ESPN's JA Adande on the Celtics

[coco]

From today's chat:

Rolando Cruz (Bakersfield, CA): Who do you think is a worse matchup for the Lakers...Celtics or Pistons?

  J.A. Adande: (1:11 PM ET ) I think a healthy Detroit team would take out the Lakers..but with Chauncey limping and Rip hurting and Sheed 1 tech away from getting suspended the Lakers could win. As for the Celtics, even with a full roster, I don't trust Boston's fourth-quarter nerves.


Andy (Denver): Phil Jackson coaching against Doc Rivers. Just saying it should make Celtics fans tremble.

  J.A. Adande: (2:00 PM ET ) how's that for a thought to take into the weekend, Bostonians?

[clover]

I think I actually agree with him.  If Doc and the guys can't overcome their 4th quarter white knuckling in the next few days, they won't have the opportunity to prove that they can and have done so for another year.  Maybe part of it comes from their having been in so few close games during the year, but their 4th quarter meltdowns and near-meltdowns are more than just the result of their not having played together over the years.  I think our key players came together with more than a couple of shaky person histories on this count, and so far the alchemy hasn't cured them.  Let's hope the playoffs cauldron mixed with their talent and desire does. 

Tonight could be the pivotal, turnaround game for the team as a crunch-time team.

[CelticsPrideKG]

I don't necessarily disagree with all of his points (even though I think he is giving Detroit too much credit and the Celtics not enough) Adande is nothing more than a Laker/Kobe homer and his "analysis" of anything regarding a series with the Lakers should be taken with a grain of salt.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Kranz (Boston): The Celtics match-up great with the Lakers. We'll take out Kobe out of the game as we did LeBron for the most part (though Kobe is much better in my opinion). Odom can't handle KG. Perk will defend Gasol quite well and kill him on the boards. Pierce will kill Radmanovic, plus he's defending extremely well. Fisher hasn't done much in the playoffs, so I don't worry about his matchup against Rondo. We still have home-court advantage.

 J.A. Adande: (1:34 PM ET ) Do you really think Kobe will miss as many jumpers as LeBron did? And Fisher didn't do much vs. San Antonio, not "in the playoffs" The key could be homecourt though. I don't know how these lakers will respond to opening on the road, and how they'd do if they fell behind in a series

[angryguy77]

Morons all of them. Do they remember the giants(sorry for bringing that up). but seriously, Detroit doesn't have the team to match up with LA. It would be a sweep. I'm just waiting for the first media hack to admit they were wrong about us if we beat detroit. But they won't they will say chauncey was hurt blah blah blah

Man I hope er prove them wrong

[P2]

I really can't stand all this hatred. It all started with "no bench", and the latest edition is "no 4th quarter".

[Mr October]

Those are fair opinions. Kobe is cold blooded, and wants this so badly. And Phil has definitely been there before.

Other than that i'm avoiding the Laker topic until we see how things shake out. I'm still way too worried about the C's ability to close out Detroit.

[BrickJames]

Yeah, they didn't have Gasol then, and it was the regular season, but what was Boston's record vs. LA during the regular season again?

Right.

What about Odom, Gasol, and the rest of the Fakers' nerves when it comes to physical play?

Right.

[ScoobyDoo]

Adande doesn't know what he's talking about. The Lakers better pray they get Detorit, they can match up with them. Like Detroit, however, they are not going to have an answer for us around the paint. I'm sorry but Lamar Odom and Gasol are not going to hang and bang with Perk, PJ and Kendrick. Not happening.

[footey]

Greg Anthony, by far the smartest b-ball analyst on ESPN, said that Boston matches up very well vs. the Lakers, but the Pistons do not.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's win tonight.

[fairweatherfan]

The fourth quarter thing is fair - thus far these playoffs we've had a habit of getting big leads and blowing most if not all of it late.  So far these playoffs the Lakers have made a habit of getting big leads and keeping them, or getting way behind and coming back to win.  The combination of our tendency to blow leads and their tendency to comeback is one of the most worrying things about a potential matchup.  We do match up with them much better than the Pistons, they would get destroyed on the boards and in the post by the Lakers.

But, as people have been saying, let's not look ahead.

[Tommy Gun]

Adande doesn't know what he's talking about. The Lakers better pray they get Detorit, they can match up with them. Like Detroit, however, they are not going to have an answer for us around the paint. I'm sorry but Lamar Odom and Gasol are not going to hang and bang with Perk, PJ and Kendrick. Not happening.

Your right Gasol and Odom definatly can't bang with Perk and Kendrick

[Bankshot]

Adande picked Detroit to beat Boston in 6 games, which can't happen now, so I wouldn't worry about anything he says.

[Brickowski]

Yes, the Celtics do match up well against the Lakers, if you exclude (a) coaching, and (b) the bench.

Of course, Boston would have a decent bench if the coach knew how to use it, but that's another story.

[BudweiserCeltic]

He's on PTI now... Tony is playing golf.