Game 3 interesting stat

[celticsboy746]

We all know how frustrating that game was to watch, poor defense, bad decision making etc. BUT aside from being outscored by 19 in the first we were only outscored by 5 the rest of the game. And that was only because the starters were on the bench at the end of the 4th. So imagine we keep it tight in the first only down 3 or so. At the end of the game are we sitting the starters? NO. so I think the real problem is GETTING OFF TO A STRONG START. yes we played poor D and were out rebounded but maybe the players would have had more motivation if they had not started in such a bug hole. The first few minutes looked promising but soon Cleveland went on a 14-0 run and that was it for the game. I think it comes down to not getting off to a good start. Tell me if u agree This is just my opinion on why we lost this game.

[Amir]

Well, I think its obvious that the Celtics lost tonight because they had a slow start. That hasnt been the reason why we have stunk on the road however. We couldnt CLOSE games in Atlanta and usually came out firing in the first minutes of the game.

[celticsboy746]

Yeah I agree Atlanta was not closing games, but this was hard to watch. I mean leaving west WIDE open for a 3 just when we were making a run that's a dagger

[BASSTHUMPER]

west and wally were left open cause we didnt respect they shot...paul shoulda warned his team mates....

[Bahku]

We all know how frustrating that game was to watch, poor defense, bad decision making etc. BUT aside from being outscored by 19 in the first we were only outscored by 5 the rest of the game. And that was only because the starters were on the bench at the end of the 4th. So imagine we keep it tight in the first only down 3 or so. At the end of the game are we sitting the starters? NO. so I think the real problem is GETTING OFF TO A STRONG START. yes we played poor D and were out rebounded but maybe the players would have had more motivation if they had not started in such a bug hole. The first few minutes looked promising but soon Cleveland went on a 14-0 run and that was it for the game. I think it comes down to not getting off to a good start. Tell me if u agree This is just my opinion on why we lost this game.

Absolutely ... TP. We need to attack aggressively in every game, right from minute one. We need to hit the floor running, literally, and just sustain the energy. We were so tentative early on tonight, and it was obvious ... almost like they didn't want to be there. They've got to play every night like it's the Garden, and stop falling into the trap of allowing the other team to set the tempo. This team can't run with us ... period. If we ran and sustained it for as much of 48 as we could, we'd blow this Cavs team out every time.

[celticsboy746]

Absolutely thanx 4 the TP btw. but yeah At the garden its lets blow them out in the first quarter. On the road it's we've got a 2-0 lead so we've got this in the bag. They need to fix that mentality and make it blow out every time.

[Onslaught]

I just don't understand the lack of energy and hustle on the road to this point in the playoffs. You'd think a team with 3 All Stars who've never won it all would be going nuts from tipoff to the last horn. That said I'm not all that worried. If this loss won't give them motivation for the next game then nothing will.

[DrD]

I just don't understand the lack of energy and hustle on the road to this point in the playoffs. You'd think a team with 3 All Stars who've never won it all would be going nuts from tipoff to the last horn. That said I'm not all that worried. If this loss won't give them motivation for the next game then nothing will.

Let me rephrase that for you:
If three road losses to the lowly Hawks didn't give them motivation then nothing will.

[thedawg]

We all know how frustrating that game was to watch, poor defense, bad decision making etc. BUT aside from being outscored by 19 in the first we were only outscored by 5 the rest of the game. And that was only because the starters were on the bench at the end of the 4th. So imagine we keep it tight in the first only down 3 or so. At the end of the game are we sitting the starters? NO. so I think the real problem is GETTING OFF TO A STRONG START. yes we played poor D and were out rebounded but maybe the players would have had more motivation if they had not started in such a bug hole. The first few minutes looked promising but soon Cleveland went on a 14-0 run and that was it for the game. I think it comes down to not getting off to a good start. Tell me if u agree This is just my opinion on why we lost this game.

I believe not only the players should look at themselves but only the coaching staff in order to get the team spirit they have in Boston with them on the road.  I believe the C´s will get extra crazy fans on their trips because they know how we are struggling away from home and it has turned into a psychological thing for us.  It´s the playoffs now where empty buildings become over-crowded of crazy fans.  There are quite few years of experience in the C´s team to realize that Playoffs is another competition and the regular season counts for nothing.   Either we shape up on the road or forget about "Number 17".  Right now, I cannot see us win even though our home turf is this good.  Detroit are beating teams away with strong team spirit and so are Lakers. 

[Redz]

The crazy thing about the slow start was that Cleveland wasn't exactly playing "shut down" D.  The Celtics had open looks and either didn't hit them, or looked to make an unnecessary extra pass.  It looked like they were trying to toy with Cleveland instead of pounding them.  You don't want to toy with a cornered beast, you want to force them into submission.  Celts couldn't do that.  Cleveland saw daylight and WHAMMO - you have your first quarter blowout.

[Yakmanev]

We all know how frustrating that game was to watch, poor defense, bad decision making etc.

Unfortunately my ABC affiliate didn't show the game. Even though it didn't turn out well I'm still peeved about not getting to see it.

[Kwhit10]

Like the Atlanta road games where they came out strong and Atlanta still came back.  It seems the Celtics are becoming the Jazz of the East.

[SShoreFan]

The Celts didn't get off to a bad start out of the gate it was the 8 minutes that followed.  Take a look at all four road games (can find them on espn.com) each game has a stretch of 5+ minutes in which the Celtics are taken out of their game and the game is lost. 

A solid veteran team should be able to step back as this is happening and regroup, and this is a team that has done just that on the road all year.  Perhaps a film session of the Texas sweep might be in order to remind this team about focus and execution.

[Celtic]

Getting off to a good start is indeed critical, particularly so on the road. Watching last night's game I kept saying "OK, the C's are weathering the storm, but the Cavs can't keep this up. C's just need to find their rhythm." They never did, got blown out in the first and were never let back in.