Author Topic: The Big Picture  (Read 8508 times)

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Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #15 on: May 28, 2008, 09:58:55 AM »

Offline Redz

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For me, though, it's not the losses in themselves that really get to me, it's the dichotomy in their performances and inconsistency from game-to-game.

I can except a loss, especially if the effort is there and the team has at least tried. But the seemingly incongruous best-to-worst-to-best cycle that this team goes through, when only separated by two days, is enough to make me pull large clumps of hair out of my head, (and I'm getting to the age where that's not to be taken lightly), or even join my Mom in hurling ginger-snaps at the TV!

I don't think I've ever seen a team this good, go from a smooth, clicking, in-a-groove performance, to an absolutely horrible, careless, un-energized, mistake-riddled one, in such a short period of time ... and then back again! It makes no sense to me, despite all the excuses and analysis I see here, and how objective it seems ... I just don't get it.

Yeh Bahku, I've done my fair share of wanting to throw a brick through the TV too.  While the games are happening you'd have to be completely numb to not get worked up.  You get euphoric when they play like they do in Game 3 of this series, and get, well, not so euphoric , when they play they did in Game 4.  After a great win you feel like there's no reason they can't win it all, and after a brutal loss you feel like there's no way in hell a team that plays like that will ever win it all.

I might add Detroit has had similar ups and downs (though they haven't been quite as consistently inconsistent as Boston)

We're all much more accustomed to teams that closer to the middle.  This team has had crazy highs and lows all playoffs (after a season that was pretty much ALL highs).  This is why I try to focus on the Big Picture.  I let the game sink in for an hour or two afterwards, then move on.  After 18 games of ups and downs, I've found this method of self therapy to work pretty well - so I thought I'd share.

All this said, I have a feeling the next 3 games (yes, 3 games) are going to be a lot closer to the middle for both teams.  Get those nails ready for biting.  It's going to be a grind.
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Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #16 on: May 28, 2008, 10:00:47 AM »

Offline Bankshot

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The problem might just be that this team has had to struggle a lot to get to this point because they are not as good as we thought they were.  They still might be good enough to win the title, but the Celtics are a bit old, a bit slow, and lack big winning experience among the Big 3 and Doc.  So they don't have the youth and quickness of the Lakers (nor Kobe and his excellence and championship experience), nor do they have the championship experience of the Pistons and Spurs.  So it is not that surprising that the Celtics have struggled.

But hopefully they can pull it together and bring banner 17 to Boston. . .

I disagree.  I think the reason they are struggling is that one of the Big 3 (Ray) is not performing as well as he did in the regular season.  If Ray was shooting as well as he did in the regular season, the C's might not have gone 7 games in the two previous rounds and might be up 3-1 right now.
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Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #17 on: May 28, 2008, 10:20:33 AM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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The problem might just be that this team has had to struggle a lot to get to this point because they are not as good as we thought they were.  They still might be good enough to win the title, but the Celtics are a bit old, a bit slow, and lack big winning experience among the Big 3 and Doc.  So they don't have the youth and quickness of the Lakers (nor Kobe and his excellence and championship experience), nor do they have the championship experience of the Pistons and Spurs.  So it is not that surprising that the Celtics have struggled.

But hopefully they can pull it together and bring banner 17 to Boston. . .

I disagree.  I think the reason they are struggling is that one of the Big 3 (Ray) is not performing as well as he did in the regular season.  If Ray was shooting as well as he did in the regular season, the C's might not have gone 7 games in the two previous rounds and might be up 3-1 right now.

good point. the celtics are the best team out there in terms of talent. but ray allen has struggled beyond any nightmare most of us would have conjurned up.

if before the playoffs someone had bet any of us $1,000 that ray allen would be shooting and scoring like this, we would have jumped on the deal and instantly begun imagining ways to spend the loot.

if allen were shooting as he is capable of shooting, detroit would be looking at a possible 5 game elimination tonight.

when boston's big three all play well, no one is better than boston. but that aint the case right now.
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Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #18 on: May 28, 2008, 10:42:30 AM »

Offline Barnabas

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They play a bit uptight to me.  I understand that they needed to play smart to keep the game close in the last game, and to keep Detroit from exploding the lead.  But it all boils down to the fact that the players just could not hit their shots.  Talk about choking! 

It's possible that Doc's offense doesn't do a good job of freeing up the guys, or helping them score efficiently.  That's certainly possible. 

As far as the Big Picture, yes, we have protected the home court.  Boston has a slight edge, in my mind.  Especially since I don't think Billups will make an overnight recovery from his hamstring injury.  But all of that will be useless unless the Big Three start hitting their shots.  They've got to start making them!  Billups, injury and all, outplayed our guys.  He made the smart choices, and helped his team mates. 

Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #19 on: May 28, 2008, 11:50:57 AM »

Offline nickagneta

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Cedric Maxwell was on the Big Show on WEEI yesterday and he discussed something very similar regarding the big picture. He said that in the larger scheme of things the Celtics went into Detroit and did exactly what they had to do, namely win one of the two.

He went on to speculate that if the Celtics had lost game 3 but won game four that most Celtics fans wouldbe extremely positive about what happened in Detroit and what is happening to the team in general. But because the loss is the last thing we've seen of this club, Celtic World is in a tizzy right now.

Big Picture is we're the closest we've been to a champoinship than we have been in 21 years. We have what we want against arguably the 2nd best team in the league and that is a 3 game seriew with 2 games at home.

Go Celts.

Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #20 on: May 28, 2008, 12:08:23 PM »

Offline crownsy

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Cedric Maxwell was on the Big Show on WEEI yesterday and he discussed something very similar regarding the big picture. He said that in the larger scheme of things the Celtics went into Detroit and did exactly what they had to do, namely win one of the two.

He went on to speculate that if the Celtics had lost game 3 but won game four that most Celtics fans wouldbe extremely positive about what happened in Detroit and what is happening to the team in general. But because the loss is the last thing we've seen of this club, Celtic World is in a tizzy right now.

Big Picture is we're the closest we've been to a champoinship than we have been in 21 years. We have what we want against arguably the 2nd best team in the league and that is a 3 game seriew with 2 games at home.

Go Celts.

I agree with the post nick, and TP, but i think what drives some fans nuts is that this team seems to preform extremly well under pressure (2 game 5's and 2 game 7's) but whenever they have a saftey net, its like they can't get motivated for the game.

It also doesn't help that the first 2, atlanta especally, went far, far to long. it implies the team can't finsh, and i think thats what drives the "ugh!" feeling from game 4. that was a game where you could ahve proved you ahve it in you to finsh, and they came out extremly flat.

again, i'm with you, the series is at a good spot, but i think the context has more to do with this team than anything.
“I will hurt you for this. A day will come when you think you’re safe and happy and your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth. And you will know the debt is paid.” – Tyrion

Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #21 on: May 28, 2008, 12:16:26 PM »

Offline Hrvoje

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That avatar of yours, Redz, scares the [stuff] out of me. Can you change it  :o

No profanity please (even if my clown scares you ;) - Redz )
« Last Edit: May 28, 2008, 12:58:53 PM by Redz »

Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #22 on: May 28, 2008, 12:55:03 PM »

Offline Redz

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That avatar of yours, Redz, scares the **** out of me. Can you change it  :o

Sorry, I tried parting with Captain Spaulding once and he refused to let go.  I can't leave the creepy freak again.

How about this instead?



Oh, and the moderator in me must kindly ask that you refrain from profanity. _ Redz
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Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #23 on: May 28, 2008, 01:01:29 PM »

Offline celts55

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Yeah, the Celtics must be one of the worst teams in the league. Oh, wait, there's only 4 teams left playing. ::)

I think if most of us look back to the beginning of the season we would have been thilled to get this far. I heard so much about how it would take half a season to learn to play together. I think most people were thinking playoffs this year and finals next year. This team is still playing when most are golfing. Yes, they played badly on Monday, but people forget they played great on Saturday. Playoffs are tough. The Pistons are a very good team. Contrary to popular belief so are Cleveland and Atlanta. That's why they are in the playoff.

I remember in 84 when the Celtics lost by 20 something to the Lakers and everyone was saying the same stuff there are today. I for one am really enjoying watching the Celtics this deep in the playoffs and win or lose, I refuse to dump on them or even nitpick every Doc move.

Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #24 on: May 28, 2008, 01:37:29 PM »

Offline Hrvoje

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Sorry, I tried parting with Captain Spaulding once and he refused to let go.  I can't leave the creepy freak again.

How about this instead?




 :o



























Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #25 on: May 28, 2008, 01:41:52 PM »

Offline Hrvoje

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That avatar of yours, Redz, scares the [stuff] out of me. Can you change it  :o

No profanity please (even if my clown scares you ;) - Redz )




I'll keep that in mind.

I just wonder what would forums look like out here if it were by this strict rules  ;D
« Last Edit: May 28, 2008, 01:49:02 PM by wdleehi »

Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #26 on: May 28, 2008, 01:48:42 PM »

Offline crownsy

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That avatar of yours, Redz, scares the [stuff] out of me. Can you change it  :o

No profanity please (even if my clown scares you ;) - Redz )



I'll keep that in mind.

I just wonder what would forums look like out here if it were by this strict rules  ;D

alot less pointless trolling and alot more actual intersting stuff to read?
« Last Edit: May 28, 2008, 01:49:16 PM by wdleehi »
“I will hurt you for this. A day will come when you think you’re safe and happy and your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth. And you will know the debt is paid.” – Tyrion

Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #27 on: May 28, 2008, 01:50:04 PM »

Offline Redz

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That avatar of yours, Redz, scares the [stuff] out of me. Can you change it  :o

No profanity please (even if my clown scares you ;) - Redz )


I didn't use f word, I used ----. I didn't know that describes as profanity!

I'll keep that in mind.

I just wonder what would forums look like out here if it were by this strict rules  ;D

Yup, that is on the no-no list.  Pretty much any word that it edits out itself falls under the type of language we police against (whether it gets automatically edited or if you use "masked" profanity).  Just try to keep an eye out for it.

From the rules thread:

Quote
No swearing! There is absolutely no need for swearing in any post. If you can't find another way to express your opinion, buy a thesaurus. Any forum post, blog comment or personal message with profanity, masked profanity, abbreviations referring to profanity, or allusions to profanity (i.e., **** or @#$#, etc.), whether or not caught by the blog filter, will be deleted.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2008, 01:57:33 PM by Redz »
Yup

Re: The Big Picture
« Reply #28 on: May 28, 2008, 02:37:46 PM »

Offline dorschrm

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As Boston fans, it is very consistent to see our peers do that.  That message is not only a good way to look at this season, but life in general.

Look at what they have done thus far, they've won everygame that they've needed to.

They won the games to secure home court for the playoffs.

They won game 7's in back to back series to keep them alive.

They won in Detroit to keep home court advantage in their hands.

After reading all the articles in the paper this morning, and might I add Shaunessy delivered his best one of the series, arguably even the playoffs, I feel confident that this team is going to blow the Pistons out of the building tonight.

The way that Pierce has been quoted in the paper, as well as PJ Brown, both of whom are respected veterans on the team and in the league... they seem to have gotten this team to buy into the fact that this is another must win game.

Detroit didn't practice yesterday...we did, and I guarantee it was a [dang] hard practice in Waltham.

My gut feeling tells me that tonight we are going to see this team play with more urgency than they have all playoffs, and make a statement that they are going to close out this series with authority.

Celtics by 21 tonight.