Truth, Justice and Heart

[Yogi]

   Truth, Justice and Heart lost to Athleticism, Arrogance and Amateurism.  That is a tough pill to swallow.  Miami played great.  They played great defense and made tough shots, and that's why they won.  There are many FACTORS why Boston lost, health and injuries being one of them.  The only REASON they lost is because they played with a lack of chemistry and focus.  They turned the ball over and failed to execute. 
   It's easy to play the blame game: 
1) We lost because our bench under performed.  This is true, Green, Kristic and West played OK, even good if taken individually.  But they lacked cohesion and chemistry playing as a unit. 
2) We lost because of health.  Our execution went with Rondo's elbow.  JO and Delonte were clearly not at 100%.  Paul Pierce and KG didn't have the legs to dunk the ball in the post-season.  Ray never shows it, but he was exhausted playing so many minutes the entire season at his age.  Glen Davis was playing with a knee injury.  Shaq couldn't provide the kind of boost he is capable off even in short bursts. 
3) We lost because of chemistry.  JO and Delonte never developed chemistry with the starting unit because they missed most of the regular season.  Green and Kristic never developed chemistry because they didn't have enough time.  Rondo's injury took the chemistry out of our core.  The clearest example is the fourth quarter execution, which has been [dang] near perfect during the regular season, completely disappearing. 
4) We lost because of Danny Ainge and "The Trade."  The Trade hurt our chemistry, no doubt.  Perk was a huge part of our starters chemistry, and Nate was a huge factor in the chemistry of our bench.  However, neither Perk nor Nate would play much in this series as both teams mostly went small.  Nate would barely play because of Delonte West.  The Trade didn't cause our turnovers and lack of execution. 
5) We lost because of Doc.  I am not sure where the criticism lies for this one.  Doc has done nothing but work miracles this season.  Doc is a huge part of this teams chemistry.  The father of Ubuntu.  He's great with personalities, and draws excellent plays.  We all have our opinions on which players should get more time and who should get less, but Doc has done a "terrific" and "excellent" job this season. 
   This list can go on, but it doesn't matter.  This was supposed to be our season.  To the last minute I couldn't imagine another result than us winning it all, but we didn't.  All the factors came together and we lost.  I don't believe there is any one thing or a few things that we could've changed that would've got us a championship.  It is a difficult path to win an NBA championship.  It requires not only skill and experience, but also good fortune.  There are many worthy teams out there, but only one with the good fortune to win it all.  We were the best team this year, and that simply wasn't enough to win the title. 
  I love this team.  It's a pleasure just watching this team play.  I love the way we play.  I love the players we have.  I will be happy with this exact team back next year.  This is the best team in the league, and hopefully next year we will be more fortunate.  I can't wait for the next season.   

[eugen]

The big reason why Cs lost in semis, is because they lost 1st and second place during regular season after all stra game. In particular losing 2nd place, we lost the home court advantage aganist Miami.

[GreenNote]

   Truth, Justice and Heart lost to Athleticism, Arrogance and Amateurism.  That is a tough pill to swallow.  Miami played great.  They played great defense and made tough shots, and that's why they won.  There are many FACTORS why Boston lost, health and injuries being one of them.  The only REASON they lost is because they played with a lack of chemistry and focus.  They turned the ball over and failed to execute. 
   It's easy to play the blame game: 
1) We lost because our bench under performed.  This is true, Green, Kristic and West played OK, even good if taken individually.  But they lacked cohesion and chemistry playing as a unit. 
2) We lost because of health.  Our execution went with Rondo's elbow.  JO and Delonte were clearly not at 100%.  Paul Pierce and KG didn't have the legs to dunk the ball in the post-season.  Ray never shows it, but he was exhausted playing so many minutes the entire season at his age.  Glen Davis was playing with a knee injury.  Shaq couldn't provide the kind of boost he is capable off even in short bursts. 
3) We lost because of chemistry.  JO and Delonte never developed chemistry with the starting unit because they missed most of the regular season.  Green and Kristic never developed chemistry because they didn't have enough time.  Rondo's injury took the chemistry out of our core.  The clearest example is the fourth quarter execution, which has been [dang] near perfect during the regular season, completely disappearing. 
4) We lost because of Danny Ainge and "The Trade."  The Trade hurt our chemistry, no doubt.  Perk was a huge part of our starters chemistry, and Nate was a huge factor in the chemistry of our bench.  However, neither Perk nor Nate would play much in this series as both teams mostly went small.  Nate would barely play because of Delonte West.  The Trade didn't cause our turnovers and lack of execution. 
5) We lost because of Doc.  I am not sure where the criticism lies for this one.  Doc has done nothing but work miracles this season.  Doc is a huge part of this teams chemistry.  The father of Ubuntu.  He's great with personalities, and draws excellent plays.  We all have our opinions on which players should get more time and who should get less, but Doc has done a "terrific" and "excellent" job this season. 
   This list can go on, but it doesn't matter.  This was supposed to be our season.  To the last minute I couldn't imagine another result than us winning it all, but we didn't.  All the factors came together and we lost.  I don't believe there is any one thing or a few things that we could've changed that would've got us a championship.  It is a difficult path to win an NBA championship.  It requires not only skill and experience, but also good fortune.  There are many worthy teams out there, but only one with the good fortune to win it all.  We were the best team this year, and that simply wasn't enough to win the title. 
  I love this team.  It's a pleasure just watching this team play.  I love the way we play.  I love the players we have.  I will be happy with this exact team back next year.  This is the best team in the league, and hopefully next year we will be more fortunate.  I can't wait for the next season.   

That's why '08 is even sweeter now because we realize how much good fortune is a requirement to win a championship. Nothing is guaranteed; look at all the teams who never got to win ...

[Q_FBE]

I had to award a 33rd Tommy Point for that fine take.

Yep, we played and lost the right way unlike our bush league Champion cousins of the left coast who lost the wrong way and lost their way.

[LB3533]

The big reason why Cs lost in semis, is because they lost 1st and second place during regular season after all stra game. In particular losing 2nd place, we lost the home court advantage aganist Miami.

Home court doesn't matter to a Doc Rivers coach team.

We can win on the road and we can lose at home. It's proven.


I'd rather have had home court, but it really was not the deciding factor in this Heat series.

[Assassin70]

The big reason why Cs lost in semis, is because they lost 1st and second place during regular season after all stra game. In particular losing 2nd place, we lost the home court advantage aganist Miami.

Home court doesn't matter to a Doc Rivers coach team.

We can win on the road and we can lose at home. It's proven.


I'd rather have had home court, but it really was not the deciding factor in this Heat series.

Yes and no...Heat always had trouble in Boston.  You could see it in faces and body language they were not comfortable in our building.  7 games at least if we had home court against them.

But to late for the coulda/woulda/shoulda on to next year.

[vinnie]

I had to award a 33rd Tommy Point for that fine take.

Yep, we played and lost the right way unlike our bush league Champion cousins of the left coast who lost the wrong way and lost their way.

I heard many complaints last night about the fact that most of the Celtics players did not shake the hands of the Heat players and that guys like KG and PP were classless for not congratulating the Heat players. I honestly don't care about things like this in the pros, but just reporting what I heard.