Celtics (51-21) at Pacers (32-42) 3/28

[ejk3489]

I'm getting extreme deja vu here.

[lovely_20]

Tough loss, but a well fought game.  Indiana just outplayed us down the stretch.  I still have faith in this team to do well in the playoffs, regardless of HCA.  Hopefully, the two days of rest will do some good.

[Cman]

It's incredible that everybody keeps putting the blame on the trade while this would have still been a loss with Perk.

If we never made the trade, the team wouldn't look like the hot mess that it does now.  The deal messed with the team's psyche, as well as their execution.  I know I'm not going to convince anybody of that who isn't already predisposed to the argument, but I refuse to believe this is just a coincidence.

Seems very wishy washy. But could be true.
The fact remains that the record is worse post-trade than pre-trade.  Of course, we'll never know the counterfactual, and its hard to even make educated guesses about it.  

[GrandTheftRondo]

So can we all finally agree that we are watching a repeat of last season?

No we cannot.

And unless I'm mistaken it was the Lakers that were handing out championship rings opening game this season, not the Celtics, so what exactly was so great about last season?

We made moves during the off season so this season wouldn't be like the last but everyone still keeps bringing up last season like it was some monumental accomplishment for us.

[barefacedmonk]

Second round exit

That's an improvement over the playoffs prediction you'd made last year. Celtics will lose 4-2 against Miami you'd said...the result was right..but it was us who won that series.

[Megatron]

It's incredible that everybody keeps putting the blame on the trade while this would have still been a loss with Perk.

If we never made the trade, the team wouldn't look like the hot mess that it does now.  The deal messed with the team's psyche, as well as their execution.  I know I'm not going to convince anybody of that who isn't already predisposed to the argument, but I refuse to believe this is just a coincidence.

If the trade did one thing, it exposed the Celtics as being the mentally weak, soft finesse team everyone thought they were.

All bark, no bite, mentally weak, and soft.

Perkins was the teams MVP, he didnt bring stats, but he made the other players feel tougher then they actually were, when in reality the entire team is soft and old.

[celticinorlando]

The entire team sucks...the starters all the way down. That trade ripped the heart out of this team killing the chemistry. I am so p---ed. They are now a lock.for a three seed. lucky to get by the sixers....out in six vs miami

[Drucci]

It's incredible that everybody keeps putting the blame on the trade while this would have still been a loss with Perk.

If we never made the trade, the team wouldn't look like the hot mess that it does now.  The deal messed with the team's psyche, as well as their execution.  I know I'm not going to convince anybody of that who isn't already predisposed to the argument, but I refuse to believe this is just a coincidence.

What team psyche? The one that allowed the Celtics to come back from 20 and 15 point deficits against NOH and NY? The one that led them to come back in this one too only to fizzle down the stretch? Don't you think tired legs are more to blame here? I mean it's not a coincidence if our offense went down the toilet as the game progressed and the minutes piled up on the team.

The trade is just an excuse for a lot of people but certainly not a cause.

[PosImpos]

I'm new here so I probably should shut up... but this forum has an attitude problem.

Rondo sucks, Davis sucks, Kristic sucks... Bla bla bla
And guys really sucking like Allen and Green are hardly mentioned.
I don't get it

Here's the thing, Juneauz.  A lot of people on this forum have been following this incarnation of the Celtics (and many other incarnations) for the last few years, especially closely the last 4-6 months.  They have done so with the deep seated belief that this team can win a championship.  Anything less than that will be a disappointment.  This is, for all intents and purposes, our last real shot at a title with this group.  After this year, it's lockout and then rebuilding time. 

So many people are getting really worked up and riled up and disgusted and embarrassed and ashamed because what they're seeing before their eyes is this team breaking down and falling short before they even get to the playoffs.  They're seeing happen again what they saw happen in the last half of last season leading up to the playoffs, which resulted in a loss in the Finals.  The team just ran out of gas last year.  Didn't have the legs, or the depth, or home court.  The window is closing, and #18 is slipping away.

In other words, this all may seem like a gross overreaction to one game, but the last month has been pretty brutal.  And it all appears to be a very ominous, disturbing sign of things to come.

[Green Hell]

HOW IS THIS TEAM SUPPOSED TO BEAT THE LAKERS IN LA??

[get_banners]

If we never made the trade, the team wouldn't look like the hot mess that it does now.  The deal messed with the team's psyche, as well as their execution.  I know I'm not going to convince anybody of that who isn't already predisposed to the argument, but I refuse to believe this is just a coincidence.

really? really? the problem post-trade has been offense, as in we don't have any. this is the rare game that defense was an issue, though a lot of that was the refs making some questionable calls on our bigs. perkins is a liability on offense. nate isn't playing because he had knee surgery. so...how exactly would we be doing better? i'm sure the team was hurt by perk being traded and all, but when exactly did one of the most professional veteran teams in the game turn into the mental equivalent of a junior high squad? fact is, most of our players are slumping right now, we aren't playing focused (bored, probably), and we're basically losing games because we can't score a bucket. oh, and also, doc is really misusing jeff green as well. he's playing him like he's daniels, which is ridiculous. so, we're not even using the best part of the trade for us properly.

[houseonfire09]

If the Celtics get humiliated in San Antonio Thursday, can we collectively go to Boston Common on Friday to start preaching about how the end is near with signs like "Danny crucified Perk, the only son of Russell", "God Hates Bad Rondo Jumpers", and "Every Time Someone Says Shaq Will Return Maks Baby Jesus Cry"?

[GrandTheftRondo]

I'm new here so I probably should shut up... but this forum has an attitude problem.

Rondo sucks, Davis sucks, Kristic sucks... Bla bla bla
And guys really sucking like Allen and Green are hardly mentioned.
I don't get it

Ray has been useless since all star break. I have yet to see anything from Jeff Green that warrants the talk of him supposedly being the best player in the deal. I believe we were blindly robbed in that trade.

[Roy H.]

I'm new here so I probably should shut up... but this forum has an attitude problem.

Rondo sucks, Davis sucks, Kristic sucks... Bla bla bla
And guys really sucking like Allen and Green are hardly mentioned.
I don't get it

Well, there's really no disputing that Krstic does, indeed, suck.

The reason that the three guys you mentioned get criticized, I think, is because they've all had some ongoing issues that show up every game.  I personally agree that BBD got too much criticism tonight (although I also agree that he shoots too much and isn't very cerebral), and that some people are too quick to turn on Rondo.  However, that's the nature of a message board.

Also, Ray didn't have a great game, but I see no need to get the knives out for him.  Everybody is entitled to a poor game now and again.

[European NBA fan]

I can't believe anyone blaming Rondo. He plays like an all star, along with the captain. Big Baby played well on offense, but tonight his last name was _avis. The rest of them were forgetable.

I liked how Doc and Rondo communicated throughout the game. It's the one really good thing I take with me from the game, along with Rondo's overall game coming back.