Today's Game: Less Than a Triumph

[Fafnir]

  Lighten up. We crush them for 3 quarters, cruise until the game gets tight and then beat them again. It's like double bonus points.

  And why get on TA after that rebound? The vapor lock wasn't his, it was the refs.

The refs aren't a factor if he isn't at the rim BEFORE THE SHOT HITS THE RIM. Calling that a rebound is just laughable, an excuse that strains credulity. Allen had NO shot at any rebound because he was at the rim a clear two seconds too soon.

Whether the call was appropriate or not is just obfuscation by you guys. Tony made a terrible mental mistake being at the rim WAY too soon.

He did get to the rim early, but he didn't touch the ball until it hit the rim. Did you watch the replay? It clearly shows the ball hits the room before Tony touches it.

I'd rather a player be aggressive when rebounding than lazily wait for the ball regardless.

[BballTim]

  Lighten up. We crush them for 3 quarters, cruise until the game gets tight and then beat them again. It's like double bonus points.

  And why get on TA after that rebound? The vapor lock wasn't his, it was the refs.

The refs aren't a factor if he isn't at the rim BEFORE THE SHOT HITS THE RIM. Calling that a rebound is just laughable, an excuse that strains credulity. Allen had NO shot at any rebound because he was at the rim a clear two seconds too soon.

Whether the call was appropriate or not is just obfuscation by you guys. Tony made a terrible mental mistake being at the rim WAY too soon.

  Calling it a rebound when someone grabs the ball after it bounces off the rim is just laughable? What do you call it? An assist? A steal?

[FallGuy]

  Lighten up. We crush them for 3 quarters, cruise until the game gets tight and then beat them again. It's like double bonus points.

  And why get on TA after that rebound? The vapor lock wasn't his, it was the refs.

The refs aren't a factor if he isn't at the rim BEFORE THE SHOT HITS THE RIM. Calling that a rebound is just laughable, an excuse that strains credulity. Allen had NO shot at any rebound because he was at the rim a clear two seconds too soon.

Whether the call was appropriate or not is just obfuscation by you guys. Tony made a terrible mental mistake being at the rim WAY too soon.

  Calling it a rebound when someone grabs the ball after it bounces off the rim is just laughable? What do you call it? An assist? A steal?

This is a weird argument. Been in the post-game thread too.

Tony made a legal play. The refs got it wrong.

Whether or not his timing was off or not is beside the point. It was legal.

Seems like people are obsessed with this because they feel a need to point out how dumb Tony is.

There are much better examples to use than a legal rebound.

He played well today overall.

[celticinorlando]

the ball hit the rim and then tony's hand. it was bang bang..i thought it was a make up call b/c james was crying he was fouled on the drive

[gar]

Not to state the obvious; but we did shoot over 60% from 3. After getting beaten on insane 3 point shooting the last few games is a nice change; but can't count on that. Will take more complete game to beat the Cavs in future. Game is a good lesson in what has plagued the C's all year. Perhaps they will finally learn from this.

[Celtics17]

If one team is playing poorly, in this case the Cavs for the first 3 quarters, it's usually because the other team is playing well. If not, it wouldnt show up so blatantly. Yes, the Cavs played poorly the first three quarters but if we had played poorly or even been mediocre then it wouldnt have made the Cavs look so bad.

My point is, we beat the team with the best record in the league today no matter how you slice it and dice it.

[twinbree]

I'm haven't watched the game yet so I can't comment on the overall play but I think it's a good win. Not exactly a triumph but good. I realize now the 2nd half collapse is inevitable the thing is get through the offensive drought at and not lose which is what they did today. I don't know if this is a positive step in the right direction or not. The team's unpredictable nature this season is simultaneously frustrating and fascinating for me.

[cdif911]

  Lighten up. We crush them for 3 quarters, cruise until the game gets tight and then beat them again. It's like double bonus points.

  And why get on TA after that rebound? The vapor lock wasn't his, it was the refs.

The refs aren't a factor if he isn't at the rim BEFORE THE SHOT HITS THE RIM. Calling that a rebound is just laughable, an excuse that strains credulity. Allen had NO shot at any rebound because he was at the rim a clear two seconds too soon.

Whether the call was appropriate or not is just obfuscation by you guys. Tony made a terrible mental mistake being at the rim WAY too soon.

  Calling it a rebound when someone grabs the ball after it bounces off the rim is just laughable? What do you call it? An assist? A steal?

This is a weird argument. Been in the post-game thread too.

Tony made a legal play. The refs got it wrong.

Whether or not his timing was off or not is beside the point. It was legal.

Seems like people are obsessed with this because they feel a need to point out how dumb Tony is.

There are much better examples to use than a legal rebound.

He played well today overall.

agreed, he has been pleasantly surprising as of late... though in the Houston game I cringed when he tripped a teammate going for a board (forget if it was Perk or Sheed) in crunch time

[BudweiserCeltic]

This reminds me of people complaining about TA when he fouled Gordon after Gordon stepped out of bounds. Nonsense.

[PosImpos]

Can we just say,

"Boston Celtics 2009-2010 Season: Less Than a Triumph"

[kenmaine]

I have to agree with the OP on this one. Some of the recent losses have left me more optimistic than this win.
I was gushing along with Hubie for three quarters, but as soon as the 4th quarter started and the C's for some reason decided to go with the "hand the ball to Paul and everyone else just stand still" offense, I had a sick feeling that they were going to blow yet another lead. PP looked old and slow out there trying to force things.
C's were at home playing a team that is missing one of it's best players, had little real incentive to win, missed a million foul shots, and the game was decided by LeBron missing a wide open three. Yes, it's a win but not very reassuring.
And a few other things-
Good for Doc for finally benching Marquis Daniels.
And Doc(or Danny), tell me again why Eddie House was traded for Nate Robinson? And has Nate really been so bad that he can't even play five minutes/game?
Why is Perk back so soon? How do you heal from tendonitis by continuing to play?
It was great to see Ray drive so much today. Missed a lot of them, but that may have been because the refs just won't call fouls on the Cavs.
Nice to see TA getting the time that he's earned. I can live with a few dumb mistakes here and there- and I really don't think he makes more turnovers/possesion than Ray or PP. The TA bashers are having to really nitpick these days:)

[thirstyboots18]

Can we just say,

"Boston Celtics 2009-2010 Season: Less Than a Triumph"

No, PosImpos, I think that would be a bit premature!

[rav123]

Hey Guys,

I was at the game today... am I the only who's not so happy with this game?

The cavs were barely trying for the first three quarters. Mike Brown recognized that and made the first good coaching move of his career -- getting thrown out. That barrage of technicals got the blood of the cavs (read: Lebron) pumping. They (read: Lebron) really woke up after the team-wide dance routine preceding Lebron's temper tantrum (did anyone else see that? lol at the flipping arms and stomping feet). We were up 20 when the Cavs kicked it in gear. After that, we didn't make a  shot for 9 minutes. It was pathetic. Really horrible. Every possession Lebron would score and we would try to run the shot clock down and score with a Pierce/KG ISO. Atrocious offense and defense until the very end when we barely pulled the game out -- mostly thanks to LeQueen's ineptitude at the free throw line. What a little whiner. He never comes up big. Never. Anyway, blowing a 20 point lead and then barely pulling it out with some clutch play in the last 3 1/2 minutes isn't my ideal way of achieving victory. I'm kind of upset at how badly we played in the 4th quarter. Is anyone else?

I know this isn't the main part of your post, but I have to disagree when you say LBJ never comes up big. Apart from the fact that he has hit quite a few game-winners in his career anyway, how can you say he has not been clutch when he scored 20 points in the 4th quarter?!. CLE wouldn't have a chance to win if LBJ hadn't come up big. I hate when people hate on somebody for messing up 1 thing when it was through their hardwork that situation came up.

[PosImpos]

Can we just say,

"Boston Celtics 2009-2010 Season: Less Than a Triumph"

No, PosImpos, I think that would be a bit premature!

Okay, fair enough.

"Boston Celtics 2009-2010 Regular Season: Less Than a Triumph"

[tenn_smoothie]

- It should have been over after Ray's three

- yet another brain vapor lock from Tony Allen

- this time they managed to figure out a way to win.

agreed on all three of these points........but especially the comment about tony allen's numbnuts special.

that guy must have the lowest basketball IQ in the league, hands down. maybe the lowest IQ period for all i know. what's amazing about him has been his ability to hang around the league this long - he has the look of a career CBA player from the past.

but just think how demoralizing a loss would have been. at least we stuck it to lebron a couple of times this year - he acts like King Rooster and he still hasn't won a [dang] thing in this league.