Celtics (29-13) at Magic (29-16) 1/28

[celticinorlando]

offense in the second half was too predicated around the 3....boston got up big and kept shooting 3's....and missed....then in the 4th it bogged down like it has been for some time....the worrisome thing for me is the fact that they couldn't get any key stops down the stretch at all...last 4 minutes orlando scored at will

[Fafnir]

To me this is once again squarely on Doc's shoulders. This team is good enough to win a championship, and the good quarters prove it. But the fact is that once the other team makes a minor adjustment to the way they play, Doc simply can't respond within the same game. We are abusing the hawks, but they take Bibby out and put Horford in and Doc doesn't adjust. We are abusing the Magic, but they put Gortat and Howard in and Doc simply can't adjust. That, for me, is the most disappointing thing.

What would you have liked Doc to do?

Especially when Perkins isn't playing well at all.

I liked having Garnett and Wallace matchup against Gortat and Howard. It's important to have that jump shooting ability to stop those from completely clogging up the paint, which they'd be able to do against Perkins. I think that's the Celtics best matchups against that duo.

Fair enough, I didn't like how Perkins played tonight overall.

Rasheed played a great game tonight.

[chief3233]

Ok, Im over being angry about this. I am still a bit, ok very, worried about KG. Hopefully it is just rust and conditioning, but..we've all been hoping that for about a year now. Shoulda won this one, but oh well I guess.

[MaxwellSmart86]

FTA
Magic- 40
Celts- 18

yes we did take more jumpers than them but many times we took it to the hole, got contact, and no whistle. This game wasnt even supposed to be this close, let alone have a chance to win or tie at the buzzer. The league really needs to look into some of these games with such unbalanced free throws. I understand they were the home team but still its rediculous when we always lose these close games against contenders with such similar stats..

well, we DID shoot a ton of outside shots---but that T on Rasheed early--when he was OBVIOUSLY fouled on a made basket---he yelled AND ONE---got a Tech....should have gotten his own 3 point play---but, Orlando got a free throw--THATS TWO points right there---we Lost by how many?....the refs DEFINITELY kept Orlando close enough to pull this out...CRAP!

[celticinorlando]

To me this is once again squarely on Doc's shoulders. This team is good enough to win a championship, and the good quarters prove it. But the fact is that once the other team makes a minor adjustment to the way they play, Doc simply can't respond within the same game. We are abusing the hawks, but they take Bibby out and put Horford in and Doc doesn't adjust. We are abusing the Magic, but they put Gortat and Howard in and Doc simply can't adjust. That, for me, is the most disappointing thing.

What would you have liked Doc to do?

Especially when Perkins isn't playing well at all.

I liked having Garnett and Wallace matchup against Gortat and Howard. It's important to have that jump shooting ability to stop those from completely clogging up the paint, which they'd be able to do against Perkins. I think that's the Celtics best matchups against that duo.

Fair enough, I didn't like how Perkins played tonight overall.

Rasheed played a great game tonight.

i liked sheed tonight...the 2 three's late in the third that missed hurt but he was solid...perk and his missed Fts were big...perk getting those fouls early hurt his game

[Billz401]

- Refs were awful tonight. To me it was clear that they didn't want Howard to sit anymore. He got away with so many pushes and reach ins in the second half that its ridiculous.

completely agree

[jdpapa3]

I also forgot something. I'd rather see a contested, on the move 3 by Ray than most other shots when it is crunch time. Call me weird.

[KungPoweChicken]

Terrible play at the end of the game by Doc Rivers! He ran Pierce to the corner, and he used Ray and Eddie as screens, making them useless.

[Who]

I loved seeing how problematic Rasheed Wallace was for Orlando when they only had one big man in the game. The threat of his shooting ability took away Orlando's only strong interior defender and left Orlando's defense weak + vulnerable.

I think that spacing effect, and lack of a shot blocker at the rim, does and will do a lot to help the Celtics offense against Orlando.

In the next matchup against the Magic (another regular season game? I think so) ... I want to see Rajon Rondo be more aggressive with his dribble penetration when Rasheed is pulling that big man away from the hoop. That's a great opportunity for Rondo to have a larger impact offensively.

Edit: I think it causes a lot of problems for Orlando because they usually only have one shot blocker on the floor. Either Dwight or Gortat. If they had a second shot blocker, Rasheed's value here would be lower.

[MattG12]

I have a sad story to tell you,
and though this may hurt a bit....
I watched the Celtics VS magic,
and I stepped in a pile of......


Shaaaaving cream...be nice and clean..shave every morning you'll always look keen!

I think I'll stop watching after halftime,
We always blow leads I'll admit,
Each time I say that we got this,
We play like a pile of.....

Shaaaaving cream, be nice and clean, shave every morning you'll always look keen!

We've done this countless times be-fore,
You'd think my head would've split,
But everytime I say I be-lieve,
We play like a bus full of....


SHAAAAVING CREAM, BE NICE AND CLEAN, SHAVE EVERY MORNING YOU'LL ALWAYS LOOK KEEN!

If I could give you a million TPs I would... but 1 will have to suffice.

[Fafnir]

To me this is once again squarely on Doc's shoulders. This team is good enough to win a championship, and the good quarters prove it. But the fact is that once the other team makes a minor adjustment to the way they play, Doc simply can't respond within the same game. We are abusing the hawks, but they take Bibby out and put Horford in and Doc doesn't adjust. We are abusing the Magic, but they put Gortat and Howard in and Doc simply can't adjust. That, for me, is the most disappointing thing.

What would you have liked Doc to do?

Especially when Perkins isn't playing well at all.

I liked having Garnett and Wallace matchup against Gortat and Howard. It's important to have that jump shooting ability to stop those from completely clogging up the paint, which they'd be able to do against Perkins. I think that's the Celtics best matchups against that duo.

Fair enough, I didn't like how Perkins played tonight overall.

Rasheed played a great game tonight.

i liked sheed tonight...the 2 three's late in the third that missed hurt but he was solid...perk and his missed Fts were big...perk getting those fouls early hurt his game

Sheed was great tonight, he created at least 4 steals by poking the ball away in the post.

Considering he shot 50% and scored 17 on 14 shots I won't complain about his two misses late.

[dlpin]

To me this is once again squarely on Doc's shoulders. This team is good enough to win a championship, and the good quarters prove it. But the fact is that once the other team makes a minor adjustment to the way they play, Doc simply can't respond within the same game. We are abusing the hawks, but they take Bibby out and put Horford in and Doc doesn't adjust. We are abusing the Magic, but they put Gortat and Howard in and Doc simply can't adjust. That, for me, is the most disappointing thing.

What would you have liked Doc to do?

He could have gone small, he could have used Scalabrine to do a hack-a-howard, he could have taken Davis out when it was clear what their strategy was. Or he could have thought of something completely new, which is why he is paid millions.

But this isn't the first time this has happened. Doc has been outcoached by Del Negro, Woodson and Van Gundy this month alone.

[celticinorlando]

the losses are getting easier to deal with. just dont like blowing big leads....but i certainly have decided not to dwell on the losses anymore...it is what it is....i have gotten to the point with my nerves when I watch them that i dont enjoy even watching them anymore....it feels like a chore and like i have to...if i dont...i feel guilty....i live for the Cs (sports wise) but the anger, frustration, stress of when they play is getting to be too much..



.does tonight suck? yep...will it suck if they lose tomorrow? yep...but i am not going to sweat it anymore...

[BigBaby]

we got the calls on xmas so it evens out i guess

[droopdog7]

Terrible play at the end of the game by Doc Rivers! He ran Pierce to the corner, and he used Ray and Eddie as screens, making them useless.

You couldn't be more wrong. With 1.3 seconds, you just want an open shot. You don't design a shot for Eddie unless you want the shot blocked into the fifth row. I had little confidence that Ray or Paul could get open for a good look since orl was going to be switching everything. Sheed was the best play and got a fairly good look. He just missed.