:(

We beat Cleveland, Cleveland beats Orlando, Orlando beats us.

The Celtics played fairly well for the bulk of the 2nd and 4th quarters but, as has been the case all year, they have no reliable knock-out punch when the 3s aren’t falling.

and don’t tell me it was for Eddie’s shooting

Took more shots.
Caused more turnovers.
Scored more in the paint.
But sucked from outside the paint.

And that foul call on Pierce just gift wrapped it for the Magic.

what was the final tally on us shooting 3’s? 2 for 22 ? i think doc needs to make a lineup change. we can’t keep getting off to bad starts like this. I think it’s time to bench ray and Perk and start marquis and wallace

should marquis be considered in that trade? i have seen absolutely nothing from him the entire season. has he broke double figures even once?

everyone was missing but especially rasheed, he never makes a three. i also did not agree with doc on playing house, rondo had a very good first half, iand yeah that foul on pierce gift wrapped it. terrible call. another great game from daniells.

something is clearly off with this team right now. maybe it’s kg not being back to full strength,maybe it’s bad shooting from house and wallace, maybe it’s bad defense maybe it’s all of these things. we came out flat again at home in front of a national audience against a team that beat us in game 7 last year and we came out with no energy , no defense no nothing. How does that happen? Maybe it’s doc, maybe it’s how old we are. maybe its the lack of practice. whatever it is we don’t look like a championship team. certainly we can play a lot better but this was another bad loss at home to a team that we had every reason to beat. very disappointing

then he’s not worth $3M let alone $11M

kinda redundant now but my stance on rondo’s contract is still that we should have waited it out until next year when he becomes a free agent, that way he has no choice but to play hard and prove to everyone that he is worthy of being a top 5 pg, it’s that hunger and a consistent drive to work on your game

Holding the Magic to 83.

(trying to find positives ….)

better now than later. but they stink now. perk played stupidly. rondo was looking for waldo. sheed can’t buy a 3 and is out of shape but he did hustle and made some plays. eddie tries but is in a woeful slump. scal really hustled on d. marquis is very good but the team has no plays set up for him and he’s on the floor when sheed and eddie barf up 3’s. pp,kg and ray ok but no hall of fame games. i can’t stand van gundy. orlando is not the better team but they executed better in the 1st and 3rd periods.

but then again we are kept under 80 so yeah

As pleasant as he’s been in the post on defense, his absolute inability to hit open threes and his dreadfully slow pick and roll defense is murdering us. Someone want to tell me how a team with Ray Allen, Eddie House and Rasheed Wallace is so inept from three? That was embarrassing. Orlando gave us the game and we couldn’t capitalize. Iffy calls by the refs down the stretch too. WTF was that call on Pierce guarding Carter, then nothing on the other end when Pierce took it to the hoop? Seems like the Captain has to get decapitated to get a foul called these days. And that fifth foul on Perk was an absolute joke. It’s uncanny how a guy who locks down one of the NBA’s marquee “stars” (save it, Howard is a joke) just happens to get in irrevocable foul trouble in the third quarter. What a coincidence!

they were getting wide open threes and they had a hand in our face on most of our threes

it’s like our team can’t move their feet

the reason Rondo didn’t play the 4th (besides opening lanes for Pierce and Ray) is because the other team can just foul him and that’s going to kill his confidence (and we’d lose the game)

there’s something going on with the team; chemistry, demeanor, attitude, effort, confidence: all are missing

if ray allen hadn’t lost that ball at the 4th quarter, i’m pretty sure the celtics would’ve taken orlando to OT

Seriously, I don’t think we were in this game tonight, shooting was terrible and we were sluggish. Man we need Rondo to pick up some more offense. Seriously this was a very sad game.

getting foul calls going to the basket is all about speed, in my opinion

go in fast like LeBron and Kobe and with authority, and you’ll get the calls

it’s the aggression and the speed

if you lumber in slowly and then flail, even if you get fouled, you’re not going to get the call

it’s a quick human reaction on the part of the refs; if Paul gets his tempo up and goes in with more authority, he’ll get a lot more calls (like he did earlier in his career)

This team is underacheiving big time. It can’t be age this early in the season. It can’t. D is not good. No energy. Too much outside shooting. Rondo gets abused on defense and he is making awful decisions. He really needs to work on his game. Stop trying to pad his assist stats and just try and make the right play. They had better get their heads on straight soon or this season is going to be a failure. Still scratching my head. No way a team with this talent should be playing like this.

Its clear to me that, pp and ray are missing a step. And im thinking its age. Pp looks like its hard for him to score, ray allen just looks off. Pp shld be mentioned with lbj carmelo, kobe etc but as of now he looks flat out bad he shld be taking over games scoring at will. I knw everybody has bad games but something looks off

Maybe things will get better as the season goes on, maybe its better to struggled now this early. But in 15 games its only been 4-5 games where the Cs looked good win or loss…time will tell if it gets better for them

the problem is not Ray

the guys that are breaking down on D in the 1st Q are Rondo and Pierce

after five good games to start the season, Pierce has been outplayed by almost every counterpart in the past 8 games; Pietrus, Maggette, Carter, Ryan Gomes, Granger; he’s making everyone look like the go-to guy on the other team

I think he’s sulking about something, but I can’t figure out what

maybe he doesn’t like that the team is so deep and he feels his role is too diminished, I don’t know; he seems to get along with Daniels, but not with anyone else

the team also doesn’t look like it’s having any fun, and they aren’t coming out with swagger

I actually really liked his aggressiveness around the hoop in the 4th. He made several inside shots that really kept us in the game. He hasn’t really done any of that at all this season, so it was refreshing to see that he still has that part of his game.

I also can’t believe all the complaints on Rondo. Look, it’s not his fault that the team can’t shoot from the outside. If they were even ‘below average’ from three, they would have won. He wasn’t great, but nobody was.

Seriously, it must be a while because you don’t even usually get 3 straight Friday home games scheduled let alone be an allegedly title contending team and LOSE 3 in a row. Man, I’m PO’d right now.

Interesting that Orlando had to play with Jayson Williams as their point guard and still won the game. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he had Ole Rondo playing defense on him.

it doesn’t look like the team can play Thibodeau’s D for 48 minutes; or at least they can’t do it most nights during the regular season

so they’re playing bad D, and it’s killing them on offense also because they’re tired and moving slowly (or not moving at all without the ball)

maybe they should try selectively playing a zone for parts of each game; that might keep them fresh; then they can really clamp down on D and get a serious run going; it will also save their legs for their offense

I don’t know. Maybe this is a dumb idea. But right now, they don’t look like they can bring the full defensive intensity every night for a full game. If you’re doing a lot of rotating and you’re late, the other team is always dunking and getting wide open threes. It’s not like the D is 75% effective with 75% effort. It’s like it’s 25% effective with 75% effort, which is worse than it would be with a regular defensive scheme.

Maybe if they throw a zone in for a few minutes of the 1st and 3rd, it will get their heads in the game, and keep their legs fresh.

I’m not pushing a panic button, but if you don’t see cause for serious concern, then those glasses are quite rosy. On that note, I’ll make some assumptions:

• Yes, I think the new contract has gone to Rondo’s head. It’s the only reason I can imagine that suggests he’s falling back on old habits and maybe be overconfident. (Ask Tubby.) But it is something that can sort itself out. But he needs to be the one to do it.
• Perk, God love him, needs to be smarter. He’s regressed — not as a defensive talent per se, but as a freakin’ hothead. I’m tired of his perennial scowl if it means constant whining and constant techs. You can be aggressive and smart and a professional. He’s shown it before. So shut up and play already.
• I have a bad feeling you kind of live and die with Rasheed being Rasheed. I just wish he wouldn’t jack those threes so reflexively. And I believe some of those shots were wide open cuz they might be letting him. But whatever. Jury’s out on him in my book.
• I actually do think we should keep an open mind on bringing in Iverson. Yes, he’s potential locker room poison, but he also could light a fire on both the second unit AND Rondo, who could use the competition. And then there’s that outside shot. It’s a crazy idea, but maybe we need one right now.

Jalen Rose: “Boston looks old and sluggish no athleticism”….i have to agree with him, Boston might be done for the season.

@ky and sw my bad tht was very negative on my part im usually positive but looking at the way they played ( even against below average teams) this season it doesnt look good. I guess im looking at like its early but they look like they just played theyre 75th game…i hope things get better again my bad

hard to imagine a coach not realizing that you need a top ballhandler in a game, esp. i the 4th quarter and esp against a team like orlando. the key loss of the ball by allen and other bumbling about by house was quite predictable, with the coaches keeping the super-talented rondo on the bench at crunch time. rivers and company need to rediscover what is really necessary at the end of games — certainly not more 3 point shooters with limited talent out there.

But it sure emphasizes the problem the team will continue to have as long as opponents do not guard Rondo. The was the game has been changed, you really cannot afford to have more than one non-shooter on the floor. And why is Eddie House playing point when Daniels was brought in to handle the ball so House could spot up?

A “fired-up” Celtic team cannot win at home…against an opponent that shoots a dismal 41% from the floor and 57% from the FT line!!!!!

KG : He`s a shell of what he was, and it will only get worse

RONDO : Boston has serious “buyer`s remorse” right about now

WALLACE : The “Titantic” of free agent signings

When it finally happens, and it won`t be long from now…Sheed and Rondo will be the top two targets of his rage.

Unfortunately, it will likely “torpedo” the entire season!

Hey Jeric, I get that comment a lot from my wife! LOL.
I know the Iverson subject is explosive, and I’m not saying full-on bring him in. But it’s worth considering. I think he’s a frontrunner, which could actually be a plus for us. Sure he’d be a pain in the ass for most teams, but for a contender? Maybe not. It seems to me the Celtics have become the team players come to so they can win a title. To paraphrase “Cool Hand Luke,” if he got his mind right …
But I know as well as anyone it’s a risky move. If Danny thinks/knows it wouldn’t work, I’d respect his judgment. (How nice of me.) Presently constituted, maybe all this team needs is a spark, a change of attitude, or maybe a healthier KG knee. I don’t know, but we are in trouble. Maybe not “panic” trouble, but we’re in trouble.

That championships aren’t determined in November. It’s not even Thanksgiving Break yet. You do realize that, right?

The bottom line is, the Magic didn’t even score 85 points on us. Also, we missed so many wide open shots it wasn’t even funny. Pierce also didn’t finish lay ups after he beat his guy off a pick. I can only hope that can change.

All this horrid play on the offensive side, we only lose by 5, and somehow we’re done?

Sorry, it doesn’t work like that. Not 13 games in.

We won the title partly because we had the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. So when you realize how balanced our competition is, how EVERYONE upgraded — Orlando, which will improve/when Nelson returns, Cleveland and L.A. — then every win does indeed count. So maybe we do “panic.” (I call it trying to stay ahead of the curve.) We might not have enough time to waste. Maybe we do improve, but how much and after how many losses. Just saying, I’m wondering if we can beat Cavs or Magic WITHOUT the homecourt advantage, especially given David Stern’s ways.
OK, I’m done for the night. Fire away.

The refs were terrible, yes. But the Cs didn’t earn this win. Refs may have secured their loss, but it was a close game only because the Magic were almost as bad as the Cs were.

Bottom line is Rondo. He was literally standing around much of the time on D, and even on O. Standing and watching PP try to do his thing. No point guard means no coherent offense. It means everybody was just "making up stuff " out there on both O and D.

At one point in the 2nd half, it occurred to me that Rondo was behaving like he’s sick. Maybe he is. That would explain his worst game of the year to date.

Here’s a blanket statement for ya: This team cannot win without a functioning PG. I like Lester and think he should get his shot now. Kid’s got game, and could bust out like so many other rookies all over the league. But whoever it is… it can’t be nobody.

can eat it, we’re gonna win the title(again)

When Rondo and House are struggling like they were last night … I’d like to see Doc Rivers use Marquis Daniels at the point. Go with a big perimeter lineup.

Daniels with his size, athleticism and guard-skills gives the team a different dimension at the point.

We have the talent,we have the ability to win every game we play,we have a great D and great Offense, The 3"s ARE’nt Working so back off for awhile and drive the lanes and bang the boards, u might say I’m nuts but Big Baby comin back will change the chemistry drastically, he brings emoition into the game and players play diffrent with diffrent players and I believe we still have’nt found the mix as of yet.One player can alter awhole unit very easily! Thats what we have to look at and go easy on the 3’s, there not dropping so lets drive the lane and see what happens so then we can say it was’nt or it was the 3;s hurting us,we have time and we will find our Posey and House combo,players act to re-act and that creates reaction! So lets play our game and Bang the boards and grab rebounds, I have’nt seen to many fellas hit the floor diving for those lose balls like the year we took it all have we?? Lets man up and get going we are the team to beat and all teams we play come with the A game for 4 quarters! and we have to do the same,no turning it on then off then on, we need to keep it ON!