I will never look back at this matchup and talk about how great it was. I love watching teams play defense and this series is just not how basketball should be played, IMO.

Sure the games are close and some huge shots were made but to me a no defense series just can`t be called great….

I honestly think the perfect defining moment of this series is Hinrich getting the open layup and not getting it to fall (goaltending or not, outside of the point) This series has so much imperfection, it leads to perfect moments, to perfect drama. Sports is entertainment to some extent, namely to people watching. This series is as entertaining as any series I’ve ever seen. While the basketball in and of itself isn’t perfect, watching the story of the series unfold is as close to perfection as I’ve ever seen in any sporting event.

While I would have loved to see the Celtics win this game last night, I can’t help but admit that it’s been a very entertaining and satisfying series from a basketball fan’s perspective.

I’ve been somewhat disappointed with Pierce’s performance in this series, but last night was not one of them. What I had wanted to see from him was a little passion and commitment, and I think I saw that last night even when his shots were not falling. This was in contrast with previous games where he passed up shots and his defense on critical possssions was not all that great.

I wasn’t mad at him fouling out because it occured on a hustle play, with him wanting to prevent an easy basket. One can argue that he should have just let Noah score. But I" would say he did the right thing contesting that shot. Imagine if it had worked out. It would have been a pivotal moment. It didn’t work out, I can live with that. I always respect genuine effort of people who take chances that hold huge potential payoffs (or huge potential downsides when things don’t work out) What I can’t live with would be Pierce just giving up and letting Noah go unchallenged.

I’ll remember this series as a really emotional roller coaster of interesting basketball. However, I’ll stop short of calling it a classic. This is not Bird and Magic battling it out at the highest levels. It’s more like an up and coming Bulls team playing a step up their grade level, while a depleted and injury ridden Celtics team are holding on for dear life.

This series would have been a no contest if the Celtics could get more than one superstar hot at the same time. Right now, it’s one or the other, and that’s not enough to dominate anyone.

I am resigned to the very real possibility that the Celtics may not get to the conference finals, let alone the NBA finals. But the positive side is watching Rondo and Glenn Davis mature right in front of our eyes. It bodes well for the Celtics future.

I’m glad you can all get excited about this series. I really am. I know Bob Ryan gets paid to be a fan, and this blog is probably making money too. But even so, I think y’all are genuinely excited. Let me just say, I’m not. I always root for the Celtics. So don’t get me wrong there. But to watch a team that won 66 games last year, 62 games this year, and set nba records for best start, and celtics records for longest winning streak, I am simply not moved by this team playing even with an average competitor. Sure, the Celtics don’t have Garnett, Powe, etc. But for me the bottom line is that the Celtics simply aren’t playing high quality basketball. I get excited about high quality celtics basketball. Salmons shoots threes whenever he takes a notion, while anyone and everyone on the Bulls gets into the lane for an easy deuce unless KP is there to get in the way every once in a while. PJ brown will block more shots at age 86 than mikki moore will block over his entire celtics career. In other words, the defense is pathetic. The front line is thin at best, and the bench scored 11 points in seven quarters last night. 11! So far from being excited, I am being reminded of the worst two years of my celtic fanhood—1987 and 1988. Watching a once great team fall apart due to injuries and then struggle to get out of the first round. I understand the whole purple heart concept. Fine. Give them purple hearts. Bow down in reverence. But I’m not gonna get excited about this series, even if we win.

I don’t think close games make a series “best ever” or “instant classic”; it’s more the quality of play and the “styles make fights” factor. I don’t think the gameplay has been especially good or intelligent this series, and the teams are too similar for me to find the clash interesting from any standpoint other than as a C’s fan. (The whole young vs. old storyline is a complete media fabrication, when you consider that the story for the C’s has been young Rondo and Perk, while vets like Miller and Heinrich have played major roles for the Bulls.)

Bottom line, even if the C’s win — even if the C’s win and somehow go on to win a championship — I can’t imagine ever wanting to watch these games again.

This series was 2 Paul Pierce free throws away from a sweep. To me it was a series of missed opportunity and spotty play by a team that should know better than to let a you team think they have a chance. How soon we forgot the Atlanta Hawks…

i updated my facebook status as "Best. Series. Ever. " right before i went to bed last night.

great minds think alike!!!

Jeff,
yes it’s a classic series and it will still be a Classic Series even if we lose it but I have to say that I am disappointed in our inability to beat these guys in OT. Going back to that regular season game in Chicago we have played 5 OT games against these guys and lost 4 of them. Sadly, if you had to pick one guy on our team who has hurt us the most in those 4 losses it would be Pierce. BBall is a team game so you win as a team and lose as a team but the longer this series goes the more fatigued Pierce has become. Let’s make no mistake- without Paul Pierce we’re not winning anything- either this series or the next should we be fortunate enough to get there. The rest of the starting 5 have performed admirably. For us to win in game 7 we need a productive Pierce, good defense and some bench play. I really believe we will win the game and hopefully it doesn’t go to OT because I just can’t take any more of those- especially since we lose most of them!

i rate when the c’s beat philly in 81, as better. this one is exhausting and both teams deserve to win. unfortunately, one team walks away a loser. if it’s chi. they have a lot of hope for next year. if it’s us, we will be in the pits.

Don’t Put Too Much Hate on Having a Game 7.

This series really need to go to a final Game 7 considering that 48 minutes of regulation time is just a warm-up. The real line-up and game goes in every extended 5 minutes.

I am hoping for a win though. I want more EPIC series in this 08-09 Playoffs.

I really do, he killed us all night. Torched by Salmons on one end, not sharing and turning it over on the other.

He was MADDENING last night.

It’s ugly, long, heart-pounding, heart-stopping, frustrating, exciting…

I’m emotionally drained. The fact that Noah had the biggest play of the game kills me. Lord, could it have been anyone else? Please? If that’s not motivation to want to destroy the Bulls Sat. then I don’t know what is. Also the fact that their crowd rattled Rondo a bit, initially pulling him mentally out of his game. He’s now considered by many to be the dirtiest player in the league. Overreacting much? They’re playoff fouls, everyone.

How does Hinrich get less of a penalty that Rondo? Hinrich was the aggressor. Even after a hard foul you can’t attack someone.

I’m also disappointed about this loss because Ray Allen’s performance isn’t as special. But wow, what an amazing performance. Seeing a Hall-of-Famer playing one of the best games of his career is a true gem.

Did you honestly think this series wouldn’t go to 7 games? It was inevitable. For the sake of me not cringing every time I see one of these games in the future, the Celtics need to win game 7. I’ve aged 10 years during this series and something positive needs to come from it.

Salmons? Huh? Really? Disappointing to see a player like that be able to do what he did.

Don’t expect the Celtics to have a Willis Reed moment in Game 7 tomorrow night.

Kevin Garnett will not only not be available tomorrow but is done for the season, according to Celtics president Danny Ainge. Ainge said in a text message early this morning that the injured All-Star will not be returning for the rest of the playoffs.

“I’m not planning on him the rest of the season,” said Ainge.

LINK

This series is insane! 3OT’s in the playoffs?!

Here’s hoping the C’s come out strong and finish the Bulls off early.

5 OT’s tomorrow night, winner will be the team who has 5 guys left at the end

It was far far better than this since both teams were healthy, supremely talented and playing at the top their games. IIRC 5 of the 7 games were decided by 2-3 points or less and the last game had a classic nailbiting finish. The Havlicek stole the ball series, the 74 finals and the 84 finals were also far better than this (to name only series the C’s were involved in). Level of play is imprtnat.

We shouldn’t win a game where 1 player scores 51 points. This is not a good thing! Ray was fierce, but it was a situation where he was the only reliable shooter. C’s should be utilizing more of their resources. C’s should never have one guy shooting so much. Ray’s % was only slightly over average.

Also, you should never trust Pierce if he isn’t superman.

And, TA should go.

And, the difference in this series is not the bench! Our “bench” is scoring! It is just that they are starting…

And, you can’t blame Rondo.

For sure, this is an “entertaining series”….Game 6 alone clinched that!

But, the low level of play and coaching, along with it being a first-rounder involving a crippled #2 seed…..forbids it from truly being a “classic or epic” series.

As Celtic fans, we can feel proud of them being warriors….while also being heart-broken and frustrated that once again injuries dealt us a crappy hand.

Classic is when two great teams clash AND you have games like we’ve seen. Chicago is not great, far from it… they’ve been playing out of their minds, making one miracle shot after another (amazing, really, how that keeps happening). The Cs, sadly, are also far from great at this point. No one has been more disappointing than Paul Pierce. And Doc.

Yesterday I blamed Doc for taking that last timeout, thus assuring the loss. But if memory serves, it was Paul who actually called it. Either way, both men have performed abysmally. Paul, for reasons unknown, has had too many mental and physical lapses, usually at the very worst possible times. You can lay all three losses at his feet. Doc simply lacks imagination, always has.

I suppose the team that deserves to win will win. I can no longer say that we “deserve” to win. The Bulls are the ones who stepped up their game, big time. We stepped down.

But it matters very little. Whichever team wins will not get out of the East. The Bulls because they’re not good enough (yet). The Celtics because Paul has stepped down too far. And because Doc is only a great players’ coach, with glaring deficiencies in the rest of his game. In any event, the world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here. And it will surely forget what they did here.

This sereies has seen some real head scratching moves made by both coaches. Had vinnie or doc had their head on straight this series would have been over. I usualy defend doc but he has not done a championship coaching level job this series.

What was up with those? Much more dangerous/flagrant than Rondo + Hinrich

I’m sure to casual fans and Bulls fans, this will be remembered as one of the greatest series ever. But frankly, I have absolutely hated watching every single game. Unbelievably frustrating to watch. Depressing. Like a wounded dog fighting for its life. The Celtics are undermanned, injured, slow, broken… playing horrible defense without their core, best player and emotional leader… against a cocky, uppity, athletic, hungry young Bulls team with nothing to lose. It’s been disgusting to watch and I’ve despised every second of it. The celtics look vulnerable… they look weak… they look like a team without a prayor of winning anything this year. We are giving minutes to scrubs like Big Baby, Scal, Mikki Moore and Tony Allen and it’s sad.

To casual viewers I’m sure they are loving it. To Bulls fans I’m sure they are loving selling themselves on the idea that they are “upsetting” the champion. But to me, personally… I’m ready for it to end. I’m not saying we should take the sickly dog out back and shoot it in the head… but I’m saying I don’t really want to watch it limp around in the back yard and ward off a wolf.

There was a point when that greasy, slimy, megalomaniacal college coach took control of this team that I almost resigned my citizenship in Celtics Nation altogether. But this isn’t the same thing at all. What’s happening now is such a classic case of spoiled fans dwelling on the negative, inflating every missed shot and bad decision, and just generally acting like sports-radio boneheads.

Rondo is playing on a clearly popped tire, and posters grill him for not attacking the rim aggressively enough rather than commending him for putting in 50-odd minutes and continually finding Ray and Baby in their sweet spots.

Doc has to coach a 3 OT game with a total of 5 reliable players, at least 2 of whom are playing hurt, and people say he was out-coached rather than commending him for keeping his team alive despite a bench that has completely disappeared on him since Baby moved to the starting lineup and Powe went down. Sure,Tony Allen shouldn’t have been in there when he was, but Doc HAS to play the bench some time. Isn’t it sort of up to them not to miss open Js (House) or make stupid plays (TA)? What else can he do — play only the starters and Scal in a series that already had 4 or 5 overtimes? I mean, we all know Mikki sucks. Marbury shows no signs of doing anything of value. House looks scared s-less every time he releases. And Tony is clearly the scarecrow on this team. If he only had a brain. Is all that Doc’s fault? I still think House could bounce back if he could find his confidence, so I don’t want to totally blast him as much, but those other guys are pretty terrible options for a coach to be looking at down his bench. A coach, even a good one — and Doc Rivers IS A GOOD COACH — needs players. Blame the salary structure and huge contracts of the big 3 for limiting the Celtics options this year, and blame the cosmos for taking KG and Powe from the rotation, but it’s not on Doc.

I won’t defend Pierce quite as passionately based on last night, but he DID play great defense. In fact, he almost had a game-changing steal late in one of the OTs that, if it worked, the same people calling for his retirement would be praising the captain for saving the team.

I remember two other series that I would consider before this one, 1986 and 1988, both involving the C’s. 1986 against the Bulls, Jordan’s second year in the league. 1988 against the Hawks in the dramatic game 7 showdown Bird vs Nique. I can also remember some other great series, 1981, down 3-1 against Philly and coming back.

It’s so hard to say “greatest ever” because ever is a very long time.