Observations from last night……..

[SShoreFan]

Last night was the first Celts game I had been to in a few years (a former season ticket holder during the lean years --- where have you gone Marty Conlon!) .  There was so much to take in – here are a few of my observations.

GAME
•   That was the closest 20+ blowout I’ve seen in a long long time.  The difference in the game was the Celts made the shots Atlanta didn’t.
•   Doc Rivers has a ton of material to call upon for the next few practices.  Atlanta was dominating the paint (for the first 3 quarters) completely forcing the Celtics outside.  Thankfully the outside shots were falling.
•   The Celts outscored the Hawks by 18 from 3 point land.  There’s the game.  The three 3-point shots that Pierce hit late in the first quarter ended the game.
•   Ray Allen dominated the 3rd, but Rondo dominated the entire game.  Rondo could have very easily had a triple double last night.
•   Two quick fouls to Perkins got him completely out of the game.  I think the lack of Perkins played a huge role in how the Celts played at both ends.
•   I thought the refs did a lousy job both ways last night.
•   Most impressive play of the game goes to Josh Smith.  At one point he blocked (I believe Powe) a shot, controlled it, went the length of the court for a lay-up.  Very impressive.

Crowd / Other
•   The intensity was simply awesome.
•   Chicken or the Egg?  What came first, the jumbotron or the crowd acting like buffoons?   Way too much time spent on clowns in the stands…
•   First let me say – the dancers are smokin hot, but there were a lot of women in my section (including young girls) who were turned off / offended by the dancers.  I am pretty sure; Wyc must know that Red would have hated this.  I think I do too.
•   As for the Jumbotron, there was a great Red Sox moment with the camera panning between the trio of Ortiz, Lowell and Pedroia and Youkilis sitting a few seats away.
•   Highlight of the entire night was the Heroes Among Us presentation (I will have more in my next post)

Bottom Line
Atlanta will be lucky to win 1 game, but the Celtics should count their blessings they were playing a team as bad as the Hawks last night.  A 20+ point win with lots and lots of material for Doc to call upon.  I am sure he will.

[Redz]

Last night was the first Celts game I had been to in a few years (a former season ticket holder during the lean years --- where have you gone Marty Conlon!) .  There was so much to take in – here are a few of my observations.

GAME
•   That was the closest 20+ blowout I’ve seen in a long long time.  The difference in the game was the Celts made the shots Atlanta didn’t.
•   Doc Rivers has a ton of material to call upon for the next few practices.  Atlanta was dominating the paint (for the first 3 quarters) completely forcing the Celtics outside.  Thankfully the outside shots were falling.
•   The Celts outscored the Hawks by 18 from 3 point land.  There’s the game.  The three 3-point shots that Pierce hit late in the first quarter ended the game.
•   Ray Allen dominated the 3rd, but Rondo dominated the entire game.  Rondo could have very easily had a triple double last night.
•   Two quick fouls to Perkins got him completely out of the game.  I think the lack of Perkins played a huge role in how the Celts played at both ends.
•   I thought the refs did a lousy job both ways last night.
•   Most impressive play of the game goes to Josh Smith.  At one point he blocked (I believe Powe) a shot, controlled it, went the length of the court for a lay-up.  Very impressive.

Crowd / Other
•   The intensity was simply awesome.
•   Chicken or the Egg?  What came first, the jumbotron or the crowd acting like buffoons?   Way too much time spent on clowns in the stands…
•   First let me say – the dancers are smokin hot, but there were a lot of women in my section (including young girls) who were turned off / offended by the dancers.  I am pretty sure; Wyc must know that Red would have hated this.  I think I do too.
•   As for the Jumbotron, there was a great Red Sox moment with the camera panning between the trio of Ortiz, Lowell and Pedroia and Youkilis sitting a few seats away.
•   Highlight of the entire night was the Heroes Among Us presentation (I will have more in my next post)

Bottom Line
Atlanta will be lucky to win 1 game, but the Celtics should count their blessings they were playing a team as bad as the Hawks last night.  A 20+ point win with lots and lots of material for Doc to call upon.  I am sure he will.

That's funny, I was about to start a thread talking about how this was my first game I'd attended in a long while and commenting about the atmosphere, jumbotron, dancers etc...But I can pretty much ditto what you said.

I've only been to a handful of games since the new place opened, but I went to a bazillion games at the Old Garden.  It's just so different.  I feel like a lot of the enthusiasm is generated by the jumbotron, not the game.  The crowd was great last night, but the game itself didn't lend itself to absolute frenzy too often.

Other thoughts.

- I was up in the nosebleeds but actually enjoyed the view of the game from up there.
- Loved having all the stats on the boards (sure beats having to wait for the PA announcer to rattle of the scoring breakdown as you exited in the "good ol' days")
- The amount of people wearing green is something newish too (or it at least it's a lot more prominent than the Bird era)

[SShoreFan]

I am at a loss of words over my last post.........just shaking my head.

[jay_jay54]

i agree with you on this thread,the game was closer than the numbers show.

[ma11l]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WjYXm_2T3w&feature=user


I wish you could give TPs on youtube because this is a great video for all of us who weren't lucky enough to be there last night.  I went to a lot of the playoff games in the early 2000's and while it's tough to tell from video, I'd say it was a lot louder there last night then it was in those games.  The only game from those runs that might be able to compare with this year would be when the place went nuts during that fourth quarter comeback.

[billysan]

I miss the old Gah-den. That was another lifetime on a different planet.

We will be fine in the coming games, but I think the caliber of competition did play a role in our win last nite. We dont need to fall in love with that jumper/3pter every game for sure, but when it is falling we need to use it vigorously.

Rondo had a statement game IMO, but I hope he realizes that he needs a couple of them. The Hawks will be after him and so will other teams throughout the playoffs. He is perceived as a weak link by the sports media(if we have one) and this will be to our advantage.

Perk will be fine with the fouls, but I expect we will have more games with he and even some of the big three getting early fouls. We just need to 'deal' and use other weapons. We have plenty of guys to step up and it's not like we are a one man show as in the PP only era.

[NoraG1]

Its a good sign that the C's are winning by 20 points when they are not playing their best. When the level of competition (or the Hawks playing better) gets better I have no doubt the C's will step up.

[butterbeanlove]

Went to the game - first playoff game I've been to since Larry's last game - although I go to a couple of regular season games a year. Obviously the crowd takes its cues from the Jumbotron way too much but that's the way it goes. I liked the spontaneous "Let's Go Celtics" chants during the Hawks' introductions. And the MVP chants for KG and Paul.

On the flip side, since I just got the Comcast DVR, I was able to tape both the TNT and Comcast versions of the games so that's my viewing for the next two nights.

It was a real kick to turn on the TNT broadcast and hear Dick Stockton doing the game, since of course he was the voice of the CBS broadcasts during the 1980s playoffs and it brings back a ton of memories. I haven't watched enough to see if he's going to p--- me off, but I think he probably will.

[Reyquila]

I say it again: Perkins is a complete waste of time.He is getting worse a time goes by. Negligible contributions offensively; it being getting worse lately; He is an inmobile rebounding Center, unless the ball happens to fall in his hands.He is almost always out of place in defense. He is only constant is his annoyed face when a call goes agaisnt him. He is our weak link in an otherwise oilded machine; why dont we tray to improve on that in the free market or draft. Our other 4 regualrs play so well they can mke a mediocre Center play decently; unfortunately, Perkins is a stronger and taller version fo Gerald  G.

[wdleehi]

I say it again: Perkins is a complete waste of time.He is getting worse a time goes by. Negligible contributions offensively; it being getting worse lately; He is an inmobile rebounding Center, unless the ball happens to fall in his hands.He is almost always out of place in defense. He is only constant is his annoyed face when a call goes agaisnt him. He is our weak link in an otherwise oilded machine; why dont we tray to improve on that in the free market or draft. Our other 4 regualrs play so well they can mke a mediocre Center play decently; unfortunately, Perkins is a stronger and taller version fo Gerald  G.

He played well last night.  6 rebounds and 2 blocks in 20 minutes.  Those are good numbers for the C position. 

And when he when he is in, the Celtics defense is better.  He is where he is suppose to be.  He makes life easier for KG. 

[Spoon]

I say it again: Perkins is a complete waste of time.He is getting worse a time goes by. Negligible contributions offensively; it being getting worse lately; He is an inmobile rebounding Center, unless the ball happens to fall in his hands.He is almost always out of place in defense. He is only constant is his annoyed face when a call goes agaisnt him. He is our weak link in an otherwise oilded machine; why dont we tray to improve on that in the free market or draft. Our other 4 regualrs play so well they can mke a mediocre Center play decently; unfortunately, Perkins is a stronger and taller version fo Gerald  G.

I can't tell if this post is serious or a crazy joke. So I will believe it is a joke for my sanity.

[butterbeanlove]

Stockton is ticking me off. "The Celtics have NO BASKETS in the last eight possessions of the game." The obsession with negative stats. The little rise of excitement in his voice whenever anything goes wrong for Boston.

I used to think he compensated during the '80s because he used to be a Sox announcer in the '70s but according to wikipedia he grew up in Philly so apparently he is a Celtic-hater. Fratello and (it goes without saying) Sheryl Miller (Reggie in drag?) offer nothing. Still, I'm going to continue watching this broadcast if it kills me just for informational purposes.

[billysan]

I say it again: Perkins is a complete waste of time.He is getting worse a time goes by. Negligible contributions offensively; it being getting worse lately; He is an inmobile rebounding Center, unless the ball happens to fall in his hands.He is almost always out of place in defense. He is only constant is his annoyed face when a call goes agaisnt him. He is our weak link in an otherwise oilded machine; why dont we tray to improve on that in the free market or draft. Our other 4 regualrs play so well they can mke a mediocre Center play decently; unfortunately, Perkins is a stronger and taller version fo Gerald  G.

I can't tell if this post is serious or a crazy joke. So I will believe it is a joke for my sanity.

He is serious. Rey is not a Perk fan from way back. He expects Perk to do things that he is not capable of and doesnt like to settle for getting what Perk is good at on a nightly basis.

Perk is our enforcer. He is not our most graceful or elegant player, but no one is tougher or works harder. He will be a long time Celtic because he is willing to do the dirty work for our 'stars'. Perk is in it to win it, and could care less if he gets any stats. No one is harder on Perk than himself when he picks up quick fouls or thinks he is not helping the team win with his play. As long as Perk sets a few hard picks and works hard in the paint, I am ok with him as our center.

It aint all about the stat sheet with some guys. The day Perk gets 'Blount soft', scoring a few points but gets his *$% handed to him regularly, then I will side with Rey about replacing him.

[DrD]

I tend to agree that the game looked much more one-sided than it actually was. The C's weaknesses were covered up by the emotion and enthusiasm of the game. Yes they won by 20, but partly because they were playing the Hawks who were ambushed by the excitement of 'opening night at the Gahden' and gave us the 'deer in headlights' appearance a time or two.

As already mentioned, there should be plenty of material for the practices.

Also,
i) let's not project their "inevitable" match up with Lebron and Co.
ii) let's not talk up the already scheduled showdown with Detroit just yet;
iii) and let's not anoint them "Cham-peens" of the World quite yet.

Instead, can we focus on winning Game 2 Wednesday night and tightening up some of the loopholes. The team that played Sunday night 'ain't gonna' have such an easy time down the road.

That's the first and only order of business at this time.