Celtics Hang On - Win Game 1
by Jeff Clark on May 16, 2010 6:23 PM EDT
in Boston Celtics Games
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PrintThat... was close.
Celtics controlled the game for 3 quarters, leading by as much as 20 points and 17 in the 4th quarter but the Magic came all the way back and were within striking distance in the final seconds. But the Celtics held on and took game 1 and home court advantage in the series. A good start.
Clearly the Magic were cold after such a long rest but we can't expect that kind of break in future games. We'll have to keep executing for 48 minutes. Still, you take the breaks you can and you take the wins you get in the playoffs.
- Another great job by the Celtics on Dwight Howard, holding him to just 13 frustrating points. Credit to Perkins but also Rasheed and Big Baby (and anyone else willing to wrap him up for a foul).
- Great, great, great to see Ray get going in this one. Pierce too. We'll need both of them to keep it up.
- Somewhat quite night for Rondo but with Howard trolling the paint you can understand why.
- Hats off to Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter who stepped up for some points.
- I love that we won game 1. Great first step.
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sheezh
that was close. now we got home court advantage.
"Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing." - Vince Lombardi
Like game 1 of the Cavs' series...
… except we hung on to win!
Let’s repeat game 2.
Celtics are on a roll !
Nice win.
The defense was great again and the C’s won again.
The interior low post defense on Howard especially by Perk and Rasheed was fabulous.
If the C’s keep it up they have a great shot of winning this series.
Rasheed Wallace actually meant it when he said he was saving it for the playoffs ... he's been playing a lot better.
Go Rockets/Nets[CDR]/Bucks[Jennings]!
Ha..
Said it, we’re taking game 1, not game 2. But what the hell was that 4th quarter? A reasonable explanation would be that they got bored and wanted some adrenaline pumped into their blood? I mean.. Jeez..
Todays 4th quarter woe may be simply due to fatigue.
The C’s have been playing very tough defense in this entire playoffs and it may be taking its toll on them at times, especially in the 4th quarter games.
But we can live with it if the C’s win the game…which is the important thing.
Here we go again. meltdown blah blah
watch it again! im sorry, im tired of the 2nd half collapse issue, meltdown whatever.
Boston was playing the clock. But they also had some very good offensive looks that clanked. Orlando was playing marginally better defense in the 4th. But KG missed a shot. Ray missed one. Celtics play a very low number of possessions pace so getting multiple misses in a row is more damaging to them than it is to like the Hawks or Suns who play a much higher average number of possessions. Boston also played pretty poorly offensively for most of the game. The fact that we scored 92 based on how we were shooting in the first half is something I’m happy about.
Plus the officials were being very allowing in terms of contact on defense which benefits Boston more than Orlando but it definitely negatively impacts Ray.
He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.
Yeah, the run was largely due to our own offensive clunkers on several possessions
and the Magic also were bound to start making SOME of those 3 pointers.
We also were hurt whenever we rested Ray. Without him on the floor, the offense lacked movement and was not efficient.
The Celtics were -7 when Ray was on the bench. +11 when he was on the floor.
I think a big part of that was actually a result of Matt Barnes who really obviously just didn’t have it tonight. If his back doesn’t improve I’d be really surprised to see him starting. The Magic were absurdly better defensively with Reddick in.
He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.
huge win
nerve wracker at the end, but its still a huge win for the C’s.
Good sign, I guess
The C’s played well for one quarter and won. You would guess that would be a good thing. Lets hope they can play better tuesday and take both games in Orlando.
My heart was beating by 2 minutes...
I swear, the Celtics are giving me heart palpalations just like in 08… Mad we let our 20 point lead go away again, but oh well Im happy we won… And now have HCA… And our D, wow! We just dominated on the D…
Where’s superman??? Bhaha… No where to be found.
Good game C’s… Glad to shut the mouths of our unbelievers..
I can because I will.. Makes sense?
WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!
I almost bit my finger that last 2 minutes….
by The Cheesy Creephead on May 16, 2010 6:30 PM EDT reply actions
SHEEEEEEEEEEED!!
Yes, all is forgiven. He’s coming up big when it counts the most. For the C’s to play sub-par and still get the win, I really like our chances.
Agree 100%
Without Sheed’s help the C’s would not be winning the playoff games they have won so far.
Keep it up big fella !!!
He was fantastic today
Howard is gonna be a basket case by the end of this series.
by TheOutletPass on May 16, 2010 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow
Think my heart beat was reduced to 1/3 of the normal rate…
1 game down
and in game 2 torland will already be fighting for their playoff-lives.
Like Snowball said: Return of the Living Sheed
It lives ! It eats Magic flesh !!
by The Cheesy Creephead on May 16, 2010 6:33 PM EDT reply actions
we won its all that matters
And yeah Sheed is fully engaged.
Its tough to expect a game two win, but here is hoping
I have a good feeling about game 2...
The C’s are loose and playing well..
They know everybody thinks they are due for a loss (after winning 4 in a row) so they will play game 2 with no pressure on them, which means they will play relaxed and have maybe a better chance of winning that game…. lets all hope.
Scary ending...
… it was the same scenario that during the regular season, big lead, collapsing at the end… but this time we didn’t lose the game. Huge, huge win, big games from Ray and Paul (and clutch FTs).
The pressure is on Orlando for game 2!
Almost Blew It
Game six against the Cavs, and then this one the Cs looked great on defense, and not necessarily great anywhere else. Very uneven game, and tough to watch at the end. But if they can win when not playing their best, they can grind any game out.
it didnt scare me. the shots are not falling and thats about it.
and they didnt panic.
Not really
It just appears that way, but the Celtics were in control all the way. This is more our own perceptions than the reality. I think a lot of us are still remembering the regular season legitimate meltdowns.
"You're about as useful as a one-legged man at an arse kicking contest." Rowan Atkinson
by The Village Idiot on May 16, 2010 6:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Meltdowns?
What meltdowns?
"People don't understand, if you can't live the rest of your life off one year in the NBA, you can't live off 21." -- Keon Clark
I agree!
Never thought we’d lose. Even come the last couple minutes.
I also think that we played the clock in that we didn’t push as much as we could or get into our sets early enough. However, I thought the Magic did a good job denying us on D in the fourth. It was just Celtic apathy.
by TheOutletPass on May 16, 2010 8:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Great win, but that was a near collapse in the fourth quarter
Difference this time is the Celts were able to hang on by their fingernails to win. I’ll take it.
I am obviously a Magic fan and I was at the game.
Atmosphere as Orlando was coming back was exciting, but I knew that Boston was going to have to miss free-throws for us to have a chance to even just force overtime. They didn’t do that, so we didn’t really have a chance to win.
Exactly.
Both teams will play a lot better than they did today. I don’t think there’s any real prize besides the win. And it’s ours.
by TheOutletPass on May 16, 2010 8:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah if we play any better we will be blowing them out by 30...
Magic just got a big wake up call…They better come hard or don’t come at all!
by Ol' Green Boyz on May 16, 2010 10:35 PM EDT up reply actions
I like our defense, offense was good until 4Q
Thanks to Lewis missing the tres.
even if Lewis made that 3, if we inbound it to Ray or Paul its probably still game over.
because they would promptly get fouled and go shoot free throws and push the lead back to 3 with bare seconds left.
the good and the bad
the good news is that the celtics could have played better down the stretch. as in absolutely. the bad news is that the magic could play SO MUCH BETTER too. come to think of it, i would prefer that this was a close game so the c’s dont grow complacent for game 2. nobody on the locker room will be happy for letting a 20-point lead go down to a cinch on the final seconds. expect them to come out with more intensity and better focus in game 2. if we get game 2, we’re putting a chokehold on the magic.
This wasn't even close
But I like that it feels like it was close; when you get beat by a wide margin, you know you got beat hands down, but when you get beat by a few points, you tend to think you really had a chance.
What a performance by the Celtics though. to come in and beat the 8-0 Magic on their home court is quite an accomplishment. Let the excuses for the Magic begin (they almost won, they were too rested, the Celtics had a mini melt down, etc etc etc.) I hope that happens so the Celtics will take this series before the Magic can figure out what hit them.
"You're about as useful as a one-legged man at an arse kicking contest." Rowan Atkinson
by The Village Idiot on May 16, 2010 6:40 PM EDT reply actions
exactly
8-0 in the playoffs? not anymore. 7 home win-streak? not anymore. dwight shooting 80%? not anymore. the best thing about the c’s doing one-on-one coverage on dwight is getting to contest the threes. you can’t just say the magic are missing shots.
Like one commentator said today...Magic Struck FOOL"S GOLD...
The 4th quarter was a sham…the Magic if smart will re group and come out bombing three’s…because they don’t match up with us in the paint well…losing by a few points was and illusion esp. being down double digets most of the game…Great job C’s even if you almost made me crap my pants towards the end..lol
by Ol' Green Boyz on May 16, 2010 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Sheed played great D on Howard
even better than what perk did which was great too
by friedgreentomatoes on May 16, 2010 6:42 PM EDT reply actions
Sheed has a great history of playing defense on Howard...
lets hope he can keep it up and stay out of foul trouble.
Road wins!
Celtics are 4-2 on the road in the playoffs…should be 5-1, having blown Game 1 vs. Cavs.
At this point in 2008…the Celts were 0-6 on the road.
Most road playoff wins…the 1968 Celtics were 7-3
my only concern
is that KG still refuses to be the man down the stretch. doc keeps talking about going to him often in this series and then he is nowhere to be seen in the 4th. i just think pick and rolls are too hard with Howard cuz he is so good at defending them. KG or PP on the block are both great options imo but they are just not doing it…
not to sound negative tho, amazing defense all game and a great win!
ps. people hating on perkins are the same people who were giving peirce a pass against cleveland cuz he had to guard lebron. guy plays the best D on Howard of anyone in the league. if thats the only thing he gives us, we’ll take it.
i like your ps.
PERKS, a nightmare match-up for Howard done a terrific job! Everybody knows Howard is in trouble when playing Celtics especially Perkins.
Perkins was great on defense
But he had 5 free throws and honestly has regressed to one of the 10 worst offensive players in the NBA. And then there is his free throw shooting, where is also may be among the league’s 10 worst. I LOVE Perk’s hard work, but he never should get the ball passed to him. He is a trainwreck waiting to happen on offense.
that's ridiculous
you must have completely missed the regular season where Perk lead the Celtics with:
FG% 60.2%
eFG% .602 (2nd only to Finley’s .615)
TS% .613
And while Perk’s Offensive Efficiency (points per possession) was not as high as some of our more offensive weapons, at 1.05 pts per possession, it was more than respectible.
“trainwreck” ? Please, vinnie. That describes your assessments more often than anything else.
Five turnovers today for Perk
0-2 from the free throw line at a key point in the game. His offense has been pretty bad in the postseason. That is all I am saying. It’s the truth. Finally, as many of you have reminded me all year, the regular season doesn’t matter, so I really do not care about Perk’s regular season numbers.
Perk has struggled but he's also not 100%
He’s never going to be a great offensive player, but it was obvious when he was healthy this year, he was better. I think when we see those awful, short free throws it probably means his knee(s) is bothering him.
He also is good for a couple turnovers per game on moving screens it seems; that’s frustrating but he has a rep now and the Celtics are coached to be aggressive with their screens (never understood a coach saying to “go get them” to a screener but it happens). JVG said the second one was really on Pietrus but I didn’t get a good look at it myself.
I've never once said the regular season doesn't matter.
You, right above my post, claimed that Perk has regressed to “one of the 10 worst offensive players in the NBA.” And that is pure nonsense. He is a very valuable and potent offensive player. In this post season we have had no matchups where it makes a lot of sense to focus on scoring through Perk. In the first series, Pierce, KG, Ray and BBD enjoyed offensive advantages. In the Cavs series, Ray, KG & Rondo all had HUGE offensive advantages over their defenders – it simply made no sense to even bother trying to score through Perk.
In this series Perk is also guarded by the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year – give Howard some credit. Perk is not expected to be our primary scorer in this series, again. That’s not going to be his job. His job on offense is simply to push Howard out of the way so Ray & the others can get to the hoop. Not pretty. Won’t show up in the stats. But a vital part of being an offensive player.
As for free throws, 0 for 2 from the line is hardly a compelling sample. Perk is no Ray Allen, shooting just 58.2%, but for the record, among players logging 1000+ minutes, that was only good for 11th worst. So no, technically, Perk is NOT in the league’s 10 worst …
And Dwight Howard is right behind Perk at 12th, in case you wanted to know.
Agreed 100%
That was one of the most ignorant statements I’ve read on here (Vinnie). Perkins has his frustrating moments, but he is doing his job well. His job is to be a defensive presence down low. He is the 5th option on offense and did a damn good job at it in the regular season. AND, indeed, he is playing with a bad knee!
What does his performance in the regular season have to do with this game?
He was GOD-AWFUL in this game offensively. 5 official TOs + one (easy) rebound fumbled out of bounds. It would be hard to imagine how he could have been worse, on offense. Even Doc was shown head-in-hands after one of his many screwups.
Hopefully he will either improve, or they’ll limit his touches, or Sheed will just have to play more and him less.
Vinnie… you are absolutely right. The statement that “He is a very valuable and potent offensive player” could only be made by someone who is not talking about this game. Fyi, in the playoffs there is NO TIME to harken back to the regular season. If he screws up too much, the Celtics could very well lose, and that will be that. You can talk about the regular season all you want, but NOW is what matters. And NOW… he sucked on offense. Period.
Right - and I guess Pierce was a horrible offensive player during the Cavs series.
Nonsense. He didn’t change. The game changed around him.
We choose to run the offense away from the opposing team’s best defensive players. Against the Cavs, Pierce had Lebron defending him. Easily the best defender on the Cavs. So we ran the offense away from him.
Against the Magic, Perk is matched up against Dwight Howard. Having a bad game against Howard does NOT constitute ‘regressing to one of the 10 worst offensive players in the NBA." That’s just useless hyperbole.
It does not at all change Perks’ value on offense.
When I said “He is a very valuable and potent offensive player.” I am most definitely NOT just talking about the regular season. His abilities as an offensive player haven’t changed from the regular season. Our utilization of his abilities changes based on the matchups. In THIS series, the main offensive ability we want to use with Perk is his ability to clear space under the paint. That is no less important than the ability to shoot. Learn the game.
"Learn the game"?
You are kidding, right? So now you resort to his “ability to clear space under the paint”…. where’s that, in the cellar? Whatever…. Perkins had FIVE turnovers, plus one easy rebound fumbled out of bounds. ALONE, he cost his team somewhere around 5-8 points. He was not just bad, he was embarrassingly bad on offense. No comparison to Paul in the Cavs series… Paul was never guilty of THROWING THE BALL AWAY 6 times in a game. On top of 2-6 shooting.
If you insist on arguing this, no one can stop you. But you have no case whatsoever. Luckily, the truth is clear for all to see, most especially Doc.
Perk was not guilty of throwing the ball away 6 times.
First of all, he had only 5 TOs.
And most of his TOs are offensive foul calls (travelling and moving screens), not ball handling TOs.
Look – I have been on record of being critical of Perks’ happy feet turnovers (traveling and moving picks) all year. It is not a new thing. But even so, his positives far outweigh those.
Doc will almost certainly know these facts. The truth he derives from it is almost certainly different from what you imply.
moving picks
I only saw one from Perk (called)
At least three of the Perk variety for Howard, none called. Moving screens should be be a star call, they are pretty unambigous
Perk got two, Dwight got one
I thought the one they actually called on Dwight was a little weak; it was off the ball. JVG said the second one on Perk should’ve been a foul on Pietrus but I didn’t see it well enough.
Let's just hope he improves
No argument there, I’m sure. His value on D is enormous, even if he does screw up sometimes on O… if he improves, and when KG and Rondo are hitting too, we could see some REAL blowouts.
Yes if 5 players on a team all play well that team will usually win.
Orlando only had three people show up to play today. Rashard Lewis is unlikely to go 2-10 again and Dwight probably won’t be 3-10 either, as long as he plays a little smarter than game 1.
Perkins was absolutely atrocious on the offensive end Sunday, and he has unquestionably become an offensive liability.
With that said, his defense is important against Howard. He has to play more aggressively on the glass. If he does that and defends, then limit his touches on offense.
I’ve never seen his hands as bad as they are now.
So what about the 53.6% free throw shooting?
And, the fact that that may take him out at the end of close games?
its a weakness, certainly.
But its a team game. Having Rasheed allows us to play him at C in close end-game scenarios because he is a better free throw shooter.
That hardly makes Perk a ‘trainwreck’ of an offensive player.
Perk in the C for the bulk of the game gets us to the final stretch.
actually
It is somewhere between.
Perk regressed when KG came back. His role, particularly compared to when KG is not there, is a lot different. His offense was part of this team that never really got cohesive in the second half of the season.
Somewhat related is that Perk has been more turnover prone (it seems, don’t have stats) for a while now.
Perk had a bad game down low with the ball today, and it seems like about half of the problems were unforced,
I would like to see more from Perk, because he is capable of it, but given who he is defending and who is defending him, our expectations shouldn’t be too high
I wrote an article earlier in the year about the TOs
The C’s definitely had a problem on offense due to too many TOs. When you look at the profile, the only TO category where they were noticeably worse than their opponents was offensive fouls – mainly traveling and moving picks. These were mainly being caused by Perkins, BBD and Shelden. I.E. the younger Bigs.
I disagree with the term ‘regressed’. Perk’s role indeed changes somewhat when KG is on the floor, as opposed to when they had Rasheed playing PF (thank gawd that’s over). In particular, the rebounding chores fell more heavily on Perk’s shoulders when KG was out.
But in large part Perk’s offensive roles all year has been twofold. On one hand to post up weaker Cs when the matchup is good and otherwise help control space by either blocking out or setting picks so as to enable our real scorers. In this series, the latter is his job.
Perk and "potent offensive player" should never be in the same sentence
His free throw shooting has gotten so poor that the Celtics cannot afford to have him in at the end of close games, even though they need his defense. He is shooting slightly less than 54 percent from the line in the playoffs. In the playoffs, he has the third most turnovers per game on the Celtics even though he hardly touches the ball. Again, it is not the scoring that concerns me, but the turnovers and free throw shooting.
Again, I am not rashing the guy, as his defense is worth its weight in gold. However, I am especially concerned about the free throw shooting and his ability to be on the floor late in games.
three things
1) there is far more to being an offensive player than shooting baskets. This is a team game. Perk’s offensive value in this series will be in moving bodies. Layups by the wings do not happen in the half court offense unless he gets Howard out of the way.
2) Perk gets charged with the TOs because one of his jobs is to set screens and he has a rep for moving his feet so gets called for moving picks. That has NOTHING to do with handling the ball. Learn the game, vinnie.
3) You’re saying “I am not rashing the guy” is disingenuous because, well, you did.
He did move his feet
Every time he was called for it. And he did fumble the ball. And he did travel with the ball. Give it up. You cannot change reality, no matter how much you try.
the second moving screen he only moved his foot because Pietrus ran into his leg. But Perk has a reputation for moving during screens. JVG noted that he felt it was not a good foul call. ANd given that Howard was allowed to set a similar screen of four occasions that I noted where he was not called, I feel like it is unfair to award him a turnover for that one when it was not accurately called.
He did travel, you’re right. There’s one turnover. He did set a moving screen. There’s two. And he did have 2 more. How many turnovers did he cause Dwight to make? So I have him in the plus category for turnovers since I believe he caused more than he committed. In fact even if I add one to his committed I still have him a plus.
In general terms I understand what you and Vinnie are both talking about. But the thing is, it doesn’t make sense. The argument I"m reading is:
Perkins has regressed (gotten worse offensively) because he had a bad statistical game against the best defensive center in the league.
He played very well offensively against Cleveland and was pretty efficient. He missed 2 free throws. Everyone remember the Miami game where Ray missed 3 in a row? Perk’s a center, most centers are usually pretty bad at free throws. None of the things you have brought up as arguments are in anyway “proof” of his regression. They are only proof he had a bad statistical game. But Perk’s job on offense is, generally speaking not statistical. There’s no way to measure “picks set” unless you do it by hand on your own.
He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.
No, he had a bad offensive game because he blew most of his possessions
… unnecessarily and rather stupidly, and shot 33% from the field to boot. I’m just gonna shake my head and walk away… because some things are so clear and obvious that anyone arguing against it is simply not seeing reality. Happens a lot in here.
Do you keep a stat sheet on the game or are you just looking at the Boxscore on Yahoo?
Sheed shot 33% if we leave out 3 pointers and only marginally better if we include them.
KG didn’t even shoot that well.
You’re saying he blew his possessions stupidly but I’ve only got him marked for 2 “bad” shots, one being the half court heave, the other being a short range jumper where he just held the ball too long. I saw the travel too, I’m not glossing over that. I’m just really not sure what you’re actually basing your opinion on other than it just being your opinion. Please educate me. I know you’re not an idiot, I"m not suggesting that you are, I’m trying to understand what information you are basing your perspective on.
He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.
Here are the details
This shouldn’t be necessary, because Perk’s terrible performance on O was obvious. But since it’s become an issue, here’s the hard data:
Q1
9:34 Fumbles pass from Rondo, recovers
7:27 Moving Pick – Off. foul called – official TO#1
4:32 Receives pass from Ray, hesitates too long on right side, takes weak shot which is easily blocked by Howard – This is an effective TO.
Q2
8:26 Moving pick – Off. foul called – official TO#2
5:33 Throws bad pass to KG, out of bounds – official TO#3
0:32 Receives pass. Hesitates. Confused. Travel called – official TO#4 (At this point, Doc puts his head down, shaking it in disbelief.)
Q3
10:16 Receives pass under basket, fumbles it out of bounds – official TO#5
7:54 FG – Makes his 2nd basket of the game (near-dunk on pass from KG under basket).
Q4
2:51 Missed 2 FTs
- In addition, Perk fumbled an easy rebound out of bounds (off a Howard missed FT). This was his 2nd unofficial (uncounted) effective TO.
- In addition, Perk took 6 FGA, hit 2 of them. Total point production for game: 4 pts. (Note: one of the missed FGAs was from the other side of the court at the end of quarter.)
Altogether, Perkins managed, in 26 minutes of play, the following on offense:
- 7 possessions completely lost due to turnovers and effective turnovers
- 4 missed FGAs out of 6 attempts (though one of those attempts was from beyond midcourt).
- 2 missed FTs.
- No assists.
- 4 points scored.
So… WHY do I think he had a bad game offensively. Take a look. Could it have been much worse? He had stone hands and near-total confusion when he had the ball in his possession. Perkins ALONE cost this team between 7 and 10 points (at least), on offense. Considering that the margin of victory was only 4, that’s huge.
He is a problem on offense. This is not his first time performing this badly (or nearly so). His overall FT% hovers around 50%. And his TOs are usually high. He used to be better — but you cannot go back to his better performances in the regular season, because THERE IS NO TIME FOR THAT. You get a maximum of 7 games in these playoff. Screw up in more than 1 or 2, and your team could be out forever.
Hopefully he will either improve, or the Cs will learn not to pass to Perk unless he can immediately pass again, take the good shot, or dunk. If he is asked to actually dribble… or THINK… bad things are likely to happen.
He had two moving screens today, three the ball away 3 times and lost an easy rebound out of bounds
As for learn the game, why don’t you go run a few more calculation so you can present more esoteric facts to support your case. You should work for Theo Epstein and his run-prevention PR crew.
You know....
Even though I always thought and said they’d do it… (sometimes through much resistance)… it’s still amazing and wonderful to see it happening right before our eyes. It truly is.
7 more.
You two are fun.
vinnie said “In the playoffs, he has the third most turnovers per game on the Celtics even though he hardly touches the ball”
and so I respond with a statement about Perk’s TOs in general, hoping that illustrates to you WHY he ends up with high TOs even though he hardly touches the ball.
Then you both come back with statements about his TOs in THIS particular game.
Whatever.
vinnie – you’ve shown yourself to consistently be the most in-the-moment fan on this blog. I’ll give you credit for that bit of consistency. I do wish you’d acknowledge short term, ‘in-the-moment’ impressions are not a basis for making sweeping assessments. Your batting average at the latter has not been too good this year.
i agree!
the celts punched them in the face today. Momentum needs to go into a game two win for the celtics. Then a good rest before game 3 ‘do or die’. I like the groove that the celtics are having now, almost like punching in the clock.
OK that was interestig. But hey, a win is a win is a win is a win
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by bestbostonsports on May 16, 2010 6:46 PM EDT reply actions
exactly
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by bestbostonsports on May 16, 2010 7:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Come on guys!
Your not seeing that the strategy worked to perfection. DON"T ALLOW HOWARD TO BE A FACTOR’ this was a great win. The won it with D-fense just like we won the title in 08 with D. GREAT WIN!!!!
Winning time
Good defense makes good offensive points. Keep up 2nd stringer TIME like Sheed , Tony , Big Ticket defense on Orlando to create space and offensive prowess to Ray/Paul/Kevin and resting them for the crunch time…specially last 2 minutes Clincher!
Keep on Winning GREEN team!!! Bravo to coach Doc for the " W ".
Magic fan here
I thought you guys played great at both ends of the floor… at one point I thought we have more chance to win with Gortat on the floor instead of Dwight… that has to mean something.
Both Ray and Pierce played like possessed men… but really, it was a deserving, team win for the Celtics.
It also helped that the Magic turned it over a lot, which falls both on the lack of execution on the Magic’s side and good D on the Celtics’ side, and that we shot just 5/22 from three point range. I though that was big in us losing.
a big part of that 5/22 is that this is the first team the Magic have played with more than one center. Atlanta doesn’t start a true 5. In that first round, with Bogut they might have been able to steal 2 games. But without Bogut a team like Orlando is a buzz saw.
Cleveland would have been a more interesting match up because I honestly don’t know how much they would have needed to double Dwight. They’re wing defenders are also a lot worse than Boston’s. It would have been interesting to see play out. Not that I’m complaining. The longer I get to go without disappointment the more fun I am in class.
He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.
huge effort and contribution from wallace
I never thought I’d have to eat my words but damn if Wallace isn’t helping us in the playoffs. the Magic are still confident notwithstanding this loss so they aren’t going to go away. I thought we looked gassed in the 4th. Rondo had an ok but not great game and I think Doc is going to need to find him more rest. I’d like to see us pump fake Howard more than we do. For the most part the refs let them play so I can’t complaint but they did miss some obvious fouls, goaltends etc
agree on Rondo and Rest
I wonder if the let up had a little to do with that, although we’ve seen it before and probably without the heavy minutes burden. Regardless I think Doc is going to have to give him some more time. I don’t think that’s too bad especially if Nelson is out. Tony/Ray/Paul can switch a lot on defense.
You know what, Raptorel?
I’m usually more worried for the Celtics when Gortat is on the floor because he just kills them offensively and does a solid defensive job. I had flashbacks of last year’s series when he came up huge in the 2nd quarter… the guy is killing the Celtics everytime he is on the court!
Of course he doesn’t have Dwight’s impact defensively but still, it looks like Orlando’s offense is much, much better with Gortat in place of Dwight.
The Magic lost so many possesion getting the ball to Dwight
Only to see him turn it over or miss a shot.
Gortat doesn’t call for the ball nearly as much and the flow is different with him on the floor. Plus that Gortat doesn’t isolate in a 1-on-1 post up battle like Dwight does (Dwight allows the defense to collapse on him) but instead he just makes buckets in the flow of the game.
That’s different.
You gotta wonder if Howard will ever develop a real inside game
When he is playing weaker, pushover opposing centers he can score at will. When he plays someone qith size he has no offensive game.
He really is a poor player in the post
No touch at all. Honestly, is he any better than Perk? I don’t know.
by TheOutletPass on May 16, 2010 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Dwight is no Hakeem but he is definately better than Perkins
even if he never scored a point just by his defense alone
Me Against The World And I'm Winning
Is he?
I think he’s only more effective because he’s a league superstar so he get away with more bullying/pushing/shoving (ie, offensive fouls), but his moves (footwork, positioning, etc.) are maybe a hair better than Perk’s and as a shooter his range is certainly no better.
Perkins gets open opportunities because no one is going to leave Ray Allen, Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett to double team him.
They will take what Perkins does. Not many teams in the league can effecitvely solo-cover Dwight. Perkins is efficient because his usage rate isn’t very high.
This is true.
However, I still don’t think Howard has much of an offensive game besides running people over and dunking on them.
by TheOutletPass on May 16, 2010 8:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Cmon Lebron rebounds and blocks more shots than Perkins
and Lebron has never led the league in rebounds and blocks in the same season twice in a row in fact nobody ever has except Dwight. Has Perkins even averaged double figures in rebounds ever in a season.
Me Against The World And I'm Winning
rebound totals are lousy, misleading stat.
Rebound totals are a function of shot attempts and miss rates and then efficiency at grabbing them.
Perk plays on a team that allows very few shot attempts by their opponents (and also takes very few) and on the offensive side had a very low miss rate. So the sheer raw total rebounding opportunities that Perk gets are low. What is important is that he is efficient at grabbing the opportunities when they occur. In that, he is very good – he grabs some 25% of all defensive rebound chances. It would be higher, except he shares the floor with another 25% guy .. Kevin Garnett. Together, they grab half of all defensive rebound chances, which is one of the best rebounding twosomes in the NBA.
Other players around the NBA have higher individual rebounding efficiencies, but if you look at their teammates, they rarely have another on the floor who is also as good. Garnett used to post huge DRB% numbers at Minnesota, when he was the only one on his team who could grab a ball. On this team, he doesn’t have to.
Howard posts a gawdy 31% DRB%, but does not generally share the floor with Gortat, who himself grabs 24%+. Put both those guys on the floor more, and Howard’s DRB% would drop.
The blocks are impressive, but in the end less important if your defense simply prevents good shots. Blocks only occur on a small handful of plays.
Good wins guys.
You know..when are people going to learn that sweeping the 1st two series doesnt guarantee success when it matters. The Magic came out thinking they can basically play Boston the same way they played Atl! Wrong!! Its sickening watching Dwight continue to smile and laugh while being down 20. Does he need to keep up his persona for ESPN?? WTF
by Kobe Won Kenobi on May 16, 2010 7:33 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Lol
I wonder what his alter-ego thinks of him now. : )
He should change his name to SuperEGO not superman...
That interview he did on himself was pathetic
by Ol' Green Boyz on May 16, 2010 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions
the c’s sure know how to make it interesting. i’d rather see a ledown for a period rather that the 3 game letdowns of 2008. they did finish it tho, with the their 2 best free throw shooters. orlando was rusty- 18 turnovers- i dont think that will happen again. of course our d had something to do with it. doc and tom tibs on their toes.
I guess the Magic can lose....
After all that hype building up to this one….. undefeated in the playoffs…. hadn’t lost since god knows when…. the best team in the NBA.. Yeah right.
Dwight dude…. we have 24 fouls for ya this year pal. Superman….what a joke. Not the brightest bulb. LOL
Celtics playing championship D. Need to push the ball more on offense late and we’ll be fine.
Great win!
by David Henderson on May 16, 2010 7:48 PM EDT reply actions
a win is a win
that was really close.. and it also didn’t feel a bit comfortable when we had a 20 point lead. man but great Win!
Go Celtics!
Perk played great D also Sheed and Ticket Stub.
gie+Rondo4MVP
Sure, it was close...
…but victory was never in doubt. With about 6 minutes to go and Boston up 85-73, I told myself that all we needed to do was get to 90 and we would win. After a three by Ray we didn’t score for like 5 minutes. It took us long enough, but we got there (and won). We played poorly down the stretch, but I wouldn’t call this a close call.
No field goals in the last 5:50 for the Celts
It is almost a miracle that they held on!
They stopped going
to Pierce and Ray. Those are going to be our best matchups this series. Rondo’s going to find it harder going when the game gets tight, so we need to run more plays for Ray and Paul then.
Once again
The celtics make us all wonder what kind of credentials are needed to be hired as an analyst on ESPN.
“Do you know anything about basketball?”
“Not a damn thing.”
“Well can you read a stat sheet and identify big numbers vs little numbers?”
“Yes, and I can count to 100 and moo like a cow while following the rest of the herd.”
“Great! You’re perfect for the job! Here, have a seat next to Chuck.”
Chuck: “Did somebody say cow? I want a taco.”
by RedsBean on May 16, 2010 8:12 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
No kidding...
Dude, Hollinger honest to god said, “There’s simply no plausible reason to bet against them.” about the Magic in this article below the Daily Dime Chat.
http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/sundaydime-100516/abc-sunday-dime
I mean, he doesn’t think the C’s will win? I can respect that. NO plausible reason to think they’ll win? I bet he had the same thought on his mind when the C’s went up against the “King”.
I’m loving it. I can’t wait till Tuesday. : )
Unfortunately, they may change their minds now
The very last thing I want from any of those guys is to make the Cs the favorites. ’They’re too old, too tired, no legs, no heart… Celtics can’t win, no way no how’…… Please continue till the Finals.
Generally agree with this sentiments, but there’s some serious fire in these guys eyes, I think they want it enough at this point to not even need the added chip on their shoulders. They see how they’re playing—its inspirational and scrappy and contagious—its hard to stop that momentum! Love it! Woo!
JVG already did!
He starts talking about how the Celtics would be favorites over the Lakers in the Finals! I’m thinking, dude, can we just focus on the game.
F the ESPN "experts"
Those douche bags! Sorry, I can’t help myself. That’s ok though. I know C’s love proving those morons wrong. We were labeled “underdogs” in 08. Continue to disrespect, we’ll continue to disprove.
Everytime I watch one of these beauties of a game I think to myself that the networks will hve to show more respect, but they hardly ever do. I continue to be impressed by the varying ways in which they can explain how our opponents “beat themselves.” Until, of course, the green bring home another banner and they all jump on the bandwaggon like they saw it coming the whole time. Ugh. Idiots.
Somebody pinch me
The Good Guys in Green are finally getting a little mass media respect. Can they hang on to their fire now that people are giving them (deserved) props? Do you think these guys even watch the media outlets? In their position I think i’d try to avoid it.
best part
was when the announcers were already looking past orlando to a laker-celtics re-match
Iso
I was dying for the Pierce iso those last few minutes. Seriously, I kind of was. Every time he had the ball he was able to do what he wanted, and he was making fantastic passes. Instead we did some thing where Rondo dribbled around for 15 seconds and then passed to Perkins or put up a contested shot of his own. Not our best offense. Feed Pierce more!
But overall a very satisfying game. Fantastic defense and pretty good offense. Too many turnovers and too many missed easy ones, but overall I liked.
Pierce should have a good series
Vince brought it on offense (I was impressed with his drives) but on D, PP is gonna be able to take advantage of him.
by TheOutletPass on May 16, 2010 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Pierce was awesome today
If he plays like this the whole series, we are going to be tough to beat. I was surprised at how easily he got around Carter, and when the help came he made some amazing passes.
Vince was good today, and so was Nelson. I think Nelson outplayed Rondo by a little today. Not a lot, but he was better. If they’d gotten anything from Lewis and Barnes, it would have been a better game. Then again, KG didn’t do much offensively.
JJ Redick was very good too.
He’s really nice player and a good defender (on Ray, anyway)
by TheOutletPass on May 16, 2010 8:35 PM EDT up reply actions
True
He way outplayed Barnes and Pietrus. I don’t know why I’d forgotten how well he played defensively against Ray last year, but I was reminded today when he did it again. But you know what? If the Magic have Reddick as one of their crunch-time players, I’m pretty happy with that. He’s smart and plays hard, but he can’t do as many things as Barnes and Pietrus can.
Barnes doesn't typically play in the 4th quarter anyways. Today he was probably limited by his back spasms.
Pietrus is usually in the game, but he could not find his shot today for some reason.
Totally agree
Really well called game. We’ve had a bunch of those in a row.
The more physical this series is the better for us.
by TheOutletPass on May 16, 2010 8:26 PM EDT up reply actions
He's an announcer, not a ref
Anyway, I thought he did a good job of being reasonably objective.
it ain't over yet by a long ways.......but there might be a need for this......just sayin
Is it Soup Yet?
Celts make it closer than it should have been
That can’t slow it down in the 4th and expect to win. That as Tom Heinsohn says is really on Rondo. Plus it lead to some other bad decisions by Rondo, Pierce, and others. We could reasonably expect the Magic to make a run and close the score. I never thought the Magic would beat the Celtics, however I did wonder if the Celtics would beat themselves. They didn’t and for that I am truly greatful. Now they need to go out and play to win game 2. This team is more resilient than the Cavs.
Our boys got tired in the 4th.
understandable. cavs series was brutal. 2 days rest compared to orlando’s what.. 10+ ??
from now on – even footing on rest.
it’s going to be a Celtics / Laker championship.
Long minutes, too
Rondo played 44 or 45 minutes. That’s gotta take a toll.
No field goal in the last 5+ mins
After the 3 by Ray Allen to push the lead back to 13, we were held without a field goal in the rest of the game. That could be a sign for concerns. I hope it was just fatigue on our part rather than the Magic figured out how to defend us. Thank God our D played the full 48 mins (except that put back by Nelson off an intentionally missed FT).
Rondo>LeBron
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by bestbostonsports on May 16, 2010 10:36 PM EDT reply actions
Go for Game 2 Win
Game 1 was exciting and a sample of what the C’s can do!!!
Honestly if we win game two Id still expect us to let them back in to the series some
kind of like todays game. And Im not sure we are better off winning in 4 or 5 anyway and I suspect our vets might think that too. Im not saying what I want and I know its a bit crazy. Im saying that these vets are SO confident that if they now don’t show up at all for the game Tuesday or the one Saturday I won’t be shocked. Even Larrys Celtcs mailed in some away games especially against Detroit
Either way if they mail it in or not...
After 3 Q play I’m now convinced We will take this series if the C’s have HEART enough to want it TOGETHER…
by Ol' Green Boyz on May 16, 2010 10:55 PM EDT reply actions
finally playing at the level we expect
it’s getting to the point where doc is echoing pointers her dished out in 08, like his go to phrase “we’ve got to do this TOGETHER” and now that we have gotten through the second round, he is once again making sure everybody on the team is thinking ’we have not done anything yet." their approach is finally being fulfilled by their play.
Wasn't able to watch the game live
Instead I watched the via satellite streaming. I was asleep when the game is happening. I had a dream that the C’s will have a big lead but they will let the Magic back into the game. But in the end they will win the game.
Looks like my dream was true enough.
Although the Magic was able to come back in this game, I liked how it was a product of the C’s missing shots and not defensive breakdowns. i commend the effort of Rasheed, getting under Howard’s skin. I hate to make this reference, but he worked as the team’s Anderson Varejao…always frustrating Howard.
"The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot." - Bill Russell
Yes, intimidation is the key to domination.
by Marjun Raposon on May 17, 2010 12:30 AM EDT reply actions
I like the idea of putting in some relief
with Daniels, Finley and perhaps Robinson
to alleviate the burn on our stars..
but obviously Doc is not convinced they won’t blow it.
7 more to go ..
… and counting
We really need to win Game 2 to keep the momentum. The difference between coming home 2 – 0 and 1-1 is just too big.
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