This was a good loss for the Celtics

[Roy Hobbs]

we sure need somebody to replace the two players we lost - one of which should be here - how obvious can it be that danny screwed up letting posey go (i keep saying that losing posey is a replay of losing paul silas in '77).

can someone please tell me what all the griping was about and what ray allen was so upset about - i had the sound off because i cannot take the blare of those network morons.

maybe pierce pushing him around (literally) like he was a little kid...

but the truth shall set us free 

you realize the gripping was between rondo and ray right? pierce did nothing but the correct thing, he shoved ray out of the little gripping fest between him and rondo to play defense on his man, since rondo and ray had chosen half court DURING A PLAY to have thier discussion.

Paul was only involved in that he broke it up and got the team into a defensive set, so why are you trying to insinuate he did anything?

Yes, that's exactly the right read on it.  Get mad at Ray or Rondo, but Paul was doing what he was supposed to do: being the captain.

[makaveli]

Agreed, this is a good L, just like IND at the start. But it wasn't one we deserved.
What bothers me is that I saw Ray be something he never was...FRUSTRATED to say at least.
He looked upset over everything, and talked a lot too. Usually he just walks it off, but he started to take bad shots.

[biggs]

Agreed, this is a good L, just like IND at the start. But it wasn't one we deserved.
What bothers me is that I saw Ray be something he never was...FRUSTRATED to say at least.
He looked upset over everything, and talked a lot too. Usually he just walks it off, but he started to take bad shots.

I agree about Ray, never seen him like that.  I know he hates Kobe and rightfully so, but those forced threes were not his style.  I kept saying the whole game that we were playing at their pace and needed to get back to our scrappy offense.

To the original poster-

What you saw yesterday should make you happy, not concerned because we should have all realized something yesterday- the Lakers are only as good as us on a bad day.

[2short]

I think our captain PP did the right thing without a doubt.  What I got from the game was this; the Lakers are better this year but not at our level.  Jackson worked his team like this was the finals, Doc did the RIGHT THING and kept playing our bench to get them minutes for later in the season.  Again this is the 30th or so game of the year, we aren't at seasons end.  Our bench might have looked subpar but they just played on the lakers home court in a playoff atmosphere.  This is very very good experience.
The refs were between really bad and 1 sided to the point if the nba wasn't set up like wwf now there would be some looking into calls.
I would liken this to a boxing match and the C's were seeing what the opponent had, yes they would have loved to win but the C's not playing well the game was still close.  I did like Odom's game as a sub.
not worried.

[TrueGreen]

You heard it from me first. This was a good lost for the Celtics the same way the first lost to Detroit was last year.

The Celtics have been on a streak but haven't been playing the best basketball of late. The skill disparity in the NBA is just too great between the top teams and the lottery teams.

No mater what the Celtics say about getting better, stuff has been very sloppy as of late and it wasn't been an issue because they keep winning. This wasn't the first game there were just careless turnovers (passing to a spot where no one is) and single Celtics heroics. Whats up with Ray playing with the second unit but then having no one on the 2nd unit even turn their head to look to pass it to him? Then there are the contested 3 point shots Ray tries to take, the late rotations, weak bench front line, TA looking like he charges every time he goes to the foul line but getting the benefit of the call, House trying to be Reggie taking fade away threes? ...the list goes on.

This game humbles the Celtics to get better, and more precise with their playing.

...and now I'm done.

Sometimes a loss can be cleansing. You make a good statement.

[BrickJames]

we sure need somebody to replace the two players we lost - one of which should be here - how obvious can it be that danny screwed up letting posey go (i keep saying that losing posey is a replay of losing paul silas in '77).

can someone please tell me what all the griping was about and what ray allen was so upset about - i had the sound off because i cannot take the blare of those network morons.

maybe pierce pushing him around (literally) like he was a little kid...

but the truth shall set us free 

you realize the gripping was between rondo and ray right? pierce did nothing but the correct thing, he shoved ray out of the little gripping fest between him and rondo to play defense on his man, since rondo and ray had chosen half court DURING A PLAY to have thier discussion.

Paul was only involved in that he broke it up and got the team into a defensive set, so why are you trying to insinuate he did anything?

Yes, that's exactly the right read on it.  Get mad at Ray or Rondo, but Paul was doing what he was supposed to do: being the captain.

Being the captain gives you the right to physically restrain your teammates in a non-physical altercation?  Don't know if any of you have actually been in "arguments" on the basketball court, but this is the last thing you want to happen if you are a grown man.

[guava_wrench]

A good loss. Maybe.
A learning process, I believe - for this season.
PP and Doc came up with very diplomatic statements. Yeah, diplomatic.
It's a Christmas game, so even if the refs were killing us (Rondo on offensive foul while driving without even hitting anybody (NO REPLAY SHOWN), TA called for offensive foul on a fastbreak when he sidestepped to avoid Fisher who obviously moved sideways without establishing position, TA's time out call when he went down was instead called for jumpball, PP called for a silly (questionable!)foul right after that jump ball, Perk without getting a foul on him when he got body-bumped by Ariza on the fastbreak, PP called for travelling on the right quarter court on the 2nd quarter when Boston was about to turn the tide in our favor, double foul on Ray Allen and Fisher under Boston's basket when it was obvious that there's no way Fisher can outrebound or outmaneuver this trying hard non-All Star, etc) the Celts still showed they are no pushovers. Let the Los Angeles fans celebrate their Christmas in December. Let us celebrate ours in June.
To me, that was a game taken away from us by the game officials. One thing the game revealed is our desperate need for a big man - a shotblocker in the mold of Mutombo.
They just raised the ante of the game. LAL will have to deal with that (and the pressure to win it again) when they meet us again this season.

TA calling a timeout? He can't call a timeout when an opponent also has his hands on the ball. He especially can't call a timeout after the whistle is blown for a jumpball call.

I didn't notice any missed call there. Could this be homerism tinted ref blaming?

[crownsy]

A good loss. Maybe.
A learning process, I believe - for this season.
PP and Doc came up with very diplomatic statements. Yeah, diplomatic.
It's a Christmas game, so even if the refs were killing us (Rondo on offensive foul while driving without even hitting anybody (NO REPLAY SHOWN), TA called for offensive foul on a fastbreak when he sidestepped to avoid Fisher who obviously moved sideways without establishing position, TA's time out call when he went down was instead called for jumpball, PP called for a silly (questionable!)foul right after that jump ball, Perk without getting a foul on him when he got body-bumped by Ariza on the fastbreak, PP called for travelling on the right quarter court on the 2nd quarter when Boston was about to turn the tide in our favor, double foul on Ray Allen and Fisher under Boston's basket when it was obvious that there's no way Fisher can outrebound or outmaneuver this trying hard non-All Star, etc) the Celts still showed they are no pushovers. Let the Los Angeles fans celebrate their Christmas in December. Let us celebrate ours in June.
To me, that was a game taken away from us by the game officials. One thing the game revealed is our desperate need for a big man - a shotblocker in the mold of Mutombo.
They just raised the ante of the game. LAL will have to deal with that (and the pressure to win it again) when they meet us again this season.

TA calling a timeout? He can't call a timeout when an opponent also has his hands on the ball. He especially can't call a timeout after the whistle is blown for a jumpball call.

I didn't notice any missed call there. Could this be homerism tinted ref blaming?

Eddie quite clearly had a timeout called off to the side while tony had possesion, a ref looked right at him (the guy who got overruled).

[dark_lord]

there is no such thing as "a good loss" in my book!!!!  however, there were a few positive things to consider.  the game was in LA, the lakers were highly motivated, and they played very well......while we had a ton of turnovers, played poorly, and our bench never showed up.....and we still had an opportunity to win.  i say its promising, but i never agree that there is a good loss.

[EJPLAYA]

Hopefully this loss will prove to be a valuable one. It is very clear that we are an offensive threat on the second unit away from being where we need to be, and possibly another big. I think that the Patriots last season could have used a "good loss" prior to the superbowl to make them realize they weren't unbeatable. I think this will do it for the Celtics. Think how KG is feeling right now. I would hate to be the Warriors tonight.

[Andy Jick]

meh...bird and mchale couldn't really stand each other either so this is a non-issue.  if you've ever played ball you know that there will come those moments, in the heat of battle, where the competitive spirit takes over. 

personally, i think it shows just how big this game was...i highly doubt you see this type of thing against the bobcats.

i have no problem with this as long as it was an isolated incident.