Nobody's Perfect

by Jeff Clark on Nov 14, 2009 10:42 AM EST in Articles Comment 19 comments

David Zalubowski - AP

Wha?

A little perspective before you panic about last night's loss to a very good Atlanta Hawks team.

Last night the Lakers were routed by 26 points by the Denver Nuggets.
They also lost by 14 to the Dallas Mavericks on the 2nd night of the season.
We've already beat the Cleveland Cavs this year.
The Cavs then promptly went to Toronto and lost by 10.
They also dropped a close game to the Bulls.
The Magic were blown out by the Thunder by 28 points.
They've also dropped games to the Pistons and Cavs.
The C's are now tied with the Suns (the other team that beat us) for the best record in basketball at 8-2.
The Hawks are a game behind at 7-2.

Are there reasons to be concerned? Sure. Every team has issues that they need to address and shortcomings that they need to solve or compensate for. The season is a marathon not a sprint and the 2nd season is what really matters. A loss here or there is good for finding things to get better at and motivating the team to be ready for every game and every opponent. A loss now and then is not a reason to panic.

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please stop using Sasha as the Laker rep

We hate him just as much as you do. Trust me. At least use MMMMMMMMBenga!

Well let me welcome everybody to the wild wild west. A state that's untouchable like Elliot Ness.

by pharoah on Nov 14, 2009 11:05 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

noted: use Sasha as Laker rep as much as possible

got it

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on Nov 14, 2009 11:19 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ok, I'll mention Mbenga...

…he looks great in this clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgUMJFqctiA&feature=player_embedded

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on Nov 14, 2009 11:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sasha thinks he is better than he really is. has he fallen down in the depth chart?

by vgarcia890 on Nov 14, 2009 12:38 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

Sasha Vujacic as Lakers Rep

Good Idea..besides he does look neater with the haircut. I say he’s an excellent rep for LA.

Defense wins games (And Championships)!

by Celtics18and19 on Nov 14, 2009 5:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

lack of effort was disturbing

as was Rondo’s avoidance to shoot. If the team is already tired this early in the season, what’s going to happen in january/february?

by hpantazo on Nov 14, 2009 11:50 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

"The season is a marathon not a sprint" is 100% right Jeff.

I agree with you their will be peaks and valleys for all the elite teams this season, fans for all such teams can not get to high when their team wins or too low when their teams win during the season (unless a evident losing trend is taking place of course).

We as fans of our teams must keep things in perspective and not pay too much attention during short term losing or winning streaks etc., but look at the long term outlook of trying to improve our teams play on the court, staying healthy and trying to achieve a championship in June.

I as a Celtics fan think that the Celtics who have the best record in the NBA (ok their tied with Phoenix temporarily) are well on their way to achieving the goals above and their pursue of banner #18.

by fordescort on Nov 14, 2009 11:54 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Perfectly stated Jeff...

While it’s never fun losing at home to a team like the Hawks, let’s keep focus on the big picture.

by MrTripleDouble10 on Nov 14, 2009 11:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hawks, Suns...

Honestly, they’re the two teams I do not mind losing to. As long as we take the Lakers, Cavs, Orlando… We’ll find a way to beat teams like this come playoff time. Just beat the winners, sweep the lesser ones off later.

That said, the Suns and the Hawks look really good this year. I like them. I respect them. I don’t mind losing to them because I want them to do well.

Just rather have them be 2nd to us :P

- Dirk van Boxtel, the wandering Celtic fan.
@DaarisDirk

by Kiorrik on Nov 14, 2009 12:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Fact of the matter is though

Suns are 8-2, Hawks are 7-2. They look like good teams, and that they’ll be around come May. That doesn’t make losing against them any more encouraging, but it’s clear they’re trying to make a statement this season.

by Tai on Nov 14, 2009 2:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why should the fact that everyone else sucks make me feel better about the fact that we sucked yesterday?

I only care about the Celtics, and we lost a perfectly winnable game. To put this in perspective, compared to our expected game performance, we looked lousy.

by kozlodoev on Nov 14, 2009 12:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

the point is everyone has a bad day

I think we’ve been a little spoiled by the early season runs we’ve had the last 2 years

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on Nov 14, 2009 2:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It was a bad day. I have no difficulties accepting that we will lose games (this will happen sometimes even when we play great). Poor play, however, is unacceptable — especially one that comes with lack of effort, and on the tail end of 1 game in 5 days.

by kozlodoev on Nov 14, 2009 6:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Rasheed-Rondo-Ray

Rasheed :

Our worst fears are coming true. He`s averaging MORE missed 3-pt. attempts per game than rebounds {4.2 vs. 4.0}! He`s attempting a 3-point shot for every 3 minutes he`s on the floor. This becomes a major issue when he`s MISSING on 68% of those attempts!

Rondo :

Our $55M guard is a 30% FT shooter!!! Now, it`s in his “head”. He won`t penetrate if there is even the slightest amount of traffic, due to fear of having to go to the line to shoot FT`s. He`ll take it to the hole only on break-aways.

Ray :

I know he`s a classy and great guy. But, when you`re 34 years old, and you`re primary skill is long-range shooting, you cannot afford to miss 68% of your 3-point attempts. He`s making $18M. It might be time for DA to cash him in for salary cap considerations. Personally, I`m surprised it didn`t happen over the summer.

by Title 18 on Nov 14, 2009 1:08 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Good points

- Hopefully Doc will talk to Sheed about working the inside more, the 3-pt line less. Last night in the 4th quarter, KG actually gave up what looked like an easy layup for a pass to Sheed in the right corner. The 3 missed (of course). Now THAT was absolutely ridiculous, and needs to stop.

- Can’t agree that Rondo fears penetration because he doesn’t want to go to the FT line. This is not a common phenomenon with him… in recent games he’s had no problem driving to the inside. Last night looks like an aberration, not part of a pattern. (Fingers crossed.)

- Ray has been driving a LOT more recently, something he does exceedingly well. So he’s still scoring for us. But you’re right, his recent inaccuracy from 3pt range is troubling. This has happened before, and eventually turned around. Here’s hoping it will again. The right trade would be cool, though… Oh, here’s a thought — We’ll give you Ray, you give us Dwayne Wade. HA!

by DRJ1 on Nov 14, 2009 1:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs