Same Story, Different Ending, Celtics Win This Time

4-1 and should be 5-0 in my warmups I’ll take it!

but this game is VERY UGLY

Of course, the refs were DISGUSTING. Again! I hate those guys.

Meanwhile, Cs with practically NO defense in Q1 and pretty pathetic in Q4. Combined with their disappearing offense in Q4, this is not a win to engender much confidence, that’s for sure.

But truth be told, the REFS had a lot to do with the Cs’ poor game. A LOT. Why is it that Ray and JO can get slammed to the ground with no call, and any minor touch by the Cs results in an offensive foul? How do they review a play and STILL get it wrong? Whatever… all you can do is SAY THESE THINGS OUT LOUD. That way, at least the NBA knows that we know how rotten they are.

Btw… nice steal by Bradley in the closing seconds.

We had no rebounds it looked like we forgot how to block out!

hard 4th quartered but a win is a win GO C’S

They should of won by 10 to 20 points, but the Cavs have given teams problems lately.

now we are back at .500

But this team has to stop playing passive because it’s gonna be the down fall of their season. Rondo has to come back quick because Bradley running the PG will be an issue in future games.

Yeah, there was a disparity in the Cavs’ favor, but this is one game where a lot of that came from plain bad luck… balls bouncing just so, made rebounds that popped out, etc. Have to say though, JO seemed pretty weak out there for most of this game, on defense.

while the Cavs hit a ton of contested shots. Granted, I think the real story was our many lazy passes and play on the offensive side, leading to easy turnovers and buckets for the Cavs, but we also just missed a lot of shots we should be making…and they hit a lot of shots they probably won’t hit most nights (especially Varajeo).

the oldest celtic played the most minutes and he was missing his shots in the late quarter the Cs almost lost again glad they won this one

Is there any reason to leave Bradley in for 37 minutes including the fourth quarter when he is not playing any better defense on Irving than the rookie Moore? The Cavaliers were basically playing five on four for most of the game. Bradley cannot pass, cannot rebound, cannot shoot a jumper, cannot drive to the hoop without being rejected. I noticed over the years Doc will not play rookies unless he is forced by injuries to do so . Anybody remember Al Jefferson and Ryan Gomes?

If big men like Varejao and Grotat can be effective against the Celtics, then what does this say about the C’s defense. Still I a work in progress? I think it’s about that time Danny Ainge looks for a decent center. Also the C’s need to get a back up PG with solid offensive skills, because Bradley limited offense will hurt this team.

Does anybody in the modern NBA era of pure “Street Ball”, remotely know how to box out Varejao. As Tom Heinsohn pointed out over and over and over again, Varejao is not that mobile if you tell one player to keep a body on Varejao at all times. Another great coaching job by Doc Rivers, especially coming off the last game’s debacle of “saving” his starters until the fourth quarter was out of contrlol on Sunday!

Varejao looks like a scrub. Dude is scrawny, flops like a fool, and that hair…ugh.

But beyond all of that, dude’s a baller. The 20 rebounds don’t really surprise me since the Celtics’ defensive rebounding has regressed; it is definitely a problem, but not surprising because Varejao is by all means one of the top rebounders in the league.

The defense, however, is kinda inexcusable. I didn’t watch the whole game but I did see a good amount of questionable calls, but I generally assume that bad calls usually even out. The crisp rotations that have always been there are now fleeting and the interior defense is underperforming at best. The Celtics have won with defense the last three years and a pretty average to alright offense and until the defense really, really settles in it’s hard for this team to be as good as they were in years past.

The guy is obnoxious, but he hustles.

Who SUCKED, big-time, and tried their best to hand the Cavs the game.

1.Much is made of Bradley’s defense- and when he is one on one he is excellent. But to say Irving destroyed ‘him" is a bit off the mark. When there is a pick set for Irving, it immediately becomes a hedge situation- and recovery if possible by Bradley. A guy like Irving is tough to catch up tp, so ALL guards in this pick situation will have to rely on his help defender. So team defensive rotations are more important in these situations. its like saying KG’s man torched ‘him" for 25 points, when it was KG stopping the penetration and the dish goes to his man for a dunk. Thats not on KG— but it counts as team defense. 2. much is made of our tendency to lack aggressiveness when protecting a lead. Its been an issue for years under Doc. But you also have to look at the situation. We are trying to run clock, so the defense can gamble a bit because we are not attacking. As the shot clock winds down, and a play is disrupted, we take a forced perimeter shot (and repeatedly so until the game gets close). When we try to stem the tide against a fired up defense, we have nobody who can consistently drive and finish. Add to that, the lack of rebounding and it is no wonder we can’t protect a lead unless we are hot from the perimeter. Its pretty simple— and predictable.

i’m a celtics fan to the end and won’t give up on them but these last 2 games really stunk- yeah they win tonite, but… ray was horrible on d in the 4th quarter. sessions was passing him with ease. we win because pp only made 1 turnover, versus 7 the other night but is anyone else tired of the o running thru him? please get healthy rondo. i am tired of kg slapping at rebounds and not going for them with 2 hands-inexcusable. compare varejao moving with kg moving and there is an ocean of difference. pietrus looked sloppy with the ball slow to react to open men and looking for his shot only. the problem is not bradley or moore but they do have a heard time penetrating. there were openings for both to go to the hoop but they go to pp.bass was slow to body varejao on d in half one. all that being said, ray was good for 3 pds. pp won the game by penetrating and bass and kg made key shots. doc needs to play sasha more. jo was way more than a zombie and did make that key block. irving is an all star right now and andy v. as well and gee has some hops. the cavs showed more life than the c’s.

We need Rondo. Plain and simple

Not sure RA is that bad…. but keeping both could inhibit younger guys from developing. However, if we signed two “attackers” next year, RA and KG could be good 2nd unit guys provided that they were not the FOCUS on offense.

I prefer the young athletic route (or trade for up and coming potential talent)— but if we can’t fill all those spots- we could do a lot worse than them for the MLE.

I can’t complain, but they got comfortable there again in the 4th. This time KG hit a big one, JO had a nice defensive stand, Pierce was aggressive and we hung in there.

Anyone saying Ray is too old has to know he never was a acrobatic slashing D-Wade type at any age, he plays a different game. He’s still playing great basketball.

Plus I don’t know if you can remember we already have one of the best “attackers” in the league who is injured right now, Rajon Rondo. Attackers need shooters to spread the floor.

Would have liked to see them finish the blowout but I’ll take the win.

If you say that they are too old to be the main players on a championship team – no argument. But they could still be a good in a supporting role. Older players are numerous around the league, and fill voids for good teams. None of these guys are pathetic— but your grammar could use a tweak.

P stoff and I would add to what you said that the C’s lack a true post player to run offense through which would help them especially in the 4th quarter. Right now there defense isn’t elite quality enough. Maybe Ainge can trade for some but we don’t have it currently. Old age.

A post option is a must for most teams (minus the heat, maybe). For us, getting bigger is a need on both ends. We play a low altitude game right now—- and it makes us need to be almost perfect in execution in order to beat good teams consistently. The problem is that there seems to be few of these players available in FA- and trades require sending someone else some talent.

MP only 18 minutes
Moore 11 minutes
I would like to see these guys get more minutes. Moore’s scoring ability could really help this team. Bradley is still a limited player.

Getting to be a pattern.

Doc should handle their minutes differently. He is trying to control the minutes but the three are literally scuffing up and down the court.

Bench team of Ray + Bass, Wilcox, Pietrus, Bardley has been good on a few outings now…far better than last year’s version of same….Moore can come in an shoot which the celtics have not had since Posey.

Big three look slow….use the bench more? Doc’ll never do it.

I learnt my lesson and I’ll have no complaint with this one. It is an ugly, ugly win, but I take it. I rather winning ugly than losing pretty.

That said, man, do the Celtics need a true/legit center who can rebound. It seemed everytime the CAVs missed a shot, the rebound automatically went to Vj or the basl was kept alive by him. I think the Raptors is the only team with a worse inside presence than the Celtics.

… Docs and the Celtics brain trusts come to this board often?

really believe this team is a contender? Contenders don’t lost to teams that they should beat. Contenders don’t lose huge leads late in games. Contenders don’t look old in the 4th quarter of games.

Like I have said before, it’s not the heart, it’s not the knowledge of the game or the championship pedigree. It’s the legs.

That’s the problem. Too many “if’s”. Everything has to go perfectly and then we have to get lucky too. How often does that ever happen and is it something we should be counting on? More importantly is it something Danny Ainge should be counting on?

offensive rebounds, total rebounds and points by Varajao- that’s why this was a close game. We lost the rebounding battle and gave them second chance points. If we don’t take care of the glass ( like we were doing until ray came back) you will continue to see games like this. JO is a dinosaur. Yeah he scored some points and made a nice block at the end of the game but the guy can barely move. He has no lateral quickness and unless our guards are tracking down loose balls we give the other team more possessions and chances to score. I don’t know what danny can do but we desperately need a guy with size who has some quickness and who can rebound the ball. JO and Ray make me want to break my tv.

Dwight Howard does not belong in Green, based upon the yahoo story this morning.