Good news for Doc Rivers. With the Celtics off until tomorrow, he doesn't have to kick himself out of a game to watch tonight's election unfold. Thanks to the schedule, the whole teameven you, Darkocan kick back and relax in the shadow of presidential history without worrying about another loss. Of the basketball variety, at least.
As it turns out, the Celtics almost never play on Election Night. In fact, they've taken the court on the first Tuesday in November (in an election year) only twice in the last 40 years. The first time was down in New Orleans on November 2, 1976the night Jimmy Carter knocked off Gerald Fordwhen the defending champs dropped a 115-97 decision to the Jazz. (Pistol Pete scored 43 for New Orleans).
The most recent time? Well, that occurred on the night of our country's last presidential election, and it's also today's Box Score Bank. So, let's set the flux capacitor for . . .
November 4, 2008
"Whatever You Like" by T.I. sat atop the Billboard charts. High School Musical 3: Senior Year was regrettably the No. 1 movie in America. Jared Sullinger was in the middle of High School Basketball 3: Junior Year (sorry). Sarah Palin was enjoying her last moments of relevance.
And over at the Garden, coach Rivers was celebrating his buddy Barack's big night with a victory over the Rockets:
Final Score: Celtics 103, Rockets 99
Boston Celtics
Times have certainly changed for the Celtics since America's last big Election Night. First and foremost, they were still the champs, and in the midst of a ridiculous 27-2 start to their title-defending campaign. The time lapse is also evident in the fact that only three playersRondo, Pierce and KGthat saw the court against the Rockets are still with Boston today. But while that may seem like a lot of turnover, it's nothing compared to what we've seen in Houston. They've gone through an entire roster reseteveryone's gone. And anyway, if the Celtics were going to keep three guys from that year's team, I think they made the right choice.
Although on this night, one of the guys who got away made the biggest contributions to Boston victory: Ray Allen, who torched the Rockets for 29 points, plus a surprisingly-balanced five rebounds and five assists.
But the most surprising thing of all? Doc didn't even get himself ejected!
If there was ever a night he would've been happy to see Bill Kennedy . . .
Rich can be reached at rlevine@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Rich on Twitter at http:twitter.comrich_levine