Game 3: Where The Celtics Got Back, Back To Where They Once Belonged

Miami = Mentally weak. Put pressure on them and see how they buckle down.

One of the most serious problems with dislocated elbow is fracture. But… it’s NOT possible they let him play with a broken arm…. right? RIGHT??!? Geezuss…… I sure hope not…… too insane.

what a game!

So proud of this gritty group of people. I still believe!

I WANT TO WIN GAME FOUR

Let’s make history!

… was absolutely ridonkulous tonight. His energy was unbelievable!

…will he play again? Not clear at all right now…….

Words just can’t describe my love for these bunch of guys. Wow

Two comments on the game:

1) Shaq played 8+ minutes. Baby played only 10. And primarily at PF. YAY!

2) PFs and more importantly, Free Throws were basically even. There were a couple of horrid calls along the way, but the Celtics managed to avoid letting the refs make so many touch foul calls by playing straight up defense. I will note that when they DID come late on contention, they still got wrung up. But they avoided having to do that by not being so over aggressive on the doubles.

There were some awesome stretches where it felt like KG, Pierce & Ray were completely in control of the entire court. Like watching a street ball game where the three studs show all the wannabe’s who’s boss of the asphalt.

And a gutsy, gutsy performance by Rondo that I think inspired his team.

Okay, that’s more than 2 comments. :-D

But what about GREEN?!

If the big 4 play like they did today no question number 18 is going to Boston!

LOL

if we make a serious run at a championship, this is the beginning. Right here.

“@RichardCOliver: Watching Rondo. Suddenly this paper cut doesn’t seem all that bad. #sportswriterinjuries”

Especially Rondo but also KG, Shaq, Green (FINALLY!).

Thank goodness that with Shaq BBD is getting some rest. He needs it.

Hope Rondo is really ok.

Other than that, I’m pretty much the happiest person ever, and so proud to be rooting for the C’s.

to see how important greens play was tonight. Im guessing most of the media wont notice.

and Tedy Bruschi talked about a game ewith the colts in the playofs and he took the ball from somebody and thought to himself “they (the colts) aint ready to take it! They cant take it from us!” and used that as a sign that the pats were still gonna win it all that year and the colts were still pretenders….

watching tonights game all i could think was that exact thought. and that was BEFORE Rondo’s injury and return, i was thinking that right in the 3rd quarter when we went up 10 right before rondo’s injury when pierce and kg were going off and just taking it, all heart.

Tonights game was just FUCKING INSPIRING

The heart of this team is just amazing. Inspiring. And i was thinking that tonight BEFORE Rondo’s injury and comeback. KG and Pierce’s efforts… Ray too, hell even the oneals fighting with all they got despite all the adversity and aging and wear and tear on em… it had to have rubbed off on west and green, who both did great…

Just amazing. Old lion still got fight, youngsters aint took this pride yet!

And I’ve been watching the Celtics since Russell played.

Rondo, Shaq, truly inspiring.

Wade is a punk.

Officials: Steve Javie, Bob Delaney, Bill Kennedy (Report)

Great win to keep the Celtic’s season alive but let’s not get carried away .

The Celtics are a tough team full of hall of famers and guys who have won championships. They know how to deliver when it matters most. The Heat knew they had no chance to come in and sweep a Boston team with so much pride and toughness.

Keep in mind this game was after 3 days of rest and in a must win situation. However Monday’s game is just as important and will be coming off of only ONE day of rest for Rondo to heal and for the veterans to recover.

KG looked better than ever, Paul was dynamic, Rondo did not have a good game for the most part but did provide huge inspiration and made the emphatic play ending in a dunk that could spell a ressurection for him and the team.

Still cannot figure out what has happened to Big Baby and the bench. Baby seems to be totally lost out there and Doc has finally lost confidence in him. Jeff Green hit a couple nice shots and Delonte played well. Overall the bench still was inexplicably outscored 35-19 by the Heat scrubs. The Celtics bench was supposed to be a HUGE advantage in this series and they had better start to show it quickly.

Overall it was an exciting, flashback type of game that the Celtics had to have but it was just one game. Can the C’s maintain the same type of defensive energy on Monday to truly get back in this series? Will Big Baby and the bench be a factor? Can Rondo bounce back and the veterans not be too fatigued?

The next 3 games only have one day of rest in between which could be crucial as the energy with this team often is not the same on short rest versus 2 or 3 days.

All important questions with another must have game on this horizon Monday….

Wow… Rondo!

Tonight was classic Celtic basketball. Captain Pierce was a great leader tonight.
KG was a monster. Garnett dominated Bosh completely. He looked as young as
any of the young stars. KG showed why he is the best power forward in the NBA.
Rondo amazing at times. Ray with his usual poise.

Quote from the ABC broacast team: “it was sad to see Shaq out there”.
Huh? Seeing Shaq out there was inspiring to me. He scored and was
passing the ball extremely well. How many guys have played until 39.
Great game Shaq! And a huge welcome back!

Win game 4! Take back control! Beat the Heat!

And the Lakers are down 0-3.

C’s finally played a game where it looked like it meant something to them.

Rondo – guts galore.
KG — finally played like old KG.
JG — finally showed up.
BBD — less of him and it worked.
Shaq – made a difference in the middle
PP and Ray – showed up.
Delonte — showed up

Wade — thug.

Inspiring…. if they take this series….. man what a dream it would be…. imagine if they really land #18 thru all the adversity? just…..

man just this game tonight was something else, something i’ll enjoy the memory of and cherish my entire fuckin life. Amazing. Seriously. Thank god for KG, thank god for Pierce, thank god for Ray, thank god for RONDO, thank god for THIS TEAM.

We must play that type of D next game and create more fast break opportunities.

the heart

I thought he tried to hurt Rondo tonight.
His flying charge into Pierce game 1 was the same thing.

I thought Wade was some kind of do no wrong golden boy.
He needs a hard foul or two by some of our Bigs.
BB Davis, I nominate you.

… so we have a legi backup point guard

they played with great heart and great defense. go eddie lacerte again- keep us in the playoffs eddie. rondo’s situation reminds me of havlicek dislocating his shoulder in 73 with the c’s losing to the knicks and one of the key knicks players being phil jackson. ugh!!! this time i hope we get lucky or that the other guys step up. ray is due for a big offensive game.

He was unconsciously moving both arms up and down, and that left arm was moving completely normally. If it was broken in any way, no way would he do that.

If it was just a dislocation, a couple of days’ rest might be enough.

Just do it one game at a time. Tie the series with a win in game 4, then turn the table and bury the Heat in a hole that they will never be able to recover from.

WTF. Imagine if lebron DIDNT go to miami? The heat woulda been a bulls type of team with Wade playig MVP in that rose or kobe role and Bosh playing his sidekick bigman in the gasol or boozer mold, playing in big playoff games and getetin mad props for a diverse 20ppg bigman playing in huge playoff games

instead he’s standing around and being asked to pitch in as a roleplayer, a role that really would be better filled with a guy like udonis haslem to just hustle ass off and hit open j’s created by their “big two” while playing d and rebounding

one of the best celtics game i’ve seen, rondo is a warrior

I spent a good five minutes or more in the fourth quarter reminding a row of obnoxious Heat fans that they were getting their butts handed to them by a point guard with one arm. If only Rondo would play all the time with two arms the way he played with one tonight. The team would never lose.

Garnett = Immense, both on offense and defense and the boards,
Pierce — His defense on Lebron was unreal
JO was solid underneath
Delonte hit some really key buckets. God, I hope is shoulder is all right
And while it was only a small sample, Jeff Green actually played his ass off for 6 minutes in the second half. Thankfully Doc took him out at the right time too, after a turnover and an ugly 3-attempt, but for the first time as a Celtic, he really made a difference on the floor.

On the negative side, I thought Shaq looked awful and really could not move at all. I also seriously wonder how effective Rondo will be if he plays the next game or the games after.

A great night with a lot of guts and heart from Rondo, KG and the Captain.

AMAZING

Paul Pierce’s performance. I thought he was as key to this win as much as KG.

PP had a number of great plays on defense and set the tone for the team from the get-go.

Also the Cs continued to play well after Rondo went out. That was huge, too. IMO. I think they actually increased their lead by the time he came back in.

The bench continues to be an issue and Miami’s continues to outplay the Cs. Never thought that would be such a challenge before this started.

game for the ages for Rondo

Definitely reminded me of Havlicek’s shoulder in ’73.

I thought the Heat were showing respect for RR after he came back. Dennis Scott was talking that down on the NBA channel, saying they shouldn’t have gone so easy on him.

The same thing happened with Hondo and the Knicks. The next game NY wasn’t so nice to John. If Rondo plays we will see what happens.

Definitely a great game to watch. Loved KG working inside more. Monster game.

Tell me what song the post heading is quoting, with back to where we once belong? I figured that was the name of the song but all I could find was Xzibit and that’s not the one I’m thinking of. Or is it a movie quote? Anyway, I was at the game tonight and I just wanted to tell everyone it was a highly enjoyable atmosphere and I was really, really bummed when I thought Rondo was out for the season. Best birthday present ever, I love my babe so much!

I am glad to see this team bounce back and win big! KG was terrific, and PP set the tone early! I found myself asking myself a question during the playoffs, and that is why isn’t PP being aggressive offensively- just like in his old days when he got to the free throw line a lot or created his own space and room to sink down his shots. We need the captain to continue playing aggressive! Put the ball down on the floor and drive it to the rim Paul! I must admit seeing Rondo play with one hand… I mean speechless! He deserves a lot of credit! I hope he gets to play down the stretch because we need him! I heard few commentators mention how Shaq was ineffective, but I must disagree. His presence made Lebron and Wade think twice about driving to the hoop! They instead had to pass which took them out of their rythm!
All around, this was a great victory! Lebron, this one is for you doing pushups; and Wade, how does it feel not to be a cheerleader?! Let’s go Celtics! Game 4! Hopefully we find a spark again! When our Big 4 play well, we can do this! I just hope health ends up working out to our advantage!

I feel like such an asshole. If there’s one thing I love in this world as much as the Celtics, it’s the Beatles, and right now I’m just feeling… Totally ashamed….

I heard the reporters may have laughed at him when he said he played bad because a crick in his neck. He got up and left like a little kid angry. I don’t mean to be rude, but that was funny.

Focus on winning game 4 to even the series. Do it one game at a time.

I hope Rondo will be alright for game 4. But I think his elbow will definitely affect his play, evne in those little things as catching the ball and passing. Knowing Rondo is not 100%, the Heat will pressue him as much as possible to create TO and disrupt the offense. The C’s better be ready for that.