All so Depressing Right Now

[vinnie]

I'd be very surprised if this Hawks team can compete with the Celtics in a 7 games series, assuming decent health. They don't have the defensive quality to achieve that.

What's depressing is two things that have been going on since early in the season (rebounding) and even before that (turnovers).

You have to be kidding. I know we are injured, but right now the Hawks own the Celtics. That may change in the playoffs, but right now it can't be disputed.

[celticinorlando]

as of right now..i cant see boston beating the 3 other elite teams in a 7 games series....injuries have a lot to do with that but there is no lock we even get healthy this season

[Junkyard Dawg]

You have to be kidding. I know we are injured, but right now the Hawks own the Celtics. That may change in the playoffs, but right now it can't be disputed.

It certainly looks like it, but don't forget we owned them last year and I refuse to believe they're that much better because of jamal crawford..

while the refs took the C's out of this game, their offense in the 4th quarter was atrocious.. how many plays inside 10 mins was baby posting up at the FT line or further??  where was PP and ray?

[Roy Hobbs]

as of right now..i cant see boston beating the 3 other elite teams in a 7 games series....injuries have a lot to do with that but there is no lock we even get healthy this season

Again, we have the same number of losses as Cleveland, two more than LA, and two less than Orlando.  The sky hasn't fallen yet.

[celticinorlando]

as of right now..i cant see boston beating the 3 other elite teams in a 7 games series....injuries have a lot to do with that but there is no lock we even get healthy this season

Again, we have the same number of losses as Cleveland, two more than LA, and two less than Orlando.  The sky hasn't fallen yet.

true......but the KG injury has everyone a little rattled

[scoop]

I'd be very surprised if this Hawks team can compete with the Celtics in a 7 games series, assuming decent health. They don't have the defensive quality to achieve that.

What's depressing is two things that have been going on since early in the season (rebounding) and even before that (turnovers).

You have to be kidding. I know we are injured, but right now the Hawks own the Celtics. That may change in the playoffs, but right now it can't be disputed.

Why? Because of 3 relatively close wins? A couple of missed/made shots would have changed that. I don't put much stock in the results of regular season games. Last season Orlando easily owned LAL during the reg. season and were equally easily outplayed in the finals.

I think this Hawks team is pretty much maxed out. They've been healthy the entire season, have been playing together for a while, no players increasing their games much above their current level... I wouldn't be surprised if they are eliminated in the first round.

[jadams5214]

It may better for the Celtics to wind up with the 2 seed or even 3 rather than the #1 seed.  They are a great road team but have lost that distinct homecourt edge they had in past years.  Also if the Hawks wind up at #4 that could spell trouble for the C's.  They would stand a much better chance of beating Orlando or Cleveland (can't believe that is the reality now, the C's can't beat the Hawks!!!)

[PosImpos]

Chances are we'll be the 2nd or 3rd seed, and the Hawks will be the 4th seed.  That's the way things are playing out.  In order for us to face the Hawks, they would have to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals (past Cleveland or Orlando).

I just don't see that happening.

It may actually be better for us not to be the first seed if we really do have trouble against the Hawks and they remain the 4th seed.

[Fafnir]

everybody is short handed...problem is there is no light at the end of hte injury tunnel for boston...guys are breaking down everywhere on this team....it is a serious problem

Eh...  There's nothing that can be done about it.  The team is being cautious with it's guys, and I'm fine with that so long as the team is healthy going into the playoffs.

This team is one of a handful of true contenders for an NBA title.  I'm appreciative of that, and try to keep sight of the big picture, even though it sucks to lose games.

long time, no speak, roy. always good to see you on here. while you are probably right, to me, whoever gets home court has such an advantage this year. lakers, magic, cavs, c's. more than most years, i think home court is so important. that is why rigged games like tonight are so frustrating. we had a win taken away from us by three officials and it may well come back to haunt us.

I agree that home court is fairly important.  However, I don't think it's a lost cause; we're only 1 1/2 games back of Cleveland in the East.  When KG gets back, I think we'll gain ground.  I expect a very strong March and April from this team.

The things is, even though we have a relatively high number of losses compared to the past two seasons, so do other teams.  We've got 10 losses; LA has 8, Cleveland has 10, and Orlando has 12.  In the grand scheme of things, we're not doing so bad relative to our competition.

Add to that LA's skewed schedule and recent injury issues I wouldn't be surprised to see them rack up some more losses too.

I still think Cleveland is the most likely number one overall seed. I'd be okay with that since the Hawks are likely the 4 seed. I think the Celtics would win a 7 game series, but Joe Johnson scares me.

[GreenFaith1819]

Well...3 in a row to ATL..same team that can't beat ORL or the Lebrons. ATL played really well, my hat's off to them.

Just checked in and read a few threads...saw the "KG is out two more weeks" thread...let the man rest..I'll admit it seems as if there is some shroud of secrecy about it, but hey as long as the man is ready for the playoffs it's all good.

We aren't the only ones with injury issues (Gasol has missed quite a few games).

This team could still go on a tear (11 in a row this year...19 in a row last year). Celtics will be fine.

And even with losing to ATL 3 times, we are still within striking distance of LA, ORL, and CLE.

And ATL needs to show more consistency against other elite teams before I will include them as contenders.

Disappointed in the loss and the referees? Yes. Depressed? Not at all. I've seen too many peaks and valleys for the Celtics over the years to get too high or too low.

And even with all of our injuries, I think our team right now is still in overall better health than that team of the late 80's.

We'll be fine, People. Go to sleep and sleep it off. Get well Sheed, Marquis, KG. Banner 18's coming.

[LB3533]

I believe homecourt is not a benefit to this particular team.

I rather we play on the road for some reason....and never have any playoff games on Friday nights too!

[nickagneta]

This loss, in the larger scale, is really not very important. It's one game in January.

I like the way Baby finally looked like he was playing ball again.
I like the way that Rondo's shooting(outside and free throw) seems to have made a turn for the better.
I like the quality and diversity of Perk's offense.
I like what Shelden brings to the team in limited minutes.
I like that this team can compete against and beat the other really good teams in this league when those teams are completely healthy and we have 33% of our top 9 man rotation out and others not playing 100% recovering from injuries or sickness.
I think there's a lot of positives to take out of these games

Likewise,

The injuries aren't helping to develop anyone and only seem to be putting the onus on our starters playing longer...not good.
Tom Thibodeau doesn't look like head coach material.
We just keep getting more injured.
Ray Allen's defensive deficiencies seem to be the first sign of aging and his three point shooting, maybe the second, maybe.
The turnovers which for a lot of this season, this team seemed to have under control, have returned.
They have no offensive rebounding(as much as by design I think as from lack of effort and bad shots) and are giving up way too many offensive rebounds.
The team seems to lost the killer instinct at home....very bothersome.

In conclusion, this team might need some help, both long term and short. That's Danny's area.

[Bahku]

We're in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with a 26/10 record, 3rd place overall ... while without a superstar and core member, and one of our best new additions to the rotation. Let's keep this in perspective, people ... we lost this game by 6 points, while playing so-so, losing our coach, some very questionable calls, and without 2 important players. All is OK.

[BballTim]

as of right now..i cant see boston beating the 3 other elite teams in a 7 games series....injuries have a lot to do with that but there is no lock we even get healthy this season

  I'd say that we're at least 50-50 in any series if we're only missing one starter (not Rondo) and don't have 2 injuries in any spot (ie KG and Daniels hurt or Pierce and Sheed but not KG and Sheed or Pierce and Daniels). We'll also eventually add someone to the roster.

[vinnie]

We're in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with a 26/10 record, 3rd place overall ... while without a superstar and core member, and one of our best new additions to the rotation. Let's keep this in perspective, people ... we lost this game by 6 points, while playing so-so, losing our coach, some very questionable calls, and without 2 important players. All is OK.

Agreed -- the C's are 26-10 and second place in the east. And yes, the injuries are killing them right now and will continue to do so for at least two weeks. that said, they have lost 5 out of their last 8, in some cases due to injuries, and it seems more players keep getting injured as the season progresses. To me, that is not something to relax about. They were 23-5 and they are now 26-10 (and yes, injuries are a big part of those recent losses).