Not As Upset As I thought I'd Be

[Bankshot]

about this loss. The refs did tick me off, but I'm just not sweating it like I thought I would.  Why?

1. While Pierce did an excellent job defensively on Kobe, he didn't come through on the offensive end like he usually does--- and the C's still had a chance to win.
2.  Ray had a poor shooting night--- and the C's still had a chance to win.
3.  KG fouled out with 3+ minutes left in regulation and couldn't play at all in overtime.. and the C's still had a chance to win.
4.  Doc didn't have his best coaching night (not playing the hot hand enough - House, Powe)... and the C's still had a chance to win.
5.  Big Baby shot very poorly.... and the C's still had a chance to win.
6.  THE REFS! ... and the C's still had a chance to win.
7.  The Celtics played poorly.... and still had a chance to win.

If the Celtics get to the Finals, even without home court advantage, the Celtics will beat the Lakers.

All that being said, we still need a couple of pieces to get by Cleveland.

[wdleehi]

See, I am upset because the Celtics were not allowed to play their style of defense down low. 



But come playoff time, when more physical play is allowed, advantage Celtics.

[Redz]

Yup...No worries here

You hate losing to the Lakers, because, well...THEY'RE THE LAKERS

But in the big picture, they just don't scare me

[CelticsWhat35]

See, I am upset because the Celtics were not allowed to play their style of defense down low. 



But come playoff time, when more physical play is allowed, advantage Celtics.

Not only will a more physical style be allowed, but more importantly those 3 refs won't even sniff a playoff game.

[winsomme]

See, I am upset because the Celtics were not allowed to play their style of defense down low. 



But come playoff time, when more physical play is allowed, advantage Celtics.

the level of physicality allowed in that game by the refs was so inconsistent. sometimes they would call a ticky-tack foul and then other times they would  let obvious holds go...

i mean, Fisher was grabbing Rays left arm on that whole final play....

it's really the inconsistency that is the problem IMO.

[Donoghus]

I'm not worried at all, either.

I thought we played sloppy much of the game and it was evident that a lot of contact was not going to be allowed in this one.  That's two strikes against us right off the bat.  I also thought the Lakers shot the ball pretty well and seemed to be playing with a higher intensity.  Add to that, a less than 100% KG plus less than stellar substitutions, it's really amazing that this game only resulted in a one point OT loss.  

Look, its a long season and this team is still 41-10.  This team seems to be playing pretty well since that 2-7 stretch and there's no reason to believe they won't get stronger as we near the postseason.  Home court or not, we know we can beat them in LA under the biggest of stages and I'm still not convinced they can do that to us in Boston come June.

[winsomme]

I'm not worried at all, either.

I thought we played sloppy much of the game and it was evident that a lot of contact was not going to be allowed in this one.  That's two strikes against us right off the bat.  I also thought the Lakers shot the ball pretty well and seemed to be playing with a higher intensity.  Add to that, a less than 100% KG plus less than stellar substitutions, it's really amazing that this game only resulted in a one point OT loss.  

Look, its a long season and this team is still 41-10.  This team seems to be playing pretty well since that 2-7 stretch and there's no reason to believe they won't get stronger as we near the postseason.  Home court or not, we know we can beat them in LA under the biggest of stages and I'm still not convinced they can do that to us in Boston come June.

i hate to be presumptuous here, but it seems that this season is boiling down to 4 teams and we are all playing each other here: Boston, LA, CLE and SAS....

i don't think who wins these games is of the utmost importance (although playoff position and home court advantage is huge)....

but i do think that we need to start closely analyzing matchups in these games and if one team has an advantage now and finds a good matchup (barring injury) that matchup will still be there in the playoffs...

clearly LA and CLE have found things that they can do against us and while being overly concerned about the loss, we need to start thinking about how to counter those things now.

it's not too early for that...especially since personnel is one area you can look at to address a potential mismatch...and the trade deadline is approaching quickly.

[PaulPierce34G]

Obviously the loss sucks, but the team will get back on track and not pull another 2-7 mark.  I think its good they lost the season series to LA.  It sort of brings you back down to Earth, realize you can be beaten. You don't want to go into a 7 game series against a team of LA's caliber treading that fine line of being being too cocky rather than confident.  I think the losses only provide motivation come playoff time, should the 2 teams meet again in June.  Hopefully the C's will add an extra piece, a la PJ Brown, or something to that effect. 

[slamtheking]

I'm not worried at all, either.

I thought we played sloppy much of the game and it was evident that a lot of contact was not going to be allowed in this one.  That's two strikes against us right off the bat.  I also thought the Lakers shot the ball pretty well and seemed to be playing with a higher intensity.  Add to that, a less than 100% KG plus less than stellar substitutions, it's really amazing that this game only resulted in a one point OT loss.  

Look, its a long season and this team is still 41-10.  This team seems to be playing pretty well since that 2-7 stretch and there's no reason to believe they won't get stronger as we near the postseason.  Home court or not, we know we can beat them in LA under the biggest of stages and I'm still not convinced they can do that to us in Boston come June.

i hate to be presumptuous here, but it seems that this season is boiling down to 4 teams and we are all playing each other here: Boston, LA, CLE and SAS....

i don't think who wins these games is of the utmost importance (although playoff position and home court advantage is huge)....

but i do think that we need to start closely analyzing matchups in these games and if one team has an advantage now and finds a good matchup (barring injury) that matchup will still be there in the playoffs...

clearly LA and CLE have found things that they can do against us and while being overly concerned about the loss, we need to start thinking about how to counter those things now.

it's not too early for that...especially since personnel is one area you can look at to address a potential mismatch...and the trade deadline is approaching quickly.

that sums up the situation.

LA and CLE have a distinct height advantage that needs to be addressed.  either POB gets it in gear and starts contributing at least for 10 minutes a game or a new veteran big is needed.  doubtful POB will be the solution this year but for the moment he's the only player on the roster with the height to play center behind Perk.

[Donoghus]

I'm not worried at all, either.

I thought we played sloppy much of the game and it was evident that a lot of contact was not going to be allowed in this one.  That's two strikes against us right off the bat.  I also thought the Lakers shot the ball pretty well and seemed to be playing with a higher intensity.  Add to that, a less than 100% KG plus less than stellar substitutions, it's really amazing that this game only resulted in a one point OT loss.  

Look, its a long season and this team is still 41-10.  This team seems to be playing pretty well since that 2-7 stretch and there's no reason to believe they won't get stronger as we near the postseason.  Home court or not, we know we can beat them in LA under the biggest of stages and I'm still not convinced they can do that to us in Boston come June.

i hate to be presumptuous here, but it seems that this season is boiling down to 4 teams and we are all playing each other here: Boston, LA, CLE and SAS....

i don't think who wins these games is of the utmost importance (although playoff position and home court advantage is huge)....

but i do think that we need to start closely analyzing matchups in these games and if one team has an advantage now and finds a good matchup (barring injury) that matchup will still be there in the playoffs...

clearly LA and CLE have found things that they can do against us and while being overly concerned about the loss, we need to start thinking about how to counter those things now.

it's not too early for that...especially since personnel is one area you can look at to address a potential mismatch...and the trade deadline is approaching quickly.

Oh I agree that you could definitely analyze last night's matchups and see some concerns.  Hopefully, they will be addressed before the deadline. I still have concerns over our bench.  Like I mentioned in another thread, home court in the East is of bigger concern to me than having it in the Finals.  I really think we are on a CLE/BOS collision course and home court will be a HUGE factor.  

[EJPLAYA]

Let's be honest with ourselves at least. If LA had hit anywhere remotely close to their normal free throw percentage that game would have never gone into OT. We should be really focusing on what we need on this team to be able to beat them in the finals, or Cleveland to get there for that matter. We need another solid big man. Plain and simple. Without it, and the return of Bynum who will give them yet another big inside, we will have a tough time beating them this year.  Not impossible, but they are much better than we want to give them credit for.

[TatteredOnMySleeve]

it sucks because we're going to be officially written off and I cant watch another sports show the rest of the season...and dont kid yourselves...this regular season is ruined , ultimately the playoffs are what matter, but this regular season sucks, I couldnt care less about any winning streaks when both were snapped by LA

[TatteredOnMySleeve]

Let's be honest with ourselves at least. If LA had hit anywhere remotely close to their normal free throw percentage that game would have never gone into OT. We should be really focusing on what we need on this team to be able to beat them in the finals, or Cleveland to get there for that matter. We need another solid big man. Plain and simple. Without it, and the return of Bynum who will give them yet another big inside, we will have a tough time beating them this year.  Not impossible, but they are much better than we want to give them credit for.

EJ, please, the lakers got 9 more free throws to make up for there terrible shooting ON OUR HOME COURT, and what ifs go both ways, if pierce doesnt brick 2 free throws in the clutch...wam...if ray allen hits the wide open 3 to finish the 1st half...wam....etc

[winsomme]

Let's be honest with ourselves at least. If LA had hit anywhere remotely close to their normal free throw percentage that game would have never gone into OT. We should be really focusing on what we need on this team to be able to beat them in the finals, or Cleveland to get there for that matter. We need another solid big man. Plain and simple. Without it, and the return of Bynum who will give them yet another big inside, we will have a tough time beating them this year.  Not impossible, but they are much better than we want to give them credit for.

well, to be fair, both teams were pretty sloppy in this game. plus would the game have gone into OT if KG hadn't fouled out? goes both ways there IMO.

i agree that the focus now should be on planning for the playoffs, but i disagree about what the biggest need is. for me, it is a long shooting wing...

plus, i still haven't given up on PJ.

[jimmehx]

I agree with you. The game had some ugly turns and we finished as close as could be. I just worry that this sort of thing will happen again if we make it to the playoffs. But then again i'm being pessimistic. Haven't had long enough to decompress