Execute or be executed

[SShoreFan]

First and foremost -- Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers who raised their kids to bleed Celtics green!!  ... and to all the other mothers too!


Not for 1 second do I buy the arguments that the Celtics don't care, don't want it, aren't hungry enough, lack leadership or any of the other arguments put forth questioning their heart and desire (If anything they have too much heart & desire).

Lying in bed last night trying to digest the game as well as the Atlanta games, I believe it comes down to focus and execution. They obviously don't lack the talent on the road but they are lacking the implementation.

Businesses succeed because they are able to implement and follow solid business plans.  All season long, the Celtics have succeeded at home and on the road because they have come out onto the floor and executed strong game (business) plans on both ends of the court. (Wins in San Antonio, Houston, LA and other places show they are capable) However, during the playoffs they have allowed themselves to be taken out of their plans. 

In Atlanta, the Celtics lack of execution was mainly in the second half, but last night it was without a doubt the first quarter.  Whether it be the hurried shot, the bad pass or the dumb foul (in most cases it's been all three) the Celtics seem to be going into stretches of 5+ minutes at a time in which the execution just isn't happening on both ends of the court and then not be able to recover.  Last evening it was an 8 minute stretch in the first quarter. 

Let's not talk about lack of heart or lack of caring, the Celtics care and have heart.   In my humble opinion, when things begin to slip they need to step back take a deep breath and review their business plan and play within themselves.  This is a team of veterans and they should be able to do that.

If the Celtics stick with a business like approach and execute the game they've been so successful with this year they will prevail, if they don't the execution will be theirs.

[Who]

Not for 1 second do I buy the arguments that the Celtics don't care, don't want it, aren't hungry enough, lack leadership or any of the other arguments put forth questioning their heart and desire (If anything they have too much heart & desire).

I completely agree about the heart and desire.

Leadership? There's been some missing. When you get that far away from your game plan that's a lack of leadership. Nobody is really pulling them back together, creating calm, taking some of the pressure off on others. Posey is doing the best job but he's the 6th man, at least one of the starters needs to step up.

I agree on the whole about execution, that's been the single biggest problem. Especially their offensive execution. If they'd just stuck to the game plan the Hawks would have never taken that series to seven and I'm not sure the Cavs win yester either. I've been whining about the offensive execution for awhile, at times it's been terrible.

Their lack of execution is at the centre of all their difficulties and it's leaving the door open for weaker sides to beat them.

[jay_jay54]

I agree with both here so far,to a degree...the leadership should start from the coach,Doc,is the man who they need to find away to remind them of whats at stake,and figure who the man should be in certain situations,and tell him to take over on the court.They have all the tools,just haven't mastered the technique.

[Andy Jick]

strangely enough, this is a trend of this season's playoffs.  as much as we celtics' fans are frustrated, nearly every team in the nba is experiencing this jekyll and hyde effort.  i recall hearing that the home team is winning more games than we've seen in the last 24 years(?).

it just goes to show how the elite in the nba and bottom feeders aren't all that far apart these days.  mike wilbon wrote an article around 2 years ago in which he stated that the better teams in the nba usually don't begin to distance themselves in an nba game until around the early part of the 4th quarter.

i have no idea what to expect with this team...but a huge problem, in my opinion, is that 1/3rd of our "big 3" appears to be aging before our eyes and he's not playing up to his capability - THAT will kill this team because it makes us a bit overrated.

[cdif911]

what we're seeing is the celtics had it turned on all season, the other teams clearly didn't, and its easier to turn it on on your homecourt than on the road - its not a lack of passion, desire, heart, etc. its that they've played with it all year and haven't been matched until they step into a hostile playoff environment.  Has any team ever gone to all game 7's and won the title? This could be the 1st year!