Almost.....
by Green17 on Mar 8, 2009 3:50 PM EDT
in Boston Celtics Games
Email
Print
The Celtics came back and made a game of it despite (i) KG/Tony/Scal sitting again, (ii) Rajon joining them on the injury report (more on this later), (iii) Big Baby turning an ankle in the third quarter, and (iv) another slow start for a 1pm Sunday afternoon tip.
The first half was some seriously terrible basketball from the Celtics. Really it reminded me of three or four years ago and I refuse to address it further.
The bright spots of the game were clearly Leon and Ray. Leon backed up his strong performance against the Cavs putting up 12 and 7 with 4 drawn charges, and for stretches looked like the only Celtic who was hustling this afternoon. Offensively Ray pretty much carried the team in the fourth quarter, and ended up with 32 on the day. Ray is severely under appreciated at times.
Rajon was held out of this one following his ankle sprain on Friday. Stephon started in his place. Steph certainly wasn't worse than having Eddie run the point, but that's also a pretty low standard. Hopefully some of his rust will wear off - it's clear there is a lot of it there, often Steph seems to miss handle a ball or mis-dribble, which to me are the tell-tale signs. The offense really lacked aggression for much of the game, the impact of Rajon sitting this one out was pretty obvious.
Down the stretch, the Celtics had a chance to tie it, with Doc calling that same screen play for Ray that tied the game against the Nets this past Wednesday. While Ray's three went in against New Jersey, today it didn't fall.
No word yet on when Rajon or Glen will be back, but they will have a few days rest before Miami on Wednesday. This is defintely a set back in the race for home-court advantage, as the Celtis fall two games back in the loss with the Cavs idle today.
| Boston | |||||||||||||||
| Starters | |||||||||||||||
41 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
More concerned about injuries
Having so many guys out definitely showed during today’s game. You take out two starting players, especially the player that runs the offense and the player that runs the defense, it’s going to be a tough time. I heard that Dwight said something about ‘sending the Celtics a message’ during his postgame interview. Really Dwight? C’mon. You and the rest of your team were exposed (again) as to why you’re not a championship caliber team. The Celtics started to get things together and Magic panicked (players and coaches). They took advantage of an injured team (no, not Bynum type injured team Lakers fans, actual significant contributors injured). What message did you send? That the more all-stars you take away from the Celtics, the greater chance you have to beat them?
But this win showed heart. The Celtics continued to fight through. But, it was a little too later. Let’s hope everyone comes back healthy and ready for the playoffs.
no, it wasn't
He fouled Lewis. The refs whistled it.
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Mar 8, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Concur with the professor…..How does that not get called?
by Finkelskyhook on Mar 8, 2009 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions
It was a clear foul, Earl. Maybe in addition to that they’re making up for all of those bogus flop charging calls that Powe “draws”.
Whether they benefit us or not, I think rewarding all of these flops are hurting the game. It’d be nice if Stern meant one thing he said in the last two off-seasons. The star calls make Donaghy’s style of officiating look legitimate. That wasn’t fixed. Flopping was supposed to be addressed. It wasn’t.
by Finkelskyhook on Mar 8, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions
He Isn't Rusty
You could use ythat excuse for a couple of games, but no more.
The fact is that he can’t play any more, and that should be obvious to everyone, including Ainge. Get your heads out of the sand.
He'll contribute... soon
Marbury’s movements are very fluent (despite some ball-handling errors) and he’s definitely an upgrade over House or Pruitt.
It was actually when Gabe was in during the 2nd quarter that Orlando went on the massive run. It’s not his fault, but Pruitt has a big uphill battle to make the playoff roster.
The other player that killed the team today was Pierce. Missed shots, bad passes, fumbles and more missed shots were terrible. Some people were joking that Pierce got paid to throw this game.
On a brighter note, the guys on WEEI mentioned that Orlando cannot be convinced that they’ll win a playoff game in Boston when we’re full strength; so that’s a small victory in theory.
by Ruben Wolkowyski on Mar 8, 2009 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Ligthen up on Marbury
The guy had not played compettiive regular season basketball in 14 months and you expect him to be leading the team. Please. If this were the middle of April and he were playing this way I would be concerned.
He was on the court in the first half, coach. You didn’t miss it. Starhead was on the court but didn’t play basketball. He had one good drive to the basket in the 2nd quarter but didn’t finish. Reality is we really can’t expect much from him at this point. Rivers should have started House or Pruitt at the point.
by Finkelskyhook on Mar 8, 2009 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions
its injuries that matter now and not home court
i think at this point it is safe to say that there is no point in trying to get home court and risk the remaining players…
i think celt stars should take it easy and have them rested, while the bench can play as aggressive as they can…
Unfortunate the impact it has on the standings..because other then that who cares …we’re much better than the magic (its also unforutate im watching ABC and theyre talking about the magics ‘big win’ and not mentioning rondo, and KG’s abscense)
by TheAncientRivalry on Mar 8, 2009 4:13 PM EDT reply actions
the last call
.the other problem with that call was the fact up to that point, in the last two minutes, the refs were letting both teams play..then they make that call which was initiated as much by Lewis as anyone…we have a serious problem with the caliber of reffing these days..there were a few calls against the Magic that were just as confusing…btw.. Davis was getting hacked early and often by Howard..they only seem to call the only the very obvious agains Dwight “I never really dunked that ball” Howard…
stop the complaining
The last call was a clear foul and even if the whole game was called pretty loose, that foul was too blatant. we need to stop blaming the refs and just take the loss
Doc needs to rest his Big 2
consecutive 45 min games should NOT be allowed. We woulda had a better chance at a comeback if the captain had even been half his usually captain-y self, but you could see he was tired. And Ray was too down the stretch, which makes it even harder to make up for deficits late in the 4th.
Too many minutes
He is playing those two too much. This is getting stupid. Win or lose Doc has to get those minutes under control.
Exactly. Each team was fouling the snot out of each other on just about every aspect of every possession in those last two minutes. But this ref decides to take the game out of the hands of the players and essentially end the game with his whistle on a play off the ball.
I find it absurd that people defend such calls.
This was supposed to be a response to Fastbreak1.
by a tommy point on Mar 8, 2009 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Completely Agree
Officials that take the game away from the players are guilty of game fixing. I’m not calling it a conspiracy but a lack of consistancy. The professional level of NBA officials is nil. If you’re going to let the guys on the court play, you have no business changing the style with 30 seconds left on the clock.
I agree with many that Stern needs to get his head out of his @$# and do what needs to be done. Make the officiating transparent, punish those that don’t do their job, review every game and correct the problems. Stop treating star players better than the rest of the league. It’s a team sport and all players & plays should be called in the same manner.
Sure these guys are human but with the amount of inefficiency, makeup calls and just bad job performance, something needs to change. If Stern’s not willing to nip it in the bud, he needs to go. Him an his herd of mentally challenged zebras are ruining this game.
Shop Smart! Shop S-Mart!
The officials didn’t decide this game; the players did. Leon Powe decided to get too physical with Rashard Lewis in the post, and he got called for the foul. This wasn’t a borderline block/charge call, but rather a clear case of a defender shoving an offensive player while battling for position.
I give the Celtics a lot of credit for coming back, as everyone knew they would. But the referees are not to blame for Boston’s 17 turnovers, 39.5% shooting, or 7 missed free throws. Those several mistakes on several plays cost them the game, not that lone foul call on one play late in the fourth quarter.
I never said the referee was to blame for the Celtics’ prior shortcomings during the game. Rather, the referee simply put an official end to the contest by calling a foul that had occurred on each trip down the floor, both ways, for the last two minutes of the game. It was extremely physical. The Magic more than likely would have held on for the victory without the referee stamping out whatever spark remained in the final seconds.
There is neither rhyme nor reason, continuity nor competency on display from officials. This season especially. Let the two teams decide the outcome. Nothing more.
by a tommy point on Mar 8, 2009 9:23 PM EDT up reply actions
T h e S k y
The sky isn’t falling.
Marbury is rusty, 3 games isn’t going to shake that off.
He’ll be an assett in the playoffs, as will Moore, not to mention the return of a healthy KG and RONDO and perhaps even SCAL and TONY ALLEN.
They don’t ‘need’ homecourt to hang #18, though it’d help.
Everything will pan out, I am not worried about the outcome of this game, or Marbury’s effectiveness during the next few games…it was the right move.
Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk
undefeated
The celtics are undefeated this season if the refs didnt suck
we played terribly
this game had nothing to do with the refs. case closed.
Tough loss. Even though they dug themselves in the hole to start with it hurts to see a great comeback fall short.
I’m beginning to understand why my friends can’t take the Magic seriously as contenders. How with the opponent missing half the rotation and only barely puts together one good quarter of basketball does a the game come down to the wire?
.. to be fair, Orlando is missing a key player right now (Jameer Nelson).
I don’t think the Magic are a contender in the team’s current state, but with Nelson, Orlando is definitely a championship-caliber squad. Many experts would certainly agree with that notion.
Former Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
Hey yo, who's the best/heavy like dumbbells on your arms/I bury you broads, while spitting barbarian bars - Black Milk
Celtics were missing 2 key starters
AND 2 bench players AND lost 1 more in the 2nd half. There’s no excuse for the Magic to give up that big a lead down 0-2 in the season series. I know they won but it has to be mildly disturbing how easily the Celtics climbed back into the game once they finally woke up.
I'm not excusing Orlando for anything.
In fact, I would agree. Most of us over at 3QC expected a run to occur .. especially with the home crowd giving its team support. That seemed to be inevitable.
I’m merely disagreeing with the rationale behind dismissing the Magic as contenders. Right now, sure, toss ’em aside. At full-strength though, the team is championship caliber. End of story.
I wish that distinction was more clear but I digress.
Former Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
Hey yo, who's the best/heavy like dumbbells on your arms/I bury you broads, while spitting barbarian bars - Black Milk
Not buying it
I watched this team get the crap end of the stick against Cleveland but still win. They come out flat against Orlando but then pull it together (well undermaned) to make the game close. So I’m not going to be satisfied with some two bit official deciding how a game is suppose to end.
The officials let this game go during the last two minutes but Joe DeRosa (pretty sure it was him) makes an amateur call with 30 seconds left to give Orlando the win. That’s right…I said it…the official gave Orlando the victory. The Magic collapsed on themselves and needed help. That’s what teammates are for, not refs.
I’ll take Tommy Heinsohn & Mike Gorman’s view of that play over anyone else. That call was BS just like the foul called on BBD when Howard lowered his head and basically rammed right through him.
Shop Smart! Shop S-Mart!
it was a bad call but it didn’t decide the game as orlando was still up three at that point and had possession with a lot of time left on the shot clock. even if we had stopped them and gotten the ball back we would have had less than 20 seconds to hit a three to tie the game. this game was lost long before that call. you can’t fall behind 22 to a good team that shoots the 3 like orlando and think that you’re going to win. doc was wrong- this game wasn’t about defense- it was about offense and the lack thereof
I don’t care if the game was lost in the first half. That was a horrendous call made on Powe at the end. You can’t make that call with 20 seconds left in a three point game and Mike and Tommy said as much. (You know it’s a bad call when Gorman says it is)
Their arms got tangled and Lewis made a big deal about it (which he should do) but the refs took the bait he put out there. Seems to me the inept officiating has been really obvious the past month or so. We’ve been on the good side of some of the bad calls but today with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter it hurt us. They were on a great run and then the refs came in and decided the game with a call that has to go ignored at that point.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
NBA Playoffs Content Module
Related FanPosts on CelticsBlog
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- NBA Playoffs Fan Fiction: Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
- The 10-man rotation, starring the Flaming Lips singin’ about the Oklahoma City Thunder
- The Philadelphia 76ers? Gone till November
- ‘Deep Thoughts’ and Cheap Thoughts: Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
- Metta World Peace wishes everyone a happy Labor Day on Memorial Day
