We just aren't as hungry as 08

[makaveli]

I think our team decides that the game is over and they spark the other team to either hang on or take over the game just like last night.
And yes we will never be hungry or healthy as we were in 08, they can talk about it all the want, but in that season we blew most teams by 15-30 points. Now we are playin' ball game with Clippers, Warriors, Indy, Sixers and all of those teams have downgraded over last 2 years.
This will be an up and down season, I can only hope and believe as I do that it will be an up period come playoffs

[EJPLAYA]

I am convinced at this point that this team is just not that hungry to win it all. That first year with the big three we came out and played each game like it was a playoff game. We were out to prove that we were the best team out there and that we wanted to crush everyone's spirit. We dominated and played with a hunger that we just don't have anymore. What we have is a group of guys that know that they are the best team in the NBA, and expect that they just have to show up and teams will bow down before them.

How about a little fire out of our guys?! How about a little stepping on the back of the neck of our opponent when we have them down?! How about KG getting in his teammates face and ripping them for not giving it 100%?! How about Perk stopping all this nonsense with the refs and being more concerned with his play than getting targeted?! How about Rondo expend as much energy on the defensive side of the ball as he does trying to be a star on the offensive end?! How about Doc calling a time out and getting a little nasty with these guys when they are playing like prima donna's?!

Yes we still have one of the best records in the NBA. Yes we are still talented and will win a lot of games this year. What we are giving up though is the likelihood of having home court throughout. We are allowing ourselves to appear beatable. We are letting teams get a blueprint for how to take us down. I don't have a problem losing a tough game to a great team when we have given our all. That's going to happen. What I can't stand though is a bunch of guys giving partial effort just expecting the win...

During the championship year the Celtics came out and tried to make a name for themselves by winning every game and having the best record.
Last year they attempted to do the same but could not sustain it throughout the season due to injuries.
Now they have the end goal in mind rather than the journey.

I see. So when they were up 18 they decided that since it was a long season they should just quit and let the Warriors back into the game. They really didn't need this win this early in the year so better to let them come from behind and take one from you… Please.

[Chris]

I am convinced at this point that this team is just not that hungry to win it all. That first year with the big three we came out and played each game like it was a playoff game. We were out to prove that we were the best team out there and that we wanted to crush everyone's spirit. We dominated and played with a hunger that we just don't have anymore. What we have is a group of guys that know that they are the best team in the NBA, and expect that they just have to show up and teams will bow down before them.

How about a little fire out of our guys?! How about a little stepping on the back of the neck of our opponent when we have them down?! How about KG getting in his teammates face and ripping them for not giving it 100%?! How about Perk stopping all this nonsense with the refs and being more concerned with his play than getting targeted?! How about Rondo expend as much energy on the defensive side of the ball as he does trying to be a star on the offensive end?! How about Doc calling a time out and getting a little nasty with these guys when they are playing like prima donna's?!

Yes we still have one of the best records in the NBA. Yes we are still talented and will win a lot of games this year. What we are giving up though is the likelihood of having home court throughout. We are allowing ourselves to appear beatable. We are letting teams get a blueprint for how to take us down. I don't have a problem losing a tough game to a great team when we have given our all. That's going to happen. What I can't stand though is a bunch of guys giving partial effort just expecting the win...

During the championship year the Celtics came out and tried to make a name for themselves by winning every game and having the best record.
Last year they attempted to do the same but could not sustain it throughout the season due to injuries.
Now they have the end goal in mind rather than the journey.

I see. So when they were up 18 they decided that since it was a long season they should just quit and let the Warriors back into the game. They really didn't need this win this early in the year so better to let them come from behind and take one from you… Please.

Well, I think it was more like they were up 18 and decided that this Warriors team sucks, and they don't have to work anymore to keep the lead.  Unfortunately for them, the Warriors didn't lie down, and once they got a little momentum of the C's lazy offense/passes, they became tough to stop.

[WeMadeIt17]

I get the whole thing about we can beat the elite teams but we need to crush the poor teams! We really do I am sick of this teams being able to hang around! We need to stomp on everyone!

[CbrewEra]

I agree with this.  I see a lot of things are different.  Does anyone else remember the fire that the C's came out of the gate with in the 3rd quarter the year they won it all???  Thats just one of the classic things we're missing, along with 48 mins of defense.

[Who]

It's mainly the bench -- Rasheed Wallace in particular, then Daniels, and to a lesser degree the aging Eddie House -- the bench doesn't provide the same intent, energy, hustle, aggressiveness, athleticism, spark ... that it provided two years ago.

Anyway, it's an issue but I don't think it's a a serious one. The bench has a lot of talent, they're just lacking in this area, but they provide a lot of contributions elsewhere. It's just a different sort of production from two years ago.

[housecall]

First,on several occassions in this short season the team has had to make adjustments on the fly with injuries occuring.Its not easy adjusting to losing your star player for a long hard road trip.Next,i do see some turn it off/on in spuirts but its probably a lack of focus on some nights and some its because of matchup problems.Our bench is weaker than expected it was going to be at this point of the season.When was the last time we have seen the team drawn up on paper in the beginning of the season play together?

[Evantime34]

I am convinced at this point that this team is just not that hungry to win it all. That first year with the big three we came out and played each game like it was a playoff game. We were out to prove that we were the best team out there and that we wanted to crush everyone's spirit. We dominated and played with a hunger that we just don't have anymore. What we have is a group of guys that know that they are the best team in the NBA, and expect that they just have to show up and teams will bow down before them.

How about a little fire out of our guys?! How about a little stepping on the back of the neck of our opponent when we have them down?! How about KG getting in his teammates face and ripping them for not giving it 100%?! How about Perk stopping all this nonsense with the refs and being more concerned with his play than getting targeted?! How about Rondo expend as much energy on the defensive side of the ball as he does trying to be a star on the offensive end?! How about Doc calling a time out and getting a little nasty with these guys when they are playing like prima donna's?!

Yes we still have one of the best records in the NBA. Yes we are still talented and will win a lot of games this year. What we are giving up though is the likelihood of having home court throughout. We are allowing ourselves to appear beatable. We are letting teams get a blueprint for how to take us down. I don't have a problem losing a tough game to a great team when we have given our all. That's going to happen. What I can't stand though is a bunch of guys giving partial effort just expecting the win...

During the championship year the Celtics came out and tried to make a name for themselves by winning every game and having the best record.
Last year they attempted to do the same but could not sustain it throughout the season due to injuries.
Now they have the end goal in mind rather than the journey.

I see. So when they were up 18 they decided that since it was a long season they should just quit and let the Warriors back into the game. They really didn't need this win this early in the year so better to let them come from behind and take one from you… Please.

You misunderstand me. The Celtics did not stop trying up 18, that's not what I was saying. What I am saying is they brought substantially less effort to this game than they did against the Magic. If the C's played with the same intensity against Golden State they would have been up by 35 not 18 and Golden State would have never come back.
They are playing hard against the good teams and trying to win with the least effort against bad teams. This is evident in the number of blowouts this year compared to 07-08.

[Rondo_is_better]

It's mainly the bench -- Rasheed Wallace in particular, then Daniels, and to a lesser degree the aging Eddie House -- the bench doesn't provide the same intent, energy, hustle, aggressiveness, athleticism, spark ... that it provided two years ago.

Anyway, it's an issue but I don't think it's a a serious one. The bench has a lot of talent, they're just lacking in this area, but they provide a lot of contributions elsewhere. It's just a different sort of production from two years ago.

The bench will get much better when Marquis returns. Things will flow a lot more smoothly because House will be off the ball.

[Chris]

It's mainly the bench -- Rasheed Wallace in particular, then Daniels, and to a lesser degree the aging Eddie House -- the bench doesn't provide the same intent, energy, hustle, aggressiveness, athleticism, spark ... that it provided two years ago.

Anyway, it's an issue but I don't think it's a a serious one. The bench has a lot of talent, they're just lacking in this area, but they provide a lot of contributions elsewhere. It's just a different sort of production from two years ago.

While there may be some truth to it, the starters really have not been playing with anywhere near the intensity as they did in 2008.  This team has been constantly getting off to slow starts, and have been playing terrible defense in the first quarter of games.  So while the bench should be better than they have been so far, the real difference for this team has been with the starters.

[wdleehi]

They seemed hungry Christmas day.




I think the Spurs are a great example.  An older team that has won it all not putting the emphasis on the regular season knowing they are good enough to back into a top 4 seed in the playoffs. 

For the Celtics, they would back in to no worse then the 3rd seed.   

[GreenFaith1819]

I just think that these injuries have affected the team more than we believe..we just haven't been healthy as a team, and I think now we are all starting to realize the Importance of Paul Pierce.

I already see a thread here "Pierce is the Most Important Celtic" that I haven't read yet. This statement is SO TRUE...

IMO, the fire is in fact still there...as it was in 2007-2008. Yes these loses are frustrating..don't get me wrong.

I suppose the "Lean Years" of the late 80's, 90's, some parts of 00's, gives me a different perspective on Frustrating Loses or lack of fire....

Heck, the team that had the improbable Playoff Run from 2001-2002 (Pierce and Antoine) were in great health..imagine a major injury to Pierce, Walker or even Rodney Rogers or Kenny Anderson back then. If such a thing happened even that team would not have been as successful.

We just aren't healthy - yet. We can see now that "Glue Guys" like Pierce and Marquis getting hurt are really affecting the team.

Some may ask "Well why did we lose unexplainable games like Philly in Boston a few weeks ago? We were healthy then."

Well to those people I say: Why did Boston lose to Portland in Boston of all teams way back in 1985-1986 Season? We only lost TWO Home games that ENTIRE season, and Portland was one of them. I believe they were barely a 500 team, too. Just can't explain some games.

Once we get our Captain back, and Marquis Daniels then we'll be back on track.

The fire is still there, but it's a little dim to the injuries. And some games we are just going to lose, no matter how healthy or fired up we are.

But in June we'll have Banner 18.

[Bahku]

I just think that these injuries have affected the team more than we believe..we just haven't been healthy as a team, and I think now we are all starting to realize the Importance of Paul Pierce.

I already see a thread here "Pierce is the Most Important Celtic" that I haven't read yet. This statement is SO TRUE...

IMO, the fire is in fact still there...as it was in 2007-2008. Yes these loses are frustrating..don't get me wrong.

I suppose the "Lean Years" of the late 80's, 90's, some parts of 00's, gives me a different perspective on Frustrating Loses or lack of fire....

Heck, the team that had the improbable Playoff Run from 2001-2002 (Pierce and Antoine) were in great health..imagine a major injury to Pierce, Walker or even Rodney Rogers or Kenny Anderson back then. If such a thing happened even that team would not have been as successful.

We just aren't healthy - yet. We can see now that "Glue Guys" like Pierce and Marquis getting hurt are really affecting the team.

Some may ask "Well why did we lose unexplainable games like Philly in Boston a few weeks ago? We were healthy then."

Well to those people I say: Why did Boston lose to Portland in Boston of all teams way back in 1985-1986 Season? We only lost TWO Home games that ENTIRE season, and Portland was one of them. I believe they were barely a 500 team, too. Just can't explain some games.

Once we get our Captain back, and Marquis Daniels then we'll be back on track.

The fire is still there, but it's a little dim to the injuries. And some games we are just going to lose, no matter how healthy or fired up we are.

But in June we'll have Banner 18.

TP to my Bud GF, for saving me a bunch of typing ... I completely agree.

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

TP for the OP. Let's look at the troubling trend:

76'ers -- 15 point lead blown = loss AT HOME
Clippers -- 10 point lead blown = loss
Warriors -- 18 point lead blown = loss

Never would have happened last year or the year before. NEVER

While so many are quick to poo poo these losses, call them meaningless, etc., I think it clearly points out that this team, right now, does not have the fire in its belly. Hopefully they can get it back, but I don't believe you can turn it on and off like that.

January 9th, 2008: Bobcats 95 - Celtics 83

The Celtics looked like they were in for another easy night at home when they opened a 35-24 edge midway into the second half, but the Bobcats responded by scoring the next 14 points en route to a 45-41 halftime edge.

January 12th, 2008: Celtics 78 - Wizards 85

The Wizards rallied from a seven-point, fourth-quarter deficit to hand the Celtics their second loss in three games and only their fifth defeat of the season

January 14th, 2008: Wizards 88 - Celtics 83

Trailing by 14, the Wizards went on an improbable 19-4 run to take an 82-81 lead with 40.1 seconds remaining capped off by a Butler lay in and foul shot after being fouled by Kendrick Perkins.

January 23rd 2008: Raptors 114 - Celtics 112

Tony Allen scored 14 straight points for the Celtics early in the second quarter, single-handedly delivering a 12-2 run that gave them a 43-32 lead. But Boston soon went cold, giving up 12 straight points to allow Toronto to tie it 49-all, and then take a 57-51 lead on Parker's 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in the half.

(14 straight pts by TA!  )

February 20, 2008: Celtics 117 - Warriors 119. Largest C's Lead: 12.

March 22nd 2008: Celtics 106 - Hornets 103

David West scored 37 points and the New Orleans Hornets overcame an early 15-point deficit to beat Boston 113-106 on Saturday night...Boston shot 75 percent in the opening period and was up 60-45 in the second before New Orleans closed to 65-55 at halftime...Boston committed 21 turnovers, leading to 32 Hornets points.

(The Hornets were a decent team, but still, same issues in the '08 squad)

March 24th, 2008: 76ers 95 - Celtics 90

Andre Iguodala scored 10 straight points during a 19-0 run that brought Philadelphia back from a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit Monday night, and the 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 95-90...House hit another 3 early in the fourth to make it 78-68, and he added a left-side jumper to give the Celtics an 80-69 lead with 8:20 left. The Sixers scored the next 19 points -- five by Young, four by Louis Williams and a steal and emphatic breakaway dunk by Iguodala to tie it.

[nickagneta]

I think there is some serious over reacting going on in this thread.