Author Topic: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic  (Read 4106 times)

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With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« on: January 25, 2013, 10:36:03 AM »

Offline Kane3387

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First we need to come with that effort at least 4 out of every 5 games. I don't think it's realistic to think they will play that hard every game. But we need it for 80% of the remainder of the season.

Secondly this is why we lost last night...



Quote
Above is our shot chart from last night. We were ice Cold outside of 15+ feet. This won't last. These are professionals and guys like KG, Pierce, Terry, Bass, and Lee won't all remain in slumps. Eventually these shots will go down and if we are playing with the effort that we did last night then we will win a lot of games.

These Celtics live and die with perimeter jumpers and, well, on Thursday night nothing was falling for Boston. From our friends at ESPN Stats and Info:
The Celtics shot a season worst 7 of 32 (21.9 percent) for 17 points on shots at least 15 feet from the basket on Thursday. When the Celtics have won this season, they have averaged more than 40 points per game from such distance.

Exactly how bad was it? Boston shot 21.9 percent overall from 15+ feet -- its worst percentage this season and it's 3-point percentage was 16.7 percent, second worst this year.

Doc on the team:

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"Our offense hasn’t been great, but no one’s offense was good [on Thursday]," said Rivers. "This was a hard-played game, this was a playoff-type game. Baskets were hard to come by, guys were flying out at each other. This is the way the playoffs look.

"All you hope is that you make your open shots. And we just didn’t. [Jason Terry is] struggling right now, I thought he had -- 1-for-6 [shooting] and four of them were point-blank, wide-open looks. Paul had a couple. I think Kevin missed a couple right at the basket. That's just the way it goes. It’s a make/miss league; With effort, it’s a make/miss league. If you play with great effort every night, then the game will come down to if you make your open shots."

He definitely sounded different then he did in Detroit. I think the effort will continue to be there and as a result we will start winning more.

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4701573/live-by-the-jumper


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Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2013, 11:07:52 AM »

Offline WMark

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I appreciate your optimism but I cannot see this team being more than a .500 team until it receives more rebouding/interior defense and consistent outside shooting. 

Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2013, 11:11:41 AM »

Offline BudweiserCeltic

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I keep wondering why people keep lumping Lee with the players who are struggling.

Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #3 on: January 25, 2013, 11:15:49 AM »

Offline Interceptor

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OP is right on the money with the subject line. You can't be mad about the effort last game, which is why I am not bummed about the loss at all. Celtics team that played last night, can beat anybody.

Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #4 on: January 25, 2013, 11:17:42 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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The thing is, effort is far from this team's biggest problem.  I look at games like last night and the most recent bouts with the Bulls, Bucks, and Grizzlies as great examples of games in which the team gave all it could but came up short because they just don't have the pieces to overcome bigger, more balanced opponents.
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Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #5 on: January 25, 2013, 11:21:24 AM »

Offline vinnie

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Effort is great -- except when you lose. When did effort become the measuring stick for this team? They lost at home again and are now 13-9 there. "Good job, good effort."

Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2013, 11:30:07 AM »

Offline action781

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OP is right on the money with the subject line. You can't be mad about the effort last game, which is why I am not bummed about the loss at all. Celtics team that played last night, can beat anybody.

Yup, agree completely.  I need to see that kind of performance/play every once in a while to keep my spirits up.  I think we may see it again Sunday.
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Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2013, 11:33:36 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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Effort is great -- except when you lose. When did effort become the measuring stick for this team? They lost at home again and are now 13-9 there. "Good job, good effort."

This has become the season of silver linings and moral victories.

Just sit back and make the most of it Celtics fans!  The blow up isn't coming!  Just enjoy the future Hall of Famers as they slide into retirement!  Take solace in the games in which the team at least gives a good amount of effort!  Get excited for Rondo's triple doubles which are more impressive in the box score than they are when you're watching, and don't even result in a win!

And this is different / better than watching a team tank for a lottery pick and finding reasons to cheer for young guys with potential . . . how? Oh, right.  You can't hope that this team will get better in the future.  That's the key difference.
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Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2013, 11:42:59 AM »

Online Who

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I thought it was a disappointing performance. A very winnable game that they gifted away to a short-handed New York Knicks team.

It's not a performance that brings any optimism to me.

Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2013, 11:44:03 AM »

Offline MBunge

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The problem is that I'm not sure guys will start shooting better.  The Celtic offense doesn't get guys easy shots, we play at a slow pace with fewer shots to go around and KG and Pierce no longer demand double teams.  I just looked it up and Lee and Terry are averaging only 3.2 three point shots combined on 50 minutes a game.  By comparison, Randy Foye in Utah is getting 5.1 attempts from 3 in just 27 minutes a game.

The less opportunity you give players to produce, the more pressure there is on them and the harder it becomes.

Mike

Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2013, 11:48:07 AM »

Offline csfansince60s

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I too was pleased with the effort of last night as I was in the recent Bulls loss (bad refs, bad luck there)'

Optimism about effort is a lot different than optimism of results, Ws and Ls.

I wrote this on another thread last night and thought it might be appropriate for this one:

"What's that old saying? "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice.......", .....so I am cautiously optimistic, but won't be at all, unless we make a significant trade.
 
These Cs are like the abuser in an abusive relationship where two people truly love each other. We are the abused.

They tell us they love us, they have to do better, that they are sorry, they change for awhile, and we are hooked again, because they have turned it around in the past, and WE TRULY WANT TO BELIEVE IT.

They then fall into that same pattern of behavior, and we are kicking ourselves again for having bought it, and somehow feel worse than we did before.

Effort or no effort last night,this team needs to be shaken to it's core, and I mean that literally and figuratively."


 

Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2013, 11:51:43 AM »

Offline scaryjerry

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Idk why this makes anyone optimistic...it just proves they give no effort against poor teams and magically give effort against better competition but come up short

Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #12 on: January 25, 2013, 12:24:27 PM »

Offline mgent

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I think the zone clearly killed us and completely took us out of our offense.  We looked legitimately lost out there.  Indecisive.  Pierce passing up open 17 footers to a 30% 3pt shooter.

Playing Bradley 31 minutes against that much zone is ridiculous.  The combination of him and Rondo was disastrous.  And what was Green doing almost playing the entire 4th quarter at PF?  He didn't even take a shot in the second half, and was letting Melo take any shot he wanted in the clutch.  And those weren't even the biggest problems.  It was Amare destroying Pierce and killing us on the boards.
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Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #13 on: January 25, 2013, 12:32:04 PM »

Offline Kane3387

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Idk why this makes anyone optimistic...it just proves they give no effort against poor teams and magically give effort against better competition but come up short

It makes me believe we have the ability to compete and beat anyone when shots fall. If we are peaking as we go into the playoffs and shots are falling then I like our chances.


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Re: With the Effort We Showed Last Night I Am Feeling Optimistic
« Reply #14 on: January 25, 2013, 01:04:21 PM »

Offline rocknrollforyoursoul

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Idk why this makes anyone optimistic...it just proves they give no effort against poor teams and magically give effort against better competition but come up short

This is basically where I'm at. Of course it's better that they played better last night than they did against Cleveland, but to me it only confirms what has long been a negative for these guys: They play only when they feel like it. They mostly get up for games against good teams, then mostly play horribly against inferior competition.

As far as last night's game, I don't know how anyone can be happy with an effort that included 41% overall shooting, 17% 3pt shooting, and turnovers at the worst time.
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