Celtics (23-7) at Suns (20-12) 12/30

[celticinorlando]

giddens, walker. sheldon and scal are guys that JUST dress....we cant count on them. eddie, baby, sheed and daniels (who has a long history of injuries) are really all they have on the bench...and when a team starts breaking down-as drastic as it is right now- boston has no chance to survive it

[Meadowlark_Scal]

Hey, wow, scal was all over stoudamire, yua, he can really cover those fast pf's......

[jadams5214]

in 5 days:
1.  this team has lost its captain...
2. beaten their biggest rival in the east on the road....
3. gone  west to choke against the clipper...
4. blow an 18 point lead vs GS...
5. have KG injure his bad knee again..
6. .have rondo hurt is hamstring...
7. had ray play big minutes...
8. had baby sprain his ankle..
9. .get blown out on phoenix....
10. have rumors swirl that the team hates each other and the team is divided...
11. .lost 3 games in a row...
12. fall behind cleveland for the best record in the east....
13. have zero direction...

did i miss anything?

celtics fans being dramatic about it all.....

just stating the facts....it has been a rough 5 days

Some people don't like facts Orlando but everything you typed is true --- like I said it's amazing how quickly things change in the NBA.  Best case it's just a blip on the radar and there is plenty of time to get back on track.

WORST case is that this veteran team is breaking down right before our eyes through injuries, poor coaching and bad chemistry.  Yikes...

[Kiorrik]

This would have been a good game for me to miss.

I've been getting up at night to see these games and lately, we've looked bad, and with all the injuries we knew we'd lose a couple or at least not get "great Celtic basketball". I need sleep.

Someone remind me why I do this

For the same reason Drucci or I stay up...you´re a fan

Daft one at it lol

[celticinorlando]

i will be happy when danny ainge decided to get off his butt and go get a complete bench that can contribute and withstand some injuries...they knew daniels was paper when they got him...they knew giddens/walker are practice players....they knew they didnt have a legit #2 pg...they knew scal is WORTHLESS and they knew williams was a bust. sheed had some promise but just doesnt care and baby broke his hand....they bench still is a weakness because it is oft injured and full of scrubs

You are being ridiculous.

We have 5 guys missing how deep does a team have to be?

well obviously deeper than what we got right now....because if those 5 guys miss an extended amount of time..then it will get rough...and really what do giddens, sheldon, scal and walker add to this team? would rather have 4 guys that actually can be counted on

There isn't a team in the league that could lose 2 starters, and 2 regular rotations guys and not have things get rough. We don't need more depth we need more health. What you want is a perfect bench and their isn't a team in the league that has what you have in mind.

no..i want a complete bench...because 4 or 5 on the bench aren't NBA players..so they can AT least be competitive in a game like this...

[nickagneta]

I'm sorry nick and scoop but 35 minutes for Ray is just too much especially in a blowout. And don't tell me it wasn't 20 differential point until the end because we all knew that our D sucked all night long and that the Suns were getting open threes everytime. I don't care if it's less than his season minutes average, don't you think his 36 minutes average per game is way too much for a 35 years old guard? I do. And I won't be surprised to hear fans complain about Ray's lack of productivity or his nagging injuries come playoffs time because that's what playing 36 minutes a game for the whole season will do.

Why Doc, who manages KG's minutes to perfection (31 minutes almost every game), can't do that with Paul and Ray? I can't understand that. Even if Ray wants to stay in the game you have to say no, you're the coach.

Also, I won't blame our bench and Sheed for our recent struggles. Sheed is in a slump but we've seen what he brings. He just has to get in shape for the playoffs.

We knew our bench was thin but it's really effective when everyone is healthy because then you can mix the starters and the bench to create almost perfect basketball on both ends. Unfortunately we didn't have our key players all healthy at the same time this season yet but I sure hope it will be the case in the playoffs and before.

No need to panic right now. Yeah, it sucks to lose the first place in the East to Cleveland and to lose key players day after day. But it's better in December than in April.

Agree to disagree regarding Ray's minutes. You have to try to win the game. You can never say:

"Well, we're down 4 of our top 9 players and not playing great defense and there's 30 minutes left in the game and it's obvious we're not going to win so let's just play Walker, Williams, Giddens, Hudson and Tony for the rest of the game."

I would be embarrassed as a Celtic fan to have Doc do that and would call for his firing if that's the type of attitude he brought to this team. If his attitude was like that and he had the mentality that so many here have(not you Drucci, but others) regarding how to run a team, I might have to become a Laker fan.

Fight to the end. Play to win.

[abb]

Hudson was making Dragic look chris paul there. That is not a good sign....

i saw dragic travel, make a layup off a pass, shoot an airball, and make a turnover when hudson was in there.  look at his stat line 3 turnovers and 0 assists. hardly chris paul.

[Kiorrik]

Agree to disagree regarding Ray's minutes. You have to try to win the game. You can never say:

"Well, we're down 4 of our top 9 players and not playing great defense and there's 30 minutes left in the game and it's obvious we're going to win so let's just play Walker, Williams, Giddens, Hudson and Tony for the rest of the game."

I would be embarrassed as a Celtic fan to have Doc do that and would call for his firing if that's the type of attitude he brought to this team. If his attitude was like that and he had the mentality that so many here have(not you Drucci, but others) regarding how to run a team, I might have to become a Laker fan.

Fight to the end. Play to win.

You did not just drop the L bomb on us.

[Kiorrik]

This would have been a good game for me to miss.

I've been getting up at night to see these games and lately, we've looked bad, and with all the injuries we knew we'd lose a couple or at least not get "great Celtic basketball". I need sleep.

Someone remind me why I do this

Good night Kiorrik and TP, you made me smile a few times during the blowout.

Good night everybody, as I said, it's frustrating to lose the first place to Cleveland and to be plagued by injuries but let's be hopeful everybody will get back in time and we will start a winning streak soon. HCA is not lost but it got complicated and I think it's not that big of a deal if we stay healthy, we can win anywhere.

Thanks buddy. I guess I do it for you lot

[celticinorlando]

just saw the lowlights....what a pathetic effort on defense. just was reminded that they lost 7 of 10 last season at this same point of the season...we dont need that to happen again

[j804]

Walkers D didnt look bad,,

[ManUp]

i will be happy when danny ainge decided to get off his butt and go get a complete bench that can contribute and withstand some injuries...they knew daniels was paper when they got him...they knew giddens/walker are practice players....they knew they didnt have a legit #2 pg...they knew scal is WORTHLESS and they knew williams was a bust. sheed had some promise but just doesnt care and baby broke his hand....they bench still is a weakness because it is oft injured and full of scrubs

You are being ridiculous.

We have 5 guys missing how deep does a team have to be?

well obviously deeper than what we got right now....because if those 5 guys miss an extended amount of time..then it will get rough...and really what do giddens, sheldon, scal and walker add to this team? would rather have 4 guys that actually can be counted on

There isn't a team in the league that could lose 2 starters, and 2 regular rotations guys and not have things get rough. We don't need more depth we need more health. What you want is a perfect bench and their isn't a team in the league that has what you have in mind.

no..i want a complete bench...because 4 or 5 on the bench aren't NBA players..so they can AT least be competitive in a game like this...

With the exception of Hudson/Giddens/Walker our bench players are serviceable. That's what 3rd string players in this league are supposed to be nothing more. You can have 1 or 2 Third stringers playing an increased role with out too much trouble, but when you ask 3 or 4 to have an increased role at the same time your asking for 2 much. Asking role players to do more than they can do is a recipe for disaster. Replacing Hudson/Giddens/Walker with crappy vets wouldn't make much of a difference if any at all.

[Rondo_is_better]

just saw the lowlights....what a pathetic effort on defense. just was reminded that they lost 7 of 10 last season at this same point of the season...we dont need that to happen again

That crap was miserable.

[celticinorlando]

is it certain PP and KG will be back next week? i cant handle losing 7 of 10 like last season....

[DinTN]

i will be happy when danny ainge decided to get off his butt and go get a complete bench that can contribute and withstand some injuries...they knew daniels was paper when they got him...they knew giddens/walker are practice players....they knew they didnt have a legit #2 pg...they knew scal is WORTHLESS and they knew williams was a bust. sheed had some promise but just doesnt care and baby broke his hand....they bench still is a weakness because it is oft injured and full of scrubs

You are being ridiculous.

We have 5 guys missing how deep does a team have to be?

well obviously deeper than what we got right now....because if those 5 guys miss an extended amount of time..then it will get rough...and really what do giddens, sheldon, scal and walker add to this team? would rather have 4 guys that actually can be counted on

There isn't a team in the league that could lose 2 starters, and 2 regular rotations guys and not have things get rough. We don't need more depth we need more health. What you want is a perfect bench and their isn't a team in the league that has what you have in mind.

no..i want a complete bench...because 4 or 5 on the bench aren't NBA players..so they can AT least be competitive in a game like this...

With the exception of Hudson/Giddens/Walker our bench players are serviceable. That's what 3rd string players in this league are supposed to be nothing more. You can have 1 or 2 Third stringers playing an increased role with out too much trouble, but when you ask 3 or 4 to have an increased role at the same time your asking for 2 much. Asking role players to do more than they can do is a recipe for disaster. Replacing Hudson/Giddens/Walker with crappy vets wouldn't make much of a difference if any at all.

Agree with most of this. However, if we could package up Hudson/Giddens/Walker/Scal/Draft pick(s) for a couple of better players would help IMHO. If it means we have to add BBD but it gets a better player we need to seriously consider it. Just a long way of saying we have some quanity but need less quanity for more quality. Package up the garbage for something at least a little more usable.