happy because they're running, so my life is easier."
One thing these Celtics are doing well is rebounding, which is something even the Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce Celtics struggled to do. The C's rank seventh in the league averaging 44.3 boards per game, and Gorman said it's even more impressive since they're doing it without a true stud on the glass.
"You have a great rebounding guard in Rondo who every night puts up 7-8 rebounds from the point guard position, so that helps their totals a lot," he said. "Other than Jared Sullinger (averaging a team-high 8.3 boards per game) they don't have a great rebounder. I think Sully can be a double-digit rebounder for his career, but after that you just have a bunch of guys getting 5, 6, 7 rebounds."
Gorman said while Sullinger isn't as big as his competition on most nights, he can really use his body to his advantage.
"It's hard to do on TV, because the camera is compelled to follow the ball, but if you can train your eye to watch off the ball and watch him play, you understand why he can do what he can do," said Gorman. "He knows angles very well and he understands those innately. And while the Celtics wanted him to lose a little more weight than he did over the summer, he knows how to play with that weight. He's Barkley-like that way."
Gorman also touched on the early struggles of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the support the Celtics receive every night from their faithful fans. Listen to the full interview below:
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