BOSTONThe Boston Celtics made it look easy in their 99-81 win over the Sacramento Kings.
But as lopsided as the final score was, the actual game played was even more decisive.
And what the Celtics were doing to put the Kings away wasn't all that complicated and didn't involve a bunch of intricate Xs and Os, either.
Keep the ball moving.
Get into the offense quickly.
Find the open guy.
Make shots.
Defend all five positions.
It all came together for Boston to form one of the Celtics' most lopsided wins this season.
And as much as Doc Rivers has preached about keeping things simple, he knows all too well that well, it's not that easy to do.
"It's difficult; it's more difficult than you think," Rivers said. "Especially when you think you have a matchup (advantage)."
More than anything else, the Celtics made quick decisions offensively against Sacramento which seemed to catch the Kings off guard and kept them in catch-up mode all game.
"If you have a shot, shoot it. If you don't have a shot, pass it and then try to find another shot for yourself or someone else," Rivers implored his team to do.
And they did just that, seemingly on the attack from the opening tip-off.
"One of the things me and Courtney (Lee) told each other before the game, 'just get it and go!'" said C's guard Avery Bradley. "That's what we were doing."
Celtics Nation shouldn't get too giddy about the win.
After all, it was over a Sacramento Kings (17-30) team that has been among the worst road teams in the NBA this season.
If anything, it served as a blueprint for how the Celtics can manage to win games this season without Rondo, the league's assists leader.
There were a number of Boston players who had better-than-average games.
Although Paul Pierce only had 16 points, he did it on 5-for-9 shooting and also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out four assists. His double-double on Wednesday came on the heels of his first triple-double of the season on Sunday against Miami.
Brandon Bass, Jeff Green and Jason Terry each had 12 points off the bench.
Others had solid games scoring or with steady defense.
But in the end, there was not one individual Celtics performer whose play stood out significantly more than others.
And for them to keep rolling along as the competition only gets stronger, that has to be the identity of this team going forward.
"The majority of the time, we're gonna have to spread it out, do it by committee," Terry said. "Collectively as a group, that's how we're gonna win."
"We have a lot of weapons, man, and we gotta be able to utilize them," said Pierce. "We've been up and down with it all season, but moving forward, this is definitely the way we have to play."