Mavericks (26-13) at Celtics (27-11) 1/18

[GreenFaith1819]

Well, I just think this seasons' Celtics are just like the Classic Tortoise and The Hare, lol...

Slow and Steady wins the race.

These loses are truly baffling, trust me on that one. I sense a lack of effort? Lack of Defense?

I'm feeling the same thing that many of you all are feeling, but at the same time this is January, and not June.

I just don't see Anyone (ATL, CLE, LA, whoever...) beating us in a 7 game series.

[jdub1660]

Sorry, but I predicted this. Early today around Noon, I was going to post on this thread that for the Mavs to win, Dirk would have to score 35+, and for the Celtics it would be Rondo scoring 30+. Obviously we saw who made their numbers. Early in the 1st quarter, McHale kept stressing that Rondo has been the most efficient Celtic. True, but this game he didn't take advantage of an aged Kidd. Rondo should have blown past him on every possession as he would against Nash, but he didn't. He did dish the ball well, but it takes more than 20+ points from Ray and Pierce to win a game against the West.

[More Banners]

I think there are some lessons from this game.  My thoughts:

BBD got smoked by Dirk (no surprise), but also by Gooden in the 1st half.  I don't think he's a major player in the playoff rotation.  Too bad his value has gone down so much this year.  Let's hope it gets better.

'Sheed was a beast in the paint in the 1st half.  I was encouraged.  The 3's early in the shot clock really, really bug me.

Perk let Dampier get in his head when Damp was making his statement or whatever.  Got to play smarter than that.  Dampier doesn't suck, he's lazy and doesn't fit their offense...big difference.

Poor execution in the half court in 2nd half.  That's on Rondo.

That Jason Terry guy is a big time offensive threat, 6th man candidate, and Doc puts House on him...so he goes off in the big run.  No surprise there.  Doc should have matched up TA on him.  Dumb move, Doc.  The adjustment was obvious.

On the 3rd quarter:  Rick Carlisle is a very, very good coach, X's and O's, adjustments, etc.  Doc is very good at managing personalities.  We're going to need more of the former as the legs get older, and we can't out-talent everyone all the time.

Ray is just so smooth.  He makes the game look so easy sometimes.  Can't defend his lunch anymore, which may be why he's so skinny, and BBD isn't.

General Observation:  This team seems more convinced than some optimists here that they are a lock for the finals, and can beat anyone.  They act like the games are formalities or something.  They were rested, playing against the #2 team in the West, on national TV, and didn't seem up for it.  

The Second Thing:  They obviously needed someone that wasn't on the floor tonight.  Maybe it's KG and Quisy, but I think it is becoming obvious that we need another rotation player, and it would be for more than just insurance or whatever.

Conclusion:  anyone that things we're a lock to even make the finals is probably not paying very close attention.  Sure, with our starting 5, we're probably contenders, but I'm not sure we can live up to the hype right now.  We can certainly win a series, but I don't see us going 4-0 on anyone, and the more playoff games we play, the less I like our chances.

[Mad Hatter]

please don't bash me, but it's my view of both teams.....

Dallas: Dirk Nowitzki is my favorite player, besides the Big 3 of course. it's obvious that like the Celtics, Dallas has been a better road team than home team. it think that they'll be ok, granted that JET actually shows up to play, and that J-Ho can be healthy and productive.

Boston: if i remember correctly, the Celtics were struggling around this time during their title run. i've always been an advocate of NOT trading ANY of the Big 3. i do think that trades need to be done, but for better bench players.

overall, i think both teams will be fine.

[GreenFaith1819]

I think there are some lessons from this game.  My thoughts:

BBD got smoked by Dirk (no surprise), but also by Gooden in the 1st half.  I don't think he's a major player in the playoff rotation.  Too bad his value has gone down so much this year.  Let's hope it gets better.

'Sheed was a beast in the paint in the 1st half.  I was encouraged.  The 3's early in the shot clock really, really bug me.

Perk let Dampier get in his head when Damp was making his statement or whatever.  Got to play smarter than that.  Dampier doesn't suck, he's lazy and doesn't fit their offense...big difference.

Poor execution in the half court in 2nd half.  That's on Rondo.

That Jason Terry guy is a big time offensive threat, 6th man candidate, and Doc puts House on him...so he goes off in the big run.  No surprise there.  Doc should have matched up TA on him.  Dumb move, Doc.  The adjustment was obvious.

On the 3rd quarter:  Rick Carlisle is a very, very good coach, X's and O's, adjustments, etc.  Doc is very good at managing personalities.  We're going to need more of the former as the legs get older, and we can't out-talent everyone all the time.

Ray is just so smooth.  He makes the game look so easy sometimes.  Can't defend his lunch anymore, which may be why he's so skinny, and BBD isn't.

General Observation:  This team seems more convinced than some optimists here that they are a lock for the finals, and can beat anyone.  They act like the games are formalities or something.  They were rested, playing against the #2 team in the West, on national TV, and didn't seem up for it.  

The Second Thing:  They obviously needed someone that wasn't on the floor tonight.  Maybe it's KG and Quisy, but I think it is becoming obvious that we need another rotation player, and it would be for more than just insurance or whatever.

Conclusion:  anyone that things we're a lock to even make the finals is probably not paying very close attention.  Sure, with our starting 5, we're probably contenders, but I'm not sure we can live up to the hype right now.  We can certainly win a series, but I don't see us going 4-0 on anyone, and the more playoff games we play, the less I like our chances.

Good Points...I'd really like to see this team once KG gets back. I really think the next several weeks will be a good snapshot of our team. We'll be ok.

Once we beat LA on Jan 31, the bandwagon will be back running again.

[Rondo_is_better]

sick game to be at...

nope.

not at all.

[albas89]

I think the main problem is that KG is not playing.

The second reason is that these are not playoff games, and they are not games against Orlando, Cleveland, or LA.

In the long run, this might work out because we will have energy in the tank when it comes time for April-June.

The Defense has started tanking. The Lakers/Bobcats now share the title for best defensive team in the league...

dallas has the second best record in the West...you have them at home after 3 days off....you should be fired up to play them

Did we look fired up in the second half there? Obviously not, and that is a sacrifice I am willing to make if we are on all cylinders when it comes to the playoffs.

Sorry, I'm not throwing in the towel either, but I hate this line of thinking. This assumption that because they suck in January it somehow means they're saving themselves for the playoffs. How about they're just not very good right now? All five started played 35+ minutes, they just didn't do much well. If the idea is to tank and totally save yourselves for the playoffs, why even suit up? It's a ready-made excuse for the inadequacies of this team, and it's difficult to believe.

TP. It's funny how most of us think that there's an "ON/OFF" button, like, ok, now let's give some effort... ok, now let's relax! ok, now let's turn it up again...
that's not how a team succeeds, not only in basketball but also in every single team sport...and there are always exceptions on this, but the exceptions prove the rules!so,our plans are based on the hope that we'll be the exception??IDK...

I'm not saying we're not contenders anymore, but I expect this team to put on some serious amount of effort after one of the upcoming games! I'm not asking for a W, I'm asking for effort! I'm sure that great players like ray, paul and sheed are not indifferent when their team plays like that... so if they don't show up in the next few games, that would mean they simply can't show up anymore! at this point of the season and judging from the latest(awful) games, I except especially from the captain to talk to his teammates and figure out what's going wrong, apart from the obvious injury issues... being able to overcome adversity is what separates the good teams from the champion-to-be teams!!

[fanofgreen]

I think the main problem is that KG is not playing.

The second reason is that these are not playoff games, and they are not games against Orlando, Cleveland, or LA.

In the long run, this might work out because we will have energy in the tank when it comes time for April-June.

The Defense has started tanking. The Lakers/Bobcats now share the title for best defensive team in the league...

dallas has the second best record in the West...you have them at home after 3 days off....you should be fired up to play them

Did we look fired up in the second half there? Obviously not, and that is a sacrifice I am willing to make if we are on all cylinders when it comes to the playoffs.

Sorry, I'm not throwing in the towel either, but I hate this line of thinking. This assumption that because they suck in January it somehow means they're saving themselves for the playoffs. How about they're just not very good right now? All five started played 35+ minutes, they just didn't do much well. If the idea is to tank and totally save yourselves for the playoffs, why even suit up? It's a ready-made excuse for the inadequacies of this team, and it's difficult to believe.

TP. It's funny how most of us think that there's an "ON/OFF" button, like, ok, now let's give some effort... ok, now let's relax! ok, now let's turn it on again...
that's not how a team succeeds, not only in basketball but also in every single team sport...and there are always exceptions on this, but the exceptions prove the rules!so,our plans are based on the hope that we'll be the exception??IDK...

I'm not saying we're not contenders anymore, but I expect this team to put on some serious amount of effort after one of the upcoming games! I'm not asking for a W, I'm asking for effort! I'm sure that great players like ray, paul and sheed are not indifferent when their team plays like that... so if they don't show up in the next few games, that would mean they simply can't show up anymore! at this point of the season and judging from the latest(awful) games, I except especially from the captain to talk to his teammates and figure out what's going wrong, apart from the obvious injury issues... being able to overcome adversity is what separates the good teams from the champion-to-be teams!!

At the end of the day, for a team like the Celtics, its about stepping out onto the floor and the goal being not to win the game, or beat the other team, But rather playing a "Championship Brand" of basketball.

Seems as though the focus has shifted from 'play-championship-brand-basketball'  into becoming  'play-to-beat-the-other-team' this season.

If the mindset every night was to play a championship brand of basketball, then I wouldn't be crazy to say we would be hearing analyst talking about if we could challenge the '96 bulls record of 72 wins right now.

[Kiorrik]

To sum up my feelings on this:

Do I like losing? No.

But if you told me last offseason that the celtics would be missing KG for 9 games, Pierce for 5, Rondo for 1, Wallace for 3 and Daniels for 19, and Davis for 29 games, but that we'd still be within 2 and a half games from first in the east, I would not have believed you.

So all in all, I don't care that much about the regular season. Especially when the losses are the result of a lack of effort and of short term health issues which should be fixed by the playoffs.

Amen.

[Tai]

Going to this game rocked. The Mavs winning didn't.

I went to get me and my mom food at halftime satisfied with the idea that the C's were gonna steamroll, and then they just collapse in the 3rd quarter again. I think we need to take the Magic's former SBNation blog name, thirdquartercollapse.com, real quick, cause that seems to be our identity this season.

People seem to want to bash Rasheed over this loss, but apparently Dirk went off in the 2nd half on us when Sheed had to hit the bench with foul trouble. Meanwhile, when Sheed posted up, the poor soul that was his defender rarely stood a chance. Go figure.

The 4th quarter was okish, but after that dreadful 3rd quarter, it was too little, too late.

Btw, I sat in Loge 5 for anyone that's wondering.

[Kiorrik]

Going to this game rocked. The Mavs winning didn't.

I went to get me and my mom food at halftime satisfied with the idea that the C's were gonna steamroll, and then they just collapse in the 3rd quarter again. I think we need to take the Magic's former SBNation blog name, thirdquartercollapse.com, real quick, cause that seems to be our identity this season.

People seem to want to bash Rasheed over this loss, but apparently Dirk went off in the 2nd half on us when Sheed had to hit the bench with foul trouble. Meanwhile, when Sheed posted up, the poor soul that was his defender rarely stood a chance. Go figure.

The 4th quarter was okish, but after that dreadful 3rd quarter, it was too little, too late.

Btw, I sat in Loge 5 for anyone that's wondering.

Awesome that you got to go, crappy that it had to be this game