Clipped

rondo chokes. we lose.

what a game.. havent seen a game so good in a while..

First sold out crowd. Clippers are amped up. Sometimes you lose to teams like the Clippers. There’s always that argument with crap teams ‘if they played like this every night, they’d be better’, but that’s what makes a good team – being able to bring it every night. There are losses like this every season. Celtics could have easily put this away, but seemed like they didn’t feel like doing so. Defense collapsed a bit for stretches. Whatever, next game.

Not yet – until Rondo can hit the free throws in crunch time, he won’t merit all star recognition. Bill Russell was terrible free throw shooter but never missed when game on the line. Davis outplayed Rondo but Celtics should have contested in-bound pass – Davi would never have gotten the ball in time.

He is not the reason the Celtics lost tonight, but he does NOTHING for this team and has pretty much done NOTHING all year. He needs to go — now.

Pretty boring, typical game, till the end. I just couldn’t get up for this one. Seems our guys felt, and unfortunately played, the same way… A few things woke me up:
- Sheed completely embarrassing himself by missing that open dunk. Hey Sheed… try about 10,000 sit ups and a good diet. Need some more core strength there, buddy.
- Rondo airballing a 3
- Both TA and Davis were very good. TA had a couple of excellent steals at key moments.
- Rondo missing those last 2 FTs

Tonight we saw how, when and why the Cs miss Paul. Very clearly.

I had the unusual experience of watching this on the Clippers station. All game long, they could not stop praising the Celtics… “oh he’s great, look at that rotation, they’re gonna win the championship”… went on and on like that. I dunno… I like it better when they put us down. All this high praise is strangely disconcerting.

I like the Clippers. They earned this win.

All in all, a forgettable game. The one image that sticks in my mind is Sheed missing that dunk. Jeeezz.

Baron Davis will get the last shot, yet they only did single coverage on him, in catch and shoot situations, their defense should have denied Baron the ball, kill some of the clock on the inbound play and let somebody else shoot the final shot…

After Butler made the shot, House was getting chewed out as they walked off the court. Of course, House never should have been in the game, but Doc inserted him for the offesive posession. But, you miss and then you have to deal with Eddie House playing defense — which has has done very little of this year.

it is what happened… yes without him the celts would have lost by 20 or so… but he had a chance to win the game with a pair of free throws… and he missed.. thats what is called choking.. everyone chokes.. arenas choked lebron chokes all the time.. missing 2 free throws in the clutch is choking..

The C’s deserved to lose this game no question. Even coming out of timeouts they executed HORRIBLY. They couldn’t score with 2 chances to ice the game. Of course Rondo choked and that is why he can’t be counted on late in games. In the playoffs having a PG that can’t make a free throw can be crucial.

But the worst of all was the defense down the stretch. How could the C’s have possibly let Rasul Butler have a wide open 3 to tie the game? Leaving the Clippers best shooter wide open is inexcusable. Davis was driving to the hoop for a layup SO WHAT. The C’s still would have been up 1 point with the ball! There is no excuse to allow the Clippers even a chance to tie the game there. The worst defensive execution that you will ever see.

…and within 10 minutes, the trading begins.

Rondo would be so pissed tonight I can not fathom what he might do tomorrow…triple double anyone?

What sux is we are 1 loss behind the Fakers again. and the media would probly drop us to 3rd in their stupid Power Rankings.

Kaman outplayed our big men and Davis outplayed Rondo.

I read about Perk and KG also. I think it’s good. Perk got dominated tonight by Kaman no question. Then he committed 2 stupid fouls near the end of the game and almost added a technical. He is a vastly improved player but needs to be careful and not turn into another Rasheed.

If anyone gets a link about a postgame interview with Doc asking him about leaving Rondo on the bench so long in the 4th OR about the defense allowing the Clippers a wide open 3 pointer to tie the game let me know.

THAT is what should be reported - how in the hell the C’s let the Clippers get a wide open 3 to tie the game. The worst possible defense in that situation. Could have fouled, could have crowded the 3 point line, could have let Davis go for the layup since the C’s would have still been ahead - COULD have done anything other than let Butler get a wide open shot but they failed

Yeah people need to back off saying how great Rondo played and keeping the C’s in the game. He was destroyed by Davis all game. Davis shot over 80% on Rondo tonight which more than counteract Rondo’s offensive output. Rondo got the game winner drilled in his face to top off his two absolute chokes from the line. So let’s keep Rondo’s greatness in perspective.

Yeah Matthew it appeared to be on Ray there which is just strange. Doc doesn’t believe in fouling when up 3 though obviously because they never attempted to do that. It’s just hard to believe Ray would be that boneheaded there but apparently so.

Hey did anybody think of the positive implications that this last minute ft “choke” can have on rondo and the team? Think about it, this will haunt rondo for the rest of his life so he practices day n night to improve his fts and shot :)

Another near-40 minute game for RA. Doc SAYS he’s going to stop, but never does. Before Paul went down, he was starting to do it to him too. Doc needs to control himself. These mid-season games are not worth the potential injuries that overplaying our vets can cause. Stop saying it and DO it, Doc.

A few from the World Champion 83-84 Celtics:

Fri, Dec 16, 1983 Washington Bullets L 93 100
        Bullets – 35(w)-47(L)

Thu, Dec 29, 1983 @ Houston Rockets L 94 107
        Rockets – 29(w)-53(l)

Wed, Feb 22, 1984 @ San Diego Clippers L 107 114
        Clippers – 30(w) – 52(l)

Wed, Mar 14, 1984 Washington Bullets L 99 103

Tue, Mar 20, 1984 @ Indiana Pacers L OT 121 123
        Pacers – 26(w) – 56(l)

etc…

Let’s face it , so what if rondo “choked”, we should be happy it’s not the playoff and there’s plenty of time to improve. I wouldnt be surprise if rondo shoots 75% from charity come playoff time when it counts. 2 years ago people made fun of me for backing up rondo because i kept saying he’ll be an all-star in 5 years because he’s always improving. We’re an improving team because we learn from our mistakes and i think this is a good lesson for rondo come playoff time!

Any team can beat any team on any given night thats just how it is in the NBA. I can’t believe you fans are really making this big of a deal out of nothing! Give the Clippers some credit they came out and played with energy after a humiliating loss to the Suns. I don’t want to claim yall are band wagon fands but really? Rondo is a phenomenal player and your going to make this big a deal out of it?
If its worth anything the Clippers beat Boston last year too…maybe this squad just had their number in L.A.?

Rondo would learn from this experience so much that he would be play like a man possessed, lead this team all the way to banner 18 and all you naysayers would never remember the day Rondo choked on 2 FT to win a worthless regular season game.

Too Many “Choke” Comments To Respond To So, in one place.

A question: Is Paul Pierce a "choker" now and forever? Is that what you would label him?
Probably not, right?
Remember the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals, game 4 against the Nets? Yes? Who missed two free-throws at the end? The Captain.
Now, PP missed those but he is surely not a "choker" and villified the way too many are currently painting Rondo.
Lesson, one game does not a player make. It is absurd to overreact and start bashing Rondo and labeling him such. A little persepective.

just came back from the game. the celts had them. then they let the clips back into the game. missed dunks, poor shot selection, etc. just wasn’t the same celts that beat orlando. they need to give lester hudson some pt. someone that can raise the level of energy in games

is in D-League.

once again he gets 0 minutes of PT…

is he in doc rivers doghouse or something?? why isnt doc playing the guy..

jake P?

Talking about chocking: I distinctly remember the first year we had Ray Allen aboard we played a game where with the game tied and no time left, Ray Allen had two foul shots to win the game; only one was needed. He missed them both; we lost the game in overtime. No time left and he also chocked. What does that tell you; Ray Allen, one of the greatest foul shooters in the game. Someone else must remember that game. I havent forgotten it yet. I dont remember who we were playing but it doesnt matter. He also chocked.

I can’t hit a good tee shot in golf most of the time. Add a little pressure and I am downright terrible. It is all in the head and I am smart enough so what’s the cure. Practice. Lots of it. Until the mental block is buried by muscle memory.

BUT….golf comes after my career and after my family and rather than getting paid $11 million to do it, I actually pay to play. I have an excuse that I don’t believe Rondo has. Sorry, he is no Shaq, whose hands reduce the basketball to near tennis ball scale. Try shooting a tennis ball into the hoop.

Just no excuse to brick two free throws from the point guard position at the end of a game. sure, he’s a good player, but he is no All Star. Not yet. He is proud so I do think this will get him to the gym a little more.

Right. There is no excuse for a PG to be a 53% foul shooter. No excuse whatsoever. Normally a PG should be about the best foul shooter in the team. A good foul shooter will is apt to choke less than a bad foul shooter. Every basketball player will choke once in a while; good shooters just choke less than bad foul shoters; Rondo is a really bad foul shooter for being a PG: Unacceptable. How many crucial games will that inaptutude cost us? Time will tell, but cost us it will. C’es la vie.

Obviously a fakers fan.

Good prediction Jeff. I guess if we won them all, it would get pretty boring to watch…

Funny how a couple tenths of a second will make or break a game. Should of been 1.3 or 1.2 on the clock when Rondo got fouled (even D Marsh and M Gorman both said the 1.5 sec was liberal). Maybe 1 or two tenths of a second left on the clock after Davis released the ball?

Either way I’m not saying that’s what caused the loss – just pointing it out since no one mentioned it (Rondo also did a little shove before that foul too heh). Celts just let them back into the game is all.

On a side note love the non-travel calls for the first half of the game haha (from both sides – Ray had a good one tho). Then the refs start clamping down on everything in the 2nd half.

First post btw. Been reading this blog for a while now.

Since the Big 3 have been here…..every one of them have missed ft’s that have cost the C’s a game…..let’s hope this is a growing experience…..the kid has been to the top of the mountain….this will only make him better. Let’s hope he takes it better then some here.

Rondo is a 55% free throw shooter! That is inexcusable for a point guard! However, he makes up for it in a whole lot of ways. I’m hoping that he really now understands what it will take to get him to that next level. Maybe he will take 500 fts a day?

Baron Davis wanted this game very badly. Pierce and Davis grew up together in Inglewood. So make no mistake about it he pumped his team up. Didn’t help that we played a little flat but still I’m not too surprised by the outcome.

1. It was like 35% Celtics fans. Crazy Celtics fans, too. Good stuff. The “Let’s go Celtics” chant would get loud enough that the entire arena would start booing. it was very fun.

2. What a great game. Baron Davis played all out.

3. Rondo was the best Celtic on the floor. Ray and KG could hardly hit anything, at all. This is probably why Doc set up a play for Rondo.

4. It was just one middle of the season game. The Celtics are still amazing, even though they lost to the Clippers. Chill out blog world.

Finkelskyhook is right. Davis did not get the shot off on time. On slow motion, you can clearly see that he gets the ball in mid air and comes down with it before even a tenth of a second went off the clock. You can watch each tenth of a second go off the clock as he steps out, turns, jumps in the air and even hangs a bit before letting go of it with .1 left on the clock. The timekeeper was late. There’s no way you can do what he did with the ball in 1.0 second, but apparently the refs don’t check that. They only check whether he beat the red light.