its hard deciding what you want in this situation. Yeah you dont want the guys getting injured and worn out trying to get 73 wins. But you want them to take pride in their D and learn the discipline of staying focused for 48min even against crap teams.

How about we literally cruise to 73 wins and then beat Detroit and then the Spurs in an epic?

:)

Keep playing the young guys long enough minutes to give the vets some rest. And don’t be afraid to play them in clutch situations. Some days they’ll fail (like Tony going for a pump fake or Rondo getting timid) but other times they’ll come up huge (like Big Baby in the last game) and both outcomes will teach the team valuable lessons for the Spring.

I think Doc has done this and did with the Detroit game. I think that is a large part of why Tony Allen was in there at crucial junctures because this team is going to need Tony Allen and Big Baby come playoff time. Not that the fan outcry has ever impacted the choices Doc has made, but did you notice how many fans (just on this board) posted questions about Doc having Tony in the game at that time? And how he was criticized for having Tony in during the last game?

I agree whole heartedly that I would much rather see some losses on the record if they came at the cost of 25-30min for Allen, Garnett, and Pierce, a night and extended minutes for BB, Tony Allen, and a couple of more bench guys.

The NJ game could be challenging as their new front line has been playing well. This could be a physical game….but aren’t they all these days..

Last team to win with the league’s best record?

San Antonio in 2003 when they tied with Dallas. LA in 2001 the last who held the regular season record outright and the championship.

There’s at least a dozen ways to look at that … something to think on

i don’t think they should let up until they have home court locked up for the playoffs or until that situation is out of their control.

and this team is not the mavs. KG would rip Dirk’s heart out in a 7 game series. also, pierce is playing his best basketball maybe ever and that’s way better than anybody on the mavs. and oh yeah, we have ray allen too. no, barring disaster (or LeBron) you can punch our ticket to the EC finals.

No reason to complain, really….

We have such a great team at the moment (MOMENT) and looking at Minnesota right now with 4 wins is heartbreaking because those were our kids……and that could have been us again all over again, heading for another Lottery Pick and probably Paul Pierce sulking to be traded about now if this team was intact…

This team is in a nice groove at the moment. Believe it or not they are still trying to find themselves……

They are a team in “Heat” LOL and running on all cyclinders…..

The emotion that they are showing is great and I love the energy…..

The one area that will come into play come playoff time is there

u]COMPSURE !!![/u]

I don’t think we need to worry or think about number of wins, burning out, getting the best record, rotations, pg’s, etc. This team is totally focused on getting better. Whether they win or lose the talk is about what they did wrong and how can they improve. This is the atitude that will carry them thru and I don’t see it changing because of the people involved.

As Ian Anderson sang, “And the train it won’t stop going no way to slow down.”

54 wins? I’d take it. I think the C’s can get to 60 easily, but we’ll see. I do expect a slowdown in the 2nd half, if only because all the bubble teams are going to come out fighting for their playoff lives. They won’t be able to say ’it’s a long season’ after the All Star break.

I think the Big Three will be fine for the playoffs. Minutes or not, these guys don’t have to come out stressed every night. Ray doesn’t have to think about scoring 30 to win. That’s a huge burden lifted. KG doesn’t have to grab 20 boards, score 25, get 10 assists & block shots. As for Pierce, he’s a changed player. Getting up on D, making GREAT plays for teammates, scoring when needed and grabbing boards. He’s a more complete player than ever. Doc seems to be making an effort to manage minutes and develop the bench, and so far it’s working. Give Doc some props. It must be incredibly difficult to get KG to sit for ANY amount of time, except for the end of a blowout game.

The good thing is The C’s are seeing results. Ray, PP & KG aren’t pouring it all out only to lose 2 out of 3 games. That’s got to make them feel good.

I think tony Allen’s defense causes other teams more trouble, than the trouble his point guard mishaps cause us. And I think this team’s togetherness comes from its defense.
Bringing in Cassel? Even though there is an argument about backup point guard skills, I would be concerned a drop off in the Team mindset. Secondly, other teams now clearly know our weakness. I think the celts can, and will make adjustments. And I think that will make them a better “Team”. This team may really prefer to win Together with who they have, or loose together. And given how little time they have played together, you have to wonder just how great they are going to get.

responded to the wrong topic….sorry about that

Regarding this topic, as this team plays together they will get better, and better. I suspect they will relax some, but still win.

I would be a little more concerned if they were struggling every game to win. Many of the games they have been able to build comfortable leads and should be able to continue to do that against the crappy teams. I think Doc is doing a decent job handling minutes. Plus he just gave them 2 days off after the win Saturday night so they can get rest in between games since practice is not a critical as last year.

Let’s face it they are winning games this year because of the improved D and I think their style is going to work well in the playoffs. This is not a Dallas/Phoenix type team that can score but not defend.

I will say I am interested, like most people to see how they do in Feb when they go on the road after the break to Denver, Golden State, Phoenix, Portland and Clips and in March when they head to the Milwaukee, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and New Orleans

RE: Trades. Mid season is a GREAT time to improve your team. You can pick up released players or trade for vet help.

Not sure who is out there for PG, but anyone with defense & passing skills is going to be an upgrade over TA & House. House stuggles to bring the ball up under pressure & TA’s a turnover or steal waiting to happen. Tough to watch sometimes. We do need a 3rd center. I’d think Ainge was looking at Mbenga. He was just released by Golden State. He’d a decent 7 footer with playoff experience. For games against teams when you’re burning fouls against big men, he’d be perfect.

The fact is that most of the teams in the NBA are not very good. Even in the vaunted West, there are not that many teams who threaten the Celtics. The top six teams in the West are in any order, San Antonio, Pheonix, Dallas, Portland, Denver, and the Lakers, The Celtics have already beaten the Lakers twice and Denver once. Let’s say they go .500 against the big three of San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix, and split with Portland and Denver. That is 6-6 against the “big western teams” everyone is always yammering about. Who else are they going to lose to? I don’t think this team is going to slack off anytime soon. I think they will win at least 65 games and maybe make a run at 72.

Nets on Friday and Wizards on Saturday scare me. These will be tough road games against teams playing pretty well recently. We need Ray Allen to step up in these games.

Well it sure did the Bulls good. Just because Dallas last year was an exception does not mean that every team is going to be in trouble if they keep on a exceptional pace of winning.