Sports Redux: Pace Thyself

The Celtics didn't make any rumored changes to the starting five and routed the Indiana Pacers 122-103. But, the bench and its 26 first-half points provided a spark to help the Celtics quickly open a first-half lead. At the end of the first quarter, Marquis Daniels scored a bucket, Nate Robinson buried a three-pointer and Glen Davis blocked a shot to put Boston up six, 29-23.

Robinson added three more treys as the Green pulled ahead 45-32. The starters padded the advantage to 67-47 at the break.

Paul Pierce paced the Celtics with 20 points and Rajon Rondo added 16 and 11 assists. Davis and Robinson each finished with 15 points off the bench. Robinson had five three-pointers. The bench finished with 54 points.

A good win? Yeah. Doc Rivers, though, put it in perspective. "One game doesn't fix anything," he said.

In an ideal world, Matt Cooke will be willing to answer for his hit on Marc Savard and defend himself against whichever Bruins player gets to him first. Savard's mother might be first in line defending Boston's injured center. Rollande Savard reportedly told the Ottawa Citizen:

If I would have been there, I would have hit him myself. He should be out. That kid shouldn’t be playing. He should be penalized. We all know it shouldn’t be allowed in the game and we hear this stuff about new rules taking effect next year. That’s bull. Do something now.

Savard was partly commenting on the NHL's lack of punishment for Cooke but "do something now" could be the B's mantra for their bad intentions for the entire Pittsburgh roster on March 18, As for the idea that the expected retribution be visited upon Sidney Crosby, well, Steve Buckley was right: Don't do it. The league won't overlook any runs at Crosby.

The idea of Ben Watson leaving the Patriots to join the Cleveland Browns is easy to accept. However, it means the team needs to find someone else to play the position. The Globe says the tight end options are slim in free agency which makes drafting one a possibility. On the other hand, Kevin Faulk is staying in New England.

While personnel moves like that are interesting, the news that Wes Welker is also recovering from a torn rotator cuff sheds an entirely new light on his status for the 2010 season. Bostonist wonders if this affects Bill Belichick's plan for building next season's squad.