Mavericks (26-13) at Celtics (27-11) 1/18

[jdpapa3]

I think the main problem is that KG is not playing.

The second reason is that these are not playoff games, and they are not games against Orlando, Cleveland, or LA.

In the long run, this might work out because we will have energy in the tank when it comes time for April-June.

The Defense has started tanking. The Lakers/Bobcats now share the title for best defensive team in the league...

dallas has the second best record in the West...you have them at home after 3 days off....you should be fired up to play them

Did we look fired up in the second half there? Obviously not, and that is a sacrifice I am willing to make if we are on all cylinders when it comes to the playoffs.

[JohnBagleyValueMeal]

Not that the argument matters, but KG is twice the player Dwight Howard is. And Sheed can be (as we saw tonight) a key guy for us. The problems we had today were not Rasheed's making. I actually thought Perk lost focus after halftime and didn't get it back.  Playing Scal and Baby on Dirk didn't help either.

What was our % from 3 tonight? Seems like its been terrible.

I don't think the problem is "effort" or "energy" or anything like that. I think the team lacks focus right now--they don't seem to get locked in like they used to, and I think the leaders on this team need to come together and get everyone on the same page.  

I still think this is a top 8 team without KG, top 3 with. I'm not ready to call them fatally flawed. But they need to show that they can keep their composure/discipline/focus, whatever you want to call it.

[celticinorlando]

well...detroit really needs to be a win come wednesday.....

[Kiorrik]

Championships aren't won in Jan, people.

Not trying to make light of the loss, but I'm not worried here.

Been a Celtics Diehard way too long to count us out (29 yrs).

See you all in June.

TP. Best post in the thread.

True. Been a fan for less than 4 years, but still agree; we're not close to being down, and far from being out.

I still see a contender.

[WeMadeIt17]

This team seems to think that they are Vets and they can coast the whole game and then come out with a win.

[jdpapa3]

well...detroit really needs to be a win come wednesday.....

Yea, because if we lose that one there's a rule that we can't make the Finals.

[celticinorlando]

well...detroit really needs to be a win come wednesday.....

Yea, because if we lose that one there's a rule that we can't make the Finals.

 

[Drucci]

I blame Rondo for poor D and no drives tonight. It hurt us.

I can't believe I woke up to watch this slaughter and this pathetic effort by the C's in the second half. I was worried about a potential "Atlanta 2nd half at halftime and it happened - although the refs didn't play a role, the Mavs just destroyed the Celtics.

Already 7 losses at home this season... wow.

And another 41 minutes game for Ray in a loss. Great job Doc, he will be fresh come playoffs time.

Good night everybody.

Suffering through losses is part of the package when you root for a team Shouldn't have to be like this, but it is!

I'm looking forward to the next game, this one was horrid indeed.

Also, I'm still not worried. Yes there's some issues right now. Yes we have injuries, yes we fail at third quarters right now.

What I think, is that we need more fire. Right now, we don't act like we're future champions. We act like we're not believing it. Seriously. I think the heart has gone out for some reason. The skill is there, we've seen it for several quarters a game. However, we fail at third quarters lately, and I have 0 clue why. Maybe Doc needs to do something different. Maybe the players need to turn it on. Maybe we need Rondo to step up and start focusing on getting the team back on track. We need aggressiveness. We look passive, flat-lined at times.

No matter how negative-focused person you are, you have to admit that we *do* have the skills. The players we need are there, but there's something else missing.

Can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm telling you I'm looking forward to KG being back, putting some fire back into the game.

Oh yeah, I'm definitely not worried for the playoffs and the championship. But it hurts to see the team play that poorly when you know they should be rolling.

Also, my biggest concern is our record at home. It's terrible and we have no excuses. I've been waiting for us to turn it on but it is more than a slump or fluke, obviously...

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

Seriously u know what the difference is this year from last without KG??? Sheed, he has brought all bad qualities to the team!! Laziness, no drive, and no consistency

How can you blame this on sheed when the entire team just doesn't deliver in the second half...?
did he infect the team or something...?
just don't see how you can blame this loss or boston's recent struggles on sheed...

By the way, right now he looks like the only celtic who still plays...

YES HE HAS INFECTED HIS TEAM WITH HIS ATTITUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It sucks thats the difference from last year to this!

Who's that guy who scored the last couple buckets for the celts...?

Wallace sucks

Am i the only one who thinks it's weird to hate so much on a guy that plays for the very team your rooting for...?

i dont hate him , i hate his play. ITs been horrid. Hes only been here for one year. Already hes defying any team concept by having the most technicals, and making it seem like its ok thus having Perk do it himself.

So many times I see him brick threes and then the team goes into a "eh we dont care mode".

This guy is negetativity , if u dont see than ur blind

You sound like Skip Bayless, and that isn't a compliment. It is taking a easy story line and trying to make the world conform to it. Perk has always been whistled for T's a ton, think of last season. The whole Rasheed Wallace Technical Foul story is such an overplayed narrative that rarely corresponds to reality. It is such typical media b.s. and I would prefer to take the word of players who always say how great he is to play with, how he is a consumate teamplayer and isn't a negative influence rather than the out of touch, stodgy columnist narrative that you describe. But I may just be blind.

EDIT: Here's the lead in a story from Mark Murphy, Nov. 24t 2008: TORONTO - He’s no Ron Artest, or Rasheed Wallace, for that matter.

Kendrick Perkins [stats], who was whistled for his eighth technical foul in 15 games yesterday, suddenly finds himself on the path to perdition typically associated with the above lightning rods.

[Kiorrik]

Btw Drucci, that post was not directed at you personally, aside from the first line

[hoopaddict08]

Seriously u know what the difference is this year from last without KG??? Sheed, he has brought all bad qualities to the team!! Laziness, no drive, and no consistency

How can you blame this on sheed when the entire team just doesn't deliver in the second half...?
did he infect the team or something...?
just don't see how you can blame this loss or boston's recent struggles on sheed...

By the way, right now he looks like the only celtic who still plays...

YES HE HAS INFECTED HIS TEAM WITH HIS ATTITUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It sucks thats the difference from last year to this!

give it a rest. posting over and over that sheed is single handedly responsible for the teams struggle does not make it true or any less foolish. have you watched 'sheed throughout his career? the things you are saying are absurd.

haha really?? how about the jailblazers?? this guy gets credit because he behaved for a half of a year with the pistons.. what else has he done in his career?? he hasnt played well in three years

I'm a Piston fan, and Rasheed had his moments of turning the switch "on/off" but I wouldn't really have called him a lazy player until last season when Detroit had no chance of winning.

Don't forget he helped take the Pistons back to the Finals in 05. As far as Portland, he was more of a trouble maker then a lazy player.

[albas89]

Championships aren't won in Jan, people.

Not trying to make light of the loss, but I'm not worried here.

Been a Celtics Diehard way too long to count us out (29 yrs).

See you all in June.

I hope you'll come true and I pray for it...
but I've seen the same exact message 12 months ago...and then we were playing better...

what makes me worry the most is the lack of effort!defense is about effort and hustle...we show no effort right now...
I don't know if someone told them to pace themselves during the regular season but that's what they do right now...
and after all,if they're about to do that,don't play Ray and Paul for 40 mins!with this level of effort they are not gonna win even if they play the whole game anyway

[JohnBagleyValueMeal]

I have no illusions that the Celts are playing well right now.  But Dallas has two hall of famers playing right now too, and one of them is essentially unguardable. They also have athletic defenders, a solid defensive center, and some all-star caliber guys in Terry, Marion, etc. It's not like we lost to Revere High out there.

Some of you act like the only way your team could ever lose is they were secretly terrible. The Celts are a very good team but they're not the only very good team out there...particularly without #5.

[dlpin]

To sum up my feelings on this:

Do I like losing? No.

But if you told me last offseason that the celtics would be missing KG for 9 games, Pierce for 5, Rondo for 1, Wallace for 3 and Daniels for 19, and Davis for 29 games, but that we'd still be within 2 and a half games from first in the east, I would not have believed you.

So all in all, I don't care that much about the regular season. Especially when the losses are the result of a lack of effort and of short term health issues which should be fixed by the playoffs.

[joebianca]

I think the main problem is that KG is not playing.

The second reason is that these are not playoff games, and they are not games against Orlando, Cleveland, or LA.

In the long run, this might work out because we will have energy in the tank when it comes time for April-June.

The Defense has started tanking. The Lakers/Bobcats now share the title for best defensive team in the league...

dallas has the second best record in the West...you have them at home after 3 days off....you should be fired up to play them

Did we look fired up in the second half there? Obviously not, and that is a sacrifice I am willing to make if we are on all cylinders when it comes to the playoffs.

Sorry, I'm not throwing in the towel either, but I hate this line of thinking. This assumption that because they suck in January it somehow means they're saving themselves for the playoffs. How about they're just not very good right now? All five started played 35+ minutes, they just didn't do much well. If the idea is to tank and totally save yourselves for the playoffs, why even suit up? It's a ready-made excuse for the inadequacies of this team, and it's difficult to believe.