Who cares about the game. KG hurt?
by Jeff Clark on Feb 19, 2009 11:31 PM EST
in Boston Celtics Games
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Sorry, but there's no way I'm staying up to the end of this game. Feel free to use this post to react to the game.
Jeff packed it in. I was about to, until the moment that scared every Celtics fan to death. KG goes up for a lob, comes down untouched and hobbling straight to the locker room. Given that he clearly didn't roll an ankle, surely we all thought it was an Achillies. The Chuckster looked like he wanted to throw up about as much as I did at half time and was openly hoping it wasn't the dreaded achillies rupture.
The update is an Strained Knee (the right one). No KG in the second half. I now only midly feel like seeing dinner in reverse. Apparently that knee has been bothering him for a few weeks and the knee is very sore (per Danny).
- G17
Oh and the game.
- Dick Bavetta is the best blind, 140 year old ref in the history of basketball. His other 2 co-workers are also fine NBA officials.
- Scal started for KG in the 3rd, and promptly picked up 4 fouls in 2 minutes. That's not a stretch for the highlight reel Scal.
- Perk is unleashing the long-range lazer tonight, hitting the 15ft jumper.
- Down the stretch Doc pulled the old PP-iso play out of his coaching bag of tricks. Paul was gassed, had no lift on his jumper after playing most of the 2nd half and as a result the usually clutch Pierce couldn't get one down.
- Celts fall in a very, very winnable game.
Boston
Starters
Min
FG
3Pt
FT
+/-
Off
Reb
Ast
TO
Stl
BS
BA
PF
Pts
R. Allen
G
37:27
4-15
2-6
2-2
-3
0
4
2
3
1
1
2
1
12
R. Rondo
G
33:07
5-7
0-0
5-6
-5
0
1
7
1
0
0
1
3
15
K. Perkins
C
32:09
6-6
0-0
0-1
-1
5
11
2
4
1
3
0
5
12
P. Pierce
F
45:27
7-19
1-2
5-9
-3
0
9
2
5
3
0
0
2
20
K. Garnett
F
14:54
4-6
0-0
0-0
+4
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
8
Bench
Min
FG
3Pt
FT
+/-
Off
Reb
Ast
TO
Stl
BS
BA
PF
Pts
L. Powe
22:24
1-4
0-0
7-10
-7
5
9
0
4
0
0
3
5
9
G. Davis
16:25
0-2
0-0
0-0
-3
0
3
0
0
1
0
0
3
0
G. Pruitt
15:17
1-5
0-3
0-0
-1
0
2
1
2
0
0
0
4
2
B. Scalabrine
11:50
2-3
1-1
0-0
-3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
6
5
E. House
10:57
1-4
0-1
0-1
-3
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
2
J.R. Giddens
DNP - Coach's Decision
B. Walker
DNP - Coach's Decision
Totals
31-71
4-13
19-29
10
43
14
19
7
5
6
30
85
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umm KG just hopped off the court
"Im a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class, especially since I rule."
Randal Graves
by idrinkdetergent on Feb 19, 2009 11:56 PM EST reply actions
what happened to KG
anyone know what happened
by fourleafclover on Feb 19, 2009 11:56 PM EST reply actions
he jumped wasn’t touched landed on his left leg but couldn’t put pressure on the right
"Im a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class, especially since I rule."
Randal Graves
by idrinkdetergent on Feb 20, 2009 12:01 AM EST reply actions
Haven't heard anything.
Althought I was glad he didn’t need assistance to get off the court.
Of course, he’s probably pretty hopped up on adrenaline.
Tic tacs on the Celtics....Whistle in the pocket for the Jazz.
What the hell!!!!?? We are totally outplaying them right now!!
Looks like the season could be done
He jumped and as soon as he jumped he favors his right leg while still in mid air. Def not a good sign when KG didnt even get touched. Lets hope its not a torn achilles or calf muscle because we can kiss banner 18 goodbye!
by Powe'sPosse on Feb 20, 2009 12:08 AM EST reply actions
he’s warming up so all looks ok
"Im a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class, especially since I rule."
Randal Graves
by idrinkdetergent on Feb 20, 2009 12:10 AM EST reply actions
thank god
i thought it was our season just like the pats when brady went down
by Powe'sPosse on Feb 20, 2009 12:13 AM EST reply actions
he’s back in the locker room, strained his knee
"Im a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class, especially since I rule."
Randal Graves
by idrinkdetergent on Feb 20, 2009 12:19 AM EST reply actions
Please get well KG
(Preferably by Sunday? Please? Pretty please??)
Thanks, but...
… don’t worry about lil’ ole me. His long term health is most important.
He’s just been my favorite player (to put it lightly) for a long long long time… and living in California, I just don’t get to see him in person too often… especially not from the seats I’ll be in on Sunday. Just won’t be the same if he’s not out there.
Bavetta
Someone needs to tell ol’ Dick this isn’t the 02 W.C. Finals
focus on winning each game regardless
we needed big man help and we will get it. And that moore artice is dumb.comparaing to two years ago is a joke that was his best year overall
I am saying to get at least moore and to make sure we have help. if we can't wait cause smith is a sure thing ok
but sure things are never sure
game fouls
utah clobbers the c’s and the refs turn away. But murder the c’s on ticky tack fouls.
ASKGHKDFA
I would have absolutely no problem if the refs along with the entire Utah Jazz team just kinda died. It would bring great joy to my heart, I mean I have always hated the Jazz and the refs this game have just been monumental douche bags.
I don’t normally complain about refs, but that was some of the worst officiating I’ve seen all season. It was like playing 5 on 8. Horrible.
I wanna see the players play
DICK decided to be the star of the night…Taking over the game… showing why he is an all star… what a performance. That was amazing.
As bad as the officiating was (and it was terrible), the Celts had every chance to win this game and they crapped the bed. Especially Pierce. As great as he was in Dallas, that’s how lousy he was tonight. If your stepback jumper isn’t falling, DRIVE TO THE HOOP. Ray was absent again as well. Note to other two: When one of the Big 3 goes down, YOU TWO HAVE TO STEP UP.
Rondo, Perk and Powe played well. Everyone else pretty much sucked. A shame to waste all that effort in a loss.
Even after beating us and the Lakers
I still don’t take the Jazz seriously.
Even if they were at full strength
Nope, still don’t take them seriously. I don’t take teams seriously who only try against elite teams. Shows they know nothing about the bigger picture. Nice win for Utah, though. I’m sure their fans will be pounding their chests until they realize they didn’t make the playoffs.
lmao
I’m sure their fans will be pounding their chests until they realize they didn’t make the playoffs.
That doesn’t make a lick of sense. The Jazz WILL make the playoffs. Who is going to push us out? crickets….crickets….
We will be pounding our chests. All the way to Boston….
We bleed True Blue.
www.truebluejazz.com
Leon was crap in the first half, but played better in the 2nd
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 1:53 AM EST up reply actions
we totally outplayed the jazz tonight
we should have won the game.
but dick took over and stole the show.
we should have won
not the best execution down the stretch. plus, yeah, the refs were atrocious. we got touch fouls called against us, while the jazz got away with a lot of contact. either is fine, just be relatively consistent. if we made our FTs, we still would have won, despite the refs making it 5 on 8. whatever. lets all just hope ticket isn’t seriously hurt.
Breaking News: the celtics just turned the ball over again
Celtics should’ve won despite the terrible officiating, which I would actually take more time to complain about had we won, but I dont want it to look like im blaming them for the loss, because Im not.
The jazz didnt play good basketball whatsoever tonight and we lost a game we had control of most of the way and continued to give the ball to a worn out pierce to jack up contested jumpers..this worked last week in dallas , with KG on the bench and mostly ineffective, but not tonigt whatsoever, it actually got slightly embarrassing how bad our offense looked most of the game especially in the 4th.
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 1:59 AM EST reply actions
Sure KG... but
Yes KG is the big issue of course.
Winning these games and at least getting home court throughout the playoffs in the east if not the whole finals will be important.
Gutsy effort but we just don’t have the bench. You love Scal’s enthusiasm but he was a fouling machine out there and consistently got us into the penalty. If we have to rely on Powe, Eddie, Baby, Scal, Tony to get #18 it won’t happen. Powe was aggressive out there but he’s undersized and look how many times he got his shot rejected. Baby missed the only outside shot I saw him take. This isn’t Raptors up by 21 with no pressure.
Danny let this team team down with his handling of bench issues. Posey signing was there, he just wanted a fair contract- game us a discount and was a main cog in #17. Mutombo called us asking us to play and now we don’t have a big man sub at all? And Marbury, quit being coy about it. Tell Marbury get your deal done, and we give you $1M to finish the season with us if you check your attittude and play ball. Enough of this, we will talk to Marbury if he gets his buyout. Call him out.
We could be going into the playoffs with PMS (Posey, Mutombo, Starbury).
It’s not like we couldn’t see this coming with Danny since last summer.
I agree, this team counting on scal, powe, eddie, and baby is a joke.. they arent good enough, and if something doesnt fall in our lap – we arent repeating.
as far as the KG injury… Get well soon big fella..but he and Pierce have been teetering on injury all season long, seems like theyre out there limping half the time
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 2:11 AM EST up reply actions
I hope this goes down as...
Dick Bavetta’s Retirement Game
by SalmonAndMashedPotatoes on Feb 20, 2009 2:06 AM EST reply actions
hey
for an opposing perspective…
Yup, terribly inconsistent game from the refs. I admit it. And the Jazz were the beneficiaries for the most part (although the free throw count nearly evened out, the total foul count did not, and I recognize that). I don’t like to win that way. And I’d rather beat a team at full strength — no one’s happy about KG getting hurt. The Jazz were not at full strength either, still missing Carlos Boozer, shot an abysmal percentage, and really never got into their game until right at the end. If you want to blame the refs for allowing the Jazz to build that rhythm, well, I don’t disagree.
But to suggest it’s part of a vast conspiracy against the Celtics, or even a personal Bavetta vendetta… well, that doesn’t make sense. Vendetta is notorious for NOT favoring the Jazz, most notably in the ‘98 Finals. And to say Stern favors a small-market team like the Jazz, over the most storied franchise in league history, just isn’t reasonable.
The Jazz have a long way to go before they are at the Celts’ level. I’m only taking this as a small step up the ladder. It may not have meant a lot to you guys, as the champs, but it means a lot to us, whatever the means.
Best wishes to the Big Ticket.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
Agreed with everything you said, nicely put and thanks.
alot of our games have been being called like that lately though believe it or not
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 2:12 AM EST up reply actions
Nice post..thanks for the props for the team.
Personally also though, I don’t really agree with the whole vendetta thing. Sure, there were some really awful calls against us (a lot actually), but sometimes the same thing goes for other teams as well.. and I understand how that goes on from a fan’s point of view.
I think our team is good enough to win with or without the ref’s butchering all the calls all the time. I have that much faith in them, that’s why I don’t really buy into this vendetta thing.
And oh yes, a win against the celts is supposed to be big. a win against the defending champs, regardless of whether they’re playing like it or not, is always a big boost to the psyche.
Respectable post
but I don’t understand why this win means much to you (Jazz fans). You’re team tried hard against one of the best in the league. The Jazz have lost to some questionable teams and are still third in their division behind teams that no one expects much out of anyway.
If you havent noticed, a win against the celtics means alot to every team and their fan base this season
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 2:17 AM EST up reply actions
I would argue
that that is precisely WHY this win means so much. I’m well aware of the Jazz’s losses to questionable teams. It’s a sign of the team’s youth and inexperience with competing at a championship level on a consistent basis. And it’s frustrating as all hell. To know that there exists within this team the potential to tough out a win over the best team in the league (regardless of the admittedly favorable circumstances) is a promising sign for our future, in my opinion. (It also indicates how far the Jazz have to go, because if they brought that effort again the Bobcats and Thunders and such, things would be very different.)
I know we haven’t seen this Jazz team’s best on-court product yet. That’s partially because of the mental issues mentioned above, and partially due to the crippling injuries they’re faced this year. I am waiting to see the Jazz play some games all together, as a team, at a high level, before I pass judgment. But I will say, I am hopeful about that prospect.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
And the Jazz's road woes and play against inferior teams is infuriating to Jazz fans.
But we have to remember that we are really young. Other than Matt Harpring, we don’t have a significant player over 28 and most of them are 22-25 years old. We are still one of the 5 youngest teams in the league and to be such a perrenial playoff contender is remarkable. And there is no explanation or excuse for Utah’s inability to beat the Wolves, and Kings of the league on the road. But I do know that the teams who do win the games they should, are the Spurs, Celtics and Nuggets. Even LA loses to teams they never should lose to. And the Spurs, Celtics and Billups-led Nuggets are some of the most veteran saavy teams in the league, so you can’t discount the experience you guys have.
Best of luck on the rest of your road trip. We would appreciate some losses to Western contenders.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
Yep, I'll second TAR
Very nice post; thanks for dropping by, Shums.
Congratulations on the win. Matt Harpring is a tough bugger.
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Feb 20, 2009 2:21 AM EST up reply actions
I cannot think
of two more appropriate words to describe Harp: “tough” and “bugger.” He pisses us off as much as he does opponents. But some nights the dude earns his money.
Cheers.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
A player that pisses his own fans with his toughness?
I find that amusing in a way :D
If you don't mind my asking, what are the issues on the other nights?
I watched this guy play tonight and thought to myself, “Here’s where the reserve wing defender we’ve been hoping for has been hiding.”
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Feb 20, 2009 2:32 AM EST up reply actions
— he misses some wide open jumpers, on specially drawn-up plays designed for him (he has an infuriating propensity for bulldozing through opponents to get to that little free-throw-line curl jumper, and then missing it completely).
— His lack of athleticism causes him to miss layups at the most inopportune times, especially on fast breaks.
— Against slower, bulkier players his defense is a tremendous asset, but against quicker slashers it’s a huge liability.
— part of his modus operandi is to deliberately piss off opponents and get into their heads (see also: Nowitzki, Dirk), which is amusing at times, but certainly doesn’t engender any favor towards an already disliked (or disregarded) team.
He’s essentially the white Dennis Rodman, minus the flamboyance and superb rebounding, plus a sometimes-decent jumper. On some nights that’s what the Jazz need. On others it’s just annoying.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
Harpring has a tendency to miss a lot of layups and wide open jumpers.
Plus his physicality gets him into trouble as often as it helps him, especially on the road. How you felt about Scalabrine in the 3rd quarter, is how we feel about Harpring most nights. It is one thing to foul, but another thing to foul unwisely. Take the foul he committed on Pierce while setting a screen 25 feet from the basket. It gave Pierce two undeserved free throws. Most nights, stuff like that kills us. We lost to the Lakers last year because we constantly sent them to the line, and Harpring probably accounted for half of those fouls.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
… and the fact that another Jazz fan shows up to corroborate me and says exactly the same things is a good indication. :)
(also, we’ve talked about this together before. But I digress.)
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
Heh, that's no problem
Much thanks to both of you for the breakdown.
Regarding the foul tonight, sure it wasn’t a good foul – but I think it’s a situation where you it’s a “take it or leave it” package…and you’ve got to be taking it, at least for this evening, right? I’ll be covering it a bit more in tomorrow’s piece, but part of what makes Pierce so good is his strength level at the three. Seeing someone match the level of physicality and cause him problems like that isn’t normal for us. My hat is off to Harpring for his effort at that end tonight.
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Feb 20, 2009 2:45 AM EST up reply actions
Congratulations on the win
Hope Boozer returns sooner rather than later; it’s always a fantastic pleasure to watch your offensive game when he’s screening and rolling around, most enjoyable NBA offence.
I do have a feeling that the Jazz gets a slightly bigger dose of home-cooking than most teams except when they play Phil Jackson teams in playoffs series though.
Home Cooking?
That is a baseless comment. Seriously. The Jazz won. Just say we played better and call it a night. For a game that “doesn’t mean anything” you guys are sure taking this loss really bad.
We bleed True Blue.
www.truebluejazz.com
So.. any news on KG?
He’s not missing any games right?
Celtics deserved to lose
Incredibly disappointing game.
- The refereeing was horrible. (But that has become the norm.)
- Utah played terribly. Celtics played even worse.
- Turnovers are out of control. You cannot win a championship with that many turnovers. Can’t be done, end of story.
- Also, YOU CANNOT WIN ON DEFENSE ALONE. That means that you have to actually get a shot at the basket during your possession, and you don’t fumble around in the last minute of play hoping somebody will come up with something, then give it to PP in the hope that he’ll pull a rabbit out of some part of his anatomy.
- The Big 3 + Rondo were ok. I don’t know why Perk thinks he can push people around and not get called for it. And the bench, oh the bench… Powe was the worst damn player in the building. I wanted to shoot the guy in the first half. (One slam dunk does not excuse the rest of his game.) Baby was useless. Gabe was ok actually, just missed too many of his jumpers.
- I used to love the fact that Cs won a championship with players like "Big Baby" – an obvious miscreant in a world of chiseled athletes, Leon Powe – who seems to have 2 left feet, no discernable jump shot, and a penchant for fouling everybody within reach, and Scal – who seemed like another miscreant. (Turns out Scal is the best of the bunch. Too bad he got called with a bunch of BS phantom fouls.) But now last year seems like a fairy tale that ended happily. I’m starting to think this bunch cannot repeat. Yes, they play great defense (usually). But when the Big 3 are gone, there is too often no offense left.
- If KG is gone, so is our season. Didn’t think that was the case a while back, but it’s clear now that the Big 3 have to carry the offense. Big 2 won’t cut it.
- And that’s the problem when you blow your whole wad on 3 players. There’s just not enough $ left to form a really good team around them. So you get guys like Baby and Powe coming off the bench replacing KG and PP (sounds like a joke when you think about it)… and the problem with that is that too often those guys play at HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL. In fact, take away the Big 3, Rondo and Deron — and what we saw today was high school basketball (only the refs were worse than they are in high school).
Not quite sure I understand calling Baby or Scal miscreants
Beyond that, I’d give Powe some credit for earning his way to the foul line. I’d give Perk a heckuva a lot of credit for being the best Celtic on the floor for a good portion of the night and for shutting down a guy (Millsap) who went 32-10 against us. Foul trouble aside, he also made a huge defensive play late in the game (the block on Millsap) and grabbed 11 rebounds including a couple of biggies late. He wasn’t the problem.
I agree that we didn’t deserve this one and have some thoughts coming out on it in tomorrow’s Babble. But aside from that, I’m not sure much of your analysis is particularly fair.
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Feb 20, 2009 2:26 AM EST up reply actions
I think Boston looks really good.
I know that you guys aren’t pleased with the performance because you lost, but I watch almost every game in the NBA and no one plays defense like the Celtics do. For being in Utah especially, it was inspiring to watch Boston’s defensive rotations and clogging up the lane. No one in the league forces Deron Williams into as many jumpers as Boston did tonight. I wish the Jazz played defense like the Celtics.
Pierce just didn’t have his stuff tonight, for whatever reason. You guys got a lot of tough calls and the refs let Utah play physically. But the Jazz struggled to score almost all night. In the playoffs, that kind of defense will win games. The team can rest in between games and the BIg 3 will provide enough offense. They don’t call you defending champs for nothing.
Neither the Cavs or Lakers play the type of committed defense that your team does.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
I was absolutely thrilled with the defense in the first quarter
but I think it got markedly sloppier after that. That said, it’s hard to a) not decline after a 4-for-20 first quarter (or close to it) and b) play without your most important defensive presence. So I really probably shouldn’t complain too much n that.
Thanks for the objective thoughts, CP.
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Feb 20, 2009 2:53 AM EST up reply actions
There were some stretches of outstanding defense, to be certain.
I think that this is our greatest fear: We cannot abide with an injury to any of the Big 3 for any length of time – and this Garnett injury, at best, is a couple of weeks, I bet.
It’s the price you pay when you pull bench pieces out of the dumpster.
I love how only the classy Jazz fans showed up after this one and no trolls…impressive
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 7:49 AM EST up reply actions
The Big 3 were OK?
In what game? KG was out and Pierce and Ray combined to shoot 11-for-34, with Pierce going 5-for-9 from the stripe. I shudder to think how they would have to play for you to disapprove. Rondo, Perk and Powe were the only three players who showed up tonight.
Honestly, Powe was the worst player on the court in the 1st half
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 6:55 AM EST up reply actions
I feel bad when our bench gets bad mouthed..
Not that I can really defend them or anything since what you said is practically true… but still, it gets me sad.. =\
Yes, I'm sad too
Powe’s first 3 actions in the game were two travels and a foul. Jeezus. Drawing some fouls (and then hitting 70% of your FTs) does not compensate. Perk did not play badly — I’m just wondering why he keeps pushing people around after all the years he’s had in the league. Those are stupid, unnecessary, unprofessional turnovers. And as for the miscreant label… well, I think that one is obvious (though Scal turned out to NOT be that).
I look forward to your analysis, sw.
Currently working on it right now - to go up Friday afternoon
I’ve harped on Perk’s foul/turnover issues from quite some time and don’t disagree with you there. But overall, he played a fine game. The value of the work he did against Millsap simply cannot be overstated. And to make an offensive contribution beyond that is just gravy.
Beyond that, I’m presuming the reason it isn’t obvious to me is that it appears we’re working on different definitions of the term “miscreant.” I could see call the two of those players physical anomalies or “appearing unfit.” But we’re talking about two guys who so far as I know are model citizens. The villain label doesn’t really do it for me.
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Feb 20, 2009 2:42 AM EST up reply actions
Ya got me
Miscreant sounded cooler, more dramatic than “miscreation”, which was what I meant. I meant to refer only to their physical form, not their characters. Sorry ‘bout that. (The character of every team member, and of the team as a whole, is what sets them apart for me. It’s why I’m a fan. But character alone won’t get them another set of rings…)
Ah, no worries
Just wasn’t sure we were quite on the same page there. Thanks for clarifying.
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Feb 20, 2009 2:55 AM EST up reply actions
True that
Perk can be tough and intimidating without fouling the heck out of everybody. Look at KG.
I was at this game, on the 14th row!
This will go down as one of the worse games I have ever seen, the calls were bad in the first quarter, but from the second to the fourth was painful to watch. 30 Personal Fouls were called on the C’s, 18 on the Jazz. ES arena is a tough place to play at I get it, but we shut the Jazz down holding them to just 13 points in the first quarter. We had 6 players with over 3 fouls, 3 of those 6 had 5 or more. The Jazz had a single player with 4.
Harpring only had 2 fouls called on him and I watch him literally strike Pierce in the chest 4 times, not a ball slap, not even a hand check. HE HIT HIM! nothing was called. I saw another play when a Jazz player had Big Baby by the neck from behind when he was going up for a rebound, the foul was called against him!
The Jazz are coached to play dirty, they have had this reputation for far to long, Sloan coaches his guys to play this way. Playing physical ball is one thing, but some of the shit I saw tonight is another. I do not know what is worse the fact that the league is rewarding him for it or the refs ignoring the calls.
This game was a joke, it would be nice to have a few games ref’d by a few guys that have a mirror so they can look at them selves in it, or at the very least care about the integrity of the game. The Jazz needed this win to keep play off hopes alive, and the refs give it to them.
It bad enough when you have the Jazz fan sitting next to you calling B.S. I’m starting to think that the NBA hired Johnson to add a mask crediablity, you have to admit there is a problem before you can fix it. The NBA right now cannot afford to admit the inconsistancies I have seen. I love close games, but let the players make them close with hard work not phantom fouls and no calls. If I wanted to be a scripted soap I would quit my job and watch the soaps!
To all the Jazz fans out there that are proud of that win, I noticed what a great job Larry Miller has done filling the rafters with clutter to compensate for the fact you dont have a title.
CN – out
It's always particularly painful to lose one when you're there in person
sorry to hear the experience turned out that way, CN. Hope you still managed to enjoy some parts of the experience.
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Feb 20, 2009 3:24 AM EST up reply actions
It was still good.
I dont get the time to enjoy a live game, its like sex, even the worst booty I have ever had was still good right? lol. It was a Celtics game, Im still proudly in green and wore my jersey with my head held high, we are still defending champs and it was a treat to watch them.
by Celticnation on Feb 20, 2009 3:34 AM EST up reply actions
Wow. Lots of vitrol.
Funny thing is that your rant sounded exactly like a Jazz fan ranting after watching the Jazz play in the Staples Center against the Lakers. Kobe Bryant shoots more free throws than our whole team some games.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
Vitrol?
I’m a fan of the game first and a Celtics fan second; I think every basketball fan should be upset when any game is so heavily influenced by the very people that have taken the responsibility to ensure the most honest and fair game possible. I understand what a difficult task they have, it’s nearly impossible to call a perfect game, but being consistent with calls and expected perfection are two totally different things. If they want to call chippy fouls, fine just call them on both sides.
I live in Utah, I know the nature of Jazz Fan, you guys will get them any way you can! Claim the win, but share the Subway award for player of the game with the ref every now and then. We all know you pulled an OJ tonight.
by Celticnation on Feb 20, 2009 3:45 AM EST up reply actions
Sorry. I mistyped. Vitriol.
But I take issue with your holier than thou fandom of the NBA. You had some tough (non) calls tonight. I’m with you. But it is more of a problem with the NBA than anything. Home teams get some calls. It happens for everyone. And judging from some Celtic fans’ comments it happens to you guys on more occasions than just the Jazz game. To blame this loss on the refs or especially on the Jazz physical play is absurd.
And the fact you live in Utah doesn’t give you this inside and enlightened perspective on the Utah Jazz or their fans. Your comments on the game suggest that if the NBA just got rid of the Jazz, then the game would be more fair and just. Like it’s their fault and the Utah Jazz fans fault. And please stop with the Nowitzki-like “this is how Coach Sloan teaches them to play: Dirty” routine. He teaches his players to play tough and hard and force opponents to make tough shots or make free throws. Contrary to your opinion, he doesn’t pull Matt Harpring aside and say, “Hey Matt. Punch Paul Pierce in the chest whenever you can. Or hit that guy in the nuts if he screens you.” Sloan is what’s right in this league. Less prima donna acts and hard physical play. And across all sports, the physical team that plays harder and hustles harder wins, unless they are greatly less talented. You have no problem with the tough defense your coaches instill in the Celtics. Because tough play should be rewarded, for everyone. And sometimes the Jazz’s tough play costs them games.
Bottom line is that every NBA fan can make your same arguments against the opposing team when they get some home court calls. If you were the true NBA fan you claim to be, then you would just take your losses and move on. But don’t blame it on the Jazz or their fans. Some Jazz fans are super obnoxious, but that is standard for all teams. On most nights, the better team is rewarded with the victory. I don’t think the officiating in the NBA is really fantastic across the board, but it’s what we have to work with as fans.
And your quip about filling our arena with trash to make up for our lack of a banner was really classy. We never hear that baseline rip from every Laker fan ever. We get it. We have never won a championship, so we all suck. End of story. I don’t even know why we root for the Jazz.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
certainly the most infuriating celtics game of the year, and thats saying alot.
Yeah, and what was up with Harpring literally being able to Push, punch, trip, grab, throw PP around on every single possesion in the 4th quarter without anything be called? most games that would be called right away, period.
I dont have a problem with the Jazz or thier fans in this case though…the celtics didnt deserve to win and played like dog poo..when the jazz shoot 30% and you shoot close to 50% and you lose – thats unacceptable- the jazz played like crap for 48 minutes yet we proceed to turn it over 19 freaking times
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 7:07 AM EST up reply actions
And not only was Harpring able to do whatever it is that he wanted to Pierce, we couldnt breathe on them at the other end…this is becoming a reoccuring theme thats making me want to give up on the nba
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 7:09 AM EST up reply actions
Upside
I may be the only one hear but I kind of hope KG’s injury keeps him out a week or two. Especially since it’s reportedly been bugging him for awhile. He could use the rest, He got a short break due to injury last year and I think it was the best thing for him. He had much more energy for the playoffs.
Now I know home court is much harder to get this year, but personally I’d be willing to sacrifice the number one seed for a fully rested and healthy Garnett.
The officiating
was subpar, but it was worse in the Dallas game, I think. We still had the chances to pull the win but failed to execute. Too many turnovers once again, we have to take better care of the ball.
re: Pierce's ISOs
I can’t blame the team for making that call. When you’re turning over the ball at that rate, running clearouts is at least a way of taking a shot. .
Sure…the first 3 times they did it I would agree with you. But it was clear that he was gassed, his shot had no lift and Bavetta was going to let Harpring assault Paul at the free throw line. I would have rather seen Ray off a couple of screens or Rondo create something off the bounce.
When Perk was asked what he thought of Howard winning the gold medal this summer, he responded: "What’s his impression of me after I won a ring?"
exactly G17…after the first 3 bricks i could not figure out why it was pass to pierce and pray….he literally was not even looking to pass and it destroyed an already abysmal offense. It got stupid after awhile….and why has harpring allowed to punch, push, trip and do whatever he wanted to pierce with no whistle? that was pathetic
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 7:23 AM EST up reply actions
The jazz really didnt have any momentum, they played bad basketball for 48 minutes…we pretty much beat ourselves
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 7:56 AM EST up reply actions
Just took a look at the boxscore for the first time, and Pierce played 45 minutes, the last 2 games he played 43….this is getting ridicoulous.
by TheAncientRivalry on Feb 20, 2009 8:00 AM EST reply actions
Playing 5 on 8 on the road against a good team?
-Without one of the best players in the league
-Committing 18 turnovers
-Bad games from your other big two
It was not a well played game by any stretch of the imagination but both teams brought a lot of energy to the table. Utah had to play 48 minutes to earn this game.
Knick Bavetta should be in a knursing home.
Boston Celtics - 2008 World Champions
Some of the stuff Harpring was doing to Pierce in the 4th quarter would have drawn a flag in the NFL, but it wasn’t called.
Meanwhile, Powe, David and Pruitt each get called for phantom fouls. In Davis’ case, he get called for a foul when he was trailing a play and never actually made physical contact.
You knew the Celtics were going to lose by the middle of the second quarter.
We Deserved To Lose
With the turnovers, points off turnovers, missed free throws, etc. we deserved to lose. BUT, if you remove the officiating from the equation we would have won that game. I think the poor officiating took all the momentum away from the C’s and I think it really frustrated them. I know they shouldn’t let bad officiating get to them, but this was over the top. Utah is physical, but they crossed the line again and again and the officials let them get away with it. If we retaliated we would have had all the players teched out of the game.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
the jazz does what they can get away with. the refs were the culprits—mr. bavetta was a farce. the c’s to put things where they belong were rusty. scal hadn’t played in a while and pp was out of kilter. our defensive rotations were pretty good. we stood around and watced pp late in the game. it worked in dallas and stunk last night. no ball movement. the big thing now is to get kg healthy and get a big. pruitt tried and played some d. there does not seem to be much confidence in him from the top which influences his game . bbd was a no show and looked slow. powe is limited but he does board at least. where was walker- we needed a few mins. from him mid game.
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