Why so sad...

[LB3533]

We can still win this series.

Because we are not dead yet!

[makaveli]

THIS TEAM IS UNBEATABLE WHEN HEALTHY

Yes, they looked very unbeatable in games 1 and 2 with all hands on deck.

Shaq?

[kozlodoev]

THIS TEAM IS UNBEATABLE WHEN HEALTHY

Yes, they looked very unbeatable in games 1 and 2 with all hands on deck.

Shaq?

Shaq stopped being a part of this team months ago.

[TampaCeltic80]

i'm not writing any obituaries.

regardless of this series, the Big 3 can all still contribute.

did Ray Allen not go 5-8 from 3 and drop 25 on em in game 1?

did we not see KG drop 28 and 18 in game 3?

did we not just witness The Truth drop 27 and 8 last night?

are these guys, with the exception of a few broken plays [end of regulation last night GDI], not still clutch??

of course they are. they just can't do it on their own anymore.

they aren't LeBron Wade and Dwyane James scoring 70 a night by driving to the hoop and forcing refs to call phantom fouls to pad the stats.

the Big 3 don't need to be traded away or retire in haste, they just need a reduced workload and reduced nightly expectations while being surrounded with young, athletic players who can provide a spark, run the floor, get to the hoop and play defense... let Jeff Green learn from KG and Paul while picking up more minutes for both of them. leave Delonte in the game with Rondo more minutes while Ray stays on as the three-point specialist he's become [this season one of his most efficient].

we also need Rondo to develop a jump shot and remain composed and consistent on the court. he has proved beyond a shadow that he CAN BE elite as both a pass-first hardwood quarterback and as a slicing, faking, euro-stepping, one-man fastbreak... but teams need to respect his range, and we need no more of that wandering away form the huddle stuff.

that core aside, i say move every and anyone else. don't renew Baby, who has had an atrocious post-season preceded by an atrocious regular season second half, go after some of the quality FA this off-season like Nene, Tyson Chandler or Marc Gasol [not sure about price on him] who can be a piece in the future while waiting for big name Free Agents in 2012 as we renegotiate the contracts of the aging Big 3. hell if the Lakers don't want Bynum i do! LOL!

point being we have a solid core of young guys-- Rondo, Green, West, maybe Davis, Wafer-- and are one defensively dominant but still offensively productive big man away from being a championship contender WITH the Big 3 still intact.

"old" teams have won. ask the Heat in 2006. that was grandpa Shaq, now great, great grandpa Shaq, along with uncle Toine and uncle Gary, and a wee little Dwyane Wade before LeBoring came along and turned him into a chippy, passive aggressive primadonna.

there is life if Ainge can make more moves like the Jeff Green trade that provide size, length, athleticism and range for the future.

[get_banners]

i'm also not quite ready to give up on the series, either. odds are long, but wade and lebron both played out of their minds (even for them) and KG had the worst playoff game of his life and rondo had one arm...and we still should have won game 4. we killed them in game 3. we played awful in games 1 and 2 (some credit to their D, no doubt, but still) while they played great. it's not like we can't beat them. even injured, if we play the right way, make crisp passes, and play tough D, we can beat them. and...if wade or james don't have a game where they make insane jumpers late...we can have major issues (like a 1-10 KG night) and still have a shot to beat them. so, there's no reason to think we go out tomorrow night. we might, but it'll be because the heat play great. we can ball with these guys, even with nowhere-near-100% rondo/dwest/shaq.

[Neurotic Guy]

Losing last night was definitely sad.  I'm not angry though (perhaps a little frustrated that we could have won).  But sadness is my primary emotion.  This team has been great.  I have loved every minute of this era (even 2008-9).  It came out of nowhere -- and just in time to take one away from LA.

Yes, we could have had 2, maybe even 3, but it is now looking  less likely that this group will get another.  All hope isn't lost yet -- but I can't deny the reality that being down 3-1 as opposed to tied 2-2 with a one-armed point guard and a half-dozen other assorted injuries, the prospects for winning this series are not great.

So, I give myself 24 hours of melancholy, and then start gearing up for a game 5 shocker.  Truth be told, if we somehow squeeze out a win tomorrow, coming back down 3-2 is probably where we would have been anyway even if we'd won yesteray. 

At least we know one thing for sure -- Rondo can outplay Bibby with one hand tied behind his back.

[Raising 18]

THIS TEAM IS UNBEATABLE WHEN HEALTHY

Yes, they looked very unbeatable in games 1 and 2 with all hands on deck.

Shaq?

Shaq stopped being a part of this team months ago.

i dont know what that means.. but he was hurt and maybe give the guy a little bit of respect for trying to gut it out